The next morning, each and every squad woke up early, quickly getting ready, before heading to the transporter station to begin their evacuations. Each squad would be paired with a veteran squad and sent to a different area of the fifth level of the Maze, where they would have to work together to survive and accomplish tasks for the next two weeks. The veteran squad wasn't allowed to interfere unless a severe threat appeared that endangered the recruits lives.

"Ready?" Beth asked nervously as they were about to depart. She knew she didn't have much to worry about, since she was a high-tier and she had Chris with her, but still, her last experience in the Maze left her with a tinge of fear towards the dangers inside.

Chris nodded. "Ready."

Beth glanced over at him with a frown. "Could you at least pretend to be nervous?"

"You know I can't." Chris rolled his eyes at her. Beth snorted, but she had to admit that his ridiculousness did calm her down. She grinned lightly as she reached out to squeeze Chris's hand, glad she had her stable, calm rock to support her.

The squad began to teleport over in groups of four, starting with the veteran squad, then the recruit squad. The first group was responsible for dealing with any stray creatures nearby, clearing any dangers that might threaten the rest of the squad, so the strongest recruits went first, which meant Beth and three other recruits on the high end of mid-tier would be the first to go. Since the veteran squad had already cleared the area, they didn't need to worry about actual creatures, but the veterans would set up dummy creatures and evaluate them on their reaction time and performance. After the first group cleared the way, the rest would head over in order, until they had all arrived.

The process was going smoothly, until it was Chris's turn. The transport technician suddenly frowned. "Wait!" He exclaimed, before approaching Chris. "Where is your chip?"

Chris frowned. "Chip?"

The technician tapped the back of his neck. "You should have had a chip injected into your spine on your first day of training. This is how the transporter locates you to bring you back to the City. If you don't have one, we can't send you into the Maze."

Chris's frown deepened. "I got the shot… I should have one. Could you give me another shot or is this going to be a problem?"

The technician shook his head. "Don't worry, we can give you another shot. I'm just curious as to how you managed to lose your chip. There's a reason we inject it in the spine. If you lose it, odds are you're dead."

Chris paused as he said that, realizing how he'd probably lost the chip. "Ah, shit, I know what happened. When I die, I don't take anything that isn't me with me. The chip is probably on the ground in the base somewhere."

The technician frowned. "I don't understand what you just said."

Chris shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's just that, even if you inject me with a new chip, it probably won't stay there for long. But don't worry, I don't need to use the transporter to get back."

The technician blinked a few times, before shaking his head. "We're still going to need to give you a new one." He explained. Not much later, an attendant arrived with a syringe and Chris received another painful injection in the back of his neck, before the group could finally be sent into the Maze.

"What took you so long?" Sergeant Callista asked as they arrived, looking them over with a frown.

"It's my fault, ma'am. I lost my chip when I died and they had to inject me with a new one." Chris explained.

"When you died?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why did none of the other recruits lose their chips?"

"It'd only happen when I died outside the world, ma'am, when everything that isn't me gets left behind." Chris replied.

Sergeant Callista nodded. "I see. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't need a chip to get back. Shouldn't be an issue."

Sergeant Callista nodded, before turning to the rest of the squad. "Everyone, we are all aware of Private Vincent's ability, and how convenient it makes traveling in the Maze! However, the large majority of you will not be in the same squad as Private Vincent in the future! Therefore, for the first week of your evaluation, we will not have access to Private Vincent's ability! You will camp like all the others, is that clear!"

""Yes, ma'am."" The recruits replied immediately, though a few bitter expressions could be seen.

Sergeant Callista nodded. "Your first task is to scout and map the surrounding area! Note any water sources, food sources, mineral veins, and creature dens you find! You have three days in total! You will be evaluated on the area covered, and the thoroughness of the map! Dismissed!"

After Sergeant Callista explained everything, the recruits grouped together to plan how to accomplish their task. "Why don't we split into teams of four?" One of the recruits offered. "We can spread out, survey the surrounding area, then meet back here in a few hours to decide where we camp."

Chris frowned. "That seems inefficient…" He muttered, thinking for a moment, before an idea occurred to him. "Everyone, give me your watches real quick." The recruits shared a few weird looks, but by this point, they were used to Chris and his weirdness, so they all handed over their watches with minimal complaints. Chris took the watches and stepped into the Immortal World for a moment, connecting them all to it, before stepping back out. "Alright, so, I've connected all these to my world, so I can track everyone and listen in through the mic. No matter where we go, we can all regroup at any point through my world. Plus, if you get injured or anything, well, you know what to do. What I'm thinking is we split up into six groups: five groups of three, and one group of five. The group of five will focus on finding and setting up camp, while the groups of three will begin surveying. The five strongest will each lead a team, while the next five will make up the camp team. The five team leaders can choose between the ten weakest to build their team. How does that sound?" Chris explained his plan, before looking around for any comments.

