Prologue: Memories Of The Past

"Hooray! I'm about to be a novice soon!"

Cries of happiness filled the air as a young raven-haired girl jumped about in excitement. She had just turned thirteen two days back, and according to the Midgard rule she will be enrolled for the novice exams along with the others. It was a special day for her, for like many other villagers, she will be sitting for an exam that would determine her course of life for the King.

"Yeah, Alyssa. You're about to be a novice soon. Hopefully, you'll pass without any failures beforehand, eh?" her sister, Constance Eradia, teased her little sister as she watched her dancing about with joy. Alyssa looked at her sister and stuck out her tongue at her. Chuckling, Constance pretended to wrestle with her before giving her a bear hug.

"Well, girl. You're about to be a novice soon. Any plans on what career you wish to choose soon after?" she asked. Constance was a fully qualified huntress and was part of the Pronteran army that serves to protect the capital city of Rune Midgard. Alyssa thought for a moment. She brightened and said cheerfully, "I want to be a merchant!"

Constance looked at her sister carefully, quite surprised at her choice. Alyssa had never shown any interest in finances, let alone the current updates in the business world. So what made her choose to become a merchant? "Why a merchant, Lyss? I thought you hated calculations and the whatnot of the business," she asked curiously.

"Well, I used to hate 'em, but after Uncle Dominic's visit, I guess I've changed my mind about it. Anyway, it'll be fun being a merchant, I think."

The huntress laughed at her sister's doubts. Uncle Dominic was a childhood friend of their father, who was also coincidentally a blacksmith as well. His products were well known throughout the city for their liability and perfection. It looks like the little chat Alyssa had with him last week was about her future. Not that Constance minded, she did not care what her sister wants to be, as long as she's happy.

Alyssa looked at the time and exclaimed, "Oh, my goodness! I'm gonna be late for the lessons if I don't hurry! Well, sis, wish me luck! Bye!" She rushed out from her house before Constance could say anything and headed immediately towards the Novice Training Grounds. The blonde huntress merely looked at the clouds of dust and chuckled to herself.

"All right, you young ones! Listen up! I'm going to go through this only once so don't ask any stupid questions that will only wasted both of our time!" a bearded figure said irately as he surveyed his batch of would-be novices. Leon Von Frisch was well known for his short temperedness towards slow learners. The better learner you are, the better reception you will get.

Alyssa settled herself somewhere in the middle of the crowd and began to listen to his speech. Sitting next to her, a silver-haired boy with an extremely bored look etched on his face did not even bother to follow Von Frisch's speech. Instead, he entertained himself by flipping a zeny coin between his fingers. Alyssa soon became irritated with the boy's behavior.

"Oi, stop that! You're making me lose concentration of what Mr. Leon is saying," she hissed from the corner of her mouth. Surprised, the boy looked at her and shrugged. "Whatever," he said gloomily. He kept the coin away though. Suppressing her annoyance, Alyssa decided to ignore him and continued concentrating on Leon Von Frisch's speech.

Alyssa sank onto the ground wearily. Her hand was aching from stabbing the stray fabres that roamed the training grounds. It was okay at first, but as time passed by she realized that the fabres were rather aggressive and would not leave her alone if they spotted her.

She had passed the first written test on her first try and was now currently undertaking her second test. Her examiner told her to kill about twenty fabres in the training grounds before exiting the place. She was given a simple knife, which allows her to kill the green worm-like creatures according to her strength. So far she had managed to kill about five fabres before she tired out.

"Oh, no," she groaned as she spotted a few fabres heading towards her way. Quickly she estimated the distance between her and the slow-moving fabres. For something moving slow, it sure lessens the distance between it and its victim pretty fast. Picking up her weapon, she stood up and braced herself for the attack.

"Hey, stop picking on that girl! Come and get me instead!"

