Chen Yue Xing—Midnight—is a Chinese girl, fourteen years old.

Shoulder-length, sleek, black hair, exotic sharp looks and black eyes, a serene, bored expression, a lonely personality - she ended up being popular at school. Her tall height of 5'5" yet slender figure made her look mature than she really looked. Her grades weren't bad either, having attended Woodbury Elementary before going to Middle School.

If there was one thing she wanted to fix though, it was her boredom.

She had average but sufficient grades, so getting into high school and maybe college, even a university, aren't seemingly hard tasks. That was one worry down. Her friends—sort of—do not make much effort to talk to her. She could not fault them for being busy in Thailand.

Students at Woodbury did not really want to make friends with her though. Most girls wanted popularity through her, and she had to turn down many boys who were in it for her looks. The more 'noble' students were either intimidated by her expression or decided a weirdo was not worth their time. Even the more honest, genuine, goodwilled students were a rarity, or they were simply occupied by other people and activities.

She did not really do much in the classroom other than cleaning and staying clear of any, if not most, activities.

That left only two ways she knew best to alleviate such boredom: the thrill of running through the forests around Woodbury while her parents do not realize this, and staying in her room, being a shut-in.

So becoming a Summoner was just about the next best thing for her, dangerous as it seemed.

No, dangerous as it is.

She had worn her daily forester outfit when she prepared for the trip: a black jacket, white T-shirt underneath, black shorts and grey knee-length stringed boots. Her black fingerless gloves felt wrinkled from the many times she climbed trees.

Her choice of weapons were four blades: two pocketknives hidden in her jacket's sleeves, tied to her wrists, ready to be deployed in two flicks. Another is an 11-inch (6.3 inches for the blade) Fallkniven A1 Survival Knife; a personal favorite. Not only is it black, but it is also made of a tough alloy; an expensive knife safely sheathed behind her shorts, obscured by her jacket. The last one is a small Swiss Army knife, or a multitool, ready to be sneaked out from the sole of her right boot.

Grandfather had secretly bought them for her on her birthday, when she asked him about these dangerous tools in a survival documentary. Midnight would always thank him for that.

Other than that, she brought the basic supplies: a medical kit, an extra change of clothes, bedroll, matchbox, maps of the area, a portable solar charger and hand charger for her smartphone, a flashlight with extra batteries, a honing rod for her knives, even an alchemy kit, all inside a grey and black satchel strapped tightly to her back.

Despite the equipment, she needed help. And what better help could she get from in an instant other than the Summoner's App?

So then came Battle Girl Ophelia; her first Unit she Summoned near the forest. It was quite a wonder to behold, having a character from a game be brought to life.

She seemed to be the kind of person who was all work, no play and no freedom. Very stiff, very 'knightly', very charismatic, yet perhaps seemingly—rude it may be—overbearing to most people?

If she heard that, she may take offense to that.

Overall, Ophelia seemed to be a little similar to Midnight in terms of attitude, which would be to take things at a careful, methodical pace. Justice is an entirely different subject, but talking to people without unnerving them may be one they could discuss, if they get the time.

Their prowess in battle was a little different though.

Midnight was confident in her combat skills, to dance around, slitting the necks, hamstrings, veins, any vital points of any enemy. But that had been on imaginary enemies, and not even test dummies! Normal people do not order equipment to train in the art of murder, so she left it at that and improvised with cartoons, video games, imagination, combat related internet blogs and advice from other people.

But the Guardian was already as capable as what her game version made her out to be: a dashing knight who cuts down her enemies with ease. Although she was a Four-Star Unit, she had no problem avoiding a single attack and countering, or barreling through hordes of monsters, or fodder rather. Not a single enemy seemed to get past her guard.

"Please, I fought these monsters too many times before!" she confidently stated.

