MMORPG: Shattered Land

0:06:04

It had been a few minutes since Cold Mist had agreed to join them and they had traveled to the Bank.

The Bank was something that Marius rarely used. Super Nova, on the other hand, had his fill with Material and items prime for selling. It would be a waste to lose all those resources once Super reset his account.

So he sent them to Marius and Marius put them up on the Public Trade.

After sending all his goods to Marius, Super Nova stood basically naked with only his basic equipment covering himself. His dual swords Rising Descent were the only valuable item on his person.

Cold Mist hesitated before doing the same.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you in a few days Soli," Super Nova said with a grin. "Don't die before I get back, ok?"

Marius smiled. "Don't worry kid, I've still got gas left in the tank."

"Take your time with the quests," Marius sent in a message. "Cold Mist had some sort of agreement with Ardern. See if you can find out what it was. I'll confront Ardern about it over here. It might be best to raise the subject with them at the same time."

"Ok, I'm on it," Super Nova replied. "Do you still think we can trust him?"

"Probably, but I still like to careful."

Marius was weary. "I'll probably log off early today and only play an hour session tomorrow," he said out loud so Cold Mist could hear him

"Are you going to be ok?" Super Nova asked concerned.

Marius smiled. "Just old. I'll leave my friend request's open. You two add me when you have finished your reset."

They nodded and disappeared in a stream of light.

A few minutes later Marius received two friend requests, one from Super Nova and one from Cold Mist. After accepting them he sent them both an identical message, "Good Luck," before logging out.

He was so tired.

The next day Marius slept much later than usual and logged in much later. But when he returned to the Shattered Land, he jumped to business. Checking to make sure both Super Nova and Cold Mist were online, Marius began taking steps to contact Ardern.

It wasn't hard.

The first thing he did was go to the master Smith, Durorin and purchased a rare item. You see, Durorin generally sold very expensive equipment that Marius had no interest in.

However, after completing a certain quest involving 'Power Rings' a new feature was unlocked. In addition, the more you traded with Durorin, the more items you unlocked.

As it was, Marius had completed that quest weeks ago when he first raided Stone Cave. He had also been selling all of his unnecessary items here.

And now Marius wanted a special item called 'Ring of the Shade'.

This item was the most expensive item Durorin could unlock, costing well over a few thousand gold coins.

To Marius, this was most of his liquid funds but nothing he couldn't recoup by raiding a few High-Level Maps. He might even try the level 45-50 map to do some experimentation.

After equipping the 'Ring of the Shade' Marius ran to Toudin to complete his Beast Master quest.

After completing his errands, Marius sent a message to Super Nova.

"We're going to find out what that agreement was between Cold Mist and Ardern. How long have you two been playing?"

"About 3 hours. This guy can really grind." Super Nova replied.

"Ok," Marius replied, "I'm going to cause some trouble, are you guys onto the Squirrels?"

'We just started another round," Super Nova confirmed.

"Be ready to take a break."

With that, Marius dashed to the Level 15-20 Map. It didn't take long for the Ardern Players to come at him again. It was the same Swordsman as yesterday and he was leading a few dozen Players.

"You! This is Ardern territory. Get the fuck out of here" Before the Swordsman knew what had happened he became a stream of light.

Marius turned to the rest of the Ardern Players.

"Tell Bucky T that I want to speak with him." Marius then sent the man a friend invite before sending a message to Cold Mist.

"Cold Mist, I need your help. What is the name of Ardern Guild Leader?"

Next, it was Super Nova, "Get Cold Wind busy for a while. Be ready to begin your questioning when I send word."

"On it," Super Nova replied

"What?" Cold Mist sounded shocked. "What happened?"

"A group of Ardern Players that I came across yesterday attacked me. I killed them all. I'd like to contact their Leader and get it all sorted out. What was his name?"

"It's Bucky T. He's not really the understanding type, be careful."

Marius had barely closed the conversation when he got a system notification.

(Bucky T has accepted your friend request)

Marius quickly sent him a message. "Get your ass over here or I'll slaughter your entire guild."

Turning back to the Ardern Players he said quite calmly. "If your Guild Leader isn't here in 20 seconds I'm going to slaughter anyone that is here."

He then proceeded to count

"1."

"2."

"The Guild Leader is on his way," a Guardian said desperately, coming up to Marius.

In a heartbeat, Marius had cut him down.

"3."

"4."

"5."

"Wait, wait. I'm almost there. Don't kill my people." Bucky T sent his message. It sounded sincere.

"6."

Marius kept counting until he reached 0.

Bucky T had yet to arrive. The Ardern Players had fled.

Marius began hunting.

