“Focus your power!” Athena yelled at me. “Double Shot!” She drew back the string of her dragon bow and released, her arrows punching massive craters in the ground. She then closed her eyes and I could actually see the energy gathering around her. “Final Attack!”
The energy around her seemed to fuse and fly out of her bow. It assumed the shape of a massive dragon and flew through the air for a second before landing with a massive explosion. The crater it left behind had completely swallowed up the other two that she’d made with Double Shot. I remembered the legends about killing a dozen Balrogs at once, and now that I had seen it, I could truly believe it.
I brought my Maple Soul Searcher up to my shoulder. It was a welcome change after using Ark’s Ryden for thirteen levels straight, and it possessed much more flexibility and power than its yellow-green counterpart. I scrolled it myself, with weak scrolls, but it now possessed an attack rating of 65 points, 8 more than Ark’s Ryden. I hoped it would be enough to allow me to master Final Attack.
I closed my eyes. “Soul Arrow!” I could feel the mana around me moving into my fingers, ready to summon spectral projectiles at a moment’s notice. I drew back the string of the Soul Searcher and concentrated the mana through my fingers, feeling the arrow materialize.
“Arrow Blow!”
The arrow shot forth from my fingertips with a blast and a flash of blue light. Immediately, I felt the magic flow through the air and I concentrated hard, blocking out all other thought. I felt the unstable mana gather itself at my palm and I drew back the bowstring again.
“Final Attack!”
The spectral arrow left my hand with a rush and a blast of vicious heat, but I managed to keep my grip on the Soul Searcher as the arrow flew through the air and landed with a bang, creating a small explosion of its own and leaving a crater, though not nearly as large as Athena’s.
She nodded. “You seem to have the general idea of it, but you need to exert more control over the magic. Remember that it is unstable and it will destroy you if you let it out of your grasp. Focus!”
“Yes, Master.” I said. My hand was still hot with the heat from the attack. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and drew the bow to my shoulder again, gathered the magic for my attack again.
“Arrow Blow!”
The arrow flew through the air and hit the ground with a bang, but I could have cared less about where it went. I was only focusing on the leftover, unstable magic around me, and I seized it with my mind. It is hard to describe the sensation of using Final Attack; a virtual tug-of-war with the unstable energy, trying to focus your mind and control it, as opposed to it revenging itself upon you.
I was ready to release, but I suddenly let my mind falter for a split second. It was the slighest fraction of a second, but it was enough. With a vicious roar, the mana freed itself from my mental grasp, as I struggled to recapture it.
I released the arrow and at the same time felt it sear my right wrist up to the palm. I bit my tongue and tried not to cry out from the pain, as the arrow feebly soared a few meters and landed with a small explosion.
“I told you to concentrate!” Athena rounded on me, her eyes blazing with fury. She showed me no pity, despite there being a vicious sear mark on my palm that I was frantically licking at, to ease the pain.
But at the same time, I knew there was going to be no pity. Isentryx was after the Dragon Shinebow as I struggled with the pain, and my only hope could be absolute mastery of Final Attack if I was to face against him. I nodded. “Yes, Master. I am sorry.” I hitched the bow up to my shoulder yet again and closed my eyes, this time concentrating harder than I had ever done before. I almost thought my head was going to explode.
“Arrow Blow…FINAL ATTACK!”
It was a perfect shot. The arrow left my hand, going perfectly. Instead of burning me, it left a warm, satisfying feeling that resonated throughout my body. I watched with grim satisfaction as the arrow lanced the ground and exploded, leaving a crater about ten yards in diameter.
“Good job, Phoenix.” Athena nodded. “I think that’s enough for today. You’re well enough as it is, and I don’t think you have to overtax yourself.”
“Thank you, Master.” I bowed as respectfully as I could, despite the aching in my arms, and left the archery range. I paid the Ellinia fare for the taxi and was soon among those beautiful forests again. Somewhat painfully, I climbed the large tree trunks, picked up the usual meal of salad for Ascion and myself, and opened the door to my house.
“Zer!” Ascion ran into my arms and I nearly dropped the salad, while the caretaker for the day, a young wizard, about level 50, watched with amusement.
“I hope he wasn’t any trouble.” I muttered to her.
