บท 35: What you find in the dark

The recruits stared at the doorway. They would finally get a taste of how it was like inside the MAZE.

A mix of excitement and fear washed over Hera. She wanted to go inside, but what if she failed?

"Ok, before ye all go in, let me explain a few things. First, this ain't the MAZE. It is a simulation, much like the one ye will go in for the final test. This one is just smaller and more simple. Even though it's a simulation, ye still can get hurt. So before going in, each of ye will receive an escape button. If ye are in trouble, just press it and the simulation will stop."

Mr. Greyson explained while distributing a small key chain with a red button on it.

"Inside think about yerself. Don't rush in and try not to bite more than what ye can chew. This is not a game. Ye don't get second chances. If ye mess up, ye can lose everything. Still, this is a simulation. Some things will be less intense, and more forgiving."

The teacher then walked toward the doorway and stood in front of it.

"Now, form a line in front of me. To enter the room, place the hand that has yer bracelet in the middle of the door. It will open and ye can get in. Only after it's fully closed, the next one can go." He showed the motion using the arm that didn't have a bracelet.

"Mr. Greyson, does that mean we need to wait for each of us to finish the test before the next one goes in?" Mark asked.

"No, laddie. Ye only need to wait for the door to close. This room can have more than 50 people inside at once and each of ye will be alone in yer private simulation. So, don't worry about it."

Having finished his explanation, the recruits formed the line. Hera wasn't sure if she wanted to be in the front or not. Thanks to her friends, she didn't have to worry too much about it. They pulled her to the line, staying around the middle of the group.

One by one, the recruits entered the simulation. After the door opened, they could only see a bright white light inside. When the next recruit opened the door, there was no one else inside.

Hera's heart started to beat faster with each step she took. Even if this was a simulation, this would be the first time she would enter a room. Leo was in front of her. The man gave her a nod and a smile before walking through the doorway.

In her turn, Hera took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Don't worry, you can do it." Blue said.

The girl was behind Hera. It helped to hear a friendly voice. But Hera knew this was something she had to do alone.

She placed her right hand on the center of the doorway. The bracelet on her wrist seemed to tighten, and then the door opened. Inside, there was a completely white room. It was even hard to differentiate the floor from the walls. Hera gingerly stepped in, making sure there was something under her. Little by little her eyes adjusted to the room. That allowed her to walk normally.

The door closed behind her, making a small thud sound before disappearing. Hera looked around. The room seemed to be endless. There were no walls, no ceiling, and no objects around. Only an infinite white space.

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Welcome to the preparation room.

Please choose your weapons.

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Hera stared at the notification. That one felt odd.

First it wasn't directly in front of her, but above. System notifications never made you move your head around to see it. Second, it didn't follow her movements. If she turned her head, the notification would stay still. That wasn't right.

Yet, the weirdest part was, it was polite. The system was never polite, it only gave you information. Never she had seen a 'please', or a 'thank you' in any notifications.

Looking under the notification, Hera could see a series of weapon racks. Much like the wall in the training room. She scanned through them, looking for something she could use. Reaching the swords, it felt like the best option, after all, it was the weapon she had more practice with.

She picked a short sword that she could wield with one hand. Since nothing changed, Hera looked for a shield. The notification said nothing about being able to pick only one. She wanted to be ready for anything.

Before reaching the shields, Hera went past the axes. There was a small handaxe that caught her attention. It was close to the one she tried on the first day of training. She had a better grasp of how to move with a weapon now. Maybe this time it would feel right.

She picked the handaxe and placed it on her belt. Only then she noticed that her clothes had changed. She was wearing something similar to the training armor, but it looked like it was made of leather, with combat boot and armguards. This could be just part of the simulation. But the idea of something changing her clothes without her knowing bothered her.

With her sword and axe at hand, Hera looked past the weapon racks where a new notification had appeared.

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Please use your bracelet to open the door to the simulation.

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Under that message, there was a pedestal with a small tablet on top. It looked like a large fingerprint scanner.

