MAZE - The endless Quest

Hera was talking to Alex about her role and how the assassin skills worked. It was a bit different from what Hera expected. The hide buff wasn't about making the skill more effective, but about making your body move in a way that would cause less noise. After she got the skill, she became more aware of the sounds that followed her steps and movement. The damage part was about knowing where to strike. When hitting a weak spot on the target, a skill would trigger increasing the damage dealt as long as the creature wasn't aware of her presence. Alex also said that she wasn't sure how that would work with attack spells. She knew that projectiles gained the same benefits as her weapons, but that was all.

While explaining the concept, Alex and Hera also came up with a few ideas to allow the assassin to do multiple strikes before being discovered. They would attack the same creature together, but Hera would be in a more visible position. That way, the monster would think that the attack came from only one person, and Alex could attack again. It was a crude concept, and it would put Hera in a precarious position, but it could an interesting approach if Hera would be a vanguard.

Leo and Blue kept talking about how the vanguard could work, now that they had one more person to protect and one more four-legged member in the front lines. Hera noticed how everyone was busy thinking about how to get stronger. It was nice seeing that even after coming to the MAZE, the group was still the same. Helping each other improve and having their little study sessions.

"Bonnie, how the hell do you put Y mana into something?" Mark groaned.

"What do you mean? You just do it. You say that this is Y mana and put into the equation," the researcher replied.

"Can anyone else teach me? This is too much math for me."

Blue turned toward Mark, "Are you better with logic? I use the programming method."

"Wait, your spells are programmed?" Bonnie gasped.

"Yeah, I might suck at studying, but I can understand logic. It's even better if I don't have to deal with weird languages and can just say. Hey, if this happens, do that."

Blue started to explain how Mark could use magic with a different method, and even Leo joined in to watch the lecture. They reached the city when Mark was starting to understand what to do.

Hera's eyes were watering as Leo called her, "Hera, we are going to look for those coms that I talked about... Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sorry. There was some news about Lena."

"Bad news?" Blue asked.

"Just news. She might be having some trouble, but she might be fine. It's hard to tell right now," Hera cleaned up the tears that were forming in her eyes, "I need to wait and distract myself for now. You were saying something about coms?"

Leo nodded, "Yeah, we are going to see if we find some version of the visor I was talking about around here."

Agreeing to go for a shopping trip, the group headed towards the Taaffeite district, where most of the commerce for exploring gear was made. They spent about two hours looking for equipment. A few shops knew about what they meant but didn't have any in stock. Apparently, it was something that was mostly used on deeper layers.

After some time, they gave up on finding it in a local shop. Going online, they found a few models being sold on a few different websites. The cheapest model, the one that only had a walkie talkie function and the direction indicator for other linked communicators, was a whopping 7 000 gold.

Giving up on the idea of getting the visor, the group went to a restaurant to eat. As they were eating, Leo got a message from the Crimson Coalition. They had scheduled a training program for a new group of recruits during the next day. It was a mandatory thing, and it only took so long for him to be a part of one because there were not enough members before. It would be a one-week program, and he would be instructed in combat tactics and maneuvers. By the end of it, he would be assigned to a battalion. He still had his freedom to do what he wanted, but from time to time his battalion would be called for drills and quests.

Mark told the group that he needed to work in the workshop. It was part of being one of the Forgershifters. He needed to put some time into working at one of their forges every month. Bonnie also wanted to tweak her spells and see if she can learn new ones. She had a few quests for the Order that she could do right now, mostly research. In the end, Alex, Blue, and Hera were the only ones without any urgent tasks.

During dinner, Hera tried to look for information about how to get her a new role skill. Talking to a few people online and seeing some articles about it, she was able to get some clues. Apparently, she needed to perform the same task one would perform while doing the role test they wanted. If she wanted to get the crafter role skill, she needed to learn how to craft. If it was the synch, she needed to change how her mana behaved. The best way to do it was to ask someone that had the role to explain how they passed the test.

"Alex, do you mind talking to me about your role test? I want to see if I can get assassin as my second role skill."

"Sure, I mean, what do you want to know?"

As they ate, Hera asked about how her test was, what she did, and the requirements for completing it. According do Alex. Her test was about not being seen and killing specific targets. During the first few days, she had to pass through a hallway without triggering the noise-sensitive alarms. Then she had to sneak by several scenarios and kill her targets in a single move. There were a few monsters like wolves, monkeys, and such. The last test was about making her way through a cave filled to the brim with giant spiders that spread their threads everywhere.

She didn't have anyone to talk about the quest, only a video with a shadow figure explaining the task and demonstrating what to do. But between each quest, there was a side room with some food and water, and a bed for her to rest. In that room, there were also a few screens showing a few monsters and their weak spots.

Hera couldn't help to compare with her own test. The explorer's role was about finding everything. She wondered what the differences were for other tests. Could fighters need to be angry to complete the quest?

