SL: Hey everyone~ Last chapter before a brief hiatus XD

Aisha: o-o

Elsword: ._.

Rena: *picking at nails*

SL: ...

Aisha: o.o

Elsword: o.o

Rena: o.o

SL: o.o

Raven: o.o

Gramps: C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER.

Elsword: DUDE. YOU BROKE THE CHAIN D:

SL: Wait, gramps, why are you here?

Gramps: I was hiding from Liliqe and Penny o-o

SL: Why?

Gramps: They were bothering me...

SL: Was it about uploading your facebook picture?

Gramps: Maybe.

SL: By the way, when are you doing that?

Gramps: Later.

*Gramps has left the room*

SquishyPenny: YOU SCARED HIM AGAIN.

SL: Wait what? What are you doing here? o.0

Liliqe: We were hiding... Waiting to ambush gramps.

SL: ... Why are you guys in this room.

Aeres: Who knows. *sips milkshake* They're pretty crazy .-.

SL: AERES. WHY ARE YOU HERE TOO?

Aeres: Huh? *looks around* Oh hey, I'm in your story o.o

SL: Nuh uh D:

*Liliqe, SquishyPenny, and Aeres have been kicked from the room*

SL: Phew.

Aisha: ...

Elsword: ...

Rena: You do realize that that was your imagination, right? You didn't have to put them in the room.

SL: Really? o-o

Rena: You should stop putting your guildmates randomly in your openings. You're boring the readers.

SL: Whoops... Oh well. I'll stop doing that once I actually get opening ideas. For now, start the story~

(And Aisha... You're going to love the first paragraph XD)

Chapter 10: A Magician's Past

Softness. Comforting softness. Not the smooth, velvety kind of a noble's clothing, but one that lulled someone in and out of sleep. It was better than anything Aisha had felt the past week, and it was certainly an improvement from the cold, rough stone ground of Wally's castle courtyard. Oh. That's right. She was supposed to be in the courtyard, bleeding on the ground. Yet, why was it so peaceful? This warmness. Was she already dead? The silence. Wait, no. There was snoring, from someone near her. Curiously, Aisha cracked her eyes open, temporarily blinded by the sunlight that filtered into the room. Where... When her vision adjusted to the brightness, she saw Elsword, right next to her... On the bed.

"What the hell?!" Aisha shrieked and shoved herself away, falling onto the floor with an unpleasant thud. "Uhh..." Screwing her eyes shut, she massaged her temples. Her brain felt as if it were being smashed by a hammer. It throbbed dully, though the pain wasn't as bad as it was at the castle when she fell on the ground. Twice. Where am I? She examined her surroundings. The room wasn't exactly large, but it wasn't too small either. Only one window existed, past the foot of the bed. A tiny makeshift kitchen occupied a corner across the room and next to it, a wooden door. Beside the bed was a side table with all of her and Elsword's belongings and something that appeared to be a note. Making her way over to the table, Aisha peeked over the edge, reading the words jotted down in elegant script on the paper,

"'Aisha, Elsword,

I hope you both are fine, though I'm not sure when you'll be waking up. An alchemist by the name of Echo took us in and has been taking care of us. Though I didn't understand her reason for this at first, she told me something that... I'll explain later. For now, take care of each other and thank Echo. She said you can stay in her dwelling as long as you need to. I'll be out of town by the time you read this, taking care of some unfinished business, but I'll try to return as soon as I can. DON'T FIGHT WITH EACHOTHER!

~ Rena

P.S. Aisha, I'd appreciate it if you would teach Elsword how to use magic.'" Aisha slumped on the ground, leaning away from the side table. "No way am I doing that," she muttered.

"Hey, I don't like it either, but what do you think will happen when Rena comes back?" Aisha whipped her head around, startled to hear Elsword's voice.

"Since when were you awake?!" she demanded. The boy stretched his arms and gave a huge yawn.

"I dunno. I woke up when somebody decided to scream, 'what the hell?!' right in my face." Aisha's face flushed faintly.

"W-whatever." Looking away, she asked, "What now? We don't know where Rena is or how long it'll take before she comes back, so..."

"Isn't it obvious?" questioned Elsword. The girl looked at him. "You teach me magic."

"No, I won't," Aisha replied curtly, making it clear that it wasn't going to happen.

"Yes you will, because otherwise, when that she-devil elf comes back, we're both screwed," the boy said.

"She said she would appreciate it, not that I have to do it," pointed out the mage. Elsword scoffed,

"You know Rena. If she said she'd 'appreciate' it, it means, 'If you don't do this, you're dead meat.' Or did you already forget the last time we made her angry?" Aisha shuddered. Rena wasn't one to annoy. Despite the fact she usually wore a smile that could brighten the whole room, when she was provoked...

"Fine," the magician gave in. "I'll teach you, but only because Rena wants me to." She scowled, imagining the difficulty of instructing a thick-headed kid like Elsword.

