Chapter 1
    Picture a summer’s day; sun shining down, trees moving with the light breeze, children laughing. It’s a peaceful thought, isn’t it? This is the average Maple day. Welcome to the Maple World. A world filled with wonders, heroes, scary monsters, and one sinister being seeking revenge after 100 years of torment and silence from within his tomb where he’s sealed.
    Enter the Black Mage. 100 years ago, this sinister and powerful being, with the help of his generals and army, set waste to the Maple World, nearly consuming it and gaining control of everything known to a Mapler’s eyes. He had set fires to forest, summoned and unleashed terrible and ferocious monsters on defenceless towns, and had taken the lives of many, many people.
    Sitting atop of the chaos, he watched what he had begun. His generals leading armies across the lands, burning and destroying everything in their path. But his reign would only last for so long.
    His ruthless attacks and slaughter had to be stopped, and by a group of warriors who had the backing of civilizations. The heroes we know today as the lost legends saved this world from his terror.
    Not much was said about the battle; only that they could not defeat the Black Mage, only seal him away. But at what cost? Before being sealed away, he placed a curse on each of the legends, causing them to lose all strength, and be sealed away for an entire century. Their sacrifice allowed everyone in the Maple World to know peace once more.
    As time passed, their legend and story began to fade. Eventually 100 years passed, and they’re nearly forgotten about. Although this is the case, the heroes awake once more, to find that the Black Mage’s loyal followers are still alive, and they’re initiating a plan to resurrect him, with the help of the Pink Bean.
    The Pink Bean was the most powerful of all creatures that was summoned by the Black Mage. The Pink Bean was able to control time itself, and even commanded his own small army of minions he personally summoned, standing just below the strength of the mage’s generals themselves.
    When the Black Mage was sealed away, the monsters he summoned were imprisoned in sanctuaries that weren’t accessible by the normal Mapler. The stronger the monster, the harder it was to get close to these monsters. Many Maplers still aspire to defeat these monsters strictly for the fame of defeating these powerful monsters, not knowing why or how they got there in the first place.
     
    While the Maplers weren’t aware of how their existence came to be, the people who watched over their sanctuaries did. As hopeful as they may seem to defeat these terrifying foes, their chances were non-existent when faced with the challenge of entering the sanctuaries.
    It wasn’t until a sunny afternoon that the Temple of Time came under attack, and an infestation of powerful monks and guardians took home in the Temple. Their presence was planned, as they deteriorated the seal left for the Pink bean, weakening it and allowing his influence to spread throughout the Maple World.
    The news of this happening managed to find its way to the Maple World’s king, who had been visiting the town of Henesys, home of the noble and dexterous bow and crossbowmen. The town is peaceful, and a training place for young adventurers planning to become a powerful archer for when they grow older.
    The king of the Maple World is name Sean. You’d think he would be a noble, respectful, and well-revered person. Well, he is, only to those that don’t know him personally. Sean has been in rule of the Maple World for nearly 100 years. He became king 6 months after the incident with the Black Mage as voted by the job instructors of old. He kept his cool, and united the since broken Maple World, and allowed peace to flow throughout the land once again after such a tragedy.
    “Your majesty! Your majesty!” shouted a little girl, gleaming with joy and excitement to meet the king of the Maple World. “Do you think I would make an excellent Archer? I wish to wield a big bow, just like Lady Athena!” as she looked up to the king with eyes full of hope.
    Sean chuckled, bent down and whispered into her ear “Between you and me, you have the full potential to be whatever you want to be! Be it an Archer, be it a Magician! If you train hard, and listen to your instructor, you can even surpass them and obtain the skills of the 4th archaic knowledge of you profession!” The little girl gasped and looked at Sean with her eyes so wide they looked like they would fall out of their sockets. Sean nodded his head and smiled. The little girl gave him a hug, a small kiss on the cheek and went running off to her mother. “Did you hear that Mama? I can be what I want if I try hard enough! Even the king said so!” as she reached out to grab her mother’s hand. “Did he!? Well then, I guess it’s time you start eating your vegetables so you can grow strong!” she replied as they walked off into the distance.
