DISCLAIMER: I don't own this stuff. But if you, as a peer, want to use someone I created, you gotta ask first, mmkay?

And some information for the masses, because I've not released the information to the public just yet: The character I roughly base this story on is a Lv. 31 Assassin (Yes, I'm a n00b), named "TheDan" in Scania. Feel free to contact me, but I probably won't be able to be a buddy. My list has been full for ages.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I trained for a quarter-hour, using up half of my Kumbis and a few potions. The whole while I was running on auto-pilot, attempting to think of ways to get Hideval out of trouble. I could only pull blanks, it seemed; Every idea was worse than the next.

I could start a donation fund...? We'd just get poked fun at by the richer bastards.

I could definitely try to lend him some money, but there's no way he'd agree to it. I don't think I have that much in my account anymore, anyway.

Prostitution?

I nearly laughed out loud at myself, re-railing my train of thought back onto the Sentinels. I could kill these for a day without using any recovery potions whatsoever, yet today I'd already used an Orange and two Blue potions. That was unacceptable for me, as I needed those for the stronger enemies.

I concentrated and released two stars in one throw at a Jr. Sentinel, and released a third star behind that. The first two hit perfectly, bashing up the metal sides. The third flew horizontally into the center, slicing the kinetic scientific impossibility into two. Behind it was another one, which I released four stars into in quick, mana-reserving succession. A third Jr. Sentinel smashed into me from behind and I was thrust forward; Turning as I landed to release Kumbis into the thing. With textbook precision, I threw two horizontally, again leaving two halves of the now-useless robot.

By now I wasn't thinking at all. Just smashing through these things, picking up dropped coins and shellpieces and every now and then minerals or ores. I imagined my Experience Bar rising with every star I threw, though I only checked the ID Card when I stopped to rest.

I was about to finish off another when magic in the form of a blue, physical Claw burned itself into my retinas. Someone was attacking the Jr. Sentinel, and I could vaguely see him running by to pick up a Luck Ore that it dropped.

"Oi!" I shouted. "I wanted those, don't do that!"

"Nobody's around to stop me," a female voice said from the left. My vision cleared and I turned towards her, still half-glaring.

"No," I agreed, "But I'd think you'd feel some remorse, at least. You're a Mage, you don't even need those."

She shrugged. "They sell for a hefty price. Thanks anyway, luv."

I glared for a full second before jumping onto a rope, climbing up a bit to reduce the natural swaying. I wrapped my arm around it and turned to her as she leapt onto a safe platform, looking to me.

"If it means that much to you, by all means it's yours," I said gruffly. "But I really don't like this kind of thing. I'd rather you not attack anything I, or anyone else, is working on. Okay?"

"Sure, babe," she said dismissively, playing with her dark hair. "I wasn't all that bothered about training up here anyway. I'm on my way to Ludi."

"Ludibrium's miles away, you need to take an airship."

"Yeah, sweetie," she said irritably. "I'm no moron, I'm aware. But I wanted to check down here first. Never know, some of my cooler friends could be here. Maybe some of my Guild Members." The way she said it, braggingly, made me curious.

"And just what Guild would that be?"

"Depends, what guild are you in?" she looked at me suspiciously.

"None," I replied honestly. "I never have found one to my liking."

She rose an eyebrow. "You just don't have a money, don't lie to me. Assassins are always poor."

I casually reached into my bag to exchange my near-empty Kumbi container with my new, full, set of Steelies. Once it was in, I carefully released one of the knife into my other hand and tossed it to her. The kunai landed at her feet and she kicked it away, smirking.

"You stole a thing of Steelies?" she asked increduously (I rose an eyebrow but she didn't seem to notice.). "Maybe I should extend an invitation to our Guild."

"Doubtful that I'll be interested," I said, honestly, not bothering to correct her yet. Better for one to think that you have quick hands instead of one thinking that you're loaded with cash, especially when dealing with people like this.

"So you're not interested in joining The Syndicate?"

I laughed. "That Maffiya-poseur Guild? You must be kidding."

