MAZE - The Endless Quest

All the students were looking at each other. Leonidas' display was impressive, especially since most of them had no actual combat training. Noticing the impatience of Mr. Greyson, Hera took deep breaths, trying to muster the courage to step forward. However, someone beat her to it.

"I'm next!"

Pamella took a few steps forward, staring at the dummy.

"Very good lassie, tell us yer name and show what ye can do,"

Pamella kept looking towards the dummy, and with a frown said

"I'm Pamella, but my friends call me Blue, and teach I have a problem. What I know how to do is based on grapples and throws. I don't know if it will work against something that doesn't move."

Mr. Greyson nodded and pressed something in a tablet near the wall. The dummy in front of Pamella took two steps forward and threw a punch towards her. Then it reset its arm and punched again. On the third punch, it was clear the dummy was making the same motion over and over again.

Pamella, who was a few steps away from the dummy, gave a cocky smile before looking at the teacher.

"That will work. Thanks!"

Mr. Greyson just gave a smile and a nod and watched as she was getting ready to attack. She had one foot to the back and one to the front, holding both of her hands in front of her in different heights. It looked like something out of a kung fu movie, but at the same time, the way she moved her legs reminded Hera of boxers.

Pamella moved closer to the dummy, gauging the distance between her and her target. She was taking her time, making sure not to make any mistakes. Hera saw her arms tense just before she started to move.

In a flash, Pamella grabbed the wrist of the dummy with her left hand, turned her body while positioning her shoulder under the attacker's arm, making her back press to its chest. With a loud scream, she pulled the dummy arm, using its weight to throw the target on the ground.

The dummy hit the floor, making a noise louder than what the spear had just made. The mannequin then got up from the ground and moved back to the position it was before starting to punch the air once again as if nothing had happened.

"Very good, lassie, 20 points. That's no small feat for a counter,"

Pamella was panting a bit, Hera wasn't sure if it was the pressure of the moment or the move that she just did, but that seemed to take a lot out of the girl.

"Thanks, I guess double my strength is pretty good,"

That remark made Mr. Grayson laugh once again.

"Pretty good? Yer a goddamn monster lassie, even ah can only increase by a bit over half of my strength, without a skill."

"But she was just kidding, right? Your strength is not 10, is it?" The boy who had made the teacher angry asked.

"Yes, it is, and I can show it to the teacher to confirm it," Pamella said, staring at the boy.

"No need, lassie, I read all yer files," Mr. Greyson looked at Hera, "Well, almost all of them."

Hera felt the rest of the class staring at her. She just realized that the way she showed up made it seem like she was getting special treatment. Which in a way she was, but not like they would think.

"Now, who of ye will go next?"

The students hesitated once again. How could they follow these two monsters?

Hera was still thinking about how she could clear any misunderstandings when she heard Mr. Greyson calling her.

"Hera, how about ye show us yer moves?"

She came out of her daze and stared at the teacher. But it was clear she had no other choice. Walking towards the wall, Hera looked at all the weapons there. There was almost any weapon you can think, swords, shields, whips, gauntlets, sickle, even what looked like a battering ram. She looked at them and approached Mr. Greyson.

"I.. I never used any weapons before, and I can't do it with my hands,"

The teacher stared at her and then turned to talk to the class.

"Miss Hera never used a weapon before. But that hardly means anything. This class will give ye some basics in using many weapons inside the MAZE. Try them all and look for the one that suits ye," He looked back to Hera, "This is the first opportunity to do it, so just pick something ye think ye might like."

She nodded and walked towards the wall once again, spears and lances seemed too big to control, Daggers too short. She had no idea how to use a bow, and a shield was something to protect, not to attack. Hera looked at the axes. Big two-handed ones seemed really cool, but she would look ridiculous using them.

She looked at a handaxe. It was smaller than the two-handed ones but big enough to have some reach. She grabbed it and made swinging motions a couple of times. It feels right, but she then looked at the wooden blade and realized that there was a high chance she would miss the point where she wanted to hit, so she put the weapon back in the wall. Then she went for the swords. They always looked reliable and straightforward. You just swing and hit with any part of it.

