“Come on, Orin. Can’t you bring the price down a bit?” begged Lukas. “I’m on my last pieces of gold here.”

The stout merchant looked at the Swordsman suspiciously while stroking his thick black beard.

“I’m sorry, lad. If you don’t have the coin, I can’t help you,” said Orin sounding genuinely sorry. “It’s just business, you know.”

Lukas sighed. They were back in Longhill doing a quest around the area. Since partying up with Kaya and Boris, they had split the loot three ways and the majority of his share went into buying expensive blue potions leaving him very little to spare for equipment upgrades. But Lukas found out two thing that could help his situation. First; NPCs in this version of GFO can be bartered with if you play your cards right, second; Orin the merchant loved cheese.

“Here,” said Lukas, placing a lump the size of a melon covered in cloth on the counter.

Orin eyed the package suspiciously.

“What is it?”

“It’s hard cheese… I know you like it.”

“And you think hard cheese will make me change my mind?” said Orin raising an eyebrow.

Lukas gave a hesitant smile and a shrug.

The merchant’s face broke into a wide grin and he barked with laughter.

“Hah! You know me all too well, lad.” Orin said stowing away the hard cheese. “Very well, I’ll give you a half-price on upgrades. Just tell me what to do.”

Lukas let out a sigh of relief and unequipped all his armor and handed it over to the merchant.

“Upgrade them all to +6, please.”

“Okay. Let’s see… that’s five pieces of armor and 50 silver per upgrade at a half discount…. That’ll be 7 gold and 50 silver coins, please.”

Lukas transferred the currency leaving him with only 90 silvers and 60 coppers. But with the hard cheese only costing 1 gold piece, it was still a net positive all in all. With every transaction Lukas made, he would always kick himself for not withdrawing funds from his main character. Gaius had nearly ten million gold coins on him. Ever since he got stuck here in GFO, Lukas hadn’t been able to go back to the character selection screen or even access the shared inventory, leaving him to scrounge up every piece of loot he can find and sell it off to NPCs.

“Here you go. All finished.” declared Orin as he returned the items.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, lad… anytime.” said the merchant already breaking off a hunch of hard cheese to munch on.

Lukas equipped all the pieces and saw an immediate difference from his previous stats. His HP and MP increased as well as his M.Def and P.Def. This upgrade would last him at least a few more levels until he needed to change armor again. As for weaponry, however, he always used the cheapest shortsword possible and didn’t bother upgrading it. It was a waste of coin. Upgrading a sword type weapon only increased the P.Atk which was a none factor to his build. He could, of course, equip a wand or a staff now that he’s a Conjurer, but he would lose the Swordsmanship passive and wouldn’t be able to use Wild Strike. That was the only thing lacking on his build at the moment; item synergy. Skills that work well together will only get a build so far. Without equipment to give the build an extra boost, it was only a matter of time before it hits a wall. In the meantime, Lukas was stuck adding points to his Str. just enough to equip the cheapest sword he could find. But hopefully, this next quest will change that.

Lukas spotted Boris and Kaya by the town gate and it appears that the old Russian was in a heated discussion with a group of players. The strangers were kept gesturing to Boris but the Paladin only kept his arms crossed and shook his head repeatedly. By the time Lukas was near enough to hear what they were talking about, the group had already started to walk away through the town gates.

“Ah! There you are! Where to now, Lukas my boy?” asked Boris after seeing Lukas.

“We go to the foot of Ta’al mountain… we’ll find our target there.” Lukas replied. “Uhm, what was that about?” he asked looking in the direction of the group of players.

“It was nothing.” scoffed the old man.

Lukas raised a questioning eyebrow at Kaya.

“They were trying to buy Boris’s hat,” she said. “You know… Gumo’s Crown. They offered a lot of gold for it too.”

“But I say nyet,” said Boris. “You gave this to me, young Lukas,... and I cherish gifts from friends. I would never even dream of selling it.”

Lukas could not help but be touched. But it wasn’t like selling the thing was in any consideration. As far as he was concerned, Gumo’s Crown was the only thing keeping them alive against strong monsters.

“Thank you, Boris. That means a lot to me.” He said with an embarrassed smile.

