Kalistra immediately ran into the dojo as if she was chased by a ghost. She saw that Gendun was holding a wooden stick with both hands and practicing his swing with the heavy stick. A group of similarly young children was practicing with him. In front of the dozen or so pupils was a senior student, a Journeyman-ranked human named Hendrez.

Kalistra fully supported her papa's appointment of this man to take charge of the newest apprentices; Hendrez was even tempered, unlike Kalistra, and he was suitable as an instructor for children. The children were apprentices-in-training until they reached the requisite 15 points in Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Constitution. The instructor coordinated carefully with the Grandmaster to push these children to reach their full potential and become official Apprentices of the school.

At level eighteen, Hendrez was the next candidate in the dojo to become a master swordsman. His eventual membership in the rather exclusive group of masters in the dojo will allow the school to accept more apprentices in the future.

Hendrez caught Kalistra's eye and bowed.

The cat girl nodded in acknowledgment and continued walking deeper into the dojo. Eventually, she reached the end of the long training hall and stood in front of a partition where she knew that papa will be meditating this morning. She knelt down before the partition. "Papa, I need to talk to you regarding Lawrence," she said quietly.

The Grandmaster noticed the serious tone of her voice. "Come sit with me," Kalistro ordered.

The daughter quickly got back to her feet. She slid open the partition, stepped inside the small meditation room and closed the partition behind her. Kalistra saw that her papa was sitting cross-legged and meditating.

"Speak," he said succinctly.

Kalistra sat directly across from him. "I just looked at Lawrence's updated player screen. In the span of under twelve hours, he had gained enough experience to advance to level two, acquired TWO innate abilities, and, most importantly, acquired a greater divine blessing," she reported. "He also admitted that he will be pursuing the crown," she added. "I don't know if we should continue to train him and I seek your guidance in this matter."

Kalistro opened his eyes and looked directly into his daughter's eyes. He was surprised; he saw uncertainty and . . . a hint of fear. "Why are you afraid of this human?" he asked.

Kalistra bristled at the question. "I'm NOT afraid of him," she hissed.

The cat man grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. "Yes, you are." He quickly held up his left paw to forestall her argument. "You are afraid because you have never met anyone like him. If you look deep into your heart, you will know this to be true. It's alright, my daughter. Fear is something we should embrace rather than dismiss. Fear makes us cautious and forces us to step back and away from the heated moment. Having fear in your heart can be a useful tool if you can harness this powerful emotion properly," he lectured.

"Kalistra, I'm going to reveal some closely held secrets regarding the founding of our dojo and also the founder of the Kingdom of Merlin. This is information that can only be passed from the current Grandmaster of our school to its next Grandmaster. No one else is to learn of this. Originally, I was going to wait until you reach the Grandmaster level to discuss this but Lawrence's arrival has accelerated my plan." Kalistro took a deep breath and continued. "The man who repelled the invaders from another continent and founded the Kingdom of Merlin was a man named, 'Merlin Hubert Jackson.' He was also Kallimon's teacher for a brief period," Kalistro revealed.

Kalistra's eyes gleamed upon hearing the full name. It was a three-word name—just like Lawrence! Her eyes blinked as she began to understand the implications . . .

The father nodded and grinned. "Yes, daughter, Merlin was also not from our world. The truth is that this Merlin who united the kingdom was NOT the same Merlin who advised King Arthur. THAT Merlin had disappeared upon King Arthur's death and no one knows what happened to the first Merlin. When this second Merlin appeared, the common folk simply saw the 'Merlin' name and mistakenly believed that it was the return of the Mage Supreme. How this imposter survived long enough to accept the mantle of the original Merlin I do not know. But if he HAD arrived at level one, like Lawrence, then this Merlin must have advanced just as rapidly as our pupil is doing now."

"What ability and blessing do Lawrence have?" Kalistro asked suddenly.

"Oh, um, Lawrence has Navigation-Sense and Magic Detection abilities. He also has the Kissed by Lady Luck blessing," she recalled.

The Grandmaster nodded; he had expected as much. The innate abilities were valuable but still common enough. The divine blessing, however, was akin to a mark of the Gods themselves and it was much rarer. It was Lawrence's receipt of this divine blessing that caused his daughter to lose her composure. "King Merlin was rumored to have five or six innate abilities. Also, he was a recipient of this same divine blessing that all Grandmasters of our school had received at one time or another. Since you, too, had received this blessing, you qualify to become the next Grandmaster of our school," he revealed.

