Demon Lord of Blades

Subject: Demon Lord of Blades Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:16 pm

Handing my pass to the Ship Captain, I boarded the Orbis bound airship. I had chosen an isolated channel for my trip, not wanting the inane chatter of countless players ringing through my ears. Climbing up the sails of the ship, I sat down on the highest Spar and began to play with my pet dragon. He was a cute thing, flying around me and chasing the red ribbon I spun through the air. As I prepared for the long trip, suddenly, my dragon stopped and looked down at the deck of the ship. "What's wrong, Silva?" I asked as I looked down.

A frown crossed my lips as I saw a warrior walk up the gang plank. I scoffed and crossed my arms in disgust. "There goes my quiet trip." As soon as the warrior came onboard, the ship took off and headed for the cloud city of Orbis. Watching the man from above, I scanned his armor and equips and almost laughed. "Only level seven, what a joke." Despite the inner glee it brought me to think of this warrior trying to survive in Orbis, I decided to warn him. "Hey you, warrior," I yelled down at him, "I suggest you leave this ship, Orbis is far beyond your level." The man ignored me completely, irritating me even further. "Fine then," I yelled again, hostility in my voice this time, "die for all I care, I warned you."

As Orbis came into view, I closed my eyes and relaxed, the fate of the man no longer on my mind. With Silva curled up on my lap, I was close to falling asleep when the entire ship lurched sideways violently. "WHAT THE HECK!?" I yelled as I grabbed hold of the mast with both arms. As the ship shook, I scanned the sky and spotted what was causing the problem. "DANG IT!!! Crogs!" Bracing myself with my left hand on the mast, I got to my feet, Silva flying beside me. Looking down at the warrior, I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Get into the cabin! These things are way outta your league!" The man continued to ignore my warning and I cursed under my breath.

Raising my right hand over my head, I chanted in an ancient tongue and a Kage formed in my palm. Holding it vertically in front of me, I drew my left arm back, as if I were drawing a bow. A white, magical arrow formed in my left hand, and a white thread appeared, connected to the top and bottom of my staff. "Silva, let's go." I commanded as I began to fire a barrage of holy arrows at the approaching ship. Within a few moments, I had turned the ship into wood chips, but the Crogs took flight and continued towards us.

Glancing upwards, I could see a dark magic forming above me. Reacting fast, I jumped down from my landing to the spar below me just as the dark lightning struck where I had been standing just an instant ago. As I prepared to fire another volley, I heard a creaking above me. Looking up, my eyes went wide as the thousand pound spar above me began to splinter and crack. "AW CR…" Before I could even curse my own end, the beam broke free and came crashing down, striking me in the back as I tried to avoid it.

The force of the impact threw me from the spar and over the edge of the boat. Letting go of my staff, I reached out with both arms and managed to grab one of the mooring ropes that hung below the ship. Looking down as my staff fell towards the ocean, I motioned to Silva. "Hurry, Silva, get my staff." Without a second thought, Silva dove straight down, as I climbed up the rope. When I had reached the deck, the two Crogs had destroyed almost all the sails. Panic crossed my mind; if the sails were destroyed we'd drop from the sky and crash into the ocean.

Biting my lower lip to stay calm, I could hardly believe my eyes. The low level warrior was still there, in the exact same place. Unable to control my anger any more, I walked up to the man, grabbed him by the scruff of the caller and yell in his face. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!?" The man looked up at the Crogs with a glazed look in his eyes. "This could be a problem." The man spoke so calmly, so passively, I couldn't even wrap my mind around it. Letting go of him, I stepped back and slumped to the ground. "I'm gonna die." My words were nearly silent.

With my hope gone, I close my eyes and prepared for the end, but a terribly cry from above brought me back to reality. Looking up, I saw the warrior on the Spar above me, a sword in each hand. "Two… swords?" I whisper in disbelief. There was no class in the world that allowed the twin wielding of blades. One of the Crogs floated in the air in front of him, a massive wound on his chest. Drawing his right sword upwards, the warrior took off the Crogs left arm, sending the beast backwards in pain. Before it could recover from the harsh blow, the Crog was once again struk by the blade of the warrior. A dark magic surrounded the demon, and in one last cry, it vanished.

