The sun shone as brightly as ever in the blue sky above Rune-Midgard, flooding the grasslands of the Prontera fields with its warmth. A cool breeze gently caresses the green blades as it passes through the fields. Off in the distance, a party of two acolytes, a swordsman, and an archer busily take on a flock of Creamies while a Thief hacks away at a Rocker not far from them. Porings bounce around gleefully near a stream while Thief Bugs went about their business snatching up anything and everything that came within range of their sensitive antennae. Adventurers come and go in this everlasting world as life goes on with or without them.
High up on one of the many rolling hills of the Prontera fields, a lone figure slowly makes its way to a tree. Autumn has come upon these lands and as such the leaves on the trees have changed into various shades of red, yellow, and green. Breathing in deep the crisp, clean Rune-Midgard air, the adventurer takes a seat within the shelter of the solemn tree. The adventurer was soon lost in thought as she stares out at the land below her. The sight of the scattered parties hunting down various monsters from Porings to Creamies brought back many happy memories from her past.
So lost in thought was the veteran adventurer that she failed to notice someone approaching her from behind. Alas, she sensed no ill-intentions from this stranger as he came up. In fact, she detected a hint of apprehension and turns around slowly to find herself in the presence of a rather awkward and nervous novice.
"Oh, uh, I didn't know anyone came here," he manages to utter out. "Can… can I, uh…"
"If you want to take a rest here, feel free to," answered the adventurer, knowing very well how overwhelming the world could be in the eyes of a novice. "I don't bite unless you give me reason to."
Hearing the friendliness in her tone, the white-haired novice hesitantly takes a seat near the woman. For a few minutes, the two of them just sat there, drinking in the scenery in silence. At long last, the novice summons the courage to start a conversation with the obviously more experienced adventurer.
"So, uh," he began, scratching his head nervously. "What… are you?"
"My trade is one that mainly involves lots of killing," replied the adventurer as she stares out at the land before her. She turns to face the novice with a smile, who seemed quite alarmed at the sound of her answer. "I'm an assassin."
"Wow, really?" exclaimed the novice in awe, feeling slightly less afraid than before. "I've never seen a girl assassin before." He looks down at the weapons strapped to her waist and notices something peculiar about them. "You… don't use katars like other assassins?"
The woman lets out a light chuckle. "Does that bother you that I use daggers?"
"No! No, of course not," the novice answers quickly, thinking he might've insulted her in some way. "I didn't know assassins use daggers as well. Every assassin I've seen always uses katars so it's just kind of weird to see one use something different."
The assassin unsheathes one of her daggers and holds it up into the light of the sun. The novice looks on, as he has never seen a Grimtooth dagger up close before.
"I don't know," began the woman, turning the blade in her hand. "I guess I just got attached to them after using them for so long back when I was a thief."
"Did you make that yourself?" wonders the novice.
"Nah, a good friend of mine gave this to me when I was still a thief," replied the assassin. An image of her friend pops up in her mind and she quickly sheathes the dagger away as she blinks back tears.
"Do you have a lot of friends?" asked the novice.
"Yeah. In all truth and honesty, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them," said the assassin, a smile forming across her forlorn face as the blissful memories came back to her in droves. "We did a lot together, taking on dungeons and hanging out near Prontera's west gate."
The young novice smiles happily as he thought of the prospects of making friends of his own in this whole wide world and going on adventures with them, conquering anything that came across their paths.
"So, where are your friends?" wondered the novice. Then a thought came to him and his eyes widen in worry. "Oh, do you usually meet them here? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude or anything."
"You worry too much for a novice," chuckled the woman. She waves off his cautious behavior. "Don't worry, this place is nothing special. As for my friends…"
The smile on her face was quickly replaced with a face of solemn sadness. "They all went away a long time ago."
"Oh," said the young novice. "But, I'm sure they'll come back someday. And you always have your guild to fall back on, right?"
"I don't have a guild of my own," said the assassin matter-of-factly.
"Oh," said the novice. Now he feels even worse for bringing up such lonely topics. Yet, another question just begs to be asked, though the novice is hesitant to. "If your friends are gone and you don't belong to any guild, then why do you come back here?"
"I've been asking myself that question for a very long time now," said the assassin. "I guess I love this place too much to leave it entirely. My heart just feels… free… here. It feels lonely at times, yes, but as long as I keep those precious memories in my heart, I never feel truly alone."
"Besides," She stands up and brushes the blades of grass that have attached itself to the skirt of her outfit. "Novices such as yourself need as much help as you can to get yourself started on your own adventures."
She goes into her pack and pulls out something as the novice gets up off the grass himself.
"Here," she says, handing the novice a shield. "You need this more than I do."
"Wow, this shield's carded!" exclaimed the novice as he examines the protective gear. "20% less damage from long-range attacks?" He looks up with eyes that wonder if this was for real.
"Take it," said the assassin with the warm smile she had once before. "The way of the sword would suit you best. You have a lot of potential and you'll need all the help you can get to realize that potential."
"But," sputtered the boy. He lowers his head and tries to hand the shield back. "I can't take this. It's too much."
The assassin merely smiles and gently lays a hand on his and pushes the shield back towards him. "I am an assassin, a dual-wielder by trade. You'll benefit from this a lot more than I."
The novice looks up at the woman and nods solemnly, reluctantly accepting the unexpected gift. "But… how do you know that this is the right path for me?"
"You have a look in your eyes that reminds me of a good friend of mine," said the assassin. "Kind and gentle, but willing to take up arms to protect those dear to you. I can see you willingly sacrifice yourself for someone you love."
The novice blushes at the possibility of finding a significant other in this whole wide world when he's just starting his life as an adventurer.
"The road will be long and hard, as it is for any novice," said the assassin. "Have faith, and everything will come through in the end."
With that, she began to walk off towards the land of Mt. Mjolnir. As she walked away, the novice suddenly remembers something and calls out to her.
"Hey!" he cries out. "I forgot to ask your name!"
The woman turns around and smiles. The novice hugs the shield close to him as he strains to hear her name, but in an instant, she vanishes before his very eyes. Yelling out in surprise, he looks around to see where she could have run off to, but all that greeted him was a passing breeze. Saddened by the sudden disappearance, he looks out over the fields of Prontera with shield in hand. Looking down at the cool, rough surface of the shield in his hand, he could tell that the weapon has seen many battles throughout its life. Running his fingers over the rather plain design of the shield, he comes to realize just which path of the sword he was suited to take.
Looking up with his head held high, he decides to take the assassin's advice and take the swordsman's test in the satellite town of Izlude. He doesn't know what the future holds for him, but he's not about to sit around and wait for it to happen to him. Nodding in determination, he walks off towards Izlude wielding his new shield with confidence.
Unbeknownst to him, the assassin was not far from where she disappeared. Reappearing behind the tree, she looks on as the novice heads in the direction of Izlude. With a smile, she turns to head over to the base of Mt. Mjolnir, satisfied with her self-appointed mission of giving newcomers the head start they need to begin their own adventures. To be there for those who had no one to look up to and be the help that she sometimes wished she got herself.
No matter what the world threw at her, the assassin would remain strong enough to tough it out. Just like the shield she gave that novice.
Everlasting…
A/N: This is actually a reflection of my current status in Ragnarok Online so I never planned for it to be any longer than 1 chapter. Maybe I'll expand it into a full-fledged fiction someday. Who knows.