~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chalice retrieved

  Moving to the completion area

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera felt her entire body freeze the moment she picked up the gem encrusted golden chalice. It was somewhat unnerving, but she understood that this was part of the process.

  A soft light enveloped Hera's vision, forming a cocoon around her. The light began to grow brighter and brighter. Making Hera close her eyes, the only thing she could control. She didn't feel any difference in temperature, or anything else. Almost as if she were still in the very same place. Thinking about the reverse hatching commenting, she couldn't help but laugh.

  "Am I going back inside the chicken?" she said to herself.

  A few moments passed, and the light faded. When Hera opened her eyes, she was in that big white room where she had gotten her weapons. However, this time she was alone, and there was a white marbled table to the side of a large blackboard.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Congratulations on completing the test of the Undead King

  Please deposit your weapons in the indicated area and proceed to the blackboard to see your results

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera frowned. A part of her half expected to keep her weapons. After all, some of the tests could include some

  She placed her handaxe and her chakram on the marked white table. The weapons seemed to dissolve, turning into sand and vanishing completely before her very eyes. Hera jumped back, worried that it was a trap of some sort. After a few seconds, nothing else happened.

  Figuring it out it was just part of the test, she ignored the scare and turned to face the blackboard. It was one of those old school boards and had some stats written in white chalk.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Results

  Trial: Test of the Undead King

  Mission accomplished

  Hidden mission: Completed

  Role compatibility:

  Fighter: C+

  Mage: A-

  Assassin: A

  Hunter: C+

  Researcher: B+

  Crafter: D-

  Healer: F

  Controller: C-

  Explorer: B+

  Please walk through the door corresponding to the role you wish to take.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera stared at the board for a moment. It was nice to see her compatibility. No one ever told them this kind of thing would be here. Then again, that could be a way to stop the recruits from trying to push things in a certain direction. At the same time, she wondered how the simulation got that information. None of the recruits tried making something, and they couldn't even use magic. How it graded them as mages?

  After a couple of moments thinking about that, she realized that this wasn't the moment to do so. She was still in the middle of the test and had only one week to complete it.

  Hera looked around and saw nine pearl white doors behind her. Each of them had a symbol and a name tag on it representing the nine roles.

  Hera spent most of the last month thinking about what role to choose. Even now, she was still divided. She wanted to use magic, but being a researcher seemed even better. She could learn so much searching for ruins and things no one else saw. If she became a crafter, she could spend her days making jewelry and other trinkets. It was a hobby she had ever since she was little, even if she had abandoned it in recent years. Being a hunter and even a controller could also work very well. Hell, she could even imagine being a fighter to be interesting.

  In reality, there were too many options. Everything sounded amazing, and that made her choice easy. Even if it wasn’t the best match for her compatibility.

  After all, if she couldn't bring herself to decide on a single role, she could simply choose them all.

  Hera looked towards the door with a compass above it. It was the last one on the right. It seemed like the order was the same as the order presented on the blackboard. She walked towards it and placed her hand on the frame as she was supposed to do when using a Doorway.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Do you wish to choose [Explorer] as your role?

  [Yes] [No]

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera pressed yes, expecting the door to open. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes, as if she were blinking. There was a feeling of warmth as if she was being submerged in a bath, with the water just the right temperature.

  It was one of the most relaxing feelings that Hera ever felt. A few moments later, she regained control of her body, and the temperature changed. There was a soft breeze hitting her back and the smell of grass reaching her nose.

  Finally opening her eyes, Hera looked around. She had just arrived in a forest, with large green trees all around her. Birds were singing, and the sun rays shined through the trees, giving the entire area a fairytale-like atmosphere.

  Before Hera even started walking, there was a notification in front of her. This time, an actual System notification not something clearly made by the Guild.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Role test: Explorer

  The green forest and its residents hide many secrets, discover most of them to complete the test.

  This area is part of a simulation. Denizens of this place might have limited interaction capabilities.

  Current discovery progress 0%

  []?????????????

  []?????????????

  []?????????????

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera stared at the words. It was an excessively broad mission, as there was nothing to give her direction on how to start. What if there was something hidden under a rock she needed to find? Or if a specific tree had a specific marking that needed to be deciphered in a different language.

