Chapter 3

Amaryll looked to the sky and sighed softly. The golden dragons had now disappeared and the land of Noria was returned to its previous state. The safe zone was practically deserted, except for an Elf that was walking towards the Elf Soldier. She watched her carefully as she spoke with her, and quickly diverted her gaze as she came to sit down on the opposite side of the toadstool table.

"Hey," she greeted out of nowhere.

"Um... Hi?" Amaryll said with uncertainty.

She smiled crookedly at Amaryll and burst into tears. Amaryll swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked the weeping Elf.

"I'm... so... lonely..." she said through her sobs, "I... hate... this ... place..."

"What?" Amaryll accidentally let slip in confusion.

The Elf coughed a few times and replied, "Everyone is so cold to me. Even the Elf Soldier will not grant me attack and defence buff anymore. No one talks to me and when they do they are always mean to me."

"Really?" Amaryll exclaimed, "I've met some very nice characters and I've only been here a short while."

Her eyes were all bloodshot and puffy as she looked over at Amaryll. She was very shiny – her armour was all silver and she could have sworn that she saw the colours of the rainbow sweep across it. It made her look like she was an astronaut, ready to launch into space, except that the armour was quite tight against her body, as opposed to looking inflated. The wings on her back resembled that of the Elf Soldier, but in comparison, hers were much smaller. She coughed again and stared straight down at her boots.

"You must one of the lucky ones," she said softly, "What's your name?"

"Amaryll," she said as quietly as the Elf.

"That's a pretty name," she said shakily, "My name is Saddreams."

"Oh, that's a... pretty name too," she complemented, even though it was the most miserable name she had ever heard.

"You don't mean that, it's such a stupid name!"

"No it's not," Amaryll said defensively, "It's a mysterious name. I like mysterious names."

There was a short silence.

"Oh. Oh ok... I didn't know that," Saddreams finally said, content with Amaryll's answer.

She sniffed loudly and wiped her tears on her gloves. The Elf looked a little better, but the rims of her eyes and the top of her nose were bright red. Amaryll felt really sorry for her; she didn't think that someone could have so much bad luck, but yet, Saddreams had proved her wrong. She rose from her toadstool and walked over to the Elf.

"You know... you seem really nice. You've just had a lot of people treat you badly in the past," Amaryll explained, "You shouldn't let them get you down. You should think about the people that you are yet to meet."

Saddreams rubbed her neck and closed her eyes... then she began to laugh.

"You make it sound so easy," she said sadly.

"But it is! You've just got to be more positive and then you will see that it's not so hard to make friends."

She tilted her head to one side and said slowly, "You're not an Agility Elf... are you..."

"Well, no," Amaryll said as she stepped back, "I'm not anything at the moment."

"I can tell. Agility Elves are not as compassionate as Energy Elves," she trailed off, "What level are you?"

"I just got here. I don't even know how to level."

"You're joking right?"

"I wish I was. I don't know anything about this place."

Saddreams let out a thoughtful sigh and said, "Then I will help you gain some levels."

A stunned Amaryll stepped further backwards and scratched her elbow. The last thing that she wanted was an Elf feeling sorry for her.

"That's ok," Amaryll declined, "I'm sure you have more important things to do than help me Saddreams."

She scoffed, "Actually I don't. I'd really like to help you... Please?"

Amaryll shook her head, "I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not? You'll kill monsters faster with me-"

"What?" Amaryll interrupted.

"Monsters. You-" Saddreams stopped in mid-sentence, knowing that Amaryll had no idea what she was talking about, "You level by killing mobs. The mobs give you experience and then this experience increases your level over time."

"I-have-to-kill...monsters?"

She cocked an eyebrow at Amaryll and stood up. It was obvious that the young Elf was mortified at the prospect of slaying a creature. For the first time in their short conversation, Saddreams smiled. She knew all too well what Amaryll was feeling. A small giggle escaped from her lips and she clapped her hands together.

"It's ok, we'll level you... and you won't even have to lift a finger," Saddreams winked.

