Dissonant Mana

[Omar Ranger]

Well after much debate I decided to post the story I've been writing. It's based in before Big Bang era for now just to clear up confusion... And because I'm too lazy to edit 30+ pages of my work.

The title is probably bad but eh... Sue me. I didn't try to think of a title until recently.

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Chapter 1

Damned Mondays… Why won’t you start later?

I rolled out of bed, still half asleep, bags hanging under my eyes, and lazily dragged myself to the bathroom. The cold water I splashed in my face woke me from my half sleep trance and as I stared at myself in the mirror I began to think about what the day had in store for me.

I’m going to meet with Athena today. Today is the day I become an archer.

My name is Omar. No, I do not have a last name or a middle name, just Omar. I never knew nor have I cared about having a last name. Almost no one I knew had one so I don’t think I’m missing out on anything special.

Anyways, I am eleven years old at this time and level ten so I am officially old enough to earn Athena Pierce’s blessing and become an archer.

I’ve always wanted to be an archer. Warriors are too rough and I don’t want to go right in front of the enemies and get pummeled into a pulp. Mages are as smart as brain surgeons, but I don’t want to cover my face in books forever, that’s boring. Thieves, well I never had a taste for thieves. Jumping around with their small daggers or their throwing stars, it’s just not my style. Pirates are just weird to me. Most of them look like the bums you see on the curb with a foam cup full of change and a sign with gibberish written all over it.

Archers… Archers are so cool. I see them with their magnificent bows and cool armor, they are so insanely awesome!

My brother, Mike, became a fighter and he’s level fifty now, the highest leveled person I know. I don’t know why he became a fighter though; I never liked the close combat deal. He always talked about how powerful fighters become and how they can defeat even the strongest of enemies in one swift attack. The look on his face was full of pride and accomplishment when he came back with that huge axe and his armor already dirty from his training. He is amazingly skilled and levels incredibly fast when he really tries to and I sort of envy him a little. Well enough about me and my family, time to become an archer!

I jumped out of my house, took a deep breath of fresh air, and sprinted towards the Henesys Park and Athena’s tree house. The fragrance of flowers in the park invigorated me as I dashed towards her tree home. Oh how I love Athena’s home. It was tall, covered with flowers of all sorts from around the globe, smelled wonderful, and above all else, it is the only house here that is in a tree. I always wanted to live in a tree house like that.

I reached her doorstep, took one last deep breath, and slowly walked into Athena’s home. I was nervous and sweat was already collecting on my forehead. Above me I heard a voice call to me, “come on up.” I walked up the stairs, counting every step, and saw her, Athena Pierce, in all of her bow master glory. She was a beautiful woman who appeared to be no older than thirty. Her long blonde hair, with the tips of a pair of pointed ears poking out of them, went all the way down to her hips and lay on her back. She was writing something down on a sheet of paper when she noticed me and glanced at me with her blue eyes. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

“Umm… I… I want to become an archer!” I managed to mutter.

“You want to be an archer?” she said with an almost condescending tone as she investigated me from top to bottom.

My cheeks flushed and I managed to utter, “Yes, I want to be an archer!”

A small smile appeared on her face. “Very well, then. Come here.”

I walked towards her slowly and she took my hand and held it tightly. I heard her whisper an incantation that I couldn’t comprehend then suddenly a bright burst of light appeared all around me, blinding me for a second.
When the light faded I saw my hand glow for a few seconds then stop, leaving a strange mark on it. “Congratulations,” she announced and handed me a green book that read Skills for Beginning Archers, “from here on, you are now an archer.”

“Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I spurted out happily with the book tightly gripped in my hands.

“Well good luck young archer, I’m sure you will be a great ranger one day.”

Ranger… The words swam threw my head. Me… A ranger… That sure is something. I noticed Athena was looking at me strangely, but all I could say was, “Umm… Thank you Athena!” and ran back toward the front door.
I jumped out of Athena’s tree home and sprinted towards the Henesys weapons and armor store and used what little money I had received from Michael to buy a new war bow, a quiver of arrows, and a set of green archer armor.

