Under the eerie glow of the blood moon, the desolate battlefield transformed into a makeshift marketplace with Klade dominating the center stage. He stood behind a mythical bench, clad in a rugged blacksmith outfit that seemed to absorb the dim light, giving him an almost ethereal presence. Beside him lay a massive forging hammer, its white and red swirls pulsating with a mythical energy. The system projected its stats into the air for all to see:
[Mythril Hammer of the Boundless Forge]
[- Rank: SSS]
[- Ability: Can forge any weapon given the right materials]
[- Special Feature: Enhances weapon attributes to maximum potential]
Players, still adrenaline-fueled from the battle, queued impatiently, holding up their collected shards to exchange for custom weapons at Klade's bench.
"No matter how much of an asshole he is, can't deny the fact he can make some good weapons."
"Exactly. I hate his guts but I love his weapons."
Asura, Klade's massive wolf familiar, paced menacingly beside him, his eyes glowing a soft crimson as he kept watch. He snarled softly when the queue got too rowdy, his presence enough to maintain order.
Asura grinned, "We're gonna make so much money…"
Klade smirked at the same time, "I know right."
They touched hands in fist bumping formation, and Klade went on to say:
"Alright, step up! What're you commissioning today?" Klade bellowed, his voice booming across the makeshift marketplace.
A warrior with a jagged scar across his face approached, dumping a pile of shards onto the bench. "I need a blade, something that can cleave through bone and armor like parchment," he demanded.
"Ah, seeking the Ravager's Edge, are we? That's going to cost you a pretty penny. 500 shards," Klade replied, his grin wide as the warrior grimaced.
"500 shards?! Are you out of your mind?" the warrior protested.
"I'm not your average craftsman. I'm a max level player, and this forge doesn't make toys! You want max stats, you pay top shard," Klade said, almost theatrically.
Reluctantly, the warrior agreed. Klade grabbed the shards, handing them to Asura who guarded them with a low growl. Klade then placed his materials on the bench, lifting his hammer. The forge lit up with a bright, explosive light, sparks flying as the Mythril Hammer struck down, slowly shaping the molten metal. The system window blinked alive next to the forge:
[Crafting Progress: Ravager's Edge
- Completion: 0%...25%...50%...75%...100%
- Attributes: Max Sharpness, Bone-Penetrating, Armor Piercing
[Rank - Demigod]
Weapon and Artifact ranking:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Epic
Legendary
Mythic
Demi-God
The warrior, seeing the stats, nodded in approval despite the hefty price, taking his new weapon with a satisfied grunt.
"
Next came a bowyer, desiring a longbow that could shoot multiple arrows simultaneously without drawing additional ones. "I call it the Hydra Strike. It'll split a single arrow into three upon release. That'll be 750 shards," Klade declared.
"But that's almost all I have!" the bowyer argued.
"You pay for innovation and power. Trust me, it's worth every shard!" Klaid retorted with a wink. Again the hammer came down, the system ticking the progress:
[Crafting Progress: Hydra Strike]
[- Completion: 0%...20%...40%...80%...100%]
-[ Attributes: Multi-shot, Auto-targeting, Enhanced Range]
[Rank - Demigod]
As each weapon took shape — a sword that vibrated at a high frequency to shatter shields, a spear that could extend to variable lengths, a set of gauntlets that amplified the wearer's strength — the crowd's skepticism turned to awe.
Klade worked tirelessly with a large smile, his hammering a performance in itself. Each strike was punctuated with a burst of light and sparks, casting dramatic shadows on the curious faces around him.
"Behold, the Tremor Blade!" Klade announced as he finished a particularly complex sword. "Not just a sword, but a force of nature! Capable of causing localized shockwaves with each swing. For the low, low price of 600 shards!"
A young adventurer stepped forward, her eyes wide. "I'll take it!" she exclaimed, eagerly handing her shards to Asura.
Asura nodded, "Thank you for your money."
The transactions continued, each one an elaborate dance of bargaining, bragging, and banter. Klade, the dramatic salesman, convinced and cajoled, his voice never losing its boisterous cheer, even as his arms must have wearied from the forging. His mythril hammer seemed only to grow brighter with each new creation, a beacon under the blood-stained moonlight.
Asura collected shards, his size and sharp teeth enough deterrent against any thoughts of deceit or theft. Meanwhile, the system continued to project the process, reassuring the buyers of their investments' worth.
To the side, the Eternal Guardians guild watched.
