《MAZE - Path to Valor - Fanfiction》 Chapter 1: Prologue - When a boy becomes a man THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The rhythmic noise echoed throughout the courtyard. The end of each muffled thump carried with it a slight metallic note. ¡°Damn it Charon did you really need to work out this early in the morning?¡± The source of the noise stopped to listen to the figure who was intruding on his corner. Tossed mousy brown bed hair framed the face of the youth whose hazel eyes were still blinking away his last wave of sleepiness. Stretching his lanky body languidly, he stopped a few paces away from the imposing figure that was the source of his morning complaint. ¡°Ahhh shit. Sorry Finn. Didn¡¯t mean to wake you up. I just can¡¯t stand still. Could barely sleep last night.¡± Placing the sledgehammer on top of the tire he was striking, the restless youth straightened himself to greet his friend. His straight raven black colored hair stayed plastered to his forehead as sweat dripped past the steel gray eyes that were now trained on his friend. Steam rose from his athletically built body as the aura of heat from exercise swirled with the cold air of the morning. Taking a step back, Finn rubbed his eyes at the sight and glared. ¡°Hey wait a minute. Did you get taller? Charon raised his hands in an admission of guilt and he walked forward. ¡°Only a few centimeters really. But the good thing is I finally broke past 2 meters.¡± He flashed a smile at the increasingly disgruntled face opposite of him. ¡°Only a few centimeters? ONLY a few centimeters?! TWO METERS!!! What are you a tree? By Khan¡¯s giant fist of justice, how is this fair? You are taller than the damn heroes.¡± Finn gesticulated at the head towering above him. ¡°If you pack on some more muscle and weight you will be a damn juggernaut. Even explorers will be scared of you¡± ¡°Ok, you know that¡¯s bullshit. If someone has more strength stat than me they will fold me like paper. We ain''t even level 1 yet.¡± Charon retorted. ¡°And you know why it¡¯s hard for me to gain more muscle. Gym access is expensive and our diet here isn¡¯t the best. We need to be ready.¡± Both young men stopped. They were orphans. Children of explorers who lost their lives in the MAZE. The orphanage was set up by the Explorers Guild as a way to support the children of those who lost their lives adventuring, but even with the support and donations of explorers there really wasn¡¯t enough money to go around. Charon and Finn weren¡¯t the only ones who needed to be fed. It was expected of them to leave once they reached 18 years of age, either by setting out as explorers of the MAZE if their level 1 stats prove to be enough to qualify or making something of themselves on Earth with a normal job. Being 17, their time to graduate from the orphanage has almost arrived. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Left to their own thoughts, both boys started to train. Charon returned to swinging the hammer on the tire, the slap of steel against rubber ringing out once into the morning air. Finn started his morning calisthenics with stretches. An hour and a half later, ¡°Hey! Do you two want breakfast or not?¡± A voice called out to them from the dorm building where the dining hall was. As the two started walking towards the building, Finn lightly punched Charon¡¯s arm, ¡°Hey I know you are nervous but don¡¯t worry man you will be fine. If you don¡¯t have enough stats to get into the Explorer Guild right away, who the hell will? You trained like a man possessed since we were kids. If you don¡¯t make it, Athena and I are screwed.¡± ¡°Who are you saying is screwed?¡± The source of the voice raised her eyebrow at Finn from the doorway. Her platinum white hair glowed in the warming morning sun which only emphasized the bright topaz colored eyes that flashed questioningly at the boys in front of her. Finn waved his hand dismissively, ¡°I was just telling Charon that he needs to chill. If he doesn¡¯t make it, how in the hell are we going to.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself. I¡¯m trying to get in with my research skills. I¡¯m not a meathead like you,¡± Athena pouted as she poked Finn¡¯s chest. Turning to Charon she smiled knowingly, ¡°That being said this goober ain¡¯t wrong. You are the hardest working of us all. If Lyra can become an explorer you definitely will be fine.