“Have you heard about the Mage Swordsman?” asked one of the patrons of the Red Stallion.

“The one with the glowing blue sword?” his companion replied.

“Yeah. That’s the one. He was here earlier. I heard he’s been asking around about Elite Monsters. Rumor has it that he’s been hunting them.”

“Isn’t he the one they call the Dealmaker?”

“Really? I thought that was a different person.”

“I think he’s a Conjurer though, not a Mage.” interjected an eavesdropping bystander.

“Really? Either way, that’s an odd thing isn’t it?”

“Seems to be working for him though. He took down that Blue Demon a few weeks back. You know… the one that’s been killing all those players around Ta’al.” said the eavesdropper.

“No, you got it wrong. I heard Argenti did that, not the Swordsman.”

“Argenti is so handsome, isn’t he?” said a girl dreamily from across the bar. “I wonder if the Swordsman is handsome too. Do you know what he looks like?”

“I’ve never seen him before. I’ve only heard rumors.” said the eavesdropper.

“I see them all time.” chimed in another patron. “He’s always with that big bearded Paladin with a weird hat that looks like a mushroom and that pretty redheaded Priestess.”

“Does that mean he’s taken then?” asked the girl sounding disappointed.

“Well, I’m not.” said another man with a wink. Laughter broke out from the group.

“Tell me more about this Swordman.” said a voice from the end of the bar.

They all turned to see a hooded figure half-concealed in shadow seated in a stool all of them could have sworn had been empty a second ago. The speaker wore a black traveling coat that covered most of their body. A pin the size of a large coin in the shape of a silver bird in flight clasped the cloak and shone in the dim light of the pub.

“Bloody hell... It’s one of the Nightingales.” whispered one of the men.

“You mean Argenti’s guild? The ones notorious for hunting bosses?”

“Yes,” answered the hooded figure in a hushed tone that seem to carry throughout the pub. “That’s us… now tell me more about this Swordsman. I’m interested.”

***

Earlier that day...

Lukas walked the cobbled streets of Altura alone. He had given Boris and Kaya the week off while he scouted ahead for their next hunt. He had heard rumors of a dangerous monster lurking in the woods near the lake a few kilometers outside the gates. It is well known that the area outside Altura was a rich hunting ground for stronger monsters, it was a zone for players level 45 and above after all, but the stories say that several high leveled players, some even as high as 50, had gone missing from the town lately. This lead Lukas to believe that this was the work of another aberration; the term he took to calling monsters that were unusually strong and displayed unknown levels.

Ever since facing the Blue Demon, Lukas had the theory that the decree Damocles invoked allowing players to gain the essence within a monster by slaying it also worked the other way around. He had shared the idea to his companions and the two had taken the news very differently. On one hand, Kaya shared Lukas’ concern and was alarmed at the thought, but on the other, Boris simply paid it no mind. When asked about his reaction, the Russian only shrugged and said; “What is big deal? We get stronger. They get stronger. It’s only fair, no?” With differing opinions aside, both still agreed to join Lukas on his crusade against Elite Monsters and so far, the three of them had successfully hunted down two more the past three weeks.

One was called The Slave Master; a level 20 ghostly apparition wrapped in chains that roamed the abandoned graveyard near Caldium with an army of Field Wraiths in tow. The quest they got to hunt it hinted on the monster’s illusiveness to which it very well lived up to. They had spent nearly three days combing through the massive graveyard to catch a sight of it. It was fortunate timing when they did finally encounter the Slave Master because it had cornered a party of low leveled players, and the situation was looking grim. Lukas, Kaya, and Boris wasted no time and lept into action to rescue the four players from their certain deaths. There were no killings connected to the Slaved Master that they knew of and there was nothing out of place when they faced it. It was the level that it should be and it was easy to enough to deal with.

The other Elite they encountered, however, was called The Lone Alpha. It was said to be a level 30 gigantic wolf with unbelievable speed and prowled the countryside of Longhill at night. And unlike the Slave Master, there were confirmed accounts that this particular Elite had indeed killed a few players who were unfortunate enough to encounter it in the dark. After waiting for the sun to set, they saw the giant wolf appear and it further solidified Lukas’ theory. The Lone Alpha had an unknown level. It was an aberration. The fight was more dangerous for Lukas’ liking but it didn’t take long. With Witchblade in hand, Lukas made short work of the beast, and he noticed that it gave a larger amount of Exp points than it should have even if it were an Elite mob. Sure enough, when they searched its den, the bodies of seven players were found. The three of them took the time to give each a decent burial at the base of a giant oak. Slaying the monstrous wolf had gained them favor from the inhabitants of Longhill. The NPCs sing praises whenever they enter the town gates and the players staying there showered them with thanks now that they can travel the roads safely at night.