Zenith said, "It's so easy for him."
Orsik scoffed, "What a scammer. Does he know how hard it is to get shards? Each boss and enemy drops a different amount, normal enemies based on their rank drops around 1-5 shards, but bosses and demigods drop around 10-20. And we use those shards to level up, using one shard to raise our stats by one or use it to buy artifacts or weapons."
Seraphina commented, "And each time we use them to level up, the cost to level up an attribute gets higher by 3 shards. But, nonetheless We can't fail. We will have him in our guild. Whether he likes it or not. We'll be playing this game on easy mode. I'm tired of grinding so hard. I wonder what drives Klade to be better than everyone. That's why we need him to be our little farming tool."
Locke folded his arms, "But how? What can we do? We can't convince someone so full of themselves."
Orsik raised his hand, "I can just beat him to a pulp while he's distracted."
Locke replied, "Fool. Even if his awareness wasn't maxed out, Asura would eat you in seconds."
Klade and Asura racked up at least 4,000 shards. And they stood together, giggling, "We're rich! We're rich!"
As the last sparks of Klade's hammer faded, a sudden vibration shook the barren earth under the feet of the assembled crowd. Every eye turned towards the growing rumble, and an eerie silence fell over the marketplace. Without warning, five massive structures broke through the ground, towering above the blood moonlit field. Each edifice was a castle, grand and awe-inspiring, yet each carried a distinct aura that chilled the bones of all who gazed upon them.
"Whoa!"
"Oh shit look at that!"
"It's so loud! It's vibrating In my ears!"
Klade said to Asura, "This feels so real. I could live here."
"I'm trying to figure out what this new place has to offer too. Since we were all basically forced out of our own world once the deities went crazy."
"How crazy are we talking?"
"After me and you killed the final Demi-god, these beings will of light came, some called them angels, some called them other things. But they waged war against the newborn Demigods, avatars and offspring of the ones your people killed. You know how it was."
"Yeah. This world used to be in harmony, with the demigods ruling over certain areas until they became bossed with possessing immortality, because there was an impending doom set to happen in this world. So they began dabbling into forbidden power which corrupted them. And they began slaughtering races, and other demigods as well."
"And so now I'm guessing the doom they predicted is what this is. And before it happened, during the war, they went even crazier against those beings of light."
"What the hell…"
"This new world.."
"It's called the Apocalypse now. Such a boring generic name. They could've done better."
"Who could've done better?"
"Oh, nobody. Anyway…"
The castles rose majestically, their bright white walls gleaming under the moonlight, giving them an almost tranquil appearance. Yet, as players stared longer, they could feel the ominous darkness seeping from the heavy battlements and towering spires. Each castle was uniquely mythical, with architectural styles that told of unknown epochs and lost civilizations. One appeared forged from giant bones, another shimmered like a mirage made of wind, a third seemed carved out of living shadow, the fourth blazed with silent, cold flames, and the last pulsed with a light that was too pure, too sharp to be entirely benign.
As the castles settled into place, the system window materialized in front of the crowd, its digital display flickering with an urgent message:
[Alert: The Last Phase of this scenario is upon you. The Castle of Enkaera. Clear them to access the full destiny of Shadow Lance DLC: The Apocalypse]
[Notice: Each dungeon will allow entry to only 500 players. Choose your destiny wisely.]
A wave of mixed reactions swept through the crowd—excitement, anticipation, trepidation. Players began rushing towards the castles, each drawn to a different sinister allure. The once chaotic sounds of bartering and forging were now replaced by the pounding of hundreds of feet and the clashing of armor as warriors, mages, and rogues eagerly positioned themselves at the gates of their chosen dungeons.
As the first group of players crossed the threshold of the nearest castle, an odd phenomenon struck the system window. Its steady glow began to flicker, the edges of the digital pane twitching erratically as if disturbed by an unseen force. The text glitched, scrambling into incomprehensible symbols before settling briefly back to normal, only to glitch again more violently. With a final, spasmodic dance of pixels and light, the window shattered silently, digital shards cascading down to the ground where they disappeared without a trace.
Unnoticed by the players, so engrossed were they in the adventure ahead, the broken system window could have spelled unknown consequences. Inside the castles, the atmosphere thickened. The tranquil exterior belied the dark foreboding energy enveloping the interior. Each step deeper into the dungeons was a step further from the normalcy of the digital world they knew, into realms crafted from the very essence of mystery and danger.