"Great." The boy swung his legs over the side of the bed, facing Aisha. "So what do I do?"

"First," she directed. "You let me eat breakfast and look for Echo. I want to find out a few things first. You can learn magic once I'm done." She pushed herself up from the ground and gathered her belongings. Elsword's eyebrows knit together.

"But what if Rena comes back today?" Heading out the door, Aisha answered,

"I doubt she would, if she's out of town."

Finding Echo wasn't that hard. Her home was apparently attached to her own shop, so Aisha only needed to walk a few steps before she spotted the girl brewing one of her steamy concoctions at the front of the room. Without looking up from her cauldron, the alchemist said,

"Finally awake?"

"Y-yeah..." said Aisha. "Thanks, by the way, for letting us stay here." This time, Echo turned and faced her.

"No problem! In condition the three of you were in, I couldn't leave you out on the streets or anything like that." A question suddenly popped up in Aisha's head, and she had to ask,

"Do you know what happened to Wally?"

"Hmm? He probably got away."

"What about the nasod?"

"Got beaten up. Then it flew away, probably searching for Wally."

"Did you beat up the nasod?" Aisha asked in disbelief. The white-haired girl regarded her closely for a brief moment, before bursting out in laughter.

"Nah, I don't fight. Only make potions. A group of people carried the three of you here and asked me to look after you. They told me what they saw and your friend, Rena, filled in the rest of the details. Then she left, following the group and saying she'd come back as soon as she could." Echo stopped and returned to her cauldron, mixing the liquid in it and adding in measured amounts of various herbs. Aisha watched, letting some time pass before questioning,

"Exactly who were the people who rescued us?" The alchemist chuckled,

"That's - a - se - cret~"

"What?" Aisha stared at her incredulously.

"Don't worry. Rena will probably tell you everything when she comes back, and if she doesn't... Well, it's still not something for me to tell you." Pouting, Aisha changed the subject.

"Would you happen to have books that teach incantations of any sort?" She dug into her pack and pulled out a thin volume titled, Fundaments for Basic Magic. "I'm running out of spells to use and I want to learn more..." Echo peeked at the book over her shoulder, still stirring.

"Hmm... I might have something for you." She grabbed a ladle and glass vial from her table, scooping the contents of the cauldron into the vial. Corking it, she grabbed another vial and filled it, repeating this process until the cauldron was empty. Aisha waited patiently as the alchemist plodded over to the shelves in her shop. They were crammed with books, mostly ones that gave information on alchemy and the effects of different plants. She pulled out several of them and shoved them back on the shelf before coming upon the one she wanted. "Found it~" She turned towards Aisha with a thick, leather-bound grimoire in her hands. "Here." She handed it to the mage. "A former magician from the south gave this to me when she didn't need it anymore. She told me to learn magic to defend myself, and I read a few pages, but..." Echo shrugged. "I just never had an interest for fighting." Aisha leafed through the pages, skimming various elemental spells and their descriptions.

"Wow... This is... a lot... Wait." She stopped in the middle of the grimoire. "What's this?" She picked up a small, ruby pin and showed it to Echo. The alchemist looked at it blankly for a moment, then replied,

"Oh, right. I think Luichel gave that to me a long time ago." Aisha examined the pin skeptically.

"You mean the former bandit?" Waving that question aside, Echo said,

"She's the accessory shopkeeper, too, you know. I think she said she enchanted that thing to... let magic energy flow through the person who wore it more freely, and to amplify - I'm pretty sure that's the word she used - the amount of energy one could use at a time. Something like that, at least." Aisha tried handing the pin back to Echo, but the girl shook her head. "I have no use for that, so you can have it too, if you want."

"Really?" The purple-haired girl asked doubtfully. "Are you sure? Because if Luichel gave this to you-"

"It's fine. If you don't use it, then it'll be sitting in one of my books for another ten years. Here." Echo plucked the pin from Aisha's hand and turned her around. She pulled the mage's mauve hair out of its two short pigtails and pulled it back.

"Ow, ow, ow," Aisha muttered quietly. The alchemist took the hair and tied it up in a tight bun, placing the ruby pin in as a finishing touch.

"There!" She stepped back and admired her work on Aisha's hair. Aisha touched her hair, fingering the red pin. "Well," Echo moved to her table and packed up her equipment, "I didn't get to eat, yet. Do you and the other boy want to join me for breakfast?" Aisha's stomach groaned loudly at the mention of food. She opened her mouth to speak, but Elsword beat her to it.

"Of course." Aisha whirled around and saw the boy stepping into the shop from the back room. He ignored her stare and asked Echo, "Do you have any pastry?"

"The Night Watchers?" Rena repeated, wondering if she had heard wrong. The other elf in front of her nodded. Rena hesitated. "So even if I join you, I can return to my friends. Am I right?"

