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. But even if she could feel the pain, it was one.

  Anyone above the age of 18 could do the first level up. However, it was extremely expensive. Last time she checked, it was around 500 thousand gold. A price she likely would never be able to afford. The other option would depend on their attributes.

  There was a limit, an average of points that people would need for the Guild to consider recruiting them. And if they did, you could work for them until you were able to pay that amount back in taxes. But that was something no one had any control over. It didn't matter if you spent every waking hour in the gym, you could still have a 3 or a 4 in strength.

  People had tried to figure out if it was related to genetics or something else, but no one had any answers. Everyone just accepted that was how the System decided things. Then again, it wasn't much of an issue for anyone who became an explorer. Any low attribute could be easily increased as they leveled up more times.

  When someone got out of level one, they would start getting experience points by doing anything, really. Walking, talking, working out, swimming, cooking, even breathing.

  Of course, inside the MAZE there were more efficient ways of getting experience points. Participating in dungeons, completing quests, hunting monsters. Even just living there would make you level up faster.

  However, no one could actually quantify the amount of experience each activity would give. It was something only known to the System. There was no 'experience' or 'progress' bar that was accessible to anyone who had leveled up.

  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 her attributes were high enough.

  Leveling up early on was supposed to be somewhat easy. And it wasn't that hard to hear about people who reached level 30 without ever stepping foot on the MAZE. It took them more than half their lives to get there, but still. This meant that eventually she would get there. If she had to work hard for a dream, she was going to do just that.

  And 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. Ever since she started working, she started saving for a level up. Every extra gold went to a savings account in hopes of reaching the amount the Guild charged.

  Hera was aware of the stupidity of that decision. 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.

  And she was going to take even longer since she had to help her dad's business with the roughly 30 thousand she managed to save in the past five years. An amount that he promised to pay back. But never said when.

  Now, she could start her leveling process just five years later than most. 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, do her best to level up and raise them as much as she could.

  In her mind, she could see herself spending another 5 years practicing. As a matter of fact, once that initial hurdle was out of the way, she wouldn't mind if she were going to spend another 30 years working toward her goal. Leveling up was something she would be able to control. Being an explorer was her dream. She would do whatever she needed to make it real.

  Hera was still clutching her bag when 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, "Thank you. And sorry. I don't know what's going on with me."

  The woman smiled and gave a gentle pat on Hera's shoulder, "It's okay. 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."

  Hearing the question made Hera feel stupid and ungrateful. This woman had just changed her life, and yet she didn't even bother to ask her name.

  "Hi, I'm Hera."

  "I'm gonna need a last name, sweetie," Helena said in a soft tone that only made Hera feel even worse.

  "Kingsley, Hera Kingsley," she shuffled through 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 be a big help!"

  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."

  Moments later, Hera 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 on 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. Still, she couldn't delay too long as there was a protocol to be followed.

  "Now. I do have to give you a small explanation about this place. Even if you already know about it, this is procedure. You see, every doorway on Earth, that's what we call the entrances to the MAZE, has one of these nearby. A glowing orb that makes us feel warm and fuzzy on the inside just by looking at it. If you touch that and you are at level 1, you automatically get to level 2 and unlock the ability of leveling up on your own, and to enter the MAZE. If you are higher level and you touch it. Nothing will happen."

  Hera nodded at that explanation. It was something that pretty much everybody learned when they were little.

  Yet, Helena continued, "And here is the part that people don't know about. A few hundred years ago, when you touched that orb, you had one chance to change your attributes. And if you ever let go of it, the orb, then your attributes would be locked and you wouldn't be able to change them even if you had points to spend. That is until your next level up, of course."

  Hera frowned, information about that kind of thing was protected by the Guild. Meaning that people who hadn't gone through the process of leveling up for the first time weren't allowed to share that kind of thing. Still, it sounded strange. Not like what she was expecting, or what would happen in games.

  "And that's not normal?" she asked.

  Helena shook her head, "Not really. When we level up, we can generally move around and take some time to decide what to do with the attribute points we get. But if you start adding points to one attribute and close your status screen, you won't be able to do it again until the next level up. That is how it will work for you here. The Guild, after a long time, managed to solve that issue. Now, the entire room channels the magic in the orb so you don't have to keep holding on to it. And don't worry, while there is a very minor chance of something going wrong, if it does, the Guild will pay you double the fee of the level up, and help you reach level 2 as fast as possible."

