Hera needed some time to get used to her surroundings. This part of the test felt too alien to her. First was the fact that she was underwater and had to swim to move. Doing so was a problem of its own. She wasn't able to move as freely as she wanted, and even staying still became an issue. After all, if she did so she would start to fall to the depths

  The second complication was the fact that she could breathe. Her instinct was to swim up and look for air, which she did at first. Even after being forced to take her first breath and realizing that it felt no different from breathing outside, Hera still had to fight the urge to reach the surface.

  Before rushing in, she spent around twenty minutes swimming around the entrance. Only when she felt confident enough did she start looking for her target.

  A good thing about the room was that the water was always clear. Hera could see the ocean floor even if was hundreds of meters below. This wouldn't be possible in an actual ocean, but it seemed to be another trick of the MAZE.

  She started to move, looking for something that could give her a hint of her target. It was supposed to be a unique creature here. However, understanding that the test was actually teaching her helped her narrow the focus. She wouldn't be just looking for a random fish, but for something that was doing something very specific.

  After some time, she saw dark shadows moving around. She dove deeper into the ocean, trying to hide on the ocean floor. As she got close, Hera noticed a coral reef to the side. It wasn't big, but it could be enough to protect her from whatever was coming. The shadow got closer and closer, and Hera could see that it was a large hammerhead shark.

  The beast moved above Hera, who held her breath until it passed through.

  'Great, if those things find me, I'm done,' Hera thought, feeling frustrated with the fact that there was a shark around. The screens in the reception area never showed that type of creature here.

  She kept swimming close to the bottom, as there were more fish here than anywhere else. Strangely enough, even if they noticed her, she didn't fail the test right away. Hera spent another twenty minutes moving and looking for the target. Thinking about the video, she remembered that the target seemed to be hidden on the floor. She used her pulse to see if something would appear, but to no avail.

  She kept thinking about what could be the target and how she could find it, but it was getting more and more difficult to move around. With every minute that went by, the sharks started to pass by more frequently.

  Hera stayed as hidden as she could, trying to figure out if the sharks had somehow found her. She started to go through everything that she did up to this point, her moment, her smell, maybe she was leaving a trail of dirt around her. However, there was nothing.

  The more time passed, the more the sharks closed in on her location. Hera started to get more and more worried, watching the shadows pass by her. There was no way they had seen her, was there?

  She looked to the side and saw a manta ray emerging from the sand on the ground and stopping a few meters in front of her. Hera looked back up to the shadows and to the creature on the ocean floor. That was the only animal here that was actively trying to hide. Which could mean it was her target.

  Camouflage was kind of the same thing that the snake did in the previous part of the test. However, the snake simply existed in a well suited environment. It didn't do much to actively hide itself. This manta, on the other hand, would actively use the sand to hide its body. While the two cases were similar, they also had significant differences.

  Staring at the creature, Hera considered her options. She could try to rush it. If the sharks took a bit too long to notice her, it would be enough to reach the manta.

  She looked up once more and saw two sharks rushing in her direction from far away. They didn't seem to be just patrolling but instead, going for her. Hera's heart started to beat faster as she moved as fast as possible towards the manta ray.

  All ten sharks nearby rushed towards Hera. Before she even was able to cover half the distance towards her target, they reached her. Biting down on her arms and legs and sending Hera back to the first reception.

  Hera coughed up the water in her lungs and kept lying down.

  "Are you ok there, kid?" Peaches asked.

  "Yeah, I just wanna stay here for a while," Hera said with her face still on the floor.

  "What went wrong?"

  "No clue, the sharks started to get close to me even though I did a pretty good job at hiding."

  "Were you bleeding or something?"

  "Nope. I was fine."

  "What the information said?" Peaches asked.

  "Pass me my tablet. I'm not getting up yet."

  Peaches shoved Hera's tablet towards the explorer. She moved quickly to grab the tablet before it fell on the ground and started to look through her notes.

  "It says they are experts in detecting the smell of blood in the water," Hera said.

  "What else?"

  "They are fast, can't stop moving. Ferocious and lethal. And they have some sort of electromagnetic detection, whatever that means."

  "And what does that last thing do?" Peaches asked.

  "It can make the sharks perceive the magnetic field of the earth. Or the MAZE, I suppose."

  "And?"

  Hera read more of her notes, "Differentiate between animals and plants because of the electrical current on the brain," she got up quickly, "Wait, those sharks can use it to find me? How am I supposed to hide from that?"

  "You have to find that out."

