When all the presentations were over, Mr. Greyson walked towards the recruits.

  "Today, this group of explorers was kind enough to give to stay here for the entire afternoon to clear any doubts ye might have about the roles. Then, after lunch, we can stay in the ATR until the end of the day, thanks to Ms. Ivanova."

  The recruits became even more impressed with Frostbite. She was a hero who was willing to pay an expensive training facility for a bunch of recruits she never even met. Even if they didn't really know how much it cost to be here.

  "One last thing. More of a reminder than anything, really. Ye will choose yer role in the final test, and part of the test is to get the role skill. As ye all know, the system never gives anything. Ye need to earn it. The test is also the first mission the system will give ye. Now come, feel free to ask any questions about the roles," the teacher finished his explanation while the explorers spread around the room. Giving just enough room for groups to form without messing with each other.

  After that, the recruits went around asking more about the roles. Hera wanted to talk to Helena, but first there was something else she was curious about.

  Moving toward Omar, Hera and Kenjiro asked him a few questions. The explorer told the two that to learn a role skill they would need to do another test and that the difficulty increased with each role skill they had. The main reason explorers wouldn't get all the role skills was the difficulty to activate that test.

  In essence, each extra role quest would require them to increase the rank of a skill related to that role. However, there was one more requirement. The skill in question had to be the highest ranked skill they had. And since they already had a couple of skills, the next role quest they got would be when one of them reached rank 2.

  He also said that the relic they can get will change. The number of abilities it will have at first depends on the grade they get on the test. He ended up getting just a passing grade, but some who got perfect scores would get even more amazing rewards. Then again, in the long run, that didn't matter. Omar, and any explorer, could modify their relic to add new functions. It was hard to do, but very much worth it since the System would always make sure they were able to put it back together if they messed up.

  The one comment that really made the flame in Hera's heart burn brighter was that 'Every explorer relic comes with at least one skill that helps you find secrets inside the MAZE.'

  That was exactly what she wanted, as nothing made her more excited than the idea of uncovering great mysteries. Satisfied with the information, Hera thanked the man and left Kenjiro alone with Omar. The recruit seemed to have a lot more questions, mainly about fighting inside the MAZE with multiple role skills.

  She moved toward Darrell, the researcher. Bonnie was already there talking with him. It took Hera a while to figure out what they were saying. Both of them seemed to be invested in a discussion about ways to learn and teach skills and how to improve them.

  When Darrell finally realized the recent arrival, he stopped the discussion and went back to answering questions. Hera was mainly interested in how the skill would work in someone else's research. Apparently, first, she would need to understand the research. The skill would make it easier because it would tell her if she had any gaps in the knowledge she needed to understand it. Then she could collaborate and even share what [Learn] told her.

  She asked a few more questions about how the skill worked and what were its limits. However, when Hera asked if [Learn] could tell her things about a room inside the MAZE, Darrell wasn't able to answer. He never tried, but it was possible in theory.

  Talking some more, Darrell told the recruits that researchers were also an excellent combat class. The ability to learn skills at a fundamental level allowed them to change the skill to strengthen it or target more enemies. According to him, a level 2 researcher would be better at magic than a level 2 mage since their mana pools were not big enough to allow for larger spells.

  Hera thanked him and walked towards Helena. On the way, Mark asked her to show Jasper, the crafter, her bracelet. She had let the other recruits take a look at it once she finished and it left a big impression on Mark.

  Jasper took a few moments to analyze the bracelet, "Not bad! Can't say much about the make. It's just Guild standard, but still. There's some soul here. Brodette, you could be a nice crafter! Early on we struggle since the competition is fierce, so the best way to make a name for yourself is to make something unique. Not in grade, but like, something that's you. Ya'know?"

  He added a few ideas about small, easy enchantments she could put in jewelry to sell. It was an interesting idea, but she wasn't as excited as Mark with the prospect. She worked in sales for a long time, and going back to that kind of job didn't seem all that exciting.

  Thanking Jasper, Hera finally arrived where Helena was. Alex and Tiffany had both just left, leaving the mage alone for a moment.

  "Hello sweetie, how are you feeling today?" Helena smiled.

  "Is overwhelmed an option? Not to mention I'm still not over the test, not really," Hera replied.

