There was commotion in the city. The church had declared its independence from the lord and was creating a new kind of order. High priest collected a group of believers which from then on said they were equal in power to the lord. That, of course, wasn't welcomed happily by the guy in question.

In a few days the whole city was divided into two groups.

Street fights, random beatings and even dead bodies became everyday life. It was dangerous to leave home. Those who left for work were not expected to return. Trust became scarce and friendships started to dwindle.

Players were invited to join both factions and got many quests concerning the influence fight. They were simple to receive and favour quickly stacked up. The only question on everyone's mind was who was going to win for the loser’s side will be unwelcome in the city afterwards.

Many predictions were made but no one could tell. The lord's rule had been weak but the high priest wasn't too well known either. Both were unknown and people just joined either one, trusting their gut instincts.

That was the place Ace returned to after a good night's sleep or as close to that as he could after a very enlightening talk with his parents. It had been nightmarish and he wasn't sure whether he managed to get some sleep at all or not.

Luckily the game didn't portray how you looked that moment in real life.

He found himself back in his inn room and this time left normally through the doors. Monthu and Par were still offline so he decided to wait for them outside.

The first place he went to was herb shop where he bought everything that was there. It was a fortune used but in his bank he had more than enough to keep him fed and clothed for years to come.

Remembering that he went to a clothes shop carrying his ten or so bags filled with all kinds of herbs. Inside he was met by player apprentice who sized him up and promised to make the best of clothes for him by the evening. He requested only a single thing, that he would have a purple scarf. It wasn't a usual order but nothing too extravagant so the female easily agreed.

When he went out, he noticed many people having gathered around and pretending to be doing something. They failed miserably. 'Who in their right minds would send such an amount of people to spy? How could they ever look inconspicuous?' He wondered going on his way. He needed an abandoned house or something to start up his alchemy lab.

In the less used part of the city he felt the presence of five people following him. He had noticed them previously but didn't think they were after him. "I didn't do anything yet!" he muttered to himself, thinking of how to act next.

Before he had decided they jumped out and circled him. It was five humans with an emblem of a crown on their chests. Ace had not the slightest idea of who they might be.

"Where's your sign?" one asked taking a step forward.

"Sign?" Ace asked surprised. Was he supposed to get one somewhere?

"Which side you belong to? Or are you a two faced maggot?"

"Who? Me? Not at all!" Ace said. "Just where do we belong again?"

"Do you think we're stupid or what? You're a two-sider!" another shouted out, pointing at Ace. He was around thirty and had a face twisted in anger. "Give us everything you have or we'll kill you right here and take it!"

Ace looked at his bags wondering what they would do with so many herbs. Throw them all out? Sell back to the shop? 'I think I better not find out. My alchemy skill still needs to be raised.'

"Give it to us" the boss one said in a controlled voice as the others raised swords in a threatening manner.

'How bad it must be if they're preying on a child? What happened to this city in a few days I was gone?'

No more warnings were given and the group attacked. Ace dropped his bags and fell down to evade their attack. He rolled to side and slashed at someone's legs who screamed very loudly.

After that he jumped up and using [Shadow Dash] appeared behind the guy's back and used [Heart-seeker]. The person fell lifeless and to Ace's surprise didn't disappear. 'They're not players?'

He didn't feel like killing npcs but they didn't give him a choice. Attacks came from all sides but now that he paid attention to it, they were slow and sloppy. 'Those people probably never held a sword in their hands. Did they really plan to take care of me with only numbers?'

"Ice Field!" Ace cast and grabbed his bags. "See you!" he threw at them and using [Shadow Dash] jumped away, behind a house's corner where he used [Shadow Veil]. There he stood for a moment allowing the group to pass and returned to where they had been fighting.

The single victim lay motionless with its eyes wide open and chest stained in blood. 'Poor guy. Had he only given any sign he was npc, he wouldn't be lying here now.' Ace crouched down beside him and looked over the things the guy carried. It might give him some insight into what was happening here.

