Note: Please bear with me, I promise; there will definitely be more action! Again, please be supportive. Leave a review! (Edited, slightly)

Takeshi quickly made his way down the mountain and into a tiny forest with Lydel strutting alongside him. He glanced around. There seemed to be nothing in the forest. He slowly walked into the forest, readying his sword, lest something jumped out at him. Lydel had a sword of her own, although it was in better condition as it had not been used before.

Takeshi was done with crying and had gotten back into his usual mood. He was smiling again. He had decided to accept his father's challenge to him to become a magician. He was going to show his fellow villagers how strong he was!

Takeshi narrowed his eyes, scanning around for any signs of monsters. He looked around for about a minute, and then relaxed when nothing happened. He took two steps forward…

A green creature flung itself onto Takeshi and knocked him off his feet. He rolled on the floor and let out a cry. The creature had easily overpowered him and had smacked his sword away. It was slowly draining his life away, stealing his health each second. Lydel stood by the side and stared wide-eyed in horror as Takeshi was being killed.

She had thought about jumping in to help, but she couldn't even fight. She bit her lip, not knowing what to do. She had to help somehow. She threw her sword at the creature, hoping the sword would hit it.

It did. It sunk itself into the creature, leaving Lydel grinning. She had killed her first monster. She was about to walk over, when the green object spun around to meet her. The sword had not caused any harm to the creature. It sunk harmlessly into the creature like it would have into jelly. She screamed and took to her heels.

As Takeshi struggled to get the creature off him, there was a flash of silver, and then it faded. A few coins flew out from nowhere, although the amount was much greater than that of which he got from the blue snails. Just when he was about to pick up the coins, a hand swiped them away. He looked up and saw a man in full armour, a sword three times the size of his.

"That must be your sword." The man picked up his sword and tossed it to him. He picked up another object that had dropped out: a green blob the size of a teardrop. Takeshi looked at him for awhile and realized that he was about Takeshi's age, maybe a year older.

"Thanks for saving my life, but who are you anyway?" Takeshi got up and brushed off the dirt from his shirt. "The name's Rio. Those nasty green slimes are everywhere. You shouldn't mess with them at your level." Takeshi scratched his head. "What's a level?" Rio seemed shocked. "You mean you don't know what a level is?"

"Well, no." Rio stared at him for awhile, and then burst out laughing. "You're level 3. A level tells you how powerful you are."

"How can I tell what level I'm at?" Takeshi innocently asked. "Well, you just do. Everyone is born with the ability to read levels. Close your eyes and try to search inside yourself." Takeshi did as he was told. He shut his eyes and tried to look inside himself. Nothing happened. "Are you sure? Nothing happened!" Takeshi knew he had a lot to learn. "Just keep trying."

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Lydel walked out of her hiding place. A man was in front of Takeshi and the creature had disappeared. Takeshi's eyes were shut tightly. "Takeshi! You can't die the minute you start your journey!" She ran towards him, her eyes starting too water.

"Whaa?" Takeshi heard a voice shouting out something and then he heard footsteps. He tried to keep his eyes shut, but curiosity got the better of him. He opened his eyes to see Lydel running towards him, and she was crying. It was only then that he realized what was happening.

"I'm not dead, you idiot!" Lydel stared at him for awhile, and then flushed. Takeshi rolled around, not being able to contain his laughter.

------

Two hours had passed, and Takeshi and Lydel had their eyes closed, trying to sense their levels. Rio had been very patient with them, killing green slimes around the area while waiting. Takeshi had been practicing, but nothing seemed to help. He had just been staring into darkness, or so to speak. And then he saw it. There was a distant light in the darkness. He reached out for it, and a number came to his head.

"23!" He yelled. "What?" Lydel had opened her eyes to see what he was doing. Rio finished off a green slime and ran back to them. "That's right. I am level 23! You did it." Takeshi grinned and turned to look at Lydel, who was obviously frustrated that she was being left out.

"What's so great about guessing numbers? It's not like I want to anyway!" Rio and Takeshi chuckled.

"Alright then," Rio continued. "Keep doing that and you'll get to a point where you don't even have to blink to do it." Lydel got up and looked around. "I suddenly remembered. Where is my sword anyway?" Rio produced a sword from behind him and threw it to Lydel.