Above the warrior, the other beast finally took notice and attacked. Drawing its right arm down at the man's head, the beasts claws made a grinding noise as its claws struke metal. A third blade floated above the man, the edge of the blade imbedded deeply in the creatures palm. Withdrawing its arm, the Crimson Balrog began to fly away, but stopped suddenly as a pointy object came out of its chest. With a roar, it vanished, revealing a fourth sword where the demon had been. The swords in the warrior's hands disappeared, as did the two blades in the air. I was speechless, not only had he killed both Crogs in a few seconds, but he had done so without being damaged once.

Once we landed at Orbis, the man quickly left my sight as I stood silently at the peer. What had just happened? Did a level seven really defeat both enemies so quickly? As I pondered the impossible thing that I had just witnessed, Silva landed beside me, carrying my Kage and a letter. Bending down, I opened the letter and began to read. "You must never tell anyone what you have witnessed." At the bottom of the letter was a small emblem with seven blades crossing it. Tossing the letter off the peer, I decided right then and there I would discover who that man was, a man I called "Lord of Blades".

"By the divine light of the goddess, I strike at your very soul, Shining Ray!" Striking the end of my staff on the ground, white light gathered behind me and formed the shape of a woman wielding a great sword. Raising the sword over her head, two white wings grew from the woman's back and bathed the area in piercing, holy power. Around me the cursed dolls shook and fell to the ground, their evil spirits purified by the goddess of light. Her task gone, the goddess vanished, leaving me and Silva alone in the clock tower.

Bending down, I picked up three of the dolls and smiled. "Well, that makes one hundred." Silva chirped happily as I put the last of the dolls in my backpack. With the last item collected, I looked around the room and found a small pile of brightly colored bricks to sit on. With Silva beside me, I rummaged through my pack until I found a small piece of paper with a list written on it. "Oh…kay…one hundred Zombie Teddy Bears, thirty Buffy Hats and three hundred Binding Bridles." Stretching my arms over my head, I sighed and wondered if this information was really worth it.

It had been nearly three days since I first met that man, and in all that time, it seemed like all I was doing was running favors in exchange for information. At least I had learned that he had been in Ludi yesterday, but nothing more than that. Luckily, a Sniper agreed to keep me informed if I gathered some supplies for her. All in all, it had been a fairly easy hunt, especially for a Priest of one hundred and seven.

After sending a message to the Sniper, I played with Silva until a woman's voice called to me from above. "I can't believe you finished so fast." I stood and looked up at her while Silva left my side and began to fly around the room. "Everything's here, just as we agreed." I called back as she climbed down a nearby rope. Landing in front of me, she reached out her hand, and I gave her the pouch will all the items in it. "I fulfilled my half of the deal," my voice told of my anticipation, "what do you know of the warrior?" After checking through the pouch, she smiled, raised her right arm and pointed her loaded crossbow right at my forehead. "He's mine." With a cold and sharp tone in her voice, she pulled the trigger, but struck nothing but air.

With a flash of light, I appeared behind the woman, swung my staff down over her head and pulled it back when it had reached her throat. I continued to pull until I heard her begin to choke. "Now…" I spoke in a dark and sadistic tone, unfitting for a normal Priest, "what do you know about the warrior?" I released the pressure enough that she could take a breath and speak. After a few moments of coughing, she screamed at the top of her lungs. "KILL HIM!"

Before I knew it, a sharp pain formed in my back and I released the Sniper. Gasping for a moment, I teleported back several feet, but just as I rematerialized, I dropped to my knees, unable to move my left leg. "We have you now." The woman taunted as she turned to face me. "You Priests are such losers, and you're king of the losers." Grinding my teeth, I spoke in a harsh tone, partly from anger and partly from the pain. "You never intended to help me, did you?" The woman scoffed and struck me across the face with the end of her crossbow. "Of course not, do you honestly think any knowledgeable person would give that sort of information away?"