This hat is a little funny, but the clothes and the bow aren’t that bad, I thought when I looked at myself in the mirror. I sold my old sword for a small sum of mesos and ran out.

Okay… So if I pull the string like this... I nocked an arrow to my string and pulled back. I think I pulled too hard because the string snapped and whipped me on my cheek. A few small drops of blood tricked down my cheek while I tied a new bow string on. This time I was more careful and pulled lighter. I released the arrow and saw it fly a few dozen feet away and land on the ground.

I need to work more on my control so I can shoot further without the string snapping.

I pulled out the small book that Athena gave me. Eye of the Amazon… Critical Shot… Focus… Oh! Let’s try this one!

I nocked another arrow to my bow string and aimed it at a passing red snail. I began to let the magic suffuse me and released the arrow.

I watched as the magical yellow arrow flew out further than my first arrow and hit my target. A small explosion and a squeal and the snail slumped to the floor and died. I cheered with my small victory and went to collect the snail’s shell and the few mesos that dropped.

This is awesome! I wonder what else I can do.

In the distance I saw Mike slashing through some green slimes with slash blast. The slime and goo from the monsters flew all over the field. His mastery with an axe was incredible and he could easily handle monsters that I fear with ease.

He noticed me watching him and stopped. “Oh, hi Omar! So I see you became an archer, well congrats bro!” He patted me on the shoulder and smiled.

“So what are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m just practicing my skills a little, making sure I’m not rusty. What skills have you learned as an archer?”

“Oh just this one called Arrow Blow. I need to practice trying to shoot further and landing critical attacks first.”

“That’s a great idea! We can get started on your training now!”

I stared at him surprised, “you want to help me with my training?”

“Well why not? I can help you for a few levels, but you should learn how to train on your own. Who knows? One day you might pass me!”

“I doubt that… So where should we train?”

“Hmm… How about Pig Beach?”

“Where is that?” I asked confused.

“Come with me and I’ll show you,” Mike said smiling.

After a bit of traveling we found ourselves in a beach-like environment but we were on top of a ledge. When I peaked down from the ledge I saw numerous pigs, some with red ribbons tied around them and some without.

“Are you sure it’s safe down there bro?” I asked nervously.

“Of course it is! I’m here in case you get in danger so don’t worry. Now come on!” Mike pushed me down the ledge and leaped down himself. I screamed and landed on my back with a thump.

“Ouch…” I picked myself up and checked my bow to make sure it didn’t break. Right away a pig appeared in front of me and slammed itself into my gut. “Gah!” I screamed and smacked the pig repeatedly with my bow before Mike came in and slashed the pig in half with his axe.

“Oh come on Omar, you’re an archer, you should have shot him way before he got close enough to hit you!” Mike sighed with a disappointed look on his face.

“S-Sorry Mike, it just caught me by surprise, it won’t happen again,” I apologized.

“Just don’t let it happen again and you’ll be fine.”

I nodded and carefully strung my bow, trying my best to make sure it doesn’t snap on me.

“Well after you’re done playing with your blue wooden toy there I want you to kill a few of those pigs over there,” Mike ordered as he unfolded his Relaxer and sat down.

“Wait what? You’re not going to help me kill them?” I asked surprised.

“Of course not! This is your training, not mine. You already know how to shoot them, you just have to learn how to do it better that’s all. Now go on, kill those pigs.”

I sighed and made my way towards the pigs, shooting them as I saw them.

“Use your magical abilities to enhance your attacks! It’s a very important thing to master,” shouted Mike from his chair.

“Yeah, I know!” I shouted back.

Whenever I saw a pig pass by I let the magic suffuse me and I shot them down one by one. After a while I felt more exhausted from using my magic too much and had to drink some of the blue potions I got from the
general store in Henesys. After drinking some of the potion I felt the mana coming back to me and I began to use my magic again.

