Hera arrived at the guild early. She didn't want to come so soon, but Helena was unyielding on the subject. It didn't matter. If the gift was too much, she would refuse it or give Helena something just as pricey. Since she wanted to be like that, Hera would beat her at her own game.

  The mage had told Hera to meet her at 10 am sharp. It was already 10:15. Helena wasn't one to be late, but she could be doing some work. There was no reason for Hera to be worried. Besides, it was a hot day, and the AC in the guild reception was lovely.

  "Hera! I'm so sorry for being late. I overslept," Helena walked in without her guild uniform.

  She was wearing a more casual outfit instead. Jeans and sneakers with a white t-shirt and a cropped jacket.

  "That's rare for you," Hera smiled.

  "Yeah, I ended up watching a show before bed to relax, but it got exciting."

  "What's the show about?"

  "It's called Alazar the Last Wind Shaper. It's a cartoon about a world with elemental based countries. But there is a war going on because the lightning shapers attacked. It started with a really mellow tone, but by the second season, it became so much better. Anyway, let's go. Your present is not here."

  Hera got up and left the guild with her friend. They kept talking about the shows they liked and comparing notes and theories about a few that they both enjoyed. It was the first time Hera hung out with Helena outside the guild. She felt happy knowing that they could meet like this, just as friends.

  About ten minutes after they left the guild, Helena stopped.

  "And here we are," she said, pointing to a window.

  "Where... No, Lena, please don't do this," Hera pleaded.

  "It's a big day."

  "Yeah, but don't make me do this. Please,"

  Helena stared into Hera's eyes, "We are doing this."

  Helena started to drag Hera inside the store while the explorer groaned loudly. The people walking through the street wondered why someone would be so upset about going to a boutique.

  What followed was among the longest two hours of Hera's life. Helena made her try on almost every single dress in the store. From simple black gowns to weird pink fluffy dresses filled with ribbons.

  "That one is great. All you need is a cane and a sheep," Helena laughed.

  "Oh, bite me. I would love to see you pull this one off," Hera grumbled.

  Helena got up, grabbed the same dress in her size, and a wide black hat. After a few moments, she left the dressing room. The dress was still silly, but the way she moved reminded Hera of a model. Even in the weirdest of outfits, they can still show how beautiful they are.

  "That's not fair," Hera mumbled.

  "And why is that?" Helena said as she sat in a chair with both hands on one knee. Somehow, that made her even more elegant.

  "Because of that. It has to be a skill. How can you look good in that?" Hera huffed.

  Helena stared at her for a moment. She was analyzing the woman in front of her. Her long blond hair was naturally wavy, and her eyes had such a beautiful hazel color. And yet she wasn't aware of just how pretty she was. Maybe she could give her an extra push.

  "Well, it is a skill, but more akin to cooking a dish than to an actual skill the system gave you."

  "What do you mean?" Hera asked.

  "I guess your All in is a good example. You know how you can focus your strength on a single point? Like when you are throwing a punch."

  Hera nodded.

  "There are ways to do that with all attributes. Well, I say all, but I have no idea how to do this with luck. Now, back to the main topic. With agility would be running or moving fast, intelligence means focusing on something mentally taxing, but did you ever wonder what it would be to focus on your charisma?"

  Hera shook her head, "I can't say I have."

  "Well, it's hard to explain, but it is like focusing on your presence, like trying to appear regal and dignified and make everyone see it. Or doing the opposite and being a wallflower."

  "I'm good at that one," Hera chuckled, but she stopped to think about what was being said.

  It was like hearing those cliche things that people say in movies, stuff like ki, bloodlust, or killing intent. All of that just sounded like fantasy things, not really applicable in real life. Unless there was a skill involved.

  "Sorry, but I still don't get it," the Explorer shook her head.

  "I know. It took me a long time to do so, too. My teacher was the one who actually told me about this. The best way to practice this feeling is to pretend like you are doing it," Helena explained.

  "Lena, are you asking me to play pretend?" Hera raised one eyebrow.

  The mage giggled, "I guess I am. Try another dress, and when you come out, pretend like you are a queen from ancient times."

  After some convincing, Hera tried Helena's suggestion. She remembered the movies and shows about royalty. Most acted like the world was there to serve them, but a few were different. They were respectful of all and very attentive.

  At the same time, they would only grab the spotlight when needed. If not, they would be in the background. She always liked those characters. Since she was going to pretend, she might as well pretend to be a character she liked.

