With the early morning sunlight filling throughout the woods, everything just seemed so peaceful. That was until a massive explosion rocked the entire forest including an unripe apple hanging inches above the ground by a long line.

Tightening his grip on the fishing rod, the novice sitting up on the branch of the one of the tall trees lowered the magazine and took a look at the resulting cloud of dust rising above the forest canopy. "That'll scare the porings away. Oh well," he said with a shrug returning his attention back on the magazine.

"Mika you dumbass! You almost killed us back there!" The boy heard an angry voice shouting aloud and from the sound of it, its owner seemed to be moving closer to his location. However, just like the explosion, that didn't interest the novice much as he was deeply immersed with the publication, whatever it contained.

"You're over exaggerating again." A lady wizard answered.

"Me? Over exaggerating? Isn't it you who cast Lord of Vermillion on that lone wolf just because there were other wizards around." The priest following her said irritably. "Really, you need to stop showing off you know."

The wizard stopped on her tracks when she saw the dangling unripe apple up ahead. She followed the line holding the apple and found its owner up on the extended branch of a large tree. "That's an interesting way to catch a poring." She said eyeing the fishing rod on the novice's hand with interest.

The novice turned his head from the magazine down to the wizard and the priest. "Aren't you two way too strong to be training at a place like this?"

"Actually, we're hunting the vagabond wolf." The priest standing next to her replied.

"Okay. Happy hunting." The novice simply said immersing himself back on the magazine.

"Hey!" The wizard called out. "Since the vagabond wolf isn't going to show itself for a while, we wouldn't mind tanking you a bit. We need to kill some time after all so better spend it on something productive."

"I think I'll pass the offer. Thanks anyway." The novice said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

The wizard and priest both turned at each other looking greatly confused. Other novices would have gone flocking around you faster than a thief bug could run towards an item dropped on the ground at the mention of the word 'tank'. Some will even stalk you until you agree to tank them. This one however didn't appear to be interested at all and that stuck them as odd.

"Don't you want to get to a job faster?" The priest asked.

"I'm not in a hurry." The novice answered still keeping his eyes glued on the magazine.

"But at this rate I'm sure most of your classmates from the Academy would have already gotten their first jobs."

"That's fine then."

The priest turned to the wizard who simply shrugged at him.

"Okay. But I'm telling you, you're passing up this great opportunity." The wizard called back before she and the priest continued on their way.

"What's with him?" The novice heard her ask after the two got a relative distance away.

"Don't worry about him. He's still got years to catch up with his destiny so he's probably taking his time." The priest replied.

"But still..." He heard the wizard say before the novice lost sight of them against the forest vegetation.

A while later, the novice stopped reading and looked up at the sky with a thought nagging away at him. "Destiny eh?" He was musing on this quite some time before he felt something tugging at his fishing rod. A wide smile appeared on his face. He gave the fishing rod a sharp pull sending the small poring that got caught with the line high into the air. "Gotcha!"

pRO Story

Chapter 1 –

"YYEEESSSS!!!"

Startled birds started flying away from the branches of the nearby trees. A poring fell sharply from its leisurely place on top of its master's head splattering pink goo all over the magazine by his lap. The novice looked in a mix of horror and disbelief. His eyes were twitching at the sight of the ruined magazine. The voice boomed so loud that nearby people turned their heads towards its source.

"Finally! Now I'm a certified full-pledged acolyte!" a young girl, brown hair barely reaching the shoulder, shouted proudly as she and her companion made their way out of the giant doors of Prontera Sanctuary. She was totally oblivious of the attention she was getting.

Some people, especially the priests and priestesses, looked scandalized for making such a scene while in front of the house of God. Merchants eyed her as a prospective buyer for their blue gemstones and other acolyte-specialty wares. Novices, mainly those aspiring to be acolytes, glowed at her full of admiration while the others simply see her as someone they can beg free heals from.

"What are you doing Emily? This is embarrassing." the pretty mage about the same age as the acolyte whispered. She inched closer to sink behind her friend feeling greatly embarrassed. Her face was so red that she felt like melting at all those eyes collectively staring at them. Thankfully, the people lost their interest as quickly as it had crept in and returned their attentions back into their own business.

Emily turned to her friend enthusiastically with a wide smile plastered across her face. "Hey Marlene. What do you think is the first thing we should be doing now that we've graduated from being lowly novices?"

"Umm... Go train?"