One of the other recruits raised his hand. "Could you not call half the squad 'the weakest'?"

Chris paused. "The less strong?" He offered after a moment.

The recruit frowned, before sighing. "Never mind."

No one else had any objections, so they began dividing the teams. There was a bit of argument over who went where, what the exact ranking of power was, but Chris quickly stepped in and arbitrarily assigned people to each group. It didn't particularly matter where each person was assigned, as long as the general level of strength was maintained. Beth was clearly one of the team leaders, and Chris, while stronger, was still in the lower half of the power rankings, so they ended up on a team together, along with Zack, who after Chris ranked up was now the weakest member of the squad. Chris figured pairing the weakest and the strongest members would help balance things out. Additionally, it was good to maintain both long range and close combat capabilities, so they could respond to any situation.

Once the recruits had everything organized, they split up, everyone going about their own tasks. The veteran squad didn't comment on their plans, splitting up to follow each team. Each of the veterans had been assigned to a specific recruit to observe, so they didn't need to plan their own deployment, simply following their assigned recruits. Sergeant Callista was following Chris, along with the captain of the veteran squad, Captain Nefred.

"So, this is the troublesome one you mentioned, huh? Just how much utility does his ability actually have?" Captain Nefred asked, raising an eyebrow at Sergeant Callista.

Sergeant Callista shook her head. "I have no idea. It seems like every time I turn around, he has a new ability or use to add to his repertoire. Halfway through the training, he gained a transformation ability! Whatever squad gets him in the end, they're going to be in for a wild ride."

Captain Nefred eyed Chris with an evaluating look. "A wild ride, huh?" He muttered to himself, before chuckling. "Somehow I get the feeling I'm going to be the one owing a favor after this."

Chris pulled his bow out of the Immortal World, along with a quiver of arrows. His current arsenal was mainly composed of shock and paralysis arrows, since he couldn't get anything more advanced at the moment. He carefully scanned the way ahead of them, his eyes and arms transforming into his other form as he did. He'd gotten a lot better at using partial transformation, so he could selectively bring in the qualities he needed. The other form's eyesight was better, helping him see clearly, even in the dark, while he could just transform his arms to give himself the other forms strength, letting him use a more powerful bow.

"It's a lot nicer up here." Beth commented as they walked. "Compared to the first level, I mean. A lot more spacious."

"That just means larger, more dangerous creatures can live here." Chris pointed out as he continued to vigilantly search the dark tunnel.

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we be, you know, mapping all this?" Zack pointed out.

"I'm taking care of it." Chris replied. "I have perfect recall, so I'll write everything down when we meet back up for the night."

Beth turned to him with a frown. "You have perfect recall? Since when?"

"Since the cocoon." Chris replied with a shrug. Since he'd merged with the Immortal World, letting him be aware of everything that was connected with it, his memory was absolutely perfect. Even if it wasn't, he could always just review his memories like he had when he'd first connected with the Immortal World and remember that way. He wasn't worried about missing anything.

"Ugh, you and that cocoon." Beth grumbled. "Making my boyfriend all creepy looking, giving him stupid abilities."

"Actually-" Chris began, before pausing, his eyes narrowing. "Get down." He ordered, and they all quickly moved to the sides of the tunnel, pressing themselves into the crevices.

[Did you hear something?] A voice asked softly from the tunnel ahead in the goblin language. A group of five goblins carefully moved into the tunnel, looking around suspiciously as they did.

[Nothing.] One of the goblins growled bitterly.

[An entire trip and all we've caught is this dumb slime.] Another goblin complained, shaking a bag it was carrying.

[Maybe if someone would let us go further away from the tribe.] One of the other goblins muttered.

[If you want to die, you can go out on your own!] A larger goblin spat. [I'm not risking my neck rushing into unknown territory!]

The other goblin rolled its eyes. [We're never going to catch anything good if we keep hunting the same areas over and over and over! We need to find new areas to hunt!]

The large goblin sneered, raising its hand and smacking the other goblin, sending it sprawling on the ground. [How dare a weak piece of shit like you complain about my leadership! You think you're the one who's going to be risking their neck out there? All you do is hide behind me! Are you trying to get me killed!?!] The goblin screeched at the cowering goblin, when an arrow came out of nowhere and pierced its head.