Closing my eyes as she prepared to hit me again, instead she kissed me on the forehead. "I should thank you, though," I opened my eyes and she was smiling at me, "I thought he was just a rumor until you came to the market, asking about a level seven warrior. Who would have guessed the stories were true?" As she turned around, a smile crossed my lips. "So…" I spoke in a mocking tone, "I just have to beat the information from you!" The sniper turned around and prepared to shoot me again, but stopped when she saw I was standing up.

A warm, green light enveloped my body, healing my wounds and drawing out the Tobi embedded in my back. A ring floated above my head with two white wings extended to the right and left, releasing me from the magical paralysis. "Game time!" My remark caught her off guard, giving me the chance to teleport right in front of her. Drawing my staff upwards, three blue claw marks, like those of some mythical beast, appeared on her chest. With the force of the spell knocking her off the balcony to the one below, my attention turned to locating the Bow master who had paralyzed me. I didn't have to search hard, as a stream of arrows from the darkness told me right where he was. Teleporting to the right, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, blue rock. "Silva, attack." A pale, blue light formed in my hand as I crushed the rock, releasing its sealed magic.

As he flew around the room, Silva's normal, grey color began to turn blue as the rock's magic began to flow into the dragon. A holy light surrounded him, granting him the power to attack, and that's just what he did. His body turning to pure light, Silva bolted into the darkness, catching the bow master completely off guard. Thoroughly distracted by the Holy Dragon, the Bow master didn't even notice me teleporting behind him. Placing my free hand on the back of his head, I whispered in his ear. "Enjoy the fall." Calling upon the only curse in my arsenal, I poured my magic directly into the man's body, drastically warping his shape. Dropping his bow, the man found himself looking at my feet through the eyes of a simple, Blue Snail.

With a swift kick, I sent him to the depth of the clock tower. I knew a forther like him wouldn't die down there, but he was too powerful to ignore completely. Turning around, I began to look for the Hermit, but a scream and the sound of running from above told me he had decided it wasn't worth it. "Guess that's it, eh Silva?" The dragon hovered beside me, chirping happily while its body returned to normal. "Just one last piece of business to attend to."

A couple quick warps, and I was standing over the half-unconscious Sniper. Pointing my Kage at her, I frowned and spoke in a low, threatening tone. "Now, tell me what you know, or I'll let the Gatekeepers have some fun." She could tell that I wasn't just bluffing, and through chattering teeth, she spoke up. "He…. He's a hacker." My curiosity was peaked and I lowered my staff. "What do you mean?" The threatening tone was gone but she continued to shake. "Think about it…. He's a level seven warrior. Balrog doesn’t train anyone until level ten." The thought had never occurred to me, but she was right, it was impossible for a level seven to be a warrior. If he really was a hacker, it would explain how he was able to beat the Crogs so effortlessly, and how he was able to use four swords at once. "N…Not only that," she continued to speak in a nervous tone, "they say that no matter what, he never levels up." That made a lot of sense too, since he killed both Crimson Balrogs himself, he should have received a significant amount of experience. With my thoughts elsewhere, the woman began to crawl backwards until she felt safe enough to stand up and use a Return Scroll, sending her back to town.

Was he really a hacker? It would make a lot of sense, he was a lot stronger than any level seven should be and had abilities that didn't exist. He was also classified as a warrior, a feat impossible in itself. I'd read reports on the Game Masters, and even they didn't have the skills that he had demonstrated. I'd have to be very careful from now on, it seems that some other players were seeking this man as well.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:46 am

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:02 pm

I'm glad someone liked it.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:20 pm

Oh I think it is great!!! Cant wait for the next installment!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:06 pm

What's Next...i want more...more...more i tell you! Great Job Jeff(i think?!?)!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:35 pm

I'm gonna try to get at least 1 new chapter a week done. I'm surprised no one has noticed "it" yet. Well, if no one does, it'll be explaned in the next chapter.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:28 pm

Can I also say...FF7 is a BIG influence on you! 7 Blades Cloud's sword!!!!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:23 pm

No FF7 infulence here. A bit of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Versus 13 infuence in the weapon, but beyond that, it's all me.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:47 pm