Kalistra nodded her head slowly. She received the Kissed by Lady Luck blessing during the Melee Tournament and became the champion as a result of this divine blessing. The Tournament was an annual event that drew the best melee fighters from the Kingdom of Merlin. There were several categories for different levels. The Master Tournament had a level cap of twenty and every contestant, including Kalistra, had reached the level cap. When fighters were equally skilled, the deciding factor in choosing the winner often came down to luck alone. Since Lady Luck had favored Kalistra during the tournament, the cat girl became the winner of the Melee Tournament two years ago. At the tender age of sixteen, she was the youngest winner ever.

Suddenly, Kalistra had an insight. "Is the Goddess of Luck telling us to support Lawrence in his bid for the crown?" she asked.

Kalistro's face was solemn as he nodded. "That, too, is my conclusion. We owe much of our school's success and prosperity to Lady Luck and we are Honor-bound to serve Her. We will support Lawrence in his bid for the crown," he declared.

#

When I started meditating, I finally remembered the pop-up messages. I tried to recall the message despite my eyes being closed. Surprisingly, I was still able to read the first message. It read: "Navigation SUCCESSFUL. +100 XP." The second pop-up read, "+50 Reputation, +100 XP." I love this! If I could manage to survive and stay alive during the first few levels, I should be able to start power leveling my character very soon.

I would love nothing better than to venture beyond Tregome and explore. But for now, I had to remain patient because I had no idea if this gaming world had permanent death. In other words, if I die in this world will I stay dead? Or will the powers that control this world, perhaps a game master of sorts, allow me to return to life and start over again? Honestly, I would prefer not to find out.

I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and looked up. I saw a grim-faced Kalistra followed by Gendun and another person. I looked more closely at this stranger and saw that the person was a human woman. She had shortly cropped dark brown hair and a strong build. Her dark brown eyes were sharp but betrayed nothing of her thoughts. She wore a sleeveless blue tunic, showing off her finely-toned thick arms. Judging by the way she hovered over Kalistra, I estimated that this warrior was at least my height if not taller. I looked at the floating caption above this woman's head and it read: "Name: Maisen, Level: ?, Disposition: Guarded.”

Kalistra turned around and held up her hand.

Her followers immediately stood their ground.

Kalistra quickly approached me. Apparently, she had something to discuss with me privately. She sat on the ground next to me and started talking. "I have consulted with the Grandmaster of our school and he has recognized your bid for the crown," she announced.

Immediately, I was slapped with a pop-up. I ignored the message momentarily since my teacher wasn't finished talking. I nodded for her to continue.

A trace of a smile appeared on Kalistra's face. She was still partied with me and noticed the appearance of the pop-up; she could already guess the content of the message even without having read it. "Lawrence, do you trust me?" she asked.

My eyebrows shot up at the unexpected question. I looked deeply into Kalistra's eyes. She was serious. "Um, I guess so," I replied hesitantly.

Suddenly, the cat girl poked a claw at the very spot on my right shoulder where I was stabbed yesterday.

"Ow!" I blurted out as a second pop-up appeared and I ignored it, too. "What did you do that for?" I complained.

"I am asking you a very serious question with life and death consequences, not just for you and me but for the entire Kingdom of Merlin. I'll repeat the question one more time. Do you trust me?" she asked again.

I was taken aback by Kalistra's tone of voice. She was really serious. Her serious demeanor was like a slap in my face. Being a night owl, it was still too early in the morning for me and I wasn't prepared for it. My mind started whirling overtime as if I had a mental videotape player that instantly played through all the encounters I had with this cat girl the past thirty-something hours. While Kalistra was as fickle as a real cat in her temperament, I believed that her heart was in the right place. She was honest. She was fair. She was trustworthy. She was honorable. And thus, the answer to her question was obvious. "Yes, I do trust you," I finally replied.

The cat girl leaped to her feet. "Stand up," she ordered.

I got back to my feet.

Without warning, Kalistra knelt before me. She looked up at me and took my right hand. "I, Kalistra, Heir to The Butterfly School of Swordsmanship, swear to support your bid for the Crown of the Kingdom of Merlin." She finished her oath by kissing the back of my hand.