MAZE - The Endless Quest

Charging at the kobold, Hera hit its shield with her shoulder, trying to push it back. At the same time, she raised her sword to block the mace. To her surprise, the creature didn't budge with her tackle.

The mace hit the sword, making it flying off Hera's hand. The impact was strong enough to make her fall to the side. Not missing a beat, the monster swung down its mace, aiming for the recruit's head.

Hera rolled to the side, hitting the wall of the arena. The mace struck the ground, making a loud sound. Hera tried to get up while grabbing her handaxe.

Using her back leg to push herself away from the wall, Hera slashed at the kobold. The creature raised its shield to block the attack. Splinters went flying off after the impact, but the shield was still in one piece.

Ducking to the left, Hera went to pick up her sword while the monster still had the shield blocking his vision. She grabbed the sword and ran past the kobold, reaching the center of the area. She looked around, searching for another way out, but there was only the tunnel she came from.

The creature barked at Hera, saliva flying off its mouth. All its teeth looked sharp. If she got bitten, it would be bad. But the kobold didn't charge at the woman. It just stared at her.

Hera took this opportunity to try to come up with a plan. She had only one skill that might help in a fight, but it was a Hail Mary. This wasn't the time to use it.

She looked at the creature. The mace was in its left hand, while the shield was in its right hand. The shield was also big, it covered almost half of the creature. Even if it protected the monster, it would still be tough to move around with something like that.

Walking to the side, Hera tried to gauge the speed in which the kobold could turn. She started slowing and then speeded up. The monster had some trouble turning. Not too much, but at least some that could give her a chance. Hera dashed to the right and tried to move towards its blind spot.

It seemed to have some trouble to follow her. With a smile, Hera moved closer to strike it. When she was in range to strike, the creature dropped the shield, showing it already had the mace mid-swing. Hera's eyes went wide. She tried to stop her movement to evade, but it was too late. Before she could move away, the mace struck her on the shoulder, sending the woman tumbling to the side.

It hurt so much Hera couldn't think. She blinked a few times, trying to focus her eyes. The kobold wasn't leaving any time for her to rest. Charging again towards the woman, it barked nonstop.

Seeing the creature run towards her, Hera panicked. She crawled away, trying to flee. It took more effort than she was expecting to get up. Her arm was still numb from the pain. The sword was on the ground, but she couldn't care less about that right now.

Finally getting up, Hera ran to the side. Closely followed by the kobold. She grabbed her handaxe with both hands and stopped abruptly. With a batter stance, she waited for the kobold to get closer.

The monster crouched down and lunged at the recruit with its mouth wide open. Hera swung the handaxe hoping to hit the kobold. The creature had no way to maneuver in the air and it was hit on the side of its head.

Hera's balance was off during the attack. The creature fell on top of her, making her collapse to the ground. She pushed the monster away and, for the first time, noticed the blood coming out of its wound.

Hera stared at the pool of blood forming by the creature's head. The blood was covering small rocks and pebbles that made it look like there was vermin swimming in the blood. She wanted to turn away, but before that she saw the kobold's eye. It was almost halfway out of the creature's skull, the yellow of it mixing with the red, giving it a sickly pus-filled orange tint, that reminded her of a rotting punpking. Hera quickly turned away from it, throwing up on the wall.

She had killed something.

That thing was alive, and she killed it. She had taken the life of a living thing.

Through the corner of her eye, she saw a small flicker coming from the tunnel. Hera turned her head and stared at the torch that was inside the path.

The torches that always follow the same pattern. This wasn't real. It was just a simulation.

But...

As an explorer, she would have to kill things. Even if she decides to be a crafter or a researcher. Killing monsters is part of the job. She had to get used to it.

Hera kneeled beside the monster and forced herself to look at the wound on the side of its head. Seeing part of the bone exposed, she turned her head away.

"No... Hera, you need to get used to it." She told herself and stared at the wound again.

Fighting the urge to vomit again, she engraved the slash in her mind. There was a reason she was here, she needed to get over this. When she finally had enough, she turned her head away once again.

Thinking about what she was doing here, Hera realized one thing. She had beaten the boss of the cave, right? The test was over.

Looking around for a notification, Hera failed to notice the kobold move. In a quick motion, it pushed itself from the ground and bit down on the recruit's wrist.

Hera screamed in pain and started to punch and kick the monster, trying to make it stop. The creature, however, seemed to not be bothered by the attacks. Its jaws tightening even more around Hera's arm.

Feeling a warm liquid wrap around the bite, Hera fumbled after her handaxe and hit the kobold's neck with the blade over and over. More blood came gushing out of it. Only when the axe cut through half of its neck, the creature finally stopped moving.

Hera still had to pry its jaws open to remove her arm from it. When she was finally done, she could see that her left hand was completely covered in blood. Feeling a bit dizzy, Hera tried to cut a piece of her clothing, trying to tie up her arm so she wouldn't bleed out.

She sat down, farther aways from the kobold's corpse than she was before, and tried to rest a bit. This time the test had to be over. Maybe there was a problem or something with the simulation. Hera picked the key chain that Mr. Greyson gave to all of them and stared at it for a while.

