"Did everyone get that?" Mark asked.

"I did, What about you guys?" Blue replied.

The whole group had gotten the notification. Hera tapped on it to read more about that.

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

Gwendelan's mission

When his kingdom's soldiers turned into undead, the kind king sacrificed himself. Using an ancient holy ritual, he became the ruler of those undead.

Unable to kill his fallen soldiers, he waited for a group of heroes strong enough to destroy all the undead inside his castle.

As a thank you, the king bestowed upon the heroes a gift.

Each member of the group can open one chest behind the fallen king to receive your reward.

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

"What the...? Why would he turn into an undead just because some soldiers turned?" Alex asked.

"And why didn't he just kill them himself? This mission is too weird," Leo chimed in.

"I'm more concerned that guild didn't tell us about this," Hera said.

"Yeah, I wonder why no one mentioned it," Blue said.

While they talked, the giant skeleton started to become translucent. It was getting harder to see it with each passing moment. In less than half a minute, the giant had disappeared. Fifteen chests were revealed, all of them were under the illusion.

"Oh, we got a nice prize!" Mark beamed.

"If we split them, it's three each, that's a nice haul," Leo said.

"Not gonna happen," Blue said already in front of a chest, "the message says we can only pick one each."

That was a bit of a letdown, but they still could take the contents of one chest. That was more than what the other recruits got.

"So... any idea of how to choose?" Hera asked.

The group stared at chests. They all looked the same, wooden with old iron locks. They seemed to have some sort of painting around them that was faded. The only thing that seemed to be well kept was a seashell ornament above the lock of each chest.

"I don't know, I'm just going to pick one," Blue said.

The woman walked towards the closest chest. When she reached for it, a notification appeared. She pressed, and the chest opened on its own. Inside there was a single bronze seashell.

"So... is it good?" Mark asked.

"No clue, it just says to bring it back to the guild," Blue replied.

Alex and Mark chose the chest they wanted and picked a seashell precisely like the one Blue got, but the one they got was silver. Hera opened a chest and found a silver one as well. Leo, the last to pick, got one made of wood.

"Why did I get the worst one?" he groaned.

"Maybe that one is the best. Since it's made of something more natural, and this place is all about the sea," Hera said, trying to cheer him up.

The man just waved her off. Hera got curious about these seashells and activated her [Inspect]

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

Gwendelan's Favor (Simulation)

Grade: Silver

A token of gratitude from Gwendelan.

It represents the friendship of the king.

The item generated by the simulation has no value inside the MAZE.

To receive a reward for finding this item, contact the Explorer's Guild.

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

"Do you guys think this Gwendelan dude is real?" Blue asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. It seems too elaborate for a test. Maybe it's a way for the guild to show us a bit of what is actually inside the MAZE," Leo replied.

"They could just be showing how the missions inside the MAZE are. Mr. Greyson said that each room is its own pocket world," Hera chimed in.

"Yeah, but is it that far? Like with kingdoms, kings, heroes and villains, and everything else?" Mark asked.

"Why not? We know that there are people who live inside the MAZE and that some creatures are intelligent. What if the explorers taught the creatures about our society and they just made their own," Alex said.

"What about the first contact protocol? We shouldn't interfere with growing civilizations," Mark exclaimed.

"That's just something you see in movies. There isn't a law about that," Blue said.

"Shouldn't we worry about that later? We still have a part of the test to finish," Hera interrupted.

The group moved towards the table at the back of the room. It was a long wooden table, with twenty-one chairs around it. One of those chairs was grander than the others and had another seashell design. It was clearly the king's seat.

Around the table, the recruits saw fifteen gem-encrusted golden chalices.

"I guess this was the intended path," Alex mumbled.

"Yeah..." the group replied, staring at the chalices.

Hera took a deep breath. This was the moment she worked so hard for. After taking this chalice, she would be on the last part of the test. Finishing that, she will become an explorer.