"We? How?"Amaryll asked eagerly.

"You'll see," was all she said as she sat back down.

Amaryll followed her lead and returned to her toadstool. Both elves awkwardly tried to avoid eye contact as they 'enjoyed' the silence of each other's company. The young Elf had no idea what Saddreams was planning, nor did she understand why this Elf was helping her in the first place. Perhaps she was truly lonely, and needed some company. Yes, that must be it. She tried to sneak a glance at Saddreams, only to find that she wasn't there. Immediately, she jumped from her seat and searched her surroundings. She was nowhere to be found. Amaryll couldn't help but laugh silently in her head. What a strange Elf… She breathed a sigh of relief and dived into her inventory once again. She didn't want Saddreams to help her level – she wouldn't take her pity kindness. Completely immersed in her own thoughts as she searched through her bag, she almost jumped when a hard tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Amaryll turned around to see Saddreams standing behind her. A surge of anger spread through her body as the Elf smiled happily at her. Amaryll didn't want to see her again. The young Elf forced herself to smile back and went back to shuffling around in her bag. She was just about to pull out the orb Lord Shahenshah had given her, when an olive-skinned face appeared right in front of her eyes.

"Boo!"

Amaryll screamed and slapped it across the face.

"What the hell are you doing? That's going to leave a bruise!" A man's voice yelled.

Saddreams laughed out loud as Amaryll cringed at the sight of the red mark she left across the young man's cheek. He glared at her as he caressed the swollen side of his face. The young Elf looked him up and down and then turned to Saddreams, who was rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Amaryll couldn't help but laugh at the very state of her. It was the first time that she had even seen anyone laugh so hard, so she joined in too. The young man didn't seem to find it funny.

"I do you a favour and this is how you repay me?" he roared, "Saddreams, you are one of a kind. Really, I could never ask for another Elf as stupid as you!"

In response, Saddreams sat upright and calmly replied, "I'm doing you the favour Xdmghyper. You have status."

The young man recoiled and imitated her under his breath. Amaryll stared at the man towering above her. His eyes, lips and nose were tinged with red, and his whole left side was splattered in what appeared to be blood. It was a shame, Amaryll was sad to think, because his armour was beautifully carved. He was completely golden. He looked as if he were a robot, but at the same time, he resembled that of a soldier who was strong with immense power. She also noticed the same strange glow she had seen on Lechedemy, which now illuminated the ground below Xdmghyper's feet in a small swirl that faded away after five seconds. However, he did not look as fierce as Lechedemy. He wore no wings, and Xdmghyper had a demeanour about him which was somewhat... childlike. The way that his eyes danced as he mimicked Saddreams showed her how immature he was. But then again, she could be wrong. Not a chance!

"I'm so sorry," Amaryll apologised bravely, "You really startled me."

"That's ok, I have that effect," Xdmghyper snapped at her, "Are you the one I'm supposed to be helping?"

"What?" Amaryll cried, "You're helping me?"

"Well, not really. I only assist people if I get something out of it. Right Saddreams?"

The Energy Elf glared at him. Amaryll could have sworn she heard her mutter a few words under her breath.

"Well, that's why you begged me to help you out," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Whatever," he waved dismissively, "I am the Dark Knight, Xdmghyper. "

"I'm Amaryll, the Elf."

The Dark Knight tilted his head back and laughed hysterically. It wasn't a pleasant sound; it was frightening – even maniacal! He stopped abruptly and stared right into Amaryll's eyes. He then leant in quickly and pulled her right ear near to his mouth.

"I am the King of Noob Land and if you try to overthrow me, I will hunt you down," he threatened nastily.

He pushed her away and smiled sweetly at her. Amaryll could tell that underneath his lopsided grin, he was silently sending her death stares. This guy isn't a child... he's insane!

"Alright! Let's do this thing!" Xdmghyper roared so suddenly that Amaryll nearly fell over.

Both Amaryll and Saddreams followed him outside the safe zone and tried to keep up with his pace. The bow she was carrying was beginning to weigh her arms down, so she placed it in her inventory. Halfway across the plain, he stopped abruptly, and swung around.