"If that is what you wish," the other one answered. "Our group utilizes a special type of magic to hunt down those who disturb the peace of Elrios. As long as you use the powers we give you for a noble purpose, then we have no problem with it." Sighing in relief, Rena said,

"I see. So what do I do now, before going back to Elder?" The first elf handed her a scroll.

"These are instructions for learning the combat techniques we use. It is written in our native tongue, but you should be able to read it." Cautiously unfurling the scroll, Rena skimmed through the text, finding that it was written in the complicated runes of her race. She faltered when she read information regarding a technique that required a dagger. "As for acquiring a blade," the person across her seemed to read her mind, "you will need to travel to Eldrasil." Rena's face paled.

"Isn't that place a day's trip from here?" Even from her current location, it would take Rena at least three days to return to Elder. Leaving her two comrades alone for so long... If they ran into more people like Wally-

"You need not worry about them," the second elf said quietly. "As soon as you retrieve your weapon, you may return. And, the alchemist can be trusted. She will make sure your friends stay out of danger." Staring at her incredulously, Rena observed,

"It's as if you know my every thought."

"That is because they show in your eyes," the same person stated blatantly. "Anyhow, are you ready to depart?"

Chain Burst: Release dozens of fireballs in multiple directions and end with one, slightly large and more powerful fireball that burns the enemy. Magic Missile: Summon a glowing magic missile that automatically targets opponents with extreme homing and hits them. Blaze Step: Summon fire by your feet, causing anyone on the ground to catch on fire once stepped on, and enemies will continuously get damaged. Warning: consumes a great deal of magic energy. Infernal Wave: Unleash a combination of three attacks of the staff, a lightning bolt, then finish with a meteor- The sound of fingers thrumming loudly on the wooden table stopped Aisha's reading. She looked up, and Elsword was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at nothing in particular, with a bored expression on his face. He continued tapping obnoxiously on the table. Aisha eventually had to slam her grimoire shut and demand,

"Can you stop that?" Turning to face her, he asked,

"Stop what?" The mage rolled her eyes.

"Being noisy. I'm trying to read."

"But I'm bored," Elsword complained. "Plus, you didn't teach me anything yet, besides the fact you're a book-obsessed nerd."

"Why do I even need to teach you anything?" snapped Aisha. "It's not like you'd listen to what I say, anyway." Scowling at the girl, Elsword dared her,

"Try me." So she did. Sighing, Aisha set aside her grimoire for advanced elemental magic and she ruffled into her pack, bringing out her Fundamentals for Basic Magic book. Tossing it to Elsword, she said,

"Read that." At first, Elsword picked it up confidently, sure that he would prove the annoying tomboy-magician wrong about him. However, when he flipped through the pages of the thin book...

"I don't understand this," he muttered. "It's all gibberish."

"It's Latin," Aisha corrected him.

"Just as good as gibberish," Elsword whined. "I can't read Latin!" Glowering at him harshly, Aisha growled,

"What can you read then?"

"English, like thousands of other people in Elrios."

"Well, reading a magic textbook requires you to understand Latin."

"Why? Why couldn't people write them in English?"

"All incantations are spoken in Latin, idiot. Otherwise, they won't work that well or last very long."

"Why won't they work well in English?" At this question, Aisha's eyes widened.

"Don't you know anything about magic?" Elsword nodded. "What?"

"One: you speak gibberish. Two: fireballs pop out of your hand. That's all there is to it, right?" Sighing and wearing a God-help-me expression, Aisha rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Clueless, Elsword raised his head to look up there too, but nothing was there. Aisha murmured,

"Since it's Rena who asked, I'll still have to teach you. But, it won't be as easy as I thought."

"And why is that?" the boy glanced at her.

"Because you don't know Latin," she stated simply.

"Again," Elsword said exasperatedly, "Why Latin?" Aisha thought of how to answer, then explained,

"Latin was... the universal language several thousand years ago," she began slowly. "Later, it was replaced with English, but during the time Latin was the language everyone used, people developed the techniques and skills to convert their natural energy into magic. Though English was technically derived from Latin, trying to cast a spell using words from the modern language won't be as effective as casting one with words from the ancient language. That's why practically all magic-users need to know Latin." After all the information sank it, Elsword said very quietly,

"Oh."

"You see now?" asked Aisha. Nodding his head slowly, Elsword said,

"So what now? I don't know Latin, so..."

"Hmm... Trying to teach you will be tricky." The girl contemplated over all the options she had, and in the end, only came up with two viable options. "Okay." She scrutinized Elsword, as if doing so would give her an answer. "You have two choices: either learn a whole new language or I can give you a few incantations to memorize."

"Please. Not an entire language," begged the boy.

"Alright, I'll give you a few phrases later," said Aisha.

"Then... What are you doing now?" Elsword's expression was inquisitive.

"An experiment."

Unfortunately for Elsword, Aisha's experiment involved using him.