She could feel her hands shaking. Thoughts that she managed to push away came running back. Was she good enough? Could her mother be right when she said she wasn't strong enough to live like this?

Shaking her head, Hera stopped the questions. It was her dream. She had come this far and she sure as hell would not give up now.

The rest of the group had hesitated for a moment, but not as long as Hera. However, seeing the turmoil in the woman's face, they gave her some time before doing anything. When she looked calmer, Leo asked.

"Everyone ready?"

The group nodded in agreement.

"See you guys on the other side, the last one to get out owes the rest a round of drinks," Alex said.

"Forget that I want a slice of cake," Blue replied.

"I'll take a double cheeseburger," Hera said.

"This is not a restaurant If I'm the last one you guys are getting drinks," Alex cried.

They laughed for a moment before reaching for the chalice.

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

Chalice retrieved

Moving to the completion area

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

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. She felt warmth around her. 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 a big white room, just like the one she got her weapons at.

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

Congratulations on completing the test of the Undead King

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

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

Hera frowned. She was supposed to leave her weapons here? That seemed weird. She wasn't sure if there weren't going to be any more battles ahead.

She placed her handaxe and her chakram on the marked white table. The weapons seemed to dissolve in the sand and vanish from her sight right after she set them. Hera jumped back, worried that it was a trap of some sort. But after a few seconds, nothing else happened.

Looking around, Hera saw a blackboard and walked towards it.

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

Results

Trial: Test of the Undead King

Mission accomplished

Hidden mission: Completed

Role compatibility:

Fighter: D+

Mage: A

Assassin: C-

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. But she wondered how the simulation got that information. None of the recruits used magic or tried to make something. How could it talk about being a mage or a crafter?

After a couple of minutes 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 one week to complete it.

She looked around and saw nine pearl white doors around her. Each of them had a symbol and a name tag on it.

Hera spent 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. Being a hunter and even a controller could also work very well. She liked the idea of knowing her enemies as well as controlling the battlefield and helping the group.

In reality, there were too many options, and that made it easy. Even if it wasn’t the best match to her compatibility. Since she didn't know what to pick, she could simply choose them all.

Hera looked towards the door with a compass above it. She walked towards it and placed her hand on the frame.

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

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

Yes No

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

Hera pressed yes and walked through the door.

##################################

"So... No dropouts, that's a bit rare," Cicero said.

"Not in my class, it ain't. If they can't even beat this, Ah won't bother teaching them," Greyson claimed.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure even the great Greyson had a few dropouts," the woman in the long purple robes, said.

"If ye like Ah can show ye my graduates, Katrina. Never a recruit that made it to the last test dropped out with me as their teacher," Greyson said.

"As much as I hate to give his ego room to grow. That's true," Helena chimed in.

A few explorers stared at Greyson. It was an impressive feat. Even if the man was known for being ruthless.

"Fine, but what were those chests at the end? I've never seen those in a test," Cicero asked.

"Really? Those are part of the secret mission, every test has at least one," Katrina replied.

"What? Seriously? My class barely complete the test, and you are telling me that there was more?" The man cried.

While the two explorers talked about the test, and the rest were busy with the bets. Greyson approached Frostbite.

"So, did ye get what ye came for?" he asked.

"Yes, there are some up-and-coming candidates. And don't worry, Calvin. I'll talk to them during graduation, not before," she replied with a smile.

"Great, so that means we are even. Don't come asking me for this kind of crap again," the instructor barked.

Janna just gave him a nod, which made the man walk away. It was a shame he couldn't see the value of working for a big company. Even worse was having to use one of her owed debts like this. But a job is a job. Since New Dawn wanted some fresh recruits to groom, she could only do as they wanted. Luckily, aside from Blue, who already was a fantastic controller even without the skill, Anaya had the type of personality they asked for. Someone who will complete their task at any cost.

Janna walked away from the reception and towards the elevator. Now she just had to wait and see who would be able to complete the last part of the test. Then she could start recruiting them.