Author's Note:

Yes, I did name my archer Hawk. Deal with it. Anyway, hope you like it. Please tell me your thoughts, it helps to motivate me to write more!

****

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A loud thumping sound woke an old man from his slumber. With a lot of effort and groaning he finally lifted himself from a makeshift bed of rags and took his cane. The grandfather clock showed that it was an hour before noon. 'Who could it be there? The boy left only a few hours ago and he'll need much more to find the courage if he will at all.' Slowly the man walked to the door and opened it. The sight made his jaw drop to the ground.

There was a man in a messenger’s garb slumped on a little kid. The man's head was bent down hiding his features and in Sedgart's opinion the paleness of death. The kid's on the other hand was raised in defiance, cheeks red from exertion and air leaving in small puffs. But his most eye catching feature was his black as coal and just as emotionless eyes. It made the man take a step back.

"Wasn't your eyes orange last time?"

"They were" replied the boy curtly and shouldered his way in. Inside he threw the man down in a corner and after cleaning his hands started to eat his bun. Once the messenger was off the kids shoulders, Sedgart noticed that he had changed his appearance. He was cloaked in a dark blue wizard's mantle with a bastard sword strapped to his back and two daggers concealed under his robes. And most importantly he pulled it off. He gave off a feeling of someone dangerous even if your eyes told you it was just a young boy.

Finished the kid stood up and looked at the old man.

"Did I pass?"

The man was surprised for a moment but then shook it off and revealed the last part of the test.

"You'll have to loot him in front of me. If you can do it without grimacing or any fear, you'll pass."

The boy gave a mocking bow and went to the task. He first cut off the pouches and took off the wedding ring. Then he rummaged through the bag, looking for something valuable, and lastly took off the boots.

"Going to leave the clothes?" asked the man, it didn't seem that the kid was any longer terrified but who knew?

"Why bother? I can't sell it anywhere official and I'd get only a few coppers in the black market. So?"

"You've got what it takes to become a world class assassin but I have a better idea for you" the man answered with a sigh of someone who had just thrown off a huge boulder off his shoulders.

"Oh really? So I did this all just for your amusement?" Ace asked with a barely controlled voice. He hated one thing more than anything and that was being tricked.

"Wait wait wait! Now you misunderstood me!" quickly replied the old man trying to mitigate the damage done. "I didn't mean I wouldn't train you, what I meant was for you to expand the boundaries of my profession."

"Huh" was the intelligent reply.

"Let's sit down and I'll tell you an old story.” Ace did as he was told and prepared himself for a boring recollection. “Long time ago there was a kid born in a wealthy family. He grew up happily playing with others under his loving parents' watchful gaze but one day when he was twelve his father didn't return home. After some time mother told him their family's secret.

“They weren’t all merchants or something close by. They, and all of their ancestors, had been assassins - his father, mother, uncle, grandfather and all other relatives. From then on he was trained to be one too. And he was good at it.

“Soon he became one of the best in his generation but no one had ever asked him if he wanted to. So he carried on his families pride forgetting his own childish dreams. When he grew old he saw the pointlessness of it and tried to change his ways but it was too late." the old man finished in a sad voice.

"What's with old people telling their stories in a third person?" asked the boy with a bored expression but seeing the old man's glare changed his question with a sigh "What was the kid's dream?"

"To become the greatest mage who ever lived"

"A mage? No way! There's not a chance I'll let you talk me into it. I came in terms with assassination but leave magic out of it! It's just too damn main stream!" exclaimed Ace angrily waving his arms around as if defending himself even from an idea of it.

"Are you sure of it, Ace? Do you really have no adventurous spirit in you to go into an uncharted territory? I didn't think you were so spineless" said the man quietly. His calmness making the words even more biting.

"What do you mean by uncharted territory? When was the last time you went out? Every other person there is a freaking mage!"

