— Aster - Present Day —

I don't know why the dream showed me this but this is how I became who I am. I began to wake up in An la Notre’s square.

“It burns. It Burns! It Burns!. Why can't I move!? WHY CAN’T I MOVE?” It was so much worse this time. I could feel every molecule in my body scream. I feel like I remember this pain, somewhere in a dream.

Why was that comforting? Trapped in burning water my sanity came to me, as the pain dulled allowing me to put it to the back of my mind. I died, didn’t I?

I focused on the world around me. My body was still forming. Burning in the water.

Strange, why do I feel as though I am fire yet I can think clearly? This really made no sense as I focused on my body trying to speed up its forming so I can get out sooner. I felt nothing, I don’t know if it helped or not I just needed to get out.

Finally, my hand twitched, slowly function came back to my body. As soon as I could move enough I kicked up. “AHHH” My new muscle almost tore from never being used. But now I was floating up.

Instead of kicking again I let myself float, up slowly with my lungs filled with liquid oxygen. So slow, it took so long to reach the surface. With a burst of energy, I burst through the water pulling myself onto the edge. Where I began to puke a lungful of water, with blackness encroaching on my vision.

I don’t know how long I was out but I awoke in darkness and pain. My muscles were just barely functional now but every move still hurt. Was it night already? Moving my hands I found I was covered by a large black cloak. Someone must have taken pity on me.

I laid there on the stone ground breathing heavily against the pain, my muscles had locked up. Every move would be harder and more painful than ever. I needed to move.

Gathering myself I forced a leg under me, pulling my leg muscle tight. Somehow I managed, but at the same time what I feared came to pass.

“SHADOW!!”

I had forgotten I was on a mission, and wasn’t able to pull my energy back yet. Without waiting or confirming they were talking about me I kicked forward, on my leg hurling forward. Directly into the screaming person. Catching the person off guard. She fell to the ground under me. Rolling away my hands moved of their own accord lightening her pockets. Why did I do that?

The cloak fully covered my face hiding my identity and making me blind. All I knew was I need to move before something. I stood slowly on my aching muscles when a spasm struck me propelling me forward into another person. This time they stayed standing as they were much more sturdy. Both his hands were holding me up, keeping me from falling. Looking down I found a utility belt. A cop.

Taking my chance I grabbed his cuffs and slipped them on his hands. Pushing off the man towards the opposite direction.

I was running towards anywhere, Actually, I wasn’t running I was falling and catching myself just before falling over. My balance wasn’t there and I was falling in all directions. I swear I could feel my hands touch the cloak. I needed to move faster.

“Fa..” I began to speak the word when I felt the energy pulse through me throwing me forward faster than I could have expected. It lasted for a single step, but I covered ten feet in that one step.

I found myself shooting forward once more. Every step drained what little energy I had. I couldn’t control it anymore. Somehow the energy once released wouldn’t stop. I must have looked like a crazy person jumping all around the square. I tripped over someone's body, rolling over it avoiding their hands.

Oddly When I got up I found I was holding a knife.‘I can’t seem to control myself at all. I need to see where I’m going. Otherwise, I’ll never getaway. I took the risk and moved the cloak so I can see slightly.

Light struck my eyes as the first thing I can see is a whirlwind of energy flickering in and out of existence. Without thought, I open the gates on my energy hurling it ahead of myself to block the attack. The energy flowed from my hands as the spell flew at me striking in mid-air, scattering the energy to the ground around me. Looking at the spots where the power landed you could see stones grow like crystals all around.

I did not know I could do that. I turned around to find the closest alley, which happened to be right behind me. I ran into the alley looking for a way to the roof. The only problem was things were flickering in and out randomly, and not everything was appearing at once. I couldn’t lock down a path.

Time was not on my side and a large group of people was now blocking the alley’s exit. Suddenly I got a really dumb idea. I spoke “Faster” still unable to control the speed I flew toward the crowd “Fall” Like a wrecking ball the entire crowd fell to the ground.

There was a strange side effect to this. I seemed to bounce off of the entire crowd. With the cloak flying off as I shot onto the roof. Dropping my stolen knife into the ground where my cloak fell.

I would have run if I had any energy left. I was drained and could only pass out once more.

I awoke sometime later, bruised and beaten from the earlier event. I began limping naked across the rooftops. I just wanted to stop and heal, this may not have been a bad idea but I was afraid of being found. I had been walking for who knows how long before I found some clothes hanging from a balcony, the pants were a little big but they covered my naughty bits. It felt nice to have something on no longer hoping naked across the roofs.

Once I got some clothes on me, I finally was able to focus on where I was. Thankfully, I had a stash close to me.

While I was running around doing missions, I had the idea to stash small pouches around, in case of emergencies. I got this idea when I had to leave everything behind for some shadow missions and I needed some money for various things. So I started to stash money pouches all around. I was probably wasting money since if anyone found them they would take them with no regrets.