  After rereading it again, she let out a lengthy sigh. Hera never expected the explorer's test to be easy, but this seemed unreasonable. On the other hand, she was in the middle of a forest that came right out of the books she read when she was little. A small part of her was just happy that she had the chance to explore the entire area.

  Before starting to move, Hera remembered what she learned during training. When finding herself in a strange and unexpected place, the first thing to do was to take note of her surroundings and look for any landmarks. She was in a forest, that had been established, but from her current position, there was more information she could gather.

  First, it looked to be close to noon as the sun was high in the sky. Second, she wasn't alone. The chirping of birds was enough to prove the existence of life nearby. Strangely enough, the trees themselves were not making any noise. Even when the leaves were rustled by the wind. In addition, there were no small animals walking about or bugs zooming across the area.

  She couldn't see any tracks either. Then again, remembering what Mr. Greyson taught her, this only meant that no animals had passed by since she arrived. Unlike Rooms, which were very much like the real world where time went by normally, dungeons didn't.

  In other words, entering a dungeon was like hitting play in a video. Things only started to exist, and move once someone was there to perceive them.

  Still, despite all of her thinking, Hera started walking. She had no idea where she should go, but standing around wouldn't help. It took a few minutes, but eventually, a different sound caught her attention.

  She kept walking towards this new noise, not recognizing it at first. After a few moments, it became clear it was the sound of running water. For the first time since she began the exam, Hera realized how thirsty she was and dashed towards the sound.

  The trees were still the same even here, a lush, vibrant green that seemed almost impossible to be real. Soon the earth soil gave way to a rocky area, with a clear water creek running in the middle of it. Hera walked close to the riverside and was about to grab some water with her hands when she stopped.

  "Calm down, Hera. You are doing well, don't mess up now. Every time you find a source of water, you need to check it before drinking it."

  She grabbed a small rock and tossed into the river, seeing if anything would come out. Nothing came to the surface, and the stone she tossed was lying still at the bottom of the brook.

  The second step was to see if any animals drank that water. Hera looked around, trying to find any markings or tracks that could show that animals came here, but to no avail. She followed the creek, hoping there were some signs of life near the waters. Her throat was dry, and she was feeling lightheaded. Still, Hera pressed on, wanting to make sure if that water was drinkable.

  After hiking for a few minutes, Hera saw a larger rock sticking out of the riverbank. On top of it, there was something that looked like a giant green apple. About the size of a basketball.

  "Is that a real apple?" she mumbled to herself.

  If it were, she could not only quench her thirst but also eat something. However, it was too obvious. It felt like a trap. Hera picked a tree branch and approached the rock. When the thing was in range, Hera poked it with the stick. It was surprisingly soft, almost as if she were poking a pillow. She gave a harder push, trying to topple it.

  Suddenly a hole appeared, spinning around and closed around the tree branch. Snatching it from Hera's hand and throwing it in the river.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

  Hera's eyes went wide in shock. The apple was... speaking?

  A pair of big blue eyes appeared above the hole. Which now, Hera could see it was actually a mouth.

  "So? Why the hell are you poking me with a damn stick?" the apple yelled in an unexpectedly deep voice.

  "I'm... sorry?" Hera replied weakly.

  "You better be! I was having a nice long nap, and you wake me up like that? What is the matter with you?"

  "I just, Thought you were an apple. The stick was to make sure it wasn't a trap or something like that," Hera blurted, too shocked to come up with a different response.

  The apple opened its mouth a few times as if trying to find the words to reply.

  "Why, for the System's sake, would anyone put a trap in the middle of a forest?" the green apple asked.

  "Well, this is a test, right? I don't know what to expect. I'm thirsty and hungry, and you kind of looked tasty," Hera replied.

  "If you are thirsty, just drink water from the river. And hungry, just eat some bark or whatever you humans eat. What do I have to do with any of that?"

  The apple jumped up and down, spinning in place to face Hera more easily.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Can I drink that water? I wasn't sure I could, so I was trying to see if any animals were drinking from it."

  "Oh, for the love of... Don't tell me you are here without even having the observe or inspect skills," the apple rolled its eyes.

  Hera needed a moment to process that phrase. Seeing an apple talk and roll its eyes was off putting. When she gathered her thoughts, she realized. Using [Inspect] or [Observe] never even crossed her mind. She looked down, blushing a bit before replying.