"We need to party, silly! We should celebrate our achievements!" Emily grabbed Marlene's arm while raising her other fist into the air. "Alright it's settled! We're going to the Pub and get stuffed with food like there's no tomorrow!" She said gleefully.

"But I don't have any more money. I spent all of my savings buying this new robe and wand. I also paid 1,000z to an acolyte to warp me here."

"Don't worry, it's my treat!" Emily told Marlene while digging her hand into the pocket of her robe.

"?"

Marlene noticed a sudden change in Emily's expression. The acolyte then began searching her pockets frantically. This prompted a feeling of suspicion on the part of Marlene. She narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You don't have any money, right?"

"Ahehehe." Emily chuckled scratching the back of her head. "I forgot. I paid that Kafra girl to warp me to Morroc. The old geezer inside told me to go find and talk to this priestess who's on a stupid pilgrimage at the desert. Then I went to another Kafra girl to warp me back here in Prontera so there, almost all of my money was spent on the warp services."

"You should have just asked acolytes or priests to warp you since they charge cheaper than the Kafra girls," Marlene suggested after hearing her friend's story.

"Nah ah!" Emily shook her head in disagreement. "I'd rather spend more than be scammed by those devious acolytes! Those jerks! They'd offer to warp you at a cheaper fee but after you've given them your money they'll teleport themselves away along with your hard-earned zeny! I hate their kind!" She said aloud causing a small group of acolytes passing by to scowl heavily at them.

A large sweat drop sported over Marlene. But you're an acolyte too.

"I know!" The acolyte suddenly snapped. "I'll set up a healing station and charge everyone that needs my Heal spells. Sounds profitable ne?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Marlene pointed at a priest casting Sanctuary a few yards away. Seconds later and light began to emanate from a sizable patch of ground healing the adventurers standing within the spell's territory.

Showoff! Taking away my customers! Emily muttered in disgust. "Fine! I'll just set up a warping station then. I'll even give them free heals."

"But umm... You've only turned into an acolyte just minutes ago. You don't know how to open Warp Portals yet." Marlene reminded her.

"So I'll turn it into a scam!" Emily said crossing her arms. "If the other acolytes can do it then so can I!"

"You don't even know how to teleport. How are you going to escape you're victims then?"

"Then I'll just make a run for it."

"You're not a fast runner. Plus, you haven't learned the spell Increase AGI yet. They'll just catch you and bring you to the guards and they'll lock you up in the dungeons for the rest of your life!" Marlene had her hands clasped and quivered at the thought.

Emily's head dropped in defeat. She raked her brain for any new idea and managed to find one after a few minutes. She turned to the mage, scanning her from head to toe. The acolyte particularly took note of her Marlene's uniform which revealed a lot of the girl's flawless skin and perfectly shaped body. A mischievous grin appeared on her face. "I got this wonderful idea! Let's just beg for money. With our looks and charms, we'll be raking a fortune in no time!"

Marlene saw herself along with Emily sitting by the fountain at the middle of Prontera square, each one throwing pleading, puppy-eyed faces at the hundreds of people passing by.

"Please help us. Have mercy."

"Please spare us some zenny. Or maybe some used equipment. Anything would do."

They repeated those lines again and again hoping that someone with a kind heart would take pity and give them something, anything that they could use to sell at the shops for some money. Unfortunately, none of the other people seem to care to spare them their attention.

Marlene felt like she was already sitting at that spot for hours before a small group consisted of two swordsmen, three thieves, and a merchant approach them making her heart leap in joy. However, that feeling didn't last long when she noticed the lustful, evil looks on the men's faces.

"Will you look at those cute girls."

"You got no money? Why don't you come with us and we'll take care that."

"We're going to have a good time babes!"

"N-no thanks..." replied Emily nervously.

"But we insist babies!" the merchant responded and the men started to inch closer and closer to them. Marlene and Emily hugged each other as they were about to become helpless preys for these flesh-hungry men.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T! NO!!!"

PAK!!!

Marlene's butt fell on the cold stone pavement and felt her left cheek sting. Watery eyed, she rubbed her cheek to ease the pain. Looking up and noticing that was still at the front of Prontera Sanctuary, She saw Emily, her eyes closed and was looking really annoyed with the knots of nerves appearing on her forehead. Her hand was still raised after slapping the mage back to her senses just moments ago.

"Wake up! You're daydreaming again!" Emily said, yelling at the mage. She was glaring down at the mage with such intensity enough to stare down a pecopeco. "Honestly! I don't know what's swimming across that thick head of yours!"

