MAZE - The Endless Quest

Hera was once again sitting on a bench waiting for the woman, who went off, saying she needed to get some paperwork done before the level up.

Still trying to process everything, Hera pinched herself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

Anyone above the age of 18 could do the first level up. However, they needed to either become an explorer or pay a hefty sum. Last time she checked, it was around 500 thousand gold. A price she would never be able to afford. When someone got out of level one, they would start getting experience points by doing pretty much anything.

Of course, hunting inside the MAZE was one of the most efficient ways of increasing your exp. Still, that was only the fastest way to do it. Some civilians reached level 30 without ever stepping inside a MAZE.

Hera was holding her bag close to her chest. She knew that there was a chance that even with the level up, she wouldn't meet the requirements to join the Explorers guild. She also knew that if that was the case, she could try again on level 3, and level 4, and level 5, and keep going until she meets the requirements. Being an explorer was her dream, her only dream.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel anxious. What if she got rejected again? It didn't matter if it was temporary, the guild could still say that she wasn't good enough even after reaching level 2.

She shook her head, trying to block those thoughts. All the money she earned went to a savings account, an account that had a single goal. Buy her a level up.

Hera was aware of the stupidity of it. It would take at least another 30 years to save enough, and the money could be used to pay for an enormous house or to start a business or even buy a few cars. Spending that much time and money hoping to become an explorer was widely seen as the most stupid thing someone could do.

But now, she could start her leveling process just five years late. That was doable. Many explorers began in their late 20s, and she was only 23. If her stats didn't allow to get in right now, she would train, and raise them as much as she could. In her mind, she could see herself spending another five years practicing and raising her level, or even more. That was her dream. She would do whatever she needed to make it real.

The woman came back, holding a tablet.

"Ok, sorry for the wait. I just needed to get this to set you up."

Hera quickly wiped the tears that were trying to get out of her eyes and raised her head, smiling a little.

"It's okay, sweety. You can be emotional after winning a prize like this. Can you tell me your name so I can get your file? I'm Helena, by the way."

Hera felt stupid, this woman had just changed her life, and she didn't even ask for her name. She lowered her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Hera"

"I'm gonna need a last name, sweety," Helena said in a soft tone that only made Hera feel more embarrassed.

"Kingsley, Hera Kingsley," she shuffled trough her bag and picked her status card, giving it to Helena.

"You even have your card with you? That's rare for a civilian. This is gonna help a lot!"

With a smile, Helena picked the card and scanned it using the tablet. A few seconds later, she handed the card back to Hera.

"All done, just follow me to the leveling room."

Following Helena, she entered the leveling room for the first time. It was a big round room with white walls and a small altar in the center. Hovering above the platform lay a glowing sphere the size of a basketball. Hera cautiously walked inside, and after a couple of steps, she noticed that the floor was soft. It was almost like walking over a bed.

"Weird, right? Everyone thinks that the leveling room is a chamber full of things. No one thinks it's almost empty."

Helena was walking with the girl she found crying in the rain, happy that the crying and swollen face had been replaced by the face of a child going to the zoo for the first time. Helena also had a big smile on her face, happy she managed to improve the girl's mood.

Even though Helena was trying not to stare, Hera noticed her and lowered her head, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. I was like that too the first time I saw this. Now, in order to start the process, just place one of your hands in the glowing orb. It's gonna tingle a little bit, and then you can distribute your stat points for the next level. If you have any..." Before Helena was able to finish the sentence, a man appeared at the entrance of the chamber.

"Lena, the boss is calling you, he says is urgent. Something about the last batch of recruits."

Helena huffed and looked back. By the expression in the man's face, her boss was being troublesome like always.

"Hera, I'm sorry, but I have to check this. My boss can be a bit too anxious sometimes."

Hera smiled. She understood how bosses could be.

"It's fine. I can come back another time," she turned around and started walking with Helena.

"What? Nonsense girl, you stay here and level up. I can imagine how excited you must be. I'll leave Michael here to help you if you have any doubts. He's gonna be outside since sometimes an area of effect skill is activated when you level. It's just a safety measure, but don't worry. Your own awakening can never harm you."