  "I... forgot I could," she was so focused on the survival lessons that she forgot to use her skills.

  "You forgot...." the apple shook its body like a disapproving teacher, "Kid, you need to step up your game if you wanna get through this. Otherwise, you're screwed."

  "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you," Hera replied.

  She stared at the apple creature for a while, still trying to figure out how it could be alive.

  "What?" the apple asked.

  "Nothing, sorry... do you have a name?" Hera asked, not allowing herself to ask what she was thinking.

  "Yes, I have a name. Do you think only humans can have names?" the apple creature huffed.

  "No, I didn't mean like that. You are just the first talking mons... creature I've ever seen, so I'm not sure how this all works. Can we start over? I'm Hera nice to meet you,"

  She attempted to hold out her hand but changed her mind midway, giving the apple a slight bow.

  "Oh, that was creepy. Do you always go around bowing to people?" the creature asked.

  "Well, no. But you are not actually people," Hera replied with a smile.

  The apple squinted while staring at the recruit.

  "Touché, maybe you are not as slow as it seemed. I'm Peaches. Nice to meet you."

  "Peaches? But you look like an a..."

  "I LOOK LIKE WHAT?" Before Hera could finish the sentence, Peaches yelled towards her. the talking green apple stretched to seem bigger.

  Hera was taken aback, not only by the reaction but by the fact that even without a nose or eyebrows, Peaches seemed to be frowning.

  "Like an... an... adorable teddy bear. Calling you a fruit seems unfair," she finally said.

  Peaches squinted even harder at Hera.

  "You know, I don't like you. Too flattery, too absent-minded. Get lost so I can go back to my nap," the creature said while looking back towards the creek.

  Hera frowned, why Peaches was so mean to her? She did nothing to deserve that.

  All she did was poke him with a stick, and wake him from his nap, and treat him like a monster, and said she wanted to eat him, and called him an apple.

  Realizing she was in the wrong, Hera agreed that it was better to leave him alone. However, the problem remained, she needed some information. While she was thinking, the talking green apple turned around again and closed his eyes and mouth. No longer looking like anything but a giant piece of fruit.

  "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Peaches. And I don't want to cause you any more trouble, but can you tell me what's around here?" she asked.

  Letting out a lengthy sigh, Peaches turned around again, his eyes appearing once more.

  "Around here? There is a forest, then trees, then forest, then trees, more forest over there, and more trees that way, a bunch of wood through there and more forest here. What else do you expect to find in a place like this?"

  While talking, Peaches tilted his head in various directions, Hera paid attention to where he pointed. It almost formed a compass rose. She picked her tablet and quickly made a note about it on the map, along with marking the point where he mentioned wood. It could be nothing, but it was a weird way to talk about trees.

  "Thank you. I'm just going to drink some water and be on my way then," she said.

  "Why are you telling me? Just do whatever you want," he grumbled.

  Hera crouched near the water and activated her [Inspect].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Mineral Water

  H20 - Polar inorganic compound

  Title - Universal solvent

  Water from a mineral spring.

  This drinkable water is rich in calcium and magnesium.

  It is considered hard water.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  There weren't any apparent problems, so Hera drank some. It was colder than she expected, and it had a distinct flavor very different from the water she would buy in a store. It was more refreshing in a way, almost like a sports drink.

  Hera looked at Peaches, who now was still with his eyes open, looking at the forest. She wanted to know what type of creature he was. However, remembering what happened when she used that skill on Helena, she thought it was better not to invade his privacy. Before getting up, Hera washed her face with the water.

  "Thank you for your help. I will be going now," she said, unsure if that was the right thing to do.

  Peaches just looked at her before closing his eyes. Hera started walking in the direction he said there was wood. For some reason, his phrasing was bugging her. Not to mention, it was the only thing he said that was different from the rest. She moved closer to the first tree before looking back at the river. That giant talking green apple was still there, unmoving like an old man resting by the river. Before leaving, she quickly activated her [Observe].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Peaches

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  She let out a sigh.

  "Well, I guess it was too much to ask."

  Turning around, she kept going in the direction of 'wood', hoping she would find some sort of clue about what to do next.

  As she left, the giant talking apple opened his eyes and saw a notification.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Target by low level [Observe]

  [Disguise] in effect

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Honestly, this new batch has no manners," Peaches mumbled.