He picked up the crown emblem but left two pouches full of coins. It wasn't much for him but a surprisingly high sum for a non-player to be carrying around. 'Where did he get it? Or is he a noble?' He looked at the clothes but they weren't much. Dark grey trousers and brown jacket over a shirt. It was mid-class, which meant they were special occasion ones for poor or work clothes for rich. There was no item to tell which one they belonged to.

Shrugging he stood up and this time under the veil looked for a place. Not too far away he saw a wooden house. Its roof had fallen in and one side was down so it was empty of life. Crawling inside he found remnants of a fire in the still standing part of the room and a bed with dirty sheets. It seemed to not have been touched for days.

He threw some wood on the ground and told [Flare] to light it up when he noticed it wasn't around. 'Oh right, it disappeared back then for some reason.'

"Flare!"

*Warning!

Flare is a fire spirit. You have drained all her energy and she needs more time to regenerate. If you still want to summon, another creature will be called and your skill level will be lost. Do you wish to continue?*

"Of course no! What just happened here? Since when is Flare a spirit?" Ace asked surprised and looked at the wood, thinking of how in the world was he going to light it up now. He had no other fire spells and flint wasn't an object he carried all around with him. Not that he knew how to use it.

"Should I go and buy it or just read something?" He wondered for a moment before picking a book from his backpack and starting to read about an old emperor who actually had been an impostor. It was a diary of the last days and showed the man's sorrow at being misunderstood all his life and not having a successor, having been afraid to marry.

Just as Ace was reading about moments before death, darkness fell on him. "What?" he looked around, not understanding the situation. When he raised his head, he saw clouds hiding the sun. "When was the last time I paid any attention to weather while reading?" He had [Flare] to always have light and [Gust] to keep rain or other elements away. "Does that mean Gust is a wind spirit? Why didn't it stay with me as Flare had?"

To check that he opened his skill menu and found his little flame.

Flare[Active]Advanced[1]

It is a simple spell that illuminates ones surroundings by a faint light. It is the only spell that can be used while meditating. Ancient magicians created it to teach young to channel their mana and concentrate. Only those who managed to keep the fragile light on for half a day were allowed to become apprentices of Magic.

Special:

The spell has reached advanced level and the spirit has become attuned to your soul. You can control it with your mind and word commands are no longer necessary.

"So that's why it stayed with me and I could control it! Just whose mana was she using all that time?"

It was a question without answer and Ace tiredly stood up. Dark clouds promised rain and he needed fire first and foremost to be able to do anything.

He left the bags trusting that no one would want them even if someone entered the place and found his way back into the main parts of the city. There he found an inn and sneaked in next to the hearth from which he grabbed a still burning log.

He brought it to himself so [Shadow Veil] hid it too and carefully walked out. It burnt his hand and was very uncomfortable but he hurried on to his hiding place in the same manner.

Once inside he put some herbs down along the dry logs so they would catch fire quicker and put the burning one down. Right at that moment rain started up and Ace almost lost all his work.

Luckily the flame survived those first few drops and by then Ace had used [Gust] to patch the hole in the roof up.

Little by little the fire started up and warmth spread in the small room. Ace smiled at his great work and took out a pot to boil some water and create potions. He needed some more better ones as all of his were used in that last fight. He had many lower ones but those might not be capable of saving lives in a thick of battle.

There was not much of poison left too. He used way too much of it when playing around being Silver Wing or just rampaging around.

He spent the day and night brewing elixirs, some of them for the first time. A few bags were spent but many others were still full of herbs. It would take him a sleepless week to finish them all out.

In the morning Par contacted him and asked to meet up so Ace put all the elixirs inside his bag and looked at the leftover herbs. After a moment he decided to leave them all there but block off the entrance. He did it easily by using [Gust] to aid him in pushing a pretty large log on the path. Taking a step back he looked at his handiwork and grinning left the place.

Outside the tavern he saw Par standing beside Monthu. Once the kid noticed him, he rushed forward with one of his bright smiles. "Ace!"

"Hi, Par! Have you had a good time home?"

"Yeah! We went to the pool with Monthu in the morning and it was amazing! Do you like swimming?"