The Syndicate originated from the same blood as The Maffiya Guild, a brother and sister formed either. The little sister, who I'm pretty sure is called Cassie, was a low-level but rich Cleric. She formed The Syndicate to rival her older brother Barry's Maffiya. Both were big-time Guilds, each with at least fifty members and more than a hundred people connected to it. Supposedly The Syndicate was more underhanded, but oftentimes a member would be cornered and mugged by several Maffiya members. Cassie herself has been put into debt by her brother.

"It's not," the annoying mage said. "The Syndicate is pretty famous-"

"I'm aware."

"-Especially in its valiant efforts against the Maffiya's power-"

"One can't control the masses with the Maffiya in power."

"-Except we run with honor and we-"

"Bull."

"-Run all of our quests and misions with honor, so-"

"Very bull."

"-So ...You're really annoying, you know that?"

I nodded and shrugged with my free shoulder. "I'm really, really not interested."

She was stubborn. "We can offer protection and money and popularity."

I couldn't help but laugh. Really, I tried not to. I held by breath and bit my lip for a good few seconds before my internal dam broke, gushing out sobs of laughter like water from the aforementioned metaphor. I laughed so hard I nearly fell from my perch, twice, and then I actually did fall, right onto a Jr. Sentinel. I could only continue laughing, even as they painfully prodded and poked my body.

She killed the annoying things, pretending to be worried. "Are you okay?" she asked, not even giving the courtesy to leave the money on the ground next to the metal corpses.

"Yes," I said cheerily, ignoring the sharp jolts resonating from where the Jr. Sentinels hit me. I'm pretty sure they actually managed to bruise a few of my ribs, but I did heal myself later. "Yes, I'm absolutely fine. In fact, the only way I'd be better is if you'd get the hell out of my sight and never to bother me again." I waved a mock-goodbye, still smiling.

Her eye twitched and she flicked her hair, walking past me to climb the rope I occupied seconds earlier. I sighed and sat up, rubbing my chest and crawling over to the edge of the platform. I stood and leapt, but my legs were still hurting from the Sentinel-gangbang. I nearly missed the safe platform, flying into it stomach-first. My throbbing ribcage protested further but I managed to pull myself all the way up. The collected effort rebounded upon me once I centered my balance and laid down, and I groaned to myself.

Usually the Sentinels didn't even touch me, and if they did it rarely even twinged. But I hadn't been paying attention to these and this rendered my thin armour useless. It felt as if I'd been tied down and pegged with baseballs for a few minutes.

Wearily I laid there, checking my ID Card. It said my Calculated Health Points were at 13... Less than 2 of my total. I groaned again, promising to spend more money on Orange Potions in the future. How long had it been since I used one...? How much damage had my body sustained in the past half-hour? I could die out here, and nobody would even notice, let alone care. Maybe a few of my friends would care if they caught wind, but it was doubtful that'd even happen... Of course, it was possible that once I reached my bodily limit and hit 0, someone would move my unconcious body to lt it rest and I'd regain conciousness.

Either way, I promised myself to be more careful. It would be out of my hands if I ever hit 0-

"Hey..."

Another female voice snapped me from my thoughts. This one was not as arrogant, smaller, more obviously shy. I turned my head to view its owner. Some raven-haired brown-eyed archer, her clothes meant that she probably wasn't higher than Experience Level fifteen. He crossbow was loose in her hand, but I didn't recognize it by name.

"Hey," I said weakly. "What's up?"

"I'm... I'm okay," she stuttered. "Are you in pain?"

"No," I lied, letting sarcasm drip.

"Oh..." she said quietly. "Sorry... It's just, I saw what happened and it looked painful."

I turned my whole head toward her. "I was kidding," I said, half-exasperatedly. "Yes, I'm in pain, I'm in very much pain right now."

"Why don't you just use a potion?"

I closed my eyes and turned my head back toward the ceiling. This was not a conversation I needed to be having in my present state.

"Because there's no reason to," I explained tonelessly. "I could use the expensive White Ptions I have, but they'd be gone in a few days. It's more financially secure to just wait it out. The human body is an amazing thing."