"I don't want you to become just another mage" refuted the old man. "I'm not that little kid anymore if you haven't noticed". 'I surely didn't' thought Ace wryly. "What I want to you to become is an assassin who uses magic to help him in his work. No one tried this before with any luck but I can see you have brains so maybe you'll be able to pull it off just like your clothes."

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"That's not the point! So do you agree to try it out? In return for you never able to change to another class I'll even teach you a skill of another profession."

Ting! Two messages popped in front of his eyes.

Dreams of Glory

A young boy lived in a manor reading books about magic and the mages' magnificence. He dreamed to one day become one of them - killing dragons and saving princesses in distress.

But the fate had other plans for him. Due to his family's unfortunate circumstances he was forced to become an assassin, the evil he wanted to protect the world from.

Now an old man he wishes for you to join his two worlds: that of mage's glory and assassin's cold-heartedness.

Difficulty level: A

Quest requirements:

Good relationship with an Assassin Sedgart

Must have passed Test of Morality

Must have Magic mastery

Reward: Unknown

Ting!

Class change!

You can convert to an unknown class. If you agree, you'll be allowed to learn magic and dagger skills without any penalty.

Do you wish to convert?

Ace read the information on the screens and scratched his head. He really wasted no time making it big. Level five getting an A level quest... It was a hard gamble, but who doesn't risk, doesn't drink champagne. 'Besides this way I'll make it to the top or fall to the very bottom, at least I won't be average'. Now determined to see it through Ace said in a clear voice

"I will walk the path of your dreams, old man, and come back to tell you the truth behind it." That moment he was enveloped in a warm light and his status window appeared before his eyes.

Status Window Name Ace Alignment Lawful Evil Level 5 Profession Assassin Mage Title None Fame 35 Notoriety 20 Health 390 Mana 1009 Strength 7+30 Agility 9+30 Wisdom 19+50 Intelligence 9+100 Stamina 11+30 Luck 0 Leadership 0 Attack 9 Defense 0 + All survival stats are added 30 points, Int + 50 points

+ Dagger mastery increases more easily by 25%

+ Wisdom and Intelligence are added 50 points

+ Magic mastery increases 25% more easily

+ You can learn all spells

+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for your class.

+ Due to your double classes' differences your fame is divided into fame and notoriety

'It's not too bad' tried to consult himself Ace 'Even though I only get half of what I'm supposed to get, also no bonuses for sneaking, I can still become a great assassin, right? I can just ignore the mage part because casting fireballs doesn't help to sneak around at all! Like seriously! What kind of idiot could want to duo these classes? No one has ever seen a master spellsword and this is even worse! Why did I think this was a good idea again?

‘Ech, got to play with the cards you're given even if the only ace is in your name. Now that I think about it what if I bluffed my way to the top? It shouldn’t be that hard. Hmm…'

"So where did you distribute all your points? Magic or strength?" asked the old man intrigued.

"Nowhere yet" answered the youth truthfully. "I'm still thinking of a best way to go with this".

"Oh, okay..." said the man disappointed a bit but his smile quickly returned. "Anyway good luck"

"Wait... What good luck? Do you mean you're not going to train me?"

"Nope. All the skills are self-explanatory. Backstab enough times and you generate a skill, walk around in shadows and you'll learn sneaking so on and so forth."

"What about the skill you showed me? I doubt he's that easy to learn."

"Nothing spectacular to tell the truth but before I explain to you how to attain it you must promise me something. Never under any circumstances show anyone it's true power."

"Hm?"

"How do you think no one ever got the wind of it through all the ages? Was it learnt only recently? Not at all, it's as old as our profession but all assassins guarded it's secret with their life."

"Okay I get it, keep it secret. So what is it?" asked Ace impatiently.

"You still don't understand. You must hide the true power of the skill by pretending it's just another finishing skill like every other. Before using it you must wound the enemy considerably otherwise don't even think about activating it!"

