Getting the [Inspect] skill was surprisingly easy. Even if it was very boring. The problem wasn't simply that they were describing various objects. But the fact that they had to be so detailed in every description.

  Hera's first attempt was a short 3 line description of her donut. She then shifted to the wrapping of one of the power bars, doubling the size of what she wrote. That's when Mark, of all people, was able to get the skill. Feeling very proud of himself, he told everyone that he only needed a singular item. And the reason for that was that he was extremely detailed in his description. Even to the point of measuring the spots on the banana, and calculating its curvature.

  With that hint, it took everybody else a handful of minutes to get the same skill.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Skill Acquired:

  Inspect:

  Allows you to read the information available about the target.

  This information can come from general knowledge or your own experiences

  If a new piece of information about the target becomes available, it will be added to its description.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Once she read the description, Hera tried it out with a banana that was in front of her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Banana

  Flora - Berry - Edible

  A sweet fruit, rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C, and with moderate amounts of manganese.

  Commonly known as being rich in potassium, this only applies to cooking bananas, also called plantains. Bananas that are made to be eaten raw, such as this, only contain a moderate amount of potassium.

  This type of banana can be considered the first food that was bio-engineered. Wild bananas are filled with seeds, along with having a smaller size. It is believed that this species of banana was created more than 10,000 years ago, by hybridization between different species.

  When a banana is born, it has a green color. It turns yellow when it's ripe and darkens as it gets older. It is possible to eat the banana before it ripens, however, it will have an astringent taste.

  The banana is used mostly as a raw dish, it can be seasoned with chocolate or cinnamon, among other things. It can also be used to make bread and is famous for being served with ice cream.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera couldn't help but be surprised by the amount of information that was being displayed. It was bigger than her status screen and there was even a picture of the banana spinning slowly at the side.

  It was incredible to think that this was so detailed, but the biggest surprise was the fact that it talked about the hybridization of species. Hera remembered doing a school project about this when she was little, but until reading it, she had completely forgotten about that. Which likely meant that this would show all the information she had about the object in question.

  It was basically a cheat code to never forget anything important.

  "Damn, this is ridiculous," Blue couldn't help but gasp.

  "I know, right? If explorers have access to this at all times, it makes sense why they always seem to know so much about so many things," Alex shook her head.

  "Well, since ye've all got the skill, Ah'll add some things about it. Inspect is a skill that tells ye everything ye know about an item. As long as ye haven't completely forgotten the information, it will show up. But keep in mind, Inspect follows what ye believe is right. If ye have some piece of information that is incorrect, Inspect will also think it's the truth."

  "How can we fix that?" Kenjiro asked.

  "The same way ye fix any lack of knowledge. Studying and learning more about the subject," the teacher replied, but continued right away not to let anyone interrupt him again, "Another thing ye can do is get these things called compendiums. They are books that function exclusively for the Inspect skill. And if ye think the window is too big, ye can change how much information is showing there. As a matter of fact, most of the system windows can be customized to fit whatever ye think it's best. Ah can give a more long winded explanation, but it's better for ye to figure it out on yer own."

  Hera decided to try that right away and changed the amount of information that was being displayed on the screen for the banana. It was something surprisingly easy All she had to do was think about the pieces of information that she wanted to keep and the ones that she wanted to be hidden away in a read more option. The screen almost instantly shifted to match the exact specifications that she had in her mind.

  "To get those compendiums, you have two options. First, buying them from the Guild or anyone who is selling one. Second is getting them as a drop from one of the monsters in a dungeon. Now if ye buying from a random person, make sure to confirm the information inside the compendium first."

  "Mr. Greyson, what do you mean drops? Are you talking about, like, drops from a game?" Carlos, a burly man with long curly hair asked a question that puzzled the entire class.

  "Where do ye think games got that from? As weird as it sounds, inside the MAZE, more specifically inside a dungeon, monsters don't just leave a corpse behind. Instead, they melt away and leave behind an item that ye can pick up. Now, Ah say ye can get a compendium like that, but as far as ah know, that's just a rumor. Some people say they got it, but no one was able to confirm it."

  With that answer, the entire group of recruits started talking about all the wild possibilities. Since a lot of the System seem to be mirroring games, or more specifically, games seem to be mirroring the System there was one question in their minds. What else could they find? Maybe even legendary weapons or super powerful skills were on the table.