Midnight thought it was unfair that there were no weapons issued for beginners. She seriously wanted to use katanas and handguns ever since she saw a few animes. She wanted to prove how efficient it is to replicate those moves and apply them right here in the forest.

She had to stick to her hunting knife though, not that she was complaining. It was already quick and effective against many of the monsters here, that even Ophelia was impressed, although she had objected to it.

"Milady, you'll put yourself in danger doing this," she said. "What if you were to be slain, and I fail in my duty?"

Midnight replied, "I am not some princess to be protected, I can fight too. So start trusting me at least. We're going to be partners for the future, aren't we?"

Having gained at least some form of respect, both of them cut down their living targets. Midnight definitely got a thrill from fighting, and saw herself improving by a few levels. If they got through this, Midnight could ask the knight for some training after school.

Their objective was to hunt down six Unicorns, eight Trents and gather eight Green Herbs. So far, they only needed two more Herbs before the sun went down, roughly an hour from now. It was convenient how it can store materials and objects alien to Earth, yet unfortunate that it does not store some man-made objects, such as the satchel and her knives.

She had spotted them by the base of a tree when a particularly large monster charged at her.

It was not the first time she received an injury. She had fallen from trees and rarely got a twisted ankle most of the time, until she got to a point where she never did make such mistakes. It did not change how getting shoved aside hurts though.

With a loud grunt, Midnight was slammed to the side of a tree, stunned.

"Summoner!" Ophelia shouted. The knight quickly turned to face the beast.

It was a large dog-like beast, taller than most cars but less broad, standing on all clawed fours, yellow skin and muscle. Its yellow horns and purple mane crackled with electricity as it roared.

"A King Behemoth," was what Midnight heard from Ophelia, inaudibly however. It seems the mental link between Summoners and Units on the field works. "It's a Thunder-type, and roughly the same level as me. I can do this. Just rest for now."

Ophelia sidestepped a swipe from the monster, parried a left slash and immediately lopped off its right paw. The King Behemoth roared in pain and anger, but still stood defiantly.

It's mane started crackling with electricity. Midnight quickly saw what was coming.

"Ophelia take cover behind a tree!" Midnight shouted, despite the mental link.

She quickly did as she was told. The monster then let loose it's Brave Burst on where the knight stood at first, probably discharging enough energy to energize a power plant for a few seconds or so before dimming.

Ophelia proceeded to deliver a slash to the neck.

Once that was done, as the knight flicked blood off her sword, she suddenly cocked her head to the right.

She darted towards Midnight, who had almost recovered from the hit. The knight lifted her easily as she would lift her sword (which was stored somewhere after a torrent of wind) carried her over her shoulder and sprinted past the trees.

From behind them, thunder smashed through wood and plants alike, charring a small chunk of the Pinewood.

There turned out to be another pack of King Behemoths that recently arrived. Despite being territorial, and unwilling to share with any monsters, they seemed to agree that the Rookie and her knight were larger threats.

Three of them... These were not good odds. Midnight was not ready to take on such monsters, and Ophelia was still too low-leveled to deal with more than one. Sure Units can level like they would in a game, like battling and all, but the Guardian had not become strong yet.

What's more, these beasts are clear on chasing their newest prey.

"Ophelia, I can run now! Put me down," she said to her carrier.

The knight smoothly set her down on the ground, letting both of them run freely, although Ophelia had armor weighing her down.

Those beasts were still on their trail. They would not be able to search for the herbs without risk, so...

"We must fight them here Ophelia," she said grimly.

Ophelia seemed to understand. "We still need the herbs after all... What do we do?"

"The trees! I will climb one to ride one and attack from there. You need to distract them."

The knight nodded rather than question her orders. She moved right suddenly, slashing a tree down and kicking the falling trunk towards a King Behemoth.

The beast at the front was slowed down, interrupting the others from moving forward for a few seconds. Midnight got to an oak tree and start climbing.