¡± All three chuckled at the mention of their slightly older friend. Despite her clumsiness and hatred for regular physical training, she still found herself with stats high enough to become an explorer, graduated from the Guild program with a role, and already is somewhere in the MAZE. She had just called in earlier, promising to bring them gifts when she came back to visit and to celebrate them starting their own careers. ¡°Ok ok. I¡¯m starving. What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± Charon asked as his stomach rumbled in disapproval at being ignored for so long. Athena sighed. ¡°You know the usual. Scrambled eggs, bread, and some fruit. Or that terrible off-brand cereal if you are up for it. You would think that with New Dawn promising to help support the place we would be getting some better food.¡± Charon¡¯s face scrunched up at the mention of New Dawn. A massive conglomerate that sold everything from civilian goods to explorer focused gear, the company had recently been making big inroads into the MAZE: hiring famous explorers and pushing their commercial products into grocery store shelves throughout the country. To be honest, to say he wasn¡¯t a fan would be an understatement. The company had sent a representative over to announce that they would be sponsoring the orphanage with a large donation but something felt off. The representative was all smiles while talking to the kids but Charon noticed the way he stared at them when he thought others weren¡¯t looking. Analytical, judging¡­ almost like he was grading farm animals. The lack of warmth in his eyes while he was doing that set off alarm bells. Charon trusted his instincts. Since he could remember, he did everything he could to protect himself and those he cared about. Without his parents around to support him, he learned quickly that he needed to use his brain as much as his body to survive. And being 17, without any levels to his name, he understood how little power he had in this world. This world revolved around strength. The power to tear walls down, the power to incinerate hordes of enemies, the power to inspire countless others to rise to the challenges of the MAZE. Explorers were the ones with power in this world. All he needed was his chance. Chapter 2: Orange Juice As soon as Charon walked into the dining hall his ears were assaulted by a cacophony of children. ¡°Big Brother! Big Bro! Come play with us! Let''s play!¡± Two kids latched onto his legs like spider-monkeys as he was brought down by a mob of little terrors. ¡°Hey! Hey! Hold up. I¡¯m sweaty!¡± After a few more moments of feeble protest from the ground he gave in to their demands. The kids roared in happiness as he carefully stood up with a few still hanging from his arms. ¡°RAWR!¡± Charon pantomimed a slow bear as he chased the screaming children, ¡°How dare you choose to fight me! RAWR! I¡¯m the big bad bear of the woods!¡± Athena giggled at the sight while Finn jumped in to try to save his friend. ¡°Oh thank Cyrus you all are here. The kids have way too much energy today. I don¡¯t know why.¡± An old lady walked up to Athena gesturing broadly at the mess of children running around. Athena turned to her concerned, ¡°Gran gran Molly. What are you doing up already? You still haven¡¯t recovered.¡± The aged headmistress of the orphanage shook her head, ¡°Nonsense. Just because I can¡¯t keep up with these whippersnappers when they are hyper doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m bedridden. Besides, I have to be up anyway.¡± Tilting her head, Athena gave her a questioning look. The grandmotherly figure sighed, ¡°Vardan hasn¡¯t made it back. I checked his room this morning and he isn¡¯t responding to messages or calls. And that New Dawn suit wants to meet with me to discuss something later.¡± Athena¡¯s face soured. Vardan was the residential security guard and student physical education instructor. A veteran explorer who lost his dominant arm while fighting to survive in the MAZE. It¡¯s likely he had lost himself drinking again. Looking towards her two friends play-wrestling with the children she yelled over the noise, ¡°Charon! Finn! Grab some breakfast quick! Vardan might be sleeping on a bench somewhere!¡± The playing suddenly stopped as Charon and Finn turned to her. Finn questioned, ¡°Wait Vardan hasn¡¯t made it back? I thought he said he was gonna cut back on the drinking.