"S-sorry..."

"Stop imagining things. I've just thought of a plan."

"I don't wanna beg for zenny, that's scary..." said Marlene who was still sitting on the road rubbing her reddened left cheek.

"Stupid. Of course we're not going to beg. That was just a joke. I have my dignity you know." Emily huffed proudly. "We're going to hunt monsters outside the city and sell all the items that we find at a shop for some cash. Got it?"

Marlene merely nodded in assent.

Emily energetically raised an arm and pointed forward. "Alright! Let's go!" The acolyte exclaimed aloud feeling overly enthusiastic. A wide grin was plastered across her face. She was totally unaware that people are staring at her again leaving poor Marlene to bear all the embarrassment she was making.

The loud sound of a violin playing out of tune echoed across the bushy field as a large green rocker appeared into the area. The creature was jumping up and down, playing its musical instrument as it moved across the field. Unknown to the creature, two girls hiding behind a large clump of bushes had been spying down on him.

"Is that what we're going to kill?" whispered Marlene.

"Yup. I heard that monster's legs fetch a higher price than jelopies." Emily replied softly.

"I don't know. That monster looks strong and scary. Besides, remember what happen to our classmate Collin when he tackled one of those? He got broken bones all over his body and had to stay in the infirmary for six months. " Marlene explained. She was having second thoughts about this.

"Stop being a chicken. You know that snotty Collin is such a weakling that a fabre can kick his ass up to the moon and back." Emily hissed keeping her voice low so as not to let the rocker know of their presence. "So? You ready?" she asked again.

"Um... Yes." Marlene agreed reluctantly.

"We'll attack after I count to three. One." Emily readied her club, observing the creature as it neared the bush they are hiding.

"Two."

Marlene nodded in determination. She tightened her grip on her rod. The rocker was now directly in front of them.

"Three!"

A loud rustle came from the bushes as the girls jumped out of their hiding and startled the rocker. The creature was unable to defend itself as a result leaving Emily's large club to make contact directly on its head while Marlene's wand had a clean hit on the rocker's abdomen.

Success, thought Emily. Her lips curled into a triumphant grin.

Slowly, the grasshopper-like monster raised one of its long slender arms and threw the girls away with one powerful swing. They landed with a loud thud on the ground a good fifteen feet away.

"Ouch!" Emily and Marlene cried in unison.

Emily's eyes grew wide in a mixture of awe and fear after seeing the monster's sheer power. Their attacks didn't even give the rocker a scratch. She had greatly miscalculated the rocker's strength and now the monster is enraged. The rocker advanced towards them threateningly flexing all its arms.

"Run!" Emily quickly grabbed Marlene's wrist and the two started to run at breakneck speed in an attempt to escape while the angry rocker gave chase.

After about an hour of searching and failing to find its attackers, the rocker decided to return to its peaceful living and stalked back into the forest playing the ear-splitting tune from its violin as it went.

Emily stuck her head out of the large cluster of bushes they were hiding; glancing around the surroundings to make sure that the monster was gone. "All right. The coast is clear."

Both girls stood up and walked out of the bushes dusting themselves free of the leaves and twigs that got caught in their hair and clothes.

"I told you that monster was strong." said Marlene.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop blaming me okay? Let's just look for other monsters to kill so we could get something to sell back at the shops," replied Emily.

"Why don't we just go for the porings?" Marlene asked hopefully.

"Don't be stupid! We won't get a good pay from those. We'll just waste our time," Emily said without turning to her friend as she was busy scanning the area for any monster they could hunt.

"Awww... But they're just so cute." Marlene sounded disappointed.

"There!" Emily cried aloud, pointing at a large red walking tree trunk being mobbed by a swordsman, a thief and a merchant.

"But that's much stronger compared to the rocker! We can't beat that!" A shocked Marlene exclaimed.

"Of course we can't take that on by ourselves. That's why we're going to kill-steal from them." Emily explained, pointing at the group tackling the elder willow. She shifted her eyes back and saw the elder willow make a swipe and narrowly missing the thief while the swordsman and the merchant continued to hack their weapons into the monster's tough wooden trunk. "Besides, that monster may drop a trunk which is worth 1,000z. More than enough for that feast I'm planning to have."

"Um... Won't those people get mad at us? We'll be stealing their loot."

