MAZE - The Endless Quest

"Since the beginning, people would gather in places of power for the young ones to get their first level up. And then they would start training and growing. The strong and brave ones would go into journeys inside the MAZE. Few ever returned from these explorations."

"To lessen the lethality of those explorations groups started to form in order to train and grow together."

"In little time, small organizations started to form around the entrances of the MAZE spread around the world, and eventually, they started to interact with each other."

"Because of that, there was a need to make a universal system where all groups could understand each other. With that, we created the roles. Fighter, Mage, Healer, Hunter, Controller, Assassin, Crafter, Researcher, Civilian, and Explorer. Each role represents what their skill and status were able to provide to the organization. As time went by, it became clear that the most dangerous and useful role of all was that of the Explorer. Being able to travel deeper into the MAZE and being the best option to discover new information about what they encountered. Since ancient times, people call any adventurer that dared to enter the MAZE an explorer, even though the ones with that role were very few."

"800 years ago, after the great invasion, the world realized that having many small organizations was far from being the best way to increase our strength."

"And so, the Explorers Guild was created, unifying all the information and strength available under the same place. Of course, that would mean the new organization would be indifferent to political matters, and it has been like that since our foundation."

"Unfortunately, that was not the last MAZE related problem humanity had to deal with, a little over 200 years ago the Great Devil Hunt reduced the number of Explorers to a quarter of what it once was. Due to the heavy casualties, the Guild decided to increase the requirements to enter its ranks. It was a decision made with a heavy heart. Even if they desperately needed more Explorers, no one was willing to put the life of their members at risk for not being strong enough to deal with the dangers of the MAZE."

"Thankfully, that dark past is gone! Today we have more explorers than at any other moment in history. We wish to make our great heroes proud, Undine the Fire Bringer, Khan the Wall Breaker, and our greatest hero Cyrus the Golden. Today we care to make sure that each member is able to deal with the dangers of the MAZE. We are not just a Guild. We are a family. Come join our family today!"

Hera had watched that video more than a thousand times when she was little. But not once since they rejected her.

"Since the beginning, people would gather…."

It was the third time the video looped while she was waiting. The woman had brought her to the gym area to take a shower and dry her clothes. However, since she was not a member, she had to wait in the reception hallway. Thankfully, they had a few tracksuits, so she was at least not naked in the middle of the room. Still, it was very uncomfortable to be without her underwear in a strange place.

The video kept playing, and Hera was done with it. If she heard another mention about the Guild being a family, she would snap. She wanted to be a part of them, and they rejected her.

She walked along the hall until she noticed an archway. That was new. As much as she hated this place, she still remembered every part of it. But not this one. She looked inside and saw the most beautiful stained glass art she had ever seen. It was a simple image of the three heroes. On the left, there was Undine in her blue robes and a tight ponytail with flames surrounding her in a mix of red, yellow, and orange. In the right, Kahn could be seen as if he was breaking through the glass and walking forward, with his long beard, reaching his chest and a bald head. Along with a heavy-looking brown and grey winter coat with a green sash around his waist.

And in the middle, the great hero Cyrus, wearing black armor and holding his white sword with both hands pointed down. Around him, there was this golden aura and mixed in that aura there were dozens of banners, and weapons raised to the sky.

She could hate the Guild for rejecting her, but the heroes were always with her. She grew up reading about them and never let go of their teachings.

Hera bent down onto one knee, placing one hand on the ground and the other on her chest, making sure never to lower her head. This salute was not one of servitude or obedience. It was one of respect and wonder. She knew that and refused to do it wrong. They fought for people like her. They died so the next generation could live. Even if the whole world would ignore her, these three still deserved her utmost respect.

"I don't remember the last time I saw someone doing the Salute so well."

Hera Jumped up, turning around as fast as she could. She only did that because she thought no one was watching. Now that she knew that wasn't true, the only thing she wanted to do was to dig a grave and lie there.

"Sorry, I.. I thought I was alone."

