I opened my eyes after a short while. Huh I was still alive? I immediately tried to sit up but the sharp stinging pain did not allow me to.

“Are you okay?” I heard the hermit say. “Well even if you are, you still aren’t. Your combat skills are pathetically weak.” I turned my head and looked at him. He had changed into a sauna robe and sat on the floor, sipping coffee.

“Why the sudden change of diplomacy?” I asked him cautiously. The hermit turned over to look at me and laughed.

“Well, I was never your enemy. I was a FRIEND, as Tylus had told you. “By the way,” He took another sip of coffee. “You have failed your test miserably.”

“Allow me to introduce myself.” That hermit continued before I could utter anything. “My name is Sumesh and this is where I live. What I said about the fact that anybody who came in never came out was crap. Nobody has found my hide out before, except you and your girlfriend.”

“Hi!” Samantha came over from another room. She gave me another kiss and asked me if I was ok.

“Yeah I’m fine.”

“Please, don’t behave so intimately in front of me.” Sumesh exclaimed. “I hate being reminded of my own past experiences. Urgh they were horrible. Oh by the way, I would like to ask you how the devil you managed to find this place. Bryan was informed by Tylus bout my whereabouts but you? Its impossible miss I do not know how you did it.”

Samantha laughed. “I used /find.”

“What find?” Both I and Sumesh replied.

“Oh sorry I was thinking about a popular game called maple story. Here I used this finding device.”

“Now is not the time to daydream about a computer game. Life is so much more important.”

“Very true,” Sumesh said. “Now let me look at that device of your, miss. Or should I say, mrs to be?”

Samantha blushed and we exchanged faces. “Wow!” Sumesh interrupted. The screen of the device showed a detailed profile of me and showed the exact spot where we were and the distance we were from the sea level.

“Damn technology sure is catching up with times! Anybody can find my base like that.”

“Anyway,” I asked Sumesh. “What’s with the test?”

Sumesh grinned. “I will grant you back your powers if you can beat me in a 1 on 1 match.”

“We’re supposed to fight till one of us die?”

“No till one of us surrenders.”

“Then what was with the avenger just now? Trying to kill me or what!”

“Tylus told me you were stronger than him. So I figured that since my avenger was just enough to kill him, it would be just enough to not kill you.”

“You @#$%ing @#$%^#@ @#$%$#$!!!!”

“Now let’s not get hasty with words…”

“Who cares I wanna retake the test now! No more retakes after that I promise.”

“What if I win?” Sumesh asked me.

“I will just have to forfeit my powers for the rest of my life.”

“Ok deal!” Sumesh gave a sinister and dark grin.

I had a feeling he was hiding something from me, but what could that possibly be? Then a thought rang out. He wasn’t even a warrior. How could he possibly afford to give me powers back? Unless, of course……