Soon enough, rumors of the three of them hunting Elites had spread and it had gained their party some attention. Heads now turned whenever the three of them walk the streets of Babel. Stories started passing around from mouth to mouth about the Swordsman with the cursed blade who travels with a monstrous Paladin and a princess of a Priestess. A couple of guilds even tried to recruit them but Lukas didn’t pay them any mind. He liked moving at his own pace, and the pace of others is usually too inefficient for his liking.

Hunting Elites had been fruitful for their party so far. The Exp. gain was larger than grinding regular mobs and the loot drops were worth a lot more. Their third potential target, however, was proving difficult to track down. Mostly because there were no quests related to it posted in any of the Bounty Boards. So far, Lukas only had rumors and stories to go on and all of them speak of a potentially very strong monster.

All Lukas’ research the past week had brought him here today to the doors of a pub called the Red Stallion. He had tracked down a person by the name of Lenny Judas who loved to frequent the establishment. The talk around town was that Lenny was the sole survivor when his party was attacked by the Elite Monster a while back.

Lukas pushed open the door and entered. His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting but he could see that even though it was only late afternoon, there were already a few patrons inside deep in their drink. It took him a moment to realize that everyone was looking at him and their eyes all did the same path from his face down to his hip where the hilt of Witchblade could be seen.

Okay. Don’t mind them. Just find Lenny.

Lukas walked over to take a seat at the counter and the NPC barkeep approached immediately with a jolly smile.

“What’ll it be, son?”

“Mead,” said Lukas. He thought it was a bit early for a drink but he’d be more out off place without a tankard in his hand.

“Mead it is then.” said the barkeep as he slammed a wooden tankard on the counter and poured a golden liquid from a large pitcher. “Now, if you want something to eat, may I interest you in-”

CRASH

A load shattering of plates and bottles came from one of the booths.

“-ow bloody hell!” cursed the barkeep before turning back to Lukas. “If you’ll excuse me, sir. I’ll be back in a moment,” he said before angrily walking off, grumbling all the while.

Lukas couldn’t help but smile at the barkeep. It still amazed him how human the NPCs act now in this world.

Have they always been like that? Are they real people too? Did they have lives before all this? Lukas would often ponder things like these while waiting for sleep to take him at night.

“Nice sword.” came a rough voice from his left.

Lukas turned to see a stout bald man in his thirties wearing the garments of a Bandit class looking at him sideways in the adjacent stool.

“Thanks,”

“Where’s the rest of it?” asked the man nodding to the limp leather scabbard dangling from Lukas’ waist.

“It broke off,” replied Lukas curtly before taking a swig of mead.

The man turned on the stool to face him bodily and squinted intently.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” asked the Bandit.

“I doubt it.”

“Hmmm.” the man stroked his chin appearing to search his memory.

“Aren’t you that bl-”

“For god’s sake, Lenny! This is the third time you’ve done this!” the barkeep shouted from one of the booths with a mop in hand.

Lenny!

“If you’ll excuse me,” said Lukas abruptly to the bald man before getting up from his seat to walk over to the commotion.

“-stupid oaf,... good for nothing... drunk ass” the barkeep grumbled on his hands and knees as he picked up broken pieces of plates and glasses. “Can’t even handle his drink.”

“Is everything alright?” asked Lukas.

“No, it’s not.” replied the barkeep still mopping up spilled ale on the wooden floor with a dirty rag. “This oaf keeps breaking my plates. If he carries on like this, he’ll put me out of business.”

Lukas looked over at the said oaf slouched in the bench of the booth he solely occupied and saw his status bar.

Name: Lenny Judas

Class: Wizard Subclass: N/A

Level: 55

Found you.

Lenny was fast asleep with his head resting on his chest and his pudgy hands placed over his round belly. He looked like he was about in his mid-twenties but his long black hair was already noticeably receding.

“Sorry if this inconvenienced your evening, sir.” said the barkeep. “I’ll have him tossed out and give you a tankard on the house.”

“No. That won’t be necessary,” said Lukas. “He’s actually a friend of mine. I’ll pay for the damages and watch over him till he wakes up.”