The Russian grinned broadly, revealing several yellowing teeth.

“Good thing you didn’t sell it. We need it for what we’re about to do next.”

“About that…” Kaya started apprehensively. “Are you sure we should be doing this, Lukas? From what the other players said, that thing sounded too dangerous.”

The thing Kaya was referring to was a new monster in GFO. Lukas had overheard players in the pub two days ago talking about a strong level 40 monster with a blue HP bar bordered with silver roaming around the Ta’al foothills. The rumors say that the monster had already killed five players who were unfortunate enough to run into it alone. It was also said that the thing wielded a transparent glowing sword. This part was what made Lukas very interested. By all accounts, it sounded like an Elite Monster, another addition of the recent patch. And sure enough, there was a new hunting quest with cryptic instructions Lukas had never seen before posted on the Bounty Board in Babel.

Blue Demon

[Beware the Blue Demon that roams the hills. Beware the blade that isn’t steel. A path with no escape awaits those who face it.]

“It’s okay, Kaya… If we can’t handle this thing, we’ll use teleportation scrolls. It’ll be fine.” said Lukas reassuringly.

***

“Keep your distance, Kaya!” warned Lukas as another arrow whizzed by. There were four Lvl. 38 Goblin Archers lined up on a ridge 20 meters ahead. The creatures’ faces contorted with twisted smiles of delight as they sent arrow after arrow in their direction.

Boris was slowly pushing up the ridge with his Guard skill activated, shielding him and Lukas who following closely behind. Kaya stayed at the base of the hill for support.

“They’re retreating again, Lukas my boy!” said Boris as one of the Goblin Archers fired a shot and turned to run away. “Cowards!”

Annoying little fucks! Thought Lukas in frustration.

Goblin Archers were one of his most hated mobs. They continuously take shots at you and run away as soon as you get near enough. That’s why Archer classes are the only ones that hunt them on a regular basis because long-distance attacks were the only way to deal with the little devils efficiently.

“Kaya! Speed me up!” shouted Lukas, finally fed up with the goblin’s shenanigans.

He glowed slightly and his body got lighter as the effects of God Speed took hold. Lukas activated Parry Stance and charged up the hill with remarkable speed after their fleeing foe.

An arrow went straight for his head. His sword arm reacted instantly to deflect the projectile and blocked it. The sensation of the skill’s motion assist no longer felt strange to Lukas.

Another arrow came speeding and it shattered to splinters on his sword. His Parry Stance was maxed out in level now due to repeated use. That’s how you improve skill levels in GFO. You actually need to use the skill to improve it. He could block a total of six P.Atk now without taking any damage.

As soon as Lukas got into striking distance, he activated Spellblade.

Before the poor Goblin Archer who decided to stay could unleash a third arrow, its HP bar went from full to empty with four swift strikes from a glowing sword. The three running away didn’t get very far. One by one, they were cut down as their arrows failed to even make a mark on the swift Swordsman.

“Clear!” Lukas shouted over the ridge after inspecting the surrounding area.

A few moments later, Boris and Kaya emerged. Lukas was already finished collecting the loot.

“Are we there yet?” asked Boris sounding bored. “We have been walking for hours.”

“We’re almost there… the players I asked said they saw it somewhere around…”

“HELP! HELP US! SOMEONE HELP!” came a voice from the woods to their right.

Two players emerged from the thicket and hobbled toward them. One was a boy and supported a barely conscious girl on his shoulder. Both looked very injured.

Kaya immediately rushed forward to help the two.

“Set her down and stay still.” She told the boy. They could see he was a level 44 Hunter class. His HP bar was only a third.

“We… we tried to hunt it.” the Hunter stammered out in a trembling voice. “It was too strong for us…”

“Are you talking about the Blue Demon quest?” Lukas asked.

The boy nodded as he was being healed by Kaya. The girl he was with was more injured. She was a level 45 Sorcerer. Her HP bar was just a sliver from being empty. Kaya healed her as well and she gained consciousness.

“Wha… what happened? Where are the others, Cody?” the girl asked the Hunter as she looked around.

“They’re still back there, Dalla… they told me to take you and run,” Cody explained.

“What?! We have to go back!” Dalla the Sorcerer said as she stood up but her companion restrained her.

