MAZE - The endless Quest 19 Class Dismissed

It took the recruits about 10 minutes to calm down. The whole class celebrated not only Bonnie's accomplishment but all of them reaching the goal.

Even the explorers in the room joined in celebrating at the beginning, but it didn't take long for them to go back to what they were doing.

Mr. Greyson let the recruits enjoy the small victory after all the next challenge would be even harder. When they finally settled down, the teacher approached them.

"Very good, been a while since a full class managed to pass this challenge." All the recruits had a soft smile on their faces.

"Now, go hit the showers and then yer all dismissed for the day. Tomorrow we start at 7 sharp."

Hera was sweating buckets. She looked at a clock on the wall. It was past 5 PM! They have been training for five hours without taking any breaks. It was no wonder most of the class was still lying on the floor.

"Do you think we are going to train like that every day?" Alex asked, still lying on the floor looking to the ceiling.

"I don't know, but I hope not. My hands have been numb for the past hour." Leonidas chimed in while still sitting on the ground.

"If even the golden boy is tired imagine how we mere mortals feel. I think I could sleep for a month." Pamella teased Leonidas, she was on a bench close to Hera.

"Well, that would explain how much you ate during lunch. Honestly, where did all that food go?" Leonidas answered. Blue tried to push him with her feet but she was too far away, and too tired to get up.

"That is called a healthy appetite. And I'm not gonna apologize for it"

Hera laughed at Pamella's response.

"She's right Leo, we are spending a lot of energy here, maybe we should eat more" Hera stepped in to defend Blue.

Alex raised her head looking at the two girls on the bench "Are you sure you're not just saying that as an excuse to get another ice cream?"

Hera pouted, "I like ice cream, is that so wrong?"

Pamella put her arm around Hera, "Of course not, they are just a pair of food snobs. We should go out to dinner and eat as much as we want. And leave both of them here" That made Hera feel uncomfortable, she liked the girls but physical contact wasn't exactly her forte.

"Maybe some other time, I'm exhausted. And you don't seem to be so energetic either."

Pamella quickly got up from the bench "What do you mean? I'm great" She started to walk around but it took only a few steps for her whole body to start to hurt. Anyone who watched her could tell she was having problems moving around.

"See, I'm fine" Pamella smiled.

"Blue, you flinch each time you step, you are far from fine. We are all pretty banged up" Leonidas got up looking like an old man, even placing one hand on his back.

"Yes, we should all go home and rest. I'll be going to the showers first." Bonnie walked by the group. At first glance, she seemed to be fine but before she even got out of the training room she had to stop and catch her breath.

"She's right you know, we can hang out after the training. Right now we all need to rest and be ready for tomorrow." Hera said while getting up. a few other recruits were already heading towards the locker rooms.

"Fine, I need my beauty sleep. But we are stopping by the class first, I want to use my new conditioner."

Leo rolled his eyes and helped Alex up. The group left the training room while a few Explorers watched the scene.

"I fell bad for them," A man who was lifting weights said.

"Me too, having Greyson as your trainer is just hellish." Another explorer said.

"The dude is a freaking spartan, I bet 5 gold at least three of them drop out"

"Just three? I bet five run away."

While a few explorers were laughing a man with a bright pink mohawk walked in the room carrying a mop and a bucket filled with water.

"What about you Ashe, 10 gold only 3 recruits survive Grayson's training"

A woman who practiced her swordsmanship laughed "You shouldn't ask him, he's making less than a civilian now. That's what you get for going against the guild rules. "

The group snickered at Ashe, who just lowered his head and proceeded to clean up the floor where the recruits were training.

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Hera stopped in a small grocery store near her home. She picked a few fruits, some premade pasta and a few pieces of candy. Unlike her usual purchases, these were all branded products. She knew that it had almost no different than her usual generic brands, but she already received the payment for the skills. She could afford to be a bit more lavish. Even if it was just for a day.

After choosing what she wanted, Hera walked towards the register. Today the owner's granddaughter was working the night shift. She was a nice girl, or at the very least she was polite, even if a bit sarcastic at times.

"Good evening Hera" The girl gave a soft smile while she started to check out the products.

"Hi, Amanda, how are you?" Hera did her best to check in with the owners of the grocery store now and then. This had been her first job, she only left because the store started to have some problems and they couldn't afford her.