Surprised, Alyssa whirled around to see who that was and her surprise faded as annoyance took place. It was that annoying silver-haired boy again. Was he following her or something? The equally surprised fabres looked confusedly between the female and the male trainees. They couldn't decide which one should the attack. Finally, several of them went towards the boy. The silver-haired boy ignored Alyssa and charged forward, slaying the fabres easily. He then approached the remaining fabres and killed them off with ease. Alyssa scowled. "Show off," she muttered, sitting down once more to regain her strength.

The boy came up to her and looked at her concernedly. "Are you alright?" he asked, sitting down beside her. He groped about around him and produced two red apples with flourish. He offered one to her as he wolfed down his. Alyssa took the apple, touched by his thoughtfulness. Not many people would have done that for her. She supposed he was trying to get into her good books or something.

"Thanks. I thought I was a goner back then," she said, nibbling on her piece of apple. The silver-haired trainee waved his hand airily. "No problem. Say, weren't you the one sitting beside me during Mr. Leon's class? So sorry to irritate you back then. I'm always bored when it comes to speeches," he apologized concritely. Alyssa's annoyance melted as she looked at him, realizing that he was indeed sorry.

"Nah, don't worry. I basically know it by heart already, courtesy of my big sister's lectures."

He chuckled. "Yeah, same here. My bro won't stop bugging me about passing the test. It's a drag actually. Especially when he's in the army and expects the best from me."

"Hey, my sister's in the army too! She's the head of the Huntress Division. But she doesn't pressure me much about this, thank goodness!"

"Lucky you. My brother's all about excelling. He's a knight from the Defense Army. I'm Shein by the way, Sheinzen Zephyrthros. And you are…"

"Name's Alyssa Quayshua. Just call me Lyss or Alyssa."

"Well, Lyss or Alyssa, shall we begin training again? I can't wait to get outta here."

"You're on!"

"Where in two worlds is that dratted guy anyway? He's supposed to be here ages ago!" Alyssa muttered to herself as she checked the time for the umpteenth time.

"Yo, Lyss! Sorry I was late. My 'caring' brother gave me yet another lecture again before I left house," hailed Shein, panting as he drew closer. Scowling at him, Alyssa stuck her tongue out before retorting, "Serves you right! You're always late!"

Shein gasped out an apology as he panted for oxygen. Sighing, Alyssa opened her bag and handed him a bottle of red potion. "Thanks," he said gratefully, gulping down the liquid in two swallows. He quickly regained his energy and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"So, shall we start training again?"

Both Alyssa and Sheinzen had just recently passed their job exams. Alyssa was finally a qualified merchant and Sheinzen decided to be a magician, rebelling his brother's wishes to become a knight, just like him.

"Right. Let me get some potions first before we leave."

Nodding his head, he followed the raven-haired merchant into the nearest potion shop. Alyssa dealt with her goods efficiently and wasted little time in haggling at the prices of the potions. As they left the stall, Alyssa suddenly noticed that her friend was fidgeting somewhat nervously by her side. Odd, she thought, she rarely see Shenzein this agitated.

"Uh, Lyss? I have something to tell you," ventured Sheinzen hesitantly. Alyssa looked at him with a mixture of surprise and expentance.

"What?"

"I hate to say this, but I need to carry on solo in order to train myself in becoming a sage. I'm so sorry, but I don't think I can continue training with you anymore."

Alyssa looked at him with mixed feelings. Somehow she knew this would happen. Magicians were well known with their lone journeys and odd quests to fulfill. Sighing, Alyssa nodded and replied, "It's okay Shien, I understand. Who knows, we might meet again someday." She looked at his miserable face and rummaged her bag for something. Shenzein looked at her antics quietly, still feeling guilty for leaving her just like that. But he needed to do something before she gets hurt, and he needed to grow stronger. The only way he could foresee himself doing so is by journeying alone.

"Here, keep this. Give it back to me the next time you meet me, okay? So you better keep it safe of else I'll bang your head with my axe if I meet you," she threatened playfully, handing him a silver charm necklace. He took the necklace from her, relieved that she took it quite well. Suddenly, Shein hugged her tightly and murmured, "I won't forget you, Alyssa Quayshua." With that, he bid her farewell and left the city alone.