It didn’t take long before I found one of my pouches, I was lucky it was my largest stash with twenty-five silvers inside. Combine that with the five silvers I grabbed I had a total of thirty. I sat down and tried to heal again, this time I was able to control my energy even though it felt like a trickle it was enough to start healing. I always hated the pain of healing but oddly ever since I became a rogue it is oddly easier to focus. Once healed I needed to do something important. Now though, I needed to get my stuff.

I need to find a transfer shop. Transfer shops can summon your belongings after death. Very important places for us adventurers. There are many of these in the city but with everything going on I was going to need to use one of the sketchier places to teleport my stuff to me.

Once I was healed enough to move I began my search. It didn’t take long for me to locate a wizard in one of the darker places. Entering the empty shop “So you just died huh?” There was a man behind the desk wearing a black patchwork robe and a white hat.

“How’d you know?”

He lazily looked me up and down gesturing to my clothes. “Guess.”

“So can you transfer my stuff?”

“This is a transfer shop. We can transfer based on the location of your death. If your items have been moved there is nothing we can do.”

“So how much?”

“Base price is five silver no matter your level. But it is one silver per level, and all the money you had on you. So what level are you?”

I thought about lies for a second, until I realized I would have to show him my screen “Twelve”

“That will be twelve silver. Also not that I don’t trust you but show me your screen. You can hide everything but your level.”

Pulling up my screen I hid everything then showed him my screen. He examined it and nodded. “Just a little disclaimer, even if nothing appears it will still be twelve silvers.”

“Well, that doesn’t inspire confidence.”

“Look take it or leave it. We can’t find what’s not there.”

Personally, I think the guy was a little suspicious but I didn’t have anywhere else I could use. Taking out the silver I placed it on the counter. “Ok now stand on the magic circle in the middle of the store.”

I went to the circle and stood. Nothing happened. “Now one moment please.” The man counted the silver and hid it away somewhere behind the counter. Once he did he came to the circle and began to chant. To my eyes, the world began to flow like water around me, like an oil painting. the energy moved around me into the circle. The circle lit up. I felt my mark burn, and I could see that the wizard knew something when I grabbed my chest instinctively. The energy flowed through me then my body was surrounded by the dead wyverns. Looking around I could just see in the distance the queen with my sword still sticking out.

Abruptly I was back in the room with all my belongings strewn about the circle, I was relieved when I saw the queen’s gem. I was missing a few things as they weren’t near my body at the time. The only things missing were my sword, one of my chakrams, and my money pouch. Looking up I could see the wizard holding my money pouch. “Did you forget twelve silver plus all the money you had on you?”

“No, I just thought I was going to have to hand it to you.”

“Well we can’t risk that, can we? Also, have you figured out yet why you can’t use a normal shop yet?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Personally, I don’t care, I don’t ask your name I only know your face. Just don’t cheat me. Oh and tell me a story.”

“Story?”

“Yes, there were at least four dead elite wyverns around you. A few I could see in the distance and I’m pretty sure I saw a queen. You are level twelve. A normal wyvern is ten an elite is fifteen and a queen is twenty. So how did you kill them? Or did you just stumble on them?”

He saw everything around my body just like I did. I can never go to a normal shop. “Why should I tell you?”

“Good question? I’m bored and am just curious as a level twelve of your kind was able to do this. I wouldn’t think you had the strength. But you were alone and if you were with a party they would have brought you your stuff.”

“True.” I thought about it for a few moments. None of my friends are going to believe it. The bodies will be gone in a few hours so might as well tell him. Besides, he probably won’t believe it either. “You probably won’t believe me but...” So I told my story.

I was right he didn't really fully believe it. He thought I was embellishing a bit but at the same time. He knew there was a ring of truth as he did see the corpses and the queen’s gem. I left for the hotel to wait for my friends.

— Shopkeeper wizard —

As the boy left my shop, telling me an almost impossible story. It was just too improbable that it might be true. There were all those corpses and he did have the queen's gem. Pulling out my phone I called up a friend “Hey, it’s me. Can you check into something for me?”

“It will be quick.”

“Thanks. Can you look up to see if anyone accepted a wyvern hunt quest?”

“Ok…”

“Why? Because I think I met one of the parties that died. I think he may have killed six elites and a queen on his own.”

“Yeah and what’s really impressive is he was level twelve.”

“Yeah, I know. Just can you take a look?”

“OK...”

“So there was a request. How did someone so low get it?”

“Seriously? Because he hit on the desk girl?”

“Well, that explains how. Thanks for checking.”

“No you know the rules I don’t know his name.”

“Alright talk to you later.”

Soon rumors began to flood through the guilds of a lone low-level adventurer killing twenty elite wyverns and a queen all on their own.