MAZE - The Endless Quest

"Who's next?" Mr. Greyson asked the group of explorers.

There was a small pause. The explorers looked at each other like kids during a high school presentation.

The strong woman who was carrying Mr. Greyson's sword stepped away from the group while saying.

"By the system, people. We are just here to show the recruits, there is no need to be nervous."

She turned to the recruits, "Hi there, I am.."

"Janna Ivanova! Also, know as Frostbite," Blue said cutting the woman off, "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm a huge fan!"

All the recruits stared at the girl. Janna just watched the scene with a big smile on her face.

"And who is that?" Tiffany asked.

"Are you kidding? Janna Ivanova is one of the best explorers in the world! She is ranking 73 among the controllers. She gained the title Frostbite when she held down a passageway for two days on her own against a horde of fire breathing monsters. When the backup finally arrived, they say even the flames had frozen around her." Blue replied excitedly.

"Two days? Ha, those rumors really get out of hand." Mr. Greyson commented.

"You really are a killjoy. Aren't you, Calvin?" Janna replied.

Blue stared at her with a worried expression. Were the stories she heard really a lie?

"What is your name?" Janna asked Blue.

"Pamella Blunt, but you can call me Blue," she replied almost giving the explorer a salute.

"Well, Blue. The stories you heard are a bit exaggerated. First, I didn't freeze any fire. I froze a few monsters before they could use their fire breath. Second, it wasn't two days, but eight hours. If it was more than that I probably would have died there. Last, even though it is a good story. It only happened because I didn't have any other choice. The monsters were going towards a city inside the room, if they got there they would destroy everything and kill everyone." Janna explained.

The recruits were amazed by what she had done. She risked her life just to save a city.

"Did you really risked your life just to save a city?" Anaya asked.

Janna replied with a smile.

"Sometimes you have to take a big risk to protect those who can't protect themselves."

Most of the recruits looked at the explorer with new eyes. They were in the presence of a bona fide hero.

Hera felt guilty looking at Janna. She was worried about hurting herself inside the MAZE. But that woman was willing to go to such a length to protect someone else. Looking around, Hera noticed that Helena was frowning while staring at Janna. But before she could even consider the reason, the controller continued with her explanation.

"Back to the subject in question. Controllers, like the name say, can control the battlefield. The [Control] skill does nothing by itself. But you can use other skills with it to change how the combat will play out. We are split into magic and physical types. Magic types can use effects like slowing down monsters or creating magic walls to change the landscape itself. Physical types, like myself, can control the target of the monster and make the attacks aimed at us be weaker. Like it is with all roles, each person can do it differently. My [Control] skill, lets me encapsulate myself in a layer of ice, that not only forcers my enemies to target me but also freezes anything that gets too close."

Janna walked in front of the dummy and turned back to the group.

"Calvin, Helena. Can you help me with the demonstration? Just hit me with the attacks you did before. Don't worry, I can take it." Frostbite said with a cocky smile on her face.

Mr. Greyson grabbed his sword and gathered that reddish energy on the blade. While that was happening, Helena raised one hand and five halberds dripping out shadows appeared above her. Seeing the two getting ready to attack, Janna flexed her arms, and an armor made of ice appeared covering her body.

A sight like that was already weird enough. Still, the oddest part was how the ice was moving. It would bend without breaking while Frostbite moved, as if it was part of her.

"I'm ready," Janna called out.

A few seconds passed, and Helena brought her hand down. The halberds flew towards the controller, followed by Mr. Greyson. The red energy of his blade seemed to gather the shadows dripping from the magical weapons. The spell struck frostbite, creating that small smoke explosion, followed by Mr. Greyson's jumping swing.

The impact was so strong that Hera, Bonnie, and Mark fell to the ground. While the other recruits had forced themselves to hold their ground.

When the smoke cleared out, Janna was holding Mr. Greyson's sword with one hand, while the other was covering her face. There were three dark spots on her forearm, on the places the halberds hit. Even with such strong attacks, the armor had barely cracked. The biggest damage seemed to be around the hand she used to block the sword.

Janna smiled and walked back to the recruits with her armor still activated.