"Concentrate on ice," said Aisha.

"What?!" He looked at her as if she were crazy. "How the heck do I do that?!" Exhaling slowly, Aisha said,

"Think about the element ice only. Nothing else. Concentrate on the temperature, feel, and appearance of it. Got it?" Elsword nodded, and tried thinking about ice. He really did. Only, how could he do it? At first, he imagined hailstones falling at his feet, then a sheet of ice covering the floor, then his hand frozen in a block of ice. None of these seemed right, however, and he started to grind his teeth in frustration.

"Okay, now, give me your hand," Aisha instructed.

"W-why?" he asked, alarmed.

"Just do it." Reluctantly, Elsword offered his left hand to Aisha. She took it gingerly and placed her palm on top of his.

"A-Aisha? What are you-" Suddenly, Elsword felt a cold sensation on his hand. When the mage removed her hand, a thin sheet of ice coated Elsword's palm.

"Keep thinking about the element ice," was all she said. Only ten seconds later, the ice on Elsword's hand shattered into a thousand pieces and melted away. He swore under his breath. "I guess that wasn't it," Aisha observed dryly.

"What?" He was puzzled.

"The element you can use," she said. "Now think of wind, and wind only." Moments later, she took his hand again and traced a circle on his palm with her index finger. She swirled her finger around and around on his palm, then, a cyclone just burst to life. It was tiny, dancing happily on his hand until Aisha removed her finger. As soon as she did that, it dissipated, leaving as quickly as it appeared. Furrowing her eyebrows, Aisha asked, "Were you thinking about wind?"

"Y-yeah. I was." The disappointment the magician felt was obvious; Elsword could see it clearly in her eyes.

"Well," she sighed. "There are only two elements left. And if you can't control either of them..." Her voice dwindled away.

"What?" Elsword's eyes widened with anxiety. "If I can't control them, then what?"

"You won't be able to use magic," she said softy. The boy narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

"Aren't there other forms of magic?"

"Y-yes..." Aisha answered hesitantly. "But most of them branch off of the elements and some... require you to make contracts with demons. Demonic magic, or dark magic, isn't worth it." This she said firmly.

"Alright, so what's left, then?" Elsword silently prayed he would be able to control an element. He used to think that as long as he had a sword, nothing could get in his way. After fighting the nasod, however, he kind of discovered that a sharp piece of metal wouldn't be able to eradicate every enemy he faced. Therefore, he needed to be able to use magic.

"Lightning and fire are the last two," said Aisha. She held her index finger and thumb an inch apart, and Elsword could have sworn he caught a white light flickering between them. "Now, concentrate on electricity," Aisha directed. "Lightning, thunderstorms, whatever." What transpired after that did not make Elsword's day. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind solely on lightning, not allowing it to drift away to other thoughts. Eventually, a tingling sensation invaded his hand. Elsword snapped his eyes open. In front of him, Aisha held his hand, suspending her finger over it. Electricity arced between her finger and his palm. From a vague, tingling feeling, the power of the electricity grew more intense as the girl raised the voltage. It became annoying, then turned into searing pain, unbearable for Elsword.

"Stop it!" he cried out. "Stop!" Immediately, Aisha pulled her finger away, stopping the electric current. Smoke curled up from Elsword's palm, and his hand bore serious burn marks. The marks ran up and down in jagged streaks, like lightning bolts themselves.

"I-" The girl stared at him with a horrified expression. She sank to the floor, shocked. "I'm sorry," her voice broke. Elsword examined his hand - which was throbbing painfully - and he flexed it, wincing when the action sent a jolt up his arm.

"Ugh... I think I'll manage," he finally said with a grimace. He looked at Aisha, whose head was sullenly bent toward the ground. she continued to mutter, I'm sorry, to no one in particular, until Elsword said,

"Hey, I'm fine. Maybe a little fried, but," He shrugged, "Could've been worse." Aisha looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. Why this sudden change? he wondered.

"Y-you don't get it," she stated bitterly. "I could have killed you, without meaning to." Elsword blinked.

"But... You didn't, so everything's fine, right? I mean," He chuckled nervously, "it's not like you killed anyone in the past, trying to teach them magic." Aisha's eyes held no humor in them. They were dark, glum, and the girl was unlike the usually upbeat and slightly - fine, very - annoying one Elsword had come to know in the past few days. "Wait, you didn't... Right?"

"I... But, I did," she whispered, averting her eyes back to the floor.

