Disclaimer: I do not own Maple Story or the NPCs in it, I only own my characters and the plot. The original characters are MINE. :

Italics= Thoughts

Chapter 3: The City of Trees, Ellinia

Not a word passed either of their lips as Replex and the girl stared at each other, neither relaxing their stances or weapons. Observing her carefully, Replex deduced that she could not be any older than him. Her brown hair tied up in a ponytail, her short- sleeved green shirt loosely tucked out over her tight dark blue jeans. Green round frame glasses rest on her face gently, and he emerald eyes held caution. She was short, about a head shorter than him.

"My name is Replex Cosmos, a warrior from Perion," Replex stated, his muscles still tensed, energy still crackling from his sword. The girl heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed, the blue orb disappearing from the tip of her wooden wand. Replex was puzzled by her actions.

"Why do you relax so fast without deciding if I am your friend or foe?"

The girl briefly ignored his question and brushed off some stray leaves that got onto her clothing when she fell, taking a small basket, and putting some plants that fell out during the fall back into it. She then turned to face Replex. "My master told me a teenager of red hair and eyes from Perion will be arriving soon. His name is Replex Cosmos. Since you fit the description perfectly, you must be the one he was referring to. Thus, you can't be an enemy" A cheerful, naive smile shone on her face, as she picked up her basket.

Replex's raised an eyebrow at her sentence. He thought about the skill he nearly wanted to use earlier, Power Strike, a blow of strong energy concentrated in his sword. He relaxed slightly, letting the energy of the sword disappear, before slipping his sword behind him into his sheath. He turned swiftly, and saw the girl near a rope ladder leading downwards. She beckoned him to follow her, before climbing down with her basket in one hand.

Replex saw that she was struggling with the basket and lifted it out of her hand with ease. "You may fall if you try to carry that basket while climbing." The girl blushed and nodded in reponse, climbing down so that Replex could proceed down as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Replex saw a green blob of liquid bouncing, and looked at it curiously. To his shock, it jumped up in an attempt to knock both teenagers off the rope ladder. In retaliation, he kicked it off a distance away. He raised an eyebrow when the blob squeaked, fell to the ground unharmed and bounced away.

"What was that?" He asked as he climbed down the ladder slowly and carefully.

The teenager giggled slightly as she leaped onto the ground safely from the ladder. "Oh, that's a Slime. It is a native monster here. Isn't it cute? They're so squishy and that small little green bubble on their heads is either used as an enhancement for our potions or as a little accessory."

Replex scrunched up his face, trying to imagine magicians with green bubble necklaces, but gave up anyway. How could they be an accessory? He tilted his head down slightly to hide his laughter.

Slowly he climbed down with the basket in his arm, landing softly on the grass. The mage continued to lead him past a gate and his eyes widened at the sight before him the moment he took a step past the gate.

Beyond the gates, a bustling city laid hidden deep within the forest. A rock powered many of the houses that floated amongst the branches of the forests. Fairies with small wings flew about or walked on the branches, chattering in their high voices.

Replex turned his head to the right, and saw a couple of young children with small wands in their hands. He gave a small chuckle when small bursts of magic came out of the wands, making the young children squeal with delight.

The most outstanding building stood at the peak of the city, where sunlight poured in from the open canopy. A platform nearby also caught his eye. "Six..topia?" He mumbled, before turning his attention back to the building, which the magician was leading him to.

The building was huge, and emitted strong magic. Even thought Replex was a warrior, he could still feel strong magic coursing out of the building through the forest. On the top of the building, a flag bearing a magic symbol and a staff and wand criss-crossing each other flew high in the air.

"That's the Magic Library, where my teacher, Master Grendel the Really Old, resides. He's the leader of both this town and the magicians," the magician explained, pushing open the wooden oak doors.