    Sean smiled and waved to them as they got further away. As he turned around, he saw a woman leaning against a wall with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. “Gee, I leave you alone for ONE SECOND, and you go acting like you’re the best king in the world” she sneered at Sean, but with a sort of playful tone. “Oh, I’m sorry Athena, but who’s the king of the Maple World?” Sean laughed as he walked over to give the woman a hug. She smiled, opened her arms and hugged him back.
    “How long has it been?” Sean asked.
    “About 5 years.” Replied Athena.
    They began walking towards a house, that being Athena’s. As they entered, Sean opened his mouth and shouted “5 years too long! Where’s the alcohol!?” as he began looking around the room.
    Athena walked over and slapped him over the back of the head. “Last time we drank together I put an arrow in your knee and stopped your chances of continuing your adventures.” Said Athena.
    “Oh phooey, that’s healed now. And besides, it was your fault you missed the Apple. What were you doing aiming at my leg? It was sitting on my head!” said Sean as he shrugged it off.
    “And what if I had hit you in the head?” said Athena, crossing her arms and tapping her foot again.
    “More-or-less, you’d be thrown away for murdering the King of the Maple World! Haha!” Sean let out a loud laugh.
    “Don’t say such things!” shout Athena as she threw a small book at Sean, barely missing him as he just ducked it. “Imagine how sad all of your friends would be. What about bubbles, how would she feel!? Imagine how I’d feel!!” as she scorned Sean for his comment.
    “I was joking. I know you aimed for my knee. It taught me a valuable lesson, and you did it before I was able to tell you how-“Sean was cut off before he finished the sentence by a royal messenger, panting from running so fast.
    “Sire! Sir! Urgent news from Ossyria! Specifically Leafre!” he managed the sentence while he was still gaining his breathe. “Please, sit down over here. I’ll get you some water, be sure to drink it slowly and rest.” As Athena walked him to the sofa and sat him down.
    The messenger was in a specific uniform. It was a light chainmail, blue with a yellow stripe. This is the guards uniform of the El-Nath mountains. But he brings news from Leafre?
    The messenger regained his breathe and began to talk. “Pardon the intrusion Lady Athena, but Sire; this is of the utmost urgency. A report came in from the sentries posted at the Temple of Time, and it’s not good. They were attacked over-night, and an infestation of time-monks and guardians of oblivion. They’ve been brought back. The same minions used by the Pink Bean, they over-run the temple!” shouted the messenger.
    “Slow down, what I want to know is how the El Nath guard stumbled on this information?” asked Sean as he sat on a chair looking seriously concerned now.
     
    “Well, your majesty. As you know, personally the El Nath guard do fill-in rounds for the Leafre guard from time-to-time due to majority of the unit not residing in Leafre, and the El Nath guard has the most members on stand-by thanks to the sealing of the Dead Mines.” Replied the messenger.
    “I see. Alright, so I think I know what’s going on. It’s serious, but not as serious as it looks.” Said Sean as he stood up. “Oh but it is, my dear King” said a quiet voice of a dark silhouette in the corner. He caught the attention of everyone in the room.
    “Show yourself intruder!” shouted Athena as she drew her bow and pulled back an arrow and pointed it to the corner. Out of the darkness, a man in a robe moved forward and revealed himself.
    “Good afternoon, your highness, Lady Athena.” Said the man as he bowed in honour.
    “Remove your hood and show us your face! Show us!” demanded Athena. She didn’t put down the arrow and still had it pull back at full force.
    “Oh that won’t be necessary. I’m simply here to pose to you a warning.” Said the man. “It has begun. The resurrection. No matter what you try, the dark order will bring their master back, and once again shall the Black Mage walk this land, the very land he attempted to conquer 100 years ago.” He stated it with confidence in his voice.
    “You’re mad! You’re insane! No mere mortal can break a seal like that!” shouted Athena. “Don’t make me laugh! You haven’t got a chance to break that seal!” she added.
    “Oh, but there is a way, isn’t there... Your highness?” the man snickered.
