Rune Soldier

Spurred on by the promise of treasure, Melissa, Genie, and Merrill seek out an ancient ruin, but the entrance is sealed with magic. They return to town to find a magician to break the seal. They meet Louie, a magician in training. The girls brush him off, so Louie picks a fight with Genie, but he blows up the town bar in the process. Louie tracks down Melissa the next day to demand a second chance, but she is in the middle of a sacred ritual when he calls. Merrill and Genie try to stop him at the door, but Louie makes his own way in, to Melissa's shock.

Merrill and Genie scold Louie for crashing Melissa's ceremony, but with no other magician recruits in sight, Melissa reluctantly accepts him into the group. The four head out to the ruin, although Louie quickly finds himself doing more manual labor than magical spells. Despite the girls' initial misgivings, Louie does manage to open the entrance to the ruin with his magic. The party realizes, when they get inside, that any treasure which might have been there has long since been looted. In its place, they find a nest of angry goblins.

While fighting the goblins, Louie wields his magic wand like a club and breaks it. To make a new wand, he needs a branch from a 500 year old oak tree. The nearest forest with trees that old is the Tartious Forest, believed to be a home to demons. The girls are completely disgusted with Louie and refuse to help. A rival group of adventurers tries to get Louie to join them, but Louie suspects their underlying motives.

The girls decide to help Louie, who immediately causes trouble with a magic demon-summoning whistle. While the girls are busy handling demons, Louie goes toe to hoof against a wild boar. The group finds a suitable trree, but a beautiful elf named Celecia interrupts them. She promises she can find them a better branch in the elves' village. The girls are skeptical, but Louie overrides them and inadvertently leads the group into a trap. Locked up and facing certain death, Louie proposes a means of escape so stupid, it just might work...

Melissa accepts the job of giving some junior warrior priestesses some practical training. The goal of this training is to rid an ancient ruin of zombies. The usual group tags along, but wanting to save face in front of her juniors, Melissa can't bring herself to tell them Louie is her hero. As the party moves into the ruin, the foundation collapses and separates Melissa and Louie from the others. The two find themselves in an abandoned dungeon, surrounded by a corps of zombies. Can Louie's sword cut a path back to their friends?

Melissa's headaches double when a man shows up at the Mylee shrine professing his undying love. It's Conrad, Melissa's old fiance. Melissa puts Louie on the spot, saying that if Conrad can beat him in a duel, she'll return to Ramliearth. If not, Conrad can never come near her again. Unfortunately, Conrad has become a master swordsman. With only a week to train, it becomes obvious that Louie is the one in danger. Melissa tries to stop the fight, but it's too late. All she can do is watch and pray.