"Oh don't worry. After all, the first one to pick it up gets to keep it. Com 'on let's go! " Emily rushed towards the elder willow to join the group and whacked the monster with her club. Marlene followed her friend's example and started attacking with her wooden wand amidst the angry hisses of the others.

"Hey! This is our monster so buzz off!" hissed the merchant.

Marlene stopped attacking, bowed her head low and apologized. "Sorry..."

The thief didn't say anything though he shot deadly glares at them from the corner of his eyes. Keeping his concentration on the enemy, as he narrowly dodged another swipe from the monster's large wooden hands

"Marlene, don't just stand there! Blast this thing with your magic!" shouted Emily while continuing with her relentless attacks.

"Um..." Marlene hesitated for while but then decided to follow her friend's instruction. She raised her arm and began gathering energy on the tip of her wand.

"Stop that you stubborn weaklings!" cursed the swordsman.

"Napalm Beat!!" Marlene exclaimed, releasing a massive psychic wave that instantly blast the elder willow apart. Emily saw a large piece of valuable wood fell from the monster' shattered body. Quickly, she raced her hands down and grabbed the loot before the others could.

"Give that back! That's ours!" the swordsman demanded angrily.

"Too bad we got our hands on it first." Emily refused, sticking her tongue at the trio.

"We're so sorry. We're so sorry. We're so sorry." Marlene kept on repeating while constantly bowing her head up and down.

"You're not only kill-stealers but looters as well! I've never seen anyone swoop so low!" the merchant said in disgust. She picked up a jelopy from his cart and threw it at Emily's head. "Take that!" The thief and swordsman followed suit and started throwing jelopies at the girls. Emily and Marlene quickly retreated in order to get away from the painful shower of jelopies.

"Ouch! It hurts." Marlene cried. Tear drops are forming on the corner of her eyes.

"Stop squirming! I'm trying to heal you!" Emily said angrily whilst casting her healing spell to remedy the large bump Marlene got from one of the jelopies that connected hard on her head. After a few shots of Heal to recover Marlene and herself, Emily felt worn out. The healing spells consumed a large amount of her stamina so she decided to sit down and take a little rest.

"Those guys are so mean!" Marlene complained.

"Yeah. So is that merchant they're with. She thinks she's so hot when in fact that oversized bag of hers makes her look like she's pregnant with a full-grown savage." Emily fumed. She took out the piece of trunk they got and a sly smile curled on her lips. "But it's okay. At least we got this. After we sell this we'll be having a feast at the pub."

Just then, a worn out novice came wandering about and saw Emily together with Marlene sitting under the shade of a large tree. Quickly, the novice approached the acolyte, sat in front of her and muttered, "Heal me please."

"Later. I'm resting." Emily replied to the boy.

"Heal me please!" The novice muttered again and again and again.

"I said later! I'm still recovering my stamina!" Emily replied, the irritating pleads of the boy was starting to get on her nerves.

"Heal me! Heal me! Heal me!" The novice continued.

"GRR!!!" Emily stood up, much to the novice's delight to see that the acolyte was about to use her healing spell on him but instead of a heal Emily gave him a good whack on the face with her club knocking the poor novice unconscious before stalking away angrily towards the direction of Prontera City.

"Hey, are you okay?" Marlene asked, poking the boy with a twig. "Emily! Looks like you've killed him!"

"Here's your order." The pub's waitress said as she laid down huge servings of steaks, pork chops and a large plate of fried rice on the table. She looked all stressed out and harassed. The reason seems to be quite obvious though. The pub was unusually full today and the customers were noisily calling after the few waitresses to take their orders, complain that their food was taking way too long or to ask for their chits.

Emily dumped huge amounts of food into her plate and started to devour them as if she was a hungry orc. Marlene, on the other hand, was contented with sipping apple juice and watched Emily tear the food down savagely.

"Hey Marlene, want some?." Emily said in mouthfuls. Rice was flying from her mouth as she spoke.

"No thanks. I'm fine with apple juice."

"Why? The food's really great you know." Emily noisily swallowed a mouthful of steak. "We can order a few more dishes if you want."

"Really, I'm fine with apple juice. Actually this is my favorite drink because it makes me feel like I'm a poring." Marlene giggled. A large sweat drop appeared on Emily's forehead.

At that moment the doors of the pub burst open and in came a group of hoodlums composed of a knight, an archer, a thief, two swordsmen and a mage. The group walked straight towards the counter, turning over tables that get in their way. One of the swordsmen pulled out his large sword and hacked a nearby table in half sending food into the air and its cowardly occupants cowering away.