    “The Pink Bean controls time. With enough force, the seal can be reversed to a state where it was never casted, reversing it completely. Their first step is to release the Pink Bean.” Said Sean, in a serious tone.
    “I-Impossible!” shouted Athena, as she slowly lowered her arrow and looked towards Sean, who now had a serious look on his face. Her face dropped as she realized Sean wasn’t lying.
    “Exactly my dear Lady.” Said the hooded man.
    “Be it as it may, you’re not complete yet. Simply put, the Black Mage can never be summoned if the Pink Bean were to be slain.” Said Sean, pointing at the man.
    “But how can you get in the Temple, when his minions themselves are resurrected?” snickered the man.
    “It’s interesting how you say the minions are resurrected, but the Pink Bean is not. You’re not done yet, are you? It’s taking much longer than expected.” Said Sean with a smirk on his face.
    “No matter. It will be completed. You alone do not have the power to slay the Pink Bean.” Replied the hooded man.
    “If you put it that way, then we shall summon the legends once more. I’m sure you’re aware that Aran, Fried and Mercedes have awoken from their slumber?” said Sean, now smiling.
    “We are aware. But their strength alone will not be enough.” Replied the hooded man.
    “You act as if you’re confident you’re going to succeed.” Stated Athena as she raised her bow once more and pointed it back at the hooded man.
    “Oh, but we already have. It will only be a matter of time.” Said the hooded man.
    “Enough out of you!” shouted Athena as she fire off the arrow. It went through the hooded man, and he faded away.
    “I see now. He was a shade. No wonder we didn’t see or hear him enter. It seems the Dark order is once again active. I need to head back to the palace.” Said Sean as he began to hurry for the door. “Send off an alert notice to all of the towns, and address all instructors. I want to summon the strongest adventurers to ever be known by each instructor. Also alert Mercedes and Aran. Fried hasn’t been seen for months and is probably training in solitude.” State Sean as he stormed out the door.
    “Right away. What do you want it to say?” asked Athena. Sean stoped for a moment, and replied “It’s time to finish off what we never finished, 100 years ago.” And he walked off.
    Athena hurried around her room, looking for a special type of paper for a phoenix message. A phoenix message is a message sent by arrow. Athena has been the bowman instructor for 80 years, and she taught herself a technique of utilizing her magic and keen eyesight to send messages attached and wrapped around arrows across distances no normal person could fire. Special targets and landing boxes were made just for this emergency system.
    The phoenix paper is a solid paper that can withstand the G-Force of the speed the arrow travels at, but is also light enough to not affect the arrows originated target. Athena manages to find a few pieces and begins to write the message;
    “EMERGENCY ORDER 31! TO BE DELIVERED TO THE RESPECTFUL INSTRUCTOR COVERING THIS REGION! THIS IS A ROYAL ORDER DECREED FROM HIS HIGHNESS KING SEAN!
    As of early today, the Temple of Time had come under attack and suffered the loss to the Pink Beans subordinates! As feared, this is the act of the Dark Order. It has come to our attention that they wish to resurrect the Black Mage using its power! The king summons Mercedes, Aran, and any and all adventurers of capable power and strength to his palace located south east of Sleepywood! The king himself adds the following message;
    “It’s time to finish off what we never finished, 100 years ago.” “
    She tied the written messages to 5 arrows. She climbed up onto her balcony, and stood still. She closed her eyes, slowly raised her bow, and pulled back the first arrow. Channelling immense magic, she began to create a small wind. The breeze picking up, soon having her hair flying around. He bow began to emit a green light, he tip of the arrow being the point of its origin. People in the streets stopped and begun to stare at her, wondering what was going on.
    Athena began to angle her bow upwards slightly. Her eyes remained closed. She took in a deep breath, and in a split second, she opened her eyes and shouted. “HI-YAH!” She let go of the arrow, as it shot off, leaving a wind vortex and green light as it took off. Soon, the green light disappeared into the distance. She waited a few moments, before a loud explosion is heard from the distance. In the space of 10 seconds, the arrow travelled over 3,200 meters. Its destination was a target, placed in an outpost near Kerning City.