“It’s too late! That thing will kill us! It already killed Emmet!”

Dalla’s face drained of all color and she sat back down.

“Emmet’s gone?” she whispered before breaking into tears.

“Where’s the rest of your party?” asked Kaya urgently.

Cody looked up at her and pointed to where they came from.

“Straight through those woods…They stayed behind to let us escape. It wouldn’t let us leave …. I think they’re still fighting it.”

“Let’s go!” said Kaya to Boris and Lukas as she broke into a sprint. The two followed her lead.

“Kaya, wait!” called out Lukas. She buffed herself with God Speed but not them.

“No time, Lukas! They need my help! I have to get there first!” she called out over her shoulder. They could hear the faint sound of fighting in the distance. Kaya sped farther and farther away leaving them behind.

Boris and Lukas made it into a large clearing a moment later. They saw Kaya tending to three people on the ground near the center of the hollow. There was no sign of any monster in the area. Somehow that was more worrying.

The two rushed forward just in time for one of the players on the ground to regain consciousness. He was a tall and well-built boy that looked about the same age as Lukas. His status bar told them that his name was Jacob, a level 45 Knight. The boy’s eyes went wide upon seeing them.

“What are you doing here? Who are you?” Jacob asked in a panic.

“Don’t worry and stay calm. We’re here to help,” said Kaya to comfort him.

The boy shook his head.

“No… you don’t understand… it’s using me as bait. Run! Now!”

Lukas felt a presence appear behind them and activated Parry Stance just in time. His body jerked around automatically with his sword arm raised and a spectral blade clashed with his shortsword, sending vibrations throughout his body.

An intimidating figure towered over them. It wore bronze armor covered in runes and glyphs. The few patches of skin that were visible through the strange armor were an odd shade of blue. The creature wore no helmet and had a face similar to a goblin’s but with long lower fangs reaching up to its cheeks. Its HP bar was blue and bordered with silver.

Lvl. ? Hagerin Witchblade

The Blue Demon

Elite Monster

Unknown level? What the...

The monster struck again with its glowing weapon and Lukas blocked it. Another strike and another. Three attacks in quick succession.

This thing attacks fast. Its Agi must be insane.

The Blue Demon kept the assault until Lukas’ Parry Stance completely wore off.

“Boris! Taunt it, now!” Lukas commanded.

“Call of the Martyr!” cried out the Paladin as he charged. A red glow emanated from Boris and struck the Blue Demon and it turned on him immediately, attacking with a flurry of blows.

To Lukas’ alarm, each strike took large chunks of the Paladin’s health. Boris’ HP bar was down to a fourth after only a few seconds.

“Boris! Use Guard! Use Guard!” Lukas shouted in a panic as he rushed to engage their foe again, seeing another slash aimed at Boris’ head.

His sword connected at the monster’s armored back with Wild Strike and, out of sheer luck, the stun effect went off.

Lukas turned to see if Boris was okay. In alarm, he saw a large diagonal gash from left forehead to right cheek on the old man’s face. His HP bar was just a sliver.

“I used Heal instead… less cast time.” said Boris with a red smile. “… an old dog can learn new tricks.”

Lukas returned the smile though inside he was in full panic. This was his first encounter with this particular monster and so far it had torn them apart in a matter of seconds. It was stronger than he anticipated. The players from the pub told of a level 40 monster but this thing was far more dangerous than that. Retreat might be the only option.

“Everyone! Use your teleportation scroll! I’ll hold it off!” shouted Lukas to the group as the Blue Demon started to regain its senses.

The Knight stood up with his longsword drawn at the ready.

“You don’t understand!... It won’t let you leave. The scrolls won’t work!”

Lukas’ blood went cold. He looked at the corner of his HUD to see the quest menu and saw the cryptic quest text again… ‘A path with no escape awaits those who face it.’

Shit.

The monster struck and Lukas rolled sideways to avoid it. He turned and lunged for a counter only to see the spectral blade already swing toward him.

“Mana Shield!” Lukas cried.

Mana Shield [Active: Toggle]

[Project a shield around the user for a duration that allows your MP to absorb a portion of damage taken.]