  "Ok.. is there a way to lower that current?"

  "I honestly don't know. Sorry about that, kid."

  Hera stayed a couple more minutes sitting on the floor, trying to see if she missed anything else about the monsters she had encountered. It seemed like there was nothing new, and in another ten minutes, Hera got up, ready to try again.

  One thing she noticed was that her clothes were dry at the moment. According to Peaches, every time she got teleported out, anything that she didn't bring to the test would vanish.

  Setting out once more, Hera took another 2 hours to reach the ocean stage. She kept being hit by the flies or the snake. The reptile was more intelligent than she expected. It would create traps and ambushes to get her.

  During the entire time she completed the rooms, Hera kept thinking about what she could do to avoid the sharks. She believed there were only two options. She could either move fast enough so that the sharks wouldn't swarm her. Or she could find a way to reduce the electrical current in her brain.

  The problem with the first option was that it relied too much on luck. While the issue with the second option was that Hera had no idea how to do that. The only thing she could think of was to use a spell or to think less. But according to what she knew about biology, her movements would cause the field to spark again.

  She was already fighting nonstop for close to twelve hours, and the fatigue was getting to her. Yet, now that she was in the shark room again, she couldn't stop. Hera took a deep breath to calm herself before jumping into the ocean. The cold water helped to keep her awake, even with the sound of the sea around her having a calming effect. Which was strange since she wasn't supposed to be able to hear anything here.

  Hera went straight to the ocean floor and started to look for any signs of the manta ray. It was a difficult thing to do. The only things that could give Hera some semblance of position were the small coral reefs spread around the area. Even so, it all looked the same.

  Hera focused on the sharks moving around her. Several times she had to hide from the creatures under the reef. At one point, she noticed a shadow approaching from the corner of her eye. She twisted her body, trying to swing her handaxe toward the incoming creature. As she moved, the shadow vanished as if it was never there.

  Hera kept looking from side to side, trying to find the beast that was coming, but to no avail. She felt something by her legs and stomped, trying to stop whatever it was from grabbing her. The manta ray, who had just passed the explorer, turned around and attacked Hera with its stinger.

  Appearing once more in the blue reception, Hera was still trying to understand what happened.

  "Hey, kid. Bad luck?"

  "I don't know. But I need to try again," she said, leaving the reception before Peaches could even say anything else.

  Less than five minutes later, Hera appeared once more in the first reception.

  "Do you know the definition of crazy, kid?" Peaches asked.

  "I do, but you are going to tell me anyway," Hera was sitting on the floor, looking at her hands.

  "You are right. Crazy is someone who spends more than 12 hours fighting without rest."

  "But I only have more 12 hours to beat this. If not.."

  "If not, you can try again later. Besides, you humans only need 6 to 8 hours of sleep, right? Maybe 10 since you are so tired. It still gives you quite a bit of time to keep trying," Peaches cut Hera off.

  "I guess. But I need to figure out-" Hera let out a long yawn, "-how to beat the test."

  "Kid, you need sleep. Go rest. I'll wake you up in six hours. Deal?"

  Hera wanted to disagree, but she was too tired to argue. She got some water and ate something before crashing on the bed.

  "You really need to stop pushing yourself so much, kid," Peaches said while Hera started snoring.

  #########################

  "Do you have someone to talk about this?" the doctor asked.

  Helena was staring at the results of her exams. The little knowledge about medicine she had was enough to understand what was going on.

  "Miss Dittro?" the doctor asked again.

  "Sorry, I was distracted. What was the question?" Helena asked.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Do you have someone to talk about this?" the man in front of her asked once more.

  Helena gave the man her professional smile, "As you said, doctor. My issue is very unique. I don't think I know someone who could relate to this. But yes, I have people who will at least listen to me."

  "That's good. This is not something you should deal with on your own," the man nodded and avoided her gaze. Helena knew that giving this sort of news wasn't easy, and since he was the one taking care of her, the man clearly felt guilty about the result.

  "Do I still need to be here?" Helena asked.

  The doctor shook his head, "No, not at the moment, at the very least," he took one of his business cards from the desk and wrote down his contact information, "This is my personal cellphone and email. if there are any changes, please let me know. If we have any developments on our end, I will contact you. We will just do one last basic check-up and discharge you."

  Helena kept looking at the doctor. She knew he was a powerful Healer but not even with magic and enchanted tools, were they able to find a solution.

  "I'll contact the guild. They will escort you back home and talk about what is going to happen moving forward," the doctor said.