"This much secrecy... It's too much to simply hide one skill's power, isn't it?"

The man nodded "It is. So why do you think we do it?"

"Maybe to have a stronger surprise attack? No... That's not it. It must be something more lethal to make assassins choose death instead of revealing it... What motivates them? Love? Attachment? Greed? Wait its fear, isn't it? They're afraid what will be done to them for doing what is required to gain the skill?"

"You're close but not there yet. Some lords are just as heartless as assassins, don't you think? We don't hire ourselves."

"If you'll die either way, just without pain by talking, what could stop you from doing that? It doesn't make sense! Who would suffer just for the hell of it?"

"You've started the wrong way this time. Yes even assassins don't like the idea of dying but we're accustomed to it. We're not controlled by the fear of it. But in the end we're humans with feelings too, not monsters. What if I told you we're protecting something?"

"Protecting? You can't have any attachments or you'll be easily manipulated. Hmm..." the kid's grey eyes were wondering around the room when he started to chuckle and lightly hit his head with a hand. "How could I have missed it? No person can stay sane without any human contact. You never have families or friends unless...

“Unless they're from within your circle! You have each other. You can talk freely and you don't expect the other to be a hero and sacrifice himself because you're a total idiot if you get yourself caught. If the lords got a hint of the skills true power, they would try to exterminate every last assassin and you can't have it. You're a family of misfits who care for one another but just as easily would slit each other's throats under a mention of a broken rule."

"Not you are, but we are. You're one of us now, kid, and you should remember it well."

"I will. So what's the secret? I promise to protect it like the sister I never had."

"That's an original one" laughed the man "As I mentioned before it's easy. All you have to do is kill someone each night with last hit being a thrust to the heart with the same dagger."

"That sounds gruesome" grimaced Ace. The fact that he could kill didn't mean he actually enjoyed it.

"Honing your skills is gruelling work and it isn't pretty in our line of work. Anyway what skill would you like me to teach you for accepting my request?"

"Alchemy" answered Ace without wasting a second.

"You've quickly jumped into the business, already thinking of ways to make your work easier. I'm proud of you."

"Actually it's the most profiting business in case this class fails horribly."

"...."

"Can you also teach me the way of a dagger? It would be much better if I had actually some real experience instead of creating everything from scratch."

"If you believe I have something you teach you, I will, but don't expect any good treatment simply because you skipped the apprentice part."

"Wouldn't even dream of it. And thanks." Ace said smiling and leaving a stunned old man. He jogged to the front steps where he sat down to finish his books about Masters of the art.

'That smile… Those blue eyes… I have no idea how he can take a life and still look so innocent. It just shouldn't be that way!’ screamed Sedgart in his mind following the kid with his eyes.

Before reading Ace decided to look through all the messages that he had gotten since his fight with the mage. Quite a number had accumulated over the half a day he ignored them.

Luck increased by 5 points (+5 LCK)

Agility increased by 1 point (+1 AGI)

New Skill Acquired: Evasion [Passive]

Your quick reflexes allow you to easier dodge attacks and missiles. New Skill Acquired: Childish Innocence [Passive]

Your youthful appearance and affable personality tends to sway everyone in your favour. Monsters see you as a hatchling and may go as far as protecting you from others. New Skill Acquired: Shadow Veil [Active]

For walking a long time in the shadows you're aware of their concealing power. You become harder to see when sneaking but lose 1.5 more stamina compared to normal.

Mana cost 2/s

Ace didn't notice anything but the second skill he had learnt. 'Are you freaking kidding me?! I'm not a child you bastards'! If I'll ever meet the creators of this game, they'll wish they had died young' he thought his eyes turning a murderous shade of red. After a lot of grumbling and some threatening to unseen people the kid picked up a book and portrayed the perfect picture of youthful ignorance.

