As the 25 contestants stood in a row, the halls of Mamodo World Central chimed with the sound of joy. But this was not the only school that had this joy; you could hear it in all four of of the school. You see, today was no ordinary day in the Mamodo World; today was the start of the one hundred mamodo tournament for the throne. Mamodo from all four schools (Dragon Central Prep, M.G. Primary, Solei's School for Special Mamodo, and Mamodo World Central) would be selected to participate in this legendary battle. The prize? A seat on the throne as king for a millennium.

Among these one hundred students stood a mamodo with a white hoodie, faded blue jeans, and white canvas sneakers. Nicknamed 'Todo' by his just about everyone, he was just the average thirteen-year-old mamodo boy. He had no immaculate abilities, and he wasn't too bright. But somehow, someway, he had made it into the competition. He laid back in his seat as the ceremony started.

As the principal of Mamodo World Central stood at the podium, Todo examined him, not that it mattered; he had seen enough of him due to his quick temper and snappy comebacks towards teachers. The principal was a short, stout man, with a freshly trimmed goatee to go along with his silky gray hair. He wore a gray suit with a purple tie, to compliment his purple shoes. He smoothly started calling out the twenty five names on his list.

While the names were being called, Todo couldn't help but examine all of the contestants traversing through the door. Not only that, but there was one person in particular he worried about: a girl by the name of Zoren. She was dark and intimidating. She had black hair, blue eyes, and usually wore red lipstick, a black dress, and red boots. She was very pale in complexion, and didn't hang around people. Rumor was, she annihilated someone just for teasing her. No one knew if it was true, but no one was dumb enough to ask. She was in this competition too, and he could already feel that she would be a threat.

"Todo." Todo zoned back in as his named was called, got up, and walked to the podium. The principal glared solemnly at him as he handed Todo the creamy white book. As Todo walked towards the doorway, he took one last look at the room. The chipped red paint, the dusty gray floor, and the shoddy tables were comforting to him. There was cracked spot in the floor, in which he had challenged Ted to a fight, just one of his many brawls at the school. He felt tears well up in his eyes, so he quickly turned away to prevent the other students from seeing them, and walked through the door. He knew that was the last thing he'd see for a while until he returned home.

Todo arrived in an ally at the back of a pizzeria. As he exited the ally, the faint scent of melted cheese filled his nostrils. 'Hm... Didn't know they had such great smelling aromas in this world,' he thought. He looked into the window of the pizzeria, and watched as the chef took the pizza out of a brick oven. His mouth watered, and his stomach growled. 'That's right, I didn't eat this morning. But I don't have any cash...'

He walked into the pizzeria, book in hand. "Hey, big guy!" he shouted. The chef turned around. "See if you can read this." He sat the book on the counter. The chef walked over, opened the book, and looked at it for a second, before finally saying, "Sorry kid, I can't read it. What kinda language is this anyway?"

"Oh, um, it's... For a class... I forgot the name," he quickly lied. The chef shrugged as Todo headed for the door, his head dropped in disappointment. "Hey kid, you hungry?" the chef shouted as Todo headed out the door. Todo turned around and nodded his head. "How about some pizza? On the house." Todo's eyes lit up, and he gladly accepted the offer. The chef smiled, and went to work on the pizza that he'd offered Todo.

"Ahh, that was great!" Todo sighed as he left from the restaurant. His plan had worked; act as if he were helpless, and get free food. Or, maybe he really was helpless; he didn't know. All he knew was that he'd gotten free food. He looked up at his surroundings. There were large, colorful skyscrapers shielding the sky. There were birds playing in the park across from where he was. He smiled at the sight. He went and sat under a tree and dozed off, marveling the beauty of this new place.

He was awakened by a group of boys standing over him. "Hey, little punk! I don't know who you are, but you're on our turf. So move it!" one of the boys said. He looked up at him, and smirked. "Your turf, huh? Well, if it's your turf, then why am I here?" Todo stated. "Hm, seems we got a wise guy here, huh? Beans, let's show him what we do to guys like him!" One of the guys picked Todo up, and kicked in in the groin, making Todo fall to the ground. Todo stared into the face of the guy that they called 'Beans'. Beans wore a beanie (which perhaps the source of his nickname), had a scar next to his eye, which ran down to his cheek, a crooked chin, and a nose that took up almost half of his face. Todo looked over at the ringleader, who was laughing at him. He had a long, pointy nose, thin rimmed glasses, a newly acquired goatee, and was very muscular. His school uniform made it no better, as he only looked more buff in the getup. The third of the boys wore a faded letterman jacket, had a pale complexion, and had droopy eyes, as if he was tired.

"So, you gonna get up, wimp?" the ringleader asked, chuckling. Todo got up, and, after dusting himself off, said, "You sissies can't even kick correctly. How do you plan of fighting with that style?"

"Wha- hey, you don't offend us, you little bastard! Beans, handle this!"

Beans charged at Todo, but this time, Todo was ready. Todo punched him in the jaw, and then whipped a round house kick, sending Beans to the ground. However, in the process, Todo had managed to drop his book.

"Well, well, what's this?" The leader of the trio grabbed the book from the ground and opened it. "What kinda alien language is this, nerd?" Todo sighed in relief at these words. This guy wasn't his book owner. "It's Mamodian," Todo replied. The boy laughed at these words. "Mamodian? What's that, some kinda nerd language? Look here, kid, stop foolin' around with me. Now get off our turf. Oh, and take this book with you too." The boy held out the book as if to hand it to Todo, but tossed it into a garbage can. Todo walked over and grabbed the book, and without warning, charged at the group of guys. The droopy faced boy immediately grabbed Todo and put him in a headlock. "Shouldn't have done that," the leader said. He furiously started punching Todo in the abdomen, making Todo fall to his knees. But this wasn't over. The leader kicked Todo square in the jaw, busting Todo's lip and sending him to the ground. He then picked Todo up, and flung him at a tree. This fight was over.

"Serves you right. C'mon guys, let's go." As they walked off, Todo got up and wiped the blood from his chin. "Man, these humans are tough... Tougher than any mamodo I've met, that's for sure. But I need to stop fooling around, and search for my book owner."

With those words, Todo picked up his book and walked away from the park.

"BAROURU!"