The building consisted of only a single room, which had multiple floors. Floating in the middle was a giant white crystal. Replex guessed that the crystal was keeping the entire building afloat. A few dark green stems had wrapped around the crystal, light shinig in on it from the stained glass windows. Books lay about everywhere messily and when Replex looked up, books filled the shelves as far as the eye could see.

"It would seem we have a guest."

Replex leaped back as he looked around for the voice. Feeling a presence above him, he turned his head up and took a step back, startled. A white-bearded man, draped with a long white coat that had a cloth belt in the middle, floated down. He held an oaken staff in one hand and a crystal ball in the other, a wide-rim hat covering the top part of his face. A yellow star was on the end of his hat. Replex noticed that while he was taller than the mage, the old man was slightly shorter than he was. Still, it did not stop him from being overwhelmed by the presence of the old man who seemingly floated down.

"Fear not, child. I will not harm you." The old man said, before turning to the magician beside Replex. "You have finished your task, is that correct Weniry?"

Weniry nodded, taking the basket from Replex's arm and showing its contents to him. He gave a nod of approval. "Alright, make the potion then." She nodded, quickly running off to a cauldron that sat in the corner of the room. The old man then turned back to Replex.

"My name is Grendel the Really Old, Instructor and Leader of the Magicians. Your name is Replex Cosmos, am I right?" Replex nodded. "I wonder how 'Grendel the Really Long Name' knew my name." He pondered for a while, before slapping himself mentally for being so rude as to think of such a nickname.

"Dances with Balrog told me about you," Grendel said, as if reading Replex's mind. He smiled kindly at him, his electric blue eyes shadowed by his hat. Replex started to wonder if all Victorian Leaders had mind reading powers. He felt the aged Magician Leader's gaze pierce through his body, reading every bit of him.

"I see you've met Weniry Emerald Solce, one of my student,." Grendel gestured to the working mage behind him with his staff, the same girl whom Replex had met earlier. Replex, however, was focused on the black smoke that was rising out of Weniry's cauldron, and broke into a fit of giggles. Grendel frowned when he saw that. Apparently, something was going on behind him that was making Replex laugh. He turned and walked briskly over to the cauldron, peering into it.

Suddenly, he whacked Weniry on the head with his staff, making her bend over slightly, clutching the sore spot in pain. "The fire is supposed to be low, not high. You'll ruin the mixture of the potion this way," he said sternly. Weniry nodded, rubbing the bruise on her head, taking note of her mistake. Grendel gave a large sigh, shaking his head.

"It's the second time already. You'll have to recollect the herbs." Weniry gave a loud groan, but prepared to go about accomplishing her task. Grendel turned to Replex.

"Replex, would you kindly accompany Weniry? There have been sightings of King Slime around the forest lately. I wish for her to be safe." Replex agreed to it without hesitation, smiling. Grendel turned back to Weniry. "Make sure you guide Replex properly. We don't need him getting lost in the forest." Weniry nodded, getting her wand and basket, and heading out with Replex.

Replex followed Weniry into the forest again, watching her as she absent-mindedly twirled her wooden wand. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he blurted out, "Who is King Slime?"

Weniry turned her head slightly, climbing up a rope ladder. "It's a really gigantic slime that occasionally pops up in the forest from time to time. We magicians fear it and its Earthquake attack. We don't have as much defense as a warrior does after all."

She paused after climbing to the top, waiting for Replex to climb up as well. "Only elite mages such as Master Grendel the Really Old can beat it by themselves without the help of other jobs such as the Archers or Thieves."

"Hence why master Grendel asked me to accompany you. It was for your safety." Replex finished, receiving a smile from Weniry. Weniry's face lit up when she saw a bunch of Slimes nearby. She drew her wand, and launched a blue sphere of energy at it. It was not enough to kill it though and it started bouncing in a group towards them. Replex drew his sword, swinging at the group of Slimes with precision and ease, watching as they break into bits of green slime with a large squeal.

Weniry knelt down, picking up some of its green gooey remains happily.