  The teacher replied to some of those questions. And the gist of it was that, yes, most of the things that existed in games also existed inside the MAZE, in some form or variation. This new piece of information became too much excitement for the class. And the teacher just gave up trying to elaborate on anything else. He let the recruits talk as much as they wanted while he sent a message to Helena to check on Bonnie's progress.

  To his surprise, the mage had already managed to teach [Observe] to the recruit, and she asked if she could bring Bonnie back to the classroom. Instead, Mr. Greyson had a different idea. Confirming if Helena was still up for that exhibition match, he smiled at the tablet reading her response.

  "All right. Since ye all managed to complete this part of the training so quickly, Ah need you all to come with me. Ye're going to have a special treat. We have a powerful mage here in the Guild who's going to teach you a little bit about magic," the teacher said with a smile.

  Strangely enough, none of the students felt scared. Usually, seeing the teacher with that expression meant their doom, but this time it felt more natural. As if he really was happy about something.

  Calvin kept grumbling the entire way down. They were not going to one of the regular training rooms, but instead, one that was more separated and isolated from the rest.

  Those were the gyms that people could reserve when they wanted to practice in private. Calvin had scheduled this as he was hired for the job. And as a matter of fact, it was the only part of being a teacher that he was likely excited about.

  The plan was for him to be showing off his skills and sparring with every student. The seasoned fighter wanted nothing more than to toss these kids around a bit to make them understand the real dangers of the MAZE.

  Yet, the guild refused his lesson plan. Apparently, some other instructor from a different branch had a similar thought, but he got too excited and ended up putting one of the recruits in the hospital a few days prior.

  This other teacher was just level 10, but he gained a few skills that made him very good in single combat. Yes, just like these kids, he was too green. He didn't know how to handle his own power and ended up hurting one of the recruits quite badly.

  Not wanting to have a repeat of that situation, the guild stopped any and all attempts at sparring with students for the foreseeable future, at least until they had a proper training regimen or some items prepared to deter recruits from being too injured. So instead, Calvin used that reservation to have a rematch against a mage who was being a pain in his ass.

  Waiting in the private training room was a woman with an afro hair, ebony skin, and a long black dress that covered her entire frame. Whatever fabric was used to make that dress was so dark it made her almost blend with the shadows. It was hard to properly see her silhouette as no light was reflected from the thread.

  "Now, since Ah don't have permission to do what Ah wanted, we're going to have a two-for-one class today. Ye'll be watching an exhibition match between me, a fighter," and Calvin gestured to the woman, "and Helena a mage."

  "Hello," the woman said with a big smile.

  Hera's eyes went wide. Helena did say that she had a surprise for her today, but she never expected that it could be this. The class quickly spread out and stood behind a glass wall. It was basically just a viewing area for anyone who wanted to watch the private practice without having to worry about being hurt by the attacks on the other side.

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  Only once everybody had settled in positions where they could see what was happening on the other side did Helena start speaking.

  "Now, as Greyson said, I'm Helena and I'm a level 18 Mage. I know a lot of people might be thinking that I'm not strong enough to fight Calvin, but you don't have to worry about that. I'll make sure to do my best to give ye a good show. But beforehand, can I do as we discussed?" Helena turned to Calvin who gave her a nod of confirmation.

  "Perfect." The mage clapped her hands. "We're going to be talking a little bit about magic today. Magic is, in essence, a way to cast spells. A way to create fantastical effects, a way to fly, to create fire with your own hands, create illusions, to heal people, and to do pretty much anything you may think of when you think about magic. Pop culture really hit the nail on the head with that one."

  Helena created a few effects around her, a light, some fire, and a piece of floating ice while speaking, "The first pictures of magic here on Earth did not come from explorers. This wasn't a case where someone who was a high-level mage started writing a book and talking about it. It just happened to the people who created fantasy and such. Then again, we can't be sure how much they were influenced by explorers they knew in their personal lives. But let's try not to dwell too much on that."

  With a flick of her hand, a ball of darkness appeared in the center of the training room, "This, for instance, is something made by magic. I mentioned I'm a mage, and you'll learn more about that and the other roles soon. Specifically, I'm a mage who specializes in shadow magic. This doesn't have any mystic qualities to it. It literally means I can use shadows to attack and do what I want. But to use magic, you don't have to be a mage. Anyone can do it as long as they have mana."