  The mage nodded, "I can imagine. Usually, that test only happens in the last week of training. But Greyson thinks it's better to get rid of the 'weak-willed' first. In addition to give you an opportunity to face those kobolds again. The Guild figured it was worth testing if it would be better or not."

  "Anyway, I have some questions. I was talking with the other explorers, and I'm not sure what would help you the most. Maybe a researcher would be good, but an explorer might have a better mix of abilities. Being a crafter could help too, since I could make your tools, or I could be a mage like you said and help you that way. What role do you want me to get to help you?" Hera asked, still deep in thought about the role she could pick.

  Helena stared at the recruit for a moment, "Hera, what do you want?" she asked, "Forget about what you think will help me, this is a decision about your life. You can't change that later on. I will ask for your help no matter what role you chose, but first, you need to figure out what you want to do."

  Hera was taken aback. While, yes she wanted to be an explorer, the only thing she was thinking about was to help Helena. After all, as long as she got into the MAZE, her role wouldn't matter. Still, the mage was right. More than just doing something to help her savior, she needed to understand what she wanted to do.

  "I'm not sure. I always wanted to be an explorer, to have adventures inside the MAZE, discover new things and places. But apparently, all roles can do that." Hera finally said.

  "You are right, all can do that. Which roles you are thinking about?" the mage nodded with a smile.

  "Well, explorer seems nice. But I guess it will depend on the item I get. Since they don't have a role skill to start, I imagine they have a hard time early on. But considering my attributes, that could also really help. Researcher seems interesting, being able to change how skills behave can be really useful. I thought Crafters would have a peaceful life, but after seeing Jasper I'm not so sure anymore. Controller could be fun too. Managing the battlefield and being at the very center of things sounds like something a hero would do."

  As Hera spoke, she noticed a small frown form on Helena's face.

  "What?" the recruit asked.

  Helena leaned in and whispered, "Keep this between us, but Janna is not quite what she seems. She failed to mention that she requested half of the defense budget to hold down that valley. Not to mention that her plan B was to blow the entire thing up. I know some of the people who set up the spells to bring it all down, at her request, mind you."

  "Is it so bad to have a plan B?" Hera asked, trying her best not to glance at Frostbite.

  Helena shook her head, "No, but when the plan B includes blowing up half of the city for no good reason, it gets complicated. According to that what I've been told, doing that was almost a way to threaten the mayor into giving in to her demands. Don't get me wrong, she still risked herself. But it wasn't just an… heroic act."

  Hera was quite surprised about the revelation. Janna seemed to be even modest, playing her achievements down. Yet, some people were good at hiding their true intentions. Hera knew that well.

  “Changing the subject, I noticed you said nothing about being a mage. Is that such a terrible concept?” Helena pouted.

  Hera could tell the woman was just teasing her, "Well, I don't know, why don't you clear some doubts I have about such a dreadful role."

  Without realizing, Hera replied in a fake British accent. That reaction only amused Helena even more.

  They talked about what mages could do, but Helena avoided talking about affinities even when asked. According to her, it was better to learn the basics before delving into the advanced stuff. A while later, Bonnie joined in, asking about how spells were made and how could she start training magic.

  Last, Hera went towards the hunter. Since the recruit had a tendency to overthink and overanalyze every situation the [Hunt] skill could be a perfect fit.

  As time went by, the explorers left one by one. Aside from the teacher and Helena, Janna was the last one to leave, but only after Blue got three autographs from her.

  "Now that ye know what each role does. Let me tell ye how the rest of the month will go. Ah will teach ye some basic survival skills, how to make a tent, or a campfire. What types of fruits ye can look for and things like that. Ye will also learn more about the MAZE. Things like monster tiers, explorer equipment, room effects, and more. We will keep the same pattern we have today, In the morning, we hit the classroom. And in the afternoon we come here, so ye all can learn a proper fighting style, or improve yer own."

  When the teacher finished speaking, Janna gasped from the entrance "Did I hear it right? Calvin Greyson is going to use the ATR to teach a class?"

  The woman said it overly dramatically, like a character from a terrible movie. The only thing missing was a fan in her hand.

  "Oh, bite me, Janna," the teacher replied.

  "Is that an invitation?" Frostbite replied with a mischievous smile before leaving for good.