  As she left the dressing room, Hera scanned the area, trying to see everyone in the room. She was wearing a dark purple long dress with a belt in the middle. There were buttons on the top of the dress that made it look like the dress was actually a skirt and a dress shirt.

  Helena watched Hera. She was moving more slowly and carefully. She had a serious expression in her eyes that was a mix of discomfort and interest. Probably due to the entire thing not being something natural to her. Yet, it seemed like a step in the right direction.

  "Keep practicing it, if your skill activates, you know you are on the right track. You have the advantage of having that as confirmation that things are working."

  Hera knew that Helena was trying to be supportive, but she felt silly. Even though she like the dress. Despite feeling like it was too much for her. She never wore something this elegant. A part of Hera was worried she was looking like a sack of potatoes with makeup on.

  "Now, about the dress..."

  Hera flinched. Could the mage read minds?

  "I loved it. It is so cute. I love how purple looks with your hair," Helena smiled

  "Thanks, I think I'm going to get this one. I really liked it," Hera looked at the price tag. 85 gold? For a dress? "On second thought, I'm gonna look for something else."

  "No, you are not, you just want to look for something cheaper. How much is it?" Helena got up and looked at the price, "That's it? Sweetie, that is really cheap. And you know that I'm paying. What's the problem."

  "Lena, that is too much for a dress. I can eat for two weeks with that money."

  "You are an explorer now, a day's work you give you three times that. Trust me when I say that this will be nothing."

  After some convincing, Hera finally gave in and let Helena buy the dress, even if she promised herself to buy something amazing to the mage after returning from the MAZE.

  "Now, we have one last stop. Should we go to the Hair Salon or lunch first?" Helena asked as they left the store.

  "Didn't you get a haircut last week?"

  "I'm not the one getting a haircut," Helena said with a smile.

  "Helena. Please, the dress is enough."

  Hera stopped walking. She was already uncomfortable about letting Helena pay for the dress. The last thing she needed was to try out a new look for a party. Helena only needed one look to understand how nervous Hera was.

  "Ok, one step at a time. But you should consider having a shorter haircut when you enter the maze. Long hair can be a problem when fighting."

  Hera promised to consider it, and the two of them looked for a place to eat. A few hours later, they stopped at Helena's home to get ready. She had a small flat just a few minutes from the guild.

  Half an hour before the graduation started, the pair was walking towards the guild. Hera wearing her purple dress and Helena with a black pantsuit. She could have gone with a flashier look, but this was the recruits moment, not hers. As they were arriving, Hera noticed a familiar blue-haired woman in the reception.

  "Blue?"

  "Hera!" she said as she walked up to hug the explorer, "Wow, you look so pretty."

  "Thanks, you look amazing too."

  Blue was wearing a sleeveless white dress that went to her knees. It was fitted so that it would show her curves. In another person, it would highlight their breasts or waist. However, what popped on Blue were her arms. After finishing her role quest, the now Controller gained a skill that improved her musculature.

  "Damn, girl. Those are some nice guns," They looked back and saw Alex arriving wearing a gray pantsuit without a shirt on, letting her chest be ever so slightly visible.

  "What did you expect from the future best Controller in the world?" Blue said as she flexed her arms.

  Helena left to prepare the final touches for the ceremony. And the trio kept talking. Once again, they all started talking about their tests. It was the only topic any of them were interested in in the past week. Alex finished her Assassin test in five days, while Blue only took three to learn the control skill.

  As time went by, the rest of the class arrived. Leo was happy about becoming a Hunter, and Bonnie, the Researcher, brought a bag of cupcakes to thank the group for giving her the chalice. Tiffany and Kenji came in but sat on the other side of the reception, but Anaya was nowhere to be seen. Mark ended up being the last to arrive.

  "Hey, Mark. Why the long face?" Blue asked as the man walked in.

  "Hey, guys. I just... don't know why I'm here," it was the first time the group had seen him since the test.

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  "Why do you say that?" Hera asked.

  "I failed the test. I want to be a Crafter, and I was so close to getting the skill. But time ran out," he explained while staring at the ground.

  Hera felt a knot form in her stomach. She knew how much it hurt to fail at something like this.

  "Oh, man. I'm sorry about that. What is going to happen now?" Leo asked while placing his hand on Mark's shoulder.