  Helena turned to Calvin, who nodded, and first created a small ball of light in his hand. "As you can see, even a fighter, who is a role mostly associated with physical prowess, can use spells. From simple ones to…"

  Calvin grabbed his great sword that was on his back and ignited it in flames.

  "…To more complicated ones. That's not a skill or an effect of his weapon. That's his buff, a spell that he's using to increase the power of his attacks. Any questions so far?" Helena turned back to the recruits.

  Before anyone could even think about a question, Bonnie asked, "How can we learn magic?"

  "You need to go into the MAZE for that."

  Helena made a small illusion appear in front of her of an empty box with a stick figure inside, "You see, our planet, our universe really is missing something vital to use magic. Ambient mana. That's the essence of magic. The power that allows us to use spells. Without being exposed to mana, we can't start to make our own. So we are just stuck like this."

  She then changed the box to be filled with a blue smoke, " If you are in a place with enough ambient mana, just by breathing you can start absorbing it. You can't really learn magic without mana," the sticky figure started to move and the blue smoke slowly entered it, "Once you have enough mana inside you, you will be able to create mana without external help. Then you can use spells even in a place void of mana like this."

  The smoke vanished, but the sticky figure still had some inside it. The illusion started using some small spells, and the smoke was reduced. After a moment, it regenerated, filling up the sticky figure again.

  "Now there are places that can give a similar effect by using mana stones. Those are very expensive, very hard to maintain, and the guild doesn't have enough personnel to deal with that kind of thing. So, I'm sorry to say there's nothing much we can do to help you here. But once you're inside the MAZE, things change because every single room you'll be in is flooded with Mana. Everything you do there will be surrounded by Mana. Which translates to just needing a little bit of dedication in order to learn to actually use magic."

  Helena's eyes turned to Hera, "Now, if you become a mage, this will be sped up even more since your role quest will be involving magic. But I can't say anything more about that. One of the rules that the guild has, which is one that I do like, is that we shouldn't talk about the role tests with people who have not gone through them just yet. Because it's a very important moment for us, and if you just give people the game plan, you can miss some very important abilities."

  "But why doesn't Earth have mana? I mean, we have magi tech everywhere. Shouldn't we be surrounded by mana?" Hera asked.

  Helena smiled and gave a node, "You are not wrong. And honestly, no one really knows for sure. We have some theories about the reason. One of them is that inside the MAZE everything leaks magic, which we know to be more or less correct. We believe that magic leaks and just stays there because it can't go beyond the invisible walls. Some say that because of the lack of invisible walls in our universe, the mana doesn't get concentrated. It just floats into space. And once our entire universe is filled with mana, then everyone will be able to use magic here. However, even in the most generous of predictions, it will still take us about a million times the age of the universe itself to fill everything up with mana. If it is at all possible. Any other questions?" Helena glanced at the group and waited for a bit.

  Once it became clear that no one had anything else to say, the mage continued. "Now, before we start our exhibition match, I'm going to show you how I fight. And by that, I mean I'm going to cast a spell on all of you."

  "Now wait a minute," Calvin protested.

  "This is not sparring, Calvin. I'm not going to be actively trying to hurt anyone. Besides, you know how my magic works. It doesn't have any real way to harm them unless I follow up with another attack."

  Helena turned back to the recruits. "Also, it seems like none of you caught on. But I have already cast the first spell on all of you."

  "What?" Bonnie and Blue gasped at the same time.

  "You see, it's very common for people to think of mages as those people with bombastic powers. Spells that go flying into the distance and explode in a cacophony of colors. But the reality is that not all mages fight like that. I, for one, go for a more nuanced approach. Tell me, did any of you notice something strange right now?"

  The recruits glanced at each other, trying to see if they could feel or see anything weird about themselves. It was only when Blue suddenly turned her head to the other side and Hera got slapped with her ponytail that she realized something. The smell of the shampoo that Blue had used was gone.

  "I can't smell!" Hera gasped.

  Helena nodded with a smile, "That is one of my skills. I can remove people's five senses. I know it sounds a bit scary and it can be, but it's not something I tend not to use against people unless I'm in a friendly duel. And of course, that's what you're going to be seeing today."

  The mage paused for a moment, " Before that, I'm going to use the spell again. This time I'm going to do the scariest version of them all. I'm going to be removing your sight. I want you all to be calm when that happens and try not to move around too much. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, and you'll be able to see again in just a few moments. I'm just giving you a first-hand experience of what it is like to be affected by a powerful magic that might be messing with your perception of the world. So please get yourselves ready, and I'll start in just a few moments."

