My name is Asia, and I am the protector of Zipangu at
Kamuna.

(Asia flashed a smile.)

Oh... I see that you have been making proper strides.

I remember when you first stepped into Maple Island, looking very green to say the least... and here you are, standing right in front of me looking every bit like a true Mapler. As someone that closely followed your path, I feel... a rush of satisfaction seeing you all grown up.

(Asia begins to well up)

...I apologize for speaking in a way that makes you feel that I know you more than I really do. I'm sorry.

My task is to determine who actually has power, and and who is in need of it.

My ultimate goal is to find the person that is capable of rescuing Zipangu from destruction.

This land right here is the lowest, most distant land you'll find in Kamuna.

I will now give you a dose of truth on Zipangu.

Zipangu...

...

Zipangu... will be destroyed in 100 years from now.

...Yes, Zipangu will one day completely disappear from this world without a trace. I saw it with my own eyes how this ball of distortion appeared from the sky and completely swallowed up Zipangu as a whole.

Zipangu in the ancient days was a hotbed for black magic, and I am a magician in Zipangu who grew up learning the intricacies of the black magic.

At the time, Zipangu had strong ties with Magatia, sharing valuable information with one another. You may be living in an age where science rules the world, but back in the day, Magatia was home to various studies regarding the black magic.

Magatia, the forefront of magic powers.
That's where I met a wizard, who taught me everything and... in the end... I was able to acquire a special power that allowed me to achieve immortality.

It was the magic that no one could achieve until then. I used it wisely for the sake of Zipangu.
As time went on, however, new generations came and went, and immortality became an outlawed practice. All of a sudden, I was considered an outcast, embraced by no one. I lost everything; fame, fortune, country, you name it, I lost it. In the end, I went into seclusion in the mountains of Zipangu, eager to use my power of immortality to view the apocalypse, the day the world ends for good.

But the apocalypse... came much, much sooner than I anticipated.

The moment Zipangu got swallowed up by a giant
distortion and vanished, I used a time-warp magic to enter the world after the vanishment. And that's where I found it.

That's where I found the truth of Zipangu.

It turned out that the history of Zipangu is chronicled in a single book.

The history of Zipangu was just a reenactment of the contents listed in the book.

The fact that a supernatural book that chronicles every move of every resident of Zipangu exists... the book that's called Acacia Chronicle...

I don't know about you, but I was furious. Furious at the thought of my life being pre-determined by this miniscule copy of a book...

In that world of distortion, I was able to get my hands on
Acacia Chronicle, and started reading it.

And then I realized...

I realized that Acacia Chronicle did not include information about me.

I was someone that did not exist, according to the book.

It might be that the reason why I was freed from the curse of Acacia Chronicle was because I was able to form a close bond with someone outside Zipangu, which in the end led me to achieve immortality.

It also remained to be seen whether Acacia Chronicle can be subject to change in its contents for revised editions.

So my plan was to return to the past and alter the history myself, so the part where the distortion appeared in the book would be destroyed at the last minute, and prevent Zipangu from certain destruction.

I realized that tampering with the past, even if it meant saving Zipangu, would be a foolish act.
Altering the past through the book would most certainly wipe out the very existence of all those people that would be born in the future.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to alter the history of Zipangu RIGHT BEFORE the destruction.

The problem is that altering the history is not a one-time deal. History has its ability to revise itself, so even if I alter a portion of it, the history would try to remedy that by returning to its pre-alteration stage.

Today, I spend my days observing Zipangu which is right on the verge of destruction, with the starting point being Kamuna.

And... one more thing...

I see a huge wave of history revision coming soon, and it's such that even I can't do anything about it.

I am fully aware that since this is all about Zipangu, it's only right that a resident of Zipangu should take care of this in-house.

Unfortunately, The Spell of Acacia has prevented Zipanguans from directly altering the history themselves.

For the future of Zipangu...

(Asia suddenly gets down on her knees)

I would like for you to help us save Zipangu, the one that is unaffected by The Spell of Acacia. Will you?

Thank you, Mapler... thank you...

?Asia breathes a heavy sigh of relief?

With the kind of power you possess, I have no doubt in my mind that you are capable of holding your own against the powerful foes from that era.

That being said... I want to see the extent of your power with my very own eyes.

I had been in search of someone that possessed immense talent and power for the past few thousand years.
The era where Zipangu is on the verge of destruction is a scientifically-advanced era where the monsters you'll go up against are beyond your wildest imagination.

To find someone that's capable of battling those monsters, I formulated a test that'll weed out the bad candidates.

Zipangu used to be divided by a number of forces, each hoping to conquer and unify the land.

The force that was the most prominent was the one that based itself on Ninja Castle.
With the outstanding soldiers they call Ninjas protecting the castle, Zipangu under the Ninja Castle was peaceful to say the least.

This should have been the beginning of an era where peace and tranquility rule the land, but that wasn't the case. A goblin that noticed the immense power of ninjas decided to enter the body of the castle lord and wound up taking over the Ninja Castle.

For the next 10 years, the lord of the castle that was controlled by the goblin made life here miserable, but one day, a brave Samurai appeared in Zipangu and proceeded to defeat the goblin, bringing peace back to this place.

In the history of Zipangu, monsters and goblins that possess the special powers of Ninjas have been notorious for their immense power.

The goblin in the Ninja Castle, I believe, is a good indicator of gauging the powers of prospective candidates that will later battle the monsters of the future.

I also realized that the goblin, which had reigned supreme for 10 years, does not affect the course of the future of Zipangu if defeated by an individual that is unaffected by
The Spell of Acacia.

I prepared the Worm Hole at Mushroom Shrine, which will allow one to travel to the past, and brought residents of the Maple World to the Ninja Castle to test out their strength and see whether they were strong enough to battle the monsters from the future.

If you cannot defeat the goblin in the castle, then you will not be able to even compete against those monsters from the future.

I am sure you are plenty strong enough, but I want concrete proof that you can do it.

Please defeat the Ninja Goblin at the Ninja Castle and bring back the following items as proof: 300 Ninto Scrolls, 1 Kacchuu Musha Fragment, and 1 Toad Oil.

I understand that you feel trepidations about helping out a strange town like Zipangu. I am the one that is unaffected by The Spell of Acacia, which means I will have to risk my life to save this town from total destruction.

Good to see you back, Mapler. How did you fare against the goblin?

Brilliant.

Now I know for sure that you are more than capable of battling the monsters of the future from Zipangu.

I will now hand you a Lv 1 Gate Pass. It's evidence that you're from Kamuna, and the pass is required for you to enter the future of Zipangu. Please do not lose this pass.

This will now enable you to open the door to Zipangu's future, and take part in altering the history of this great town.

I have a mission for you right now that I'd like for you to accept immediately. Are you ready?