Secrets of the Elemental Stone: Tale Rewritten
by Lunar Wave

Arche's First Day


Having woken up early that day, Arche thanked her lucky stars that she was even able to. Considering how she always is, for her to be able to wake up early is actually a relatively impressive feat. After dressing up in her favorite attire, that is a pink dress with a red shawl draped over her. Her blunted sword in its sheath on her back, and the Adventurer's Pack attached firmly on her belt, she went to the table and grabbed her Adventurer License and placed it in her pocket. She rushed down the stairs, and secured a plate of food from her mother.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Her mother asked worriedly.

"I'm sure I'll be fine!" Arche smiled in-between bites of bread.

"The school's outside town walls, so it's fairly dangerous."

"I'm sure I'll be fine! I have my sword with me anyways!"

"Do you have any medicine with you?" After a negative reply from Arche, the mother sighed and pulled out a pack of herbs. "You always somehow have new scrape or bruise whenever you leave house, so make sure you always have some, Arche. There's a path leading from town to the school, so it's fairly straightforward, I don't think you'll get lost." Arche nodded, after finishing up breakfast.

"Bye!" Arche then ran down the stairs to see her father about to open up shop. Kissing her father on the cheek, she ran out the door.

"Oh my, off to school Arche?" The neighboring old lady smiled as Arche passed her. Arche stopped and smiled. After waving cheerfully, Arche continued running.

(Outskirts of Town)

"Hee, going to school means leaving town every day! This is too cool!" Arche grinned. "It's like having an adventure every day!" She ran a bit forward, and then noticed a deep pit in the way.

"Uh… Shouldn't they put a bridge here or something? I mean, kids… walk this path every day, right?" For Arche, the pit was pretty much nothing, and jumping is not really much of a chore. But she worries for anyone else who would come pass. Seeing a suitable log on the other side, she jumps. She pushes said log over the path. Many have said that she had abnormal strength for her age, being as strong as a fully grown man, but Arche took that in stride. Seeing another pit on the other end, she sighed. Once more she jumps, finds a nearby plank or log, and places it over the pit. She soon found a third pit. Seeing as there wasn't a good log or plank on this side, she jumps, and almost missed her landing.

"… This is more danger than I wanted…" Arche muttered, as she almost got into a life-death situation. Spoke too soon as she spotted a bunch of Slime Monsters.

"Is this really the path to school?" Arche sighed. Slime Monsters were the weakest of the monster ensemble, but well… "I can clear them out with my sword. That way, anyone who will follow after me won't have to get hurt!" Arche yelled, pulling out her dulled blade. "Alright, slimes! You've disturbed the peace for the last time! Taste hot Arche justice!" The slimes didn't stand a chance against the girl, as she beat them with her blade. They would occasionally get a good hit in or other, but Arche continued pounding away. Soon, there were no slimes on sight.

"Hooo… I cleared them out, but…" Arche winced as she sat on the ground. A slime was able to hit her foot just then and her ankle was sprained. "I shouldn't have slashed randomly… Nothing good comes when I do that…"

"Wah… I'm going to be late…" Arche muttered. She tries to stand, but the pain was almost unbearable. She decided to rest for a few minutes, even if it causes her to be late. "This is not good… Late on my first day… Wah!"

(Back in Town)

"Sana," A mother was worried for her daughter as she eating. There was still time to go to school, so there was no rush. The girl the mother was speaking to was Sana Poanet, an eight year old girl. She was a good girl, but this in itself seemed to be troubling to the woman. She never caused her problems. She was also one of the least active children in the city, being very timid. The upside is she is part of the class's top ten, being already good at controlling her own element. Sana is normal-looking, with her brown hair and eyes. Her favorite color was blue, as shown with her usual tastes in clothes. She usually wears a baby blue smock, with a matching beret. She does have other clothes, but she doesn't really use them as much as the blue ones. The water elemental stone, Eolamest, given to her by her father, shone brightly on her staff. "are you ready for school?"

"Ah, yes, mom." Sana smiled, as she adjusted her beret. She stood from the table, grabbing her bag, and gave her mom a hug. "I'm going to school now." Sana smiled, and walked out the door.

"I wish that my daughter was as active as that red-clothed girl yesterday." The mom laughed quietly, remembering the bundle of energy that had somehow ended up in her house as she searched for the weapons shop.