Maybe the test wasn't over, and if she pressed it now, she would have failed. But maybe she would risk herself too much by staying here. Mr. Greyson said that we could get really hurt.

Before she could reach a decision, the bars in one of the holes on the wall started to move. Surprised, Hera kept staring in shock at what she was seeing.

Five kobolds exited the hole. Four had the same features as the one she just fought. But the last one was bigger, it was taller than her. It also had a thick black fur, red eyes, muscular body and held a rusted longsword in one hand.

Instinctively Hera activated [Observe].

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

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Kobold Trainer - Leader (Simulation)

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She had to kill that?!

Hera instantly pressed the button on the key chain. But nothing happened. She kept pressing the button desperately while the kobolds looked at their fallen brethren. They howled in pain, and the faces snapped at Hera, growling loudly.

Hera looked at the tunnel she had come from and ran towards it. The kobolds barking in pursuit.

Hera kept running with everything she had. Hearing the loud noises the creatures were making getting closer and closer. She saw the tunnel get wider, and she remembered that the path had split before this part.

She bolted towards the larger area and made a U-turn, diving in the tunnel she hadn't taken. The creatures kept barking, still close at her heel.

Hera kept running, hoping there was something that she could do to save herself. She stepped forward, and her foot sank deeper into the ground. A small clank sound coming from her right followed that. She looked at that direction in time to see a small flash of metal heading towards her.

A dozen arrows fired from the wall. Four ended up hitting Hera in her chest, arm and leg. She fell to the ground in pain. Having trouble catching her breath, Hera looked down and saw that one of the arrows sank deep where her lungs would be. The other one was sticking out of her stomach.

The kobolds were still running towards her. Hera tried to crawl away. Tears running down her face.

"I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die."

She kept saying those words over and over while pushing the button desperately.

The kobold stopped barking and moved closer, making a circle around Hera. The leader gave Hera a malicious grin and all the monsters opened their mouths.

"I don't wanna die."

Before closing her eyes, the last thing Hera saw, were the kobolds about to devour her.

She kept waiting to feel the bites, but nothing happened. Opening her eyes slowly, Hera noticed she wasn't in the cave anymore.

She was back in the white room, her wounds were gone and she was in her normal clothing. She looked around, searching for something that confirmed the cave was real when she saw a notification above a doorway.

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Test over, please exit the room.

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Hera stumbled over towards the doorway, still trying to understand what had just happened.

When the door opened, she was back in the auditorium. A few other recruits seemed to be back already. Percy was sitting on the corner staring at the air. Isabel was hugging her legs, and Wallace sobbed quietly.

Mr. Greyson stared at Hera and said softly

"Take a seat lassie, when everyone is back Ah have a few things to say."

Hera sat down, still trying to understand. Was that all a simulation? But the pain felt so real. She stared at her arm, the one the kobold had bitten. There were no markings, no scars, and no lingering pain.

After some time, other recruits exited the simulation. Alex was pale and kept rubbing her neck. Bonnie had a serious expression, but her eyes were red and swollen. Anaya seemed to be fine, but when her friends reached out she snapped at them. Leo was one of the last ones to leave the simulation. He seemed to be fine, just angry. He sat down beside Hera without saying a word.

The last recruit to leave the simulation was Blue.

The girl stepped out, saw the class, turned to the teacher and said.

"Can I try again?"

Mr. Greyson shook his head.

"Not today, lassie, have a seat."

Hera kept staring at the girl. Why would someone be willing to go through that again?

The teacher deactivated the doorway, making it vanish. The whole room seemed to be more relaxed after that.

"The reason I gave ye all this test, was to show ye that the MAZE is not a game. When ye go there, fighting for yer life will be a regular thing. It doesn't matter the role ye choose. Ah want ye all to understand that. It's no shame to be scared to lose yer life."

The teacher came down from the stage and sat on its edge, staying closer to the recruits.

"Ye must have heard that today, the guild has more explorers than ever. But that's a bunch of bull crap. Our numbers are even smaller than after the Devil Hunt. Our world is too comfortable, very few people are willing to risk yer life to explore someplace like the MAZE. If after the test ye still want to be an explorer that's fine, and if ye are afraid."

The teacher stared at the recruits, focusing on the ones that seemed to have a harder time dealing with the test.

"That's ok too. No one is forcing ye to be an explorer. If ye want to give up now, ye can still work in the guild. There are many jobs, maybe one will be to yer liking. Ye don't have to make a choice now, but those who already chose not to enter the MAZE are free to go."

Mr. Greyson barely finished his sentence when Mark got up and left the auditorium without saying a word. A few moments later Wallace and Isabel did the same.

"If ye still haven't decided, take yer time. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and rest. If ye give up now, but change yer mind later, ye can start the training again, although I think there is a fee in that case. But nothing too pricey. Go home, rest and think about what ye want to do with yer life. If ye come to class on Monday, we keep going with the training. If not, no hard feeling and Ah wish ye all the best."

The class stayed silent for a while. The recruits taking in what the teacher had just said. Suddenly the door opened, and Mark walked in. Seeing the whole room stare at him, he said.

"Sorry, I really needed to go to the bathroom. What did I miss?"

Cutting the tension that way made even the teacher start laughing.

"Goddamnit, laddie. Do you have a hidden skill for that?"