The barkeep looked at him suspiciously but took the gold all the same and went back to his post at the counter.

Lukas sat in the booth across from the sleeping man and notice several tankards of ale and empty plates littered the table before him. You might not need food in GFO but one can still stuff themselves and get blind drunk if they really wanted to.

Minutes pass and Lukas’ tankard emptied of mead and still, the sleeping Wizard carried on snoring. Impatience finally won over and Lukas coughed loudly… but nothing happened. He coughed even louder and slammed the table and still, the man’s eyes stayed closed.

Wake up, damn it!

Lukas looked around and saw that the pub had more people in it by now but none were looking at their particular direction. Making sure the coast was clear, he aimed a kick at Lenny’s shin.

Lenny jerked awake and looked around bleary-eyed.

“Ow, good! You’re awake,” said Lukas in mock surprise.

“Mo.... more ale, More- can I help you?” Lenny asked when he saw Lukas.

Is he still drunk?

“You’re Lenny, right?”

Lenny nodded making his ample cheeks jiggle while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“That’s me… what do you want?” the Wizard asked in a slurred speech.

"I heard you encountered the Elite outside Altura. Is that true?"

The man’s eyes suddenly widened and his pudgy face turned pale. He started to open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. Whatever traces of Lenny’s inebriation remained evaporated the second he heard the question.

“I… ahh… I… Uhm.” stammered Lenny until he eventually squeaked out “yes…”

“My name is Lukas… my party and I are looking to hunt the monster but we have no idea where it is, what it looks like or what level it is…. I was hoping you could help with that.”

More stammering.

Really? This is the guy that survived? At first impressions alone, Lukas could already tell what type of person Lenny was. He was socially awkward, shy, and cowardly. Lenny is probably the type of person afraid of the dark and would run to his room after turning out the lights in the hallway.

“I… I didn’t get a very good look.” Lenny gulped making his multiple chins wobble. “...too dark.”

“But you were sure it was an Elite?” Lukas asked a bit disappointed. This might have been wasting his time with this lead.

“Ye… yes.” Lenny nodded. “Its HP bar was blue and had silver borders.”

That’s more like it. This trip to Altura might just pay off.

“How big was it?”

“Big…”

“How fast did it move?”

“Very fast…”

“What was its level?”

“Uhhhhh….”

Okay, maybe not.

Lukas had spent three days tracking down this lead about the Elite Monster and it was a bit frustrating that the only person who managed to escape the attack was, well, Lenny. But upon reflection, impatience was getting the better of him. The man was probably still in shock after surviving the attack.

“Okay…” sighed Lukas. “I’m sorry if I’m being too direct. It’s just I’ve spent days tracking stories and rumors about this thing and the best lead I got so far was you, Lenny. So if it’s okay with you… I wanted to ask you a few questions.”

The Wizard stared at him with the tense posture of a frightened mouse but finally after a few seconds, Lenny’s shoulder dropped and he appeared to ease up a bit.

“Okay…” Lenny said meekly with a tiny nod.

“Thank you,” said Lukas with the most disarming smile he could muster. “Now, can you tell me where you saw the Elite Monster?”

“Down near the lake…” replied Lenny in almost a whisper. “We didn’t even see it coming…”

“Can you tell me what happened?... only if you want to, of course.”

Lenny took in a sharp breath and stared at the hardwood floor. He remained silent and trembled a little. Lukas could see that the man was clearly traumatized by whatever happened. It would be cruel to make Lenny relive the event but he was the only solid lead at the moment.

Lukas sighed heavily.

“I heard that it killed your friends.”

That made Lenny look up for a second before fixating his gaze on the wooden floor again.

“I’ve seen people die too.” continued Lukas. “I’ve seen more than my fair share of death actually.”

Lenny looked up again but this time he didn’t look away.

“I know it changes you; seeing someone die. I saw a boy my age die the first couple of days I got stuck here actually... Seeing it made me sick. It made me scared of the reality that it could have easily been me... I can’t remember his name but I can never forget his face… Seeing him take his last breath right in front of me changed something and I didn’t even know him... I can’t imagine what it would feel like if it happened to a friend… to someone I care about. So I won’t pretend I know what you’re going through… But we do both know that there is no coming back from death in this world. Your friends didn’t come back and that boy didn’t either. There are no respawns for any of us. The same goes for anyone unlucky enough to run into that Elite Monster. More people will die if that thing is still out there, Lenny. I was hoping that with your help, we could change that.”