  Helena nodded, "Can I go back to my room? I want to be alone for a moment."

  "Of course, but just to let you know, we will be monitoring your vitals. Just a precaution in case you attempt to harm yourself."

  "You don't have to worry about that, but I appreciate the warning."

  Helena left the doctor's office and headed to the room she was staying at in the hospital. A few people stared at her while she walked, but the Mage didn't notice. She had too much on her mind. Arriving in the room, she sat on the bed and focused on her hands. Slowly opening and closing them.

  A few moments later, tears started to fill her eyes.

  #########################

  "Kid."

  Hera didn't move an inch.

  "Kid?"

  The Explorer shifted, getting more comfortable on the bed.

  "KID!" Peaches jumped on top of Hera, hitting her stomach.

  She got up with a jolt, spooked by the sudden attack.

  "What, what?" she fumbled for her weapons, "Are the sharks coming?"

  "Really, kid? You were even dreaming about that?" Peaches turned around in the bed after being tossed away from the explorer, "No, they are not coming. You slept for 7 hours. I tried to wake you an hour ago, but not even jumping on your head was enough."

  Hera rubbed her eyes, still a bit sluggish, "Ok, so I have.. 4 hours remaining?"

  "5 actually. Splash some water on your face to wake up. You still have time, but it's better if you don't wait around too much."

  "Ok, thanks," Hera walked to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she returned to have a small breakfast.

  She almost inhaled the fruit before walking towards the door that led to the jungle. Stopping one step away from it, she looked at the clock on the side of the room.

  "Five hours, you can do this, Hera," the Explorer said to herself.

  "Yes, you can, kid. Just don't rush it."

  Hera nodded and walked out of the room. She still needed to start with the Silverback, but her goal was to kill the manta ray.

  It took Hera forty minutes to get back into the ocean. It was much easier this time. Not only she was well rested, but her muscle memory also helped a lot to move around the way she should. The centipede was turning into the easiest of the bunch. Her flashbang trick made the creature stop moving completely while she killed it.

  To deal with the sea creatures, her plan was simple. Move fast and hide. Hera realized that the longer she stayed underwater, the faster the sharks would come after her.

  She kept swimming fast, not staying long in the same spot. Even a few times when the sharks were close, she moved from one reef to another, trying to find the manta ray.

  After ten minutes, she still wasn't able to find her target. The sharks were already closing in or her location. Hera looked towards the circle that the beasts were making, and in the middle of it was the manta ray, swimming without a care in the world.

  She clenched her fists and pressed her legs on the ocean's floor. Her only option right now was to avoid the creatures and go for her target. Activating her [All In], the explorer shot up towards the shark whirlpool. The first four took too long to move, allowing Hera to pass by. The next three rushed towards her but failed to connect with their bites as her speed was considerably faster.

  Hera could see her target, and she was ready to attack the manta ray. Three more sharks were closing in, coming from the sides. She still had a chance. All she needed was to be faster than them. However, when the two sharks came from above the manta ray, she knew it was over.

  She got bitten by the two sharks at once and appeared once more in the blue reception room.

  "Bad luck, kid?" Peaches asked.

  "Can you please stop asking that?"

  "Sorry, old habits."

  Hera took a moment to rest, "I even used my skill on that."

  Peaches asked what happened, and Hera told about where the target was, "Oh, kid. That was bad luck. Some rooms have creatures that work together."

  Hera started in the jungle room one more time. A couple of failures later, she was back at the reception with light pink walls. This attempt was much shorter than the previous ones. Hera ended up in an area without reefs big enough to hide. Just thirty minutes after leaving the first reception, she was teleported back. At least her time was improving.

  In her next attempt, Hera managed to get to the ocean in one go. This time Hera dove into the water right away. She was feeling pumped and ready to begin. Instead of staying close to the floor, Hera took a risk and stayed near the surface. A few sharks were roaming with their fins out of the water. That allowed Hera to have a better idea of where the creatures were. Five minutes after entering the room, she found the manta ray.

  Looking around to be sure no sharks were coming, Hera dove towards her target. The creature would change positions and bury itself in the sand. If she wasn't looking straight at it when it burrowed, there was no way she could find it.

  Hera moved closer to the creature, waiting for it to be completely hidden. She looked to the sides and noticed a couple of sharks heading her way. This became a race against them. Either the Explorer would reach her target, or the monsters would catch her. Closing in the manta ray, Hera got her handaxe ready.

  She stood behind her target, trying not to block the light coming from the surface, and slashed at the manta ray's midsection, hitting the sand under it. Hera pulled her handaxe back, splitting the back side of the creature.