"This is a type of block skill that I learned thanks to my controller role. It has some elemental magic on it because as I'm sure you all know, the skills you learn are not limited to the role you pick."

Hera was impressed by the display. However, being a controller meant either thinking about the places you were and acting fast with the changes or putting herself in risk at all times. That role seemed to be a bad fit for her. Blue, on the other hand, seemed to have found her calling. Her eyes were sparkling so much they could probably turn off the lights in the room.

"That pumped me, I'll go next if I can try to hit you, Ms. Ivanova."

A short-haired woman wearing a black hoodie stepped forward. She was also wearing a black pair of pants and carried two daggers on her hip. Hera also noticed that the woman had a small piercing on her eyebrow.

"Sure, It's been a while since I practiced blocking. Anyone who wants can try to hit me," Janna said while walking towards the dummy.

The short-haired woman turned to the recruits.

"I'm Mona Al Ley, an Assassin. My skill is called [Assassinate] and it improves both attack skills, hiding skills, and any skill you would use on an assassination attempt. The better I hide, the stronger my attack becomes. Even though the name sound ominous, the skill is focused on dealing with your enemy without being seen, and then moving back. It's not just about killing."

She turned towards Janna, who gave Mona a nod. The assassin vanished in thin air. They were in a big open room, but none of the recruits were able to see her. A few moments later Janna turned around and blocked a dagger coming towards her left shoulder. Mona had just appeared in front of the controller.

The assassin stepped back and disappeared once again. This time, however, Janna seemed less relaxed. She looked around, searching for her assailant. Suddenly, Frostbite spun around and blocked a dagger aimed at her neck with her forearms.

"Damn, I thought I had you," Mona complained.

"It was close, but I heard the dagger coming," Janna replied with an approving nod.

The two of them walked back towards the recruits and showed the damage to Janna's armor. The first strike had made a small dent on the ice, but the second managed to cut almost halfway through the arm guard.

"As I explained. If your target can't notice you, [Assassinate] gives a big boost to your skills." Mona finished her explanation.

"Now that the flashy group is done, I think it's my turn."

A dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and thick glasses walked forward.

"I'm Darrel Fowler. A researcher. Our skill is called [Learn] it helps you to learn about things. You have a handy database of everything you've already learned about the subject you are looking at and some tips on what is missing based on your own knowledge. You might think that is useless since things like math or physics are large subjects. But the skill can break the subject down to smaller parts. And not only studies. Equipment, skills, monsters, [Learn] Can help us improve our knowledge of anything. Although not as glamourous as other jobs, researchers created or discovered most of the skills we know of today. We are also the role most suited to use magic, aside from the mage itself."

It wasn't an exciting explanation, but Hera understood the value of the role. In fact, if she became a researcher she probably could help Helena a lot more than if she was a mage.

Seeing that no one had any questions. Darrel felt satisfied with his explanation and walked back to the explorers.

"Ok, I'll go next."

A man with a thick beard, wearing a white thawb and a trucker's hat walked forward.

"Bros and brodettes listen up. Jasper Alloways here and I'm a crafter. That means that I make things. The skill we learn is called [Blueprint]. Basically, it lets you break stuff down and put your own spin on it. The better you get with that skill the more crazy shit you can pull with it. A buddy of mine is already at a point where he can do some really freaky stuff. He made this staff that if you spin it, two blades come from the edges. If you tap it, it turns into a big ass nunchuck and there is even a button that makes a straw pop out so you can drink some water. Really boss stuff. If you all ever need a commission, hit me up and I'll put you two in contact. Or just gimme a call if you wanna hang, cool?"

Hera was a bit taken aback by the explorer. She wasn't expecting someone so informal to be talking about the skills.

"Bro, does the blueprint tell you about how to make it, and what material you need? Or it's just like this is how the thing is, deal with it?"

Mark asked. He seemed oddly comfortable talking to Jared.

"Nice question, man. It gives you, like, the full cake recipe. What you need, how to make each part, and then how to put them together. After you get good at it, you can check other stuff you find for the compatibility to the blueprint you want. Like, if you make an iron sword, you can check on how well it would turn out if it was made of gold. After that you can even add more stuff to make it your own, you dig?"

