Author's note: If you're wondering why this came out just after my previous story, it's because I wanted to release that first. Okay, much editing was done with this one. The word length was drastically cut by half. This is the final result, but it's good enough for me, I guess. Okay, I'm aching to see how this one turns out.

The boy's hair was light brown. His eyes were small but sharp, like an eagle's. He yelled as he slashed at the stump with all his might. It split into two and fell onto the floor, the pieces slowly fading. Without notice, a bright light surrounded him and a blast of energy shot through him. He had leveled up! He was going to tell everyone about his achievement… especially his mother. She would be so proud.

He could finally be like her. His mother wanted him to be at least level thirteen before he got his job, so he would be ahead of the rest, even if it was just by a few levels. He had finally made the cut. He couldn't wait to see her expression. He had to get home.

He was running, and the wind caressed his hair. He was reaching the hunting grounds. It was deserted, for some strange reason. He almost made it to the gates, but found himself blocked by two huge men. They whispered among themselves, but he heard the phrase "take him". Then, the bigger of the two clenched his fist and smashed his head. The boy's vision darkened, and then he was out cold.

Zeirona woke up from his dream in cold sweat. It was the only memory he had of his past, and he had begun dreaming about it only recently. He wiped away his sweat as he turned to see the guard's looming face, with a huge scar on his left check that never ceased to disgust him.

The vituperative guard was assigned to watch him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid, although Zeirona was rarely in his prison cell. Most of the time, he would be experimented with in a lab and he would be drugged every time they decided to bring him there. They probably just wanted to keep it a secret.

The night before, he remembered hearing the scientists loud and clear. Apparently, they had finally succeeded in whatever they were doing. He would be their prized possession. They would probably start dissecting him or something. He knew it was coming, because had been very relaxed for the past few months. They had been rushing things before that.

"You look so pathetic." The guard began his usual taunting.

"Isn't your job just to watch me? Why don't you just shut the hell up?" Zeirona cut in.

No reply. He was probably not used to being answered back at. Or maybe he was trying to keep his cool.

"You're too dumb to get the meaning of what I said?"

The guard continued to ignore him.

"Stop acting like a shit. Maybe if you lick my toes, I won't tell you how big your ass looks from here."

The guard's temples throbbed, his veins bulging out.

"No wonder no one wants you. Gosh, I don't even think I would want you."

The guard gritted his teeth and balled up his fists.

"Shitbag, was your mother as ugly as you? Or maybe it was your dad?"

"You son of a…"

The guard put his eye on the scanner and unlocked the door, before aiming his gun at him. Zeirona smiled. It was all going according to plan. He had anticipated the first bullet and dodged it with ease. Then, using all his energy, he punched the guard in the gut. The guard stumbled back and cringed as he slammed against the brick wall. Zeirona charged at him at kneed him where it hurt most. He let out a cry and fell to his knees. He elbowed him in the face, knocking him out completely.

Zeirona walked over to him, picked up his gun. He shifted his aim to the guard's leg and shot it. Zeirona frowned as blood sprayed out of his leg. The next part was the hardest. He slid the gun in his pocket, figuring it might be of use later.

He took to his heels and made his way through the winding hallway. He had been observing the routes the guard took. In fact, he had kept the drug underneath his tongue and pretended to black out most of the time. He had been observing and planning, for the last few months. He ran along the walls, staying out of the security cameras' sight, and then skidded to a halt as he found the prison cell with the code DCR-15 at the top of the wall.

He caught sight of a huge guard standing at the wall, napping. Zeirona took out a small container he had snatched from the lab and unscrewed off the cap. He took out a pill, one of the many he had spat back out into the container when his guard was napping. He crammed the pill into the guard's mouth, and after ten seconds, he crumpled onto the ground. Zeirona then proceeded to drag the guard to the scanner and put his eye on it.

"Who's there?" Two gleaming eyes could be seen in the darkness. A tiny hand reached out and grabbed Zeirona's. A small figure slowly emerged from the darkness. A boy around the age of nine, he had shaggy blonde hair hanging down on his face like a mop. His eyes were light shade of brown, and they complimented his blonde hair. Zeirona grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

"Don't worry, I'm not a guard! What's your name?"

"I'm Nera…"

"We're breaking out of here, Nera!" He reversed, heading back to his cell, and then passing it. Cold beads of sweat trickled down his forehead onto his eyelids. He blinked and wiped them away. Avoiding the cameras was more irritating than he had expected.

Zeirona was still tired from the previous experiment; it had sapped away all his strength. His pace slowed down. Damn this… I can't take it much longer! He was bound to get caught if he kept going at this pace. He noticed one of the cameras turned to face him.