  "I get a new chance next week. Jasper pulled a few strings. But I have to do it all again, the written test, the group one, and the role test. You know what sucks? I almost had it. To get the skill, I had to memorize the materials and production of three items. A belt, a potion, and an arrow. The potion is what screwed me. I was never a good chemist, and it kept asking to figure out the right temperature, but I had no tools for it. So, I spend a while coming up with a way to check the temperature of the mix. When I finally got it, I showed it to the dumbass AI just to be told that they had a thermometer. They didn't give me because I didn't ask for it," he explained.

  "That sucks, Mark. I'm sorry," Alex said.

  "Yeah, it's fine. I can finish the whole thing in a day now. I'm going to the bathroom, be right back," Mark said as he walked away.

  The mood changed. It was hard seeing one of their friends failing like that. Hera glanced at Tiffany, and the frustration turned into anger. If Anaya hadn't left them alone, they could have finished the group test sooner. Maybe that would be enough for Mark to get his role.

  "I know it sounds bad, but I'm just gonna say it. Only Mark could do something so funny. Can you imagine, he had to make a whole thermometer and only after it was done someone pulled one from a drawer," Blue sneered.

  "Blue!" Hera said.

  "I know, I know. But seriously. In a few months, we will be laughing our asses off inside the MAZE about this," the Controller defended herself.

  "Maybe, but that is way too soon," Alex condemned.

  "Please don't say that near Mark," Leo let out a sigh.

  They stayed in silence for a few moments but eventually, then started talking about the party. Mark came back from the bathroom and joined in. A few minutes later, Helena came back to escort the group to where the graduation would take place.

  Following Helena to the elevator, she pressed the button for the roof.

  "Oh, just a quick tip for you. When these doors open, you will meet all the people who showed an interest in recruiting you. No pressure, but remember that this is kind like a job interview," Helena said.

  "Sure, I can be really chill after hearing that," Leo said, rolling his eyes.

  With a ding, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened.

  On the roof, there was a small Zen garden filled with sand, as well as a few trees in each corner. The floor was built like a deck made out of black walnut. There were tables set on both sides of the area. Some of them were empty, while others had a few different groups of people. Near the railings, there was a small platform just enough for three people.

  The ceremony itself was a bit bland. The guild leader, who was supposed to give a speech, was a no show. Because of that, Adam had to step up. Hera did her best not to seem too bored. They weren't hearing a rousing speech from a general. It seemed more like the principal of a school congratulating the senior class.

  Blue had to be kept in check by Hera and Leo. Otherwise, the Controller would start talking and disrupting the guild master's assistant.

  "As you know, you were all graded during your final test. I will call you to come up onto the stage in order from the highest grade to the lowest. You will also receive a token that you can redeem, along with any other tokens you received during your test, for gold or equipment from the armory," Adam explained.

  Alex was the first one to be called. Adam congratulated her on getting an A on the evaluation and being the top of the class. Blue was the second one. She also got an A, but apparently, the written test was the tiebreaker. They were followed by Leo, Hera, and Bonnie, all of whom got a B. Anaya and Kenjiro were the last two, both getting Cs. The token was just an envelope, and your grade inside it on a piece of paper.

  The only thing that made the thing unique was a wax seal on the bottom of the envelope. It seemed a waste. The seal wasn't actually stopping anyone from opening the letter. It couldn't even be called a seal. It was just a wax stain.

  Hera twisted her nose when he called Anaya's name. She hoped that the woman had failed her test. It would be karmic justice if she had to redo the training. At least she had gotten a bad grade. But she wondered when the traitor Assassin had arrived. The first time she saw her was when she got up on the stage.

  "Now, for those who failed to get their roles skills. Don't worry. You can try it again on the makeup test. If I'm not mistaken, we have one spot available for the one taking place next week. If you fail again, we have another makeup test next month," Adam explained.

  Hera looked at Mark, who was sitting on one of the tables. She tried to give him a thumb up to support him, but the man just replied with a sad smile.

  "Excuse me," Tiffany, who was sitting at the same table as Mark, asked, raising her hand.

  "Yes?" Adam replied.

  "Do we have to pick the same role in the makeup test? I think I'm not made to be a fighter."

  "You may choose a different role if you wish. However, the tests for each role are unique. Don't expect to have an easier time because of what you already saw on this test," Adam explained.

  Tiffany thanked him and looked down, not wanting to .

  "Very well, any more questions?" the speaker asked.

  After a small pause, a man who was sitting at one of the tables near Helena yelled.

  "Yeah, when can we eat?"

