DISCLAIMER : MapleStory does not belong to me, and is under full copyright of Nexon, Wizet, and Asiasoft. And any other company that owns it. I hold no right to the use of the related names and in-game characters. I do, however, hold full rights to the personality and construction of the story, and the OC's that may and will appear throughout the story.

I walked up the steps of Orbis tower, grumbling at the outcome of the supposed "training" with Arec. While walking, I came across a strange ball-like creature. It was floating, and seemed harmless enough, so I ignored it and began walking past it. Then I heard steam hissing from it, and whipped my head around to see it open up it's shell to reveal a barrel of a small cannon. As it took it's time to charge up the shot, I reached for my dagger, but ended up grabbing only the sheath, for the blade was gone.

Stupid Arec.

FLASHBACK!

In the snowy training ground of El Nath, light clashing of blades could be heard, but the only thing to be seen were two rapidly moving blurs. I managed to keep up with Arec in terms of strength and speed, albeit being a little slower than him. After a few minutes of sparring, he spoke to me.

"It looks quite clear that you have perfect control of a dagger."

"I suppose it does." I replied. Trying to start a conversation with him was a waste of time, but it saved time for more training, so I didn't complain.

"Now, let us go through the skills and tricks that a Chief Bandit has at his disposal. First of all, is the Assaulter. It allows you to attack a single opponent with incredible power and speed. In fact, the caster will move so fast that it is near impossible to see his movement until he stops. Also, this skill is quite close to teleporting, as we may move from one spot to another at the blink of an eye."

Is that what I did during the fight with Dark Lord's clone? But, how was I able to do that if I haven't learned these skills yet?

"The next skill is Meso Explosion. It allows us to destroy any amount of mesos in our sight with an explosion. Although you may think it as wasteful, the damage of the explosion is proportional to the amount of mesos exploded, allowing us to deal astoundingly high damage to its surroundings. This also allows us to manipulate any battle to our favour by placing mesos at certain locations, ultimately boxing in our opponent to inevitable defeat."

Strange...this is the first time I'm hearing of these skills, but why is it that I know how they work?

"There are of course, more skills, but those require time to learn, something I cannot be bothered to provide you with. You can read the skillbook you received earlier for information about them and anything else you need." Suddenly, he got into his battle stance again, with a dagger in his right hand. "Now come at me, and attack using your new skills."

I drew my dagger, and we both stood still for a few moments. I won't hold my breath, I thought, and prepared to attack. Adjusting my feet to gain a solid grip, I focused my vision on Arec. Attempting to recall my actions from the last time I used the skill, I concentrated some mana into my legs, and lunged forward. In a fraction of a second, I was right in front of him. I saw his face widen slightly in shock, then revert just as quickly. Our blades clashed and I ended up behind him. The wind blew by furiously a second later, trying to catch up with the speed of my movement. I turned my head slightly and noticed him.

He hadn't moved in the slightest and managed to block my attack with his dagger.

"Not bad for your first attempt."

The moment I stood back up, I immediately sensed a presence appearing to my right. I looked to the right and saw this absurdly large man dressed in a training suit with a headband on his head. More importantly, his arms were spread outward, and were quickly closing on either side of me, attempting to clap me into mush like he would a fly. I dived out of the attack and prepared to strike back, when he suddenly disappeared. The next moment, another figure appeared right behind me. This one had a basket-like helmet on his head and a monk's staff, which was swinging for my legs. I backflipped out of the way, the staff missing my feet by inches. When I was still in the air, yet another person showed up. This figure was a girl with purple hair and red clothing. She made a seal with her hands, and a purple light slashed out from behind her. I barely managed to block it with my dagger, but the force of the attack send me flying to the ground. I landed on the ground hard, but on my feet. Looking up at the sky, the girl had disappeared. Taking a guess, i looked to my left and swung my dagger. The next moment, I felt it connect with another blade. A samurai like figure had showed up, and blocked my wild attack with one of his own. Recovering from the recoil of the attack, I failed to notice one more person appear in front of me. Before I knew it, he connected his fist with my stomach, and I flew backwards into the snow.