Jeff can write? o.O

NEAT! Another fellow writer. xD

(No I haven't read it yet...some of it, but not all. I don't have the attention span right now...so I'll read it later....like during my second period class. xD)

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:05 pm

I wrote another story a while ago, based off another online game (I'm too lazy at the moment to create a universe). I'm glad people like this one. I might write another chapter tonight.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:51 pm

I write things too, but not based on games. I create my own little world, similar to those in Kindom Hearts, where it occupies only a small portion of reality.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:33 pm

At one time I had part of a novel written. I think I was up to about 75 pages, but the floppy disk it was on fried, so I gave up on it. I decided to save the next chapter for tomorrow, when I have some spare time.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:41 pm

The story I've been writing is on the guild site still in the Chat Heaven section. It's titled Solar Eclipse....it's about 56 pages long right now...actually, I think it's 53...w/e...anyway, you can read it if you want.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:46 am

Part 2 is nearly done. It's a bit more violent than part 1, but we learn a little bit more about "him". It'll be up tomorrow, around noon.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:26 am

Great Jeff Can't wait!!!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:53 am

Just added part 2 to my first post. I'm not entirly happy with the end result, but I don't know how I could have changed it, so I hope it's okay.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:32 am

Ok hacker or glitched character i'm confused...there is no way to be classified a warrior until lvl 10 unless if you glitch or there is a relevel at lvl 200 which would send you back to lvl 1 to start over(technically lvl 201) but your skills would be the same you would go through the pqs again...but he isn't lvling that is confusing...next chapter plox

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:56 pm

You're overthinking it. Just take the information you have for now at face value.

Just a little info, since a lot of this may not make sence. The people in this story understand and are capiable of using all the mechanics in the real game, so chatting over long distances, carrying tons of heavy items, that kinda thing. The experiences are real to them, so they feel pain, can die and so forth.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:18 pm

I VOTE that the "Snail" should be BoB! WooT go SnailS! I like it so far Jeff...you are doing a great job! Can't wait for the next...Chapter/installment!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:51 pm

This is a good story so far. Write more soon!

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:15 pm

Okay. I'm just posting to tell you chapter 3 is actually coming. I had a pretty bad case of writers block, so that's the main reason. I had originally planned on this chapter being the same lengh as the others, but it's already the same lengh and I've only covered about half of what I wanted to. So what I may do it break the chapter in half. That way you won't have to wait too much longer for something new, and I can put more polish on it, rather than having something long that's not as good. If I do decide to break it up, expect something new in a day or two.

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:15 am

Sweet...Thanks Jeff...i have been waitting for some time! Thanks again and can't wait!!!!

Rob

Subject: Re: Demon Lord of Blades Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:23 pm

Well, I can't add anymore to my first post, so I'll continue it in my posts from now on. Remember, this is only half of what I wanted to put in this part. So not much action here, but an epic boss fight next time. Look forward to it. And as a little bonus for making you wait so long, here's a little sneak peek. I learn "His" name next chapter.

"Hold still, would ya?" Holding my nose close with one hand and a bottle of water with the other, I tried in vain to give Silva a bath. The little dragon stunk to high heaven, yet he wouldn't even let one drop of water touch his head. After emptying the bottle, I slumped to the ground and sighed. "Fine, from now on, I'm calling the Stinky." Silva landed in front of me and began to chirp happily. Inside I smiled; it was good to see Silva so happy.

For the past week we'd been traveling non-stop, following the scant clues "he" left behind. After Ludibrium we followed him to Leafre, where he apparently was transported to Zipangu. Since then there hadn't been any word on his movements, so I've decided to wait for now and get some training in.

Motioning to Silva, we headed towards the Forest. The path there was easy enough, just some weak monsters barley worth the time it took to slay them. Approaching the final portal, I sighed and raised my staff over my head. Three fairies appeared above me and began to bless me with their magic. One circled around me, protecting me from harm while the other two poured a sacred elixir over my body, granting me holy strength. All three vanished and a white, glowing cross of light formed behind me, vanishing a moment later.