“No, it was great.” she smiled. “He’s really smart, you know. I can’t believe he knows so much about mana studies for his age…”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Little freak.”
Suddenly, I recognized that blonde hair and that sassy voice, and this time I really did drop the salad in amazement.
“Grace!” I stuttered.
“Phoenix!” she gasped, equally surprised. “You’re-”
“Yeah, I’m already over getting my arm blown up.” I sighed, attempting to salvage the remains of our meal. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, some of the fairies were looking for someone to take care of someone’s kid, and I accepted.” She stared at me, then back at Ascion, and back at me again. “Aren’t you a little young to have kids?”
“He’s my brother!” I blurted out, crimson-faced.
“Ah.” She chuckled. “Here, let me help you with that.” She waved her staff and the salad returned itself to its bowls. “You might want to rinse that out before you eat it, though.”
“So,” I said hurriedly to her as I set the table, accidentally putting out an extra fork at each place, “you’re level fifty now?”
“Fifty-two.” she said unabashedly.
“Holy…” I sucked in my breath. “I’m only forty-three.”
“Yeah, well I train a lot.” Grace said simply. She glanced at the table. “You expecting company?” I turned and saw that I had accidentally set the table for three.
“Oh! Um..er…” I turned an ever deeper shade of crimson. “Well, no- I mean, I was wondering if you might want to-” Behind me, Ascion was giggling profusely, and I had a vicious urge to slap the daylights out of him.
She regarded me with that knowing look that all females have. “Sure, Phoenix.”

“This is bull.” the priest spat.

xD

CHAPTER 3!!!


Once again, it was a beautiful day in the forests of Ellinia. The forest was alight with the fairies’ magic and the air was filled with the scent of sweet flowers. However, I saw little joy in this day, for today I would have to meet Athena again to continue my training, as I had already done for weeks. As I pulled on a shirt, I noted the scars on my arms. They numbered less than my master’s, although I hoped that with luck they would be the only ones I would have to carry from now on.
Ascion was already awake, reading a book, casually. No surprise, I haven’t seen him do anything around the house other than reading the load of books Ark sent along. I improvised a quick breakfast by finding a few spare slices of bread and holding them above the stove, then I bid good-bye to my brother and set off for Henesys.
I arrived at Athena’s without incident. She greeted me, then jumped straight to the matter. “Well, Phoenix? Don’t just hang around there with your mouth open. Go warm up by running forty laps around the archery strip. I’ll meet you afterwards.”
“Forty…” I bit back a little profanity and went out. It seemed that having the leader of Henesys as my instructor had its disadvantages, but I was in no situation to complain, so I did as she asked. By the twentieth lap, my arms were already beginning to ache, and by the thirty-fifth, my eyesight was beginning to blur. I slid to a stop in front of her, panting and cursing myself silently for not working out more.
“I suggest you run some more in your spare time, Phoenix.” she said bluntly, then drew her bow. “Let’s hope your mental prowess has at least improved some.” She stood at the far end of the archery strip, then held up her fingers and commanded, “Puppet!”
A not-very-realistic-looking dummy planted itself half-way on the strip, about 500 feet away from me. It would be difficult to attack it with a traditional shot or even one enchanted with magic at my level, but this was not what I was caring about at the moment.
Athena nodded at me, and I aimed at the puppet, closing my eyes and calling the magic again. “Arrow Blow!”
The arrow fell short of the puppet about 50 yards, but I had no time to dwell on it. I pulled back the bowstring again in preparation as I focused hard, harder, until my veins were bulging in my forehead.
“Final Attack!”
The arrow zinged straight, through the length of the archery range, and impaled the puppet through the head, then exploded forcefully, leaving bits of burning straw and cloth everywhere. I felt grim satisfaction at my success, but at the same time, I felt uneasy, knowing the consequences if I ever had to use this on a person. Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel that Athena was training me to be a killing machine…
No. I shook my head. Her extreme training is only to prepare for the worst-case scenario. I must accept it for the moment.
“Excellent, Phoenix.” She gave a rare smile, then became serious at once again. “I think you have Final Attack mastered…at least using Arrow Blow. But you must now work on Double Shot and Arrow Bomb if you are to have complete mastery of the technique. Simply using Arrow Blow over and over again on an enemy will not prove too successful.” Her eyes stared deeply at me and I knew she was thinking about Gault.