It was one of the Conjurer’s innate skills. Lukas had not used it as often because his MP was just enough to maintain Spellblade and so far Parry Stance had been enough as a defensive skill. But with Parry Stance on cooldown, he had no choice but to use an alternative.

The spectral blade connected just in time as a blue force engulfed his body entirely and the blow sent him flying.

Lukas landed hard on the ground and saw that a third of his HP bar was gone and so was a fourth of his MP bar.

How strong is this thing?!

The Blue Demon leaped at him with its weapon held high to deliver a potentially killing blow and out of nowhere, a metal blur collided with it midair stopping the attack.

“You fucking bastard!” the Knight roared at the monster after regaining his balance from his charge. “You killed my friends!” The two clashed blades.

Lukas turned to Kaya’s direction and saw her still hunched over two figures on the ground, trying desperately to revive them. Lukas saw their eyes were blankly staring toward the sky.

“Kaya! Heal Boris!”

“But… they… I need to save them….” she stammered with a shaking voice.

“You can’t help them, Kaya! They’re dead... now help us or we’ll be dead too. This is no time to lose it!” said Lukas rather harshly.

But that seemed to snap Kaya out of it. She took a deep breath to steady herself and rushed to Boris’s aid.

Lukas got up and saw Jacob the Knight going toe to toe with the Blue Demon. Jacob used Parry Stance as well to negate some of the damage but he couldn’t seem to find an opening to deliver a counter strike. Only a fifth of the Blue Demon’s HP bar was gone.

Lukas retrieved blue and red potions from his inventory and drank both, restoring his HP and MP bar to full. He activated Parry Stance again and charged.

His Wild Strike connected on the monster’s right side while it was distracted fighting the Knight. But to his dismay, the Blue Demon’s HP bar barely dropped.

It has high M.Def. It seems his hunch based on the rumors was correct. This monster’s mechanics were oddly similar to his own build. The spectral blade it wielded was most likely a version of Spellblade. Its M.Def was high because its Int was high as well.

Lukas struck two more times before backing off.

“You!” he called out to the Knight. “Let’s switch. Get your cooldowns.”

The Knight nodded and backed off while Lukas lunged forward in his place to block another attack.

“My build is useless against this mob,” Lukas said through gritted teeth as he parried a flurry of blows. “I deal magic damage… you’ll have to be the one that kills it. We’ll alternate agro.”

“Got it… that’s fine by me!” replied Jacob. He took out a red potion of his own and drank the contents.

“Boris, are you ready?” Lukas asked. He had one last deflect on his Parry Stance.

“Stand aside, boy!” cried the Russian as he came in swinging his war harmer and landing a couple of blows dealing more damage than Lukas did.

The shield projection of his Guard skill barely came up before a barrage of sword strikes pummeled Boris’ HP bar back to half. Kaya quickly reacted by using Heal and Blessing on the Paladin and, instead of Lukas, used God Speed on Jacob who was now advancing to rejoin the fight. The Blue Demon turned to face the Knight but was suddenly compelled by Boris invoking “Call of the Martyr!”.

“Where do you think you’re going? You face me, demon.” growled the Russian.

Lukas was impressed. His party mates’ decision-making skills were getting better, even in the light of desperate situations. They had gone a long way from the girl who didn’t know teleportation was a thing and an old man saying he didn’t even know how to play the game.

Jacob attacked with Wild Strike at the unprotected back of the monster and dealt a significant amount of damage. He swung again for two more follow-up strikes before Call of the Martyr wore off.

Lukas noticed the Knight attacked very slowly even with the benefit of God Speed. That was the downside of a longsword. It had big damage but attack speed suffers greatly. There were some skills to minimize the tradeoff but it seems the Knight didn’t learn them yet.

The Blue Demon turned around and pressed the Knight aggressively. Boris followed and harried its rear but his damage was minimal at the most. Kaya looked on with an expression of complete focus, her wand at the ready. Lukas knew she was paying close attention to everyone’s HP bars.

“Switch!” shouted Jacob and Lukas rejoined the fight, his Parry Stance ready for use again.

Lukas deactivated Spellblade, it was next to useless against this monster and toggled Mana Shield instead.