  Hera walked for half an hour in the direction of what Peaches called wood. Looking at the trees, she groaned loudly. She had noticed a while back that the trees seemed to be stuck in a loop. After a few meters, they would all repeat the same pattern. From the positioning of the roots to the leaves in the branches. It was like someone copied one large picture and pasted it all over the forest.

  This pattern was messing with Hera's head. She felt like she was walking in place. Thankfully, her [Mapping] skill was expanding the map on her tablet. That was the only thing that gave her some confirmation that she was moving. She found no landmarks, nothing different or unique, and no living creatures. Not since she had left Peaches near the creek.

  "Ok, the wood idea was crap. Maybe I should go back," she said but quickly stopped the train of thought," No, I mean, it's still just a 30 minutes walk. Let's go for an hour. If I find nothing, I'll go back," Hera's walk became more motivated again. This whole test was supposed to last a week. In that case, just the travel time between spaces could be somewhat long.

  "Good idea, Hera. You need to be willing to do the hard work in order to pass this test. But also be careful, you know, don't push yourself more than you should."

  "No, you need to dedicate yourself to this, that is the only option."

  "What is the point if you end up hurt? Do your best, but keep your limits in mind."

  "Oh, and who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"

  "Who? I'm you!"

  Hera stopped for a moment. She spent the last five minutes, not just talking to herself. But having a full-blown argument on her own.

  "If I find nothing else here, I'm going to go crazy. I mean, crazier."

  She kept moving and talking. As weird as it sounded, at least it was some noise. It was better than hearing the wind and the birds making the same sound over and over again.

  When Hera was about 45 minutes away from the creek, the trees gave way to a small open field. In the center of it, there were a few houses surrounded by a low wooden fence. There was also an archway with a big wooden slab that read "Woodland."

  Seeing it closely, Hera could say that this place looked more like a homestead than a village. There were only five houses inside the fence. Not only that, but there were also four people standing around in front of the houses. An old man in a farmer overall with a large straw hat, a young girl wearing a medieval peasant dress, a strong, tanned woman, dirty with what looked like soot. Near the entrance, there was also a person wearing leather armor with a green hood that covered their face.

  Hera approached the entrance, activating her [Observe].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hayden the hunter (simulation)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Well, he does look the part," she mumbled to herself.

  As she got closer, the hunter raised his hand towards her.

  "Halt, who goes there?" he said.

  "Hi, I'm Hera. I'm here for the explorer's test."

  Hayden withdrew his hand in a mechanical motion.

  "Greetings, fellow traveler. I hope you find what you are searching for in our small town," he said in a monotone voice.

  "... Thanks? Can you tell me something about this place?" Hera asked.

  "This is the town of Woodland. It's not much, but it is home. We live simple lives here, but these past weeks there's been some trouble."

  "Wait, didn't you call me a fellow traveler? But you live here?" Hera frowned.

  "Woodland is my home. I've always lived here," Hayden replied.

  "Ok... and what is the trouble you mentioned," Hera became even more confused. There was no acknowledgment of her question. And it didn't feel like the man was doing it on purpose. It was almost as if he didn't hear it, or couldn't say anything related to that.

  The hunter gave her an odd feeling. His face being covered by the hood didn't help with that.

  "Quite a few problems appeared in the last month. Farmer Frank lost his trusty rake. Betty, the blacksmith, is having trouble getting materials for the tools she makes. And Little Florence Galit can't find any more flowers to sell. There are also a few monsters who keep trying to invade the town. Something is making them more aggressive, but I can't go look for the cause, or the town will be defenseless. Say, you look like a seasoned warrior, would you be willing to deal with the monsters?"

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Quest Triggered:

  Monster attack

  Hayden, the hunter, needs help to stop the monster attacks.

  Discover the cause of this behavior and put an end to the monster's incursions.

  Reward:

  Information on a secret of the forest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "That was... easy," Hera mumbled.

  She would need to fight some monsters, but at least that would let her find a secret. She still needed a weapon, though. Maybe she could get one with the blacksmith.

  "Hayden, I can help you. But is it ok if I talk to the others first?"

  "Thank you, traveler. I hope you find what is causing the monsters to act like that. Please, come in and talk to the other residents."

  "But I just asked... Never mind, thank you."