  Mr. Greyson became flustered. He mumbled something that none of the recruits could hear. And soon he came back to his usual self. However, that didn't last long as the man struggled to activate the various functions of the training room.

  Helena was about to step in to help him when another clerk came by in a hurry, saying something about the Guild leader needing her urgently. With an apologetic look, the Mage rushed out of the training room.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  This left Mr. Greyson to continue trying and failing, to turn on the training room. By the time things finally clicked, it was well after noon. He had no choice but dismiss the class and tell them to gather after lunch to train.

  Hera and her friends went to the food court in the strip mall. The group kept discussing the roles the whole time.

  Leo considered being a fighter, but after hearing about how the [Hunt] skill can affect other skills, he was really interested in being a hunter. Bonnie was split between researcher and mage. Her goal was to use magic even if she had to be on the front lines, but she never imagined that there was a role less dangerous that allowed her to learn about magic even faster.

  Alex liked the idea of being a mage as well, but she also liked the assassin role. Hiding in plain sight and dealing a lot of damage felt like something she would enjoy. She was just worried that being colorblind could give her some trouble when ambushing creatures.

  Hera was still divided. There were many interesting roles to choose from. Her friends agreed that if she wanted to do many, she could just become an explorer and learn the other roles. The idea seemed nice, but she was still worried about having trouble early on.

  Blue, however, was the only one 100% sure of the role she wanted. A controller, of course. After seeing Frostbite, she was enthralled with the idea of following Janna's footsteps. Hera wanted to tell the girl the full story, but she had promised Helena not to tell anyone. For now, it didn't seem to be a problem, but later on, Hera might need to have a serious talk with her friend.

  Coming back to the guild, with their bellies full and their wallets thinner, the group went straight for the ATR. When they arrived, a set of 10 white silhouettes were standing in the room. The teacher was already there, with a satisfied expression on his face.

  "Now that this bloody thing is doing what Ah want, we can start. These things yer seeing in the room are yer new trainers. In the back, I got some training weapons for ye to use. Choose the one ye want to learn and walk toward one silhouette. Show yer bracelet to it, and the trainer will register its data in you. Then... Hang on a second," Mr. Greyson cut his explanation short and looked for something on his tablet.

  The man seemed to read something, Hera could even see his lips moving.

  "Right, after the data is registered, any ATR ye use in the guild will have the same trainer. They all share the same... databale?... no database, yeah that's right. These trainers can teach you how to fight with any of the weapons we have here in the guild. If ye want to use something else, ye need to see if there is a trainer for that. One last thing, because we are in the deluxe ATR... Why this bloody name?... Since we are in the deluxe ATR, the trainers also will put a spell on you to improve yer concentration. That will help ye to learn faster."

  The teacher stopped staring at the tablet and looked at the recruits.

  "I advise ye to focus on a single weapon, if ye manage to get a fighting skill, then ye can try another one. If ye can't do it today, don't worry. Ye will be using the basic ATRs once a day going forward. It will be for just one hour and it won’t have that spell. But the other functions are there.

  After picking the weapon, Hera took the one empty space on the corner of the room. She didn't want people to watch her practicing.

  The white silhouette trainer looked at the handaxe and materialized the same weapon in its hand. It showed Hera a simple attack. Starting with the stem of the axe pressed on its hip and the leg on the opposite side forward. The movement was simple, a quick horizontal slash and then moving back to the starting position. An attack equivalent to unsheathing a sword.

  When Hera tried the first time, an overlay appear around her, showing the movement she made, and the places where her posture was wrong. The trainer also gave her some pointers in a weird mechanical voice.

  It took Hera a few tries, but after she managed to do the attack without leaving the surrounding boundary a few times, then the trainer showed the next step in the move. Instead of using the axe, she would use her off-hand to push her enemy away while resetting her stance and taking a step back. As weird as it felt, doing it like this would make the target always be far enough away to be struck by the axe's blade.

  The recruits kept practicing for the entire day. At one point, Mr. Greyson went towards to one of the free silhouettes and activated his trainer. Even the teacher seemed curious about the effectiveness of the deluxe ATR. When the day was almost over, Hera got a new skill.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hand Axe Combat - Rank1

  Improves your ability to use hand axes during combat. Techniques that you already learned can be used with muscle memory alone. However, using a technique like this lowers its effectiveness.