¡± Charon grabbed his friend''s shoulder and shook his head. ¡°You know how he is. Whenever some of us are about to turn 18 and maybe head out to the MAZE he gets like this. Let¡¯s grab something to go and try to find him. We shouldn¡¯t talk about this here,¡± slightly nodding his head towards the children. Finn extracted himself from the cluster of protesting children as Charon reassured them they would be back soon with Mr. Vardan safe and sound. Athena turned to the food and started to make egg sandwiches for all of them. Walking to the other end of the table Finn poured out some orange juice for each of them. Taking a quick swig from his cup he stopped and looked at what he just drank, ¡°Woah this stuff crazy good. What is it?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Charon looked at him confused and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just orange juice?¡± Shaking his head and finishing off his cup Finn replied, ¡°No man. Try it. It¡¯s like drinking liquid energy. Stuff is better than energy drinks and coffee together. What is this stuff?¡± Grandma Molly looked up in surprise and walked up to the container, ¡°That¡¯s the stuff New Dawn gave to us as part of their sponsorship package. They said it''s a new product they want to share with the kids. Maybe this is why the kids are trying to tear down the house.¡± Laughing, Finn poked teasingly, ¡°Hey gran gran maybe you should drink some of this stuff. It can take 10 years off of you.¡± Giving the offending young man a glare that could crack concrete, ¡°Boy you best wrap up and go find Vardan before I smack you upside the head for all your sass.¡± Turning her head back to the container she gave it another look and said in a low voice, ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t give this to the kids.¡± Nodding her head, Athena walked up to grab a cup of her own, ¡°Maybe for now we don¡¯t give the kids this stuff. It might be like an energy drink. Let us try some and if we think it¡¯s safe we can give it to them later. I¡¯m sure this stuff is fine to drink later as long as you refrigerate it.¡± Finn protested, ¡°I¡¯m sure this stuff is fine. Why do we have to keep it away from the kids?¡± Charon reached through the middle to grab a cup of orange juice for himself while conveniently obstructing everyone¡¯s view to stop a possible argument, ¡°Well I¡¯m curious about this new super juice so don¡¯t mind me...¡± Sighing, Athena turned to grab the sandwiches she made. ¡°Let¡¯s go find Vardan before something bad happens.¡± ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 hours and a lot of running around later the three met up on the street. ¡°Ok. We went to his usual places. Where do you think he is?¡± Charon turned to his friends looking for clues. Finn shrugged. ¡°Beats me. He usually is at the Wailing Rose or Sneaky Gear but both places said they haven¡¯t seen him recently.¡± Athena muttered, partially to herself but loud enough for the others to hear, ¡°There aren¡¯t too many places that serve alcohol strong enough for an explorer. Any normal place would only serve civilian grade stuff. Maybe he didn¡¯t go out drinking? Do you think he is in trouble?¡± Charon shook his head. ¡°Naw, Vardan might have lost his arm but he still tosses me around like I¡¯m made of feathers whenever we train. I doubt he would have that kind of issue.¡± Finn then shrugged and asked, ¡°What now then?¡± Charon picked up his phone. ¡°Let me call gran gran and see if she has any ideas.¡± *Ring* *Ring* ¡°Charon? Have you found Vardan?¡± The voice of the headmistress came out over the phone¡¯s speakerphone. ¡°Sorry gran. He wasn¡¯t at his usual spots. Looks like he hasn¡¯t been drinking for a while. We have no idea where he is. Where do you think we should look?¡± Athena asked. There was a long pause over the phone. The headmistress then said, ¡°It has been an awfully long time¡­ but he might be at the river. That''s where he used to meditate and train in between his dives into the MAZE.¡± ¡°Thanks gran gran! We will be back with a wild capture Mr. Vardan soon!¡± Finn smiled as he said that leaning over the phone. With a guffaw and a snort headmistress retorted, ¡°Finn¡­ one of these days you are gonna say something to someone you regret. Be safe and come back after you make it to the river even without Vardan. That New Dawn suit wants to meet the three of you when you make it back.¡± Agreeing to be back as soon as they could, the three jogged towards the river. It was there they found the source of their worry. An older grizzled man in his 50s sat in a meditative state on top of one of the large decorative boulders that dotted the path alongside the river. As the three walked up he turned to them. ¡°Hmph. Took you three long enough.