“Yes, Master.” I took a quick swig of water from the canteen on my belt.
“Now, I should warn you.” She waved her hands, saying “Puppet!” once more and there were now three figures standing on the archery range, ready for me to reduce them to cinders. “Double Shot and Arrow Bomb use nearly twice as much mana as Arrow Blow. Therefore, your strength with Final Attack will be correspondingly larger, but so will the strength you will need to exert to control it. And…” Her eyes lingered on me for a moment. “…If you should fail, the recoil will be much stronger.”
I ground my teeth. I had hoped that my arms would not have to bear any more scars, but almost too obviously, I had been proved wrong. Still, I aimed my bow at the three puppets staring at me from down the range. I closed my eyes and chanted a series of spells in quick succession.
“Soul Arrow!…Double Shot!…Final ATTACK!”
I pierced the first puppet through the heart with one arrow, then quickly shifted my position and caught the second one through the eye. Then, I felt an extremely large amount of mana burn surge around me, and I struggled frantically to control it. Somehow, I managed to create the third arrow, its tip shining forcefully with unstable power, but I didn’t know if I could release it without fear of recoil.
Still keeping my unwieldy hold on the magic, I released the bowstring and the arrow shot through the air and landed a few yards away from the third puppet, charring its side. I felt the extreme heat from the arrow sear my palm for a bit and I gripped my hand in agony for a second. To my surprise, instead of yelling at me, Athena’s eyes showed me some pity.
“Good job, Phoenix. You did very well for your first try.” She nodded. “Now…” She summoned three more puppets, then arranged them in irregular positions around the field. “Try it now.”
I glanced at the field. It would be difficult to try attacking them all at once while stationary. Given Athena’s point- I would have to execute Double Shot and then launch Final Attack. However, let me say that it was very difficult for me to aim and struggle with the unstable magic at the same time. Nevertheless, I aimed and released.
“Double Shot…” I shifted my position, even as there was a pounding headache in my skull. “Final Attack!”
The third arrow landed about 10 yards away from the last puppet and exploded, but all it did was envelop the puppet in a large plume of smoke. When it cleared, the damn thing was still staring blankly at me.
“Phoenix, you have to subjugate the mana while aiming.” She sighed. “I know how painful it must be for you, but you must accept Final Attack as a part of your daily repertoire, not just as a last-resort ultimatum. And that means you will have to practice with it, even under the most extreme circumstances.”
“Yes, Master.” I bowed, then eyed the three puppets that were now staring at me again. However, this time, I decided to try something different. I had always used Double Shot to do away with the two targets on the left and center, but now I realized, I had to use Double Shot on the puppets on the left and right, and use Final Attack on the center one.
“Double Shot…Final Attack!” I roared, twanging the bowstring three times in rapid succession. The arrows hit their marks, and I suffered no damage, except for a slight burning sensation on my palm. Athena nodded.
“Excellent, Phoenix.” She managed to smile again. “I knew you were going to be a great ranger someday.”
“But I’m not a ranger yet.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic.” She eyed me strangely. “Are you tired?”
“Well, a little, but-”
“That’s enough for now.” She waved her hand and motioned for me to come inside the house. “You’re on your 45th level of training, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Here.” She took two lavender-colored flower-shaped earring studs from her desk. “I think these will help in the years to come.”
“Indeed.” I replaced the studs in my ears with Athena’s. “I thank you, Master, for all your patience and your thoroughness in my training.”
She gave me a dry look. “I don’t think you want to thank me for the thoroughness of the training, but I am glad you appreciate it.”
“Yes.” I stared down at the floor.
“You do realize, that in five levels’ time, you will have to meet Isentryx, as you promised.”
“I didn’t promise him anything.” I said listlessly.
“In any case,” Athena continued, glaring at me, “I said, you will have to meet Isentryx soon enough.”
There wasn’t anything I could say to this, so I simply bowed my head down.
“Phoenix, you should go practice on copper drakes when you have some free time. I found it excellent practice.”
“Are you kidding? Those things could eat me in one gulp.”
Athena eyed me with a steely glare. “I think you underestimate your powers.”