"Shit!" He starting running now, not caring about the cameras anymore. He had already been spotted. He turned into another corner and swore.

It was one of the higher ranked guards. That meant big trouble. He pulled his gun out of the holster and began firing. Zeirona did the same. The man quickly took out a walkie-talkie and shouted some commands in it. He was trying to reach the cell guards… heck, all the other guards. Maybe even his boss.

Zeirona struggled, trying to take aim at the guard. The guard was still firing, and this made it very difficult. He scowled and shot at random while desperately trying to dodge the bullets.

Out of luck, the first few bullets missed him. Zeirona couldn't have that much luck for long though. The bullets continued flying towards him, and Zeirona barely missed them by inches. Another bullet headed for him. He didn't dodge it, or rather, he couldn't. The bullet slammed into his chest, leaving him staggering back. Zeirona fought against himself to keep his consciousness, although the pain was killing him.

"Shit! I don't have… time to get the others… out!" Zeirona slammed into the guard, knocking him off his feet. Zeirona ignored the pain, and turned to head for the exit. He got there and found another guard… a humongous one. Zeirona groaned. He was going to have to defeat this one if he wanted to get out. He also needed this guard's eyes for the scanner behind him to unlock the door.

"Hey, stand back…" Zeirona instructed weakly, and the boy obediently stood in the corner. The guard roared and dashed towards him. He didn't know how the hell he was going to win the fight; he was losing blood fast. He just had to push himself. He dodged and wrenched the gun out of his hand. The guard grabbed his arm and twisted it, and he screamed in pain.

Zeirona used the gun and swung it at his head with his other arm, knocking him back. He tried aiming it while the guard clutched his head and yelled in pain, but the bullet wound wasn't easy to ignore. He was still losing blood, and his arms were shaking. He closed his eyes and hoped to get a lucky shot. He pressed the trigger and fired.

He opened his eyes and gasped as he saw the guard fall to the floor. He was really lucky. He dragged the guard to the scanner and opened the door. Then, before he left, he smashed the scanner with the gun in his hand, then quickly dashed out with Nera as the doors closed. That would probably keep the out for a while.

He clutched his chest in pain with his other hand as he slowed down to a walking pace. He struggled as he forced himself to move, using every last reserve of his energy. He didn't know how the hell he made it through the guards with a bullet in his chest. His shirt was stained with blood, and not the dry kind. There was a deep gash on his forehead and blood was flowing out from it.

I'll be back for you guys… Zeirona promised. He couldn't focus very well on his surroundings as his vision was getting blurred. He blinked a few times and fell onto the floor. He had covered quite a distance, but he couldn't be too sure. He had reached his limit. Unable to drag himself any further, he let his pain and tiredness overcome him. He collapsed on the ground.

The last thing he saw was the small boy running ahead frantically. If he was trying to escape, he couldn't blame him at all. He would have done the same.

Zeirona forced his eyes open and tried to get up. He rubbed his eyes and adjusted to the lighting. He was in a room and he was lying on a bed. The room was well decorated, with fancy furnishings. Beside the room was a small kitchen. He guessed that the house was small enough to fit only two rooms. The kitchen was built in the room beside his, so it was tiny, probably big enough to fit only three people. A raven haired girl stood in the kitchen, preparing some food.

"Where the hell am I?" Zeirona mumbled softly.

"You're in Ellinia. You were badly injured, but I cleaned most of your wounds. You were losing a lot of blood from that bullet injury. Even so, you're almost fully recovered."

"Already? How long have I been out?"

"Hmm… about three days."

"What?" Zeirona's jaw dropped. Then he remembered something. "Wait… did you see a small boy with blonde hair and brown eyes? Please tell me he's alright!"

"I brought him back here too. He didn't sleep as much as you. He's taking a shower, I think. He brought me to you, you know?"

"He did?" He had given the boy less credit than he had deserved. He slowly pulled himself out of the bed and got up. He wasn't wearing a shirt on, and he had bandages on his chest, his forehead and his arm.

"Hey, I can't go out like this." He muttered.

The girl turned off the gas, took out the pan and poured the contents into a small bowl. She slowly walked over, being careful not to spill the contents. She put it on the end table beside him.

"Eat this first. You can go out when you regain your strength."

"Why did you help me?" Zeirona eyed her suspiciously.

The girl laughed.

"Actually, I find that it's my job as a Cleric to help people. What happened to you anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But… what's your name?" Zeirona asked curiously, while ravenously devouring the food beside him, not caring what it was. He was starving. Then, he looked into the bowl in surprise, realizing that he had finished the food.

"My name's Leah. What's yours?"

"Zeirona…" He paused as he caught sight of the same boy walking out of the bathroom with a towel hung around his neck.