    With a loud crash, the arrow hit the target dead on. The guards stationed at the outpost had heard the commotion and quickly headed to the target. They saw the arrow with the letter wrapped around it, and immediately scrambled to get it to Kerning City. The emergency system that Athena created was one that was to be used only in emergency. The fact that a message has arrived, alerted everyone within the outpost.
    Everyone on the street who had stopped to watch Athena began to worry, as they knew that this technique was only used in times or emergency.
    Athena then changed direction, and channelled even more energy, this time her target was a Perion outpost, positioned over 5,000m from Henesys. Taking longer to reach it’s pinnacle of power. She let it off with a loud shout, and the arrow shot off at twice the speed as the last one. The explosion let off a green light in the distance. She repeated this 3 more times, till she was nearly out of strength to stand. She looked down to townsfolk who were very worried. The little girl from earlier shouted at her “Lady Athena! Are you alright!?” Athena managed to stand up straight, and she smiled as she looked down. “It’s alright dear; it’s just a routine meeting we’re beginning! Everything is just fine!” as she put on a fake smile and waved. A few people sighed in relief and continued on with their days.
    Lady Athena went inside, and before she got to close the balcony door, she began to fall, over the railing on the second floor towards the ground. Before she hit the ground, a quick and swift person came darting through her door in a green flash and caught her. It was a woman, smiling as Athena opened her eyes slightly.
    “I heard you were looking for me, Athena.” Said the woman, as she smiled with Athena in her arms. “You’re... Here...” said Athena, slowly, as she passed out.
     
    Chapter 2
    Sean was walking fast. He had this serious look on his face, determined to go somewhere. He began to speed up, and eventually ended up running. His cape began to flap with the wind as he continued to run. Sean eventually stopped, raised his hand, and let out a loud whistle. It echoed the skies.
    Sean was on top of a hill just east of Henesys. Within a few seconds a loud roar came from the sky, and soon a small dragon appeared from behind the clouds. Sean waved in the dragon’s direction, and it came down. It landed on the hill, just beside where Sean was standing. Sean reached out and placed his hand on the dragon’s face.
    “Bubbles, I need you to give me a ride back to the palace. This is an emergency, so it needs to be really fast. Can you do that for me buddy?” he said quietly as he looked at the dragon. The small dragon snorted and nodded. He lowered his head, and nudged Sean towards the saddle that it was wearing.
    “Alright, that-a-girl.” Said Sean as he grabbed the reins and jumped on. Bubbles stood up, opened her wings, and took off. Before you knew it, they were in the sky, soaring above the land. “Alright girl, let’s do it!” shouted Sean as he lightly jingled the reins. Bubbles let out a loud roar, slowed down slightly, and dived towards the ground. She began picking up speed, and as she got close to the ground she slowly angled her dive and straightened out. She began to emit a small glow from her wings, and then, boom.
    She kicked it up a notch and suddenly was going faster than ever before. Sean leant forwards to create a better aero-dynamics for the travelling, allowing less wind to slow them down. As they soared through the skies, the magical energy emitting from Bubbles’ wings left a beautiful streak of green light in the sky. People below looked up in awe at the beauty.
    She continued to roar across the sky, towards the palace that was just south-east of the Sleepywood dungeon.
    In the meantime, the messages Athena sent are finally getting the job instructors of each town. The first one to receive it was The Dark Lord, the mysterious rogue job instructor of Kerning City.
    “So, it’s a royal decree is it? I see.” Said the Dark Lord, as he hung upside down above the boxing ring in the basement of the Jazz Bar. He dropped down, looked around, and picked one of his students. He pointed at him “You, come here, quickly.” He stated. “Yes sir!” replied the young man.
    The Dark Lord began writing on a small piece of paper, and then folded it up. “Take this note, and deliver it to the police station. It will release two children from the cells there. Bring them here at once, double time!” he said, as he handed the young man the note. “Yes sir!” replied the young man once again, and in the blink of an eye, the boy was jumping up the ladder into the Jazz bar and out the front door.