Hera never felt bad about that. The owners were a sweet couple that let her work here without any experience. They even rented her a back room in their house when she first moved here. She knew that if it wasn't because of them a girl fresh out of high school would never be able to survive in the city.

"I'm fine, just tired. At least we are closing soon. Grandma won't work today and I can't stay late on a school night." Amanda yawned, she felt more comfortable around Hera, since she had been trained by her.

"Why is she not working today? Is your grandmother ok?" Hera took a step forward, leaning into the counter.

"Yeah, she's fine. It was their anniversary on Monday and they went on a week-long trip. Grandpa wanted to go skiing. I hope I will have their energy when I'm that old" Both of them laughed. Mr. and Ms. Kahele always had young souls. Last year both of them went skydiving on their anniversary. The image of an 80 year old couple jumping off a plane was incredible, to say the least.

"Hum, Hera, I think you got the wrong oranges," Amanda said noticing the final price of the purchase.

Even if with the pricy items, there was no way that this purchase would cost more than 35 gold. However, the final price was over 58 gold. Looking at the list of products she noticed that the bag with a dozen oranges cost a whooping 28 gold, and that price already had a discount applied to it.

"No, I got the right ones. I always wanted to try these New Dawn Farm products. And since I... " Hera realized that she haven't told anyone about her new job. Looking at Amanda she decides not to tell her just yet. There were two people that Hera wanted to be the firsts to know. "Since I got a bonus at work I'm giving myself a treat."

Amanda gave a warm smile "Good for you, I honestly don't remember the last time I heard you talk about doing something for yourself. Please do that more often you deserve it. And don't let the fact that I'm a kid stop you from following my advice."

Hera giggled "Oh, so you are a kid? " Hera placed her card in the machine paying for the purchase. At the same time, Amanda's expression darkened.

"I'm not 18, am I?" She asked rolling her eyes.

"You are right. Thank you very much for your advice. I will keep it in mind."

Hera grabber her groceries and walked towards the door. Before she left the store, Amanda asked in a soft voice.

"Don't tell them I said that."

Hera looked back and answered with a smile

"Your secret is safe whit me"

Less than twenty minutes later, Hera opened her front door. It was still her old studio apartment, with a tacky flowered wallpaper and a moss green carpet covering the whole place. Leaving only the kitchen and the bathroom with dirty tan tiles. To her, this place had always been the only depressing dump she could afford. But now it was the home she had when her life changed.

Realizing how hungry she was, Hera quickly put away the groceries and started to make her dinner. Tonight's dish, chicken ravioli with veggies.

Since the pasta was pre-made and the veggies already cut it was an easy meal to make.

After a couple of minutes, the pots were boiling and she just had to wait for everything to be done. Hera picked up the bag of oranges and looked at the label. The logo was a small holographic design of a sun rising on the horizon by a field.

New Dawn Farm

Magically Enhanced Organic Oranges

The ingredients for a better life.

New Dawn is a company famous for dealing with magical items. It is well known that they buy those items from explorers, and then use them to produce or improve other products. Hera wasn't sure how that worked. The guild would buy the products from explorers and resell them, or would the negotiation be made directly with who found the item?

Still, the company is among the most successful ones out there. A bit over a month ago an article in a magazine said that the New Dawn company was worth more than a few countries.

Their products would range from pharmaceutical to textile, the farms were a new branch of the company that started to sell products a little over six months ago. According to what she had read, any food that they sell has magical proprieties that not only improve the flavor but also can make someone healthier.

That last part always bugged Hera. Why would a company make a product that competes with itself?
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Picking three of those oranges she made a glass of orange juice to drink with her dinner. Before grabbing the sugar she took a sip of the juice curious about the natural flavor.

Drinking the juice Hera was overwhelmed by a sweet citric flavor, it refreshed her in a way that seemed impossible. The flavor kept going and seemed to even expand past her body.

Surprised she placed the cup in the counter and waited for her food to get ready. If it was that good she wanted to enjoy it fully with a meal.

Less than ten minutes later Hera was sitting on her desk with her dinner in front of her. She opened her tablet and looked for something interesting to watch while she ate.

She decided to pick an old favorite. The warrior princess. Its been a while since she watched it and now, as an explorer she would see everything with a new light.

Before the show started there was a small advertisement for the Olympics. Hera had completely forgotten about that, the opening show would be on Sunday.

Maybe this time she could watch it live.

Chapter end