Lenny looked down again and stayed silent. Lukas thought he might have gone overboard with his little speech but to his surprise, Lenny took a deep breath to steady himself and with a few stutters, started telling a story using actual complete and coherent sentences.

“We… we were… we were headed back to town. We stayed out too late, you see… I… I told them we could finish the quest in the morning but the.. they wouldn’t listen. It was already dark outside... There were four of us; me, Juni, Artemis, and Merrick.” Lenny spoke without lifting his eyes off the floor. “We were near the lake when we first heard it… branches were snapping from the tree line… then Juni disappeared… then Merrick… I turned and saw Artemis getting dragged into the woods by something big… the only things I saw of it were its large glowing eyes. A blue HP bar appeared…that’s when I ran. I couldn’t do anything but run. I heard their screams and calls for help but I didn’t even look back. All I could do was run. The only reason I survived was that I was farthest from the treeline. I’m alive because that thing was too busy killing my friends...”

Lenny fell silent again and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his robe. All of a sudden, the table cluttered with empty pitchers of ale made sense. Lukas realized why the man loved to frequent a pub. He probably needed the ale to forget some unpleasant memories… to numb the guilt he felt for doing the one sensible thing anyone would do at the situation.

“I’m sorry about your friends, Lenny,”

The Wizard only sniffled and kept his head downcast.

“What was its name?” Lukas asked after giving Lenny a respectful moment to compose himself.

“I couldn’t make out the name. Like I said, I was in a panic.”

“Did you see what level it was at least?”

At this, Lenny looked up and gave a thoughtful expression.

“That was the odd part... It was just a question mark.” Lenny said unsure.

An aberration! This confirms it. Lukas had heard that whatever the thing was, it had killed at least eleven players including Lenny’s friends. This Elite could be the strongest they’ve encountered so far. He might want to call for back up for this one. Maybe Jacob’s party. The Knight had become a good friend since the incident with the Blue Demon.

“Can you show me on the map where you saw it?” asked Lukas as he projected the map of the fields outside Altura between them.

Lenny shook his head.

“I’m sorry… I’m really bad at maps.”

Lukas sighed with disappointment. The lake near Alura was more than a kilometer across. Combing its perimeter would take forever, but he couldn’t expect too much from Lenny. Having this conversation had probably renewed the man’s trauma of the events.

“That’s okay. I’ve got enough to go on. Thanks for talking to me,” Lukas said as he got up from his seat.

“Again… I’m truly sorry about your friends… but hopefully, with the information you gave me today, we could keep it from happening to someone else.” said Lukas as he started to leave.

But before he could take a step, however, the Wizard spoke.

“...I can show you,”

“What?” Lukas turned and saw that Lenny standing with his hands balled into fists.

“I can take you there… to the spot where we saw it.”

Lukas was surprised. He did not expect this degree of bravery from the man. Perhaps his impression of Lenny was wrong after all.

“You think you’re ready for that?” Lukas asked.

Lenny stepped closer, his eyes had a look of determination on them.

“It killed my friends. I want that thing dead.”

Lukas could not help but admire the man’s moxie.

“Lead the way,”

***

“Are you sure we’re heading the right direction?” asked Lukas for the second time.

They had been walking for half an hour now with Lenny at the lead. The sun had already set and the moon shined bright in the night sky.

“Yes,” replied Lenny curtly.

The Wizard had been oddly quiet since they left the town but Lukas just attributed it to nerves. It must have taken all the courage the man could muster to return to the scene of his friend’s slaughter.

As the lake came into view, the field monsters in this area became more aggressive but they were easy enough to take care of. Most of them ranged from level 45-50 and with Witchblade, Lukas could kill them with a single Wild Strike and a couple of follow up attacks for good measure. As soon as a monster came at them, he would deal with it quickly so as not to upset Lenny any further.

When they neared the edge of the lake, the Wizard turned and headed for a thicket near the banks where a dirt path was barely visible. The path was so hidden that one could not have possibly seen it unless they already knew it was there.

That’s weird.

Lukas noticed that they were headed deeper into the woods which was unexpected. Lenny had said that they were attacked on their way back to town but they had left the main road to Altura. He was about to ask again if they were headed the right direction when he heard a crashing in the woods to their left. A shadow dashed through the silhouette of tree trunks and it was headed straight for them.

The Elite! Lukas thought in alarm.

