Chapter 1 – Tragedy
As February ended, countless flowers blossomed and the essence of spring could be felt everywhere. The stone paved road in Mushroom Park intersected oddly with the Main Street of Henesys. On the top-left quadrant of the intersection, a statue of a beautiful woman stood elegantly in front of a mansion. This mansion belonged to Chief Stan. It was built recently as a memorial for his wife, but also as a welcome-back gift for his runaway son.
The front doors of the mansion burst open and a boy stormed out in a hurry, approximately sixteen years of age. A red quiver full of arrows was strapped onto his back, and he carried a war bow in his hand. The black baseball hat on his head was worn tilted to the front that his eyes were completely hidden. He was Chief Stan's only son, Alex. He came to a stop in front of the statue, took off his baseball cap and took a long gaze at the it.
"I'm goin' to hunt again mum. Wish me luck," he whispered.
With that Alex took off again. He ran down Main Street into Henesys Hunting Ground.
"Something's near, I can feel it," Alex looked around, attempting to find something.
As he expected, two slimes jumped in front of him, Alex shot an arrow with precision and killed one of the slimes, but when he turned around, the other one was nowhere to be seen. After two long hours of hunting, Alex was annoyed; he wasn't able to find any mushrooms, (Mushrooms were the only challenging monsters in Henesys Hunting Ground) and it was nearly noon. Exhausted and hungry from hunting, Alex began to make way to the nearest cafe. This cafe was usually full of people, but today it was completely empty. The waitress stood inside, facing away from the door. She wore casual clothes; her hair was tied together with a green ribbon, and an amethyst earring dangled down her left ear. She didn't turn to greet Alex when he entered, which puzzled Alex a bit, but he paid no particular attention. He found a seat and sat down. Moments later coughing came from inside the kitchen, and an old man staggered out.
"What would you like, sir?" the old man asked as he handed Alex the menu.
"Where's Ken? The last guy that owned this place," asked Alex inquiringly.
"Oh, a few days ago, Ken sold me this place for a cheap price," said the old man, "only 30,000 mesos, awesome deal!"
Alex chuckled with the least bit of interest.
"Jennifer, bring this lad some tea," said the old man.
The waitress turned around and filled up Alex's cup, then walked away with her eyes on the ground, refusing to look at Alex. Alex took off his cap and glanced at the waitress.
"Wow, what a nice body, but her face is not so attractive, kind of emotionless," he thought, "From her awkward movements, I can tell she's new here."
"So, what will you have?" asked the old man, distracting Alex from his thoughts. Alex turned to look at the menu, then faced the old man again.
"Get me a bowl of salad, and a Hot Dog Supreme, whatever it is.."
Suddenly, footsteps were heard from the outside, and the sound drew nearer as two guys paced inside the cafe. They stared at Alex for a second, then impolitely, sat down on the table beside him. Alex studied the two of them with irritation. Both of them wore samurai suits and carried katanas. The one sitting on the left was in his twenties, and the one on the right was at least thirty.
"Yo, girl, come here!" demanded the older guy rudely.
Jennifer walked near them with her eyes still on the ground.
"What can I get you, sir?" asked Jennifer quietly.
Her voice could barely be heard, however, it was soft and surprisingly pleasant to the ears. The younger man was slightly stunned. All of a sudden, he put out his hand and lifted Jennifer's face.
"What a disappointment.." muttered the younger guy, shaking his head.
Shocked by this wild act, Jennifer backed away from the man.
"Agreed, her body's crazy hot, but her face is such a turn off, eh Mathew?" laughed the older man in amusement.
Alex was aggravated at this sudden act. He slammed his tea cup on the table.
"What the heck do you think you're doin'?" shouted Alex angrily.
"Who's this? Some sissy boy trying to pick a fight with us?" Teased Mathew in laughter.
Alex had good looks like his mother; however, he was always bothered by the fact that he looked somewhat feminine. Not knowing that, Mathew had mocked where Alex was most sensitive. Alex lost his temper; he grabbed the tea cup and hurled it at Mathew. Mathew dodged with quick reaction and became furious at Alex's doing.
"Yo Drew, let's teach this guy a lesson," Mathew gritted his teeth.
The two of them quickly drew out their katanas. Alex had his arrows and bow ready, preparing to fire. They stared at each other in awkward silence, but the moment was broken in a flash. Mathew unleashed a power strike in a split second and cut Alex's bow in half. Alex stood at his spot inertly, astounded by Mathew's speed.