¡± Chapter 3: The Importance of Trust Charon looked at Vardan confused, ¡°What do you mean it took us long enough?¡± Pointing an accusatory finger, Finn wasn¡¯t afraid to voice his complaint. ¡°Old man you went missing last night and we had to run around in circles looking for you and then you act like we were the ones who got lost.¡± Athena looked contemplatively at the old adventurer and suddenly asked, ¡°was this on purpose?¡± Vardan took a moment to look at the three and sighed. ¡°Sorry kids. I needed some time to get things ready and needed to create an excuse for you three to leave home for a moment. This isn¡¯t a subject to be shared frivolously.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on Vardan?¡± Charon asked. Holding up his callused weathered hand Varden gestured at the three to follow. ¡°Not here. Follow me.¡± Walking a short distance away in the nearby tree cover, he gestured at the three to sit down in front of him. Looking increasingly confused by the situation, Charon, Finn, and Athena obeyed and sat down on the grass. Varden then placed a small relic in the middle and made a motion with his hand. Suddenly 4 black walls that blended in between the trees rose up to cover them. A black ceiling slid over the top and blocked off the light from the afternoon sun. Vardan then used a light spell to illuminate the interior and looked up to speak. ¡°Now before I continue I¡¯m sure you three realize at this point that what is talked about here must be kept confidential.¡± All three nodded with serious looks. Vardan was normally a relaxed person. It must be extremely serious for him to do something like this. ¡°First. This is a security block. It''s nothing special but this stops people outside from being able to see or listen to anything that happens inside. Second, before we continue. Charon, do you trust these two with your life and important secrets? There is nothing wrong with saying no here. I can ask Athena and Finn to leave temporarily but you have to understand that what I share here cannot be unshared. These two will know something very important about you if you say yes.¡± Charon gestured with his hands to get Vardan to stop, ¡°Of course I trust these two with my life but can you at least give me a clue about what in the name of hell is happening right now? You suddenly are going full espionage mode and every single cell in my body is saying something is wrong. But I trust you Vardan. You trained me since we were all kids. I trust Finn and Athena. They are the brother and sister in all but blood. Just clue me in before you tell me something crazy.¡± Vardan held his breath and after a long moment sighed. ¡°Boy. It¡¯s about your parents.¡± Charon froze. For years he asked Vardan if the old explorer ever adventured with his mother and father or at least have met or seen them. He begged many times for the man to at least pull up pictures for him. To look in the explorer database on his tablet for their names. The man fervently denied ever having met or even having heard of Charon¡¯s parents. He said the same about Finn and Athena¡¯s parents as well. And now, after over a decade of living in the same place, eating on the same table, and training together, NOW the man suddenly talks about his parents with him? What the fuck? Why? Why did he lie? Charon¡¯s fists were white with shock as they balled up into fists and he stood up in anger, ¡°Vardan you better have one hell of a¡­¡± Athena grabbed Charon¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Charon stop. Look at him.¡± Looking up Charon stared at Vardan and his rage slowly dissipated. In front of him was a man who simply looked¡­ desperate and tired. Desperate for understanding and desperate to stop him from lashing out. Charon relaxed his fists and took a deep breath to calm down. Breathing a small sigh of relief Vardan said ¡°Thank you Athena. Charon please. I understand why you are upset. You have every right to be angry but please. Let me explain. Then feel free to punch me later when you have some levels and can actually make it worth it. But again, are you ok with Finn and Athena hearing this?¡± Staring at the grizzled scars that decorated the old man¡¯s face, Charon took in another deep breath. ¡°Yes. Finn and Athena can stay to listen. But Vardan, I might really take you up on that offer later. If you give me a half assed reason for lying to me my whole life I will definitely punch you as hard as I can later.