As soon as the first King sprung off the fallen trunk, directly at the knight, Ophelia narrowly leaned back letting the beast fly over her and ram headfirst into a tree.

The second one roared and bounded, claws outstretched. The Earth Unit saw this and blocked, letting electricity run all over her, but staying unaffected. Her Earth element helped greatly against these Thunder monsters.

Midnight took out her pocketknife, holding it between her left index finger and thumb, while her black knife was gripped in reverse in her right. She mentally told Ophelia to lure them near her.

As the Guardian punched a monster away and backstepped, luring the pack to be just under the tree, Midnight flung her pocketknife with a practiced throw, then pounced on the one to Ophelia's right.

The knife had sunk into the forehead of a King Behemoth's head, causing it to flail its head around wildly, trying to knock the knife out of its skull.

Meanwhile, the Summoner dug her knife into the upper neck of her target, sliding down with the help of the fall, ripping a large tear down to the lower part. The monster roared and managed to shake her off, but the damage was already done.

The monster stumbled around, now that it had immense bleeding on the side of its neck. Its flesh was tough, but it still bled anyway and fell over, totally weakened by several litres of spilt blood.

Unfortunately, several tons of muscle fell right over Midnight and pinned her lower half to the ground, who had been slow to react. She was winded, but somehow did not break anything. It was a miracle that she even killed the beast in one try. Was this karma?

She did not know how Ophelia was doing though, but it sounded to be going fifty-fifty. The Summoner heard wood splintering, more roars and Ophelia's sword cutting flesh.

Midnight tried to drag herself out, pulling at a tree root, silently thankful that the corpse was not too heavy. The flesh felt warm, and so did the blood that dampened Midnight's knee.

A loud growl prompted Midnight to look over the body. It was the same beast she flung her knife before. The pocketknife was slightly loose now, but still remained in the King Behemoth's head. Its victim was not happy.

The Summoner tried to push the body off faster, except she did not possess that much strength, despite her time in the forests.

She grasped the roots behind her for something rougher to hold onto, found one and pulled harder. She saw Ophelia fighting in the corner of her left eye, running her sword through the gut of her opponent. By the time she finished, the last enemy would be upon her Summoner.

Midnight just managed to haul herself out, back against the tree, just in time to see the last monster leap at her, shiny, electric claws outstretched.

I was killed by bling. Joy, was what she decided silently in a millisecond, and honestly, sounded completely unrelated. She could not help but remember the bracelets one of her friends had gifted to her, now sitting in a shoebox full of prized trinkets.

"Avant!"

Then there was a completely unfamiliar voice, shouting what was unmistakably a split-second command.

The monster that had been in front of her was shoved aside by something large, metallic and red.

Thud! Thump!

Midnight's eyes followed the blur to the ground left of her. The King Behemoth was whimpering silently, dying as a greatsword pinned it to the ground.

She slowly got up, getting over the resignation to her previous fate. She blinked, eyes refocusing on the three people gathering around her.

The first was the burly redhead picking up the sword in front of her. She didn't recognize him, not having played Brave Frontier much, but she recognized the medieval look to him like most Units would have. She made a note to run a Scan on him for the Archive in the Summoner's App.

The second was Ophelia, completely rattled by the fact that her Summoner was a moment away from dog chow before, although she did not show it. She fussed over a few things, checking her in a professional way like a bodyguard would.

The last was a brunette boy who did not look as old as she is, but clearly someone who was worried for her. He held a wooden katana in his right hand, some slime and blood staining it. In fact, he looked like he just went through a battlefield, except he was not hit by any artillery.

It was not the first time though that she had to look down. Not all fourteen-year-olds had this much height capable of intimidating most younger people. Maxwell was definitely lower than 165.1cm, so he looked up to her, literally. It felt awkward, but she did not mind her height much, even though it was one of the reasons she would accidentally ram her head under tree branches.

He gave her a look of total curiosity and asked, "Uh, are you alright?" as if she just survived a clumsy yet serious accident.