"Party with me," he demanded, as he held out his hand.

Amaryll did not hesitate and accepted with a handshake. From out of nowhere, a small box appeared, with both their names and a little red bar on top of their heads. Saddreams saw her confusion and patted her shoulder gently.

"The red bar shows how much vitality you have left," Saddreams explained simply, "Vitality is your life. When you run out of it, you are then transported to the closest safe zone so you can continue on your journey."

"How come I cannot see yours?"

Saddreams sighed, "I'm helping both of you. You don't need me to be partied with you, otherwise it will take longer for you to level."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in your case, the lower level you are, the lower the experience you will gain if you are in a party with someone who is a much higher level than you. However, if you are a higher level partied with a lower level with perhaps a couple of levels between you, then you will receive more experience. It's the level gap which determines how much experience you get, so that's why it's very important that you ask other warriors what their level is, otherwise you'll be partied with people who are levelling faster than you are," she finished, "Do you understand?"

Amaryll nodded in response and proceeded to follow the Dark Knight. He stopped for a second and pulled out a helmet that was made out of a bulls head. She was sure that it must have been left out in the sun to dry for too long; it was entirely green... except for the ghostly glow which was hidden underneath the helmet. He pushed his head through the bottom opening and adjusted it accordingly. Now he looked half creature and half man.

"Why are you wearing a bulls head?" Amaryll inquired.

"What are you talking about?" Xdmghyper snapped as he pulled out two blades, "It's an Eplete helmet."

"Eplete?"

"Haven't you ever heard of ancient armour?" he said, shocked, "Many people wear them, because they offer options which increase strength, agility, energy, vitality, attack power and defense."

"In other words," Saddreams cut in, "They make you more powerful."

"I see... so how does the bulls head make you stronger?"

"My vitality increases," Xdmghyper said shortly.

Amaryll knew he was getting fed up with all her questions. She couldn't help the fact that she was new, nor could she help the fact that she was a very curious person. She looked over her shoulder to Saddreams, who was hovering across the plain after them. She held a mace in one hand and in the other; a shield which looked like a rotten avocado sliced in half. Xdmghyper suddenly slowed his pace and crouched to the ground.

"We are getting closer," he murmured to himself.

He jumped up instantaneously and sprinted forward. Amaryll ran as fast as she could, but she couldn't keep up with the Dark Knight; it was as if her legs were restricted by some unknown force which would only let her walk at one pace. She eventually caught up with Xdmghyper, who was hiding in the thicket to the left of her. She followed his line of vision to a small, green creature, brandishing a spiked weapon in the air. It made a high-pitched croak as it hobbled around the field, looking for an opponent. The Dark Knight curled his upper lip and lunged toward the red-eyed fiend. His tomahawks sliced through the creature like butter, and in one split second, it ceased to exist.

"Pathetic little goblin," Xdmghyper cruelly laughed, "You had no chance against the King!"

Amaryll saw Saddreams roll her eyes at the young man and cast a green shield over both of them. She suddenly felt much better; it was nice to have another person around who had some degree of sanity. Without waiting, Xdmghyper leapt up again, in search of another living being to sentence to death. He eventually found one; an algae-covered giant made completely of stone. How can he possibly defeat this beast?

"You can't kill that thing!" Amaryll blurted out, "How can your axes slay rock?"

"I don't know!" Xdmghyper snapped once again, "I don't think about logic, I just do it! Just shut up and watch ok?"

Amaryll stepped away from the young man and hid behind Saddreams' wings. She felt the Energy Elf's defence buff run through her body as Xdmghyper plunged his weapon into a groove in the giants' back, causing his whole body to tumble to the floor in a heap of rubble. As she watched Saddreams fly over to him, Amaryll felt a wave of intensity creep through her body. She looked down just in time to see two spirals of light encircle her lower body. Then in a flash, it disappeared.

"Congratulations!" Saddreams squealed in delight, "You just gained yourself a level."

Amaryll, shocked and perplexed, scratched her head and sat down on the grass.