"Wait, what?" He wasn't sure if he had heard her right. "You're joking, right?" No answer came. "Oh..." After remaining silent for a minute, he asked, "Who was it?" She didn't respond. Shifting uncomfortably, Elsword said, "If you don't want to say anything, that's fine with m-"

"It was my cousin," Aisha murmured. "I wanted to teach him how to use magic, because... I thought it would have been cool if we could both use it." She paused, waiting to see if Elsword would interrupt her, but he didn't. "You see, in the south, where I come from, almost everyone learns to become a magician..." Slowly, she launched into a narration, telling the boy of how life worked in her society. Mesmerized by her story, he hung onto every detail she brought up: how everyone began to learn magic at the age of ten, how they graduated school as fully fledged magicians, and how a select few traveled all around Elrios to polish up their skills. "I'm not one of them," admitted Aisha. "Actually, when I was ten, I picked up magic immediately. I surpassed everyone in my grade, and by the time I was fourteen, I skipped enough grades to be in the seniors' class... A lot of people admired this fact, and thought it was cool, except for the headmaster..." Her face soured when she said headmaster.

"What?" asked Elsword. "Why not?" He was so caught up in the magician's past, since it was so different from the life he lived in Ruben Village, he had started to forget his injured hand.

"The headmaster is... old," said Aisha. "He's been studying magic for a long time, and a lot of people were saying that my powers matched his... Of course he didn't like that." She narrowed her eyes as she recalled all of this, seeming to see it in her own memory. "One day, my eight-year-old cousin begged me to teach him magic. I-I agreed almost instantly. I wanted him to get an early start on it, so he could excel in his classes, like I did in mine. But, on the same day I decided I would start teaching my little cousin, I found a note in my mail, and a ring. They had both been sent from my headmaster. At that time, I knew the headmaster didn't exactly like me, but I was unaware of his absolute hatred for my talents. I slipped the ring on, since the note said it would help me control my magic, but in reality, it made it go out of control."

"And then? What happened after that?" Elsword pressed on.

"The worst day of my life," Aisha sighed resentfully. "I was teaching my cousin the same way I was teaching you, and I started with the element fire, first... When I tried putting fire in his hands, though, the flames grew bigger, with help from the ring. They expanded to a point that they completely surrounded my cousin. It was... Horrible. He was engulfed in the flames, and I couldn't do anything about it. Just stand and watch as he burned into ashes within minutes. Afterwards, the flames died down and the ring disappeared, along with almost all my powers." Elsword gaped at her with his jaw hanging open, trying to imagine Aisha stronger than she already was. He couldn't see it. "So, to tell the truth, I have been traveling around to improve my skills, like I told you a while ago. Technically, it was to regain them rather than to improve them... But I couldn't stay in the south either, not after... murdering my own cousin." She took in a shaky breath, and let it out slowly. An uncomfortable silence settled between them, and now, Elsword wasn't sure if he would still see the same, stuck-up and annoying girl he saw when he looked at Aisha. Her story was... sad, and miserable, but when he had met her, he had had no clue. Murderer of her cousin and a runaway... Letting out a low whistle, he said,

"You know, your life seems more exciting than mine. All I did was farm and practice sword fighting." Aisha turned to him and scowled.

"Don't you get it?! I killed someone. I'm practically a fugitive from my own home, for Lady El's sake! How could you call that exciting?!"

"It wasn't your fault," Elsword noted.

"Did you hear a word of what I said? I set my cousin on fire!"

"That wasn't your fault, though. It was the ring your headmaster gave you. You probably wounded that asshole's pride, and he wanted you to suffer. But that's just stupid, in my opinion." Aisha's scowl softened, and she mumbled,

"Th-thanks, I guess..." That caught Elsword off guard.

"For what?" He was puzzled, and his face did not hide that fact.

"For... Not thinking of me as a monster or something... I think," said the mage. "And, s-sorry, again."

"Huh?"

"Your hand." She pointed at Elsword's hand, which still bore its noticeable marks from the lightning.

"Oh." He lifted it and scanned it for a moment. "I almost forgot about it, actually, listening to your story." He gave a wry smile and asked, "So when do we test out fire?"

"We don't," the girl responded instantly.

"What?"

"You heard me. Fire's what killed my cousin. That same accident will not happen to you."

"But-"

"I'm not teaching you magic. I don't care if Rena gets mad when she gets back." Aisha rose from the ground, and tossed the thin magic book into her pack. "It's better to face Rena when she's angry rather than losing your life entirely." Elsword glared at her back, saying,

"Whoa, wait. Rena's not the only reason I have to learn from you. How would you feel if you were the only one who could use magic when we fight Wally's nasod again? What if you suddenly got knocked out? How the heck would you expect Rena and me to fight that thing? You saw how useless our attacks were on it. What if all three of us died because Rena and I couldn't do anything against the nasod? It would be your fault, because you wouldn't teach me how to fight with magic." He pouted, taken by surprise when she said,

"I'll teach you if you can summon fire by yourself." Elsword stood there, not quite understanding her.

"What?"

"Make a flame appear in your hand," she restated.

"But I can't-"

"I promise," the girl said solemnly, "if you can accomplish this, I'll try to teach you magic again. I-I don't want to try to put fire in your hands myself. If the same thing happened to you..." Elsword nodded.

