Writer's Note: Hello! This is a side project that I am writing. Updates will not be as frequent as my main, but I will try to make up for it by making it as interesting as I can. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Dying Man

"Rex? Did you take out the garbage?" a woman called, turning on the plasma television as she sat beside her seven year old daughter. "Sarah, you can watch television with mommy now."

"Yay!" a tiny girl with blonde hair grinned, a tooth missing as she sat beside her.

"Rex? Rex Valentine, you better take out the trash," the mother called again.

"I'm going. I'm going," a teenage boy said as he walked down the stairs. "Dad not back yet? I'm surprised gramps is sleeping as I can hear you from the attic."

"The surgery's taking longer than your father thought," his mother, Mary, answered. "Tomorrow is Thursday. Put the trash bins out tonight. You did buy all your school supplies, right? My little boy finally starts his senior year in high school."

"Yeah. Yeah," Rex sighed and headed out back after turning the lights in front of the door on. Before pulling the black trash and blue recycling bins, he unlocked the fence and kept it open. As he put the trash bins on the street, his cell phone rang.

"Yo, Rex! The Dino Man! What's up, bro. We finally get to go to school tomorrow. Senior year! Beautiful girls, basketball season, and laughing at how much shorter the freshmen get every year. It's gonna  be sick," his best friend, Geo, said.

"Yeah. I guess so. Still, I don't get why school starts on a Thursday....Man it's cold outside," Rex shivered.

"Are you outside? Right now?" Geo asked, concern in his voice. "Dude, it's not safe lately. Have you watched the news? The amount of missing teens has been rising."

"Yeah. I'm gonna call you back later. I'm a bit busy with the trash right now," Rex said

*Bang. Bang. Bang*

"Whoa! Gun shots?" Rex said as he got down low, peeking over the trash cans before regretting it as he held his nose. "Ah, dammit. That stinks like crap."

He looked over them as he heard a howl. He saw a man appear out of nowhere, shooting a shiny silver pistol at the wolf with his left hand as he wielded a spear in the other. Eyes widening, Rex forgot all about the stench as he stared at the man fight.

Rex cringed as the man bit the man at his side, ripping out the arm that held the spear in a near instant. Cursing, the man pointed the pistol below the wolf's mouth and pulled the trigger. The wolf howled once before falling on the man, still as the bullet shot through its brain.

"Whoa......he just killed a werewolf. They do exist," Rex said, slowly creeping towards the two bodies. His eyes widened as he heard a grunt and saw the man as he pushed the wolf off his body, picking up the pistol and pointing it at Rex as he noticed him.

"Whoa! Easy! I'm unarmed!" Rex shouted, holding his hands up as the man's face paled. "You're losing alot of blood. I should call the ambulance."

"No. No ambulance. It's too late," the man coughed blood as the wolf's body burst into shadows and disappeared. "I was too naive to think I could slay a whole three wolf packs alone. I was too consumed with revenge and depended too much on my level. it wasn't high enough. Not high enough..."

"Uh, who are you? Was that thing seriously a werewolf? I thought they were myths," Rex said.

"You can see me and the werewolf. You have talent to see the Night. Come closer and hear a dying man's request," the man coughed, Rex walking closer and could see the man also wore silver knight armor beneath the black cloak. "I am a Night Hunter, a human with supernatural powers that kill the creatures of the Night. You know the stories of ghosts, demons, reapers, and vampires? Well, they all exist."

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"Night Hunter?" Rex repeated, never having heard of the words before.

"Our lives are like a video game. Heh. If only I had a healing skill, I would not end up like this," the man said as he pulled out a silver medallion with a white dragon encircling a blood red diamond. "Take this and guard it well. No one can have it or know you met me this night. I alone ventured into their world and saw the truth. The others don't understand."

"W, what is it?" Rex asked.

"The key to a whole new world for you. You will become a mage, not a rogue or warrior. Your world will become a game, as mine had been. Do not trust anyone with levels higher than five. It means they are a Night Hunter, like you and I. Not all of us are pure. Some of us, become part of the Night," the man said, coughing blood as he pulled out a ring from his finger. "Take this ring. It will serve you well. It is the Staff of the Witch King. It can turn into a ring or spear at will. It also serves as a storage container. Inside is all the items I would have given my son, if I had one. Now, run from here. I cannot give you more than this or risk exposing you when the others find me."

"A real life mage staff," Rex said as he grabbed it, eyes widening as a red energy seemed to pass from the man into him. "What just happened?"

"You will awaken tomorrow morning as a mage. Your life will never be the same, willing or not. The Hunters will find you, but they won't know you have met me. In this world, random people are chosen as Night Hunters. Mages are uncommon, but not rare. However, it will make sense if they have their own items. Once you hold the staff, you will slumber til morning, the staff transforming to adapt to its new master. Before you go, let me know the name of the one who will wield the staff I spent my life secretly searching for," the man said.

"Rex Valentine, like the dinosaur and spelled like Valentine's Day," Rex answered, the man smiling as Rex ran off.

In less than ten minutes, three silhouettes were seen near him. They looked him over and noticed his missing arm.

"Lionel, you fool. I told you not to fight them," one of the three, a man, said as he bent over him. "Did you kill them all?"

"Yes. They are all dead. Every last one of them. My wife is avenged," the dying man smiled and put his pistol in the other man's hand. "I've been bitten more times than I can count. I do not want to die by the hands of a creature of the Night. Please. Do me this last favor, my friend. I am sorry for asking this of you."

"It is I who is sorry. I should not have thought that you would not heed my warning," the other man said and silently rose to his feet. Breathing deep to calm himself, he pointed the pistol at his dying friend and pulled pulled the trigger.

"He had such prowess. Another Night Hunter is dead. As his friend, his belongings on his person are yours. Clean the environment and leave no trace behind," the other two said in unison, watching as silver armor dropped where the dead man used to be. Like the wolf, he had also disappeared into the Void upon his death.

"Hold the staff and it will transform...." Rex said as he silently returned to his room after closing and locking the fence. He looked at the black wood ring around his finger and willed it into a staff, a beautiful staff floating before him.

Unsure of what would happen, he wore the medallion around his neck and grabbed the staff. The red energy surged within him as the staff sent its own unique energy inside him. His vision turned dark as objects seemed to gracefully appear on the floor as Rex fell onto his bed. The staff shined once before a red jewel appeared atop the black shaft with a white dragon coiling near the bottom of the jewel.

On this night, a new mage had been born.