  Everyone looked around and took a few steps away from each other. Even though they had just started learning about this kind of thing, the past two training sessions made it clear that it was prudent to give a wide berth to each other when anyone was about to start moving around. Once all the recruits were in position, Helena gave another warning and waved her hand in their direction.

  Hera suddenly saw a small trail of darkness leaving the mage's hand and expanding very quickly until it covered her entire vision. She tried looking around and even towards the light, but there was nothing. It felt like she was in complete and utter darkness. Hera also could hear the rest of the recruits gasping and talking to each other. In the absence of sight, their voices felt like a comforting reminder that everything was okay.

  After a moment, Helena's voice rang out again. "Now, I want you all to remember that this is a safe place and that nothing is going to happen to you. Mr. Greyson and I will make sure of it. That being said, in the MAZE not everything that you'll see, and hear will be honest. Sometimes a dungeon says it's going to do one thing and does another. Sometimes a spell that is supposed to take away only your sight takes all your other senses too. And that's exactly what I'm going to do now. Remember, you're all safe. There is no need to panic. Just hold on for ten seconds and I'll drop this. This is just a way to show that the MAZE can be unpredictable and you always need to be ready for anything."

  Helena started intensifying the spell. After all, the ability to remove one's senses was not something that came in the form of various different spells, each responsible for sight, hearing, and whatnot. While that could exist, Helena's version was simpler.

  A single spell that she could control and target specific senses, removing them and making whoever was affected by the spell lose the ability to feel them completely. By simply increasing the amount of Mana she was pumping into the spell, she could make all the senses vanish, which was exactly what she did. She started gradually, first making their hearing slowly vanish before taking everything else away at once. It was another layer of unpredictability that she wanted to portray.

  For Hera and all the other recruits, it was almost maddening. One moment they were fine, then they were just not able to listen to what was going on around them, and the next everything was gone. The complete lack of senses was much worse than Hera could ever imagine.

  It wasn't just something that made her confused, but she couldn't even tell if she was falling or not. She couldn't even tell if she was touching her own arm or speaking or anything, really. The recruit tried to focus on anything, anything at all, that was not just the pitch-black darkness swallowing her surroundings when a tiny streak of red seemed to cross her view.

  Seeing that only made her even more confused. Helena was supposed to have removed her sight. How was she capable of seeing something in this condition? Yet, the tiny line of vibrant red continued to move farther and farther away.

  Until all of the sudden, all her senses came back at once. Looking around, Hera saw some of her friends on the ground. Other recruits had started wandering off and were now facing the wall. Even she herself was no longer in the same position that she thought she was.

  Losing all her senses like that made her realize how much she depended on them to just exist. She never even imagined that the mere act of walking would depend on her feeling of touch to a certain extent. But that's exactly what happened. Without the ability to feel things, she couldn't tell that she was moving. She couldn't tell that her body was taking her in a random direction.

  "Now I'm sure you all have strong feelings about what has happened, but take a moment to breathe. You're fine, you're safe, nothing's going to happen to any of you," Helena said with a calming voice.

  As the Mage said, it took a moment for everybody to regain their composure. Thankfully, it seemed like everybody was doing fine and no one was really traumatized by the experience. Blue, for instance, was even laughing at what had just happened. Even so, Helena still passed along a few cups that she had prepared.

  "Now please, everyone drink this. It will help you calm your nerves after this."

  "Is this another type of thing explorers tend to use? Like the energy bar?" Mark asked as he took one cup.

  "You could say so. It's a very powerful herb that can help you calm down even when nothing bad happened. "

  "Does this herb have a name?" Mark pressed.

  Helena smirked at the recruit, "Chamomile."

  That triggered some laughs from the other recruits before Helena and Mr. Greyson walked to the center of this arena and activated a barrier around them.

  "Now, promise me that no matter who wins, you're still going to respect us both," Helena told the recruits.

  "Don't say things like that without beating me first, Lassie," Mr. Greyson replied, already pulling out his greatsword from his back.

  Hera just now realized that the teacher had a weapon on him. Before Helena cast her spell that removed their sight, Mr. Greyson's greatsword didn't seem all that evident.

  "That's why I'm saying it, Calvin. It's not going to be the first time I wipe the floor with you," Helena replied just before they started the fight.

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