"Well, I used to go everyday once upon a time but not any more. Too lazy when I'm alone."

"You live alone?"

"Most of the time. It's pretty boring really, that's why I'm always online."

"Oh..."

"Do you have anything planned for today?" Ace asked, secretly opening his bag menu.

Par shook his head. "No. Why?"

"I don't know... Maybe because it's your birthday?" Par's eyes widened and even Monthu glanced Ace's way in surprise. "You thought I'd forget, didn't you?" Ace laughed and from his backpack took out a golden book. It was the one from that long time ago with a spell called [Creature of Deepest Fires]. "It's a little present; I thought you might like it."

Par carefully took it in his hands and touched reverently. Skill books were pricey and very rare,especially those who contained high level spells. The golden colour meant it was third level. First was bronze, then silver, gold, platinum, diamond and then glowing ones. Only one of the last ones had been found and no one was yet able to learn its spell. "Are you sure I can have it?"

"Yes, yes!" Ace said almost jumping up and down. "I got it all for you! Try it out already!"

Par glanced at Monthu who just shrugged and nodded after the continued look. "If he says it was meant for you, it would be disrespectful to refuse. You have no choice here."

"Exactly" added Ace.

Par looked back at the book and put his hand on it. "Learn" he said in wonder and golden light washed over him. A see-through window appeared before his eyes.

New Spell Acquired! Creature of Deepest Fires[Active]

You summon a cherufia. It is an offspring of a snake of unknown origin that thrives in the heat and is often found living in volcanoes. Scientists had never agreed whether they were animals that had well adapted or spirits possessing bodies of snakes and strengthening them so they could live in solitude.

The higher skill level the stronger cherufia can be called upon. There's a rumour that whoever mastered this spell will be able to summon the mother Cherufe herself who causes volcanoes to erupt and creates earthquakes.

Mana Cost 1500

"So how do you like it?" Ace asked looking at him with hopeful eyes. "Oh wait, you have to try it out first to know! Let's go outside and see it, okay?" He said grabbing Par's hand before the kid could answer and dragging him to the walls that stood high and could be seen from anywhere in the city. Monthu followed a few steps behind.

Guards let them leave without a word and soon they stood next to a dark forest in whose darkest parts unwelcome memories lay.

"But there are no monsters here. We hadn't met any when coming to this place." Par complained, a bit unhappy that there was nothing to test his new spell at.

"There must be something..." Ace muttered to himself. "Wait here a moment, I'll go look."

He dashed off leaving the two standing by the start of the trees.

"What spell was it?" Monthu asked when Ace was out of sight.

"A summoning! Now I can call upon a fire snake!"

"Is that so..?"

"Yes, yes! I really hope there are some monsters to try it out on!"

"I hope so too. Let's go after him, he'll find something anyway."

Par smiled and rushed into the forest, Monthu on his heels. They wandered around for some time before noticing a cave entrance on which a flag with two wands crossed flew high.

Ace went out from bushes nearby and his eyes widened for a second before a smile returned to his face. "It's a dungeon! Let's go inside!"

"Yes!" Par agreed instantly and alongside Ace ran in.

The way was lighted by torches and some ten steps in, a message appeared before their eyes.

*Cave of Despair

It is a place where ten great warriors met their doom fighting an evil necromancer. Villagers say that at night it is possible to see their ghosts walking around and challenging anyone who is in the cave's vicinity.

Denrik from Heylo city is looking for adventurers capable of defeating them but proof is needed to earn his respect.*

"Have you been here before?" Monthu asked, looking around. The cave felt eerie with the flickering flames of torches creating shadows and leaving corners in darkness.

"Nope but now we can explore it!"

*Shreee*

An ear piercing sound reached the group and a banshee rounded the corner. Noticing them she screamed even louder and rushed over to attack. Monthu blocked her approach with his scythe while Ace hid in his veil to sneak around.

Par started to chant. "Deep within the heat sleeps a creature born of fire, her breaths a toxic fume, her body sleek and deadly, Raise Cherufia!"