"His stance, his posture, it must be a Power Strike. Dad said it's a very powerful move used by warriors, but it's very slow. How can it be.." thought Alex, panic rising in his heart.
Mathew has had his hands around Alex's throat before he could finish his thoughts. Alex's mind went blank; he struggled to get out of Mathew's hold. But the more he struggled, the more Mathew tightened his grip. Alex moved his hands around anxiously; desperate to grab anything he could. Suddenly, he felt something hard on the table behind him, without thinking; he grabbed it and pushed it into Mathew's throat. Mathew let out a horrifying scream and backed off. A terrified expression appeared on his face. Alex, who didn't seem to understand what has just happened, stared blankly at Mathew. Mathew opened his mouth and attempted to make a sound, but all that came out was a croak. Alex suddenly became aware of his actions, realizing that the object he grabbed seconds ago was a Wolbi throwing star. He backed away from Mathew in fear.
"d.. drew… te.. tell da.. a.. ad…" whispered Mathew.
All of a sudden, he pulled out the Wolbi Star from his throat. Blood flooded out. He fell to the floor, twitched a few times, and stopped moving. Drew lifted Mathew's body in his arms and walked to the door emotionlessly.
He turned back to Alex, gazed at him, and said, "You're in for it now.." With that he left the café.
"What.. What did I just do? I didn't, I didn't mean to kill him.." Alex stood there as if he was frozen.
Several hours passed, Alex finally decided to go back home, but he disregarded one detail ----- Jennifer and that old man was here the entire time and had witnessed this whole incident. It was nearly dark. Alex walked inside his home at a snail's pace. He looked up at his dad, who was sitting in a chair in the living room.
"Gone hunting again? Did you get anything good?" smiled Chief Stan gently.
"No," replied Alex.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?" asked Chief Stan in a concerning manner.
"No, no, it's nothing," Alex responded half-heartedly.
"If you say so.." Chief Stan raised one brow.
"I think I'm going to bed now," Alex walked towards the stairs.
"I know you're still not over your mother's death, but try to feel better, please," said Chief Stan, who seemed upset.
"This has nothing to do with mom," responded Alex.
"Well, come down here, I have good news," said Chief Stan, suddenly turned cheerful, "something unbelievable happened today, Manji finally accepted my request and decided to hunt down the Balrog that killed your mother, two of his pupils are on their way right now to greet us."
"Really? Is this Manji person that strong?" Alex asked, and his mind eased a bit from today's incident.
Chief Stan looked at Alex in awe.
"You don't know Manji? I can't believe you're asking this! His muscle strength as a warrior cannot compare with Dances with Balrog, but he has a trick up his sleeve. Do you know the reason why he's so feared in Victoria Island? It's not because of his strength; it's because of a skill he invented, called 'Second Booster'."
"Second Booster?" Alex wondered.
"I'm sure you have heard of the skill, Booster, and that it can be used for many different weapons, they increase your weapon's speed twice. Second Booster is similar to the "first" Booster, it also increases your weapon speed, except by five times, and not twice, which makes a warrior's Power Strike look like a bandit's Savage Blow. Now imagine a thief's speed with a warrior's strength, scary, isn't it."
At the end of this sentence, Alex turned senseless, his eyes full of fear.
"Did – did you say two of Manji's pupils are on their way here before?" Alex opened his eyes wide.
"Yes, what's wrong? Is .." Chief Stan's sentence was interrupted before he could finish.
A maid stormed into the living room and spoke breathlessly, "Our – our – chef…" (Alex's family is very wealthy; therefore they can afford to hire maids and chefs.)
"Relax, there's no need to rush, what happened?" Chief Stan spoke calmly.
"Our chef Roberto is dead!"
Chief Stan trembled, "What?!? Let's go check it out right away!" he said, trying to keep as cool as possible.
The three of them walked to the kitchen in fast pace, Alex's nanny was already there, standing beside Roberto's body. Chief Stan moved to it quickly and started examining.
"Hmm," he had his eyebrows locked together tightly, "this is definitely a murder, his heart has been pierced by a thin sword."
Alex let out a gasp. Chief Stan suddenly turned to Alex, and felt something wrong.
"Do you know anything about this, Alex?" asked the Chief.