They repeated this tactic of changing the monster’s agro over and over again. Their skills barely having enough time to come off cooldown before being used again. It was like a deadly dance that only took one missed step to face dire consequences.

Minutes that felt like hours passed and the Blue Demon’s HP was down to half as Boris was facing it. All of a sudden it leaped backward to distance itself. The monster grinned to show rows of needlelike teeth and its armor started to glow blue.

It’s casting something.

Before any of them could react, the monster became gradually transparent until it was completely invisible.

This is bad. Thought Lukas. Some monsters use spells only in special conditions. It seems those conditions are met in this instance.

“Huddle together. Now!” Lukas commanded.

They formed a circle facing outward to defend all sides.

“What’s the plan here?” asked Jacob.

“I don’t know… just be ready for anything,” replied Lukas.

“You think it’s gone?” asked Kaya.

“I doubt it, little girl,” Boris said seriously.

The tension was thick in the air. They waited on tenterhooks for an attack from a monster that might not even be there anymore.

Out of nowhere, the Blue Demon lunged with the spectral sword at the ready seeming to emerge from thin air right in front of Lukas who parried the attack with his own sword. He saw a flash of blue on the periphery of his vision followed by a spurt of blood as Boris fell to his knees beside him. Lukas acted quickly and put himself between the monster and his injured comrade.

The attacks came in more furiously than ever and immediately consumed all deflects of his Parry Stance. Lukas caught two clean blows before Jacob the Knight realized he was in mortal danger and came to help.

The Blue Demon backed off once more and they all saw that it held a second spectral sword in its other hand. It giggled menacingly before fading to thin air again.

They regrouped into the circle and Lukas saw there was only a third of his HP bar left and half of his MP bar. If it weren’t for Mana Shield, he surely would be dead. He opened his inventory to retrieve more potions and realized that he only had one red left and no more blue ones. He drank what was left.

“We are officially fucked!” Jacob swore angrily as he scanned the surroundings.

“You okay, Boris?” asked Lukas. His voice sounded hollow to his ears.

“Just a scratch,” grunted Boris as a massive gash on his shoulder mended instantly with Kaya’s Heal.

“It used Wild Strike, Lukas… I saw it use Wild Strike on Boris,” said Kaya in shock.

We’re dead. Lukas thought. And I’m the one that killed us.

This quest was a fool’s errand. All this time they had taken it slow and steady. He himself had taken the precaution to out level any monster they were going to hunt just to ensure their safety. And what was his reaction upon hearing about a deadly elite monster that was known to have already killed several players? Go after it of course. And for what? Because he thought it had a chance to drop an item that could make his build stronger. The gamer in him got the better of his common sense. He started having fun so he had forgotten that this was no longer a game but as Damocles had put it; his new reality.

Damocles was right… I am greedy. He thought with despair. Then it came to him like the proverbial light bulb flicking on above his head.

Damocles!

“Kaya… do you still have the coin you got from Damocles?” Lukas asked urgently.

Kaya looked at him in confusion at first then her eyes widened. She hurried to open her inventory.

The Blue Demon appeared out of thin air again but Boris was ready and taunted it immediately. The Paladin grunted as every blow of the spectral blades left long slashes all over his armor. Jacob joined in the fray, cursing the monster with each blow.

“Got it!” shouted Kaya holding the golden coin.

Lukas saw Boris’ HP bar drop below half.

“Use it now!”

The coin glowed a bright blue then turned into dust between Kaya’s fingers.

A second later, a pillar of light descended from the sky between Boris, the Knight and the Blue Demon sending them all to stagger backward.

“That was one hell of a skill!” roared Boris turning to Kaya. “Where did you learn that, little girl?”

“That wasn’t me,” she replied in awe.

The light died down and a circle smoked on the ground where it had been. At the center of the circle in full silver armor stood Argenti the Lord Knight.

Yes! Thought Lukas in great relief. We’re saved!

The Lord Knight shouldn’t have any problems dealing with the monster.

The Blue Demon hissed at the newcomer and lunged.

Argenti raised and eyebrow and blocked the attack with his shield. He pulled out a silver shortsword and with one swift motion, unleashed a Wild Strike that severed the monster’s left arm at the elbow. The Blue Demon shrieked in agony as its HP bar dropped to a fourth.