Black smoke started to collect in front of Par. It twisted and curled as if something living was inside trying to break free.

Next moment a little snake, the size of a kid's hand, lay motionless with its ruby red eyes glowing with intellect.

"Well, that's not exactly what I expected." Monthu said quietly to himself, glancing over his shoulder and Ace echoed him. "I was waiting for something more too..."

"Attack!" Par said pointing with his finger and the snake shot like a bullet towards the banshee wrapping around its neck. Then it bit into her neck and fiery liquid seeped out of its fangs.

The banshee shrieked in pain, its face twisting and she turned incorporeal for a few moments. It was an ability of all ghosts which made them annoying opponents and people rarely went hunting where many of them lived.

The snake dropped to the ground hissing indignantly and Ace finished the banshee once she became solid again.

"Isn't it great?" Par asked looking lovingly at his new summoning.

Monthu looked at it with interest too now. "It might really come in handy. I think if you summoned fire elemental as well we might be able to go deeper in and without a healer."

"Yay!" Par said happily and did as told.

In the meantime Ace went ahead to scout. It was always a good idea to prepare for what was coming next instead of running in blindly. Although, that was much more interesting.

Two ghosts were floating by the wall. They didn't seem to be too high level, close to the banshee which had been around fifty by Ace's opinion. Hopefully higher level monsters were spawning deeper inside the dungeon. He wanted to see how well that little snake would be able to fight against a real opponent because even Par was at least thirty levels higher than the banshee.

He returned to the two and reported about the ghosts.

"How strong are they?"

"Nothing much. If you took their attention, we could win without any damage."

"Are you needed?"

Ace smiled guessing what Monthu was thinking. "No, I'll go look for something better. Let him enjoy the moment."

After Monthu's nod he used [Shadow Veil] and went ahead. He could get rid of these ghosts pretty fast if he was given a chance but it wasn't the main point of their outing today. It was Par's birthday and he would have a lot of fun killing monsters even if they were lower level than him as long as they fought back.

He looked for places where there were most monsters and mapped them in his memory. The whole first floor was simply these monsters so they shouldn't run out of things to fight any time soon.

Then he returned and sneak attacked a banshee taking a lot of its health down. "Par can I get some help?" he asked pretending to be having a hard time and dodged a fireball that would have exploded on his shoulder. "Nice hit! Thanks!"

The kid smiled and sent another fireball to help out his brother. It hit right on target and he cast another one. Elemental and the snake were taking care of another banshee. They weren't having too much trouble.

Once any enemies died Ace would lead another group in so Par would have lots of creatures to aim at and would hit most of the time. The plan was working and the kid was smiling widely, using his spell to the fullest. One thing Ace found annoying was that he used only one while most likely having many more. That had to be changed.

He waited a long time playing along and to not grow bored doing the stupidest of things. He jumped around, did summersaults, started to dance in Egyptian style and did silly faces to make Par laugh.

"That's no way to fight" Monthu said with a smile on his own face and Ace showed him a tongue. "That's my way!" He shouted out with a laugh and after climbing a wall to the ceiling dived down with his hands together forward and a dagger between them. He slashed at some random ghost that got in his path and rolled down on the ground to soften the fall.

He lost some health for it but didn't really care. A sudden excitement to try out all the most idiotic stunts possible bubbled inside him and he was planning on making it come true. The fact that Par was laughing from behind and even Monthu chuckled from time to time was only encouraging him on.

"Ice field!" He cast and started to slide around. He had done this a few times and knew how to fight on the frozen surface while his enemies fell but never had he tried to play tricks on it.

It was as good a time as any to try it out. He spun around himself throwing daggers and somehow kept his balance but once he tried to jump up in the mid of a second spin it his right foot slipped and he fell backwards. "Owowow!" He muttered and ignoring Monthu's look motioned Par to come. "Hey join me up! I feel like a clown making fun of myself like that..."

"I don't know..." Par said uncertainly and looked to Monthu for advice. "Should I?"