"What just happened?" said a confused Amaryll.

Xdmghyper opened his mouth a couple of times, but he seemed to be completely tongue-tied. Saddreams, however, smiled and hovered over to the young Elf hugging her frail body on the ground.

"You levelled up," she said softly, "That means you are getting stronger."

Amaryll slowly lifted her head from her knees to look at the Elf floating before her.

"I don't feel any stronger..."

"Well, you won't feel stronger until you allocate your points to certain attributes. The higher the points on one attribute, the more powerful you become in that area," she told her, "And because I know you're not an Agility Elf, I'm sure you will place your points into energy."

She stared at Saddreams for a moment. She knows...

"She will need some points on other attributes though," Xdmghyper pointed out surprisingly, "Or she won't be able to wear anything. She'll be a naked bitc-"

"Ok! Don't say another word!" Saddreams interjected, "What he means to say is that you need to have enough strength and agility to wear a set."

Amaryll looked to both of them blankly.

"A set is what you wear," Saddreams explained further, knowing that Amaryll didn't understand what she meant, "Look at me. I am wearing a helm, armour, pants, boots and gloves. This is my set. I have just enough points on the attributes I need to wear it."

"A waste if you ask me-"

"If you're not going to help explain this to her then I advise you to zip it!" Saddreams snapped.

Xdmghyper mimicked her under his breath.

"Now, there are many different sets you can have, but certain builds and characters are restricted to what they can wear," Saddreams continued, "I am wearing a Guardian set because I am an Energy Elf. Elves with my build normally wear Vine, Silk, Wind, Spirit or Guardian sets. If you choose to wear anything other than these, then you would be considered an Agility Elf, because these sets require minimal strength and agility. The advantage is that you are able to put all your points into energy and in turn are able to give a stronger buff."

Amaryll rose slowly.

"So you are saying that I need to wear any of those sets to be an Energy Elf?"

"Are you seriously that dense? Of course that's what she's saying!" Xdmghyper spat out, "And stop using Energy Elf because it's really pissing me off. Just say EE and you'll get your point across."

"What is your problem-"

"My problem Saddreams, is that I came out here to get rid of status and here you are TALKING to this noob when I should be killing mobs! I have to go to CC soon and if I don't become a commoner, I will PK you!" Xdmghyper threatened.

Saddreams stared hard into his eyes then pulled away.

"Ok... sorry."

Xdmghyper straightened himself up and charged directly ahead. Amaryll and Saddreams followed in pursuit. She could not believe Xdmghypr's attitude. He was so rude to Saddreams; it was no wonder that she felt like everyone was mean to her. But he is only one person of thousands that reside in MU, they all can't be as crazy as him... right? And what on earth was a PK? Amaryll concluded this must be a bad thing, for she remembered Chilakill threatening Rastamann with exactly the same thing. She made a mental note to ask Saddreams about it later.

In the distance all she could see of the Dark Knight was the horns on his helmet; he seemed to be extremely determined to find the creatures of Noria and destroy them. One by one, they fell victim to his mighty axes and it wasn't long before circles after circles of light spiralled insanely around her. Secretly, Amaryll was beginning to enjoy the thrill of gaining more and more levels, but she tried hard not to let it show. After all, she wasn't supposed to be happy about destroying creatures for self-gain... right? After a couple of minutes, the Dark Knight suddenly threw his weapon into the ground and removed his helmet. His set was no longer stained with blood.

"I'm done. My status is gone," he said proudly as the little box above her head closed suddenly, "Seeya 'round."

He held up his middle finger in the air disappeared a few seconds after. Saddreams began to cry.

"Everyone... I... meet... always... leaves... me!" she wailed.

Amaryll rolled her eyes and replied, "I'm here, don't I count for anything?"

She looked at her and smiled widely.

"Yes you are. Now I don't feel so bad."

Amaryll was beginning to think that Saddreams was not sane after all. She clearly had attachment issues.

"Saddreams, you need to realise that the people you meet aren't always going to stay. Everyone has his or her own agendas and almost everyone needs privacy. That's life."

