Writer Eternal: Sorry for the wait. Was busy thinking of some concepts and decided this entry would be focus. Moving on. Lucien Lei learns 3 spells and two warrior arts while becoming a Ranker. His dad is alarmed and tells Lucien not to do anything until he arrives. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: The Hunted

"Hey big brother. Did you see the news? Some guy broke into the Ranker bank and searched through countless safety deposit boxes. What are those?" Lucy asked as her brother came down.

"It is like a storage in the bank used by rich people. What else did the news say about it?" Lucien asked, concerned as he sat next to her in front of the 46 inch plasma television.

"A group of masked killers chased the ten thieves all the way to the mall. One managed to get away but was later found dismembered. I remember it means having your arm or legs ripped off," Lucy said, Lucien's eyes narrowing as he watched the news.

"What about the killers? Any clues?" Lucien asked.

"No. All the Rankers who chased after the killers were found dead. Those people are scary," Lucy answered.

"Alright. Go to your room. You have classes tomorrow," Lucien said, rubbing her head before she walked upstairs.

"Sir, shall I report your new Ranker status to the City Lord?" Gerald asked.

"No. Prepare my things. We are leaving this city and taking the train to Thousand Sword City. I am a Ranker now and direct descendant of my grandfather, an accomplished Ranker who still lives there. I will register myself as a Ranker there. Give them a nice surprise. Like my mother wanted: I am a cultivator now. I'll finally be accepted by the my father's house, like she wanted," Lucien ordered.

"And what shall I tell to Master Shen?" Gerald asked. "Miss Lucy?"

"Tell my sister where I will go after I have left. We talked about me leaving should I become a cultivator. Tell her to convince my father to move there as soon as she becomes a Ranker. Give my sister the Mountain Cleaver and Earth-Shattering Strike warrior arts. I'll keep my Fireball and Thorn Blade spells. Spells are rarer than warrior arts, and my sister isn't a Ranker yet. Giving her the Wind Cutter spell is enough. My father did not want me to be a Ranker, but he is softer to my sister. His guilt is greater towards her," Lucien replied giving the butler a green leather book.

"Sir, are you involved with the robbers slaughtered today?" Gerald asked, stunning Lucien as the boy turned to him. "Your mother knew you would become a cultivator. As a baby, she loved you dearly. She knew the price of giving birth to another child. She was a brave woman. As your guardian, and later Lucy's, I was to protect you from rogue Rankers as a Ranker myself. She knew your father never wanted his children to follow his footsteps. You've no idea how he lived among his family. Your father took his mother's maiden name as his own: Lei. Unfortunately, your father looked more like his mother than his father, save for the eyes. Your eyes are blue, like your father and his father before him. Your father is half Chinese, if China still existed. You're half of a half and look slightly like your father save your dark brown hair. Anyway, your mother left this for you. She had it modeled after your father's jian, Chinese straight sword. The jian of the Han Dynasty were heavier and more sturdy, much like a longsword's blade."

"My mother left me a sword?" Lucien murmured as he held his new sword. It had a moon-colored guard with an Asian dragon carved on both sides, black stingray leather grip, a dragon bone pommel carved into a dragon's head, and a mysterious kind of steel blade cold to the touch. As he drew it, his Spirit Heart seemed to resonate and the orange Spirit Heart became an iridescent purple as a purple aquatic dragon appearing above him before it vanished.

"This is the kind of sword used by your father's mother's family, remade with much better material. Master Shen never mentioned his mother's clan. I believe this sword belonged to Lady Lucille, but she changed the pommel into a dragon as it is the sigil of your grandmother's clan. Wield it well," Gerald said as he gave Lucien a stone stamp. Lucien did not expect the weight and it fell out of his hand with a heavy thud on the ground.

"Such a small thing is so heavy?" Lucien gasped as he picked it up. He saw many glowing rune lines on the stamp to form the shape of an aquatic dragon. "What is this thing?"

"It has to do with the phoenix beast spirit that appeared," Gerald answered, seeing the shock on Lucien's face soon after. "Yes. I sensed it. The phoenix is a bird of rebirth. Your mother's Spirit Heart Totem had a phoenix beast spirit. She passed on some spirit energy into you before she passed. It enabled you to survive. Using a Spirit Heart Crystal is not as easy as when you used it. There are preparations. Rituals. You skipped all that like any mortal family would. After all, you did not have the resources. The stamp's images change to the Ranker's Spirit Heart beast spirit. Without one, you cannot survive assimilating it. Furthermore, your grandmother made the stamp and sealed to be used only for her bloodline. A Ranker sacrificing her stamp, she was either was in grave danger or had no hope to increase her cultivation further. How your parents managed to keep it, your father must be the one to tell you."