(Outskirts)

Sana was surprised to see a log over the pit. She was used to jumping across that pit, but it was still frightening to jump it. Seeing the log though, somehow relaxed her a bit. She tentatively tested the log and seeing it sturdy, she walked across it. She soon found the second cliff. Again, a plank was placed neatly across. Whoever placed these logs must've worked hard. But the villagers will simply remove them again so that monsters won't get near the gates. But for now, the bridges were welcome. She walked across this one, and soon was face to face with the last pit. She was surprised to see no log placed across this one. She sighed, readied herself for a jump, and hopped across. It was a short hop, but the ledge was still scary. She sighed as her legs jittered a bit. She knew by experience that after the third pit was where the monsters roamed. In this countryside, being near a town, only weak monsters were left in the fields, which made it easier for children to walk. Most children are brought to school by their parents, but Sana didn't want to worry her mother, and so just walked on her own.

"I wonder where the monsters were…" Sana looked about, remaining wary. She continued walking until she spotted a girl in red, wincing on the ground.

"Late on my first day… Wah!" The girl groaned as she continued to massage her pained ankle. Sana knew that this girl was in pain. She also recently learned a magic "Heal Water", and she could possibly help the girl. But what should she do? She walked to the girl.

"Um… hello." Sana said to the fallen girl. The girl turned to the source with a confused expression, accompanied by some winces every now and then. Sana shook a bit before saying, "Who are you?"

"… Arche. Arche Plumfield." The girl smiled in between her winces. "And you are?"

"Sana… Sana Poanet… Umm, the way you're holding your ankle… can you not walk?"

"Uh yes… I was… ow… fighting off slimes. One of them got me on the foot…" Arche winced once more. Sana was rather shocked. She was fighting off slimes? Most children ignored them and just ran past them. It helped that slimes are slow. There were snakes in the fields as well, but they were as rare as everything else. The biggest threats in these fields are slimes, and they don't really posed as much of a threat for someone to need to fight them off.

"Uh… Wait a bit… I'll heal you, so hold still…" Arche looked confused. Heal her? How would Sana heal her? She then noticed a magic circle surround the staff in Sana's hands. It soon expanded to a circle with a meter radius.

"Heal Water!" Sana cried as she cast her spell. Water flowed from the end of her staff and into Arche. Arche felt slightly cold but she suddenly felt every injury on her body disappear, as if they weren't there anymore.

"Holy crackers! It doesn't hurt at all anymore!" Arche stood up, amazed as she looked on her body, trying to search for other parts of her body she was sure she got injured. She then excitedly held Sana's hands and shook it up and down. Sana was surprised at the sudden burst of energy and was sort of dizzy. "Was that magic?" Arche asked as she continued shaking the girl's hands.

Sana's world spun a bit as Arche jumped up and down in her vision. "Ah yes…" Arche soon let go of her and was inspecting herself once more. "Is your leg alright?"

"Ah yes!" Arche smiled, "Good as new!" She then once more acquired Sana's hand in hers and shook it as though she was about to pull it off. "Thank you SO much!" Sana smiled. Success. She wasn't sure on her advance in that particular spell, but the fact that it made Arche happy, she was definitely glad.

"Well… Plumfield-san…" Sana said, "Umm… I have some chores to do before school, though, so I'll see you around…" Sana turned around and was about to walk away when, Arche stopped her.

"Hey, wait a sec! I've never seen someone casting magic before." Sana was confused. Magic was commonplace in the world. For her not to have seen magic before… At this her trail of thought was broken by Arche. "Do you go to Minasa-Ratis too?" Sana looked at the girl. Yes she goes to Minasa-Ratis, it being the only school nearby, but her surprise was on the fact that she said "too". She hasn't seen this girl at school before… Wait, there was talk of a transfer student yesterday…

"I do..."

"Yay! Like I said, I'm Arche Plumfield. Call me Arche. Today's my first day at Minasa-Ratis!" Arche smiled with a positively happy face. Sana looked at her for a bit. She was friends with most of her classmates, but she hasn't hung out with them as often, having gone home as soon as everything she needs done is over. Something about Arche made her want to be friends with her.

"Oh… Well, call me Sana. Arche, want to walk to school with me? I'll show you the way!" Arche nodded vigorously. As Sana started walking again, she then saw Arche looking around the area as she grabbed for something from behind.

"Huh? What's wrong Arche?"

"Just looking for something." Arche turned around. Sana looked at her back and was shocked. A sheath? As in something you put a sword in? Why does she have… Arche then suddenly found a sword and sheathed it in.

"Ok, good to go!" Arche grinned.

"Uh… Arche… Is that a real sword?"