"Could you do that training with me tomorrow? I want to learn the assassin role skill," the table went silent with Hera's request. She looked around to her friends, "What?"

"You want to learn the assassin role? You? Hera? You?" Blue asked.

"Yeah, I, Hera. What is the problem?"

The group stared at each other, trying to see if someone else would say anything. Bonnie was the one that finally broke the silence.

"Well, you are too... well... let's say kind."

"Yeah, you are too nice to be an assassin," Blue chimed in.

"Exactly, It's hard to picture you as a cold-blooded killer," Leo joined in the conversation.

"What? I fight just like all of you. I already go for the one-hit-kill just like Alex. Why the idea of me being an assassin is so out there?"

"Well. You are always helping us, and you try to be mindful of everyone. You are more like a deer than a shark," Alex said.

"I killed the toad on my own! No one helped me. That makes me a shark." Hera crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair.

"If you are a shark, you are small cute baby one, trying to nibble at someone's feet," Mark said.

Hera squinted at the group, "I can take any of you," she huffed.

Blue laughed, "Probably, but that doesn't change the fact that you are just a kitty."

"Only more reason for me to get the assassinate skills. It's time for the kitty to get its claws," Hera said before ordering a second dessert.

"Awww, don't be like that. Come here, kitten," Blue went for a hug, but Hera held her back, turning the controller's face with one hand while wrestling with her arms with the other one.

"And this is the third reason. This thing is my roommate. After today I need to be able to hide from that," Hera pushed her friend away, "Can you teach me, Alex?"

"Sure, we can go tomorrow. It might be good for me to focus on increasing my hide skill."

"Can I go too? I know that I'm part of the vanguard, but knowing how to hide better can help sometimes," Blue asked.

Hera turned towards the controller, "Are you sure you are not saying that just because you would be the only one alone?"

"I don't wanna stay the whole day in the gym again. It's boring to be alone," Blue pouted.

"Don't worry, Blue. You can join us," Alex said.

"As long as you stop with the kitten thing. It's way too creepy," Hera stared at Blue.

Agreeing with her terms, Blue joined the hiding training. Finishing their meals, the group went back to the hotel to rest. Hera and Blue spent the last couple of nights watching old shows while they talked. As it had become her routine, Hera checked the thread about Helena as soon as she entered her room.

There was a new update. The rescue team had made its way towards the doorway city in the Qeeroni Wilds with Helena and Samera. Both were injured but alive. Tears started to flow from Hera's eyes while she read. Helena was alive. She wasn't alone in the middle of those monsters anymore.

"Hera? What's wrong?" Blue asked as she left the bathroom.

"They found her! They found Helena! She is injured but alive."

Blue jumped over the bed and gave Hera a big hug. This time, the explorer didn't push her away. She had been so worried ever since the broadcast. Still, Hera knew it would take a few days before she could see Helena. Not only would she probably be with the healers for a while, but it would also take a few days before she could travel all the way to the outside.

"Is she ok? What happened? Did they say anything else?" Blue asked, letting Hera go.

As they read through the thread, they found a reply from the leader of the rescue team. Helena, Samera and a few other survivors were holed up inside a giant hollow tree. Samera was hunting for supplies like food and water while Helena used her magic to hide the place. When the team arrived in the area, they fought a few of the monsters. During the fight, the tree was broken, and the team found the survivors. However, they were still dealing with a considerable group of wendigos.

During the fight, they had to flee with the survivors. Samera was already wounded, and she wasn't able to help too much at the time. Helena used her spells to hinder the monsters. Taking away their senses, but one of the creatures managed to attack her before being affected. Yet, they managed to grab the entire group of survivors and bring them back to the doorway city. Helena was with the healers for some first aid, but she would soon be sent to a hospital on the 10th layer. The guild had this protocol set up for every survivor of the attack. They wanted to make sure to give the best care available to the people involved and make sure there weren't dangers involving contact with the creatures.

Hera understood that it would take some time for her to be able to see Helena, but at least she knew that her friend was alive.

"Do you still want to be an assassin? Wasn't the whole point for you rushing to be strong to help her?" Blue asked.

"Yeah, I still do. This just proves that I need to be strong to take care of my friends. And if it's one of you guys in trouble next time, I want to be able to help. I honestly hate how useless I felt."

Blue nodded, "I get that. Honestly, I would get a bit crazy if that happened with my family. If it were one of you guys, I would be in a frenzy, but maybe not as crazy."

"You just called me crazy like three times in a row," Hera pouted.

"It was just two and you fought a two-meter tall toad on your own, so the description is accurate."

Hera poked Blue with her elbow and laughed for the first time since the assault on the wall. All the weight she was feeling on her shoulds simply vanished. They kept talking and watching some shows until they finally fell asleep.