Believing that the dungeon would be dark, Myria was ready to light up the cave with some fire magic, but she was surprised to find that the cave was not dark at all. Curious, she walks up to a hole which emits light and watches the fire burst from the cavity. Instinctively, she knew that the fire was burning magically and would never put out.

Turning back, Tier smiled encouragingly at Myria. "The first adventurers to ever come across this place, decided to light the place up. The magic in this place have been here ever since I was young. There are stories about the people who have first found this place, but I will not tell you the stories here."

Nallia curiously walked around the opening and found a massive pile of eggs. She poked it and was surprised to find that the eggs pulsed. Examining the masses more closely, Nallia touched the warm egg. Suddenly a large red ant appeared from behind the eggs and bit Nallia on the arm.

In pain, she stumbled to get her dagger. Before the ant could attack her again, Tier sent a lightning bolt which destroyed the ant in a second. Relieved, Myria ran up to Nallia and asked if she was alright. Bleeding profusely, Nallia shook her head. Tier opened his sack and brought out various potions and herbs. The two helped Nallia bandage her hand. Drinking the potion, Nallia felt much more better.

"Thanks a lot guys."

The three walked quietly, motioning whenever they came across an ant. Nallia and Myria were in charge of attacking the ants and if they ever needed help, Tier would always step in. In this fashion, they traveled down the long corridors, exploring the caves.

Suddenly, they came in contact with a blue haired merchant. Panting from battling two ants, the man was sitting down as he tried to grab all the items on the floor. Myria picked a purple stone and examined it.

"Hey! That's mine!"

Surprised, Myria dropped the stone and stepped back. The merchant screamed and ran up to the stone. Picking the stone up he examined it and polished it.

"You almost broke my garnet! You know what you almost did?"

Myria backed away — right into Tier. Tier walked stiffly up to the merchant and watched as he picked up the rest of his items. "Apologize to her right now!" he said coldly.

Still polishing the purple stone, the merchant ignored Tier. Packing the rest of his stuff into his cart, he prepared to walk away. Suddenly a sharp pain was felt on his hind leg and looking down, he saw that his pants had caught on fire. Dropping the garnet, the merchant dropped on the floor in a panic and started rolling. His shouts echoed off the walls and caught the attention of a ground of nearby ants. Storming towards the group, they surrounded them three to one.

"What do we do now?" asked Nallia.

"We wait." Came the calm answer. Kicking the merchant on the leg, Tier walked towards Myria. Whispering softly, he took her hands and gave her his staff. "Let's see you do some damage."

Smiling, besides herself, Myria looked at the staff. The beautiful carvings along it's base gave her a feeling of immense power, which flowed into her arms. Taking the staff, she gently touched the bark. Again, Tier repeated, "You can do it."

Nodding slightly, Myria closed her eyes. The magic within her stirred and she felt the fire rousing from her heart. A magnificent flame started to glow at the end of the staff. With a simple thrust, Myria watched as the flames engulfed one of the ants and sent the rest scattered. Another thrust awarded her with the sight of two more ants on the floor and Nallia joined in by shooting an ant through the hind quarters. The battle didn't last long. They had both fought well and they had been training.

Tier smiled and looked at the debris. Noticing that the merchant was taking the stuff on the floor, he kicked the merchant hard on his behind. "That stuff isn't yours. Leave it now."

Myria watched the merchant whimper. Holding out two garnets and some honey, she offered it to the merchant. Looking at the things that she held, the merchant shook his head.

"No take it. We burned your pants. I don't have much zennies but I hope this is enough to compensate you for them."

Tier looked at the girl and shook his head. She was too kind. Taking the rest of the items, he stuffed them into her knapsack and watched as she chatted with the merchant. Her laughter came so naturally, which made him in turn feel happy. Nallia observed the slow smile cross Tier's face and wondered whether or not the rumors about the man were true...

A while later, Myria and Nallia were in the Prontera inn watching the innkeeper's pet Poring. Feeding it some apple juice, they laughed as the Poring performed for them. Holding the mass of jelly seemed to be a difficult task but Myria finally got the Poring to sit in her lap. Stroking it, she marveled at it's smooth surface and the softness of it's body.

"It's a pity that most monsters don't like to be touched. Why do you think all the monsters have become so aggressive lately?" asked Myria.

Nallia petted the Poring, "I don't know. Everyone just kills them to get the items or to learn more skills. No one really cares about the monsters. Maybe they're becoming more aggressive as a way to fight back."

Myria nodded. Upon looking up, Myria saw Tier looking at her. Dressed in a white robe with beautiful designs which enabled the wearer to perform magic with ease, Tier had on a soft look, as if remembering something. Walking up to Tier, Myria felt more at ease with the man. He was becoming a dear companion to her and having him close made her happy.

"Tier, have you heard any news about my parents?" asked Myria eagerly.

Tier's face hardened and he seemed to stand more rigidly. "No. I'm afraid there's no news yet."

Sighing, Myria looked down at the Poring at her side. It was bouncing around the two of them as if begging for food. Myria shook her head and guided it back towards the innkeeper. Looking back, she noticed Tier holding something in his hand.

