During the next couple of Days, Hera did her best to keep herself busy. She used the time coupon for the ATR, trying to improve her combat ability by focusing on the throwing aspect of the chakram. She wanted a boomerang-like effect using Yarnball, but according to the AI trainer, the closest thing would be the Japanese kusarigama. Not wishing to overwork herself, Hera spent half of her 10 hour time practicing on Monday.

That was just enough to understand the basics of the idea. The chakram would work as the weight while the handaxe acted like the hook. The key difference from the traditional weapon would be her ability to swap between the different techniques each weapon offered.

When her five-hour period came to an end, she felt that with some training, this could work. But at the moment, using the chakram that way would be deadly to her. She had several bruises from the wooden weapon she used during the training.

As she left the guild, Helena sent her a text about the rest of her graduation gift. The mage still wanted to take Hera to a hair salon.

If that had come up yesterday, Hera would have said no. However, after the training she just went through, the idea of having shorter hair seemed appealing. More than once, Yarnball ended up tangling with her hair. It wasn't something too difficult to fix, but if that happened in the middle of a fight, she would have a lot of problems.

Hera accepted Helena's invitation as long as she could pay for herself. Even after buying her new weapon, she still had some money, and Helena wouldn't take her to a place too expensive if she was the one paying.

Helena accepted the terms and asked Hera to meet her in the guild later that day. Seeing that she had some time to kill, Hera took a stroll through the street mall. It was supposed to be just a way to kill time, but she ended up finding a pop-up store selling some culinary books. One title caught her attention.

Quick and easy recipes for camping.

Since she was going inside the MAZE, this could come in handy. The title even came with an ebook code to download. She bought the book and when it was time, went back to the guild. When the two of them met, Helena took Hera towards a parking lot near the guild where the mage's car was parked.

The drive wasn't too long but still took Hera to a part of the town she never saw before. After some time, they finally arrived in a small windowless store in front of a park. Inside the store, there was an elegant beauty parlor with light blue patterns across the white wall, five sets of chairs, and a long red couch in the back. Every piece of furniture, aside from the sofa and the chairs, seemed to be made of diamonds. They sparkled and glittered, making the whole room feel like it was being seen through a glow filter.

"Hera, this is Quinn, the best hairdresser in the world," Helena announced.

Beside her stood a short woman with flaming red hair that would stop just above her shoulders. She had large blue eyes that popped even more due to the glittery purple eyeshadow she was wearing. She opened a big smile that showed her canine teeth to be a bit more pointy than usual.

"It's so nice to meet you. Lena has been talking about you for the whole month," Quinn said.

"Hey, don't sell me out," Helena complained.

"Don't be late for girls' night next time then," Quinn retorted.

Quinn showed Hera where she could sit and gave her a small crystal tablet. Telling her, she could tap the various hairstyles on the screen and get a preview in the mirror. It wasn't a perfect simulation, but it did get quite close.

Hera browsed through the styles. She needed to choose a short one, so she didn't even try to look at the longer ones. It would only make her want to keep her long hair. She looked through them, trying to find something that suited her. Mohawks and buzzcuts were out of the picture. She would look weird with those. A pixie cut was also a no go. Last time she tried it, she felt like a child.

After a while, she stopped at a style with shaved sides, and a longer middle pulled back, making a backward wave. It was gorgeous, but she could never pull it off. She looked for another one, close to the one she saw. With the length of a pixie cut on the sides and the top would be wavy and messy being longer in the front. That one seemed long enough so she could still do some less daring styles. The one on display would be mostly for when she needed to fight.

Letting Quinn know she had made a decision, the hairdresser quickly started her work. First, washing Hera's hair and then starting to cut. Quinn wasn't talking much aside from asking questions about how Hera wanted the style. It was relaxing having someone take such good care of her hair. Looking at the mirror, Hera could see a satisfied smile on Quinn's face. The hairdresser also kept humming a soft tune under her breath. In a situation like that, it was hard not to fall asleep.

Luckily for Hera, the haircut didn't take long. In a bit over thirty minutes, Quinn spun Hera around to see the finished product.

The explorer took a moment to realize what she was seeing. Her blonde hair looked like it was dancing with itself before reaching the front, where it fell softly on her forehead. Not only that, but it also had some volume. Enough for her to let the hair fell to the sides if she wished to change the style.

"I have to say. It's been a while since I worked with such pretty hair. Most blondes that come here are not natural, so the hair is a bit damaged. I can see you treat yours with a great deal of care," Quinn said as she placed the finishing touches.

"Thank you. I don't know how you made me look so pretty," Hera said, still staring at her reflection.

"Let me tell you a secret," Quinn put her face beside Hera's looking at the explorer through the mirror, "I only made your hair different. The pretty part is all you."