"Squishy Liquid. You may not believe it, but it's actually used for some of our potions."

Weniry gave a soft smile, popping the liquid into her basket. Replex however, gave a look of slight disgust, thinking how absurd it would have been to put that "icky-green thing" as he called it, in one's potion. He shivered slightly, placing his sword behind him again.

"Let's move on Weniry, before it gets dark."

Weniry nodded, and hastened her pace. She led Replex up a myriad of interlocking branches. Replex started feeling giddy, confused by the walkways, which all had the same appearance to him.

"How you Magicians know your way around here is beyond me..." He muttered, slightly confused.

Weniry gave a soft laugh. "We've lived in this forest for almost all our lives, protected by Master Grendel the Really Old's strong magic. We venture out here now and then to look for herbs, so we are pretty much used to it now. Thanks to his magic Return Scrolls, we are able to return with ease after collecting the required herbs, even if we do get lost on the way back."

Weniry pulled out a scroll, which looked worn out and frayed slightly at the edges. Its dark green surface was fading.

"This is Ellinia's Return Scroll. Master Grendel helped to enchant scrolls for other towns as well."

Replex stared at the scroll for a while. How does it even work, it looked like just a normal scroll to him. After he stood for a moment dazed, he quickly ran up to Weniry for she had started walking again. Bit by bit, they climbed higher and higher up the forest until they reached a clear patch of grass and flowers.

The patch was like a garden, full of blooming and fragrant flowers. Different types of herbs grew in the patch.

"This is... wow," was all Replex could utter from his lips. He took a glance at the flowers around him, but they all looked the same to him. He took a glance at Weniry and saw that she was already picking the flowers and herbs with delight.

"How do you know which ones to collect?" He asked as Weniry dropped a bunch of dark green spiky leaves into her basket, which was on the ground beside her.

"Well, you'll get used to collecting herbs after doing so for like, eight years. That and I've memorized a small notebook of all herbs and flowers that grow around here." Weniry pulled out a notebook and handed it to Replex, before continuing to collect some flowers.

Replex flipped through the book, looking at the plants inside. in one short glance he saw blue leaves, purple flowers and even black petals. "Do all these herbs and flowers really grow around here?" He asked, slightly flabbergasted.

Weniry placed a small pink flower with a yellow middle into the basket, taking it into her hands and approaching Replex, taking her book back. "Well... Most of it. The back few pages are plants that exist outside of Ellinia and Victoria Island that I found interesting and useful. I got them all from the books in the Magic Library." She turned to a page where a purple flower with green spiky leaves was drawn on it. Replex saw that it was very detailed, from the lines in the leaves to its magical properties.

"This is a Witchgrass plant. It exists only in Kerning City Swamps. It's pretty useful for curing some wounds, but it is also difficult to extract as it must be extracted on the right side," Weniry stated.

Replex took a glance at it, before shaking his head. "Gosh, my head hurts from all this plants." Weniry giggled. She found this particular Warrior so amusing.

"Well, I'm done, so we can return back. I hope I don't fail this time." She spoke grimly, gazing down at her feet.

Replex looked at her. "Why do you think you fail'll this time?"

Weniry blushed, turning her gaze downwards. "I... don't really know. I do this by instinct. I thought the fire wasn't strong enough so I switched it to high instead of low like the instructions said. You see, I wasn't born here. I didn't learn everything from the start. Master Grendel the Really Old told me he found me outside of Ellinia, near the gates. Apparently, he heard me screaming, so he deduced that I fell off. I suppose the fall made me lose my memories," she paused, tears forming in her eyes.

"He brought me up himself. He told me that I had a natural talent for magic and didn't need to learn the basics of anything. That's why I knew nothing on how fire would affect the boiling, nature and effects of potions, which is a basic concept. All this time I've been doing things either by the book or by what I feel. However, I always believed that basics are important-"

"And that's a fact. You should believe in yourself more."

"Huh?"