It sounded pretty plain and typical for a young and innocent stranger, but Midnight still replied, "I am, and I'm very grateful for your assistance."

He gave a grin. "That's great! So... are you a beginner? Like another Summoner?"

So there are Summoners in Woodbury as well.

She still talked with the same composure she always had: "I am as well. Right now though, I need to find some Green Herbs. Do you know what—?"

The boy held up a hand. "I know what they are. They're just right over there, but I got some I can just share with you."

While he took out his smartphone (a bronze iPhone 6 Plus, as opposed to Midnight's... midnight-black Galaxy S6), Ophelia scrutinized the two newcomers. The older redhead beside the boy did the same. Both Units had clearly seen battle, but the man seemed different somehow, like that greatsword of his could rip through Ophelia in one strike. Maybe, but Midnight did not want to test that.

The younger Summoner flicked and tapped the screen a few times, causing Midnight's phone to vibrate in her pocket.

She took it out, finding a request for a trade from a Summoner (Name Unknown).

Some information, like names, are only shown and recorded if the Summoner finds out visually, physically or whatever way you use to get information. Only the 'important' things, like Summoner profiles, maps of hunting grounds, special shops, are stored in the Archives section of the Summoner's App, and sometimes marked on the Spirit Map. Other things like videos, photos, even contact numbers and messages from and to other Summoners need to be done by hand or some other ways.

"I haven't got your name yet, miss...?" the boy spoke up though, asking the question for her.

"Midnight, but that's just a nickname. Fourteen years old." The female Summoner was not quite ready to trust even a naïve-looking boy like him yet.

"That's fine. I'm Maxwell, but that's just my first name. I'm twelve years old, so that makes you two years older than me. I go to Woodbury Private School."

The big Unit beside him raised an eyebrow at this, but otherwise did not protest at giving away important information.

But Woodbury Private School... My school. That could mean that there are other Summoners there too.

The name on her Trade display changed to Maxwell. He then sent her ten... packs? Clumps? Of herbs. He gifted her those free of charge.

"Maxwell, are you sure...?"

"It's fine Midnight," he said simply. "I mean, those herbs are really easy to find. Don't worry about owing me something!"

She thought of at least owing him a life for the rescue, was what she meant. But maybe not with her limited zel and karma just yet. Maybe another opportunity...

She got an idea. A simple one Maxwell may like. "Maxwell, can you be my Friend?"

He seemed even more attentive than before. "Really!? Sure, we could just give each other our phone numbers—"

"No, no, I did not mean that." She showed him the Friend List screen, found in the Archive section.

"Apparently, Summoners who want to ally together can list each other as Friends. That way, they can automatically send out a distress signal whenever they are fighting, or simply show their location, provided that they remain Active for the former, and allow it themselves for the latter," she explained as she sent a request to Maxwell, having read the guide for it. "It is a shame however, that Friends cannot immediately send each other gifts from long distances, or even messages, but it still is important for any allying Summoners."

He seemed a little put off, but fine with it. "Thanks for telling me all that," the shorter boy said. "Can we give our phone numbers? I mean, if you're okay with it."

She agreed, and they traded numbers.

"Excuse me, Summoner Maxwell," Ophelia said suddenly, looking more stiff than usual.

"Huh?" he replied, probably not used to being addressed with respect. "Anything I can help with?"

"You saved my Summoner's life and possibly saved mine as well. I... just want to say... thanks."

That sounded like something Ophelia was not used to saying, but did anyway. Maxwell seems fine to Midnight.

"Heh, it's fine. I think everyone needs help anyway." Maxwell gave a thin but genuine smile. He seemed kind of a bashful person, but not so carefree.

"Maxwell, I'll meet you again at school. I attend it as well," Midnight told him. He would find out anyway.

"You do...? Oh! You must be Midnight from the Middle School, Class 2-4. Well, you were going into the Most Popular Ten, right?"