  The sharks were still approaching. Hera looked around, trying to find the door. Near a reef, the door frame appeared. She rushed towards it, worried that the sharks could still get her.

  She managed to reach the door, but pushing it was weird. It took a lot of effort to make it move even a little. Shoving both her legs into the sand, Hera opened the door. She looked back and saw a shark approaching quickly. Grabbing the doorframe, Hera pulled herself towards the reception.

  Hera closed the door in a hurry, afraid the sharks could still reach her.

  "You don't have to do that, kid. They can't come in here. Also, despite them chasing you, you won't fail if they get you after you killed the target," Peaches said.

  "Well, I'm not taking any chances. It took a lot of me to get here."

  "But you can do it again, kid. It is that or passing the next room on your first try."

  Hera's shoulders slumped, "There is more?"

  "That's up to you."

  Hera frowned, "You know that cryptic thing you do is a bit annoying."

  Peaches chuckled, "Sorry about that, kid. I got used to being like that in the other test. This can be the end of your test. Or you can try one more room."

  Hera stared at the guide for a moment, "What is the catch?"

  Peaches smiled, "If you finish now, you get the skill and the perks that come with it. If you beat this next room, your relic will receive an upgrade."

  Hera squinted at the green apple, "But?"

  "You are catching on quick. But you only have one chance. If you fail, that's it."

  "If I fail, I fail the whole test?"

  "Oh no, my mistake. I meant that this last room is a one chance thing. If you fail, you will go back to the beginning of the test. Then you need to pass the ocean one more time."

  Hera looked at the timer, "I still have around three hours. I think I can do it. It's not going to be a huge room like the one on the explorer's test, right?"

  "Nah, it's much smaller. But it will be harder for you. Well, maybe not."

  "Why?"

  "Are you doing it? I can't tell you if you are not."

  Hera looked again at the timer. Even if she wasted two hours there, she could still come back and have a chance at beating this test. However, the reward was tantalizing. An upgrade to her relic was nothing to scoff at. Not to mention, she wanted to know what the final test was.

  "I hope I don't regret this. But I'm in. Should I go through that door?" Hera pointed at the door on the other side of the grey-colored reception.

  "Not yet," Peaches looked at Hera. A second later, a notification appeared in front of her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Quest Updated:

  Explorer's quest - Assassin Skill

  You have acquired abilities that mirror that of an assassin. You may attempt the assassin role test to unlock the assassin related skills.

  To begin the quest, head to a doorway, and the option to travel to the test area will appear.

  Hidden goal:

  Complete the mission responsible for creating the assassin role.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "What is this about the creation of the role?" Hera asked.

  "As an Explorer, you expected to discover the history of things. Not that other people can't, but you have a special knack for it. Well, it would be more like the MAZE will give you more information about the history of things."

  "This seems more than just giving information," Hera said.

  "True, from time to time, you will find things like that. Places that the MAZE doesn't simply give you a hint, but just slaps you with the information," Peaches laughed.

  "The MAZE gets weirder by the second," Hera sighed.

  "You have no idea, kid."

  The screens flickered around the room, and several images appeared. They were all paintings, tapestries, and other artistic representations from the Middle Ages.

  "Well, since this is my job, let me tell you a story," Peaches said, "A long time ago. In the age of kings and nobles, it was very common for powerful people to employ their own force of assassins. Wars would start and end by their hands, kingdoms would fall, and empires crumble. All that was needed was a single well placed poison or one well executed ambush. That was also true inside the MAZE. A good assassin could change the tide of battle, hiding in the shadows and taking out their enemies in a single strike."

  Peaches pointed Hera towards the screens with the part of the story he was telling. It started with a tapestry of a king, then a painting of a shadowed figure looking at a burning city.

  "The ultimate proof of the role's worth was when an empire in the MAZE plotted to conquer all the rooms. The emperor had used magic to create an army of undead soldiers under his command. Each enemy that fell by the undead's hand would rise and become a part of the emperor's army," the guide gestured towards a picture of a skeletal army with one human in the middle.

  "A king, saddened and angry after seeing his soldiers' sacrifice perverted like that, went after the emperor on his own. The king was not a warrior nor a commander. He was raised to perform the role of a killer, and only by an unfortunate disease that fell upon his family that he came to bear the crown."

  The painting showed an imposing figure with a silver armor filled with sea-themed ornaments. The crown on his head gave Hera the impression of two waves crashing into each other. For some reason, Hera felt that the figure was familiar somehow, but she wasn't sure where she had seen it.