"Uh-huh!" Arche nodded. "I used this to clear out the slimes earlier, but I dropped it when I was nursing my ankle." A sword. Not a single time since Sana enrolled in Minasa-Ratis did she see a kid, let alone a girl, with a sword as a self-defense weapon. Sana herself doesn't even have one, relying only on her staff. Some have daggers, but that was it.

"Umm. Sana? Hello?" Arche waved her hand in front of Sana as she was spacing out.

"Ah yes, so let's go to school!" Sana smiled, walking again. Once more she was stopped.

"Wait, Sana! I wanna register you as a party member first!" Sana was confused. Party member? What does she mean? "Oh, there you are!" Arche grinned, showing her a card. On it says:

Number in Party: 2
Party Leader: Arche Plumfield
Members: Sana Poanet (TMP)
Number of Marks of Heroism: 2

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"It's a party list." Arche smiled. "When someone joins a party, the card magically changes words so that it will accommodate those in your group."

"I see." Sana looked at the card, amazed. "What is it?"

"Sana, won't we be late?" Arche asked. "If I explain what it is, it might take a while."

"Ah, yes." Sana shook her head. "Let's go." Sana walked, with Arche right next to her. They soon found themselves in front of more enemies. A few snakes and slimes.

"Umm… What should we do?" Sana asked. The natural answer was run straight through, as neither snake nor slimes could really hurt them bad enough.

"I'll take the damage. You cover me from behind." Arche nodded. Arche's answer surprised Sana.

"Umm… shouldn't we just run straight through?" Sana asked. Arche shook her head.

"If we did that, these monsters would still be around when someone else comes. Let's make it easier for them." Arche pulled out her sword and ran. Sana blinked but she nodded, and started throwing as much water magic everywhere. A few of the monsters tried to take a hit on Sana, but Arche beat them away with her sword.

"Wow, there's so many!" Arche muttered as she hit as many with a series of slashes, thrusts and jabs. It was then she heard a cry of "Diamond Dust!" A rain of ice fell on the enemies, freezing many of them. Arche took the opportunity to kill them off. Arche turned around and saw Sana panting.

"Nice job Sana!" Arche called. Sana smiled, laughing as Arche ran up to her. They soon saw a steel gate.

"Well, here we are, Arche! The Minasa-Ratis School of Magic!" Sana showed the area to the swordgirl.

"Wow, it's so far from town!" Arche sighed. "I felt like we've been walking for hours."

"Arche, it's only a twenty minute walk from the town gates to school." Sana laughed, pointing to the clock on top. There was still twenty minutes till class starts. The two laughed together.

"Anyway… huh. I was expecting a magic school to be a big place, but…" It was a bit disappointing, since the school looks so normal. A two story building with a clock on front. A small stable at the back. The only thing a bit big was the courtyard. Many children were all around the area.

"Well, I suppose it is quite normal…" Sana laughed. "We don't exactly have a lot of teachers either."

"Speaking of which… I wonder what teacher I'll get." Arche wondered. She then turned to Sana. "I hope we are in the same class, Sana!"

"Me too!" Sana nodded. She then looked up again. "Oh, I have some things to do. So I'll see you around, Arche."

"Ok!" Arche nodded. She walked into the building. After all, she needs to introduce herself to the teachers.

(Sophia's Class)

As Arche previously mentioned, almost everything in this school was normal. Even the classrooms. The room can accommodates at least 15 students at least, but only eight attended Ms. Sophia's class. Ms. Sophia looked at her class, and smiled. "Good morning everyone." With a reply of "Good Morning", the class sat down on their chairs, wondering what the lesson would be.

"Now, before we begin today, we have a new transfer student joining us." This caused a murmur of excitement amongst the group. The questions about the new transfer bustled.

"I wonder if it's a girl or a boy?" A girl wondered out loud. The boy next to her sighed.

"I hope it's a boy." This earned the ire of the girls. The blonde boy sweatdropped. "I mean, this school really needs a few more boys in it…" The class was amused at this.

"Five copper and ten says it's a tomboy!" The blue clothed boy next to the blonde boy elbowed him. The blonde boy laughed in good nature. Ms. Sophia sighed.

"Quiet down, everyone." As the noise lowered down, Ms Sophia continued. "Quiet down, everyone. Now, let me introduce her." At the word "her", the blonde boy sighed. It was a girl. Again. He can still count the number of boys in this school, excluding teachers, with his two hands.

(Outside the Classroom)

As she stood outside the door, Arche fidgeted a bit. The teacher looked nice, at least. She breathed in, breathed out, calming herself down. She'll just have to do her best.