  As they approached the center of the padded room, the orb came into proper view. From the door, it was just a light. Yet now, Hera could see that the orb was a marble of pure white. It didn't glow as much as reflect all the surrounding light. It was mesmerizing. That perfectly round shape without a single blemish.

  It was as if Hera were looking at a newborn world. A single speck of the universe that was innocent and pure. As if nothing had ever tarnished its existence. No man made toxin, no evil emotions, not even polluted air had ever touched that surface. It was impossible for it to exist, yet here it was. Something that existed since the dawn of time, in the exact same state as it was once conceived in the world.

  Hera's expression was a mix of awe and joy. Like a child seeing Santa for the first time. Or a father seeing his daughter. It was such a unique experience that Helena couldn't help but stare. Everyone had different reactions to it, and the woman thought she had seen it all. But it seemed there was one more reaction left.

  Noticing the stare, Hera quickly snapped out of it and looked down, "Sorry. I don't know what happened."

  "Don't worry about it. I was like that too the first time I saw this," Helena lied, "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. But wait until I leave. I can't be here for the room to work properly. 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 on the man's face, her boss was being troublesome as always.

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

  Hera smiled. She understood all too well what it was like to have a bad manager.

  "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't imagine how excited you must be. I'll leave Michael here to help you if you have any doubts. He's gonna be outside, but there are microphones and cameras all around here. If you need anything, just ask, and he will answer."

  Hera fidgeted a bit. Another person would be involved in this, and it was more work she was making them do. Noticing the hesitation, 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 best explorers in the world to level up," the man quickly said with a smile as Helena passed the tablet to him.

  Hera didn't want that. All she wanted was to explore the MAZE. Being a famous explorer seemed like a lot of trouble. But what Helena said was the truth. She was too anxious to come back another day.

  "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. Both of them nodded in agreement. Still, Helena gave Hera a big hug before leaving. Just as the dark-skinned woman left the room, Michael asked Hera to walk towards the sphere and give him a signal when she was ready, and when she did, he gave her the last instructions.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Okay, I'm closing the door. When you touch the sphere, your status will be displayed in front of you. It will be on a screen visible to only you. You can interact with it, touch it and all that, but it will feel like a hologram," there was a shuffling noise coming from the speakers as Michael shifted some papers to get the next part of the script.

  "You will be able to see your name, level, attributes and skills, if you have any. Besides the numbers will be a plus sign. Touch one and the attributes will be distributed. There is a counter that tells you how many points you can use. Just be completely sure of your decision before dismissing that screen. You can't change them after that. To get rid of it, all you have to do is think about the screen closing or touch the X in the corner. If you need a refresher on what each stat does, just touch the name of the stat, and the information will appear. Usually, you have 30 minutes to finish the process, but the schedule is completely open, so feel free to take your time. 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.

  "It's all ready on my end. Any time you want, Hera."

  Moving quickly, she raised her hand and put it on the glowing sphere. Almost as if she was scared that someone would stop her from leveling up. Her motion was so fast that she virtually slapped the orb.

  Yet, she felt no pain. Instead, 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 light blue window popped up in front of her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera Kingsley -- Role : Civilian Level: 2

  Attributes:

  Strength : 6 - + Endurance: 13 - +

  Agility: 7 - + Charisma: 7 - +

  Intelligence: 8 - + Luck: 10 - +

  Attribute Points Available: 6

  Skills:

  Attribute Reallocation (Hidden)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  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. It also meant that it would be more powerful than average. After all, it was something innate in her. Something she was born with. And the skill would only appear once the conditions were met.

  Trying her hardest not to start hyperventilating. Hera touched the skill to see if she could read more about it. It was something she had seen in movies so often that it felt like second nature.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Attribute Reallocation- Rank 1

  Allows the user to change the distribution of the stats.

  Reducing one attribute will give the same amount of attribute points that would be required for the attribute to reach the same value as it was before the reduction.

  This effect is only valid during the first level up.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  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 average attribute to become an explorer even sooner.

  "Michael?" she asked sheepishly.

  "I'm here, Hera. Is everything alright?" the voice echoed a bit, but she still managed to hear despite her current frenzied thoughts.

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

  "Wow, really? Congratulations! I think that's a pretty rare skill. Let me confirm one thing," a few seconds went by before his voice returned, "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 yourself 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 for 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.

  "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 were 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 4 or maybe even sooner.

  She looked at her skills 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.

  Hera was looking at her stats. She had set them all to 1 to see how many points she would have left. The result was 56. That sounded like a big number and she could make almost all of her stats be at 10. This meant that if she got a few bonus points or increased her stats in some other way by level 3, she could become an explorer.