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Closing his eyes Vardan coughed, ¡°Deal. But before I start I think you will need to sit down.¡± With a huff Charon sat back down and Finn and Athena both sighed with relief. It was rare to see Charon this worked up. They all turned to look expectantly at the source of his anger. Vardan took a moment to collect himself. ¡°Charon. I know your parents. I actually was in the same organization as them and even went on an expedition with them once. I will admit, however, that I am nowhere in the same stratosphere as your two parents. They are¡­ elites. People who dived into rooms unheard of. Found secrets that to this day are only known among the few who could consider them their peers. But with that kind of power comes enemies. Enemies that coveted what they have.¡± Charon interrupted him eyes wide with growing surprise. ¡°Vardan. ''Know'' ¡®Are¡¯? Why are you speaking in the present tense?¡± Letting out a long and measured sign, Vardan continued, ¡°They¡­ might be alive. Or at least I think your mother might still be alive. I don¡¯t know all the details but Charon you have to understand. Your father got hurt. Hurt real bad by people he thought he could trust. They tried to take out your mother at the same time as well but they failed. Your mother is insanely powerful and did something big to try to save him with her legacy and get away. It¡¯s been 18 years and no one could figure out what she did but she grabbed your father and somehow disappeared. All traces pointed to a certain room on the 10th layer but all efforts to stage a rescue for her and your father failed even when people made it to the room successfully.¡± ¡°WHY THE HELL DID YOU NEVER TELL ME!!!¡± Charon roared. ¡°BECAUSE YOU WILL ACT LIKE THIS YOU MORON!!!¡± Vardan roared back. ¡°What will telling you this earlier accomplish!?! What are you going to do with as a civilian and without a proper class? You aren¡¯t even level 1! A god damn frog can eat you before you can even put up a fight. You won¡¯t make it past the 1st layer to say the least about going nine layers deeper! Do you know the room that blocks the path to where your parents might be? It¡¯s a goddamn death trap that''s what it is. Telling you earlier would have been the same as a death sentence. You will definitely try to figure out a way to get into the Maze early. You will completely lose focus and lose your mind waiting till you''re eighteen!¡± ¡°But I could have trained! I could have started to prepare!¡± Charon protested. ¡°What do you mean? BOY! I¡¯ve trained you since you could walk! Did you forget? What would you do? Train more? Learn more? Athena, Finn talk some sense into this idiot. Thank god he let you stay to listen.¡± Finn grabbed Charon by the forearm. Charon stopped for a moment, surprised. Finn¡¯s hands were trembling even as he gripped Charon¡¯s arm like a vice. Looking at Vardan directly Finn spoke as his voice trembled with emotion, ¡°Vardan. Give it to us straight. Are you hiding anything about Athena¡¯s parents? MY parents?¡± Vardan looked at Finn with a measured stare. ¡°No. I swear on the heroes that I am hiding nothing about Athena¡¯s or your parents. They died fighting in the MAZE. Charon¡­ is a special case. We had to hide things from him not only to protect him from himself but to also hide his identity from others that may be hunting after his parents.¡± Finn finally let up his grip, took a long moment to collect himself, and turned to his best friend. ¡°Ok. Charon. Vardan is right. When it comes to things like this you tend to lose your mind. As shitty as it is, I would have done the same given the circumstances. There is no way you are training more than you already are. You know more about the MAZE than anyone else that isn¡¯t an explorer and you have been training since we were small. You are as prepared as anyone can be when they turn 18.¡± Charon shook his head in frustration. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit. I won¡¯t go and get myself killed. I still deserved to know about what happened to my parents way earlier. Keeping me in the dark for my whole life was wrong.¡± Vardan waved his hands apologetically. ¡°I know. I know that Charon and for that I am sorry. But this wasn¡¯t just my decision. There are a bunch of people involved in protecting you. It was a group decision made after careful consideration to keep you in the dark. The risks were too much to inform you early. You could try something foolish. Or the information could leak before you could protect yourself. The less people know the better.