"You have done well to emerge victorious," King Archard commends me.

At this moment, the Knight's Exam had come to an end. After His Majesty announced the final match to be over, I was taken to the throne room. Perhaps he was about to give me a mission?

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I reply. "Tell me, why did you call me?"

"As you well know, you have taken the top spot in the Knight's Exam. You will become a knight of Legitopia, and embark on a quest."

"A quest, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. For now, you are dismissed. Guards, please escort this young one out of the castle."

Two guards salute, and they guide me back to the entrance. I can't believe I'm a knight of Legitopia...! And I'm going on a quest?! These are some really awesome memories! Maybe I shouldn't have dismissed my world as utterly boring... Maybe this is where I got my powers. But I can't be sure just yet.

Now that I think about it, back at the Knight's Exam, Cory looked really distraught. He was so pumped on becoming a knight, and it all just vanished before his eyes. No doubt he would be upset about this. I decided to go home. Actually, I had no idea how I got there, but maybe being in a memory world just made me remember where I lived in Legitopia.

But when I opened the door, I couldn't find Cory anywhere. There was nobody there but me. What could have happened to him? I decided to ask around. But nobody had seen him. Even when I looked around myself, there wasn't even a trace of Cory.

By now it was getting late, and I had no choice but to go to bed. But my thoughts kept my tossing and turning. Where was he now? I couldn't help but worry about someone I didn't even know. I couldn't take it anymore. I finally got up, and then I saw it: A note, on the table.

"David," it read. "Congratulations on becoming a knight of Legitopia. You're probably going off on a quest, and that's really nice. But me? I have nothing. No friends, no dreams... not anymore. I'm through all that. I'm gonna take this into my hands and become a knight as well. And nothing's gonna stop me. Yours, Cory."

He really was dead set on becoming a knight, no matter what. But what he was doing was utterly foolish. I had to stop him. I rushed out of the house and ran to the town gates. There I found him. Cory was standing at the gates with his back turned to me.

"...Hey, David." Cory says. "Did you see my note?"

"Yeah, I did," I say. "But why are you-"

"Then I've got nothing more to say to you. See ya around, David..."

And at that, Cory abruptly leaves. I was too stunned to say anything. All I did was stand there at the gates, mouth gaping, watching him leave Legitopia, probably for good. Why did he leave like he said he would...?

I expected to wake up in the Pokemon world tomorrow, but nope. I was still in this memory world. I remembered what King Archard said yesterday, and today was my mission briefing. I hastily rushed to the castle and asked for permission to the throne room for my mission.

"Ah, young David," King Archard says. "I see you were able to arrive before I was able to send for you."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't wait for my mission," I reply.

"Haha, you're always so full of spirit. Very well, here is your mission. You are to go to the town of Arkano and investigate it. We've received reports that all its inhabitants have gone missing, as well as its king. You must find a reason for these sudden disappearances."

"Arkano?" I repeat. I had no idea such a town existed. But His Majesty continued with his speech.

"Of course, you are not to go to Arkano unprepared. You will surely encounter dangerous monsters on your journey. In light of that, we ask that you take these."

Some guards appear, carrying treasure chests. After they put them down before me, I open them up. I end up receiving an outfit that consisted of an iron helmet, yellow tunic, blue cape, black slacks, and leather boots. I also receive a sharp, new sword and a torch. Not to mention some gold for my travels! I had to say, the king certainly likes to prepare for anything.

"There is something I want to know before we see you off, David. Where is Cory? My men searched Legitopia for him high and low, but he was nowhere to be found."

"Well..." Then I stop. If I told His Majesty that Cory, who had not won the Knight's Exam, embarked on a journey, he would surely send his men to drag him back to Legitopia. And I wanted to support his motives for becoming a knight like me. I quickly come up with an alibi:

"I also looked around, but to no avail."

"I see... Well, that is truly unfortunate. But in any case, your quest will soon begin. May you have safe travels, young warrior!"

Later, I was ready to depart Legitopia and make for Arkano. Many citizens were smiling as they waved goodbye, and I waved back. I took my first steps out of Legitopia for real. And with those steps, it came to me: My journey in the Pokemon world wasn't my first. It was this one. This was my first-ever quest. I don't know how many adventures I had before I came to the Pokemon world. But it was clear to me that I was now taking two paths at once.


The one in which David recovers a vital memory. And he embarks on another quest, this time in his memory world!

I'm thinking David's time in the memory world might take around two more chapters. Then after that, it's back to the Pokemon world.