  This skill also improves the user's ability to learn new handaxe techniques.

  Hand-axe effectiveness increase: 5%

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The description surprised Hera. This skill seemed too strong for a rank 1. Not just because of how it would help her remember things, but because it would help her learn new techniques.

  She gave it a go, and it wasn't as odd as she expected. Moving without thinking about it felt just like walking. She just needed to have the right intention. The second she stopped thinking about the movements, however, the trainer stopped. Apparently, the trainer would only teach if she was doing it consciously.

  When the class was over, Hera and the rest of the recruits were impressed with the results they got from the ATR. All of them got combat skills, and the ones that already had them felt they were genuinely improving.

  The rest of the training month went by quickly. Hera kept updating her grandma and dad about the new things she was learning, but she never went back to visit during the training.

  She finally told a few friends about her new job and promised to go out with them to celebrate when she passed the test.

  When they reached the third week, part of the training became sparring matches with other recruits. Since they only trained with one partner each day, Hera managed to avoid fighting Anaya altogether. Although Blue ended up giving the woman a good beating in their first match.

  In the week before the final test, Mr. Greyson asked the entire class to focus on the skills [Dodge] [Block] and [Run]. Hera only got [Dodge] and [Run] sadly, she wasn't used to blocking and found out that to her, evading an attack was easier. In that week, Hera also got the skill [Improved Stamina].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Run - Rank 1

  Increases the speed and the coordination of the user while running at the expense of increased stamina consumption.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dodge - Rank 1

  Increases the judgment of the user when dodging, decreasing the strain placed in the body while doing so.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Improved Stamina - Rank 1

  Increases the stamina of the user as well as its regeneration. The effect increases when the user is less active or more relaxed.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  And in their very last ATR session, Hera managed to get one more skill with a weapon she wanted to try from day 1. After some incentive from her friends, Hera tried it out. It was an incredibly versatile weapon, with a grip in the middle, she could use it like a dagger at close quarters and still throw it if she needed to hit something at a range. The problem was having to go after it again. But that would be only a last resort thing. Mr. Greyson talked about being able to imprint your mana onto an item so it would show it on the map her skill created, that way she could try to recover it more easily.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chakram Combat - Rank 1

  Improves your ability to use a chakram during combat. Techniques that you already learned can be used with muscle memory alone. However, using a technique like this lowers the strength of the attacks.

  This skill also improves the user's ability to learn new chakram techniques.

  chakram effectiveness increase: 5%

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It seemed that all the weapon combat skills were roughly the same. Maybe learning more of them would even help raise their ranks.

  Before she knew, it was already the Sunday of the final test. Hera got dressed in an outfit that could help move around. All ready to leave, Hera opened her status.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera Kingsley -- Role: Civilian Level: 2

  Stats:

  Strength: 12 Endurance: 12

  Agility: 12 Charisma: 12

  Intelligence: 12 Luck: 12

  Skills:

  Passive:

  Exponential Growth (3)

  Chakram Combat (+1), Hand axe Combat (+1)

  Improved Stamina (+1)

  Mapping (+1)

  Observe (+1)

  Active:

  All in (+1)

  Inspect (+1)

  Hide (+1), Dodge (+1), Run (+1)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Following Helena's advice, Hera customized her status screen a bit. First, she added a +1 marker to every skill she gained at that level. Just to help her remember things in the future. Second, she changed how [Exponential Growth] was displayed. Now, the cost to increase all attributes would be displayed even in the overall status screen. There was no need for her to open the description itself.

  It was strange to think about how easy was to make those changes. This was supposed to be something created by the System, yet it was surprisingly customizable. The font, size, spacing, order, she could change all that. The only things that were off limits were the colors and the border of the window itself.

  Checking her skills again, Hera felt confident. She had made sure to not waste her [All in] in the last few days, she might need it for the test. Taking a deep breath, Hera looked back at her studio apartment. The next time she came here, she would be an explorer.

  The recruits were all waiting inside the classroom. Yet, no one even tried to make small talk. They were excited, nervous, worried, anxious, and feeling another dozen different emotions. This was the last step. The last thing they needed to do before becoming full-fledged explorers.