Using the momentum of the fall, I rolled backwards onto my feet, back into my battle stance. Arec still had not moved from his spot, and he chuckled.

"Band Of Thieves. Now, come at me."

I sprinted towards him again, and as I did, I flung a coin forward, aiming for his face. Before it reached him, however, he threw his own coin, ricocheting off mine. He began throwing stars at me at a rapid rate, forcing me to use Assaulter to dodge them. When he finally stopped, I did too.

"It allows us to manipulate any battle to our favour..."

At that moment, another star came whizzing at me. I raised my dagger, successfully blocking it, but the speed behind the star knocked the dagger out of my hands. It flew in the air for a few seconds before landing in the snow.

*Chink*

Wait. That isn't snow!

"By placing mesos at certain locations..."

The impact of the dagger hitting it's soon to be grave caused the snow to fall off, revealing it to be in fact embedded in a large sack of mesos.

"Ultimately boxing in our opponents..."

Shit!

My eyes widening at what I knew was about to happen, I dived backwards to avoid the blast.

Arec smirked.

"To inevitable defeat." He snapped his fingers, and the ominous click sound was heard. A large explosion occured that could be seen from the outskirts of the town.

As the dust started clearing away, I glanced at the spot where the explosion had taken place. There was a small crater, and my dagger was nowhere to be seen. I turned to Arec and glared at him.

"You blew up my dagger..."

He looked back at me with an analyzing look.

"Don't complain. You may be good with a one, but you don't favour using them. Is that true?"

How did he-?

For the past few weeks, I've been unhappy about the fact that daggers have a short reach and was only able to do fatal damage by stabbing. I also felt that daggers are just flimsy when I use them. I seem to have had all my previous daggers destroyed too.

"...yes." I replied.

"Then here is a bit of good news for you." He said. "As you are now a 3rd jobber, you are allowed to use any piece of equipment you wish, as long as it does not hinder your skills."

Meaning no more daggers?

"That does not mean you will receive a new weapon from me." He finished.

What?

"But you destroyed my dagge-" I started. It was expensive too.

"Training is over. I have done what I can. I wish you luck on your journey, Chief Bandit." He said, before disappearing. Leaving me alone. Weaponless.

...Asshole.

FLASHBACK OVER!

Cursing at Arec again, I whipped out my sheath and threw it at the sentinel with full force. The impact caused it to snap closed again and fall to the ground, stunned. Sighing, I picked it up and threw it out the nearest window.

Upon reaching Orbis, I realized that I haven't seen my uncle in ages. I decided to pay him a visit. A few seconds after knocking on his door, he opened it, and stood in the doorway. Good old uncle Griggs. He hadn't changed a bit. Big and bulky as always, with short black hair and a contrastingly long moustache and beard that reached his collar bones. Upon looking at me, a warm smile crossed his face.

"You've gotten much stronger." He said and let me in.

We spent about three hours talking about our respective lives, and when I brought up being promoted to third job, his eyes lit up.

"Third job? That means you can use any weapon, right?"

"I can. Although, I seem to be...lacking one at the moment."

He appeared to ignore me, instead he walked to a safe and opened it. Curiously, I wondered what he was taking. He turned back and place a large bag on the table.

"Go on." He urged.

Nodding, I opened the bag. The contents inside were a long black trenchcoat, and a long, thin box. Opening the box revealed an intricate katana. I picked it up, and immediately realized that it fit perfectly in my grip. It felt comfortable, as if it was made for me. Drawing the katana exposed the most flawless and perfectly crafted blade I have ever seen. I did a practice swing, and accidentally hit one of the chairs. Instead of chipping the wood, the blade sliced right through it like melted butter. A second later, the chair fell to the ground in two perfect halves. Uncle Griggs and I stared at his chair, then he shook his head.

"Well, I break more of those than you do everyday." He said, chuckling. Then, his voice grew serious, and he looked at me.

"Trane...these are from your father."

I looked at him with wide eyes.

"My father..? But..he vanished before I ever got to know him. Him and Mom both..."

