About 2 hours after Knuckx and Megan had found out about the impending attack, they met up at Henesys, along with Athena Pierce, Dances with Barlog, Grendel the Really Old, the Dark Lord, some of the stronger people on Victoria Island, and some friends of theirs, so they could discuss the attack.

"We have live here on Victoria Island," began Grendel, "For as long as we have been able to defend ourselves against the monsters that live here along with us. We are protected from the strongest of monsters by the Victoria Guardians, which consists of the ten strongest people on Victoria Island."

"Even so," responded a purple-haired wizard, "New lands are being discovered, and along with these new lands comes new monsters."

"Very good point," commented Grendel, "And your name would be..."
"Chrissy," finished Chrissy.

"Ahh, yes," said Grendel, "One of my fastest learners. Mastered the first book of spells faster than anyone else in your class, as well as fastest to move on to the next set of spells."

"How are we going to combat these stronger monsters?" asked a random hunter, "Most of us aren't strong enough to combat this new threat."

"Persistance, Andy," reminded Athena, "There are two important keys to surviving any threat. Teamwork and persistance. Without either one of those, you will all fail."

"Okay," said Dances with Barlog, "Here's what we'll do..."

About 15 minutes later...

Once Dances with Barlog was done discussing the plan, the group broke up. Only a small group of friends remained together. A fighter, a spearman, a fire wizard, an assassin, a cleric, and a bandit.

"I still don't really understand why the Crimson Barlogs would want to attack the surface," said Knuckx, scratching his head.

"What I want to know," responded Chrissy, "Is why someone would want to go and attack the Jr. Barlogs that live in the Cursed Sanctuary."

"Maybe they were the only monsters left on Victoria Island that would pose a challenge," answered Megan.

"Seems logical enough," inserted Faust, "At least... for a few seconds it did anyway..." Everyone sat down on a nearby bench to rest and think about what they would do with the remaining hours they had left before all hell broke loose. Knuckx's eyes began to wander around Henesys, looking for something to look at. His eyes eventually fell upon Faust, who was staring at him dreamily. Shuddering slightly, he poked her to get her out of her stupor.

"...Buh?" muttered Faust, looking around confusedly.

"You were staring at me..." responded Knuckx, "In a way I can't describe with words..."

"Oh," mumbled Faust, blushing slightly in embarrasment, "Sorry," She turned away, and Knuckx turned around to admire the beauty of Henesys' architecture.

Faust's P.O.V.

After turning away to hide my face, I heard Knuckx mutter something under his breath. I've had a crush on Knuckx ever since I met him in the Perion weapon store. I would do anything for him. As I looked back, I saw that he had gotten up to go talk to Megan. I looked at the two of them for a moment, then it hit me. Knuckx was in love with Megan and, from what I could see, she loved him as well. From that point, I made a vow to do anything to win Knuckx's heart.

My first assumption was that he loved her because she was a cleric. Clerics could heal people. And with the upcoming attack, people needed all the clerics they could get, which would in turn, cut down on pot usage. Less pots to buy would mean that they would have more money to spend on better and more expensive equipment and armor. That better equipment would allow them to last longer in battle, which would cut down on pot usage even further. Basically, it was a never-ending cycle of mesos. I continued to think about this until I eventually fell asleep on the bench.

Knuckx's P.O.V.

While I was talking to Megan, I turned back to Faust for a moment to find that she had fallen asleep on the bench, Mithril Pole Arm laying on the ground next to her. I knew that she had had a crush on me since we met in the Perion Weapon store, but I just couldn't tell her that I loved someone else. I chuckled a bit, then turned back to Megan.

"Is there anywhere special you'd like to visit?" I asked her.

"I've always wanted to visit Florina Beach," responded Megan, "But I've never had the time to make the trip there."

"Well, I have some free time," I said, "So I was thinking that we could visit there this evening, and enjoy the beauty of it."

"I would love that," said Megan cheerfully.

"Just the two of us," I told her, putting my arm around her shoulders, "White sand, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and the sounds of the natural wildlife."

"Sounds romantic," said Meg.

"It is," I said, and I pulled her into a hug.