    He began running down the road of the town. He leapt at a power pole, and climbed it extremely fast, to where halfway up he leapt for a houses balcony. He made the distance and ran along the balcony as he leapt off, over a fence and onto another road. He continued to run, passing people as they walked through the street. He came up to a dead end. He ran along the fence to his right and leapt over the fence in front of him. He landed with a graceful landing, and continued to run a few more meters as he got to a corner. He turned and there he was, at the Police Station.
    He opened the door and ran to the main desk. “This is an order from The Dark Lord, mayor of Kerning City. These are his orders.” As he slowly caught his breath and handed the note to the man behind the desk. The man opened up the note, sat up, and then went behind the desk and grabbed his keys. “Come with me.” Said the officer, as he leads him into the restricted area where the cells were. They walked down the path with cell after cell passing them, until they got to the end of the path.
    There was one cell at the end of the hallway with two sleeping kids in the bed. They were huddled up and looked as if they were sleeping soundly. “Hey, you two!” shouted the officer as he opened the cell. “You’re being let go, but on the condition you go see the Dark Lord before anything. It’s an order from the Dark Lord himself, so be sure to head there before anything.” He said as he pulled back the door.
    The two kids got out of the bed, yawning and stretching. “Yes sir, we’ll play good this time.” Said the young boy. The young girl beside him looked nearly identical, but had different clothes. “Big-brother, what’s going on?” she asked, as she was in a daze rubbing her eyes. “We’re being let go, but we gotta’ go see the big man over at the Jazz bar. Something’s going on.” Said the young boy.
    “Something pretty serious is going on. An emergency phoenix message arrived today from Lady Athena of Henesys. He sent me here to pick you up the instant it arrived.” Said the young man. The officer handed the young man the note back, and walked back into his office to get their things.
    “Well, I might as well introduce myself. I’m Victor, Viccy for short.” Said the young boy as he reached to shake the young man’s hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Alex, a student of the Dark Lords.” And shook Jason’s hand. “This is Sarah, she’s my little sister.” Said Viccy as he helped Sarah out of bed. “Hi-hii!” she replied as she stepped out of bed.
     
    The officer had come back with a box. It had a few ninja tools inside; a dagger, katara, a claw and some throwing stars. “Here are your things. Please, for the love of god, try not to do anything bad this time. You kids are too young to be in here.” Said the officer as he handed them their things. “We’ll try sir.” Said Viccy as he grabbed his dagger and katara and sheathed them on his belt sheaths. He then grabbed the claw and throwing stars and handed them to Sarah. Sarah put on the claw, and then attached the stars to the wrist guard. Whatever stars didn’t fit on the guard, she then put in her tool bag attached to her belt and was on her back.
    While they were doing this, Alex read the note he was handed back, the original one he was sent with from the Dark Lord, it read;
    “Heyya Pete. Sean’s sent out a message requesting the strongest adventurers that have been trained by the instructors to appear in front of him at the Palace. Something serious is going on bud, so I need you to let the two miscreants go, you know the ones. Send them with the man who delivered the message over to the Jazz bar, I need to have a word with them!
    Oh, and stop by for a drink tonight! It’s game night! Looks like the Ice Knight might be taken down by the UndiePatroll! Can’t miss it!”
    Alex was in disbelief. He began thinking to himself “These two children the strongest rogues? I know I’m not up to par with the Dark Lord, but surely they aren’t stronger than me?” as he folded the piece of paper up again and put it in his pocket. He looked over to the two children who were stretching.
    The police officer walked over to Alex, and whispered in his ear “Don’t do anything stupid. You piss the girl off, and your life is over.” Alex’s heart stopped for a small moment. The seriousness in his quiet voice was terrifying. Alex didn’t want to find out the reason why. He then added “Just don’t call her a midget, she hates it.” And he walked off, patting Alex on the back.
    “Alright you two, since it’s pretty serious we have to head off. Is that alright?” asked Alex, trying to be as polite as possible. Viccy looked at him “Sure thing! Come on Sarah-chan.” As he reached out for her hand. She smiled politely and let out a “Nyah!” in acceptance.