"Hey, thanks for the help, but we'll have get going now." Zeirona found his shirt hanging from the end table, and to his surprise, it had been washed and it looked anything but bloody. He slipped it on and walked up to the front door. He motioned for Nera to follow him.

"Hey! You need more rest… you can't travel in your present state. You don't even have a weapon!" Zeirona blinked.

"Uh… I want to become a magician." He blurted out. It was sort of true. Even though he didn't know much of his past, there was always an urge for him to do so.

"You want to become… a magician?" She murmured, although there was a slight tone of excitement hidden somewhere in that message. "What level are you?"

"If I'm not mistaken, I should be level thirteen."

"Good… I can even help with your training, you know…" Then she stared at Zeirona, trying to make sense of something bothering her. "How old are you?"

"I… I don't really remember." But what I do remember is that I had just turned twelve when they got me. Leah stared at him, her eyes affixed on him.

"You don't… know?" Leah burst out laughing. "What?"

"I'm not joking, Leah. I don't know. I never got a chance to get a job. I wanted to get one when I was twelve, but…" His voice trailed off. Then he realized he needed to ask himself a question. Why the hell am I hiding the fact that I'm an experiment? He shook his head. I just need to know who I can trust…

"But what? Did something happen?"

"I… shouldn't talk about it… sorry." Zeirona replied hesitantly.

"Sorry! Look, let's just get going. Forget about the whole thing. I don't really want to know, anyway."

Zeirona nodded.

"What are you waiting for?" Nera cut in, breaking the silence.

"Alright. Let's go." It was time to see the world he had not seen for a very long time. He was ready. He stepped out of the door, and he saw something that took his breath away.

"Wow. So this is what Ellinia looks like." Zeirona had probably seen Ellinia before, but he was contained for so long that all he ever thought about was pain, torture and death. He didn't know if that was the reason why he had forgotten everything before that point of time, or whether it was something else.

"This is my hometown. You like it?"

"It's simply breathtaking."

"Go all the way to the top if you want to become a magician… There's a house there. Inside, is Grendel the Really Old, the magician instructor."

Zeirona looked up and gasped as he saw the amazing height of the big tree, Ellinia.

"Hell… I have to get up… there?" Zeirona shook his head. Well, I guess I have to try…

He found a small rope ladder hanging from the edge, and then he took hold of it and began climbing. Nera was just below him, followed by Leah.

Finally, they reached the top, and with ease. Leah was going on about how easy the climb actually was, and Nera was nodding cheerfully in agreement. Zeirona ignored them, and stared at the huge house that was in front of him. It towered above him, and it seemed to be giving out a radiant glow. Zeirona could sense the presence of life in it, and it was overwhelming. Without hesitation, he opened the door, and walked in.

There, was Grendel and the power he was emitting was intense, but nowhere as horrifying as Leah had made it out to be during their travelling.

"You want to gain the powers of a magician?"

Zeirona nodded confidently.

"Are you sure? Once you become a magician, you cannot change your mind." Grendel boomed.

"Yes, I am certain."

"I have to check your level… ah… you are able to become one. Come forward." He beckoned.

Zeirona took three steps forward.

"Gift of the magician!" Grendel slowly pointed his staff at him, and a beam of blinding light shot out from it. Zeirona felt a huge mass of energy shoot through his body. He felt himself growing stronger, getting more knowledgeable… the gift of the magician. Then, it was already over.

"It is done. You are now a magician. You'll need this." Grendel muttered another spell under his breath and burst of light appeared in front of Zeirona, and he jumped back in surprise as a small book, the size of his palm, appeared in the air and dropped into his hands. He flipped through the first few pages, browsing through the list of spells.

"Wow. Thank you so much." Zeirona had finally become a magician. He felt a great sense of accomplishment. Now he had to train and master all his skills, like every other magician would need to.

He squinted as he tried to make out the tiny words in the book. He couldn't wait to get stronger. He dashed out of the door and met up with his two companions.

"You got the job?" Leah asked.

"Hell yeah. Now I just need to train. You're gonna help me, right?" Zeirona remembered her promise. She nodded. She had officially become his teacher. But he still had one more choice to make. He still had one more visit to make. But it would wait, he decided. He would train up to a higher level before getting his second job.

He still remembered exactly what he had overheard during his last night in the prison.

"Finally, after all these years, the hybrid project is a success! We have made a human who is capable of containing twice as much mana as a normal human! In theory, getting two jobs will be possible! The borders between jobs have finally been broken!" Good for them. It had probably meant fame and fortune. For him, it had meant death or something even worse.

He still had one more job to select, and he already had one in mind.