"You can come in now, Arche." Arche nodded, walking in the door. She found herself in a room with eight other students. She looked a bit nervous.

"Well, go on. Introduce yourself." Ms. Sophia urged her.

"O-Okay" Arche clears her throat. She then put on her best smile. "N-nice to meet you, everyone! I'm Arche Plumfield. I'm really looking forward to learning magic here! Nice to meet you all!" They were slightly amused that she said "nice to meet you" twice.

"A girl! Yay!" A girl in pink, and light green short twin-tails, said happily.

The blonde boy was not surprised to see a girl, but he was more surprised about… "Holy…." He muttered. "Is… Is that a sword on her back?" This directed everyone's attention to the blade, which was almost as big as the shortest student in the room. "Is that her self-defense weapon?"

Sana, who was in this class as well, was relieved to see the girl in her class. A girl in orange with a red bow tying her hair in a ponytail, replied back with a sincere "Nice to meet you, Arche!"

The blue-clothed boy, with brown hair and eyes, was with the blonde boy on his observation. "A sword?! Uh… Leon? Yeah, you totally owe me a silver, for the record." The blonde boy, now identified as Leon, sighed and pointed out that he didn't agree to that bet. In all this, only the two girls in the back, one brown haired serious-looking girl, the other a blonde, blue-eyed, purple dressed girl, didn't have a single comment on the matter.

The bustle of noise was starting to ire Ms. Sophia. "Settle DOWN, everyone!" This shut everyone up, and they were once more listening attentively to the blonde woman. Fixing her red hairband, Ms. Sophia sighed.

"You can take the seat next to Colm, Arche." Ms. Sophia pointed towards the seat next to the boy in blue. The boy in blue winced. So he's stuck with the girl right next to him.

"Okay!"

The day was ordinary for Arche. The school had all the regular subjects – history, language, mathematics… But she soon arrived when the class will learn how to use magic.

(Later)

"So, let's review. The elemental stones you currently hold were made using the methods pioneered by our school's founder, the great sage Minasa-Ratis, roughly three hundred years ago. Such stones are the source of magic, and are divided into four main elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water. So long as you have an elemental stone, if all of you study hard and learn to draw on the stone's power, even children like you can learn to cast all kinds of spells based on your stone's element. Does everyone understand?" a murmur of affirmatives echoed through the room.

Arche was the only one who was still confused. "Umm… Ms. Sophia, do you really need that… dental stone to cast magic?"

"ELEMENTAL stone, Arche. And if you have a question, raise your hand and wait to be called on, please."

"O-okay…" Arche sighed. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know this. She had been in a school that didn't teach magic for most of her life. She wouldn't know which stone was which. Sadly enough, the class was giggling at this.

"And to answer your question, Arche, yes. You need an elemental stone to…" At this Ms. Sophia stopped, wondering why Arche was even asking this… Is it possible… "wait, Arche, did you not bring a stone? The requirement was in the orientation letter we sent." Arche was still confused.

"The postman came one morning, but he slipped and the letter fell in a puddle when he was delivering it, so the letter was a bit smudged… I barely read out which books I needed… There was this part that became unreadable… I was supposed to ask about it when I get here. Was that it?" Sophia blinked. That was… irresponsible of the postman.

"So uh… Where do you buy… emehental stones, anyway?" Arche asks.

Ms. Sophia was lost, not knowing what to do in this situation. It wasn't Arche's fault, nor was it her parents'… "I… imagine the general goods store could order one for you, but…" Ms. Sophia sighed. "Elemental stones are expensive, due to how difficult they are to make…" At the word "expensive", Arche winced. Her family barely has enough money, not since her father's injury. The healing was expensive, and… there was this part that Arche didn't catch because her mother forbade her to listen. But it had something to do with her father quitting being a guard.

Ms. Sophia continued, not noticing the troubled face on Arche, "The school's spares are already on loan, and even if we had any… Elemental stones must be matched to their intended user to function… So the likelihood that we'd have a match is… oh, this is a problem…"

"Heeey," A voice broke the tension. "Ms. Sophia!" It was Colm. With his smirk and hands behind his head, he called with a cheeky voice.

"Yes, Colm?" Ms. Sophia asked.

Colm asked, maintaining the cheeky smirk, "Ain't there supposed to be a stone in the cave in the mountain behind the school?"

Ms. Sophia sighed, exasperated. "Colm, don't be silly. Elemental stones are valuable. Why would anyone leave them lying around in a cave?"