The group of goblins was stunned, staring at the lead goblin in disbelief as it stumbled, before falling to the ground, dead. Before the goblins could even react, another arrow shot out, claiming the life of another goblin, while two wind blades took down another. Beth leapt forward and crushed another, literally bursting its head a heel kick. She turned to the last goblin, about to deal with it as well, when Chris stepped forward.

"Wait." He stopped her, before turning to the goblin looking at them with wide, astonished eyes. He opened a portal and gestured to it. [If you want to live, get in.] The goblin's eyes widened even further, looking between Chris and the portal, before scrambling inside as quickly as possible. Chris grinned in satisfaction, turning back to collect his arrows, before pausing and turning back to the others. "Do we need goblin corpses or are those useless?"

"You don't need to collect resources during this examination." Sergeant Callista explained.

"Okay, but are they valuable? I mean, I'm not saying we should go mine anything, but they're right here. We can just chuck them in." Chris replied.

Sergeant Callista hesitated, before Captain Nefred stepped forward. "Goblins can't be used for food, but depending on the quality of their ability core, they could be useful. Taking them back wouldn't be a complete waste."

"What's an ability core?" Chris asked with a frown.

"It's where your ability condenses within your body. It can be anything, a bone, the brain, the appendix, any random part of your body could be your ability core. It's completely unrelated to what your ability is, so it's generally ignored, unless you're dealing with creature remains. Using the creature's ability core, you can make equipment that has similar qualities to the creature's ability. You can buy ability equipment using the credit you earn through your performance in the Scouts." Captain Nefred explained.

Chris nodded. "Gotcha." He then began to toss the corpses into the Immortal World, Beth and Zack quickly joining him, getting it done quickly. Chris paused for a moment when he reached the sack with the slime inside, before shrugging and tossing it in as well.

"So, am I crazy, or did you speak goblin back there?" Zack asked after they finished and headed off again.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I can speak goblin." Chris nodded.

"How?" Zack asked.

"My world… owns? Yeah, owns a goblin, so I know everything it knows, including the language." Chris explained.

Zack blinked. "You- you own a goblin?!?"

"No, my… Well, no, I guess it is the same thing." Chris paused, before shaking his head. "But yes, I own a goblin. His name is Dyrdek."

Zack paused. "What- what does owning something mean?"

"Well, there's the whole, I know everything they know, as I've said. They can also gain immortality like mine, where if they die, they come back to the world completely healed. Finally, they have to obey me… that's all I know so far." Chris explained.

Zack thought about it for a moment. "That… honestly might be worth it."

"Right?" Beth interjected. "If it was someone else, I might be hesitant, but Chris? I can't even see him wanting to order people around!"

Chris frowned at her. "I still say it would be an inappropriate power dynamic for a relationship."

Beth rolled her eyes. "I know, but you aren't in a relationship with Zack, right? You guys could totally do it together!"

Zack froze, glancing at Chris, before shuddering. "That isn't what she meant." Chris explained, shooting a glare at him, before turning back to Beth. "And you, did you even read that list I gave you?"

"Sorry, I forgot." Beth apologized, flushing, before turning to Zack. "I meant that there's practically no downside to you connecting with Chris's world."

Zack coughed, nodding. "I got it. I'll still need to think it through."

"Hey, whoa, hold on." Chris interrupted. "Even if it's consensual, having that much authority over another person leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I'd rather not."

"Chris, this is a matter of life and death! Over the course of his career, Zack has a one in five chance of dying! Do you really want Zack to die?" Beth retorted.

"He knew the risks when he signed up." Chris pointed out. "Besides, no one is obligated to my ability. Just because I can do something doesn't mean I have to."

"But isn't there a responsibility that comes with power? That whole noblesse oblige thing?" Beth replied.

Chris shook his head. "That's referring to the power that others give you. Nobles are only powerful because of the subjects supporting them, so they're responsible for taking care of those subjects. That's the deal they've made. Personal power is something you have regardless of anyone else, something that is innate to you, be it knowledge, ability, talent, whatever, and you are under no obligation to use it for anyone else. You may choose to, but you don't have to. Otherwise it violates freedom, much like my ability."

Beth frowned. "But if you have the capability, how can you sit back and let people suffer?"

Chris shook his head. "I'm not saying you should, I'm just saying you're not obligated. That's why we call people who do that sort of thing heroes. We admire them because they've done something special. If it was just what they were supposed to do, it wouldn't mean anything."

Beth gave him a look, before shaking her head. "If you say so. I still think you shouldn't completely take it off the table though."

Chris sighed. "I'll think about it."