Sure enough, I had little intention of going to the Dangerous Valley near Perion, but I eventually got around to it. As I thought, if I was going to face Isentryx soon enough, I would have to learn to take care of a few drakes first. So I made a quick lunch for Ascion before leaving for Perion.
The sky was filled with clouds, a far cry from the peaceful landscape in Ellinia. The wind boiled as it kicked up numerous clouds of dust, occasionally blinding me every so often. I didn’t know how the warriors could stand to live there. I managed to stumble my way to the Dungeon entrance before going in.
At least, inside the Dungeon, it was reasonably peaceful, the wind outside not going in the tunnel. Following Athena’s directions, I made for the cave nearby to the left, took a deep breath, then dived in.
Dragons whose skin was the color of copper marched around the landscape, and I knew them to be the copper drakes that Athena had spoken of, banished from the center of Victoria Island eons ago. I exhaled, then put my fingers together.
“Soul Arrow!” The bolt of light illuminated the landscape for a precious second before a dusty wind blew in, obscuring the terrain again. Not that it mattered. Under Athena’s guidance and through my dexterity as an archer, my eyes could easily track prey with the slighest of tracks. I eyed the silhouette of a drake through the dust and aimed at it, focusing my energy.
“Double Shot!” The arrows flew through the dust and disappeared, but I could hear an angry roar that told me I had hit my mark. Almost immediately, the drake burst out of the dust cloud, baring its jaws.
Needless to say, I was very frightened, never having been face-to-face with an angry drake before. However, instinct kicked in, and I roared “Arrow Blow!”, not having time to harness Final Attack.
The shot struck the drake between the eyes and it fell, hitting the ground with a huge bone-shaking thud. I felt grim satisfaction as I stood over the corpse. Unsheathing my sword, I slashed the beast open and (slightly sickened- I had never gotten used to gutting animals), deftly cut out the gut-strings, then washed them in a bit of my precious water. These would last another few months for my bow.
Another drake came rushing out from the dust and I had only a moment’s warning before it bore upon me. I leaped to the side and I could feel the tank of a monster rush past me. If I had been standing in front of it…No, I didn’t want to know. I drew back the bowstring, aimed at it, and yelled, “Double Shot!”
The arrows struck the dragon directly and it lumbered at me, but without faltering, I gathered the mana in extreme concentration and let the arrow fly.
“Final Attack!”
The shot whizzed through the dust, fast and true. It struck the drake in the chest directly, splattering the nearby ground with dark red blood. I deftly sidestepped the carcass and went on, climbing up the ledge to have a go at some more dragons.
A large group of them, mingled with some fire boars, were hanging out near a ledge. I smiled. Perfect training fodder. This would also be a good time to try out an attack I hadn’t used in quite a while.
“Arrow Bomb!” I roared, feeling the spectral arrow grow hot in my hand and glow bright orange. I released the bowstring and the fiery arrow flew through the air, leaving a smoke trail. It landed among the group of monsters, exploding with a loud bang.
Suddenly, the group of monsters began to move towards me, and I suddenly realized what I’d done. S***. I thought they were on a different ledge. My attack had only served to anger them, and if I didn’t do something soon this was not going to end well. I closed my eyes and gathered the magic again in preparation for another attack.
“Arrow Bomb!”
The arrow flashed past and hit the ground with another explosion, stunning them for a split second. I felt the mana rush ferociously at me, even stronger than Arrow Blow or Double Shot, and I struggled to control it, the arrow beginning to materialize at my bowstring.
Come on, d*****. Sweat was flying off my forehead and the monsters had recovered from the effect of my bomb and were now rushing at me again, but I could not release the arrow yet because if I did, the consequences would be disastrous. I furiously worked to keep the mana under control.
“LUCKY SEVEN!”
I heard the voice, but I ignored it completely, knowing full well what would happen if I lost concentration. Finally, the aching in my head stopped, for a brief moment, and I knew now was the time, and I finally let go of the bowstring.
The effect was stunning. A pure beam of flame-orange light burst from my bow and exploded with a thunderous roar, killing every drake in the area. Yet, I saw there was still a scar on my palm and blood dripped from my hand. It was the first time I had dared to use Arrow Bomb in conjunction with Final Attack, and it had achieved the desired result, but not without a small price.