¡± Athena made a small gesture to capture Vardan¡¯s attention. ¡°What do you want Charon to do with this knowledge? What do you want us to do with it?¡± Vardan shook his head ¡°It¡¯s not about what I want here, Athena. I know for a fact that Charon is going to dive into the MAZE like a madman. Nothing will stop him now. As for you. What are you going to do about this? Are you going to follow him? Try to keep him alive? You have to live your own life. Charon¡¯s goals are his own. Your goals are yours. I just hope that you and Finn could be there for him when he needs it. Good people you can trust with your back are invaluable. The consequences when you misjudge who to trust, especially in the MAZE, are severe. Charon¡¯s parents learned that lesson in the worst way possible. Given the nature of how his parents got hurt he might struggle to build a team. But to get to where he needs to go in the MAZE he needs MORE friends not less.¡± Athena argued back, ¡°But there is no guarantee that any of us are going to get stats good enough to become explorers. If Charon¡¯s stats are terrible at level 1 it would take years for him to earn a level up from the Explorer¡¯s guild and even then there is no guarantee.¡± Varden looked at Athena for a while before responding. ¡°Keep this between us, but it''s somewhat common knowledge among explorers that the children of mid to high level female explorers rarely struggle with stats. It might have to do with being born from the bodies of people who are flowing with high concentrations of mana but these children generally tend to be healthier, stronger, faster, smarter, and more mana sensitive than the average human. The reason why it¡¯s not common knowledge here is because most high level explorers don¡¯t take the time to travel all the way back to Earth before giving birth. All three of you have parents who made it to the higher floors of the MAZE. The chance you three will wash out before even making it to the MAZE is miniscule. If anything I think you three will be a lot stronger than your peers at level 1. Such advantages quickly disappear with levels, though, so don¡¯t you dare get complacent.¡± Chapter 4: Meeting the Suit All three teens stood there stunned. Charon¡¯s mind reeled from the back to back revelations Vardan threw at them. Vardan raised an eyebrow, ¡°What? You all thought I would put all this effort into training you three if I thought there was a chance you wouldn¡¯t even make it into the MAZE? Pfft. I¡¯ve taught a lot of kids before. Hell, Lyra made it in there and her parents were mostly crafters. You three are exceptional even if Finn is a little lazy.¡± ¡°Hey. Why the hell am I taking strays?¡± Finn mustered up a whisper. He didn¡¯t have the energy to conjure up his usual sass. Charon took in a deep breath to steady himself. ¡°Vardan are you done with the life-changing revelations?¡± Palm up and with a guilty expression on his face Vardan admitted, ¡°Look it''s just a theory. I didn¡¯t want to bring anyone¡¯s hopes up for years only for it to be dashed when you all turned 18. But it¡¯s something I¡¯ve confirmed with my own observations enough to warrant I consider training the three of you properly.¡± Before they could continue, Charon''s phone rang. ¡°Did you three find Varden or not?¡± - Grandma Molly''s exasperated voice came through on the other line. Charon was barely able to muster up enough focus to respond, ¡°Yeah we found him. We are bringing him over right away.¡± ¡°Thank god. This damn suit is a problem. I might need Vardan soon. Can you three tell him to get here right now?¡± the headmistress said ominously. ¡°Will do gran gran.¡± - Charon absentmindedly nodded his head even though he was on the phone. Vardan looked at Charon worried. ¡°What suit?¡± Charon could never get over how weird it was that Vardan could clearly hear whatever was being said from a phone. Apparently it was some kind of skill and Vardan could hear things that to most people would be unintelligible. ¡°Gran gran is meeting up with someone from New Dawn today. Apparently they have something to talk about,¡± Finn answered with a shrug. Vardan¡¯s face immediately responded with a dark look, ¡°Let¡¯s talk some more later. We need to go back and help Molly.