Mr. Ericson took Thomas down through the lowest floor of the warrior's classroom building. At the back wall of the basement, he produced a large iron key and opened the lock on the heavy wooden door.
"Mr. Walker, this is the entrance to the Green Key Labyrinth's fighters' section. This is how we equip our students to face many of the challenges that will await them once they join a guild. There are heavy doors dividing the maze into different tiers. Each tier is designed to test and train different skills. Just past this door are the first-tier weapon training areas. These areas start off set for individual students to practice against single opponents. As you go deeper, you will encounter both more opponents and stronger opponents. Towards the end of the area, you will need to begin working in a team with other students. Normally, you would not be allowed until the second semester, and then only with a mentor for the first few runs. But your weapon skills are advancing more quickly than usual, and we don't exactly have a Shaman on staff to mentor you. So, the Headmaster decided to allow you access to the labyrinth ahead of schedule. I'll be watching you today. After that you'll be on your own." Pulling the heavy door open, Mr. Ericson gestured for Thomas to proceed ahead of him. As they proceeded down the dimly lit stone corridor, the lighting provided at first by glowing crystals set in wrought iron scones then changing to luminescent lichen growing along the walls and ceiling, Mr. Ericson continued, "Only teachers and dorm heads have access to the labyrinth. If you want to come here to train, you need to request one of them to open the door. The first tier of the maze is split between the magic, spirit, and fighter's area. So, a magic teacher cannot let you into the fighter's area, and vice versa."
"So, as the head of the shaman dorm, who do I need to talk to when I receive a request to enter the maze?" Thomas asked with a slight smirk.
"Right, you are the dorm head," Mr. Ericson scratched his bearded chin. "Well, I guess I'll need to issue you one of the keys once we're done here. All the students are encouraged to practice here as often as possible, but remember to check with the office in case a section is booked out for a large party. That probably won't be an issue for now, but once the other first years receive permission, most of the dorms hold group training sessions to get the first years off on the right foot."
"OK, I understand that. Can I grant access to students not in my dorm?"
"Yes, as long as they are allowed to enter the labyrinth at all. If you wanted to train with Alex, for example, he would first need to be allowed in. And the system will recognize students who are not allowed, either because it's too early or for disciplinary reasons."
"Anyway," Mr. Ericson continued, "If you get in too deep, the entrance doors will always open from the inside and the areas behind you will not reset unless there is another student working his way through behind you." Mr. Ericson explained.
The pair entered an open area of barren rock with a waist high pillar standing in the center. Another glowing crystal sent a focused shaft of light on the crystal.
"This is the entry control. Place your student token in the slot to open the door and activate the course. Every time you enter, your progress will be recorded on your token. After you pass an area, you will find another pillar like this one. Those pillars will control access to the next area and mark your token to allow you to bypass areas you have cleared the next time you enter the maze. If you do not want to bypass, you do not have to. To activate the bypass, press the green crystal until you hear the chime. Otherwise, the areas will be active. So that's all you need to know for now. Place your token to begin the first room."
Thomas removed his student token, a small crystal about as wide and long as his thumb and worn on a cord around his neck, and approached the pillar. The top of the pillar was slanted towards him at a moderate angle. On the slanted face was a grid of indentations in five rows and columns. Each indentation was the size of his token and had an impression of the school's livery at the bottom. Below the grid were two dark crystals. Thomas placed his token in the top right indentation. After a moment the crystal on the right began to glow red. After receiving a nod from Mr. Ericson, Thomas pressed the glowing crystal. An audible chime rang through the room, along with the sound of bolts retracting from the door at the far end of the room.
"OK, Thomas," Mr. Ericson remarked, "The door is open and the course is active. I'll be following you from here on out. I will not be fighting, and the opponents will ignore me. All you need to do to clear this area is get to the control pillar at the exit. If you get knocked out, I'll make sure you reach the healer's ward. Good luck and have fun."
Passing through the door, Thomas followed the corridor that began to slope slightly downward. Behind him the doors swung shut with a disheartening boom.
Advancing cautiously down the tunnel, Thomas began to hear a scraping sound coming from ahead of him. At the end of the tunnel was a small cavern. Stopping at the tunnels end Thomas saw a humanoid figure shuffling slowly around the room. When he entered the room, an eerie moan echoed through the room. The humanoid figure raised its arms and headed directly towards Thomas. Stepping to the side, Thomas spun in a circle, adding centrifugal force to his mace as he struck the back of the creature's head.
The blow landed solidly, and the creatures head separated from its torso completely. The head hit the wall and rolled back toward the center of the room. Meanwhile, the remainder of the creature fell in a heap where it was. As the creature fell, the dim light provided by the lichen was joined by several brightly glowing crystals affixed to the rim of the ceiling.
In the now bright light, Thomas could see that he had been deceived. The creature he had taken for a zombie was in fact a golem made of mud and wood.
"Well done, Thomas," congratulated Mr. Ericson. "I've never seen anyone beat this room faster. On average, out of ten students, six will not realize it is a zombie and will try to fight it like a normal foe, three will realize it is a zombie and run screaming, and one will go for the head. Your attack was a perfect example of dodge and strike."
"But it wasn't really a zombie," Thomas replied. After a moment he continued, "I guess having real zombies would be problematic." At Mr. Ericson's grin Thomas continued his line of thought "I'm guessing that most of the opponents in the maze are simulated to some degree. Magical constructs would be easier to replace than real monsters, and they are also far easier to control."
"You're right, to some extent. But don't get complacent. All the opponents are designed to get you to push your limits. And that means you can still get hurt. Also, the more often you challenge an area, the stronger the opponents become," Mr. Ericson indicated the tunnel opening across the room, "Shall we continue?"
At the next room, there was another golem. This one was disguised as a hobgoblin. Moving quickly and attacking with a large wooden club, this golem was a much harder foe for Thomas. Quickly diving out of the way of its first blow, Thomas attacked the hobgoblin's knee with a sharp strike of his axe. The knee broke and the hobgoblin collapsed to the floor. However, that was not enough to stop this foe. As Thomas was rising to his feet, the hobgoblins club connected with the back of Thomas' calf, dropping him back to the ground. As the hobgoblin's club returned to inflict more damage, Thomas was able to trap it under his bruised leg. Sitting up Thomas used his axe to sever the arm holding the club at the elbow.
The hobgoblin retaliated by grabbing Thomas' arm and dragging itself close enough to bite. Thomas leather bracer protected him from damage, and he was able to twist the arm of the hobgoblin and regain his feet. From there it was easy to break the hobgoblins head with the mace he held in his left hand.
This room had five exits, each with a colored crystal above the arch.
As they continued through the maze, Thomas continued to engage a wide variety of enemies. Most were golems like the one he first encountered, but were programed to simulate a large variety of monsters, from goblins to skeletons.