He looked at me sadly. "You're father fought in the great war against the Black Magician. He suddenly disappeared off the battlefield, and we thought he had perished. You're mother was pregnant with you at the time, and when she heard the news, the stress was too much. She died at childbirth."

I was stunned for a minute. I had always thought that they abandoned me...

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him.

"You were too young at the time. Then a few years ago, I received this package and a letter from him. He told me that you would need these in the upcoming battle, and that I should only tell you when you're ready to receive it."

So Dad knew about it...and he left these things for me. This must mean he's still alive, so I must find him.

"It's been great seeing you, Uncle Griggs. Thank you for telling me everything. Now I should go, the ship will be leaving soon."

I stood up and put the black trenchcoat on. It was surprisingly light, it weighed almost nothing. I held the sheathed katana in my left hand. Opening the door, the light breeze made the coat billow slightly in the wind.

Damn, I look bad-ass.

Uncle Griggs called out to me. "Travel safe! And Trane...I'm sorry if you think I've been holding out on you, kiddo."

"It's alright. What I want to know, is how he knows about the upcoming battle." I replied, still facing the door.

He looked at me puzzledly. "What battle?"

I turned my head slightly.

"The Black Magician has returned." I said, and left.

When the ship arrived at Ellinia, I was surprised to see Risette, Roy, Desmond and Chihiro there waiting for me. When they saw me, they waved, Chihiro a bit more hyper as usual. I smiled and waved back.

Roy came up to me first and sized me up. After a while, he broke into a grin.

"Damn, man, why do you have to look so cool?"

With the wind blowing my hair AND my coat, I had to agree with him.

Chihiro came next. "You're using a new weapon too! Are you allowed to use anything besides a dagger?"

"Apparently I am." I replied.

Risette showed up, and smiled at me. I havent seen that smile in a long time, and it must have sparked some feelings, for I felt myself blush.

"Hi." I managed to say.

Chihiro started blurting, "OOH, you should've heard Risette when you were gone, she wouldn't stop whining about how you weren't here and that she-MMPH MMPH MMMMMPH!"

Risette had covered her mouth with her hand, and her face was as red as her hair. "Heheh...Hi."

Desmond walked up, apparently taking his sweet time to get here. Lazy as always.

"Soo..you're a third jobber now, huh?" His eyebrow raised and a smirk started to form on his face. "Wanna have a little sparring session to see how well you fight?"

"Whoo, good plan!" Roy pumped his fist in the air.

I considered it. "Fine, who's gonna take me on?"

Roy immediately answered with glee. "All of us!"

"That's not quite fair." I answered shortly.

Desmond thought about it for a while. "Alright, then it'll be you and Risette against Roy, Chihiro and I. You'd be holding back against Risette anyway."

I fought the slight blush. "Okay. Where and when?"

We had been walking for a while, and had stopped at The Tree That Grew. No one was around, and Roy noticed that quickly. His hand reached behind his shoulder, gripping the handle of his massive sword.

"How bout here, and now?" He yelled and ran forward.

He's gotten quite faster than before, I noted. As he approached, he drew his sword and swung it in a downwards arc. I raised the sheath of the katana with my left hand and blocked the attack head on. Somehow, the sheath was strong enough to hold its own against his behemoth of a sword. His eyes widened in shock and anger, and he started to apply more force to the attack. Immediately, I felt myself being pushed back by his brute strength.

His strength has improved more so.

I shifted my weight and angled the sheath so his sword moved directly to the ground, away from me. As it struck the ground, the branch we were standing on splintered and ultimately shattered due to the force with which it was hit. I leaped upwards in a blur and landed on a higher branch. A few seconds later, Chihiro and Desmond landed on a branch a few metres away from mine, and Risette appeared next to me in a blue flash of light.

Ooh, she teleports.

We stood for a few seconds in silence, save for the rustling of the leaves, waiting for someone to make the first move.

Risette was in her battle stance, standing with her staff held outward, her red hair and robes flowing in the wind.

Realizing that I was staring, I got into my battle stance as well. I bent my knees slightly, and drew my dagg-

Oh, right.