Lucien remained in a stunned silence as he placed the stamp against his chest and watched it enter inside him. A dragon's roar shook his consciousness and made him fall onto his knees. The purple aquatic dragon beast spirit's serpentine body coiled around him, flames burning inside its mouth and claws. It nearly looked tangible and Gerald instinctively stepped back several paces in alarm. He watched as Lucien's hair turned a dark shade of brown and his blue eyes gained a slight glow.

"I feel so powerful," Lucien said with awe as the pain subsided.

"Sir, you're weak. You lack proper training and experience as a cultivator. You've only purified your spirit energy to a higher level. Even if you are more powerful than others who are at your cultivation, the experienced could kill you without you even knowing how you died," Gerald said bluntly.

"Well that sounds depressing," Lucien muttered.

"This is your life now. You are a Ranker. In the old days, such people were called cultivators. People kill for resources. People kill out of jealousy, for power, and for lust. If you lack the proper strength or backing, you will die a horrible death worse than that of mortals," Gerald said sternly. "This is no game. I know how much you want to see the world. Now, you have no choice. This is no city for Rankers. There are hardly any, save for mercenary groups and the Ranker City Guard. Thousand Sword City is indeed the wisest course of action. We must move quickly. No doubt, the killers will figure out you have the satchel. Does it carry anything of note?"

"Just a journal," Lucien said.

"Then that is their goal. I'll have four earth golems escort you. You must leave. Now. Since you left two warrior skills and a precious spell for your sister, I'll give you a Black Wood Bow and magical quiver containing a Black Iron Arrow. The quiver can infinitely recreate up to five of any arrows left inside by the owner. Bullets serve no use for a Ranker unless you are talentless in combat. I almost forgot to give you this Dark Obsidian Art and Lightning Fall Art. These are two elemental attribute battle skills are meant for bladed weapons. They are sure to protect you. Now you must leave. When they figure out you are not here, I cannot protect you," Gerald warned and his hand emitted a brown and red aura before touching Lucien's chest. "Every cultivator, not present day Ranker, had a storage space in their very bodies. Only cultivators of old can awaken that latent ability. Its size will increase as your cultivation grows. Hide the journal in there."

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Lucien quickly did as instructed and put the journal in his hidden body space. Then, he opened his three remaining skill books. The books turned into varying colors of light and turned into runes as they branded themselves inside his mind. The two rushed outside the house and Lucien's eyes bulged as the four giant stone lions appeared and came to life.

"I have also gifted you with earth affinity and my Stone Fist Art as I infused my aura inside you. Do not underestimate the earth element. No matter how powerful, man needs the earth. It is not just an element for defense. Follow the path of the Magus, not the Warrior. Being a mage is more difficult than a fighter, but a mage can learn to create and manipulate the elements. In the long run, a Magus can be both a mage and a fighter. You don't need to follow the Warrior path to learn warrior arts. You know enough spells and battle skills. Now, go. The train leaves within the hour. Your things are in the bags. I put them inside as you assimilated the stamp. Store them away. There are several stops on the way to Thousand Sword City. I cannot predict the danger. Here is a transmission talisman. You can communicate to me through it. Use it whenever you make a stop. I'll buy as much time as possible," Gerald said, giving a jade talisman before ushering Lucien away.

"Goodbye Gerald," Lucien said, tears falling down his face. "Tell my sister and father I'm sorry."

"I will. Goodbye," Gerald said softly as he whistled, the four stone lions roaring before rushing off the hill towards the distant train station.

Ten minutes later, fifteen men donning black cloaks and featureless silver masks appeared in front of the house. Gerald stared at them with a calm expression, closing his flip phone. The fifteen men drew various magical weapons and pointed them at Gerald.

"Where is the satchel? We know the boy has it," one of the men threatened, his mask possessing a gold vine like design at the top of the mask adorned with thorns.

"You children. You think you can threaten me? Please," Gerald chuckled as he flicked his wrist. Sand soundlessly flew from the ground and cut the necks of seven of the masked men. "Do you not know who I am? Weak little scum. Can't even detect my body's magical radiation. You must have made your plans on the day the new recruits of the Ranker City Guard took watch. No wonder they died."