¡± ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In front of the orphanage, Finn and Athena stopped at the gate holding their knees panting. They had run as fast as they could as Vardan power-walked in front of them. Charon had built up a solid sweat but he wasn¡¯t dying like his two friends. ¡°Holy shit Vardan we aren¡¯t explorers. You can¡¯t expect us to keep up like that,¡± Finn forced out between deep breaths. ¡°Look at Charon. He¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t blame me for you not training enough,¡± Vardan scoffed. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Charon¡¯s a freak and you know it.¡± Finn retorted. ¡°Wow man. I¡¯m hurt.¡± Charon looked at him with mock dismay. ¡°Oh shut the hell up Charon. *Blehhhhh* I feel like throwing up.¡± Athena heaved. ¡°Wow you two really need to do some more physical training before you get tested if that¡¯s how you respond to a run,¡± Vardan said with a scowl. ¡°Oh come on Vardan. You made us do a deadsprint from the river to here. Give them a break. Most civilians would have collapsed half way up that hill,¡± Charon retorted. While he might not be showing it, running up the hill was brutal but he would rather pass out than make it obvious to Vardan he struggled. Vardan gave him a leveled knowing stare before turning around and walking briskly towards the headmistress¡¯s office, ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go deal with this stupid suit before Molly has an aneurysm.¡± Charon followed after him dragging Finn and Athena protesting behind him. Athena was about to say something more pointed when they suddenly heard voices coming down the stairwell. ¡°What the hell are you doing here, Night Spike.¡± Vardan¡¯s voice was unmistakable and the tone was clearly unfriendly. ¡°Oh hey. Still short-handed I see.¡± An unknown voice came down. Athena immediately bristled at the rude comment and she made a move to stomp up the stairs but Finn put a hand on her shoulder before she said anything. Finn shook his head indicating they should be quiet and listen. ¡°I don¡¯t know what New Dawn is up to but it¡¯s obviously nothing good if you are part of it. Say what you need to say and leave the Headmistress alone.¡± Vardan sounded increasingly heated. ¡°Vardan. Stop. Remember your promise.¡± The headmistress¡¯s voice came through authoritatively. There was a moment of silence. ¡°Fine. You three down there come up.¡± Charon, Finn, and Athena hiked up the stairs to see Vardan standing between the headmistress and a blonde man in a dark navy blue suit. The man referred to as Night Spike turned to the three at the door, ¡°Who might you three be?¡± Charon had no interest in answering. Looking at Finn and Athena they seemed to share his feelings. Trying to reduce the obvious tension, the headmistress responded, ¡°They are our three upcoming graduates. Finn, Athena, and Charon. Take a seat.¡± She gestured toward the old coach and table in the middle of her office. Raising an eyebrow at the three, the man walked over to a nearby table with a pitcher of orange juice and poured out three glasses. ¡°Oh. You all are about to turn 18 soon? Y''all look like you just did a marathon. Here, have some, you must be thirsty,¡± Night Spike said as he placed the three glasses in front of them. Glaring daggers at the explorer, Athena took the drink and finished it. Charon hesitated. He was thirsty but something felt off. This guy didn¡¯t look like the charitable type. Vardan¡¯s hostility coupled with the somewhat off-putting explorer name was putting him on edge. Finn briskly finished his glass as well. Charon turned back and he saw Night Spike looking directly at him expectantly. Now he felt something was definitely wrong. Why is this guy waiting for him to finish this drink? Charon looked down at the glass and his thoughts raced to try to logic things out. It was just orange juice. The same stuff they drank this morning. Gran Gran normally prepares a pitcher of something when she has guests or meetings. What''s this guy¡¯s deal? I can¡¯t refuse without potentially offending someone that obviously looked like a high level explorer. He already has a title from the sounds of it. Vardan doesn¡¯t look confident. Something feels wrong but this guy is pressuring me. Reaching the inevitable conclusion of his thoughts, Charon stiffly grabbed the glass and drank the orange juice. It was delicious. Even more so after such a long run. Putting down the glass he looked up at Night Spike only to see him suddenly smirk. One thought crossed Charon¡¯s mind seeing that response. Fuck.