"There you go! I was hoping you'd ask that" Rio turned around and took a step forward. "Now, I must get going. If I were you, I'd suggest going to henesys using the taxi. You can train near there. The monsters are about your level."

"What's a taxi?" Takeshi blurted out, hoping he didn't sound as dumb as he thought he was. "You can see it for yourself. The nearest one is in Perion. I was just about to go there, so I can take you there, but there will be more monsters along the way. Do you think you can make it?" Rio was already walking.

"Yeah! Wait up!" Takeshi grabbed Lydel's hand and dragged her along with him as he sprinted towards Rio.

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"Stand back! This is my fight!" Rio unsheathed his sword and slashed the Dark Axe Stump. A few slashes and it fell into pieces, then faded. "This is getting too easy!" They were almost half way to Perion, and there were many other people fighting along the way as well. Takeshi felt particularly uncomfortable when stared at him, as if he was an alien.

They continued walking, avoiding particularly powerful monsters. Takeshi got hit by a few monsters several times, and he winced in pain as the monsters drained his health. He realized that all monsters could drain health, just like that green slime. As they continued, the landscape got more and more barren until it was no more than sand and rock.

When they arrived at the entrance to Perion, they found themselves facing eight Dark Axe Stumps blocking their way. Rio swore and grabbed his sword. He let out a howl and dashed forward, slashing the Stumps with all his strength. However, eight was just too many for him. The Dark Axe Stump rammed into Rio and sent him flying off the small cliff, landing not too far away from Takeshi. Blood seeped out of a gash in his chest where the axe of the Stump had went into.

"Aaagh!" He tried to get up, but his energy seemed to depart from his body, leaving him paralyzed on the ground. Takeshi was left with Lydel to face the Stumps.

"Rio! I can't face them alone! You have to help!" Takeshi stared at the Stumps as they started walking towards him. He trembled with fear, hoping they would just disappear. They didn't. Beads of cold sweat trickled from his forehead as he stared uselessly at them. He shut his eyes and yelled. There was a loud noise, followed by the groans of the Dark Axe Stumps. He opened his eyes and saw that there was nothing left but coins and a few pieces of firewood.

"What happened?" He walked over to pick up the coins and the firewood. He looked at the amount and stared in amazement. "Oh my… 3,300 mesos! This is crazy!" Lydel was staring as well, but not at the money.

"Ta…Takeshi, you just…" Takeshi spun around and saw Lydel staring at him like the other people had. "When you shut your eyes, a blue bolt of energy just flew out of you! It killed the Dark Axe Stumps as if they were nothing!"

"Ah… that's nonsense. Someone must have saved us." He turned and saw Rio on the floor, semi-unconscious. "Let's not talk about it anymore. Now come over and help me get Rio into Perion!" He heaved up Rio and rested him on his shoulders. "Come on Lydel, we don't have all day!" Lydel clumsily followed him, not sure whether her eyes had just played a trick on her before.

-----

Dust filled the air as Perion's gate came into view. Takeshi was filled with excitement, wondering what the inside of Perion was like. He slowly made his way into Perion, making sure not to drop Rio. Perion was actually a small part of a mountain that had been split into many pieces, and it was the only surviving piece. It bustled with life as Takeshi and Lydel walked in. The place was fairly crowded, although not to the point where he had to squeeze. The ground was dry and rocky, and he wondered how people actually drank water there.

Lydel looked around in amazement. She had only seen Perion from the cliff before, although she couldn't really make out anything. "Takeshi! You go find help. I think I want to explore this place more." Takeshi groaned, then continued walking.

Takeshi found some stairs and decided that up was the way to go. He had to find help fast or Rio would bleed to death. He ran up many flights of stairs, and Rio had been severely weighing him down. He ran up until finally, he reached the top of the mountain, and there lay a huge stone house. Somehow he felt drawn by it. Without thinking, he pushed the door open and walked in. A lone man sat in the room. He had feathers on his head going down to his chest and his eyes were closed.

"Come here." Takeshi got startled. He hadn't made a noise and he had noticed him, while his eyes were shut. Takeshi slowly laid Rio on the ground in front of him.