"I get it. That's fine with me, then. But one question: how do I summon fire?" Sighing, Aisha asked,

"What have I been telling you to do with the other three elements?"

Elsword wasn't a complete blockhead. This Aisha decided after she had confessed the one huge crime she committed, to no one's knowledge. Now the boy knew... But, he didn't treat her any differently than before, nor did he try to keep his distance from her, like most people would to a murderer. Why did she tell Elsword, though? She had kept her story a complete secret until now. No one needed to know Aisha's dark past. Yet, when the boy asked her who she had taught before him, she couldn't help but answer. Maybe she felt that she owed him something, for harming him with her oh-so-helpful magic. Or perhaps she wanted to scare Elsword to discourage him from trying to learn from her. Aisha shook her head. Deep inside, she knew she really just needed someone to tell. Secrets weren't her thing, but when it came to the incident with her cousin, she couldn't really go around the world yelling, Hey! Everyone! I'm a killer! I can set people on fire! Aisha sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall as she sat on the floor of Echo's room. On the opposite end of the room, Elsword also sat, staring at his palm intently, his eyebrows furrowed and an imminent death threat in his eyes, as if he were thinking, My hand better go on fire, before I punch someone. How many hours had he been staring at his hand? How many seconds ticked by while he thought solely about that one element? Aisha opened an eye and watched the boy. Frustration was showing in his face, but he didn't saying anything, just continued glowering at his palm.

Days passed, and yes, they were spent by Elsword and Aisha in the most exhilarating way possible. The boy continued looking at his hand and imagining flames, while the magician watched. Occasionally, she fished her elemental magic book out from her pack and scrutinized the text, memorizing a few new incantations each day. One time, Elsword "borrowed" a candle from Echo, lighting it up, and watching the flame flicker until the candle melted away. Another time, he walked up unexpectedly to Aisha and squeezed her hand tightly, in hopes of extracting fireballs or something from her palm. The result, however, was a very annoyed, somewhat insulted, quite red-faced Aisha and a slap to the side of Elsword's head. "You weren't thinking that my magic would just rub off on you, did you?" the magician had asked when Elsword tried.

On the fifth day of Elsword's continuous attempts to summon fire, he actually did it. A flame appeared, small but bright, leaving as soon as it came. Startled, the boy asked,

"Aisha, did you see that?!" The girl was examining him, with a barely hidden look of disbelief on her face.

"Y-yeah... I did." Smirking triumphantly at this small feat, Elsword said,

"You have to teach me now."

"Oh, yeah..." Aisha had nearly forgotten her promise over the days Elsword spent trying to summon fire. "Guess I have to..." Crap! Why did I say that I would teach him?!

"So, what do I do now?" Elsword inquired.

"First, I want to know," Aisha said, "What, exactly, were you thinking about when that flame appeared?"

"Huh?"

"What was," she rephrased, "the thing your mind was fixed on the moment the fire came?"

"I was thinking about fire, obviously," said Elsword.

"What kind?" Aisha pushed the question further.

"What do you mean, 'what kind'?" The boy was now scowling. "I was just thinking of fire, and how cool it would be if I could use magic like-" He stopped, and coughed, hoping to cover up what he almost said. Unfortunately, Aisha saw right through it.

"Like?" She queried.

"Nothing," said Elsword.

"This is important!" Aisha snapped. "If I can't find out what thoughts are connected to your magic, then I won't be able to do anything to help you."

"Really?" The boy contemplated this. "There are certain thoughts that can control magic?" The mage nodded. "Then... Let me try again. I want to make sure..." He stood up and stared at his hand. In moments, it was lit, a burning fire dancing on his palms. It stayed for five seconds before dying out. "Wow... You were right," Elsword said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"What were you thinking about?" Aisha pried.

"Do you have to know?"

"Yeah, I sort of need to if you want help making that fire strong enough to use in a fight." Sighing, Elsword said,

"I was thinking about my sister."

"Huh? Your sister?" asked Aisha. "And your hand burst into flames?"

"Yeah," he clarified, like this made sense. "I was remembering the last time she sparred with me, which happened about a year ago. She reminded me of fire." Humming thoughtfully, the girl questioned,

"Why?" When Elsword looked up, however, she didn't need him to say anything. The answer was clear in his crimson eyes, which blazed almost like violent flames. If his sister has those same eyes, Aisha thought, then no wonder she reminds him on fire. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me," she said, when Elsword was about to answer. "Just keep thinking about your sister, but this time..." The magician walked across the room and signaled for him to raise his hand. Hesitating for a second, she raised her palm and summoned one of her large fire-balls and placed it in Elsword's hand. Immediately, the fire shrank to half its size. "Try to make it bigger," said Aisha. She stepped backwards. "Keep thinking about what you need to think about and your flame should grow. But don't get distracted." Elsword stared at the thing, fixating his thoughts on Elsa. He remembered the last time they had fought. Her speed. Her grace. Her strength. The perpetual fire that blazed in her eyes. The fireball grew, eventually reaching its original size.