Alex knew he couldn't hide today's incident any longer. So he told Chief Stan everything that had happened, about how he got into a fight with the two guys, and how he killed one of them accidentally. He spoke with plenty of details, including the speed of Mathew's sword. Chief Stan listened to the story in silence. By the time Alex finished; he knew something was not right. There was a period of stillness, and then Chief Stan spoke.
"Did the two of them mention anything else?"
"No, no they didn't," Alex replied.
"It can't be this coincidental, it just can't…" Chief Stan muttered to himself.
After a short while, he ordered the maid to take care of the body.
"Alex, come back to the living room, there is more I want to talk to you about,"
Chief Stan walked out of the kitchen and waved his hand in Alex's direction. The two of them went inside the living room.
"Son, there is another thing you should know about. Long time ago, when I was still young, Manji was a cold-blooded killer and he was feared all across Victoria Island. But due to some unknown reason, he quit his life as a villain. No one knew the cause of this, but some say it had a lot to do with my father."
"Grandpa? What could he have done?" Alex demanded an answer.
"It's just a rumor. By the way, I have never told you much about your grandfather, have I? He was a very powerful ranger; his skills' were not any inferior compared to Athena Pierce. But I didn't have the ability to inherit much of his skills," said Chief Stan wearily, "that's all… Get some rest; we're going back to that café the first thing tomorrow."
Alex lied on his bed, unable to fall asleep. Today's event had been replayed innumerable times in his head, until finally, he began to feel woozy.
"Wake up!" shouted Chief Stan from downstairs.
Alex looked at the clock; it was 8 in the morning. He dressed up slowly and climbed downstairs, looking exhausted. Since their chef was gone, the two of them had burnt waffles for breakfast. They left the mansion right after and went straight to the café. The front doors were closed when they got there, Alex knocked on the door.
"Hey, open up! Open up!" he shouted, but got no response.
Chief Stan looked as if he expected this to happen and ordered Alex to kick down the door. Alex froze for a second, then unwillingly, kicked the doors open. The two of them jumped inside, looked around, but found no one. They searched every inch of the café. Suddenly, something caught Chief Stan's eyes. It was a pair of emerald earrings.
"This is odd," he held the earrings in his hands, "Alex, you said there were only two people inside the café when you entered, right? So these earrings must've belonged to that young waitress, but how can an ordinary girl possess such an expensive thing?" This question has suddenly made Alex wonder.
"That girl Jennifer, something was odd about her. Why was she so emotionless? Why had she been looking down the whole time? And why didn't her expression change when Mathew was being rude?... " thought Alex.
Chief Stan was looking at Alex, expecting him to say something. Alex spoke what was on his mind, after a short while, Chief Stan said, "I think that girl and the old man has a lot to do with this whole incident, but for now, let's head back home."
They left the café, and walked home only to see the statue of Alex's mother broken into pieces. Alex went furious.
"I'm the one who killed Mathew, COME AND GET ME!" Screamed Alex.
All of a sudden, laughter came from inside the mansion, a young man in samurai suits walked out.
"Hey, what's up?" said the young man with a fiendish smirk on his face.
Without thinking, Alex jumped at him, raising his fists. The young man dodged with ease, and gave Alex a push, making him fall flat on his face. Alex stood up, attempting to fight again.
"Let's not rush this, alright?" the young man said with a bored expression, "all the servants inside your house has just been killed by me, so right now, I don't feel much like killing, what do you say we play a bit?"
Alex glared malevolently at the young man after having found out about the deaths of their servants, but at the same time, he was horror-struck and completely disgusted.
"Who are you?" asked Chief Stan, trying to keep calm, but his voice still shook with anger.
"I'm Seth, surely you have heard of me right?" said the young man without looking at the Chief.
"Of course, you're Manji's best student, but what are you doing in a place like this?" Chief Stan glared at Seth.
"Nothing much, just trying to find the person who killed Manji's son."
Chief Stan almost fell to the floor at the end of this sentence, reality was harder to handle than his worst fear. He stood for a while, and finally decided to open his mouth and speak.
"So… What do you want?"
Seth stared at him like he was a joke, "I just want to invite you to meet my teacher Manji."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then I'll have to force you to come."
Chief Stan thought for a moment, and finally decided to go with him, Alex followed.
"Oh yah, you'll have to wear these handcuffs," said Seth flatly.
Alex had an enraged look in his eyes; he swore violently inside his head, "These bastards will get it!" The three of them left Henesys, and began to travel to Perion…