"Please Mister. I need your help. My friend is bleeding and I really need someone to heal him." Takeshi took a step back when he asked, hoping the man would help him. The man never moved a muscle. Takeshi watched as the man continued to keep his eyes shut without doing anything.

"Hey! Is this how you treat a fellow traveler?" Takeshi shouted, raising his voice. He took out his sword and pointed it at the man, knowing he would be able to sense it.

"No, it isn't. Put down your sword and I can start healing him." The man was calm and collected, showing no signs of fear or any other emotion. He moved his finger an inch, no more than an inch, and an orange light glowed on his fingertip, and then it was over. Nothing else moved or changed. "I like your spirit, boy. You are brave to point your sword at me, knowing who I am. Leave now, and the moment you step out of this place, you friend will be healed."

Takeshi slowly carried Rio and stumbled out of the room. What had he meant when he said 'knowing who I am'? Suddenly, Rio's eyes opened. He slowly got off Takeshi's back and stared at him.

"I… I'm alive! How did you do it?" Rio's head was full of questions, and he was mouthing then out one by one. "There was this man in that big room behind me. He only healed you only after I pointed my sword at him." Rio was certain he had heard a little bit of pride in his voice. Then he turned around and saw the stone house.

"You didn't! Tell me you didn't do what you said you just did!" Takeshi looked at Rio, and his whole body was shaking with fear. "That man was Dances with Balrog! He has enough power to kill you just by moving an inch! He's the Perion Chief you idiot! He's the warrior instructor!" Takeshi was dumbfounded. He had never heard of such a man before. He had assumed Grendel was the only instructor on Victoria Island.

"There's more than just one instructor?" Rio smacked his forehead. "OF COURSE THERE IS! There are five you fool!" Rio started pushing the now-trembling Takeshi into the room. "Apologize!" Takeshi's jaw dropped.

"You do it!" He tried to run, but Rio was too strong for him. He shoved him into the room and dashed off. The Perion Chief was still there. "I uh… I… Sorry…" Takeshi's voice shook as he tried to look away.

"Sit down, boy." He immediately sat down, not trying to think of what would happen to him if he disobeyed the Perion Chief. "Don't worry, I won't harm you. You have a great future ahead of you." Takeshi thought he was hearing things. "I have a great future ahead of me?"

The Perion Chief muttered something under his breath, and then said, "Nothing of importance. You have already apologized. Now, please take this before you leave. You won't be able to use it just yet, but you will find it to be of use later…" He threw small wooden stick at Takeshi, who caught it with ease.

"This is… it's a wand! How do you…" He thought about it but decided not to question the great chief. He slowly stepped out of the room, not being sure what to expect anymore.

"How did it go?" Rio seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Did he forgive you?" Takeshi decided to keep a few details out. "Yeah… I… He did." He looked back at the room and wondered if he would ever cross paths with the Perion Chief again. "Now, please show me this taxi you were talking about before." Rio nodded and brought him around Perion until they reached the taxi.

Surprisingly, Lydel had been waiting for them there, leaning against the taxi. "You guys FINALLY reached here." She turned and saw Takeshi staring at the taxi, disregarding every word she had just said.

"This is it? A vehicle with wheels to move around? It's genius! This can bring me as far as Henesys?" Takeshi was still in awe at what he had seen. "Yes, it will. For a person with no job, you get a discount. Lemme check with the driver." Rio knocked on the door for awhile, and the driver wound down the window.

"May I help you?" The driver peered out of the window. "How much do you charge beginners to get to Henesys?" Rio turned and called Takeshi and Lydel to stand by him. "For those two? 240 mesos." Takeshi stared at him, as if the amount was huge.

"120 mesos! Are you mad? That's daylight robbery!" Rio glared at Takeshi, and then turned back to the driver. "He's new." Rio walked back to Takeshi and whispered something in his ear. Takeshi frowned. He grudgingly held out the 120 mesos in his palm.

"Thank you." The driver snatched the coins and unlocked the doors. "Bye Takeshi! It was nice knowing you!" Rio waved goodbye, and Takeshi did the same.

The taxi's engine roared to life and the wheels began spinning. Takeshi was taken aback by the sudden burst of noise. He looked out the window and smiled at Rio. He hoped that they would meet again soon.

-End Chapter-