"Haha!" Marina, the girl with short brown twintails tied up by green ribbons, laughed. "Colm's being a fibber again, and Ms. Sophia found him ooooout!" She sang with a somewhat mocking tone.

Colm got angry, "Hey, I'm not lying! My grandpa told me that story!"

Ms. Sophia sighed, as the class clown known as Colm argued with the girl. "Arche, once you get home, talk to your parents about getting an elemental stone." Arche nodded slowly, as though troubled. "Until you get a stone, you'll be watching during class. Okay?"

Arche sighed. "… Awww… And I was so looking forward to learning magic…"

The class continued, with Ms. Sophia explaining different details like how the elements worked, and some theories on the magic system. Soon, the class was over, as the bell rang across the schoolhouse.

"Everyone, go straight home and watch out for slimes!" Arche turned to the woman. "Watch out for slimes?" Was that a common goodbye greeting in this school? Well, lucky for them, most of the slimes were cleared out in Arche's kill frenzy. They'll have a relatively peaceful trip home.

With the class over, Ms. Sophia exited the room. As the student's weren't able to speak to each other, and with Sana's placement on the room, she couldn't really speak openly to Arche. So when class was over for the day (Being a Saturday, it was only half day), she rushed to Arche's side.

"Sana!" Arche greeted her as she moved near.

"Arche, I'm so glad we're in the same class!" Sana cheerfully smiled. Arche nodded, happily.

"… So uh… I didn't know you needed an elemental stone to use magic, PERIOD! This is awful…" Arche sighed, playing with the jewel that adorned her clothes.

"Do you think your parents can get you a stone?"

"… Umm… I don't think so… My… No." Arche shook her head. She didn't need to worry the girl about how they became relatively poor. "Well… We just moved, and we've never had much money anyway, so…" That should be enough, without making her worry too much.

Sana thought to herself a bit, "Oh…" Arche looked at Sana, noticing that she still became worried either way. Breaking the somber mood, Arche asked a question, "Although!" Yup that got Sana out of her stupor. "D'you think that story Colm told us about the mountain is true?"

Sana looked at Arche. Was she truly believing Colm's story? "Er, um, I don't know… I've never gone up there before, so I don't know for sure, but…" As she was about to say about Colm's lying tendencies, Arche cut her off.

"Okay! I'm gonna check out the cave. Maybe I'll find an elemental stone of my own!" This was her plan ever since Colm mentioned it. She didn't want to trouble her parents. So she'll handle things on her own. That's how she always rolled anyway. Then she remembered something. "Hey, Sana, come with me! This'll be fun!"

Sana was confused on why she would be so willing to go, "I can't, I'm sorry. I have to take care of Cluckadoodle after school…" Seeing Arche's confused expression, "One of the school's chickens." Arche nodded, sighing a bit. She looked at her adventuring license and dismissed the party. Sana didn't feel the change. Arche dismissed it for two reasons: A. Party members aren't allowed to be on separate areas at a time. B. If the party leader enters a dungeon, the party members would be teleported where she is. The school was not considered a dungeon, but a cave would surely be.

Waving goodbye to Sana, as she went to wherever she's going, Arche sighed. She put the license away. Looking around, she saw that many of her classmates haven't left yet. Including Colm. Arche grinned, walking towards the boy.

"Hey, Colm, is that story true?"

"Huh, what story?" Colm asks.

"The one about the elemental stone."

Colm grinned. He found a believer, "Oh yeah, of course it was!"

"Then let's go! It'll be fun."

"Nah, it's too much trouble."

"Come on, let's go together!" Arche tried to appeal to him by making puppy dog eyes. Colm sweatdropped, turned away and barked:

"I don't want to go adventuring, especially with GIRLS!"

"Fine, Jerky McJerkface." Arche harrumphed. The boy looked at her incredulously. She waked to the other end of the classroom, where she finally saw a girl. It was the purple-clothed, blonde girl from earlier.

"Hello." Arche greets her.

"Oh, you're the transfer today." She said indifferently. "Arche, was it?"

"Yup!"

"I'm Stella Mayberk." If she expected a reaction from that, she would be sorely disappointed as Arche showed no sign of surprise. Stella sighed, "I HAVE to ask… What were you thinking, coming to class without an elemental stone?"

"Well, but, I didn't know! Do you have an elemental stone, Stella?"

A proud expression appeared on Stella's face, "Naturally. My Royal Scarlet is the highest-quality elemental stone that my family's company makes, after all. Within it resides the power of Algorn, you see."

"Oh, so it's got an acorn inside it? Neat!" Irk was obvious in Stella's face the moment she heard that.