The hairdresser gave such an honest smile that Hera couldn't help but smile back, even if she didn't agree with what Quinn said. She could pretend it was true for a few moments.

"One last thing. Let me send you a quick tutorial. It's a simple 5 step way to turn this into a pulled-back style, that way you can do it inside the MAZE. It also has a step by step in how to make this style. It won't be exactly the same as it looks right now, but that's just because I'm amazing," Quinn said, puffing her chest.

"You really are, thank you so much," Hera said.

"Now, as I promised. You can pay, this one is just 50 gold," Helena chimed in.

"Can you please not give my price to my customers? But yes, you get a friend discount, Hera. It's going to be 50 gold," Quinn explained.

"Thank you."

Hera wanted to protest, but it was hard to argue with Quinn. She made Hera feel so comfortable.

"So let's go. Pay the bill so the three of us can have dinner. It's my treat," Helena said.

"Lena!" Hera protested.

"What? I only said that I would let you pay for the haircut. I never said a thing about dinner," Helena answered with a playful smile.

The trio went to an all you can eat pizzeria. At first, Hera felt a bit awkward. She was a heavy eater, and being with someone new, even if it was Helena's friend, made her worried about her eating habits. However, as the slices started to come, she realized her worries were unfounded. Quinn gobbled slice after slice, barely stopping to breathe. Hera soon started to follow her lead.

Helena stared at those two kind and gentle souls in front of her. They were so sweet, so lovely, and yet both were already on the seventh slice.

"That's just cheating. If I eat like that, it will all go to my hips," she thought to herself.

The trio spent the whole night eating, drinking, and talking. Hera was amazed at how much Quinn had done. Backpacking through Asia, the scholarship on a culinary institute on France, dropping out of the institute to learn cosmetology, helping build an animal shelter. She was amazing.

When they left, Helena called a taxi for everyone. She was in no shape to drive. Hera woke up the next day with a nasty hangover. Still, she had worse. Since it was still Tuesday, she took the day to rest and make the world stop spinning. Using her usual cure, she made a large pot of black coffee, ate a glass of black and green olives, and ordered in the biggest greasiest hamburger she could find.

At the end of the day, she called her grandma to tell her about going inside the MAZE. She also sent a few texts to some friends, just to let them know she might be unavailable. She knew that in some places inside the MAZE, she still could use the internet, but cellphones were a no go. She also sent a text to her dad, Hera still didn't want to talk to him after what happened last week.

When Wednesday came, her whole group woke up early and agreed to go straight for the guild. Hera stopped to thank Helena for everything before going down to the doorway floor and changing her clothes. When she was ready, she looked in the mirror.

She was wearing a pair of black jeans pants, the belt with a few satchels, a grey long-sleeved shirt that fit her body, and a dark brown leather jacket. It would look like she was going to a rock concert if it weren't for the chakram and the handaxe on her belt.

Hera left the locker with her backpack. She had stopped to buy a few bottles of water, a first aid kit, and a few power bars. Walking towards the doorway to wait for the rest of the group, she noticed a few stares aimed at her. After scanning the area, she realized that no one else had a backpack as she did. Sometime later, the rest of the group arrived, and to Hera's relief, Bonnie and Leo had their own backpacks.

"You two are not taking backpacks?" Bonnie asked.

"I have a satchel, a backpack can be a problem for my role," Alex answered.

"Everything I need is in my pockets or my belt. Water, food, a change of underwear. I'm good," Blue said.

"I hope I brought enough. I have three bras and four panties," Bonnie said.

"I guess it's fine. We can probably figure out a way to wash them there. Even if that means waiting for it to dry later," Hera said.

"You guys... brought underwear?" Leo asked.

The four girls stared at Leo.

"Leonidas, shut up. I don't want to hear a single thing you have to say on the subject," Blue demanded as she walked towards the doorway.

Helena was there waiting for the group. She gave them a quest to introduce themselves to the guild in Brinefront. She also told the group a few ground rules and what to expect inside the MAZE. When they regained their senses, they should move first and look around later. Crossing the doorway was close to being at the end of an escalator. She also gave Hera a big hug, sent her the basic database from the Order and told her to check the quest board in the guild before heading out to explore.

The five thanked Helena and walked towards the doorway. They waited in line to get in. There was just a single group in front of them at the moment. Hera started to feel her stomach flutter. She was finally going inside the MAZE. Not a simulation, not a test. This time it was the real deal.

They stopped in front of the doorway and looked at each other with big smiles on their faces. Nodding to her friends, Hera reached out and touched the doorway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to be transported to

Brinefront - 1st Layer

[Yes] [No]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group looked at the notification and counted down together.

3...

2...

1...

In synch, they all pressed yes.