  When the teacher walked into the room, he was doing something he had never done before, carrying a stack of paper.

  "Good morning to ye all, and welcome to yer last day as recruits. This final test is split into three parts. First, we will do a written exam. Then a small quest inside the MAZE. Last, the role test. Well, get into the details of the last two later. For now, grab a test and pass the rest along. Ye all have three hours to finish this. If you finish earlier, go to the classroom on the other side of the hall and wait there," The teacher gave one small stack to each of the recruits in front of the class.

  It was an oddly familiar feeling. All the recruits had to take these types of tests during their school years. This, however, was more specific. The questions were either about survival, the dangers they could encounter inside the MAZE, or things that should be general knowledge for explorers.

  The only problem was the number of questions. She had to answer over 200 questions. Most of them were basic, but some asked very about very specific things, like asking which of the rare plants was edible.

  The recruits stayed silent during the test. When Mark complained about a question, Mr. Greyson's stare was enough to make them all understand. They shouldn't be talking during the exam.

  Bonnie was the first one to finish, followed by Anaya, Kenjiro, and Alex. Mark and Hera finished almost at the same time and left toward the other classroom. Still with over one hour left.

  "Finally, what took you two so long?" Bonnie asked when Hera walked in.

  "Sorry, the ones about specific knowledge gave me some trouble," Hera replied.

  "Ignore her, she's just testy because she thinks she got a few questions wrong," Alex intervened.

  "Which ones? I have a few that really messed me up. Like, what is the name of the place where you can find more than a hundred doorways? I can't remember if it was in the city of Kalidor or Andron," Mark complained.

  "I think you got it wrong. The name of the city wasn't Lanua?" Alex replied.

  "You are both wrong. Lanua is the name of one of the buildings, the city is called the City of Dzviery," Bonnie said with absolute confidence in the answer.

  "What about you Hera, what was your answer?" Alex asked after rolling her eyes at Bonnie.

  "I... I thought it was more of a philosophical question... I answered 'inside the MAZE'," she replied, lowering her head. During the test, she completely forgot about that city.

  "Well... you are not wrong, but it's kinda like saying that the main reason for divorce is marriage," Mark said.

  The three girls stared at him for a moment before laughing.

  "Mark, honestly, how do you do that?" Alex asked.

  "It's a skill," he replied, scratching his cheek.

  "No, seriously. That is amazing. I wish I could do that at my family dinners." Bonnie stopped laughing, trying to compose herself.

  "When I figure out how I got the skill, I'll let you know."

  He sat down on a chair beside them while he spoke. It seemed like another joke, but Mark's face seemed a bit more serious than that.

  "Mark. Do you really have a skill for that?" Hera asked.

  The recruit only gave a weak nod in response.

  "Wow, skills can even do that?" Hera was impressed. It was one thing to have a skill that improved her strength. Having one that changes something like how funny she was just seemed unreal.

  Sometime later, the rest of the recruits finished the test. With Blue being the last one to arrive.

  "Wasn't part of the idea of being an explorer not having to worry about exams?" Blue complained as soon as she saw her friends.

  "That's just wishful thinking. There are a lot of things we need to know. Of course, there would be a written exam," Bonnie scoffed.

  "Oh, bite me. Not everyone gets horny just by seeing books like you," Blue replied, rolling her eyes.

  "Well, maybe you should. That way you can be more than just a meathead," Bonnie said while getting up from her chair.

  Alex quickly moved in front of the two girls and pushed them back

  "Stop bickering for one day. The test is still not over."

  With a commanding tone, she stopped the two of them from fighting. Inadvertently, that line also made the recruits feel tense. She was right. It was still far from over.

  A few minutes later, Mr. Greyson opened the door.

  "Alright, Ah' can't grade yer tests right now. It's too much work to be done quickly. Follow me, yer starting with the second part while Ah finish grading this."

  As quickly as he walked in, the teacher walked away, moving towards the elevator. During the last month, the recruits got used to this behavior, and they were ready to follow.

  When the entire class was inside the elevator, Mr. Greyson placed his bracelet on the scanner. With a blip sound, the screen that showed the floor they were heading to changed. A pair of words appeared. Two words that sent both a wave of excitement, and a chill down the spine of every recruit.

  MAZE Doorway

  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