"I did it!" Elsword exclaimed, grinning at the fireball in his hand. "This magic stuff is easier than I th-" It collapsed and burst into uncontrollable flames, spreading across his hand and creeping up his arm. It burned its way up his forearm, singing all the hairs and scorching his skin. Eyes wide with panic, Aisha rushed forward and clutched Elsword's arm, extinguishing the flames, somehow. Breathing heavily, she released her grip and sank to the floor. Numerous blisters were on Elsword's forearm, which was a bright red. He tried to ignore the stinging pain that coursed throughout his arm, instead saying, "That went well." The girl whipped her head up and glared at him furiously.

"You idiot!"

"Wha-"

"You let yourself get distracted!" she yelled. "I told you not to, but someone had to get carried away."

"How could I not get distracted?!" demanded Elsword. "It was my first time trying to do something like that! Maybe I got a little excited. So, what?"

"If I didn't stop the flames," Aisha spat out vehemently, "they would have burned you alive."

"Well, that's why you're here, right?"

"I'm here to teach you, not to grab your arm and extinguish it whenever it goes on fire."

"Can't you do both?"

"No." The magician shook her head, then added, "We're not doing that again."

"But-"

"No." Elsword pouted, and his hand burst into flames again. Aisha reached forward to put it out, but the boy already clenched his hand, extinguishing the fire. Glaring at him Aisha growled, "Don't. Do. That. Again."

"Psh, it's not like you can stop me," Elsword scoffed.

"You-"

"Here's the deal," he interrupted. "If you teach me how to use magic properly for fighting, I won't use fire recklessly. I swear." He paused to let his words sink into Aisha's head. "It doesn't even have to be now. As long as I know how to fight with magic before we face an enemy like the nasod." Regarding the boy and thinking over his offer, Aisha finally decided,

"Fine. I'll teach you later. For now, stop playing with fire!" Hiss! The flame in Elsword's palm disappeared as he clenched his hand again. Apparently, it caught on fire when part of his mind inadvertently wandered away to thoughts about Elsa. "God, I can't believe you're still lighting up your hand," muttered Aisha.

"I can't help it," he protested. "Whenever I think about my sister..." He felt heat building in his palm, but it was closed. "How come my hand didn't burst into flames when I thought about her before?" Aisha gritted her teeth.

"It's because you never thought about her while you were trying to use magic. But now... I guess it sort of clicked into your mind. This is bad, though. If you can't control your thoughts-" The door to the room opened, and the alchemist, Echo, stepped in, holding a pink lollipop.

"Excuse me," she said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but... If it's a matter of controlling your energy, I think you can ask Luichel to help." The two blinked. Elsword stared at the white-haired girl blankly.

"Luichel?"

Erendil. Was that what the blade was called? Rena was pretty sure that was its name. No one accompanied her as she traveled back toward Elder Village. She was alone, but that was normal for someone part of the Night Watchers' organization. Sighing, she looked up and saw the edge of the Shadow Forest coming into view. She would need to skirt around the edges to make her way toward Elder, but that would take her another two, maybe three days. However... if she went straight through the woods, she could make it to the village within a day. If she survived. Maybe the elf could make it through the forest, with the power her trip to Eldrasil has given her. Making up her mind, Rena drew her new dagger from her belt and checked her quiver to make sure it still contained a few twigs. A confident smile spread across the elf's face as she stepped into the Shadow Forest.

Elsword ran his finger along the smooth surface of the ruby necklace. Thinking about his sister's disappearance, as a test, he was relieved when his hand didn't burst into flames. That accessory shopkeeper sure is impressive... I never thought her jewelry was enchanted... This time, he thought about Elsa, but willed fire to appear. It came, flickering with the same intensity as it did before. He willed the fire to disappear, and it did, just as soon as he wanted it to. Grinning with pleasure, he looked up and said to Aisha,

"It works."

"Whew, that's good," the purple-haired girl breathed in relief. "Thanks, Luichel."

"No problem~" The woman's eyes flashed brightly over the counter and her lips curved upward into a small smile.

"Um, how much do we pay you?" Elsword questioned.

"You don't need to pay me anything," answered Luichel. "That necklace is... one of my failed projects. I was trying to get it to increase the strength of magic attacks, but it only restricts spells and commands to specific thoughts and words." She shook her head disapprovingly. "Though, I suppose it helps in your case."

"Ah, I see," Aisha replied gratuitously. "Well, thanks again." She turned to leave with Elsword when a cold blast of air filtered into Luichel's shop. Someone opened the door and stepped in...

"Rena?!" Elsword gasped incredulously. The elf lady in front of him did resemble their comrade from a week ago, but...

