Chapter 92: Blue Mist Barrier

“Three…”

Shadowfall_Four hadn’t given up. He kept his eyes fixed on the teleportation point. The Sorcerer, Shadowfall_Three, was his last, desperate hope; the only one who might get his prized Golden weapon, the Skeleton Bow, back.

He’d given up on the fantasy that Shadowfall_Three had killed that damn Knight. He just wanted the bow.

“Three, did you…”

Shadowfall_Three’s hands were empty. Where was his own Golden weapon, the Stormstrike Staff?

“The guy was like a blur. He dropped me before I could blink. Lost my staff. Four… I’m sorry, man. I didn’t even get a chance to grab your bow.”

“Three…”

Shadowfall_Four just went numb. The whole disaster had hollowed him out. That final, fragile hope was gone, but he didn’t scream or lose it. He just absorbed the hit.

About time he learned to keep it together.

“So what now, Three? We put a bounty on him? Gather a crew?”

“And then what? You really think that would work? Drop it. I’ve got information. We need to see the Boss. Now.”

Shadowfall_Three shut down the idiotic suggestion. Going back was a death sentence, and the loot would be gone by then. He quickly ushered the other two toward a new, low-profile shop in Dragon’s Peak Citadel.

—

“Boss, I’m telling you, that Knight is the one topping the Leaderboard. No doubt.”

Shadowfall_Three laid out the entire PK incident for the Boss and their leader, Shadowfall_One, finishing with his conviction.

“One. Your take?”

“I believe him, Boss. Three wouldn’t lie to cover losing two Gold-tier weapons. A Knight that powerful has to exist, and he has to be the number one in Dominion. The one with the rabbit mask.”

“Mhm.”

The man called the Boss was lean, standing with his back to them in the dim light, features hidden.

That single, non-committal sound was a command for Shadowfall_One to cut to the chase. The Boss trusted his read.

“This guy’s playing a different game. He’s got to be running a secret build. From Three’s description: insane speed, high evasion, crits like crazy; that’s a heavy Agility investment. But he one-shot Two, which means his raw Attack is also sky-high. That’s Strength. A Knight pumping both Agility and Strength? That’s an Assassin’s spread. This could be a completely new Knight meta.”

“Could be the reason he’s running the game.”

Shadowfall_One’s analysis was swift and sharp. He was clad in dark, lightweight armor that promised both speed and defense. His hands were steady, betraying deep experience. As he spoke, a sharp intensity rolled off him, his eyes glinting with a cold, calculating intelligence.

“One. Assemble a team of ten. Have them roll Knights and replicate this exact build. Spare no gold on the necessary quests.”

The man in the shadows; the Boss, turned. He was in his thirties, with a narrow face and long, deft fingers. His gaze was sharp, cunning, revealing a ruthlessly pragmatic mind. This was GimmeABlade, the Assassin who had recently fallen off the Top Ten Leaderboard.

“Also, assign trackers to the rabbit-mask Knight. Do not spook him. We do not engage again unless we have an eighty percent certainty of a clean kill. Then we move. And we show him what it costs to mess with Shadowfall.”

“Now, go grind. If your levels aren’t recovered in a month, you know what happens.”

“Understood.”

The Shadowfall members dispersed instantly to carry out their orders.

—

“What else is lurking in this place?”

Marcus had already dismissed the three players from his mind. He peered deeper into the Stone Carving Forest, muttering to himself.

According to Silas the Wanderer’s map, the Stone Monsters and Bronze Golems were the bottom of the food chain. The mobs got tougher closer to the Magma Abyss. These ones weren’t cutting it anymore. He pushed deeper.

He cleared every Stone Monster and Bronze Golem in his path. After about two hundred meters, the forest opened into a massive pit, roughly three hundred meters across. A huge, shimmering blue barrier of light, pulsing with Water energy, encased the entire depression.

A thick mist rose from the blue barrier, obscuring everything within.

’Some kind of seal?’ Marcus wondered. ’For the Magma Abyss?’ He moved along the rim to get a better look.

“Ding! Player Stonehaven, you have discovered the dangerous Magma Abyss. High-level dark creatures spawn here, threatening the realm. Experts from Dragon’s Peak Citadel have sealed it with the Water-element barrier; Blue Mist Barrier, to contain the threat. Minimum Level 30 required for entry.”

’You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Marcus felt a spike of irritation. A level gate? That’s just punishing players who focus on skill over mindless grinding. Total nonsense.

His silent protest changed nothing. Grudgingly, he went back to farming the Stone Monsters and Golems. At least the experience was still good.

“Ding! Congratulations, player Stonehaven, your level has increased! You are now Level 29. Health increased by 10, Mana increased by 10. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.”

A slow grin spread across his face. Finally.

’Level 29. One more to go.’

It was time for a break. He hadn’t left this grinding spot since parting ways with FreshwindElara, except to log out for sleep and food. He needed a change of pace.

Right. That quest for Lord Leon Drake back in Red River Village… The Elven Path had been intriguing, especially that massive gate glowing with green light.

Opening the Elven Gate was supposed to lead to the Elven Canyon, home to some Sacred Artifact even a boss like the Dark Arch-Sorcerer, the Double-Headed Raven King, was desperate to get. That meant it was the good stuff.

How could he pass up a chance like that? Worth a look.

He’d set a teleportation point on the second level of the Elven Path using his Wanderlust skill. Getting there was easy. First, he activated the Phantom skill from his Shadow Cloak of the Dark Spirit, his form shimmering and fading from view. Then he cast Wanderlust.

He reappeared instantly at the entrance to the path’s second level.

The Elven Path was as dead silent as he remembered. Nothing but the faint crackle of ancient torches.

’Clear.’

Maintaining the Phantom cloak, he moved swiftly down to the second level. It was just as empty and quiet. When the cloak’s effect finally faded, he stepped openly into the main hall; where the Dark Sorcerers had once used that Dragon pet egg to siphon energy from the gate.

He looked up. The Elven Gate was massive, radiating a potent, verdant light. A wave of powerful energy washed over him, confirming this was no ordinary door. He used Insight.

Elven Gate: A sealed passage to the Elven Canyon. Can only be opened by one who has drunk the Holy Water from the Elven tribe’s Spring of Life.

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