"ALGORN. You know, King of the Fire Elementals?" Remembering the earlier conversation with Ms. Sophia, she sighed, "You really are clueless about magic, aren't you?"

"I came from a school that DOESN'T teach magic, okay?"

"Well, I suppose someone has to begin your education." She held out her wrist. Around it was a bracelet with a red jewel hanging from it. "Behold my elemental stone!" The jewel was red in color, shining brilliantly. It was definitely different from Sana's stone, which simply looked like a beautiful rock. This was a real jewel.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" Arche clapped in awe. Stella's pride swelled farther. She was starting to like this transfer.

"Hmm-hmm-hmmmmmm! Well I AM the daughter of the head of the Mayberk Concern. My stone simply matches my position in life, you see."

"Holy cowbells! Stella, your dad runs a company?! So you wear your elemental stone on a bracelet. Sana has hers on her staff, if I remember correctly…"

"Well, how the stone is held differs depending on the user. Jewelry is a common way of wearing the stone. You can also set the stone on self-defense equipment like wands and staves."

"Well, you're quite smart!" Arche clapped. Stella looked proud, despite not really showing off her intellect.

"It's common knowledge, really."

"Oh yeah, Stella, I'm gonna check out that cave Colm mentioned! Wanna come?"

Stella halted a bit, looking at the girl with bleary eyes. "What in… WHY would I ever want to go tramping around in such a horrid place?"

"So you don't want to come along?"

"Of course not! If I went and got my clothes dirty, what would happen then?!" Arche was confused. She never really thought about whether her clothes get dirty or not, considering that when she fights, she usually rolls around to get away from enemies. Stella once more pointed her finger at her. "Besides you cannot possibly be taking that idiot Colm's story seriously. He was lying, silly, it's what he does!"

"He does?" Arche frowned, "Well, even so, you never know until you look for yourself!" She then smiled, "Besides, exploring a cave sounds fun anyway! I might even find a few Marks while I'm there."

Stella got miffed, "Nnnngh, I can't keep up with your stream of constant nonsense. Anyway, I'm busy! I'll be studying once I get home so that I can bring myself one step closer to my dream of matching the skill level of Minasa-Ratis herself! I don't have time to waste in caves! Go yourself, if you absolutely must!" Arche nodded, running out the door. Stella sighed. "Hmph, plebeians." Then she remembered something she said. "Wait, marks? What marks?"

(Hallway)

Arche was about to leave school when she heard someone calling her.

"Hey you!" She spun around to see an angry man in a blue vest. "What is that thing on your back?"

Arche was confused. Huh, does this mister not know? "Um, this? It's, uh, a sword. Don't you know what a sword is, mister? Heehee! That's kinda silly! A teacher who doesn't know what a sword is!"

Mr. Harnel, the teacher she was speaking to, practically blew his top. "TH-THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM HERE!" Arche eeped, moving backwards. "Why on earth would you bring a sword to a magic school?! Didn't anyone teach you that swords don't work together with magic at all?"

"Uh, no, I only just transferred here, so I didn't know that…" Mr. Harnel sighed. Uncivilized couths from the city. They don't bother teaching people magic, now this is what happens.

"So you're the transfer student. Well, listen: If you must use a weapon for self-defense, use a staff or dagger. Something small, light, or non-metallic. Large metal objects like swords greatly disrupt the flow of magic."

"Is that so? Maybe I'll find a lighter sword then."

"I said, NO SWORDS, PERIOD!"

"But I LIKE swords!" Arche defended herself.

"Guh, it's because of children like YOU that we'll never match the magic academy of Scotshold."

'I came from Scotshold.' Arche sweatdropped. And with that, she left the building.

(A bit Later, mountain at the Back of the School)

"Okay, so this must be the place." Arche said as she stood inside the cave. Arche stretched a bit, scanning with her eyes. There were a few torches in the place. "So this place isn't as abandoned as I thought…" Arche walked in when, suddenly, a bat swooped down and tried to bite her head off.

"Uwah! Bats aren't supposed to be awake at this time of day!" Arche raised her sword and defended against the attack. Arche then jumped, trying to take a slash on the bat. The bat flew out of her reach. Guh. Arche sighed, raising her sword once more. The bat swoops down once more, but Arche had a different plan in mind. She took a quick strike up, hitting the bat and sending it away from sight.

"That should give it a lesson." Arche mumbled, walking on. Soon she found herself in an odd pit. She could see a wooden platform moving across wooden rails. They were usually there for convenience for one reason or another. Arche wasn't sure herself.