He had no time to react. The large figure of a level 47 Dire Wolf pounced and it was already mid-air before he thought of reaching for Witchblade. Lukas braced himself for the impact instead.

A flash of purple light lit the surrounding trees and conjured chains of pure energy lashed at the Dire Wolf, rooting to the ground. The monster snarled and bucked but could not escape the bindings that ensnared its limbs. Lukas turned to Lenny and saw the Wizard had his wand out and his expression was furious.

Dark Binding[Active]

[Effect: Roots all enemies in an AoE for a duration. Affected enemies take amplified magic damage. CD: 15s]

Lenny’s wand then crackled with electric blue energy and he aimed it straight at the trapped monster.

“Forked Lightning!”

Forked Lightning[Active]

[Effect: Unleash a burst of lightning, damaging all enemies in a cone in front of you. Has a chance to inflict Stun and Burn. CD: 10s]

The spell hit the Dire Wolf and it convulsed violently. The monster let out a pitiful whine and its HP bar was reduced to zero. The purple chains of light holding it in place disappeared and only an unidentifiable smoking carcass remained where the monster once was.

“Wow… thanks for saving me,” said Lukas, impressed.

Lenny only nodded and didn’t utter a response. He only stowed away his wand and continued on the path without giving a second glance at what he’s done.

He’s more capable than he looks. Thought Lukas.

The man from the pub was not the man leading him Lukas realized. Something had changed in the Wizard when they left Altura. Even his posture was different. It was more erect. More confident.

Something feels off.

“Are we getting close, Lenny?” Lukas asked cautiously.

“Yeah… just a bit further… we’ll be there in a minute.”

Lukas looked at the lake and saw the moon’s reflecting light into the woods. There was always a moon every night in Patriam but Lenny had told him it was too dark to see the Elite.

They arrived in a small clearing by the lake’s bank. The trees in the surrounding woods were sparsely spaced and only got thicker about ten meters in. Not enough to conceal a large monster. Lukas placed a hand on the pommel of his sword.

“This is where it happened… Juni got taken right there and…” Lenny trailed off when he turned and saw Lukas with Witchblade drawn and Spellblade activated.

Lenny’s eyes went wide and he started to stammer.

“Wha…. wu…. Uhm…whu... what’re you doing?”

“Cut the acting,” spat out Lukas. “Why did you bring me here?”

Lenny’s face froze for a moment in a pitiful expression and then slowly melted into a look of annoyance. He raised a thick eyebrow and smirked.

“You’re a sharp one, aren’t you?” Lenny said in a singsong voice. His demeanor was nothing like the cowardly man Lukas met in the Red Stallion.

“Answer the question, Lenny,” Lukas demanded with the threat in his voice.

The man giggled.

“They all ask the same questions.” the Wizard said while shaking his head. “Why did you bring me here? Who are you? Why are you doing this? Why me?....... Heh… after the questions usually comes the begging.”

“Is there even an Elite Monster in these woods?” Lukas asked.

Lenny smirked.

“I think you know the answer to that one.”

“What about what happened to your friends?”

“You actually believed that crap?” Lenny laughed. “That’s props to my performance I guess. Did you like the tragic sob story I told you? Did you feel sorry for poor scared little Lenny?” Lenny said in a mock child’s voice.

This was a bad situation. Whatever intentions Lenny had, they were clearly not good. If it comes down to a fight, Lukas was only level 48, and Lenny was already 55. A Wizard class usually held an advantage over melee classes like the Swordsman and even with Lukas’ high M.Def, he was pretty sure Lenny could still strike him down with only a couple of spells before he could get near enough to use Wild Strike. The only choice here was to run.

“Listen, Lenny… I am leaving and you are not going to stop me… is that clear?”

Lenny smiled wide to reveal oddly straight white teeth.

“Ow, it’s clear, Lukas… I’m not going to stop you… but they will.”

Lukas turned around and saw three figures blocking the way they came.

Name: Juni Abot

Class: Sword Master Subclass: N/A

Level: 53

Name: Merrick Night

Class: Bandit Subclass: N/A

Level: 55

Name: Artemis Longshot

Class: Hunter Subclass: N/A

Level: 50

Fuck!

“Hello there,” said the Bandit named Merrick.

“Who’s turn is it this time again?” asked Juni the Sword Master to his companions.

“Mine,” smiled Artemis the Hunter as she drew an arrow from her quiver. “I need the levels.”

Lukas’ blood ran cold.

PKers!