  Alternatively. She could pump everything into a single stat. While leaving everything else at 1, she started adding points into Endurance. She could reach 28, and that sounded like a number that would allow her to be an Explorer. But, it was a bad idea to leave the rest at 1. Everyone knew that attributes under 10 points could be dangerous. If you had one of them at 5, it was already a case where people would treat you differently.

  Still, it was nice to know the numbers she could reach. But it was better to think about this in a different way. She started to lower the attribute to recover all the bonus points when something strange happened.

  Her endurance was at 4, but the subtraction symbol had stopped working. Hera gave a few more tries before wondering if the skill had a limit. Maybe she could only change so much before the skill stopped working. But there was nothing on it saying something about that.

  She was still thinking about it when the door opened.

  Did she take too long?

  Michael said nothing about the time. Hera looked back and saw four men walking inside. Two of them were wearing black suits and ties and sunglasses like the ones you see bodyguards in movies using. Walking with them, there was a man with a pink Mohawk that she recognized as being the same one that passed by her earlier that day.

  That seemed so long ago.

  In the middle there was a kid, he might be older, but his face looked fifteen. He wore a long blue coat with fur on its edge, black pants with golden suspenders and a white dress shirt. Most strange of it all was the fact that he was wearing a plastic golden crown atop his black hair that read 'Birthday Boy'

  Behind them, Michael was looking at her with a worried expression on his face.

  The kid waltzed into the room as if he owned the place. As if entering was not just something he was allowed to do, but as if it was expected of him.

  Hera intellectively stepped to the side, her status screen still in view, but now shifted to the side. The kid touched the orb, but nothing happened. With a frown, he turned back to Michael, "Why is this not working?"

  "Someone else is already using it. The orb can only give a level up to one person at a time," Michael replied, making a point of not saying Hera's name out loud.

  The kid turned to the only woman in the room and looked her up and down. His eyes felt lecherous at first, but the more he stared, the less interested he seemed to be. In the end, the kid clicked his tongue, "Not even worth my time. Get rid of her."

  Hera didn't have a chance to reply as the man with the pink mohawk approached and grabbed her by the arm, "You need to leave. Now."

  He started walking towards the door, forcing her to follow along. His grip didn't hurt Hera, but she still didn't understand what was going on. Everything was happening so quickly.

  "What are you doing?" the kid asked, "I told you to get rid of her. Not escort her out. She wasted my precious time. She has to pay for that."

  The man with the pink mohawk paused, "Is this really necessary?" He asked, still trying to push Hera forward, but she didn't understand what he was trying to do and just waited by his side.

  "Are you talking back right now? Do I have to call my father?" the kid crossed his arms.

  "No, sir," the man replied and turned to Hera in a whisper, "I'm sorry about this."

  Before she could do anything, the man placed one hand on her back, from his palm, a small explosion was created, which sent her flying out of the room. Hera's body slammed against the wall on the other end of the corridor. The impact was so violent and so unexpected that Hera was knocked out for a few seconds.

  What woke her up was a sharp pain flowing through her entire body. She had never been attacked by magic or a skill before. Hell, she never even got slapped in a fight. It was the first time anything like that ever happened to her, and the pain was excruciating. She felt her skin burning, and even the impact on the ground hurt much more than what she was expecting. Her clothes were now burned, and a third-degree burn covered her back.

  Hera forced herself to get up, tears rolling down her face, but unable to make any noise. Suddenly she heard some noise coming from the chamber. Shouts and yells from the kid followed by footsteps as the other three men walked out. But they were all drowned out by a ringing in her ears. Another voice came, this one much closer and capable of overcoming the tinnitus.

  "I'm so sorry. I had no idea they would... I'm gonna call someone. I can't do much, but at least let me," Michael hovered over her as a warm feeling covered her back. The burning sensation that came from where the blast hit lessening.

  The effect of a healing spell.

  She had no idea if it was a good one or not. She only ever felt that once before, when in middle school. There was a presentation about magic and medicine, and she had sprained her wrist that morning.

  Still, she couldn't handle being here. This close to the man who attacked her for… What reason again? Because she wasted someone's something?

  Hera shook her head, "It's fine, I took too long, I'll be going now," her voice was muffled and hard to understand.

  She heard Michael saying something else, but she wasn't able to understand it. Forcing herself to move. Hera did her best to hold back tears, but that didn't work as they continuously streamed down her face. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the exit.