"This place is reserved for the day so you scumbags better get asses out of here if you know what's good for you!" The swordsman threatened.

The mage extended his hand forward, palm wide open and shoot a Fire Ball towards the pub's wooden doors causing a loud explosion of fire, smoke and debris. "What are you waiting for? Beat it!" he shouted.

Quickly, the pubs' patrons rushed out of the establishment like scurrying ants. There was a bottleneck at the doorway as the door was unable to accommodate everyone. Each was pushing and pulling one another as they want to be the first to be able to leave the place.

"Emily! Hurry up! Let's go!" Marlene said tugging her friend's dress. She wanted to leave the area as soon as possible. Emily gobbled up as much food as she can before getting off the table letting herself be dragged away by Marlene to join the large crowd jostling by the door trying to get out.

Back at the counter, the knight approached the pub owner. The thief, taking no notice of the owner or the waitress, jumped behind the bar and gathered bottles of drinks for them while the rest of their party took seats at a now unoccupied table.

"Hey old man! It's my birthday today! Won't you mind giving me some of those wines as a treat?" the knight asked threateningly at the pub owner.

"S-sure. J-just t-take as much as you want." The pub owner replied, trembling in fear at the sight of the large sword hanging by the knight's waist together with though looking armor covering the knight's large frame.

"You heard that guys? Take what you want it's on the house!" the knight shouted to his men.

"Great!" the men responded in glee.

"Miss. Won't you dance for us? We could really use some entertainment." The archer asked lasciviously the waitress who was trembling in fear.

"It's party time!" said the thief as he distributes the drinks to his comrades.

Toink. Toink.

Everyone turned to where the unexpected noise came from and saw at the far end of the bar a novice, with slightly messy green hair and about nineteen years of age, eating silently oblivious to the recent happenings while his pet, a cute pink baby poring, was jumping and wobbling on the bar next to the boy's plate sipping apple juice.

"WOW!!! What a cute poring!" Marlene shouted excitedly at the sight of the boy's pet. They where now by the doorway when Marlene stopped much to Emily's annoyance since thanks to her about six or so persons had slid past them when it should have already been their turn.

"Hey! Is that novice deaf or what?" The archer exclaimed

"Maybe he wants to learn a lesson he won't get from the Academy," said the swordsman. He stood from his seat to approach the boy when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.

"Its my birthday so you guys better relax and enjoy yourselves. I'll take care of that gatecrasher." said the knight before leaving for to approach the uninvited novice.

"Tsk tsk. Poor guy." said the archer looking at the direction of the novice shaking his head.

"Yeah. The boss will surely beat the stuffing out of him." The other swordsman seconded.

The knight moved next to the novice and banged the bar with his fist so hard that the plate from which the boy was eating jumped by a few centimeters into the air. "Hey kid, you're not invited here! Scram!"

Surprisingly, however intimidating the knight was the boy and his pet simply ignored him and continued to mind their own business. This really pissed the knight off. With an angry swipe he knocked the plate away spilling food on the boy's lap while the fine china broke into several small pieces after it fell on the hard floor.

"Dammit! You're pissing me off!" came the knight's earsplitting shout.

This time the boy and his poring pet turned their eyes reproachfully on the angry knight and in a snap his poring jumped onto the knight's face. The novice reacted quickly. He jumped on his feet and kicked the knight hard on the sheens making him flinch in the intense pain. The boy then held a nearby wooden stool on one of its legs and slammed it hard into the knight's face a second after his pet had jumped away knocking him out.

Enraged, the knight's partymates started to rush towards the novice. The archer quickly took out his bow and shoots an arrow aimed at the boy's heart. The novice had caught sight of this and managed to upturn a nearby table just in time for the arrow to hit its wooden surface instead of his body. Placing his hand on the edge of the table, he jumped over the upturned table and, using the arm holding the table as support, he pushed himself towards the archer. The archer who was yet to setup another arrow on his bow was left defenseless when the boy rammed his fist straight into his jaw knocking him down on the floor.

Holding his dagger steady, the thief dashed towards the novice with great speed coming from behind. However on the last second before the thief could connect his dagger on the enemy's spine, the novice made a quick side step causing the dagger to fly past him. He then extended his foot and tripped the thief off his balance sending him flying towards the swordsman who was at the time rushing towards the novice's front side. They collided in a loud crash and ended as a lumbering heap of entangled bodies down on the floor.