There was a strange look in Monthu's eyes. Sadness and a steely determination. 'What is happening here?' Ace wondered looking between the two brothers. 'Since when anyone needs to ask before going out to play on ice? Kids are the only ones who are free to do it whenever they feel like it!'

"You should try it. This is a game after all."

Ace looked as a smile blossomed on Par's face when he rushed towards the edge of the frozen floor. Carefully Par took a step on and almost instantly slipped. Ace got to him right on time to catch from falling.

"Have you never been on ice before?" asked Ace, keeping his friend up.

"Uhm... No... I j-"

"Par no need to explain everything. Nobody brings their real life problems here and has secrets. Isn't that right, Ace?" Monthu asked and Ace after a second nodded. "True. It's only fair we get to keep them." He would have liked to know the reasoning why Par was so doted on but they hadn't tried to pry on him too much so he had to do the same. At least for the time being.

"Then let's change the rules! I'll show you the best thing about ice!" he said. "Look at me and repeat my actions."

He released Par's hand and walked fifteen steps away. Then he turned swiftly and ran at full speed towards the ice on which he jumped, skating to the other side of the hall. Wind brushed his face and Ace smiled widely catching himself on the next wall. "Now it's your turn!"

"Is it really okay..? Won't I fall?"

"Come on! Just try it! You can do it! Just don't hesitate before going and use the momentum to push you forward!" Ace rallied. "I believe in you!"

Par nodded slowly, still doubting himself, but he really wanted to try it out. Carefully he reached the place from where Ace had started to run and turned around. White ground not too far away looked foreboding and even deadly.

"Par don't chicken out now! Only one step left! Don't tell me you're scared of following me!"

The kid looked at his best friend and seeing encouragement there started to run. He wanted to be like him who feared nothing and was able to look at everything with a laugh. No situation was ever a dead end to him.

He jumped on the icy part of the floor and felt himself speed up even more. Air pushed against him and he felt his knees go weak. What was he doing here? He didn't know how to slide at all!

The kid started to waver and Ace watched his flight with weary eyes. Par was halfway through but he had already closed his eyes bracing for an impact.

"Wild vines!" he cast, catching Par mid fall. "Release. Now it wasn't that bad, was it?" Ace asked jogging to his friend.

Par raised his face and there was joy there in full view; eyes shining and his mouth corners reaching ears. "That was amazing! Can I try it again?"

Ace breathed a sigh and matched Par's smile. "Only if you can catch up to me!" he threw and taking a few steps slid back to the other side of the passageway.

***

"What is happening here!" a voice shouted out and startled the two kids sliding back and forth. They tried to stop midway and ended up crashing against each other.

"Hey! What was that for?" Ace asked indignantly, massaging his forehead. His eyes locked on the newcomers from the depths of the dungeon.

"What in the name of all that's holy is going on here?"

Ace looked around. The cave entrance area had a fire going next to which Monthu was sitting and polishing his weapon. In the middle icy floor was on which he and Par was sitting for the moment. Walls and ceiling were overgrown with vines in case either of them decided to get too close to them at full speed. "What's wrong?" he asked finding no fault.

The seemingly leader guy stepped forward and circled his finger around. "Everything? What have you done with this place! And you're not even supposed to be here!" There was annoyance on his immaculately shaved face that looked at odds with his ragged appearance.

He and the rest of his group were dirty, had tears in their clothes and armour and there was tiredness in their disposition. They didn’t look like a very scary bunch.

"We're not?"

"This is a private dungeon belonging to our guild. Outsiders aren't allowed in" he glared at them. "How did you get through Avalon anyway?"

"Ava-who?"

"He's the guy who stands guard today and should have stopped you from entering. Hadn't you seen him?"

Ace shook his head. "We saw no one coming here. I had even hoped it might be an undiscovered place."

"As if!" Someone from behind laughed and the leader glared at him before turning back to Ace. "Can I ask why had you come here in the first place?"

"We needed to try out some skills and then decided to play around some. Is that a good enough answer or should I elaborate more?"