With my body now emanating a holy light, I entered the portal and reappeared at the deserted Buddha temple. This was a popular area to train, so it was proper etiquette to see if someone was there before you started killing. As I walked away from the portal, my vision went blank as my eyes rolled back into my head. Unable to even scream, my body was flung through the air, crashing into the ground a good fifty feet away from where I had just been. My vision was still blurred, but the pain alone told me what had happened, Crow had been waiting behind the portal. Gasping for breath, I could hear the ghastly cries of the Himes approaching me.

Trying to heal myself, I realized I didn't have enough mana to do so. The power of the fairies allowed me to withstand the severe blow, but at the cost of all my magic. It was pretty safe to assume my arms were broken since I couldn't move either one, so using a pot was out of the question. "Si…lva." I managed to call in a whisper, but it was enough for the little dragon to get my meaning. Zipping through the Dreamy Ghosts, Silva quickly reached me. Rummaging through my pack, he pulled out a glass bottle of purple liquid and attempted to open it. Struggling for a moment to remove the cork, Silva gave up and simply smashed the bottle on my chest.

The liquid began to soak through my robe to my body. It was very cold, but the medicine would get my back on my feet in no time, and within moments, I struggled to my feet. With my vision cleared, I came to the quick conclusion that I really didn't want to be here right now. A sea of Himes lead by Crow was heading straight for me. Grabbing a return scroll, I prepared to activate its magic when I heard a whimpering to my right. Turning my head, I saw a Chief Bandit and a Priest behind the Buddha. The Bandit was covered in blood and the Priest looked like he was on the verge of death.

"What are you doing here?! Use a scroll and get away!" I yelled at the two and the Bandit slowly turned toward me, tears running down his face. "They… They don't work." I was shocked, they always worked here before. "If they don't work…" I began to focus my magic in my right hand, "This will! Mystic door!" A burst of light from my hand shot straight into the air and exploded, a strange object forming from the light. The object fell to the earth, revealing itself as a door. "Go, quickly!" I commanded and the Bandit picked up the Priest and passed through the door to safety.

As I approached the door, it began to spark violently. "What's happening?" It had never done that before, the magic of door was remarkably stable and could be used almost anywhere, but this time something was wrong. The frame of the door began to crack and splinter, the magic used to form it evaporating like a fine mist. Right before my eyes, the door faded into nothingness, leaving me stranded. Something inside told me that recasting Mystic Door would do nothing, so I turned my attention to the main portal. As I prepared to break through the enemy ranks and escape, the blue light of the portal stopped. "What? NO!" I yelled as my last chance of escape vanished.

None of this was possible; Mystic Door and return scrolls could not be stopped by any normal means, let alone the normal portal. Portals were stagnant; they never ever changed, let alone vanished completely. As reality set in, I could feel nothing but anger, anger at the stupidity of this situation. All I wanted to do was a little training and now I was gonna die at the hand of some fat nosed monster. I couldn't take it anymore, if I was destined to die, I'd drag him to the underworld with my last breath. Gripping my Kage in my right hand, I reached into my pack with my left. Searching for a moment, I found what I was after, an Onyx Apple. Taking a bite of the blue apple, I could feel my magic growing to astonishing levels. It would only last ten minuets, but I knew that by that time either I, Crow, or both or us would be dead. "BRING IT ON YOU FAT NOSE FREAK!" With a cry, my magic exploded and I charged forward.

My sudden power caught the Himes off guard and they stopped, giving me all the time I needed. Approaching the closest Hime, I grabbed it by the sleeve and threw it over my shoulder towards the mob. Any type of physical feat was usually beyond my scope as a mage, but the apple amplified both my magic and physical power, granting me the strength of a warrior. The Hime slammed into the other ghosts, sending half a dozen to the ground.

Raising my staff in front of me, an arrow of holy magic appeared in my left hand as a while thread of light formed between the top and bottom of my staff. Within ten seconds, I had fired off a dozen arrows, purifying just as many Dreamy Ghosts. As I fired another arrow, Crow burst through the ghostly ranks and headed straight for me, ignoring the arrow as it struck him. Lowering my staff, I noticed the Himes weren’t moving anymore. It seems that Crow didn't want anyone interfering. A smile crossed my lips; if it was just Crow I might just stand a chance.