Hera fidgeted a bit. Another person would be involved in this, and it was more work she was making them do.

Helena gave Michael a look that he recognized.

"Don't worry about it. We are here for this. And who knows, I might be able to brag that I helped one of the top explorers in the world to level up."

Hera didn't want that. All she wanted was to explore the MAZE. Being a famous explorer seemed like a lot of trouble. But she was too anxious about her future to wait.

"If it's not a problem, I would like to level up now."

She looked at the two attendants, trying her hardest not to look away.

Helena gave Hera a big hug before leaving. Michael asked her to walk towards the sphere and give him a signal when she was ready, and when she did, he gave her the last instructions.

"Okay, I'm closing the door, when you touch the sphere, your status will be displayed in front of you. Check where you want and distribute your skill points. There is a counter that tells you how many points you can use. Just be completely sure of your decision before pressing confirm. You can't change them after that. Feel free to take your time. If you need a refresher on what each stat does, just touch the name of the stat, and the info will appear. You have 30 minutes to finish the process, and if you have any questions just ask, I can hear you, and you can hear me through the speakers in the room." Michael explained.

"Ok, thank you, Michael."

Hera took a deep breath while he closed the door. After a few moments, she heard his voice through the speakers.

"We are all ready, any time you want Hera."

She raised her hand and put it on the glowing sphere. She felt a tingle in her hand, and it spread to her arm, then chest, then everywhere. It wasn't that uncomfortable. The feeling reminded her of when she sat in an electric massage chair. Like her whole body was vibrating ever so slightly.

When the feeling passed a window popped up in front of her.

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Hera Kingsley -- Role : Civilian  Level: 2

Stats:

Strength : 6 - + Endurance: 13 - +

Agility: 7 - +  Charisma: 7  - +

Intelligence: 8 - +  Luck: 10  - +

Attribute Points Available: 3 + 3(bonus) Total: 6

Skills:

Stats Reallocation (Hidden)

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Her eyes widen. She had a skill? And a Hidden one at that.

She knew that having a skill was not that uncommon, but hidden skills were scarce and very powerful. She took a deep breath and touched the skill.

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Stats Relocation: Allows the user to change the distribution of the stats.

Increasing or decreasing any attribute as long as the user has the required attribute points available.

This effect is only valid for the first time the user level up.

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Hera read it a few more times to make sure she was right. It seemed like she could change how her stats were distributed. If that was the case, she could reach the required 10 points in each stat even sooner!

"Michael?" she asked sheepishly.

"I'm here, Hera. Is everything alright?" the voice echoed a bit, but it was clearer than she expected.

"Yeah, I... I got a skill. It's called Stats Relocation. Have you ever heard of it?" she swallowed, worried she might have made a mistake in telling him.

"Wow, really? Congratulations! It's a pretty rare skill. Let me confirm one thing," a few seconds went by, "Yeah, that skill lets you change all your stats, it doesn't have any restrictions aside from it not being able to go lower than 1 in any stat. You can pretty much make you perfect for the job you want! Tell me if you are not sure about what would be the best stat for a job, and I can look it up to you."

Her hands were trembling. If that was the case, maybe she could achieve her dream right now.

"Michael, what is the requirement to join the guild? As an explorer, I mean."

There were a few moments of silence before his voice came from the speakers again.

"For a level two, it's a 10 average on the stats with one of them going past 14, the higher the average, the lower the high stat needs to be. If the average is 12, you can join, but I have never seen a level 2 with a 12 average score. If your skill was different, it could be lower, but since it's not a skill that would give you any benefit in the field, it can't be counted."

Hera looked at her stats. Even with the level up points, she wouldn't be able to join right now, but it would be really close. If she could increase one of her stats, she might be able to do it on level 3 or maybe even sooner.

She looked at her skill and pressed the minus symbol by Endurance. The stat went down by one, but her attribute points went up by 2.

"So... maybe the higher the stat, the more they are worth?" She thought.

"Only one way to find out."