"Watch your tongue kid!" the guy from the back spat again and Ace shifted his position to get a better look at him. The guy was in his early twenties with bright yellow eyes and jet black hair. He had an axe strapped to his back but wore the weakest of armours, leather. That was an obvious hint he wasn’t of the main warrior classes.

"Rover, shut up. Kid what level are you?"

"But boss you can't think of asking them for help! They're children!"

"Rover!" the leader guy said, glaring at his subordinate. "I doubt you would dare to come here hunting yourself while they're having a picnic."

"So what! It's probably all that guy’s doing! If we need someone, at least ask only him!"

"Just shut your trap if you have nothing good to say. Do you really think he'd come without them?" The leader shook his head in annoyance. "So kid what level are you?"

"Higher than these little creatures you call monsters in this dungeon."

"Any proof?"

Ace smiled deviously and stood up pointing his dagger at the guy that had been foul mouthing him. "What do you say if I asked for a duel? Or are you too much of a chicken?"

"I-I-"

"He can't do that! He's of an adventurer class!" a female from the back said angrily. She was wearing a bright red dress that made her stand out from the crowd.

The smile on Ace's face only widened. "I'm a rogue and I'm not looking for girls to hide behind their backs. Or is that how men are brought up in where you come from?"

The guy's cheeks turned soft pink. "Dawn there's no need to say anything. I'm going to kill this stupid kid and we can leave this cave and return some other time.”

He came to stand before Ace and officially asked him to a duel through the options. It was the only way to kill a person and not receive infamy points or a red mark above the head.

"The match to the death!"

"Sure" agreed Ace.

"No" disagreed the leader. "No unnecessary deaths, Rover, or you'll be suspended."

"Fine." He hissed and sent a new invitation.

*You have been challenged!

Rover is asking you to a duel to one health point. Do you accept?

Yes/No*

Ace clicked yes and jumped back to evade the great axe coming his way. The attack had weight behind it but was so slow it seemed like it hardly even moved. 'Did he put even a one point in dexterity?'

The answer seemed to be no as Ace almost fell asleep waiting for the next attack.

He decided to play around some for the sake of it. It would be too evil to just destroy him in a second. Although anyone who knew anything of the game could see that he was just making fun of the guy.

"Stand still and fight, you little monkey! This is not dodge ball!"

"I told you I am a rogue. Did you really expect me to fight face to face?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow, evading another swing. It was child's play really.

But one that quickly got boring.

Once that happened Ace activated [Flame Step] and ran around the guy surrounding him in a circle of fire. Then he used [Excessive Heat] to start glowing red and jumped right on the guy who didn't react on time. [Shadow Dash] got Ace right over him and he used [Backstab] followed by [Cut-throat]. He didn't use his instant kill ability but the two used along with poison had to have done quite some damage.

Ace quickly turned around to block the upcoming axe when he noticed that nothing was coming. His opponent was lying flat on his stomach, bluish shield surrounding him so Ace wouldn't be able to finish him off.

You have won a duel!

+5 Fame

'That's a lot... Did the guy ever do anything worthy in his life?'

The fame granted from the duel was decided by the difference between fighters and whether it was their first fight among themselves. Ace didn't have that much fame but his opponent didn't seem to be able to brag either.

"You lied to me!" Ace said angrily, pointing his finger at the leader. The guy fell way too fast; he had to be level twenty or not have half his health to die so quickly. His damage was great but nothing to fall a guy in two hits, especially when his poison dealt damage over time. "It was nowhere near a fair duel."

"Sh-"

"Shut your trap" Ace hissed glaring at the fallen guy. "Another word and I won't care about the killer’s mark." His eyes turned dark purple and the person gulped involuntarily.

Satisfied Ace turned back to the leader. "You sent him to die and I don't like to be played for a fool. Tell me one reason why I shouldn't just kill all of you."

"You wouldn't dare to! There's more of us!" the female said angrily, leaving the group and carefully walking towards her friend. She said that but kept her eyes glued to his every movement.

"But I can try and I promise at best a few would survive. I don't like leaving witnesses" Ace said. calling softly upon [Flare].