After a couple hours of training Mike called me and I ran back over to him. “Okay little bro, how many have you killed?” he asked.

“Like a lot! I lost count after five hundredth sorry.”

He laughed and said, “well it takes a lot of kills to level up so you better get used to it.”

I sighed and asked, “what should I do now?”

“Don’t worry about it bro. We’re done for the day,” he got up and patted me on the shoulder, “don’t overwork yourself.”

“Umm… Okay. Let’s go home then?”

“Yeah let’s go home, we’ll continue tomorrow.”

We made our way back home where I took a relaxing shower, had a quick dinner, and went to bed, still worn out from my training.

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One year later

“Okay Omar, so you’re level twenty now right?”

“Yeah,” I said panting after a long day of training.

“Okay good work, you are ascending quickly. We still have a lot of training to do if you want to become a hunter though.”

“I know.”

“Well from now on you’re going to need to train on your own!”

I stared at him surprised. “Me? Training alone? I thought you were going to help me!”

“I can’t help you forever.”

I sighed and picked up my new hunter bow. “Okay, I’ll try to train alone.”

“I’m proud of you little brother, you will make a fine archer.”

“Well… What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to stay home, relax, and maybe start back on my training.”

“Oh okay… That’s fine I guess.”

“I’m going to head home. Good luck Omar.”


“Thanks.” I watched as Mike ran back towards Henesys.
Where should I train? Pig beach? The trees in Ellinia forest? I heard there are powerful monsters in the Ant Tunnel; I might need to train some more before going in there… I think I can handle it though.

I traveled to the Ant Tunnel to train work on my training when I encountered a shadowy figure near the entrance. He was dressed in a black hooded cape with the hood over his head, hiding his facial features. In his right hand he held a red wand and on his left arm he had a glowing shield with a maple leaf in the middle and black gloves. He reminded me of a gothic kid that you usually see in those dark corners of Kerning City. The strangest part of him was the black aura emitting from his hands. Some kind of magic perhaps? None that I've seen before.

After a couple seconds he noticed my presence and screamed. His shriek was not human. It reminded me of the sound of claws scratching against a chalkboard and a shrieking vulture that is hunting down its prey. He swung his arms and launched a ball of black material at me. I managed to jump out of the way and watched as it hit the wall with a huge bang, leaving a hole in the wall where it exploded. I was horrified and ran away as fast as I could. When I looked back I noticed he wasn’t following me.

I ran all the way to Sleepywood and into the sauna and sighed with relief and exhaustion.

He wasn’t human, that’s for sure... What in the world was he?

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I’m finally level thirty… I’ve finally reached the level to become a hunter.

I looked up at Athena’s tree home, the place I went to two years ago to become an archer. I’m thirteen years old now, and I am ready to become a hunter. I put my unstrung Ryden into my quiver and made my way to her front door. I knocked on her front door, more confident than I did before. I heard a voice tell me to come in. I opened the door and walked in calmly, keeping track of my breath. When I made my way up the stairs I saw Athena at her writing on a document, just like the last time I saw her. She looked up and saw me. “Ah! Omar! You’re here. That must mean you have reached level thirty and are ready to take the next step in becoming an archer.”

“Yes,” I stated, “I want to take the test to become a hunter.”

“I see, so you feel more acquainted with a bow than a crossbow.”

“Yes, I feel better pulling a bow string than pulling a trigger.”

“Very well then, there is a friend of mine who is at the path towards the dungeon of Sleepywood, she will help you become a hunter. I will send her a note stating you are on your way.”

“Thank you, Athena,” I bowed and rushed out of her home. I didn’t want to talk about what I saw a year ago in the Ant Tunnel, I was still scared and don’t know what exactly I should do about it.

I quickly ran towards the path to the dungeon, where I have been to several times before for my training. I had to make my way through thorns and climb several ropes before finding a slightly shorter, blue haired archer wearing glasses and holding a blue bow.