Seeing Myria noticing the package, Tier smiled and walked forward. "Here. This is for you." Opening the package, she was surprised to see a blue egg with a beautiful symbol in the middle. Myria was speechless as she inspected the egg. "This...this is..."

"A Poring egg!" finished Nallia. She took the egg from Myria and inspected the outer shell. Softly cradling the egg in her arm, she smiled. "It's a good egg too. Must be worth a fortune."

A new voice said, "It certainly was."

The group looked up and saw the merchant, Brent. Brent donned a funny looking panda hat which covered the top of his head perfectly. In his hand, he held a funny looking machine.

Myria exclaimed, "Brent! Where did you come from?"

Brent smiled happily and offered the funny looking machine to Myria. "I was returning from the Ant Hell. It seemed like I owed you something."

"Oh no. You didn't owe us anything. In fact, we were the ones who burned your pants."

Laughing Brent shook his head. "Anyways, I seemed to recall that you wanted a pet. I of course a bunch in stock but since this fellow here already bought you an egg (from me), I'll give the incubator to you as a present."

"An incubator! Thank you! Show me how it works!"

Excitedly, Myria watched as Brent took the egg from her and set it in its position in the incubator. A soft sound came from the incubator and instantly the egg started to heat up. A moment later, a spark of light issued forth and when the light died down, Myria was delighted to find a cute little Poring bouncing towards her.

"A Poring! It's so cute!"

Nallia walked towards the Poring and Myria. Taking an apple juice from her knapsack, she offered it to Myria, who in turn fed it to the Poring. "What are you going to name it" asked Nallia.

"I haven't thought of it yet. Maybe later."

The group spent the rest of the morning shopping and relaxing. Myria showed her Poring the whole of Prontera and the Poring was especially happy whenever they rounded the corner and was met head on with a hoard of merchants. The various odors of food cooking and wonderful varieties of fruits were welcome to the group.

Walking up to a vendor, Myria ordered some cooked PecoPeco meat with a side dish of honeyed sweet potatoes. Buying some apples, she fed her Poring while watching the adventurers of Midgard bargain for prices. Suddenly a familiar voice said, "You've become more beautiful the last time we met." Nallia's voice floated from amongst the crowd, "And you've become more full of yourself."

Looking around, Myria wondered where the voices were coming from.

"Oh come on. Just give me a date. Just one date. It's all that I ask."

"No! Go on. I believe that girl there is waiting for you." Answered Nallia.

"Look, she's just a friend. I'm teaching her and I'm protecting her from the stronger monsters but other than that, we don't have that kind of chemistry."

"We don't have that kind of chemistry either."

Suddenly, a man in a swordsman's clad was visible. He was chasing Nallia around while a young acolyte stared at the two in wonderment. Looking at the familiar build of the man, Myria walked closer. The red hair was just visible under the metal helm. A sudden realization shocked Myria. She ran towards the red haired man and her Poring tried to keep up.

"Aeron! Aeron, is it really you?" Flinging herself into the surprised arms of the swordsman, she looked up at the familiar face.

"Myria? Myria! It's you! I've been trying to find you in Geffen, but they say that you're still training with Tier. How are you?"

The two siblings laughed and talked non stop. They were oblivious to the bewilderment of Nallia and Soyee. The two felt like outsiders watching the siblings run on and on about how they had learned many things and matured. Sitting down, they decided to introduce themselves and talk about other things. That was how Tier and Brent found the four of them.

Raising an eyebrow, Tier observed Aeron and Myria talk. There were occasional hugs and usual laughter. The two seemed to not have seen each other for a year. "Well, Aeron. I see you've grown stronger these past few months." Interrupted Tier.

Looking up, Aeron looked at Tier. There was a huge change from the last time they met. Tier had a certain glow to him and a sparkle in his eye made him look like he was constantly laughing. Suspicious of the man, Aeron nodded and asked, "And how are you?"

"Better." Was the response.

Aeron nodded again and looked at Brent. Surprise was apparent as he stared at the Panda Hat. Trying to cover his smile, Aeron nodded his acknowledgement of Brent and looked away. Hurt that Aeron was laughing at his hat, Brent took the thing off and glared at the group. Stuffing the hat back in his cart, Brent sat a while back and donned on his familiar Sakkat. Setting up his stall, the group observed as he put the Panda Hat on sale.

"Oh come on Brent. Don't be like that." Myria tried to get Brent to put on the Panda Hat again, but Brent didn't talk to her. Instead he looked away and started rummaging in his cart. Watching him set his items and ordering them, Myria felt a little sad. Suddenly a photo in his cart caught her eye. Standing next to a younger Brent was a red haired man with a fiery look. Laughing as if the two of them had heard something hilarious, the two men posed for the camera.

"Brent! You know this man?" Pointing towards the red haired man in the photo, Myria excitedly shouted towards the merchant.

Snatching the photo back, Brent looked almost guilty. Making sure that he didn't dent the picture, Brent looked at Myria. What could he do now? There was no denying it any longer, they would find out sooner or later.

Clearing his throat, Brent looked at Myria and the approaching Aeron.

"Yes. Yes I do. He was a friend of mine. My best friend..."