I glanced around me to see who had yelled “Lucky Seven!” and drew the drakes’ attention away from me for a precious second. Sure enough, above me, there was a blonde-haired assassin, roughly level 50, grinning lazily.
“Nice move!” he called.
“Thanks.” I nodded. “I owe you a lot for distracting them back there.”
“No problem.” He twirled a Steely in the palm of his hand. I felt my stomach twinge. Steely…He must be rich. “What’s your name?”
“Joseph. But everyone calls me Joe.” He pushed his hat farther up his forehead. “Yours?”
“Zeraion Phoenix.” I responded.
“Two first names?”
“Yes.” I was growing a bit tired of explaining this to everyone.
“That’s a bit much to wrap a tongue around.” He considered. “Just Zer will do for now.” He again flashed his smile. “So, Zer, what are you doing up here? It’s not safe for people under level 50 to train with the drakes. Nasty little buggers, they are.”
“Well, my master sent me here. She said it would be appropriate for me to train…” I glanced at my arms. “Given the circumstances.”
“Oh. Are you a prodigy or something?” Joe wrinkled his nose.
“Well…” I considered his words, not sure of how to answer. “Kind of…In a way.”
“I see.” He nodded. “Well, what you did back there to those drakes was amazing. You sure you’re not a prodigy?”
“No.” I blushed, red-faced. “Where’d you get those Steelies?”
“Bought them.” Joe said shortly. “My parents were awful rich. They got in the habit of raiding Zakum and bringing back treasures. But one day…” He sighed. “They didn’t come back. I guess they finally got in way over their head.”
“Oh.” I said, quietly. “I’m…sorry.”
“No, it was okay.” Joe shook his head. “I didn’t like them much. They seemed to care more about finding treasure than taking care of their kids.” He sighed. “I live by myself now. Legally, I could- and I did- inherit half of my parents’ possessions. The other half went to my big sis.”
“Well…” I prepared myself for an answer. “How rich are you, exactly?”
Joe turned away from me, slightly. “Seven hundred mil, at last count.”
“Sweet mother of Balrog.” I mused. He’s only fifteen, and he has 700,000,000 mesos to his name? Holy…
“Doesn’t matter.” Joe waved it away. “I didn’t do much with it, anyway. Only a mansion, food, and some equipment.” He drew back the the inside of his jacket to reveal countless sets of Steelies and Ilbis, even…(my heart nearly thudded out of my chest) a set of the legendary Hwabis.
“Yeah.” Joe sighed. “The rest’s in the vault. Haven‘t touched it in a while.”
“I see.” I sighed. “Well, in any case, Joe, I just want to thank you for saving my life.”
“No problem, Zer.” He stared wistfully off into the distance, no doubt with his mind on other things.
“So, Joe,” I said, breaking the awkward silence, “you wanna train together for a little while?”
His mood brightened a little. “Sure, Zer.”

At first, my first impression of Joe was that of a spoiled, rich assassin, but as we fought together, I could see how far off I was. Joe was an expert in the art of shuriken-do: throwing stars. Apparently, he’d trained for hours on end on this art, practicing it with a zeal that almost matched mine with Final Attack. Not only that, but he was highly educated, having hired several tutors to teach him about advanced mathematics, literature, life sciences, mana studies, and various other subjects.
When I commented that that must have been a lot of work, he merely flung a Steely at a nearby drake and said, “Knowledge is priceless.” I immediately resolved to read more of Ark’s books as soon as I got home.
He seemed to take an active interest in Final Attack, cheering every time I performed it successfully. At first, I almost feared that he would rush out as soon as I told him about it, but when I showed him my arms, he seemed to lose interest.
Although I had said to Joe that I would only be training with him for a little while, I ended up staying with him until sunset, and I had not taken notice of the time. Cursing slightly, I took quick leave of Joe. “Hope we meet again someday.”
Joe’s eyes seemed to narrow. “We will.”
I returned to Ellinia quickly, picking up the meal of salads again, then headed home. Ascion greeted me happily; today was his twelfth birthday and he was on his twentieth level of experience as a magician. His knowledge, to my chagrin, was beginning to surpass mine swiftly; this only hardened my resolve to read some more of Ark’s books. I suddenly remembered that I had completely forgotten to give him a gift, and I cursed silently. I decided to go out and see what I could find before it got late.