Mark was nodding with enthusiasm. Hera never expected him to be interested in crafting.

Having finished his explanation, Jared walked back. A woman in a green tunic and brown pants walked forward.

"Hello, I am Shi Cheng. I'm a hunter. Our skill is called [Hunt]. It lets you learn more about your enemy before fighting it. The more you learn, the stronger your attacks will be. Not as strong as a controller who marked their target. But they only do this with one creature at a time, [Hunt] lets you learn about the species as a whole. You will be able to recognized tracks, markings, and signals of a species you already found easily. It also helps you discover its weaknesses and strengths. Most hunters use a bow or some ranged weapon, but that is just personal preference."

The huntress showed her compound bow. It looked like it was made of something other than metal, but the movement it made was the same.

"Does [Hunt] affects your skills too? Or is it more of a passive effect?" Leo asked.

"Both, some skills gain bonuses from [Hunt]. Not only attacks, but things like [Mapping] and [Hide] too. But your attacks, even without a skill can deal more damage to creatures you already have a good understanding of," Shi Cheng replied.

Leo seemed to be deep in thought. Hera always pictured him as a fighter, but a hunter could suit him well too.

A man with a grey shirt filled with red stains approached the group. He had messy hair and an unkempt stubble with a few holes spread around his chin. He also had large bags under his eyes.

"I'm Gérard and I'm a Healer. We heal people. [Sight] is a skill that shows us how badly wounded something is, and the worst off the person is the more we can heal them. If you think that is nice you are wrong. You can end up being able to see how close to death everyone is. I can even tell you how close you are. Do you wanna know? Can you handle knowing how close the grim reaper is from you and from everyone you love?"

The man started his speech slowly but got angrier with each sentence. By the end, he was yelling at the recruits. Helena cut him off, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Gérard, sweetie, I think you should visit the healers. They can help you rest for a while. I'll drop by later to see if I can do something for you, ok?"

The healer just gave a weak nod and left the room. The recruits were all disturbed by his reaction.

"Don't think Healers are all like that. He just got a very strong skill and is having some trouble adjusting to it. Don't worry, seeing death is not something anyone can do. He just sees each person's health. And when you live in a world where almost everyone has some kind of disease is hard to not be overwhelmed. Now, I think we just need to hear from Omar."

Helena explained the situation for the recruits, trying not only to calm them but also not letting Gérard's reaction affect their mind about the healer role.

"Aye aye, miss. The name is Omar Deeb, and my role is explorer. If you know about the story of the roles, you might understand that they were created when groups trained together. The thing is, not everyone wanted to do that. Some just wanted to keep exploring and learning everything. When the roles appeared, the ones that didn't fit into any of them got nothing. No new skills, no changes to the ones they already had, not even a change in their role. Everyone thought they got the short end of the straw, but it wasn't like that. After a while, every explorer that went looking for role skills figured out that we can learn all of them."

Saying that, Omar activated a skill similar to Janna's. A soft glow covered his body like armor. It wasn't nearly as impressive as the full-body ice armor, and there were a lot of places there weren't covered by light. After that, he disappeared.

The recruits kept looking around for him while the explorers followed an invisible man walking around. Omar reappeared behind the recruits.

"The thing is, our role skills can never be as strong as the original ones. And the more we learn, the harder it is to learn new ones. I have four, [Assassinate], [Control], [Synch] and [Fury]. And I honestly don't know if I can learn a new one. I mean, I can, it's just going to take a lot of time and resources to do it. We also get one last thing. An item tailor made to help us. Even if some are similar no two explorers will have the same item. Mine is this compass, it shows me a type of radar around me. It can tell me where some enemies, where my allies are, and now it even shows me the general direction of whatever I'm searching for. As long as I have an idea of the place. It's not omnipotent. Usually, the item we get is the thing that will help us the most." Omar finished his explanation before going back to the group.

Hera was intrigued. Being an explorer seemed very interesting. Her stats were all the same so that could even help her. But that meant she would take more time to repay Helena.

However, the thing that she was most curious about was the item. If she became an explorer. What item would she get?