1 day ago…

"Where the hell is he? Where is the hero?!"

Somewhere on another part of the continent, twelve men and women stood in front of the edge of a large glowing pentagram dressed in black robes that concealed their faces. In the pentagram was, not only an inverted star, but also a ring of strange writings and orbs with symbols of the elements at the end of each tip.

"We've read the incantation correctly, so where is the hero!?"

One of the men and women vented angrily. Something had gone array and much murmurs of dismay began echoing throughout the room.

"Calm down, Representative Kar! You know the summoning spell is fickle! It's unknown where the hero had been teleported to, but what we do know is that it was a success! The hero has been summoned to our world! If he hadn't, then the circle wouldn't be glowing right now!" Remarked the second man beside the first man, Representative Kar.

"Oh no, this isn't good, at all! Without knowing where the hero is, then we won't have enough time to prepare for the Dark Lord's arrival!"

One of the female members in the circle became hectic, trembling in anxiety while shaking her head with her hands clasping the sides.

She turns and asks the second man, "What are we going to do, Representative Ameloni?!"

"First off, we are all going to remain calm! It's not the end of the world! Not yet, that is!" barked Representative Ameloni authoritatively. He continued, "There is still hope! Track the hero's whereabouts will not be impossible! However, finding someone who will volunteer will be somewhat hard as they have to be brave enough to travel the continent while searching for the hero!"

Then silence fell amongst the group. After a few seconds, the silence was broken. "What if we send in the…Halfling," One of them slurred in disdain.

They all laughed in amusement. Ameloni stated, "We would make good use for the girl! Ranging and hunter are the only two, useful things her people are good for!" with that, they' all laughed even harder.

They ordered the guards standing at the large, oak door to bring the "Halfling" and, in only under 3 minutes, they returned with a young woman. She had long amber hair in ponytails, accompanied by luscious hazel eyes and pale skin. She wore long tanned boots, tight brown pants, a blouse and a pair of fingerless leather gloves. A dagger hung at her waist.

She bowed to the men and women before her, taking a knee with her head lowed. She questions respectfully, "What is it that you need, my lords and ladies?"

"We require your services to find a very…special individual, Leni," stated Representative Kar in a straightforward manner.

"We had summoned the hero to our world. Unfortunately, the spell somewhat backfired, sending the hero somewhere else and not here, in this location," explained one of the female members, interpreting the situation in a monotonous tone.

She continued, "We need you to track down the hero, find his whereabouts, and retrieve him here." She precedes to hand the Halfling girl a necklace with a lavender crystal. "Take this amulet. It's capable of tracing the hero's aura. Once you find the hero, use this orb to contact us."

After handing the girl a crystal ball, the Halfling, Leni, bowed her head in thanks and went on her way. Once Leni left, the woman cringed in disgust and wiped her hands on her robe.

God! I can't believe I touched that thing!

"So…how long do you think it'll take the hobbit to find the hero?"

Smiling, the lady mused deviously, "Probably longer than we think…as long as there aren't any taverns, or fields, for her to work or stuff her face."

From that remark, everyone within the room, even the guards at the door, laughed hysterically. Unbeknownst to them, the girl heard everything outside of the room with the squared-helix of her ears while walking down the white-stoned hallway. She didn't storm in and make a fuss. She didn't object to what they were saying. Instead, she just shed a small tear. However, she tuned out their laughter, wiping the tear away and proceeded down the hall.

Back in the present day, in the town of Kor, Keya and Akio were busy with their day. The elf girl was forcing the human boy to bring her around town, dragging him to different parts of the area. From parks to food stands, Akio brought her everywhere. It cost him 49 copper coins, leaving him with only one left.

"Keya, can we stop now?! I think I've been punished enough already!" Akio pleaded, sluggishly walking behind the cheerful elf mage.

Flashing a sly grin, Keya turned around with her hands behind her back. She remarks, "Okay, you've been punished enough. I say we can end this date as it is, for now."

Akio let out a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over and the mage was no longer mad at him.

"So, want to go find a job?" Keya inquired jovially.

Akio nodded and the two started walking together.

So, with that over, the two began heading back to the guild building—the Wild Bunch Guild—to look up the request board. Sauntering into the building, the two walked up to the board on the right of the building. They examined the board for any appealing requests until one finally caught their eye.

"How about this one? 'Prevent the invasion! Eliminate Goblin Campsite outside of town! Reward: 3 silver coins'!" Akio informed, grabbing the pamphlet and reading it to the elf girl.

"Sounds like a good deal," Keya confirmed.

They grabbed the paper before anyone else could. After picking the quest, they proceeded to the exchange counter to hand in the pamphlet, so to accept the job. Once they handed it in, Keya and Akio were ready to head out.

The two walked on the cobble-stoned road out of town. Akio couldn't stop staring at the mark on the back of his hand.

Turning to Keya, he says inquisitively, "I've been meaning to ask. What is this thing?" he shows her the mark.

She examines the tattoo and explains, "That is a status mark. I heard it magically tells you of your status as an adventurer, even telling you what level is at and what skills you have."

That sounds like the status bar and page you see in games!

Grabbing his hand, Keya continued, "All you have to do is tap on the mark and it'll activate your stats."

With one tap, she activates Akio's status bar, revealing every aspect of his character in the form of a holographic screen. He was bewildered, reading everything that was written on screen. He thought: wow, this has everything about me down perfectly! Wow, guess fighting that doppelganger really boost my level up to 2! I better work harder to get a higher level.

When he finished, Akio removed the screen and the two then resumed their journey. However, unbeknownst to the two, someone was watching them from a distance. Crouching in a far away location, the Halfling Leni was observing the two while sitting on a tree branch, watching them through a spyglass as she ate a handful of lime crackers.

"Leni, come in! Have you found the hero?" said a voice coming from her rucksack.

Scrounging through, she pulls out a crystal ball and spoke to it in a respectful manner, "Yes, Representative Kar, I have the hero within my sights, and he seems to be with an elf. They have just left the town of Kor and seemed to be heading up north, probably to the goblin campsite on a quest."

"Good. Make sure you don't lose them. Keep following them and report back when you have more information on the hero, and don't lose them!" the representative ordered in an authoritative tone.

The communication ended. Leni placed the orb back in the bag and proceeded to follow them, hopping from treetop to treetop to catch up to the two. She was determined to carry out her mission, even if it meant going into enemy territory to do so.