  That was followed by the laughs of a few other people who were sitting around. They all seemed relaxed, as if this was a daily event. Then again, for those people it could be. Hera herself might one day be in that position. Yet now she couldn't hold back a smile. She was an Explorer. Not just in the eyes of the System, but the Guild as well.

  "As long as you don't take the trays like last time, you can start eating," Adam Heckled and turned back to the graduating recruits, "Young explorers, let me congratulate you all on becoming official members of our Guild. Every single one of us started just like you, as a greenhorn who was completely lost. But we pressed on, and today, we are all proud of calling ourselves Explorers. I hope you will be in our shoes someday."

  There was another pause. Adam was just staring at the former recruits. They looked at each other, trying to understand what was happening until the speaker cleared his throat.

  "Well, that is it. Enjoy the party and try to know the groups that went out of their way to come here. Thank you."

  Adam stepped out of the platform, going towards a table where Frostbite was with a few other people.

  "That's odd," Alex said.

  "Yeah, why the pause?" Blue asked.

  "Do you guys think he was waiting for claps?" Leo suggested.

  The group stared at Adam. The man was the guild master's assistant. He wouldn't have a wait for claps cue in his speech, would he?

  After checking on Mark, the group then split off to meet the people who came to their graduation. One hour later, Hera finally was able to get a plate of food. She sat on the table at the corner of the roof, looking at the rest of the party.

  She managed to talk to quite a few people, and according to what she gathered, she had met all the groups present. The companies here were the New Dawn, represented by Frostbite. Sprite Technologies, one of New Dawn's competitors. They sent an uptight businessman called Levi Gilbert, who seemed wildly out of his element here. Yet he offered her an interview.

  They would have to perform a few tests, but she could get a starting position earning 5,000 gold a month. She would need to do a certain amount of quests per month and share any information that interested the company free of charge.

  The problem is she would have to share 40% of the pay she would get if she took a quest from another company or even the guild itself. Not only that, but the wording on the contract Levi showed her was vague. The little she knew about law told her that they could even ask for whatever the quest reward was, even if it was an item or something else. The final nail in the coffin was knowing that any materials she brought back were supposed to be sold to the company at a set value.

  Chief Bite was the third company. They were part of the food industry, and apparently, quite a few ingredients can only be found or grown inside the MAZE. A friendly man called Adam Eymann gave his card to Hera, asking her, the explorer, to contact him if she found any exotic ingredients or dishes. His company was even open to working with her as a freelancer. That was quite different from the exclusivity offer from Sprite.

  Hera listened to Frostbite's offer with Blue. To an explorer, the contract would be almost as bad as the one Levi offered. But to Blue, she was willing not only to wave the fee when she took quests from the outside but also to fund her completely until she reached level 10. She would also have a monthly payment of 10,000 gold plus bonuses depending on the number of quests she completed. It seemed too good to be true.

  Hera was worried that her friend would sign the contract right there. Luckily, Anaya approached them, thanking Frostbite for the generous offer and asking if they would be willing to fund her until level 15 if she only took quests from the company. The way she spoke made clear that it wasn't the first time the two talked about it. Frostbite said she would have to confirm it with her superiors but that there was a good chance of agreeing with her counteroffer.

  Once the traitor had left, Blue frowned and asked, "We know the first part of the test was livestreamed. You made her an offer even after what she did?"

  Frostbite nodded, "I know what you are saying. While personally I don't agree with her attitude, my employers do see value in someone who puts the mission first. Someone who is willing to complete it at all costs."

  "So if I work with the New Dawn, I'm going to work with her?" Blue asked.

  "Not necessarily. While I can't promise that you won't need to work together, the company tries to form parties that have similar morals. We have found that this helps with productivity."

  Blue nodded, but the fact that Anaya would be a part of the same company clearly bothered the Controller. In the end, she asked for time to think before signing anything. Which was something Helena advised all the recruits to do. More specifically, she told them to spend a couple of weeks inside the MAZE as freelancers before thinking about a contract.

  Aside from the companies, there were a few groups of explorers. They called themselves by various names. Factions, divisions, alliances, cabals, coalitions, but they were mostly the same. Groups of explorers who shared knowledge and helped each other grow.

  To Hera, those groups seemed much more interesting than working with a company. They didn't offer any regular pay, but they could give her information about quests, items, and places, which seemed much more valuable to an Explorer. They also shared databases among the groups, and even equipment was available as long as you showed your contribution to the party.