    They then began to jog towards the Jazz bar, and after a short while they reached it. As they went through the front door Sarah stopped and began to pout. Viccy noticed and turned towards her “What’s wrong Sarah?” as he looked at her. “Darky is a snooty bum head. He always calls me short.” As she crossed her arms and kicked the dirt. “Oh come on, you know he’s only playing.” Replied Viccy as he reached out for her hand and dragged her through the front door.
    Alex was already in the basement reporting to the Dark Lord. Viccy and Sarah went into the toilet, lifted up the toilet to reveal the ladder. They slid down into the basement where the Dark Lord was waiting for them. “There’s my little shorty! How are you?” said the Dark Lord as he walked over to Sarah and put his hand on her head. “I take it you’re finally 13 now?” said the Dark Lord. Sarah pouted and turned her head. The Dark Lord laughed and looked at Viccy. “How are you my dear boy. I take it you’re looking after your younger sister?” he asked. “Yes sir. I’ve kept her safe up until this day!” said Viccy as he shook the Dark Lords hand.
    “Well, it’s time I let you both know why you’re out of prison and you’ve been summoned. It’s because of a Royal Decree. I have to send the best adventurers I’ve ever trained over to King Sean. The Dark Order is back, and they’re causing a lot of trouble. The Temple of Time is over-ridden with powerful monsters, and they have to be stopped.” Said the Dark Lord, as he walked back over to the ring and leant up against it.
    Everyone in the basement stopped what they were doing and begun to pay attention to the Dark Lord. A middle aged man laughed and walked over towards Viccy and Sarah. “You’re joking right? These two midgets the strongest fighters? That’s laughable at the ve-“before he could finish the sentence, Sarah was gone, only to reappear on his shoulders with the tip of her claw placed on the man’s throat. Not a single person in the room saw her move; it was as if it happened within the blink of an eye.
    The man begun to tremble, as he had a small and sharp blade against his throat. “I didn’t hear you mister, but did you just call me a midget?” asked Sarah. The look on her eyes was frightening. It was if she was a demon. She had a large grin across her face, as if she was in anticipation for the result. The man couldn’t reply. He was terrified.
    “Sarah! No! You’re not allowed to do that!” shouted Viccy. “Now, now, shorty. You know the rules. Off his back now.” Said the Dark Lord as Sarah calmed down. She lowered the claw and was frowning. She bit the man’s ear really hard, hit him on the head and then jumped off. She went and hid behind Victor. The man let out a yelp of pain and quickly ran back to where he came from.
    The Dark Lord looked around the room at everyone there that was training. The two kids were the youngest in the room. Everyone else was about 16 to 23 years old. He then announced in a loud voice “Alright you fools listen up. You all think these two brats are weak?” as he looked around the room. Sarah poked out her tongue to the Dark Lord in reply to his brats comment. “I’ll let you all know this now. Not a single person who trains here has the capability for the second archaic advancement for a rogue. Not a single one.” He shouted. “These brats? They’re the youngest children to obtain the fourth archaic knowledge in history. The girl is 13, the boy is 15. The girl is a specialist Night Lord. She is the pinnacle of assassinations from a distance, with her mastery in claws and throwing stars. Her name is Sarah, and NOT midget, you got it?” as he looked around the room.
     
    Everyone in the room began to whisper between one another. One man shouted out “Stop pulling our leg. There’s not a chance this girl has possibly surpassed even you in the mastery of throwing stars!” The Dark Lord looked over at the man, then back to Sarah. He asked her “Can you show them your throwing star art? Draw me a pony in that brick wall over there.” As he pointed to a wall where a few men were standing. They went to move out of the way but were halted by the Dark Lord. “I want you to stand there, and watch how she can angle the stars around you, creating her target. Not only is that difficult enough, but she has to ensure she put enough power into the throw to have it stick into the brick wall. You move, you’re out of the club. Simple as that.” Said the Dark Lord.