The woman that brought her here was leaning against the archway with a soft smile on her face, holding a few folded clothes.

"There is no need to apologize, dear. I shouldn't have interrupted your moment."

She walked a bit closer to Hera while looking at the stained glass.

"That feeling you get when looking at them is not just the beauty of it. They all have been infused with energy from the heroes."

Hera looked at the woman in shock, wondering if she was saying the Heroes were alive, or if something was being done to their corpses. Realizing the reaction, the woman chuckled softly.

"Sorry, I should have explained better. Each of the heroes left an energy crystal. Those crystals are symbols of their power. Since the energy is always there, we can just take a drop of it to enchant the crafter's tool that was used to make these."

"Oh," Hera felt stupid for even considering other options. It was well known that strong explorers left energy crystals in places they wanted to protect. The woman smiled and gave Hera her clothes.

"You can change in the locker room or the bathroom if you want a bit more privacy, some of our explorers are using the showers now."

Hera grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. The last thing she needed was to deal with other people.

A few minutes later, she was walking back to the entrance where the woman was. She needed to do something to thank her for all the help. Maybe she could wash the tracksuit or bring a cake later.

"Thanks for all the help."

Hera was a bit nervous. She was very grateful. Especially since taking the train with wet clothes would be awful, but at the same time, she didn't want to talk about why she was crying.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you? I mean, I don't think there is anything I can do to help an explorer, but if there is anything, please tell me."

The woman gave a warm smile.

"Actually, there is. I lost a bet with the receptionists and have to wear this stupid costume until I can beat the record on the raffle sales for a day. Could you help me?"

Hera was caught off guard, a raffle? Her luck was terrible, and the last thing she wanted was to waste money on something like that. Still, it was the least she could do.

"Sure, and how many do you need? I don't have a lot of money, but if it's not too expensive, I can buy a few."

The woman grabbed her hand.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's just five bucks each. I need three more in the next ten minutes to beat the record."

Fifteen gold was not cheap, but it wouldn't be enough to give Hera problems to pay rent, maybe just a couple of extra days making food at home.

"Sure, I'll take three then." The woman gave a big smile and rushed Hera to the counter.

"Thank you so much, this costume was fun on the first couple of days, but after a week it gets really annoying."

Hera smiled and remembered the day she had to wear a cat costume for work. It wasn't something she wanted to do again.

The woman took the money and gave 3 golden coins to Hera.

"Now, all you have to do is put them in the candy machine and see what comes out. There is no candy, by the way, sorry for that."

For the first time in the day, Hera laughed a bit. It was a shame she's not even going to get some candy.

She put the coin in the machine and twisted the lever, making the first prize drop, and she did it two more times. Each prize was inside a round capsule that didn't let anyone see what was inside.

"Ok, ok, now open. Let's see if it's your lucky day!"

The woman seemed excited, but Hera was not. She knew what all of them were, nothing.

The first capsule is open, and inside there is a piece of paper that says.

- No prize, sorry :( -

The second one has another piece of paper.

- You can't get lucky every time! -

Or any time, Hera thought.

The woman seemed to be a bit down and gave a sad smile towards her savior.

Hera let out a sigh and opened the last one.

It took a moment for her to realize what she was looking at. It was a coin that looked like some sort of rainbow crystal was inside the capsule. The woman opened a big smile and started to jump behind the counter.

"You won. You won!"

"I… What?"

The woman practically jumped over the counter and gave Hera a big hug.

"I'm so happy you won! Since I essentially extorted you into buying the raffle, I was worried you wouldn't get a single thing. Boy, was I wrong. You won the Jackpot!"

Hera came out of her stupor and blinked a bit, looking at the rainbow coin in her hand before asking.

"Ok, but what did I win?"

She looked down as soon as she asked. It seemed stupid to have bought the raffle without even knowing what the prize was.

"So, you were buying it just for me?" the woman gave Hera another big hug that only made her more uncomfortable, "You just got a level up sweety."

Hera looked at the woman with wide eyes.

"I got what?"