He didn't run to catch up to his fleeing targets. He walked. Slowly. Patiently. Like a hunter sure of his kill and savoring the feeling of dominance.

Marius thought he must have been a terrifying sight. The players couldn't see his face clearly, nor his weapons or equipment. It was like he had no physical form though he could be clearly seen. It was an eerie sight.

This effect was all thanks to the 'Ring of the Shade'. It was a cheap parlor trick with little in the way of combat utility. But it was useful for intimidation.

"Please Master Midnight Solitude, don't hunt down my Guild Members. I'm almost at your location."

Marius did not stop walking until Bucky T was standing before him.

"You should learn not to keep me waiting," Marius growled.

"I'm sorry sir. I was a long way away. Please, I do not know what my Guild Members did to instigate you but I swear it won't happen again."

"Oh? And what do you think has earned you my attention, Bucky T?" Marius asked mockingly.

"I swear to you, I will find out and punish the individual responsible for whatever has happened," Bucky T was on his knees.

"But I've already found them," Marius said lazily, placing the edge of his Silent Night at Bucky T's neck. "Who gave you permission to annex this Map?"

The color drained from his face. "I did not know you had claimed ownership," Bucky T whispered.

Marius smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, sir. Yes, I do sir,"

"Oh? and who am I? Marius said, slowly running Silent Night around the shape of Bucky T's head.

"You are the number one player in the game."

"Oh? Is that all I've done? Reach the top position of the game? Look at the Leaderboard. Who is in second place"

A moment later Bucky T had a confused look on his face.

"Ahh, I see you are thinking. That's good. Now ask yourself, why are the second and third place positions different? Go on, take a guess."

"Start asking your questions," Marius sent to Super Nova.

"Did. Did you make them quit?" Bucky barely got the words out.

"Oh? Did I do that? Why would I do such a thing?" Marius removed Silent Night and place it in its sheath.

"Well now? Why would I make two of the strongest players in the game quit?"

Bucky T looked terrified. "Did they cross you?"

"Crossing me?" Marius paused as if considering it. 'Yes, that could do it." Marius stroked his chin as if in contemplation. "Now the question is, how did you cross me? Since I'm feeling generous I'll give you a hint. It includes a rumor that you sold access to grinding spots for certain individuals. Does that help you remember?"

"Selling access? I swear I have never done such a thing."

"Marius, Cold Mist says that Bucky T knew him from another game. He said the deal was he'd give Bucky T something called 'Stone Forks' in exchange for grinding there." Marius received Super Nova's message and continued his interrogation.

"Oh? That's not what Cold Mist said."

Bucky T's eyes almost popped out of its sockets. "I swear, that was a mutual understanding. He needed a place to train and my Guild couldn't train there. It was just smart business agreement. Please. It was just 'Stone Forks'. I swear if you want them you can have them all"

Marius loomed over the Guild Leader. "I suggest you stop annexing Maps. "Marius spoke softly, "The game is made to be enjoyed by everyone. So, if I ever hear of you are exploiting Players like that again, I will personally Hunt you and your Guild down."

"Yes, sir." Bucky T replied The relief was evident on his face.

"And let the other Guilds know that I'm putting them on notice," Marius continued, "This isn't the first time I've had to deal with you Guilds. If I have to deal with any of you again, I'm coming for you first."

Bucky T was left with his mouth gaping open when Marius turned to leave

"Cold Mist, the misunderstanding with Ardern has been fixed. Thank you for your help."

"I'm glad it turned out alright," Cold Mist replied.

"Oh. Bucky T mentioned that the two of you had some sort of agreement. He said you were living up to your side of the bargain. To be honest it's kinda worried me. Do we need to take their Guild down?"

"Oh no, it's nothing. Bucky is just someone that I've runs ins with back in other games. He wanted the 'Stone Forks' so I agreed to farm them for him.

While they had been talking Marius had run to the Higher-Level Maps. He had already let his Pet and its Wolfpack begin their slaughter of the Monsters in the area.

"Ok, if you're sure," Marius replied. "But just remember what I said about keeping our secrets. I've heard of that guy annexing Maps. He is the last person I was getting a hold of any of my secrets, ok?"

"Haha, I totally understand," Cold mist agreed. "I can't stand that guy either."

Marius closed the conversation.

Less than an hour later a notification was seen by every player online.

(Player Midnight Solitude is the First Player to kill the Feild Boss Great Bear King)

Two minutes later Bucky T put a public announcement on the Forums stating that the guilds based in Iron Mountain City would no longer annex the Maps. It also stated that any Guilds that attempted to annex the Maps would be declared hostile by Guild Ardern and hunted until they quit the game