    The few men then went back to where they were standing. Sarah looked at the Dark Lord and asked him in a perky voice “I’m not allowed to hit them, right? And you want me to draw a pony?” as she smiled and reached into her nap sack. “Correct annnd correct again.” Replied the Dark Lord.
    Sarah, again in acceptance gave a little “Nyah”. She turned to the men and the wall. Closed her eyes, and bent over slowly. She put her free hand on the ground, as he other remained in her nap sack. She took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes. In the blink of an eye, her hands began flourishing as she spun and twirled forward slowly, throwing star after star. She picked up speed, throwing more and more, faster and faster. Each one barely missing the men that were standing there. All you could hear were the metal on brick sounds the stars were making as they stuck in the wall, one after another.
    She was now throwing stars so fast, you couldn’t see her arms anymore; they were just blurs. She had stopped twirling and simple just took a singular stance as she threw star after star. She didn’t let up, as she begun to finish the pony made out of stars on the brick wall. Every person in the room was in awe, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They had never seen someone be able to throw stars like that. It was amazing to say the least. She had slowed down and closed her eyes as she came to a stop. She stood up, grabbed one more star, let out a “HI-YAH!” and threw it with an amazing spin around throw, finishing off the picture and landing it perfectly in the centre of the head, to represent an eye.
    The men that were standing there were terrified. They couldn’t move. They just had a massive amount of ninja stars go flying passed them. Each one making a whizzing noise as they flew passed them. Not a single one had hit them. Well, at least not their body. In spite of the men Sarah had actually hit their waste straps of their pants, and after a while of them standing there, they had fallen down, revealing their underwear. Sarah looked at them and poked her tongue out again and skipped back over to Victor. The men realized their pants were down, and pulled them back up.
     
     
    Once they moved out of the way, they revealed the wall with a beautiful stallion taking a pose on its back legs. It was brilliantly done, especially to be done with just ninja stars. Everyone was amazed that she was able to do this at such a young age. “I ask anyone in this room, do they think they could do that? Not to mention, only one of those stars is real. If you cannot guess the real star, then you’re going home for the day to get rest for the 50 laps of the town you’ll be doing.” Shouted the Dark Lord. No one was game enough to guess and fail, as they all looked identical. “Show them Sarah.” Said the Dark Lord.
    Sarah clicked he fingers, and every single star broke into dust, and then the dust disappeared. As the dust faded away. The only remaining star was the eye, the last star she threw. The Dark Lord looked around the room again. “This is a technique known as Shadow Star. You replicate the throwing star, and are able to throw it as if it was its own. It’s an assassination technique used to leave no trace of their attacker. Each person forges their own throwing stars to accommodate for their style. Sarah doesn’t. She uses conventional stars you find at the local grocers here for 3 mesos each.” Stated the Dark Lord.
    Every person in the room was quiet and stared in amazement that someone so young could do such an advanced technique.
    “I’d tell you what Victor does with his blades, but unfortunately we don’t have a living test subject, yet.” Said the Dark Lord as he looked around. Everyone began to tremble.
    “Now, back on topic here kids. You’re needed at the king’s palace just South-East of Sleepywood. Sean’s waiting for the strongest adventurers to arrive. He’s heading by boat to Orbis, and then from there he’s headed to Leafre. Your final destination is the Temple of Time. Something serious is going on, and I’ll let him explain.” Said the Dark Lord. “Alright, we’ll head there.” Said Victor, as he gripped his sheathed blades and had a serious look on his face. For 15 years old, he was more mature than anyone in that room, when he wants to be.
    The Dark Lord walked over to his locker and opened it. “Hey Sarah, I got you a late birthday present!” He pulled out a box. He threw it over to Sarah and she caught it. Her eyes widened as she opened it up. She revealed 10 pink throwing stars. Not just any throwing stars, they were crystallized ilbis, one of the strongest metals in the known Maple World that’s able to be forged into a star. The only thing that would be a better star would be ‘balanced fury’, a combination of karma and magic to forge a star of tremendous power, but these are myth.