The cool night air of Ellinia greeted me as I stepped out, wondering what I could give my little brother. Perhaps a book? No, Ark had already sent too many of those. Maybe a toy? Perhaps, but Ascion had already lost his interest in toys as soon as he became a magician, single-minded in his pursuit of becoming a cleric. Finally, I passed the window of the Ellinia Armory, and I decided to give him a staff. A shiny new Wizard’s Staff, to be exact. It would put a somewhat tight strain on my wallet, but my brother was worth it. I paid for the weapon and headed for home, but on the way, I bumped into the first and the last person I wanted to meet.
“Grace!” I stammered again. She was holding a package and wearing clothes that I couldn’t quite identify.
“Phoenix, what is with you?” She sighed. “Stop blubbering every time you see me. You look like an idiot, you know that?”
“Sorry.” I blushed. “Nice clothes.”
“Really? Thanks.” She smiled. “Just turned level 60.”
I nearly choked. How the h*** did she level so fast? Forbidden magic? But I put the matter away in my mind. “Who’s the package for?”
She eyed me strangely. “It’s for your brother. It IS his birthday today, right?”
“Yeah, it is.” I gave her a once-over, appreciating her beauty even more in the dim light of the Ellinian atmosphere.
“Phoenix, what the hell are you staring at?” Grace’s sharp voice jolted me out of my reverie.
“Oh- er, nothing.” I felt myself glow a deep red. To my surprise, Grace only smiled and moved closer, her head incredibly close to mine.
“You know…” She purred seductively into my ear. “You’re really cute when you’re embarrassed.”
Her lips grazed my cheek, and next thing I knew, she was gone, leaving her package in my arms.
I tried to look as blasé as possible when I returned home, but I couldn’t fool Ascion.
“Hey, Zer, why’s your face all red?” he asked in an innocent voice.
“Nothing.” I said quickly. “I got you a birthday present.” I held the staff out to him quickly before he pursued the issue further. “Have fun with it.”
“Wow, a Wizard Staff!” Ascion hugged his new present tightly. “Thanks, Zer.”
“No problem, bro.” Unfortunately, just then, I saw Ascion’s eyes fall on the second package. “Who’s that from?”
“Umm…” I froze for a second, my cheeks turning crimson. “Just someone I met.”
Ascion eyed me oddly. “Zer, I haven’t seen you like this ever since Grace came to our-” He suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, staring at me. “Ohmigod!” he squealed. “She kissed you, didn’t she?”
“No!” I snapped, my cheeks turning even redder. “Well, kind of- I mean, er…oh, stuff it. She sent you that package.” I sighed.
Ascion untied the ribbon of the package, humming something as he worked. Finally, he drew out the contents. It was a beautiful cake, with Happy 12th Birthday Ascion printed on it with icing. I sighed. Well, this saved me the trouble of buying a cake for him later.
“Wow, it looks yummy!” He giggled. “Can we eat it now?”
“Sure.” I sighed, then took a knife and cut the cake. I could hear Ascion humming the same tune while I worked. It sounded like…
“Zer’s in love…Zer’s in love…”
“ASCION!” I roared, glaring at him dangerously, still with the cake knife in my hand. He let out a squeal of mock horror and then collapsed into laughter on the table.
“Ascion, you better keep your mouth shut if you want any of this cake.” I snarled. This threat had the desired effect, and he immediately fell silent.
Afterwards, the birthday boy took a hurried shower and went off to his room, no doubt to read a book (and probably think of ways to torment me about Grace). I sat in silence, alone, at the table, just thinking, for no particular reason, about Gault.
Where was he, and what was he doing now? Could he already have the Dragon Shinebows in his posession? And what would he do with them, if he had them? Would he use them for good or for evil? And (my heart twinged) what would I have to do, in that final ultimatum, when I would eventually have to battle him? Maybe I wouldn’t have to, I reassured myself. Maybe he is just taking a stroll to Zakum for his own personal amusement and he’s not going to start a wide-scale war that could engulf Bera.
I laughed humorlessly at myself. Great theory, Zer. That makes SO much sense.
Tiredly, I retrieved my geometry constructions book from the shelf in the back, took up a pencil, and began to work, my confused mind settling as my pencil scratched lines upon the paper, lines that cut deep into the paper, as my scars cut deep into my flesh.