• I dodged the claw that came out at me, my mace falling hard on it. It crunched below the weight of my mace. I smiled. "Yes!"
    It quickly rose, flinging me backwards. King crabs weren't my specialty. I'd been here for little more than week. Of course I didn't know much. How could I expect myself to? I'd told myself thousands of times this wouldn't be an easy journey.
    I quickly stood, feeling the air move past my face as the claw landed next to where I'd just been two seconds earlier. I had a perfect shot. My mace shot out and whacked the crab in the face, sending it to the ground. I smiled.
    The quiet of the beach surrounded me. I'd walked off from my group to solo fight. It made for a better experience.
    I'd heard them talking earlier. Once I reached a certain peak of my power, I'd be whisked away to a special room. The Shadow Room. Many feared it. All I knew is I wanted power. And fast. I sat on the beach, laying back and sighing. I'd dyed my hair to a deep red, to hide my appearance, if not the best way. I didn't like the clothes they'd given me, and would probably tailor my own.
    The sky was hot on my face.
    "Hey!"
    I looked over. There was one of my group members, calling over to me. "C'mon, Hitmai, we gotta move on! We're too experienced to be here!"
    "Really?" I called back.
    He nodded and turned around. I stood to follow him. At the beginning, my arms loathed the extra weight of t he mace and shield, but had long gotten use to it. I smiled, happy that they were there. I ran after him.
    ~~~~~~ Three weeks later ~~~~~~
    A swift movement in the underbrush. Were they here already? I looked around, my sight sharpened by the adrenaline coursing through my veins. A slight movement to the right. A sound to the left. Where were they. I heard a sharp twang! behind me and quickly got to the ground, rolling out of the way. An arrow was where I'd been just seconds before.
    I'd long gotten past being in groups, and now solo trained in the Forest of Mist. It was harder, but gave me better experience. I dodged another arrow and threw my shield into the brush. I heard it hit something. i quickly ran into the brush to find an archer. This was odd. Not many archers were in the Forest of Mist? I didn't even know of any encampments except for the Ratmen.
    I looked up at the sky, my eyes fogging. The blessing of Isya. It showed me the power I obtained after a certain time. It'd long showed me new controls and techniques for healing and some combat. It now showed me something else.
    It showed me darkness. A small light came from the darkness. There I stood. No, it wasn't me. The eyes were empty, void of life. The person stuck out there hand. "It is time. Who will become the one of the million who will help the savior of Isya, me or you?"
    I gasped as the vision went away. My mouth went up into a smirk. "Finally. The Shadow Room, eh? I can't wait."