Of course... Such students were chosen by the Student Council, based on their observations over the weeks. It just annoyed Midnight to no longer be incognito.

"They say you're pretty, and I just wanted to say, I guess they're right," he said.

"Thank you," Midnight readily said, trying to decide if it was flattery or—

"I mean it." He gave her a look that was serious enough.

The forester tilted her head slightly to one side, more out of surprise than confusion.

Maybe there are more 'geniune' students than I thought in school.

The Glaive ran for his life, cursing the stupidity of his team captain and his bad luck. He was dead, his other teammates had either escaped or were dead, his Units will not resurrect in time to fight, and their gryphons were lunch to the many Harpies and Cerberuses that suddenly appeared near the landing platform.

They had already received reports that this Freelancer was definitely a stealth-type attacker. Where was the sanity in sending more rookies than veterans to this mission, splitting up and searching the houses? Connie had lost his head to a dagger-thrower, and Minn was gutted by an assassin. Everyone else's Units were eliminated so quick... even his own...

Someone was giggling. It was clear the Unit behind him took delight in blood and death.

He ran across the street, went into an alleyway and rolled, letting a rain of kunai embed themselves in the wall in front of him. He scrambled to his feet, boots stepping hard on cobblestone again.

A group of monsters - Cerberuses - bounded into the courtyard he just ran into. With a wave, all of them were drowning in a giant sphere of water that will not last long.

The girl on his heels sang from high up, probably a ruined ceramic roof: "O knives, o metal, cold steel tastes more bloooood!"

The Glaive dove into a gaping hole of a side of the house and raised his hand behind him, creating a barrier made of a blue energy. Blades bounced off it.

He ran outside the front door, going onto a red brick street, except moss and wild plants grew between the cracks, but no more than those on the buildings around him did. They all rose high, especially those buildings in the distance, but all of them were ruined in some way, shells of a old glory long past.

He would have liked to stay for a while, examine what its citizens had put into this city, but he had an important desire to get out of here now. He definitely didn't want to stay around a crazed girl who loves death, one that now chased after him. The purple sky did not make this place any more attractive.

What felt like hours of singing, running and knives was probably just a dozen minutes. Eventually he found the defunct technological portal that now served more as a landing platform for their air transport.

But one of his smarter comrades had told them over the phone that she created a portal that should stay open and lead them back to a safehouse. A few were staying behind to guard it and wait for the survivors.

Sure enough, Myris and Burgen were on each side of the blue, circular, shining portal. A magical circle glowed blue underneath it, created using chalk, mini-generators and Sparkies. A few incantations and a burst of power should had been enough to jump-start this year-old invention.

Its destination was shown clearly though: in the middle of a flat rooftop, illuminated by sunshine.

"Did you see anyone else?" Myris asked quickly, looking merely bothered from creating the portal.

He shook his head.

"Well just get-" Burgen was interrupted by screams of agony. The air suddenly felt a little heavy.

Something then blew them all back, although the Glaive ended up going into the portal. He landed on the cement roof with a thump!

Slightly dazed, he managed to get to his feet. He had to get them out of there.

"Robbie, just go and warn the others!" Burgen shouted, sounding blurry as spoke through the portal. A scimitar appeared in his hand with a shimmer in the air.

"Good luck to you and your endeavors Water Boy!" was what Myris said before she summoned her staff and struck the circle underneath the portal.

The portal shimmered and disappeared with a small fizzing sound. Whatever energy he felt instantly went away as soon as the source was turned off.

Robbie stared at the spot where his friends disappeared, closed his eyes for a moment, opened them and jogged over to the door leading downstairs into the shop below. A friend's uncle ran this place, where they get certain supplies for manufacturing machines and some stuff they do in their free time. He silently hoped that that psycho will get what she deserved.

The Guildmaster was not most forgiving when his men and women under his command are slain.