"Sand manipulation? An expert!" one of the eight cried in alarm. "The boy must be the son of a Ranker. He's a Magus!"

"Indeed I am. Now, tell me who you work for," Gerald said as the eight killers sunk in sand to their knees. Sand snakes coiled from the ground and began to tighten around their bodies, cracking some bones in the process.

"The boy is not here! He must be headed for train station! Its a decoy!" one of the eight screamed as a black light began to shine from him. "Good luck comrades!"

"Futile self-sacrifice," Gerald spat as he clenched his fist. The man emitting the black light burst blood as he was crushed to death in an instant. One of the remaining seven spat out a needle, distracting Gerald long enough to have five of them escape.

"Five got away. No matter," Gerald said as the two left behind became squished sausage. "Two more should die from their wounds and sand I secretly injected into their bodies as their bones and skin cracked. Time to write today's report. Master Shen will not be pleased. His son is a Ranker and I played around too much with his pursuers."

Gerald waved his arms and the corpses and blood became fertilizer for the front yard as he headed back inside. A few yards from the station, people stared at the boy riding a stone lion as it charged past them, the lion in the center of a triangular formation with the three other earth lions. Lucien felt a chill run down his spine and looked back, seeing three men crash through a wall.

"Fireball!" Lucien roared, but a tiny ember appeared and dissipated two feet away. "Huh? What kind of fireball is that? Do I have to train? That's not the problem. I need to get away. Run faster! Faster!"

Lucien screamed at the stone lions as ice spears crashed all around them as the lions ran in a zigzag to avoid enemy fire. Lucien took out his long time weapon: a six-chamber .35 caliber pistol. He fired a shot at one of them, the killer crying out in pain as he got shot in the left shoulder and crashed a few times on the ground.

One of the killers threw a two meter thick fireball at the stone lion Lucien rode. He yelped in fright and pushed off the stone lion, grunting in pain as he got sent flying from the blast of the explosion as the fireball destroyed one of the stone lions. He destroyed a food stand before he stopped crashing on the ground. One of the lions grabbed him by the collar of his neck and threw him onto the back of another lion while the third spat several spikes of rocks at the killers.

"Damn bastards! This was supposed to be a snatch and grab!" a killer roared with rage as destroyed a lion with a thrust of a spear. "Thirteen mages dead! Mages! Thirteen of them! I'll kill that fucking brat!"

The killer got stunned as a bullet ricocheted from the lower part of his mask. Lucien smiled nervously and clung for dear life as the killer cast five ice spears at once. A stone lion jumped in the path of the spears, bursting into pieces as the final stone lion was able to escape with Lucien.

"That damned Magus!," one of the two killers hissed as Lucien disappeared from sight. "What do we do? The boss will kill us Why don't we attack the train?"

"No. We still have to bring the boss the gym bags the thieves took from the vault. We got our main objective. We won't get the bonus, but it is a two-way split now," the other snarled and the two vanished in a burst of black flames as security showed up.

"Oof," Lucien grunted as the stone lion broke apart in front of one of a train's train cars. One of the personnel stepped forward and helped Lucien to his feet.

"Lucien Lei?" the man asked.

"Yeah. You know me?" Lucien answered.

"Gerald called. Said four stone lions would escort you. Heard the gunshots and magic from all the way here. Some fight. You're the one who used the gun, right? Keep that in your storage ring unless authorized," the man nodded and gestured onto the train. "Hope you're ready to see the outside world. You're just a turtle that hatched from its egg and survived the birds on th beach. You've only tasted a small piece of danger. Hope you know any spells. The railroads aren't safe these days. Undead bastards and magical beasts are more daring and ferocious."

"I really didn't expect this. Should have stayed mortal and made preparations first," Lucien sighed as he dusted himself off before entering the train.

"You ain't the only one kid. Half the people who become Rankers used their Spirit Heart Crystals first chance they could. Should have seen the frontier towns. You're lucky if the town isn't destroyed before we even get there. You wouldn't have lasted five minutes off the train," the train man laughed and closed the door behind them. "This walled city is pretty safe with so little Rankers. Your pursuers would have been much stronger in a different city. But hey, you still got here right? Still got plenty of time to train before someone or something tries to kill us."