Particles of light gathered near his head creating an almost invisible spark. Ace saw it from the corner of his eye and felt a pang of guilt; the little flame was nowhere near rested enough. Single burst was probably going to destroy it. But she had answered his summons and he felt better. There was at least a single thing that came when he needed it.

"Please let me explain, there's no need for any fighting" leader said coming forward and raising his hands in a calming gesture. "We didn't want to test you like that but you're in our lands and you have to pay to get here. I can now tell that you're a great person and this trespassing was just an accident. To treat it that way and give you permission I only ask that you would accompany us in a single fight. What do you think?"

Ace tilted his head slightly thinking about the suggestion. Of course he could easily fight them and maybe even kill some but that would achieve nothing and Par's birthday would be ruined. Even now it was coming to that. He had to resolve the situation quickly if he wanted to save it.

"Is it the ghosts the dungeon entrance message mentioned?"

"Yes. For some reason they have joined sides and can't be separated. Our only healer died and we barely managed to escape alive after trying to escape them.”

"So you want to say that you're all half-dead and expect to win without any healer just because the three of us would join?" Ace asked in disbelief. He hoped the leader knew something he didn't or this was going to be a suicide mission and he had had enough of those.

"Isn't that guy in the back a healer?"

Ace turned back to see whether there was someone else there but it was only Monthu sitting by the fire and not paying any attention. Outwardly. Kid was sure he was listening to every word said.

"It's a scythe not a staff! Since when healers carried those?"

There was disappointment on leader's face. He seemed to have honestly thought that Monthu was a cleric. "It cannot be done then. We're too low."

Ace thought for a moment and knew the answer how it could be done. But first he wanted to find out whether Par wanted that to happen. It was his day after all. Ace came to where his friend was still sitting and looking him straight in the eyes asked. "Do you want to help them out? Or should we leave and find a place to have some fun elsewhere?"

There was a thoughtful look on the kid's face before he answered. "People should be helped if it is possible. Can you do something about it?"

Ace sighted before nodding. "It's not as hard as it looks. Together we have the same power as all of them or even more. The fight should be a piece of cake."

Par looked at him with a question in his eyes but Ace had already turned around and was walking towards the leader. "Does your guild have anything of value? Or is this all it has?"

"One word, one word kid and you're going to die even if I have to go along with you!" looser said in a threatening tone but Ace didn't even glance his way. "So tell me, how much can you give away for finishing this quest?"

"We have more players when you see now. What do you have in mind? Can you call upon a healer?"

"What's with your fascination with healers? Don't you know any more words? There are other ways to win and without that class. Or that is if you have a few coins to spare."

"Explain."

"I'm an alchemist. I can sell you healing potions for half the price of the market. But I'm not going to give them away for free."

"You an alchemist? That's nonsense! You're just a brat!"

Nobody any longer paid any attention to the guy's mumblings and continued as if he had been silent. "Why would you do it? What is wrong with those potions?"

Ace laughed. "Nothing. I'm just too lazy to sell them off at the right prices and they pile up. So what do you think? Can your purses survive that or are you too broke?"

"Exact price."

"One gold per hundred health restored."

"It's not really cheap. A few golds are at best what you would receive through a level fifty or so dungeon. And you want us to sacrifice that much?"

Ace smiled. "You wouldn't be negotiating with me if you thought the price was outrageous. It's either you want those ghosts killed that badly or you know that the usual price is almost one gold per fifty health restored or even more. So what do you think? It's a generous offer which you might never get again."

"How much you have and of what type?"

"I'm not the highest level around so they won't restore your whole health in a flash but my best ones can give you around half or so. Supply? More than you can buy, that's for sure."

"Boss don't play by his rules. We know nothing about him."

Leader looked back at the still lying guy whose health was regenerating to ten percent. Duels were the only exception where health was free to regenerate even when it was less than ten percent. "You know why we need this. It's our only chance to survive as a guild and if for that I have to waste all our money, be it so. At least I won't have to regret that I hadn't tried everything." He looked back at Ace. "Sell me your wares kid."

