MAZE - The Endless Quest

"I guess it would be my dad. Eridan Kingsley, he lives in Burtois," Hera said.

"All done then. Do you have any questions?"

Hera thought for a moment.

"Yeah, a few. The healthcare plan you mentioned, it will last for how long?"

"Three months, or until you go to the second layer of the MAZE. During that time, feel free to visit any guild infirmaries to get healed or do a check-up. Although you can use only basic service from healers. If you want to go to the doctor, then you need to come outside. In that case you can pay with your own money and the healthcare will refund part of the expenses. Other plans can take care of everything, but it"s better to think about it when you come back," Helena explained.

Hera just nodded. It was like the healthcare she had in the bookstore. Since her paycheck wouldn"t be consistent like it was before, she needed to earn money first, and then think about where to spend. She used her tablet to check her bank account. It would be tight, but she saved enough money to pay this month"s rent.

"Good thing I saved some gold," she mumbled.

"Oh! That"s right. You"re renting your place, right? Send this month"s rent to the guild. We will take care of that," Helena said.

"The guild is going to pay my rent?" Hera asked.

"Yes, but you are going to have to pay us back. We know that new explorers might be tight on gold when they are just starting. So we pay your rent so you won"t have to pay the late fee. But we deduct that payment from your first few missions until you pay back the money you borrowed."

"Can I pay part of the rent back right away? I could pay the rent myself, but it could help to have some gold on hand," Hera asked.

"Of course you can, sweetie. I was about to suggest that. You might want to buy potions, gear, and even some rations in Brinefront. Since it"s the first layer, the city has a pretty good variety of shops," Helena said.

"Do you recommend any specific?"

"I do, but we"ll talk about that later. We still need to update your card,"

Hera picked her card and gave it to Helena. The card would work as a sort of badge that she could use to prove she was an explorer. Outside it didn"t have much use, but inside the MAZE, it was really helpful. She could get discounts in shops, accept quests from the guild, and use it to enter en exit cities that had a more strict policy.

Helena took the card and placed it inside a square case. A soft red light started to emanate from inside it.

"Helena, how do you deal with the time changes? I"m still feeling a bit off. We learned that each room has its own time zone, but I didn"t expect the change to affect me so much," Hera asked.

"First of all, I told you to call me Lena. Helena is too formal. Second, I think the test messes you up a bit more than the other rooms. When you finished the group part and chose your role, the place you were in started its day at 8 AM. Usually, the time difference between rooms is smaller, not the 7 hours you experienced. What I do is keep my clock always in the time zone of the real world. With a secondary one in the tablet in sync with the room I"m in."

Hera nodded, maybe that would help. It was weird jumping so many time zones at once. It was barely noon right now, but she felt like she needed to go to bed. A few moments later, the case stopped glowing. Helena took Hera"s card from it. The previous white plain frame turned to a shiny bronze, and the guild"s symbol was engraved on the back. Hera stared at it for a moment. It was a doorway with the doors open and the skyline of a city inside of it. The design was simplistic but elegant. She picked the card and turned it to the other side. Her name was engraved, as well as her role. To the left side, her level was on display.

Helena gave the girl a moment. It was clear that this was a big thing for Hera. The attendant could understand why. She had heard the whole story during the last month. It seemed so mean. Hera wanted this her whole life just for the guild to reject her. It wasn"t fair, the status rule could be there to protect people, but it turned the guild into an elitist group. Still, there wasn"t much she could do about it.

"Hera, did Calvin explain why the cards are bronze?" Helena asked.

Coming back of her moment, Hera replied.

"Yeah, He said that it shows how good and strong of an explorer you are."

Helena rolled her eyes.

"C"mon, Calvin. You are better than that," Helena complained, "This means how much the guild trust in you. As you complete missions and prove that we can trust in you, the guild will start offering more important quests. When we trust you enough, you can change your card to a silver one and then gold. With that, you can get quests that are more rewarding but might require more finesse. For instance, a bronze mission might kill some monsters. A silver one might be, protect crops from a monster attack. A gold one would be escorting a caravan filled with medical supplies."

Hera stared at Helena, "I"m not sure I understand."

"Killing a monster is not something urgent, we might need to control the population, or just some gather materials. It is not something vital. When protecting crops, we need someone who wouldn"t run away at first sight of danger. We need that food, it"s not something that we can just ask anyone, and if they fail, we will have some problems but nothing unmanageable. Now, the medical supplies can be worth more than the mission reward itself. Imagine if there is a hospital in dire need of equipment and we send someone who will steal the goods and sell them wanting to make more money. That is why we have this rating. Sure, gold card holders usually are stronger, but that"s because of the number of missions they completed."

"Got it, so it"s more like your clearance level," Hera said,

"Yes, although we are not a spy agency."

"Are you sure? We know things most people don"t know. We have an underground lab, and most of our work is done away from public eyes," Hera replied with a playful smile.

Helena stared at her friend for a moment.