  "So, what do you think about the groups here?"

  Helena sat down in front of Hera with a big plate of cheeses and quiches in her hand.

  "Well, the companies kind of suck. They treat each of us in one way. Anaya even got a deal much better than I did from New Dawn," Hera said as she ate the pigs in a blanket she had on her plate.

  "Yep, unless you are one of the gems, as they call them, they only give you a crappy starter contract."

  "Gems?" Hera asked.

  "Very talented people. People who they assume have Hero potential," Helena nodded.

  "That seems like a bad move. They probably only have people who peaked early working for them."

  Hera bit down on another appetizer. Hearing that Anaya might be on the path of a Hero really annoyed her Sure, that might not be the case, but the prospect by itself was already upsetting enough.

  "Yeah, but that's just one company. But what I really want to know is, what did you think about the other groups?" Helena asked as she leaned in towards Hera.

  "They seem nice. The Phantoms of Fortune seem really interesting. They focus on finding treasure. That looks like a good fit for me. I want to be able to explore many places inside the MAZE. But I feel like they are a bit too greedy. Maybe there is some drama every time someone finds a really expensive thing."

  "True, there were some really bad fallouts in that group, but they are good people. What else?" Helena asked.

  "The Forge Shifters are kind of weird. They freaked out about my bracelet since I made it as a recruit. Jasper is one of them, so it would be nice to have a friendly face. And they seem to be the most inclusive ones, I wanna say? Like they don't care about your role as long as you can contribute. But I'm not so keen on the idea of having a fixed base as they seem to have."

  "Oh, but their city is amazing. I spent quite a few years there during my younger years."

  "Like you are so old," Hera mocked, "Moving on. There are also the Shark Fin soldiers."

  "Souldiers," Helena said.

  "What?"

  "Is Shark Fin Souldiers, like Soul but with a dier at the end."

  "You are kidding me," Hera doubted.

  Helena just shook her head.

  "Ok.. they seem less fun now. But they focus on fighting, right? Always on the front lines, looking for the next big enemy. It looks like a great place to improve my combat skills. I'm just not too keen on the militaristic aspect of it. They kept calling each other by rank and not names. And now, that Souldier thing seems to cringe."

  "I guess you are right," Helena said, "but aren't you forgetting a group?"

  Hera stared at Helena. There was one other group she met, but the woman didn't talk about anything aside from the name.

  "Well, there is another one. I think it was called the Velvet Veil, but the woman only said its name and that she wasn't here to recruit someone. So, I have no clue what it is all about."

  "Did you just said, Velvet Veil?" Helena asked.

  "Yeah, why?"

  "That's the guild commander-in-chief's group. For someone to talk about it so casually, they must be a higher up. Who told you that?"

  Hera looked around but didn't find the woman who said she was from that group.

  "It was a blond woman, really tall, and she seemed very strong. She had a long feather earring and a tribal tattoo on the side of her head."

  Helena picked her phone and pulled up a picture of the same woman, wearing a longsword on her waist and a big gray fur cape.

  "Is that who you spoke to?" the mage asked.

  "Yeah, that's her."

  "Holy crap, Hera. You just met the leader of the guild. Leliana Mihafrey. I knew the guild master had a meeting with a bigshot, but I had no idea it was that big of a shot."

  Hera kept staring at the picture, playing their interaction again in her head. Was she rude is anyway, or did she say something that could have offended her? What if she had done something unforgivable to someone so powerful?

  Helena noticed that Hera was white as a ghost, "Hey, hey, sweetie. Calm down."

  Helena reassured her that one of the guild leaders wouldn't do anything to her just for saying something rude. Seeing as the explorer was still distraught, Helena tried a different angle.

  "In any case, I think you forgot one group," the mage said.

  "Which one?" Hera asked.

  "Well, my group, of course. We are a group that focuses on improving ourselves. It doesn't matter the role. We tend to be a more independent bunch. One of our members is even the creator of the ATFs we have in the guild. He is an amazing crafter. Now what we ask is just to help out when you can, and sometimes one of the members can post a quest when they need something to help them. I already have quite a few that I intend to give to you should you choose to join. That being said, our main goal is to look for something specific. But that information is not something we share with those outside the group."

  "I was already thinking about joining your group. Even though you took so long to talk to me about it that I thought you had given up on me." Hera teased with a smile, "what's the group's name?"

  "We are called The Order of the Lost Court."

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