Ace nodded and started to put potions before himself. Some were great, some not that much but all restored health and that was the important thing. He hadn't lied about their specifics or usual prices but he didn't tell the whole truth either. Making one cost him almost nothing and unlike most he had learnt the skill for free. He could have sold them for the fifth of the price and still have made a profit.

There were over forty bottles before him when he stopped pulling them out and looked up at the leader. "Is this enough?"

The guy nodded and handed a bag full of gold coins. Ace made sure there were enough and took a few steps back. The only thing he was sorry to lose were the glass bottles themselves. Now he would have to go and buy more. Such a nuisance.

While leader distributed potions Ace went to sit next to Monthu and Par. The kid had come here and was touching his snake's skin with interest. The scales were smooth and shiny; he could feel muscles moving right beneath them. The snake's body was radiating some heat which made the area surrounding her shimmer although Par couldn't feel it at all.

"What do you think about them?" Ace asked Monthu quietly.

"They're desperate to succeed."

"As desperate as you to get Hawk and Aurora back?"

"I don't really care."

"Par is that true?" Ace asked directing his eyes to the quietly sitting kid. Par looked up and answered truthfully. "Parents said it is important they come together. It's very unfriendly to just abandon them. I tried to tell them you didn't like large crowds but they said it's unhealthy to be alone for long periods of time."

"And you didn't feel like passing that to me..?"

"I was afraid you'd be angry with me..." Par said lowering his head and cherufia jumped up to snake around his neck. It was a nice resting place as now she wouldn't have to move but the master would carry her.

"I would never hate you or abandon just because you said something. Words are lies. They mean nothing. What matters are actions. They show decisions." He returned his attention to Monthu. "So how much can you pay for an approval?"

"Do you ever do anything without looking for a profit? How do you expect people to like you when your friendship can be bought?"

"It cannot. Only chosen ones receive it" Ace said with a shake of his head. "And then I like to see whether they actually value it."

"So what is it this time you're going to make me do ignoring the fact that I might disagree?"

"I like smart people" Ace said with a smile. "You can call those two. How close exactly are they?"

"A few hours away."

Ace chuckled and rose. "Let's go help these guys now. It shouldn't be too hard and if anything goes wrong the two will come for a save."

He went back followed by the brothers and found a group of people smiling widely. They were talking excitedly and whispering something to each other. It was a strange sight remembering the sorry bunch they had been previously.

"Are you ready?" Ace asked coming beside the leader.

"Yes. And I'm Achilles. What's your name?"

"Ace and thanks for letting me know where your weakness lies."

Achilles laughed and he looked at least ten years younger. "So you know the legend? It's rare among people of our time."

"I know many things." Ace said with an innocent expression before pointing to his companions. "This is Monthu a scytheman and his brother Paradox, an elementalist summoner. We're all way past this dungeon so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Those eight people are my comrades and most trusted people from the guild: Fiora, Loran, Flake, Rover, Pioneer, Kelvin, Orian and Dawn."

"It's nice to meet you all. I hope we can make this into a lovely adventure for everyone and forget all the misunderstandings."

"Let's have a try at it." Orian agreed and together they all went deeper into the dungeon. Most monsters had re-spawned already so Ace and Monthu made short work of them. For some reason no matter how deep inside they were the level of enemies didn't change. They were only of different ghost types.

"We're almost there. Only a few turns. Are we going to just go in and fight or is there any plan this time around?"

Everyone turned to the leader who was looking at Ace. The kid smiled widely. "Give me a moment to scout. I'll see what we can achieve here."

He went past the corner and hid away using [Shadow Veil]. Then he carefully sneaked to where the ghosts were supposed to have stayed.

From the first sight at their gleaming armour and the sound of their heavy boots colliding with the ground he knew that they were disproportionally strong compared to other creatures in this dungeon.

Two of them were mock fighting and their blows made the room tremble. Ace had to grab onto a wall to keep from falling. 'Those guys never mentioned them being this overpowering! How did they even manage to run away from something like this?’