"Emily! Let's help him!" pleaded Marlene.

"Com 'on!" Emily nodded. She rushed behind the unsuspecting swordsman and rammed her club at the back of the man's skull immediately sending him to sleep.

"Fire Bo"

"Napalm Beat!!" Marlene knocked the enemy mage down before he could complete casting. If she had failed to do so, the poor novice would have been turned to ashes by the mage's fire spell.

"YOU BRAT! I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!" The angry knight roared aloud after finally getting back on his feet. He pulled the large sword off its sheath, raised it with both hands into the air and began a mad rush towards the boy.

The boy looked around and saw a bottle of wine on a nearby table. He took the bottle with a quick swipe and threw it at the charging knight. The knight slashed the bottle flying towards him effortlessly. He reached him in a second and hacked his great sword down at him.

"DIE!!!"

However, much to the knight's, Emily's and Marlene's surprise, the boy disappeared a split second before his sword could come into contact with his body.

"You reek."

The knight shifted his head and to his disbelief saw the boy in a crouching position behind him. The novice had an evil smile curled up on his lips and lighted the matchstick he was holding by scratching it on the floor before jumping away. He threw the burning matchstick at the knight's wine soaked clothing and almost instantly, the knight erupted in flames and was howling in pain.

"Napalm Beat!!"

A sudden bust of magical energy hit the burning knight. The knight's wailing ceased and was drowned in the sound of flickering flames. The knight had passed out. The novice turned at the pub owner and the waitress covering on the side and said, "Hurry up and douse the flames! He might die if you don't hurry!"

The pub owner and the waitress both nodded in unison and hurried inside to fetch some water. They returned moments later each one carrying a pail of water which they threw at the knight's body to extinguish the flames.

The novice turned to the direction where the casting came from and saw a mage about the same age as he is. She was skipping up and down, her long straight blue hair swaying in the air. All the while she was clapping gleefully saying, "Yey! I beat a knight! I beat a knight! I beat a knight!"

Standing a few steps away from the mage was an acolyte, also around his age, with a superior look on her face. "Ha! Look at them sleep! They're no match for my amazing strength and power! Hahaha!" Emily boasted aloud, shamelessly taking the credit for beating the hoodlums all for herself.

"I like your moves. And from what I've seen, I can say that you got a lot of potential. By the way, what's your name?" She asked.

"Mai Escaya." The novice answered absentmindedly. He kept on staring at the girls. They do look familiar, he thought, blinking twice just to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks with him.

"Doesn't that sound like a girl's name?" Emily mused aloud. She shook her head dismissing the thought. "Anyway, I'm Emily Leibeldy, super-hot-beautiful-sexy future priestess in training and that silly girl is Marlene Melborne." She introduced pointing at the girl who was chanting, "I beat a knight! I beat a knight! Yey! I beat a knight!" in the background.

"I know you two!" Mai suddenly exclaimed cutting Emily in mid-sentence after finally recalling who they were.

"Really!" Emily excalimed, her eyes glowing. I never knew we were that famous already! This is great!

"You were those scandalous women hanging around Prontera Sanctuary this morning!"

"Hey! Who're you calling scandalous?!" Emily asked raising her voice in anger.

Mai took out a magazine from his backpack and flashed it at her face. "Look at what you've done! Do you know that this limited fifth anniversary issue cost me around 1,500z! See! Thanks to you it's ruined!"

Emily's face turned bright red at the sight before her. The novice had the magazine opened when he stuck it near her face to show her the huge blotches on its precious pages. However, that also showed her the various photos of naked women in erotic poses and couples doing "it".

"You better pay me now or else I'll"

"PERVERT!!!" Emily rammed her fist straight on the boy's crown. It was packed with so much force it sent the novice flat against the floor with a large bump and stars circling around his head. He was on that position when his little pet poring jumped over and settled on top of his head. The poring was glaring at the acolyte for hitting his master.

Emily was crackling her fists, large knots appearing over her forehead and streams of air puffing out of her nostrils. "I'll pay you back for defiling my innocent eyes!" She said, obviously a lie. She raised her foot and was about to give Mai the beating of his life when Marlene suddenly pushed her aside, sat down and stared at Mai intently.

Mai snapped back to his senses looking at the mage as she slowly moved her head closer to his. His eyes were locked into her calm blue eyes. Mai felt his face glow crimson as Marlene's face inched closer and closer.

Marlene's face then broke into a wide cheerful smile. "WOW! What a cute poring!"