No passerby even entertained the idea that this boy could be anything else but an unfortunate relative of someone living in that shabby house. They went as far as feeling sorry for the poor soul who will be thrown into the cruel world so early. But no one approached him even if he didn't deserve it, because neither did the other residents.

~Half a year (game time) later~

The city lived in fear.

No one was sure when it had started. There was always some crime, some murderers lurking in the dead of the night so nobody paid any attention to beginners telling a tale of being killed by a ghost. Higher levels even laughed at them.

It was their downfall.

Maybe if they would have listened...

But they didn’t and the monster grew bolder each night. Soon midlevels (up to 70) weren't safe either. At first only alleys in darkest hours were unsafe but with passing time the ghost started to visit and the main streets. You couldn't walk at night anywhere no matter you were a player or NPC. No one was overlooked.

At that time higher levels became aware of the problem but still didn't take it seriously. They thought they'd just patrol the streets and the killer will run away with his tail between the legs.

What they didn't expect was for all of them to be annihilated.

The murderer would appear out of nowhere like a phantom and after a series of swift critical attacks would finish off anyone with a thrust to heart that bypassed any armour. But that was not all. A month ago he learnt a new skill. He called it Curse of a Hungry. It allowed him to take everything off a person, even empty his bag which was unheard of.

Who would play the game if on death you could loose everything you acquired in all your time?

That, of course, didn’t stop the ghost of the night.

He was soon called Silver Wing because of his tendency to leave a silver wing in his victims’ empty bag. It made it easy to know who had the misfortune of meeting him.

His appearance was much speculated but no one could say anything true. The known fact was that he obviously wore all black and always had a cowl over his head. His voice when he called skill names was of a young person, no more than twenty, maybe even younger. Also he always had a [Flare] skill active. He used it to lure players to easier kill them at first but lately only hid it under his cowl.

Today at least ten guilds created a temporary alliance to flush the city clean of all evil presences. Nothing was to be left intact. A lot of their members had a meeting with the city's ghost and they were out for revenge.

What they didn't know was that their target had no wish to continue the relationship and for the first time had left the borders of the city.

***

‘There are so many people today! And all of them look so happy! Maybe today is some kind of celebration?’ guessed Ace while walking down the main street. Bits of conversation drifting his way.

"I wish I was the one who will catch him! Can you imagine how much fame I would get?"

"Yeah but do you really expect to do anything to The Silver Wing? I take it you never actually met him?"

"So what? He can't be that bad! I'm already level 100!"

"But I heard rumours that he alone killed a whole party of 200s! That's why they've hired so many scouts, rangers and rogues to catch him!"

"Yeah I heard that one too! My source also said that you can't see him even when he's attacking so it's like fighting an invisible man, totally impossible!"

Ace put his hand on his mouth to smother the laughter bubbling in his throat. 'They're all here to hunt me?! I'm flattered! But I better make myself scarce. It's not good to bite off more than you can chew.'

With that thought he walked through the gates into grassland filled with small animals which were happily grazing around. The commotion in the city took all attention and the city's ghost had made newbies reluctant to start here so they were rare in the first place. It was haven for the little animals.

Ace walked on ignoring the animals nuzzling up to him. He was busy creating an elaborate plan on how to kill Regal Dreams’ creators in the most painful way.

***

"What's that sound?" asked Aurora wearily. They had been walking around these woods for ages now with no luck. The dungeon they were supposed to enter was nowhere in sight and the fog had just risen to slow their progress even more.

"What sound? I can't hear anything!" asked the ranger beside her.

"Aren’t you a ranger? It's like a melody or something. You guys can hear it, right?" she asked looking at the other two party members: a red robed kid and a warrior with a scythe like weapon.

"Yeah" agreed the scytheman. "Should we go investigate it? Might be an event quest or something" suggested Hawk. “And I’m an archer, not a ranger” he muttered to Aurora.

The warrior nodded after a moment and all of them made their way swiftly towards where the sound was coming from.