"Wh-what happened to you?" Aisha looked Rena over disbelievingly. Her hair was ruffled, as if she had just come out of a twister, and intertwined with it was a dark brown cord. At her waist, she wore a belt that held a sharp dagger. She still carried her bow and quiver of arrows, but along with the arrows, multiple shining twigs were nestled into the quiver. Rena's expression was resolute at first, but not unkind. Her clothes were dirty from recent travel and they were... different. The elf smiled cheerfully and asked,

"Did you guys behave yourselves while I was gone?"

SL: And that's it.

Rena: So... Long... =_=

Elsword: What the heck did I just read?

Aisha: YOU'RE A BULLY SL! DX

SL: Huh? o.o How so?

Aisha: HMM... GEE, I WONDER. FIRST, YOU PUT ME ON THE... WITH HIM! *points at Elsword*

Elsword: Hi o-o

Aisha: AND THEN, YOU MAKE ME A MURDERER?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO WRONG YOU? D':

SL: Hmm... I thought it would be funny... The first two paragraphs... Guess not.

Rena: I thought it was~ I wish I was there D: *brings out camera*

SL: SEE? SOMEONE SUPPORTS ME :D And uh... Hmm... Murderer... Well I can't help you on that part. I didn't want you to be a "perfect" person or anything, so you needed to have a dark past o3o

Aisha: But-

SL: Take your complaints to RubyCrusade. Then compare what she would do with you with what I did with you. I think there's a difference...

Aisha: Crap... Nevermind. What you're doing is fine. OAO *cowers in the corner*

RubyCrusade: Did someone call for me? o.o

SL: I thought you couldn't go on fanfiction.

RubyCrusade: Oh yeah... I can't. *poof*

Rena: So I'm a trapping ranger now?

SL: Yep.

Rena: And Aisha's a high mage?

SL: Uh huh.

Rena: Elsword is... A magic knight?

SL: Sort of... Aisha will need to teach him more...

Aisha: I'm not doing that.

SL: You are. ANYWAY, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE REVIEWS.

to Orithia WindBell: Thank you :D Hmm... Are you this "Hospes" I've been hearing about? Also, yes. They have job changed~ And yes... Elsword ish a brat XD

to NekoYinChan: Lol, well here's chapter 10 XD Yes... school can be rather annoying... But hey, only two weeks until it's over :D Yeah, PvP isn't too hard in NA, but it annoys me when I have a B rank's hp down to 1/8, and then that person uses some op special active and wipes out all my hp T_T (Because I always forget to put up mana shield when the person does that *facepalm*) But KR, yeah... They're pretty damn good. (Go South Korea! :D) And CN with Oberon and Ophelia... Eh. I'm trying to stick to the actual storyline/game plot as much as I can. That wouldn't be a bad idea in another story though. And yesh! Go CN! (Though for story purposes, both could be good) Well, RS is nice. He has fireballs. So ha :)

to YuYuYu A: I must put Raven in the story soon... And King Nasod? He didn't really... Scare me... Because I wasn't as noob when I faced him as I was when I faced Raven... I was still getting used to the game when I started Altera. But I see what you mean. King Nasod, Cutty Sark, and Berthe are all pretty annoying bosses XD And for Raven's job... Man... VC? I don't know... Whenever Raven and Rena are paired together, I think "Blade Master" for Raven immediately. But... I'll think about it. And I'll have to ask my guild mates for their opinions...

to Rosamanelle: Yes, argh cliffhangers! XD And a hiatus, huh. Oh wells~ Writing a cliffhanger is fun and makes everything easier for me, but reading one isn't that pleasant. After Rena fainted? Well, I somewhat explained it in this chapter, but if you still don't get it, it was some people from the Night Watcher's group. They saved Rena, Aisha, and Elsword and w/e. No, it's not Chung (unfortunately) but that would have been nice :D And thank you! Good luck to you too, if you have something... *awkward silence*

to SquishyPenny: Yes, they would. =_= AND WHO STUDIES?! Oh wait... finals. I see. Well, I didn't bother studying for midterms, but finals are different... So yeah. Liliqe should have some, so she knows the pain... And I want to get a good grade on them and get straight A's this year T_T Psh. Imagine Gramps failed that year twice, and I failed once... So Liliqe, Gramps, and I all end up in the same grade XD That would be... cool but sad for Gramps o-o But hey, he could tutor Liliqe! Then for Aeres... Who knows. Aeres is Aeres. He'll be fine :P

SL: Let's see... That seems to be all for now.

Eve: I wish you good luck on your final exams.

SL: Oh, hey Eve! And thanks :D

Eve: You are welcome.

Aisha: Wait... So you're not updating at all until the end of school?

SL: That's the idea o.o

Aisha: Merp. Oh wells, seeya later then.

SL: Bai XD *packs bag, flute, study materials, teacher, writing notebook*

And good luck to everyone who has finals, exams, or plain torture for the end of the school year~