Weniry turned to look at Replex, who had a semi-serious look in his eyes. He held Weniry's shoulder gently.

"Basics are always important, that's right! If no one will teach you, then learn it yourself!" He said. "I had to teach myself the basics of the sword cause my master wouldn't teach me either. Look at me now. I'm a successful warrior, because I have never gave up what I loved to be. Even though I'm not even a magician, and I don't do these crazy mixing-herbs-in-a-pot-"

"Cauldron," Weniry corrected.

"Alright, crazy mixing-herbs-in-a-cauldron thing. But I can assure you, you will be a successful magician if you try your best. No matter the difficulties. But regarding the 'adjusting-fire-on-instinct' thing... I wouldn't say it's wrong to follow your instincts, but try not to over-do it too much. I mean, if the instructions say you should use two eggs in a recipe but you feel like you should use more, you don't go adding 10 eggs do you? All things in moderation, Karamel would say."

"So… Yeah. Follow what the books say, change if you feel there is a need to change, but don't overdo it." Replex laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He withdrew his hand from Weniry's shoulder.

"Come on, let's go back. You can try to do it according to the book and see how it goes." Replex grinned widely, exposing his white teeth. Weniry blushed slightly, thinking about his words.

Weniry smiled, going down before Replex, thinking about his words. "Follow what the books say, change if you feel there is a need to change, but don't overdo it " She mutters, before continuing to walk. Replex quickly jumped off the rope, as Weniry was walking fast all of a sudden. Unfortunately for him, he jumped off from too high a distance, and forgot to position his landing. He slipped on one foot and landed on his side, injuring his right arm as a branch on the ground cut it when his body landed with a loud 'Thud!'

"Ack! Ouch!" He cried out slightly, holding his arm. Weniry turned her head, and ran back to him. "A-Are you alright!" She exclaimed, flustered.

Replex forced a smile. "It's just a cut on my arm. Nothing much." He winced as pain shot through his arm, blood oozing out from the open wound. Weniry frowned slightly, and pointed her wand at the wound.

"Hold still for a bit." She began muttering some words under her breath; her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. As she muttered her spell under her breath, she moved the wand stick in circles around the wound region. Replex, though afraid, keep still. Slowly, he felt the pain in his arm go away, and when he looked back at his wound, the cut was gone.

"Woah, what happened?" He asked, surprised.

"I just healed you. It's a basic skill for Clerics, but Master Grendel the Really Old said I got injured so much while gathering herbs, he'd teach me the skill early." Weniry laughed in embarrassment. Replex gave a slight smirk. He got up again and dusted himself.

"Thanks for the healing. Let's get going, or we'll be stuck here till midnight!" He added in jokingly. Weniry laughed as well, a light blush running onto her cheeks again, leading him back. Replex however, decided to be playful, and ran ahead of her.

"Hey wait up Replex!" Weniry called out, laughing. Replex laughed back, before bumping into something and falling onto his rear.

"Damn, who put this wall here? It's soft too... And green..." He grumbled, placing his hand on whatever he bumped into, pressing against it. It was soft and smooth under his hand. Replex gave an irked face. For some reason, he felt that he had seen and felt this texture before...

Weniry nearly crashed into him, but stopped in time. She too, stared at the 'wall', puzzled. "Strange, there isn't supposed to be anything here." She said, poking it with her wand. She took a step back as the 'wall' started moving in reaction to her poking.

Replex's eyes widen, and he scurried back, getting up. Both teenagers looked up and saw a mouth and two yellow sparkly eyes that just seem to say "Hi!"

Replex jaw dropped at the monster that appeared to be three times his height.

"Holy Perion, that's huge..."

Weniry however, was backing off, her face paling different shades of white. "

"K-K-K-King Slime!" She screamed, eyes filled with fear at the oversized Slime in front of her.

Author's notes: Weniry is pronounced as 'When-ner-ry'. Thanks for the kind/encouraging reviews, soulsymphonie and WildOrion!