“You must be Omar, Athena sent me notice that you are coming,” she said as she stared at me walking over to her.

“Yes, that’s me,” I panted, “I’m ready to take my test.”

“You are?” she asked as she looked at the scratches and wounds on my legs and arms.

“Yes, I am.”

“Very well then, the monsters in the cavern have been cursed and are now evil. The source of their evil is dark marbles inside of them. Go into that hole and get me thirty dark marbles and bring them back up here. I’ll be waiting here.”

I stared at the hole, it was a relatively small hole, but nothing one person can’t fit through. It was really dark, I couldn’t see anything down in the hole, but I heard monsters scurrying around down there.

I climbed down the ladder leading to the cavern and I managed to see the few monsters that were running down there. They weren’t really anything serious. They were actually the monsters that I encounter in the Ant
Tunnel. I couldn’t shoot any from the ledge where I was standing, so I had to jump down to kill them. I lost track of how long I was in the cavern, but by the time I counted my thirtieth marble I made my way back out. The bag was incredibly heavy with all the marbles that I collected so climbing back up the ladder was a challenge.

I hefted the bag and threw it at the job instructor’s feet. Several marbles rolled out and she counted the rest.

“Okay that’s thirty marbles. Good work, now take this,” she handed me a paper and told me to go back to Athena.

When I finally made my way back to Henesys and Athena’s home, she greeted me warmly, “Omar, I see you passed your test, congratulations! Are you ready to become a hunter?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

She took my hand, much like when I became an archer, and whispered an incantation. I couldn’t hear her because of how quiet she was talking.

Suddenly a bright flash of light surrounded me, much like before, and I felt myself becoming more powerful. When the light faded my hand was glowing stronger than the first time.

“Congratulations, you are now a hunter,” Athena said proudly. She grabbed a blue book from the shelf behind her and handed it to me, “here, take this. This is a book of all of the skills a hunter can learn. Read it, you can learn all sorts of skills. I can explain them to you if you want.”

“Um, yes, please do.”

She laughed and opened up the book, “okay, this one is Bow Mastery, it allows you to become better skilled with your bow and less clumsy. This one is Bow Booster, using some of your energy you can pull the string of your bow faster than before, making you attack faster. This one is Soul Arrow, it allows you to magically create your own arrows so you don’t have to worry if you ever run out of regular arrows. It’s useful in a tight spot. This one is Final Attack. This skill allows you to attack twice, the first attack you use one of your attacking skills such as arrow blow or double shot and you can use the leftover mana from the original attack to launch a second, powerful attack to your enemy. It could be useful in some situations. This one is Power-Knock Back, which allows you to swing your bow for an incredibly powerful attack that can send your enemies flying back. The last skill is Arrow Bomb, my personal favorite. This one allows you to launch an arrow that explodes upon contact, damaging and stunning other monsters around it.”

“Those are all interesting skills to learn. I’ll probably practice Arrow Bomb and that Soul Arrow. I bet they can come in handy.”

“You should raise your Bow Mastery, it’s one of the most useful skills in the book.”

“Thank you Athena, oh, one more thing. I saw this man… He was in the Ant Tunnel. He possessed this strange aura around him and tried to attack me. Is there any possibility this has been seen before or something?”
Athena looked at me surprised and said, “I’ve never heard of anything like that before… I’ll look into it. Thank you Omar.”

I bowed and ran out of the tree, leaving Athena at her desk while she pondered over what I told her, and began my way to the fields to test out my new skill.

Okay let’s try it.

I nocked an arrow to my bow and aimed at the passing ribbon pigs. I began to let the magic suffuse me and released the shining arrow. With a flash and a bang, the arrow exploded and killed all of the ribbon pigs in the small area.

“Yes!” I cheered at my small victory and at the new skill I am able to use now.

“Okay, let’s get started.” I began to make my way towards Perion to stop at my rented apartment and stock up on supplies at the general store.