"Huh? Wow, there's a moving platform here… This place must have been used by someone then." Arche jumped on the platform. It took a full minute to get to the other end, but soon she was standing at a room. Once more, she saw a few slimes and plenty of bats.

"More bats?" Arche asked incredulously. "If no one's using the place, someone turn off the torches! It's making every bat agitated!" Arche sighed. She warded them off, killing a few in the process, but she still made it through.

Soon enough, she made it through the area, and found something odd. "Uwah! It's a cave lake!" She looked to the bottom. "I can't see the bottom…" Arche muttered. "It's deep then, maybe there's something there?" Arche sighed. She's not confident in her swimming ability. Especially if she has to carry her sword. Looking in the water, she knew that she'll regret trying to swim through.

"Are there any other paths?" Arche looked around. Nothing. "Uwah, dead-end…" But the path was way too straightforward. There weren't any divergences or extra paths in the area. "I don't think I missed anything…" A clamor of noise came from behind. Arche spun around, jumped behind an open chest and waited. Three figures entered. Arche was sure she was the only one who was supposed to be here right now. So, most likely… Arche shook her head and drew her sword, she jumped and hit the first figure. What she was surprised to see was Colm.

"Eh, Colm… Why are you here?" Arche blinked, as the other two figures moved backwards from her. She recognized them for sure. Leon and Chupil, both from the same class.

"OW, that friggin hurt!" Colm growled, standing up. He glared at Arche until… "Wah… you're the kid who transferred in today…" Arche blinked. Shouldn't he already know she was here? She DID ask for directions.

Leon looked at Arche with a dumbfounded expression as the girl sheathed her blade. "Arche?! How did you…" This was the deepest part of the cave. As well as the most difficult to reach area. If it weren't for Colm's magic, they would've been in certain death. Did… Arche get here without magic, at all?

Colm blinked, seeing the girl. "Oh man… You seriously came all the way out here? For real?"

Arche blinked and asked "So uh, why are you here? You said you didn't want to go out here, so why are you here now?"

The three boys looked at each other. Colm then grinned, "I said I didn't want to go out here with girls. But that doesn't count boys. This cave is our secret base!" And Colm waved his hands on the general direction. "And guess what? The cave ends right" Colm pointed to the ground "here!" Arche blinked. The one dungeon she had been in told her that there were more secrets than one in a dungeon this small. Catching a glimpse at her adventuring license, she could tell that she was in a real dungeon, as it glowed red. It glows red ONLY in recognized dungeons.

"Did you really think there'd be an elemental stone here?" Colm asked. "That was a LIE, slime-for-brains!" Arche looked affronted. "Didja really think you'd find an elemental stone in a place like THIS?" He once more pointed at the ground.

"Y-you tricked me!" Arche held her hands to her shawl, almost as though to keep it away from her sheath. "You're mean, Colm!"

"HA-ha!" Colm grinned, "It's YOUR fault for getting tricked!" Then Colm whistled in amusement as Arche continued to glare at him. She looked way too cute for it to work though. "But man. I didn't think you'd get in here without using any magic! I guess 'with great power comes with great stupidity' is true after all, huh?" Arche simply looked at him with irk. She drew her sword once more.

"I hit you in the head once, and I could do it again." Arche growled. The trio looked at each other, then at Colm. Seeing how the boy still has a sort of sore on his forehead, they agreed on one thing. "Oh crap, guys RUN!" Arche didn't bother giving chase. She sighed, pulling out an herb and put it on her wounds.

"I'll get you the next time I see you, Colm!" Arche called after the boys. She sighed. No elemental stone, huh? Well, for now, she'll need to get home. She hoped she would never need to ask her parents. But… it looks like she has no choice now.

(Minasa-Ratis Magic School)

Arche trudged along the trail back, until she reached the school. She sighed. After a brief visit to the nurse's office to take care of a few scratches, she came out of the school, only to notice the orange sky.

"It's already this late, huh?" Arche mumbled. She walked to the western gate, only to see a blue-clothed girl standing nearby. Sana?

"Hi, Sana! You all done with the chores 'n stuff?" Sana turned to her and waved.

"Just did." Sana nodded. "Are you going home now, Arche?"

"Wanna go together?" Arche asked the girl.

"Mhm! Sure." Sana nodded. The two girls walked down the road they first met. Arche soon found the pits once more.

"Oh yeah… I didn't put a bridge on this one." Arche looked around for anything suitable.

Sana blinked. "So it was you who put those planks?"