What?! Lukas thought in alarm. That didn’t kill it?

Even for an elite monster, the Blue Demon should not be nearly strong enough to survive an attack from a level 82 Lord Knight, especially considering it was already at half health. When Lukas played Gauis, he would kill level 45 mobs easily with one solid hit.

What’s going on?

Lukas saw the status bar of the monster and noticed the unknown level symbol again. Then something Damolces had said flashed through his mind. All monsters contained celestial essence and killing it allows the slayer to gain power in the form of Exp, making that person stronger. But all players were similarly sustained by Damocles’ own essence in order to exist in this world. The rumors in the pub said that the Blue Demon was only level 40. Things suddenly started to click in Lukas’ head like puzzle pieces falling into place.

Does that mean it works both ways?

He looked at the two dead bodies a few meters away and recalled the other five players that the Blue Demon has killed.

That was a lot of essence for a monster to absorb.

That would explain why this particular monster was unnaturally strong. The celestial had failed to mention that in his speech …. or he had intentionally left it out.

The Blue Demon leaped backward a fair distance and hissed, clutching its bleeding stump. Its armor glowed again and it started to fade out of vision.

“Subjugate!” said Argenti in a booming voice, banging his shield with his sword.

Subjugate[Active]

[Temporarly forces a target to face you while they become unable to attack and cast spells. Reduces the target’s movement speed and P.Def significantly. CD: 60s]

The Blue Demon reluctantly halted it’s disappearing act and faced Argenti. Its remaining arm was harmlessly at its side. It was shaking in fear. The Lord Knight laid the blade of his silver sword on the monster’s right shoulder and slit its throat from one side to the other. The monster’s HP bar reduced to zero and it collapsed lifelessly on the ground.

Argenti sheathed his sword and turned to face them.

“Will that be all?”

No one spoke. The whole fight lasted about ten seconds but Lukas knew it was nine seconds longer than it should have been.

“I’ll be off then.” the Lord Knight said as he pulled out a blue scroll. In a flash of blue light, he was gone as quickly as he appeared.

“What in the hell was that?” asked Jacob. “I’m not complaining but how did you call Argenti himself?”

“It’s... hard to explain,” said Kaya, dropping to sit on the ground. She looked exhausted.

Two figures stepped out of the treeline. It was Cody the Hunter and Dalla the Sorceress.

Jacob let out a deep sigh upon seeing them and sheathed his longsword.

“I… I have to take care of my friends…you guys can keep all the loot as thanks for saving my life,” He said to Lukas. “See you guys around I guess.”

They shook hands before Jacob went to meet his companions.

Lukas walked over to Hagerin Witchblade’s corpse and knelt down to inspect it. He could hear Dalla crying hysterically in the background.

All this death and grief… and for what?

He picked something out from the loot pool and held it in his hand. It looked like a shortsword but with only a few inches of a broken blade attached to the crossguard.

The Witchblade

Weapon Type: Shortsword Tier: Unique

Level Req: 40 Class Req: All Classes

+30 P.Atk

+150 M.Atk

+10 Int

+15% M.Atk

Unique Passive: Spellblade skill will ignore 50% of M.Def.

Once the mighty weapon of Hageros the mighty, king of the Kobolds and was inherited by his eldest child, Hagerin. Hagerin tainted the blade with the blood of his own people as he pursued his obsession with witchcraft. As a result, Hagerin the Witchblade was banished by his own kind to wander the lands beyond his ancestral home. They Kobolds did not know what evil they unleashed on the world that day. - Cursed be the bearer of this blade.

“What is it, Lukas?” asked Kaya.

Lukas turned the weapon in his hand and activated Spellblade. A spectral blade emerged from the crossguard and joined with the broken metal pieces perfectly to form a transparent blue shortsword a meter long.

“It’s exactly what I’m looking for,” Lukas replied.

Despite getting an amazing item that works perfectly with his build, he couldn’t even muster a smile. It felt like a hollow victory. As if it was just a consolation prize for being lucky enough to survive his own carelessness and stupidity. All Lukas could think about now was one thing.

What else did Damocles didn’t tell us?