Moving through a dense forest in a fog was not a fun experience and it took a toll on the priestess’s stamina. She was huffing and puffing in no time.

She pushed away the bushes, their thorns destroying another of her pristinely white robes. In her absent mindedness she stumbled forward into a clearing. As she raised her head to look around a strange sight met her eyes.

Where the fog was thickest on a large stone sat a cross-legged boy playing a flute while a small flame circled his head. He looked to be around eleven or twelve and had a head full of unruly blonde curls, eyes closed in concentration. His attire was most unusual. He was wearing simple comfortable clothes which gave no armor and a blue wizards cloak but instead of staff or wand he had a sword strapped on his back. 'Just who is he?' wondered all the party members listening to the sad melody.

After some time the boy played the last note and opened his eyes. They were a startling light green.

"Nice too meet you, I'm Ace" said the boy in a welcoming voice.

"Uhm... Hi?" replied the priestess.

"Nice to meet you too" said the ranger, the only one remembering manners. "My name is Hawk, this lady is Aurora, the kid's name Paradox and the silent guy is named Monthu."

Ace took a closer look at them. The priestess was a girl of around nineteen with shoulder length white hair, pale complexion and white robes. She gave off and eerie feeling with that absolute whiteness like a ghost or recently deceased. Ace made sure to remember never to tell her that. Girl's rarely liked to hear the truth.

The kid Paradox seemed about eight, had short brown hair and wore red robes. A fire mage maybe? But where's his staff then... He stood silently as if barely even there.

The ever polite ranger had a look opposite of his personality at the first glance. His midnight black hair were put in a tight braid that reached his waist, his face was very sharp, nose resembled a beak and eyes were a pale orange, maybe he purposely made himself look like his namesake? There was a huge longbow with a quiver of arrows on his back.

The last member of an already colourful party took Ace's attention the most. He was older than others over twenty for sure and extremely closed up. He hadn't said a word but his presence could be felt from a distance. There was no doubt who was the leader.

He was wearing medium armor and held a scythe like weapon. The blade was changed to extend upright from the pole instead of sideways but still looked just as menacing. 'I think I'll better stay on the good side of him. You can never know when he'll decide to change his profession to Grim Reaper.'

His assessments done he smiled and continued the conversation.

"May I ask why you've come to this no man's land?"

The party looked troubled. Information sharing wasn't in their best interests as that would make possible for someone stealing their quest.

"It would be better if you told us who the hell you yourself are and what are you doing here alone. If you value your life that is" came the reaper's voice. He had it perfect decided Ace and went for some theatrics to make it more interesting.

He brushed off the invisible dust from his wet cloak and started to spin his tail.

"As you see, I'm no fighter (an assassin). I came here on an accident (was following a map) and been lost for a couple days now (few hours). You can't imagine how happy I am to see you (I wish you never showed up)! I hope you can finally lead me out of this puzzling forest (It's so boring I'm tired). And who I am? Nothing but a lowly bard (everything but that). So can you help me, oh noble gentleman and fair lady! Please save this unfortunate soul and let him follow you through your glorious adventure till the next human inhabited place!"

"Is he crazy or mad?" whispered the priestess to her team mates.

'I overdid it a little, didn't I?' guessed Ace deciding he needed to improve his acting considerably. 'To meet a real lord would probably help too'. While he was daydreaming the priestess came closer and gently touched his head.

"Are you okay? Maybe you've caught a fewer sitting in this cold damp air?"

"No I didn't!" hissed Ace venomously jumping back, his cheeks tinged with red.

Aurora could hardly hold her laughter. 'The kid's so cute!'

Deception successful. Gain 7% experience.

Deception failure. Minus 2% experience.

Ace took a note of pop up bars and acted accordingly. Through trial and error he had learnt to read them even in the most heated combat because sometimes they contained actually useful information about newly learnt skills and like in this case how successful his lies were. It was interesting how the system made everything he did sound like a lie unless it was pride and heroicness attributed to mages. Nothing an assassin said or felt was attributed to truth.