"Holy c.r.a.p, are we spies? No... but we even have codenames... Are we spies?!" Helena gasped.

"I guess we need to order a martini to confirm," Hera said.

They both stared at each other for a moment and said at the same time, "Shaken, not stirred," before laughing.

"All joking aside, there is one more tier of cards, the custom ones. If you are not only trusted by the guild but have a fantastic accomplishment, the guild might issue you a custom card. They will ask for your input and make something extraordinary. Undine had a flaming red card with a ring of fire around it. Sure it was just an illusion, but it is sooo pretty. Today, most of the top explorers have one," Helena explained.

"Do you have one?" Hera asked.

"Not yet, maybe someday, although scholars tend to have more difficulty to get one."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it is harder for the guild to consider research something extraordinary. Most explorers that have the custom cards saved a town or stopped a landslide or something brainless like that. For researchers, they won"t discuss the accomplishment unless you make something that will affect the world on a larger scale. My research, for instance, is not considered valuable, even though it would help all explorers become stronger."

As Helena spoke, Hera could see she was bitter about the guild"s decision. It was understandable. Very few scientists were given the acknowledgment they deserve. Almost no one could name the person who discovered antibiotics, but everyone knew at least one famous boxer.

"Anyway, you are all set. But you need to wait until your graduation next Sunday before going inside the MAZE," Helena said.

"We are graduating?"

"Of course, sweetie. The guild loves its costumes. We have a small ceremony celebrating your success and the final registration in front of the doorway. Then a small gathering with a few scouts for the groups and companies to meet you all. It"s just a way to introduce you all to the rest of the explorer"s world. I promise you, it is not as dull as it sounds, and there will be free food."

Hera smiled, "Ok. Since there is going to be food, I"ll go."

"Great! Even if you didn"t have a choice in the matter. Now, the ceremony starts at 4 PM. If you get here around 10 in the morning, we will have more than enough time."

"Time for what?" Hera asked.

"For my gift to you, silly. You don"t expect me to let such a big moment pa.s.s without giving you something to celebrate, right?" Helena said with a big smile.

Hera tried to refuse any gifts, but the attendant was adamant. With the paperwork done, the former recruit went home. Stopping by a dinner on the way home, Hera ordered some takeout. She wasn"t in the mood to cook or to eat out.

She wanted to rest, but first, she needed to talk to her dad. Sending a text to both him and her grandma, she also attached a picture of her brand new card. Before waiting for their reply, Hera went to the bathroom to take a well-deserved shower.

She was going to pamper herself today. Using the papaya conditioner that Alex had recommended earlier that month. She was in the middle of the bath when her phone rang. Quickly washing the soap from her eyes, Hera wrapped herself in a towel and saw the caller ID. It was her dad.

"Hey, dad! I did it!" she said, picking up the phone.

"Did it? Did what young lady? Spent an absurd amount of money that could have helped your father"s business? What were you thinking? Do you think you will ever work enough to make that money back?"

Hera"s mood changed the second her mother"s voice came out of the speaker.

���It was a prize, I didn"t pay for the level up. And I"m an explorer, mom. I"ll make more money," she replied.

"What? You are going inside the MAZE? Stop daydreaming, that little card might say you are an explorer, but we both know that you are too scared to be doing something like this. I bet that if anything doesn"t go your way, you will be home crying just like on your 18th birthday."

"Stella!" Eridan"s voice rang in the background.

Hera was clenching her fist. The only reason she cried so much that day was because her mother was the first one to start teasing her about her stats. She heard her parents arguing about something before her dad picked the phone.

"Hey, goldilocks. Ignore what your mother just said. I"m really proud of you even if I"m terrified of you getting hurt."

"Thanks, grumpy bear," she said as she loosened the grip on her hand.

"Listen, I"m going to try to calm your mother. You can ignore what she said. I know you will do great. You are the strongest person that I know. And promise me that you will call me before going on any adventures, ok?"

"Ok, I will. Thanks," Hera said as her dad turned off the phone.

Eridan always acted like her mom was the victim, like she was the one suffering. What about her? She was the one always hearing mean thing being said to her. Stella was even the one who started the whole "OP girl" nickname.

Feeling the soap drip near her eyes, Hera went back to the shower. She felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"It"s just the soap," she told herself.

After leaving the shower, her grandma had replied to the text, asking Hera to call her. She did it right away, unlike her parents, grandma Triss was really excited. She always loved adventures. Hearing her granddaughter tell the tales of her exploits was more interesting than any movie. Hera told everything about the test, from the skeletons to the giant slime she fought. She was about to talk about Peaches when she realized that it could count as her breaking the rules. Apologizing to her grandma she said there were a few things she couldn"t talk about. By the end of it, they had spent two hours talking.

Looking at her texts, she noticed that Bonnie had left her test as well. The girl was now a researcher. During the next few days, Hera decided to be on holiday. She talked to her friends, went out for a few drinks, and stayed home watching TV and reading.

Before she realized, Sunday arrived.