  Before she was out of earshot, Michael was able to yell one thing that she understood.

  "You should feel the effects of your level up by tomorrow. That is a first level up thing."

  She nodded and went to the exit. She was holding her bag as tightly as she could while she walked into the street towards the train station. Every step sent shockwaves of pain through her body. Every time the wind brushed against the wound on her back, it started burning again. Even if the pain was not as strong anymore, it still felt like torture.

  By the time the train had arrived, she had sat on the ground, weeping for the second time that day. However, this time people did try to talk to her, even if their voices landed on deaf ears. Hera wasn't able to understand her surroundings properly, and the trip went by in a blur.

  About two hours later, she finally got home. The day, the evening, seemed to have lasted a week. She took everything out of her bag and put it on the table, hoping her wallet and cellphone were not too damaged because of the rain. But just as she took everything out, she forgot what she was doing.

  Turning to the fridge, Hera started to think about dinner, dismissing that idea. Her stomach was still turning after being attacked. Instead, she went straight to the shower. Taking off her clothes, she glanced in the mirror.

  The shock made her freeze for a second.

  Deep wounds and burns covered her body. Whatever was done to her was focused on the spine, but spread to the rest. She could barely see her normal skin. Everything was a mess of red, purple and green. At least there were no blisters from the explosion, maybe that was what Michael did to help.

  Turning around, she saw a burn mark covering most of her back. Darker where the blast hit. She felt her eyes water, but she took a deep breath and remembered that she had leveled up. She could become an explorer. All she needed were time and effort. Eventually, she would be able to pay someone to fix that. Soon after thinking about it, she remembered what she was doing before it all happened.

  But right after, she remember how it felt.

  Being flung around.

  The sudden burst of light.

  The burning in her back.

  The feeling of being completely helpless.

  Her hands shook violently as she hugged herself, her nails digging into her skin and making it bleed. It took a few minutes for her to steady herself enough to even consider trying to do something else.

  "Status," she said with a weak voice. Trying to go back to what she was doing before everything went wrong.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera Kingsley -- Role: Civilian -- Level:2

  Attributes:

  Strength: 1 Endurance: 0

  Agility: 1 Charisma: 1

  Intelligence: 1 Luck: 1

  Attribute Points Available: 57

  Skills:

  Attribute Reallocation (Expired)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera started to cry after seeing her status, with no one around, she could wail without holding back. She had one chance to change her attributes. But now the symbols to increase were gone. They said that she could still change things while the screen was open. And the moment she lost consciousness, the screen closed on its own.

  That meant that only when she reached level 3, she would be able to use her attribute points. Some explorers kept the bonus points for a level or two, trying to get a higher increase in later levels. But the reason for her reaction was that Endurance, the strongest stat she had, was now 0. Sitting in her shower, she tapped Endurance to read its information.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Endurance: Increases the resistance of the user.

  That includes physical and elemental damage.

  It also helps the user to ward off poison and disease.

  Current damage reduction: - 100%

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Reading that negative 100% hit her like a truck.

  Having her endurance at zero meant she could easily get sick, and that any bruise or cut she suffered could be fatal. Right now, she was as sturdy as a porcelain doll. That didn't even account for the fact that a 0 stat shouldn't be possible. Not as far as everything she knew.

  Hera had her dreams crushed once. Now she saw a ray of hope only to show that she probably would not live to see where it lead. Leaving the shower, she dried herself and put on some pajamas, being extremely careful with every movement. Even if the effects would only start in the morning.

  Finally, clearing her head, she searched the net for information on what her stats meant. Some websites said that she would die, but most of them always said stuff like that, anyway. Going past that, she did find some information. But the more she read, the more hopeless she felt.

  Even people with auto-immune diseases would have higher Endurance than her. People with 3 or 4 Endurance reported breaking bones after being bumped by someone on the street. Someone with 2 mentioned they got bruised by a dog wagging its tail too hard. A person with 1 endurance said they once broke their teeth after trying to bite down on some dense pudding.

  At 0, she was not even made out of porcelain anymore. Hera should be as sturdy as a wet single ply sheet of toilet paper.

  While crying, and hoping her sobs were not enough to break her ribs, she found some support groups for people with low stats and even an organization that offered help to give out medication and helping find jobs for someone with an attribute disability.

  That seemed to be her future. For at least one level. She kept reading about that organization, its programs and everything that she might need to do starting tomorrow if she wanted to survive. That kept going on for a couple of hours until she finally lost the fight against her tiredness and fell asleep.

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