"Cut the crap, weirdo. Tell the truth or you'll soon be respawning in a city you miss so much" growled the reaper once again.

'Why couldn't he be a nice fellow like others and believe the nonsense I sprouted?' "Why would you say that? I have nothing to hide!"

"Maybe the fact that for some sick reason you made yourself look like a kid? That you're no bard? That not even the biggest idiot comes alone to a haunted forest forever shrouded in mists? Did I miss anything?" his silvery grey eyes were flashed disgust.

"Let's make some things clear first" said Ace calmly, his demeanour changing. Eyes lost their sparkle, back straightened and movements became more fluid. "This" he pointed at his chest "is my real body. I love it or hate it but I won't have you calling me a psycho or worse." Without any notice two daggers appeared in his hands and the little fire started to glow brighter.

"You didn't deny the bard part" came a small voice from the little mage, his slightly shaking hand raised.

"Huh?" everyone turned at him.

"I... I mean... You didn't say you really were a bard! You lied! And good people never lie!"

Ace rolled his eyes. There was a reason why he hated to be called a kid. 'How could anyone think my intellect was at that level?'

"That's true but weren't you told that smart people never tell truth to strangers?!" he opened his eyes wide to pretend shock "What if the beautiful lady talking to you is actually a witch? What if those grown ups are devils looking for innocent kids to steal?!"

The kid Paradox nodded. "My brother told me that too! So you’re a good person, right?" a huge smile appeared on his face at that thought. 'A friend!'

"Leave my brother out of this, you bastard! Tell me what the hell you're doing here or I swear I'll send you straight back where you came from" 'So the Reaper has a weakness. Interesting.'

"Now that's hard to believe since you have no idea who I am. But because I'm in a good mood I'll tell you something. 'Hook' I came here to find peace and quiet to improve my skills and not stumble into dungeons or be annoyed by random thugs".

That took everyone's attention.

"You mean... you found a dungeon around here? Could you possibly remember where?" asked the ranger reverently.

'Line' "Why think so lowly of me? Of course I remember the path."

"Please can you lead us to it? We've been wondering around for a week already without any luck! Please!" begged the priestess while giving an evil eye to the ranger.

'And sinker' "I woul..."

"We don't need that liars help. He'll only lure us into a monster pit or an ambush. No one simply shares their secrets."

Ace glared at Reaper. 'Why in the god's name you had to butt in and destroy such a perfect scheme? I was so close!' But quickly his face relaxed and he smiled warmly at the angry fighter. He even bowed slightly. "As you wish, milord."

Before enraged Monthu could react the fake kid jumped back on his rock, sat down and raised the flute. A simple but ever changing melody escaped it's clutches. At first it was slow and hesitant but soon it became more violent, desperate like a sparrow caught and thrust into a cage, looking for a way out but to no avail, his energy draining, the melody thinning falling into despair.

Monthu shook his head trying to clear the vision away. It wasn't his business to care for other players' feelings. "Let's go" he whisper/shouted and motioned with his head for them all to get away from there.

"But I don't want to! I want to know if the little birdie escapes! Does he?" asked the kid with an unwavering trust in his older brother.

"I don..!" |Don't you dare tell him that! You must let him believe that everything has a happy ending! He told me he still believes that Santa Klaus exists! You can't possibly crush his dreams, can you?!| screamed at him Aurora in PM. He wasn't sure what to be puzzled more about - how she came to her conclusion or how she could write so fast. But that had to be done at a later date. Now he had to answer his brother who was looking with the puppy dog eye look. |Fine| "Yes, he does. Otherwise what little sparrow would he be?"

The flutist’s mouth corners slightly lifted up but the melody never wavered. Yet, once the party was considerable distance away, after a last-ditch effort the melody died away with a last note ringing in the still air.