"I know that. It's just the way they leave... it's so abrupt and final, as if I'll never see them again. It's so mean."

"People like that don't deserve your friendship Saddreams. It's just a matter of weeding out who are worth the effort ok?"

She nodded in agreement then flung her arms around the young Elf. The very first thought that crossed Amaryll's mind was to push her to the ground and walk away, but then a feeling of sympathy overwhelmed her and she hugged back. She could feel Saddreams' body soften as the seconds ticked by, which made her extremely uncomfortable so she gently pushed her shoulders back so she could break free. The winged Elf didn't seem to mind.

"So where are we to go now?" Amaryll asked in her politest voice.

Shocked by her sudden question, Saddreams replied sadly, "Home I guess."

She whirled around and fluttered away in the direction of the safezone. Amaryll contemplated on leaving her side, but thought it unwise, so she reluctantly trudged along behind her.

"So how do you feel about levelling now?" Saddreams called out to her.

"It's uh... It's ok. I mean, I didn't even do anything, so I don't know what to feel..." she lied.

"So in other words, you enjoyed it," she finalised, "You can't fool me Amaryll. Everyone loves the feeling they get when they level. It's like a shot of adrenalin everytime."

"But are we supposed to like it?" Amaryll rationalised, "We are getting kicks out of killing innocent creatures-"

Saddreams stopped.

"Don't think for a minute they are innocent," Saddreams cut off seriously, "They are the ones who started this war between monster and MUitizen. They don't understand what the word reason means."

"Reason?" Amaryll repeated as she watched her fly off again.

Saddreams sighed and explained, "For example, we might be walking down a path and they will follow us and try to kill us. There won't be any reason behind it, they will just do it. We never looked for a fight Amaryll... they did."

"So are PK's a kind of monster too?" Amaryll asked, remembering her mental note.

"Well, it depends on how you look at it," she answered, "PK stands for Player Kill. It means to kill another character. Some PKers kill for no reason just like monsters, but others kill for a reason, which sets them apart from monsters. MUitizens try to steer clear of them, otherwise it can lead to many murders."

"How do you know if a person is a PK?"

"You will know a Pker when you see one. They are almost always red and black."

By the end of her sentence, they found themselves back in Noria.

"Well, that was quick! How did we get here so fast?" Amaryll asked.

"It's the high that you get from levelling… it can alter anyone's perception of time, especially if you enjoyed it!" Saddreams winked.

Amaryll cringed. I did NOT enjoy it… her eyes darted around the safe zone for some sort of distraction, for she knew her frustration was spreading across her face right then and there. Saddreams frowned.

"I was just joking Amaryll. You know… it's ok to feel a little satisfaction once in a while without the guilt," she said softly.

"It just feels so wrong to enjoy another creature's pain-"

"Amaryll! That's enough!" Saddreams snapped and rolled her eyes, "You have to learn to detach yourself from those feelings, otherwise you'll never get anywhere."

"But-"

"Sssh!" she hissed, as she raised her finger to her mouth, obviously fed up with her constant whining.

Amaryll felt she was skating on thin ice. She realised that her inquisitive nature seemed to be defining her personality, which was one of worry and feebleness. To make matters worse, she was deterring the only character who genuinely wanted to help her, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would leave because of her naïve curiosity. The only problem was that it was extremely difficult to let go of all reason and just accept those things which could not be explained. Furthermore, her conscious was riving her crazy in ways she never thought were possible. To let go of both reason and feeling was, right now… impossible. In the long run, she knew it would be beneficial for both herself and those around her - and those she was yet to meet - to discard all that she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to do it… or could she?

"Saddreams," Amaryll said with a deep breath, "I'm-"

"Oh my goodness!" she interrupted with a high pitched squeal, "I knew there was something I forgot to show you - come on! Let's go!"

Before Amaryll could even react to her sudden mood swing, Saddreams had grabbed her arm and proceeded to pull her through the Noria safe zone at an alarming pace. All Amaryll could do was stumble along… and anticipate what was yet to come.