Hera walked towards it and placed her hand with the bracelet on the scanner. A door appeared in front of her. This one, however, seemed to be made out of wood, with large rusted iron rings as handles.

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Please proceed to the next area to begin the simulation

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Hera pushed the door, opening it. Instead of just walking in, she froze for a moment. Her whole body seemed to vibrate as if she was in one of those massage chairs. It was an odd feeling, and when it was over the door and the room had vanished. She was now in a dark cave, with only some small torchlights in the path.

She realized it wasn't the room that vanished, but she had been transported to a different place.

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Beginning the simulation.

To complete it, defeat the monster leader at the end of the cave.

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Behind her, there was only a solid dirt wall. There was only one path forward.

Thinking about the games she used to play. Hera crouched down and activated her [Hide] skill. She had no idea what was in front of her, and there was no way she could simply run through here.

Hera kept walking through the cavern. The torches on the wall were spread meticulously. One of the left, 50 steps later, one to the right. Too precise to be made by a living thing. That was the only thing that made Hera believe she was in a simulation. Everything else was too real. The feeling of the rocks on the wall, the stale warm air she was breathing, even the light echoing sounds. Every part of her body told her that his place was real. She needed to constantly remind herself that this was a simulation to calm her nerves.

She had been walking for almost an hour when she finally noticed something different. A few meters in front of her, the path split. Hera stopped and tried to find any indications on where she should go. There were no markings, no air, and no noise coming from the tunnels.

How was she supposed to know? Guessing? Was she missing some obvious clue?

Hera stepped back and tried to use two other skills [Observe] and [Inspect] but to no avail. She looked at the tunnels and back towards where she came. The path she took had some twists, but no hard turns. She could see five torches behind her. All of them following the same pattern right then left.

Looking back to the split tunnel, she searched for torches in the two paths. Both of them had torches inside. One in the left of the tunnel, and the other in the right.

Hera looked back and saw that the last torch was on the right. To keep the pattern, she would need to go to the tunnel with the torch on the left. Before rushing in, she considered if there was anything else. Looking at her tablet, the map only showed the path she took, and the torches had no distinguishing marks that she could see.

Feeling that this could be the only answer. She activated her [Hide] skill again and walked towards the tunnel that had the torch on the left. She kept walking for another twenty minutes until the tunnel changed into a large open room.

Carefully, she peeked out of the tunnel. The first thing she noticed is that this room had different lighting. Instead of the torches, round glowing rocks stuck to the ceiling as if they were lamps. That gave the whole area a light blue glow. The tunnel led to a large coliseum like area. With some holes in the walls protected by thick iron bars.

In the middle of the room, there was a small humanoid creature. It had the face of a dog, thick grey fur, but small arms and legs. It also held a wooden shield and a mace. Hera activated [Observe] while looking at the creature.

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

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She remembered reading about those creatures. They were intelligent and had a tribal society. Vicious when in groups but easily scared when alone. There was also something else. She remembered that those creatures had something to do with fire.

Hera tried to move a bit closer without getting out of her hiding spot in the tunnel and activated [Inspect]

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Young Kobold (Simulation)

Humanoid - Canine - Manufactured

A humanoid dog that lives inside the MAZE. They travel in packs and have a tribal society where the strongest one is the leader. Sharing traits with wolfs, the elders lead the tribe, but the alpha has the final say in its decision. Aggressive when cornered or starved, these creatures show signs of higher intelligence and willingness to work with humans.

They have a deep hatred for fire.

The simulated version shares the instinct of its real counterpart, but not its intelligence. The version created by the simulation is weaker than the ones that live inside the MAZE.

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Hera wasn't able to finish reading the information her skill gave her. When she was about halfway through it she heard a growl coming from the monster.

Quickly dismissing the window, Hera saw the Kobold running towards her, waving its mace. She glanced back at the tunnel. If she ran it would lead to a dead end.

Having no other choice, Hera charged toward the monster.