  "The king invaded the emperor's palace alone. He avoided all his guards and patrols and reached the emperor's bed chambers. Thanks to the emperor's hubris, King Gwendelan was able to slit the mad ruler's throat while he slept. However, his success was not without a price. By killing the emperor, he inherited the ability to control the undead army, but he would not be able to harm them or to dispel the magic. To protect everyone, Gwendelan, the first assassin, called all his troops to the castle and sealed it off. He made sure that nothing would break the seal, not as long as he was still around."

  The last few paintings showed the king sneaking into the castle, killing the emperor, and controlling the undead. The final piece, however, was a tapestry of King Gwendelan as an undead. There was a small symbol on the corner of it, a pair of waves crashing at each other and an olive branch in the middle.

  Hera finally realized where she had seen this before. It was the same skeleton she saw during the second part of her explorer test. The one she challenged with her friends inside that ruined castle.

  "This was the moment the System ruled that Assassins would be part of the roles, although the actual roles still took some time to appear."

  Hera stared at peaches, "Wait, so the System figured out the roles but waited before giving them to us?"

  Peaches nodded, "Yeah, don't ask me why. Maybe it wanted to cover all the bases before making the change."

  "This is too much for my head," Hera said.

  "Don't focus on the reason. Just listen to the story. Now, for the actual test," the screens shifted, showing a couple of skeletons and humans as well as several blueprints of the emperor's palace, "You will have access to everything Gwendelan had. All you need to do is recreate his mission. You don't need to move the same way he did. In all honesty, you can't even get close to his skill right now, but you need to accomplish the same result. And don't worry, this still is scaled to your level."

  "Ok... can I use my tablet this time? Memorizing all those blueprints will be very tricky," Hera asked.

  "No, if you do, it will be just like with the monkeys."

  "Fine, let me see where to start."

  Hera began to formulate her plan. Gwendelan had very thorough notes, from the change in shifts to what the soldiers would eat and even their fears or allergies. The blueprints also had comments about places that could creak or give away his position as he walked by.

  "Did King Gwendelan really find out all this?" Hera asked.

  "Yeah, he and his spy network. Many lives were lost to gather that intel."

  Hera nodded. The fact that many people had died to get this was all but surprising. As she kept going through the report, a thought occurred to her.

  "Peaches, will I have to kill humans in there?"

  "They will be simulations of humans, but yeah. As the name of the role implies, it was created to kill people. Even if humans seem less gung-ho about killing each other now, I doubt that the need for assassins will ever disappear."

  Hera kept staring at the screen that showed the emperor. According to the information, he was as evil as it gets. He killed most of his people to turn them into undead. He would use peasants and children as meat shields for his army, and he was terrible even before getting that power. To become the emperor, he killed his entire family, including his mother and his infant brother.

  Even with all that, killing a person was something Hera had never considered. Not like this. If it were self-defense, it would be one thing, but killing someone in cold blood was different. Could she do it?

  Peaches stayed quiet while Hera formulated her plan, but he was still keeping track of the time. She was reading the intel for fifteen minutes already. It would require some luck and effort for her to complete the ocean again if she failed. The guide didn't want to rush her, but he still couldn't help but give a push.

  "So, kid. Ready to try?"

  Only 3$ a month!

  Chapter 105 - Growth

  Thanks for supporting my writing. And check you my other story,

  Want more? Next chapter is already available for Patreons!

  Tiers:

  $3 Explorer: Advanced chapter + Side Stories

  $5 Gold Card Explorer: Everything Above + Book 1 rewrite early access

  $10 Legacy Holder: Everything Above + create your own MAZE/ Energy Eater character

  $35 Guide: Everything Above + create your room, guide, and 4 chapter story arc

  or buy me a Ko-fi

  Join our Discord!

  Massive thanks to our amazing Patreons:

  Guide Tier: Lemon Ghost, Dr Dankness, Personssess

  Legacy Holders: Lillith Ophidia, NessaroseDyer

  Gold Card Explorers: Faeolin the Wild Elf, Jinx, laciw, Eric M, A.b, Kaouenn, Someone

  Explorers: Giuseppe, Theredescare77, Matt, Will C, Pltergeist, Nix, Frightful6_7, Cog, Maren, Tomas, Pletter, Kensyi, Daniel, ShadowedForest, Rosy, Lara, Kitzuna, Kakaae, Alex, Psyren G, Baseplate36, Scott, Tierhon, Gabriel