  Hera felt like she was talking with a computer program, and a very simple one at that. There were no feeling behind his words. It was nothing like what it was when she talked with Peaches. Still, Hera walked inside the homestead and went to talk to other residents.

  Farmer Frank and Florence Galit, the flower girl, gave Hera the same eerie feeling. It was like hearing a computer voice over speak, and their faces were always with the same expression. Florence looked like she was sad even when she talked about how much she loved the flowers. Frank never lost his satisfied expression, even when he said that without the rake, there would be no food in the city.

  At least she had gotten two new quests.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lost Rake

  Frank, the farmer, lost his rake while picking water from the creek. Find and retrieve the rake near the water spring.

  Reward:

  Information on a secret of the forest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Flowers no more

  Florence Galit, the flower girl, can't find flowers anymore.

  Discover a new place where she can harvest the flowers near Woodland.

  Reward:

  Information on a secret of the forest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  With that, Hera could finish the mission. After all, there were only three secrets in the forest on the original quest.

  "Let me double-check," she said to herself. Opening her tablet and looking for the first quest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Role test: Explorer

  The green forest and its residents hide many secrets, discover most of them to complete the test.

  This area is part of a simulation. Denizens of this place might have limited interaction capabilities.

  Current discovery progress 20%

  [X] Discovered Woodland

  [X] Found Peaches

  [ ]?????????????

  [ ]?????????????

  [ ]?????????????

  [ ]?????????????

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "I guess not," she sighed.

  There were more options now, and since she already discovered two of them, maybe the other options could have a more significant completion rate. If so, it would be easier to finish it. If not, she would need to find 8 more secrets to complete the mission.

  "This is why they give us a week then. Just walking from the creek and back will take a couple of hours."

  Hera closed the mission and looked towards the blacksmith. The woman was staring at her with an annoyed expression.

  "So that's the only face she makes, I guess," Hera said.

  Walking towards the woman, Hera opened a big smile. Even if the people here were mechanic she wasn't going to treat the poorly.

  "Hello, I'm Hera. Hayden said you might be in some trouble. Could you tell me what is going on? Maybe I can help you with something."

  "Finally, I've been waiting for you to come here, you know," Betty huffed.

  Hera was surprised. Not only she had a more natural way of talking, but Betty's expression changed as she spoke.

  "Sorry, I didn't know you were waiting for me," Hera apologized.

  "It's fine. I just need some help to get some materials to make the tools Frank asked. My problem right now is that to make the shears he wants, I need a lighter metal that can only be found when you kill monsters around here." Betty said.

  "Ok, what type of metal you need?"

  "We call it liquid metal. You can find it when you defeat the same type of monster that is trying to attack the town. For some reason, the ones coming here don't drop the metal," the blacksmith explained.

  "Ok, and what monsters are attacking. I have no weapons on me, so I need as much information as you can give me," Hera said.

  "They are some awful creatures. With wide, unblinking eyes, a thick goo oozing out of them. They slither through the ground and devour everything in their path. Honestly, those things give me nightmares," Betty shivered.

  "Ok... that seems really bad, I'll see if I can find one before trying to fight it. Do you have any weapons or things that I can use? I'm not confident in going against them, barehanded." Hera asked.

  "Oh, I have a few weapons in stock. It's kind of boring just to do farm tools, so I practice doing other stuff. What kind do you want?"

  "I really enjoy using a handaxe and a chakram. Do you have anything like that?"

  Betty stopped for a moment and thought while scratching her chin with one hand.

  "Yeah, I think I do. But I'm gonna need it back when you finish killing the monsters, ok?" Berry finally said.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Quest Triggered:

  The blacksmith's plea

  Betty, the blacksmith, needs a material that is dropped by monsters.

  Retrieve 10 liquid metal and give it to Betty.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera read the mission. She couldn't understand why there was no mention of a reward. Maybe this was just so she could have a weapon here. Or it could be some sort of quest chain. It was a bit of a letdown not to have more information about the secrets of the forest, but it seemed fair.

  "Sure, I'll help you. Can you tell me where the monsters live?" While Hera spoke, a loud growl came from her stomach.

  Betty smiled, hearing that noise. "Sure, but do you want to eat first? I was just about to have a late lunch."

  "That would be nice, thanks." Hera followed the blacksmith into her house.

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