Looking at the swords, she didn't feel any of them being the right fit. Too small, or too big, and even too fragile looking. She was about to move towards the more unique weapons when her feet knocked down a sword. She picked it up and could see a layer of dust that had gathered on the wooden blade.

That weapon seemed worn out and forgotten. She could even see some light dents all over the edges. For some reason, she felt bad about it. For a sword that had seen so much use to be just left there, and no one even cared about, all its hard work so far just... Ignored. She dusted the sword off and went to one of the dummies that weren't moving.

Thinking about the movies she saw when she was little. The training and studying she did while waiting for her first level up. Memories that were once locked away all came flooding into her head. She put one foot in front of the other, mimicking the stance used in kendo since they also use wooden swords.

Mr. Greyson waited patiently for Hera to pick her weapon. Since she had never used one, she needed to look at them carefully. It was the same for the rest of the class. But he didn't mind. This was the part of the training he knew. Not the part where they needed to be in a stuffy classroom explaining how the world works to a bunch of greenhorns.

The girl had chosen an old and beat up sword. The thing looked like it could snap if you pressed too hard. But his student seemed to use it well for someone who never held one before. He watched as she got into her stance. It was honestly a mess. Her weight was on the wrong foot, her arms too stiff, and her breathing was all over the place.

Yet, her eyes were right, really right. The room was noisy, and it was easy to get distracted, but her focus shifted to the dummy. She was concentrating on the point where she wants to strike, even with the loud bangs around them. Greyson himself needed some effort to be focused like that. After a few moments, she took a step forward and hit the dummy in the neck with a slashing motion. The impact made a small tud sound, but at the same time, the entire class heard a loud crack.

Hera looked at the sword in her hand, starting to panic. The wooden blade had cracked, and it looked about to split. She looked around, and the teacher was walking towards her. Taking a step back, she tried to hide the sword behind the dummy, not letting go of it.

"It needs work, but ye have potential lassie. 14 points is pretty good for the first try, even if that is yer strength," he stopped in front of her, "And why are ye hiding the sword?"

Hera didn't want to think about what would happen since she broke a sword. Her bank account was in the single digits, and the gear explorers use is very expensive.

"My strength is 12, actually. Maybe 11, I forgot to check."

Hera didn't know if there was a way to check her debuff aside from opening the status screen. But doing so while talking to someone is considered rude.

The teacher tilted its head. It was an odd thing to say. The scores were only affected by buffs or debuffs, but he was sure she didn't use any skills to attack.

"All right, Ah can check yer file later. Now tell me why ye are trying to hide the sword?"

Hera looked down and showed the sword to Mr. Greyson. She couldn't look him in the eyes. What if they kicked her out for damaging the guild property, hit her hand trembling the teacher picked up a sword and let out a long sigh.

"I.. I broke the sword. But please don't kick me out! I can't pay the guild back yet, but I can work as a clerk or a janitor or whatever just please let me stay here."

Without realizing her eyes were filling up with tears. The fear of being so close only to be kicked out again overcame her.

Greyson was a callous man, but even he was taken aback for her reaction. If anyone was at fault, here is who let a crappy sword stay in the training room. He put a hand on Hera's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"It is okay, Lassie. The sword was old and not enchanted the way it should. No one is getting kicked out for it," he gave a soft smile, and for one moment, all his students saw his imposing figure change to that of a caring person.

That didn't last long. Seeing the class change the way they were looking towards him, Mr. Greyson bounced back to his usual posture.

"Now go back to the group," he guided her with his hand on her back, "and you, go next!" He pointed to the middle of the group, just waiting for any of the students to take the bait.

"Me?" one of the girls in the middle asked.

The teacher held back a smile. This trick always worked.

"Aye ye lassie, c'mon we don't have all day."

The girl went to the wall to choose her weapon, but Hera was too distracted to pay attention. Her eyes were still watery, and she was trying to calm herself down. Pamella walked over to her.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Her voice was soft, and Hera could see that she was reaching with her hand but stopped midway. That made her feel more comfortable. It was nice being near people who understand that sometimes we need space.

"Yeah, I just got worried."

Hera looked around and saw a water cooler in the back of the room.

"I'm just gonna drink some water," Hera said.

Hera walked away from the group, not realizing that the whole exchange witnessed by a man with a bright pink mohawk.