"Mhm. I mean, wouldn't that be normal, since kids walk this path all the time?"

"That's true…" Sana nodded. Arche's caring for classmates that she hasn't even met yet. Sana laughed. "Thank you then, Arche. They really helped." Arche grinned, as she found a nearby log.

"Convenient items immediately around are a staple for adventurers~" Arche laughed, pushing the log over. Sana was awed at her strength, as well as how she handled it without it falling instead.

"Let's go!" Arche smiled, as Sana nodded, the two walked on the bridges Arche herself placed. Today was the most fun Sana had in years. All because of the one girl who befriended her the moment she met her.

(Town of Tonkiness)

They had arrived, just in time before the sun truly sets. Sana watched as Arche confidently walked.

"Umm, Arche, my house is down this street." Sana pointed at the archway saying "Third Street." Arche turned, looking and nodding.

"I'm on Second Street." Arche pointed at another archway. She then smiled happily. "We should play together sometime, Sana!"

Sana wouldn't have said this if it wasn't Arche, but because she was, she said: "I'd love to! See you later, then, Arche." After waving goodbye, Sana walked through the archway. Arche always hated this part of meetings. But she knew she'll see her tomorrow. She just knew it.

(Home)

It looks as though the shop wasn't doing as well as the father hoped. After all, they were still new to the industry of shopkeeping. The good news is that they don't have a massive debt to repay. The bad news is that they would have to make do with eating as little as possible. She soon heard the ring of the door's bell. Looking wearily, he found Arche smiling as she entered.

"I'm home!" Arche called. The father nodded, walking towards the daughter and giving her a hug.

"Did you have fun at school?"

"Yeah, lots!" Arche nodded brightly. She walked up the stairs to greet her mom, who was on the stove, cooking.

"Oh, Arche, welcome home." The mother smiled. "You're a bit late today. So how was school?"

"It was fun!" Arche nodded. "I even made a new friend!"

"That's nice dear." The mother nodded, not taking her eyes off the stew. Arche then remembered what Ms. Sophia told her.

"Umm… Mom?"

'Yes, Arche? What is it?" The mother asked.

Arche hesitated. Should she, or should she not? "U-ummm… I… er…"

"Hm?" The mother urged the girl to speak up a bit. She couldn't really say it, though.

"It's nothing!" Arche yelled a bit abruptly, running up the stairs, and into her bedroom. The mother was obviously confused, but she said nothing, looking at her cooking.

(Arche's Room)

"Chocolat, I'm home." She greeted her stuffed rabbit as she sat on her bed, removing her pack and dirty clothes, switching for home clothing.

"I went to school all by myself today, Chocolat! Remember, I told you yesterday?" Arche smiled. "I made a friend named Sana and beat up some slimes! I love my new school!"

Arche then remembered. She needed an elemental stone. She doesn't have one yet. And she couldn't tell her parents. The family just began business, having little money when they began. There was no way they could afford an elemental stone. But without one, she can't do magic. And magic is one of the more important courses in that school.

"If only that lie Colm told me was true…" Arche sighed, as she fixed her shirt. Then Arche remembered how he looked, when he was convincing his classmates. "… But he looked so convinced… Did he really lie? Was the one at the cave the TRUE lie?"

Tomorrow was Sunday, that means… "Since there's no school tomorrow, I'll check the cave out, one more time. That lake seemed suspicious. Maybe there's a way through it!" Arche grinned. "I'll be going on another adventure tomorrow!" Arche smiled, walking down the stairs to eat dinner. Chocolat's eyes shone bright in the lamplit room.

Chapter End

Number in Party: 1
Party Leader: Arche Plumfield
Party Members: N/A
Marks of Heroism: 2

Wazzup, everyone, whoever is reading this fic. Congratulations on making this far. If you've played Fortune Summoners before, then you'll be rather bored, eh? After all, it's an almost word for word copy of the story. Marks of Heroism were mentioned as plot points, and that will be explained in a near-future chapter. I'm making this story at the same time as I play Fortune Summoners, so that means update depends on whether I played or not. This is my current progress in the game. Wow, Hard mode is so difficult... I do not want to think of the Nightmare mode...

Arche would've had SOME knowledge on how dungeons works. She already has two Marks at the beginning of the game, after all. (I'm talking about the level-up stars.) And Marks are usually found in either unexplored dungeons, or dungeons with plenty of danger. She's hardy like that.


Seating Positions in Class:

Chupil _-_ Marina -_-_- Ellie

Leon -_-_- Colm -_-_- Arche

Sana -_- Class Prez -_ Stella