• "I can't believe it!" Blade Hawkeye said.
    "I just can't believe it! That guy has done it again!"
    He and his friends had been killing some lawn gnomes in Village Greens, when he'd got a message from one of his other friends.
    "What is it now?" Ki No Ko, their gang's smartest person, and the only girl, asked.
    "Let me guess", Kitsui Kaze said, sighing. "It's about One Wolf again, right, Blade?"
    He was right.
    One Wolf was Blade's archrival, had been for many months already. Blade had got mad at him when he had been the one to slay most lawn gnomes in a week for the tenth time in row, and had been hating him passionately since then. Blade happened to be a very competitive person, and One Wolf got on his nerves.
    "Yup", Blade said gloomily. "There's a rumor that he's the best gnome slayer of the week again."
    "You should just leave him be. We've been spending too much time looking for him lately. We should go to the Zen Gardens instead, and try to level up", Ki No Ko said wisely.
    Blade didn't listen to her. "Shut up, Mushroom. I'm gonna beat him up when we find him." He knew that Ki No Ko would get angry with him for calling her mushroom. When she had chosen her name, she had not known that 'kinoko' meant mushroom, as 'ki no ko' meant 'a child of tree'.
    "How?" Kaze asked ironically. "The combat rings don't work on other players, I suppose you know that."
    "It doesn't matter. I'll... I'll lure him to Zen Garden's most dangerous area and run away. Those walking drums'll beat him up so badly that he'll totally lose interest in playing zOMG! I'll do whatever it takes to revenge him!"
    "For goodness's sake, Blade! Revenge for what? He's never done anything to you! You've not even met him before!" Ki No Ko had got mad at Blade. And when she was angry, she started talking very reasonably.
    "You have no spirit!" Blade started sulking.
    "No, I'm just being reasonable. We've not leveled up for weeks because we've only been hanging around in Village Greens and killing lawn gnomes in hope of meeting One Wolf!"
    Blade staid silent.
    "Oh my god!" Ki No Ko sighed and killed one lawn gnome more, when it appeared from behind a tree near her. It had no self-defense instinct.
    "Hey! Thet gnome was mine!" Someone said from behind the tree.
    "What are you saying?" Kaze snapped. "Gnomes don't belong to anyone. It doesn't matter who kills them-" He suddenly stopped talking.
    All of them stared at the stranger that had appeared from behind the tree.
    He was One Wolf.
    "Ha!" Blade cried. "I found you at last! You're getting on my nerves slaying so much gnomes. I want to challenge you!!!"
    "Huh?" One Wolf looked very surprised. "Challenge me? Why?"
    "You ask why?! You little..."
    "Hey, Blade", Ki No Ko tried to get Blade's attention, but he ignored her.
    "You've just been slaying a bit gnomes lately, right?!" he shouted. "You're really annoying me!"
    "Hey, Blade!" Ki No Ko shouted.
    "What is it now?" Blade turned to her displeasedly.
    "He's lower level than us."
    "What?" Blade didn't even understand what she said first. Then he realized what Ki No Ko had said, and hurriedly checked if she was right.
    It was true.
    One Wolf's level was 2.0 when Blade's and his friens' was 3.3.
    "How can this be?!" Blade was ashamed. He had thought that One Wolf's level would be at least 3.5. He would never have imagined that the one who killed so much gnomes in a week would have so low level.
    "Uh, actually, my level is this low because if I go to Bill's ranch, I'll die right away", One Wolf said.
    "How is that possible?" Ki No Ko asked.
    "Well, I guess that's because I only have combat rings", One Wolf admitted. "I didn't understand that I would also need some healing rings before I tried going to Bill's Ranch. And I had already done all the quests which from you can get a ring as reward by then, and chosen a combat ring from all of them. I've got Solar Rays, Guns, Hack, Fire Rain and Hot Foot. But if I go to Bill's Ranch, I get surrounded by the Animated right away, and die."
    "Why don't you join a crew? The others would help you" Kaze suggested.
    "Uh, I'm not very good at working in teams", One Wolf said gloomily. "I'm too shy, and, besides, I couldn't help the others anyway, even if they helped me. I can only fight."
    "I don't get your point", Blade said. "You'd help the others by fighting the enemies."
    "Hey, why don't you join our crew for some time?" Ki No Ko suggested. "It's alright with us", she gave Blade a warning look. "So, what do you think?"
    "Well... Yes, if it really is okay, then why not? I don't have anything to lose." One Wolf looked pretty happy.
    "Okay, wolf pup, now it's settled, we'll go to Bill's Ranch!" Blade said.
    "...W-wolf pup?" One Wolf looked at him, confused.
    "Well, you seem quite young, aren't you?"
    "Well, yeah, but..."
    "No but! If you're gonna come with us, then better get used to your nickname, wolf pup!"
    "Wow, that fits him perfectly!" Ki No Ko commented.
    "True", Kaze said.
    "You can say whatever you want", Wolf said, "But I'll never like that name. And"
    the pup turned to look at them. "What made you think I'm a boy?"
    She laughed at their open-mouthed faces and started running to Bill's Ranch. Now she wouldn't get killed by garlics anymore!