I ended up keeping my stance while holding the katana reversed in my hand, but as it was much longer than a dagger, I looked like an idiot.

Chihiro had her bow at the ready, two arrows nocked and ready to fire at the slightest release of her fingers.

Desmond had his hands in his pockets, knowing that he was too far to actually hit anything yet, and decided not to bother being in his stance yet.

Another long moment passed, and Chihiro decided to start the battle. She released the two arrows, one at each of us. Risette teleported away to safety while i shifted my body to the side, allowing the arrow to whiz by my head by an inch. Suddenly, The branch I was on shook, and I looked down to see Roy running up the trunk of the tree, snarling and grinning at the same time. I jumped off the branch, away from him for now and towards Desmond and Chihiro. Chihiro, who knew she was not good in close combat, jumped up and out of my sight. I couldn't see where she went, because a second later, Desmond was right in front of me, his fist swinging to my head.

I ducked it easily, but immediately following his first punch, a second uppercut came at an even faster speed. I sidestepped him and hit him with the base of my katana. He raised his knee to block the full force of the strike, but still was pushed backwards. Before he stopped sliding, however, he pulled his fist back and punched. The force of his punch threw his whole body forward, and the air around his fist swirled around it like a corkscrew. Caught by surprise, I hastily flipped over him, feeling the wind rush by from his attack. As I landed, I spun around to see him stop, but not turn back to face me. Instead, he raised his arm up again and swung it backwards, elbow first. The same concept of the speed throwing him in the direction of his attack allowed me to anticipate the attack and block it. I was about to counter-attack when I heard an arrow whistling in the wind. I jumped back, and the arrow hit the spot where I was standing moments ago, and exploded. Distracted, and since I couldn't see Desmond through the smoke, and neither could he see me, I looked up to see Chihiro on a high branch, aiming another arrow, with an explosive stick of dynamite tied around it. Before she could fire it, she was hit by a ball of blue energy. She yelped in surprise and jumped away. A second later, Risette teleported to the same branch and gave me a smile.

I smiled back momentarily, then ducked under a kick from Desmond. He proceeded to launch a flurry of fast punches and kicks, all of which I dodged easily, waiting for him to tire and when he did, I gave him a swift kick to the gut, sending him backwards again. Suddenly, Roy jumped up from below and swung his sword at me. I flipped away and landed in between Roy and Desmond. Just then, Chihiro reappeared on a nearby branch, and Risette on another. Risette made the first move, and swung her staff downwards, summoning her magic.

Come to think of it, I don't know what element she uses. Assuming she has red hair, and likes red robes, I assume fire?

Her staff glowed slightly, and several shards of ice formed out of thin air.

Ice. I meant ice.

The shards flew towards Chihiro at high speed and hit her. Surprised, she yelled again and fell off the branch.

Guess she's out of the fight.

As she fell, she aimed her bow one more time at me, drawing the string back. A shimmer of light appeared at the bow, and a glowing yellow arrow formed.

Casting Haste, everything seemed to slow down for a while. She released the shining arrow and it flew straight for me before falling out of sight. At the same moment, Roy and Desmond started to run towards me.

Guess it's time to get serious.

I drew my katana and spun in a circular motion. First, I cleaved the Soul Arrow into two perfect halves, letting then fly harmlessly by either side of me. Then, using the sheath, I smacked Desmond upside the head, sending him flying. Finally, I turned to face Roy. Pouring mana into my legs, I dashed towards him using Assaulter, but instead of delivering the fatal blow, I struck his sword out of his hand, sending it spinning in to the air as well. I appeared behind him, spun my katana and began sheathing it.

Okay, this part is all about timing.

I sheathed it slowly, waiting for the right moment. I fully sheathed the sword with a click and deactivated Haste. The next instant came three simultaneous actions. The two halves of the arrow hit a nearby branch. Desmond landed on the ground with a thud. And Roy's sword embedded itself in the ground.

Author's Notes : Okay, chapter 10 is here. I APOLOGIZE for not updating in a long time, but I've been kinda busy lately. I will not update the next chapter until I get at least 3 reviews, so get reviewing. I know you readers exist =[