    Sarah was brought to tears. Not only did she get a present, but it was pink. Sarah loved presents, and her favourite colour is pink. Both of these moved her as she ran over and gave the Dark Lord a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she shouted as she had tears of joy running down her face. She ran back over to Victor wiping away the tears. The ilbis were beautiful, and she was over the moon.
    “Just remember, little one. Those aren’t normal ilbis, they’re crystallized. If you focus enough energy into the star with your Shadow Star technique, you can remotely duplicate the duplications. This is an ancient technique passed down through the ages to the most promising assassins. I personally can’t teach you, but when you reach Leafre, seek out the man named Darrius, he’ll teach you the technique once you show him your stars.” Said the Dark Lord. Sarah sniffed up tears and smiled. For a third time, in acceptance she gave a polite “Nyah!”
    “As for you Viccy, I got you this. It’s not much but I’m pretty sure it’s better than your current dagger.” Said the Dark Lord, as he grabbed out a wrapped up dagger and handed it to Victor. “But, you’re not allowed to open it until you’re out of the city! That’s my only condition!” he stated.
    The Dark Lord looked over at Alex and asked him “Can you show these two out of the city and towards the tunnel that leads to the Palace? Let the guards know that are guarding it that these two were summoned by the King.” Asked the Dark Lord. Alex nodded and replied “Yes sir!” Alex looked at Victor and Sarah. “Come on you two, let’s get moving!” shouted Alex so enthusiastically. Sarah and Victor followed as they went out into the town, and headed to the sewers entrance.
    One of the entrances didn’t have a grating covering it, and they entered. After a small walk they came into a swampy area. They began to jog down the path for a while, as they came up to the entrance to a tunnel. Out of nowhere, men in dark clothing came out. They were hidden, waiting for people to pass through.
    Before the men ambushed them, Victor had removed his blades from their sheaths, and then placed one to the neck of his attackers. “Why hello there. I didn’t know we were to be expected.” Said Victor in a polite tone. “Victor, lower your blade. These are the royal guards assigned by Kerning City to protect this tunnel, they’re not a threat.” Stated Alex as he pushed Victors arm lower until he sheathed his blades.
    The unknown guards remained silent. Alex walked forward and begun to talk “The Dark Lord himself has asked for you to grant these two passage through the tunnel to the Palace. They’ve been summoned by Royal Decree.” Stated Alex. The guards looked at each other, and then took a knee. An unknown voice came from behind them, the man sounded quite old, but not as old as an elder. “So, how can you prove this to us guards and prove your worth. You need to remember you’re no longer in the city, so we could of been your local bandits that pray on this tunnel.” Said the man. He removed his mask to show scars on his face, and one of his eyes closed with a scar across it.
    Suddenly it clicked. Victor remembered what the Dark Lord said, his conditions about his new blade. “Only open it when you’re out of the city, that’s your only condition.” Maybe this is what he meant. He reached into his bag and pulled out the wrapped up blade.
    “Well, I have this if it means anything.” Said Victor as he un-wrapped the blade. The man looked at the blade, then at the two kneeling guard and waved his hand to send them off. They nodded and they disappeared without a trace. “Very well. That’s more than enough proof. Anyone who posses’ the Dark Lords Prometheus dagger gains access instantly. Allow me to light the tunnel. It will take you three hours of travelling by foot to reach the entrance. You’ll arrive in the back gardens of the palace. Once I light the torches, you’ll be expected by the staff of the palace and be welcomed in. I bid you safe travel.” Said the man, as he walked over, put his hands together and shouted “Kah-tsu!” The torches in the tunnel began to light up, and the end of the tunnel couldn’t be seen.
    Without a word, Victor and Sarah ran into the tunnel, and followed it to the end. Alex turned around, and walked back towards the sewers entrance. The man asked Alex “Who exactly were they? That boy moved faster than my men. I’ve never seen someone so young handle a blade like that. Not to mention he had the Prometheus.” He asked Alex. Alex stopped walk, turned his head and looked at the man. He thought for a moment, and then replied with “They’re the youngest thief masters in history. Don’t piss them off, and be sure to not call the girl a midget.”
    The man was stumped, and Alex just continued walking.