"Oh..." she said again, walking over and sitting next to me. I could have groaned again, but I decided to at least try to be polite. She didn't seem like a bad person, there was no reason to be rude. "Can I sit here?" she asked, suprising me.

"Uh, yeah?" I said. "It's a public platform. I don't care."

Be nice, my conscience snapped at me. You're just in stress and in pain. Don't let it cloud your thoughts or actions.

"So, eh," I mumbled. "You got a name?"

"Allie," she replied, blushing. "Sorry, it was impolite not to tell you earlier-"

"It's no big deal," I said quickly. "Dan of Kerning, at your service."

"Sorry, Dan," she said sadly.

"Wat, for what?" I asked, worried now.

"Uh..." she muttered. "For not telling you... About my name, I mean."

I sighed. "You need a backbone."

"But..."

"I mean you need to stop apologizing for yourself. Have some confidence."

"Oh, okay, sorry."

I sighed again, and Allie seemed to shrink into her shoulders.

What's up with her...?

I let a minute or so pass before breaking the silence. "So what brings you here?"

"Uhm... I heard this would be a good training place."

"Who told you that?" I asked, increduously. This place wasn't good fro training, not in the way she meant it. It was good if you needed money or just wanted a place to get some experience while staying near Orbis, like I did.

"My brother, he's a really strong Hunter," she said. "He says he used to come here and beat up all the robots really easily. But I've been having trouble... Maybe I'm just weak..." Her voice got smaller and smaller throughout her explanation, so much so that I needed to lean in to her to hear the last part.

"Your brother lied to you," I said bluntly. "You'd want to go do Party Quests."

"I tried those," she said sadly. "Nobody wanted me, they said I wasn't aggressive enough."

Honestly, I could see that being the truth.

"Did you try the Blue Mushrooms near Henesys?" I suggested. "They're strong, but slow. Easy targets."

"They hurt a lot..." she complained. "I'm sorry... But they just plow right through me. I followed my brother to the Hidden Street, the one East of Henesys...?"

I nodded, I knew what she was talking about. I used to train there myself, it was a haven of the Blue Mushrooms.

"Yeah... I went with my brother and they just completely surrounded me. My brother was able to drag me out of there but he never let me follow him to train after that."

I frowned. As a brother, he should have watched her more carefully. Furthermore, he should have helped her train to become stronger, so she could hold her own. Or at least, he could have helped her pay for better equipment. She was obviously a higher Experience Level than fifteen.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, to the point where I felt strong enough to push myself into a sitting position. My ribs still sent flashes of pain before my eyes, but I tried my best to ignore them. At the time, I was sure they must have been fractured, perhaps shattered. I gave in to myself and drank an orange potion, allowing the spell-infused liquid to do its work inside of me.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Allie asked hurriedly, as if he had been meaning to for the entire conversation.

I rose an eyebrow and stared at her. I considered being sarcastic again but was afraid she'd believe me. Instead I said, questioningly, "No?"

"Oh," she said, looking disappointed and relieved at the same time. "I'm sorry."

"Uh... Why?" I asked, still staring.

Allie sighed. "Well, you are an Assassin," she mumbled. "Assassins are paid hitmen, I thought..."

"No," I said, a bit insulted. "That's a generalization. Classes like Assassin and Bandit only describe the way we fight. The people who are classes as Assassins like to use claws with throwing stars, along with light armour. We move quickly and enjoy to hide in the shadows, so our cunning and ruthless way of killing enemies from behind makes people connect us to Assassins. I'm sure there are Assassins that will accept money to steal a life, but I don't think there are any more of those than there are Mages or Warriors of even Bowmen. Understand?"

"But that's what I mean," she said quietly. "I know not to generalize, but you guys aren't called Assassins for nothing. The way you guys specialize in fighting is also the best way to kill a sentient person. It's only logical that there will be more Assassin-hitmen than, say, Warrior-hitmen."

That answer completely threw me off and surpised me. I stared, now gaping, at Allie's apparent intellect.

"I'm sorry," she said, and I laughed again. She couldn't figure out why.

"Come on," I said, a second later. "We're gonna go to Orbis, you need a fashion makeover."