link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 12 Departed

Emerson choked and coughed up blood violently as he burst into consciousness. Immediately he felt hands holding down his spasming body. He was not lying on the road anymore, rather, in a small clearing in the woods. It was dawn, a clear sky blue. The rogue appeared over him again.
“Thank the Dark Lord you’re alive, I thought that cleric killed you.” He smiled, wiping the blood from Emerson’s face.
“Nezumi, Vincenzo, Yan Hang, over here now!” The rogue shouted, loud enough for the people to hear but soft enough not to harm Emerson. Shortly after, a bandit, fire/poison and the cleric were hovering over him. The cleric grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry about that, if I healed any slower, you would have definitely died.” He explained, ruffling his hair.
“So true Yan Hang.” The bandit muttered, helping Emerson sit up. The assassin nodded his gratitude and coughed some more. The bandit produced a bottle of pure water from his clothes and offered it to Emerson. The assassin took a deep swig. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 11 Requiem

Gavrilla and Ophelia stood hidden in a wood not far away from the front of the Dark Apostle convoy. Behind them were Verity, Purity, Charity from Ophelia’s guild, Gates, Raynard, Fortune from Gavrilla’s guild and several crusaders, Jiro, Zephan and Judas. Mali had opted to stay with the wounded from the previous battle. It was almost night, the perfect time to launch an ambush. Fortune edged up to Garvilla, sliding on his Maple wagner.
“Say the word, we’re ready.” He whispered, disappearing back into the shadows. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 10 Paradox

“Cleric! Call the cleric!” An urgent cry shattered his consciousness. Emerson blinked as his vision flickered, his senses warping and distorting. The assassin winced and twisted his head as harsh light assaulted his weak eyes. Sight was the first to return. He realised that he was lying on the ground, feet scampering around him. Then the sense of smell. An acrid scent wafted through the air and Emerson involuntarily gagged. But there was something else mingling in it. Blood, the smell of blood.
“Hey there champ.” The same voice trickled into his ears. Emerson agonisingly turned his head to face the speaker. It was a young rogue with a wild fire in his eyes.
“Don’t try to move too much, wait for the cleric.” He whispered soothingly, scanning around for the cleric. The assassin suddenly realised that he could not feel the lower part of his body. He started to crane his head to check what was impeding his sense when the rogue softly pushed his head back down.
“Don’t look there, just take it easy. Wait for the cleric.”
Emerson inwardly groaned as he realised that he was wounded so badly that he could not even feel the pain. He tasted dried blood on his lips as he lay still, listening to the cacophony of voices and movement. The sky had turned a rich orange colour and he judged that it was approaching dusk. read more

Just on my mind but hasn’t everyone notice the abundance of hackers in the game.
Not flaming the GMs for not doing anything, they do heaps, there are just not enough GMs all the time to stop all the hackers. Though with the recent server check, I did advance in rank by 6000+.
While on the topic, Thanks GM for keeping – trying to keep – MapleStory a hack free and fair game. Kudos to you all.
Possibly Maple Global GMs could be more humourous like Maple SEA GMs? read more

To the tune of “I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)”

Oh I wish I was a chief bandit with a Varkit in my hand
In ’SEA and ’KMS when mass hacking wasn’t planned
I advanced too late into a third job that doesn’t care
Oh I wish I was a chief bandit with a Varkit in my hand

The time when Grendel was not really old
When NX cash could not be sold
When fame really mattered and when the game was fair
When GMs did not have control
And leveling was not the only goal
And when trading was wary and Zakum was not there read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 9 Anarchy

Emerson stirred softly from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. The light danced across the assassin’s face and he instinctively shielded his eyes. There was poor lighting and his eyes struggled to compensate. There was another figure directly opposite him. It was the chief bandit he had helped earlier. She was staring back at him, her Dark Canal hood partly obscuring her tanned face. She pushed her hood back and sat up.
“So, you’re awake at last.”
“Yes, wait, where are we?”
“…”
“Oh don’t tell me we’ve been knocked unconscious and held prisoner in their convoy?” Emerson stated darkly, searching the woman’s eyes.
“Well, now that you mention it…”
”You’re joking.” He interrupted with disbelief. A smile played across the chief bandit’s lips.
“Yes, I am. You should have seen the look on your face!” She laughed.
“That’s not funny, we have no time for games.” The assassin retorted, folding his arms. Sensing that she had crossed the line, she went over and placed an arm on his shoulder.
“Chill, sorry alright? We’re a few kilometres from Eos Tower. The convoy’s passing by in a few hours.”
“We overtook the convoy?” The assassin murmured, surprised.
“Yes, Kargo have to traverse roads, we traversed the forests.” Then her mood grew serious.
“Listen, while you’ve been resting, I scouted around. The Dark Apostles have take prisoners. Three batches in three carts.”
“What!” Emerson exclaimed. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 8 Apathy

The smell of pink violas mingled with the scent of blood. The battleground unfolded on the plains below him. The El Nath Resistance was fleeing to his left, pursued by mobs of Dark Apostles. The supply caravan that the Resistance was meant to be attacking halted at the side of the road, waiting for its soldiers to return. Tame Kargo snuffled softly in front of their carts. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 7 Jeopardy

The night sky was always a fascination to Emerson. The deep blue-black hue dotted with silver flecks. Like a dark canvas with tiny drops of paint scattered across the surface. The grass under the assassin swayed in the gentle sea breeze. This was his time to unwind, relaxing under the stars above.

The sounds of the sea mingled with the soft swaying of the trees. Ophelia sighed and leaned against the railing of their housing. Gavrilla joined her on the veranda, her unrestrained hair fluttering in the wind. The hermit loosed her shirt. The ranger gazed into the harbour and moved the hair covering her face.
“Gavrilla, I have to ask you something.”
“Yes? Wait, let me guess, this is about Emerson?” Ophelia recoiled.
“How did you know?”
“Hermit’s intuition.”
“Well, what was with Emerson yesterday? He seemed more…apathetic and violent.”
Gavrilla turned to face the other guild leader.
“Alright, you know the Dark Lord? His teachings make us rogues right? Good, but we also have a strict line of rules. Some follow them to the word, like Emerson, and some don’t care, like those rogues that attacked us on the ship. The rules go along the lines of: Fight only those who can fight back…honour and duty…death before dishonour… Anyway, what those people did back then broke those rules and Emerson punished them.”
Ophelia nodded, understanding. Gavrilla smiled and turned back to watching the sea. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 6 Justified

Ellinia Harbour was crowded at this time of year. With the holiday season moving in, families were travelling to Ludibrium with their eager children. Emerson gazed wistfully at the sight of civilisation. Gavrilla stood him, shrouded by a Black Giles cape.
“Back to humanity.” The hermit muttered.
“I almost forgot what it was like.” The assassin replied, pulling his Black Justice cape closer to his body. Gavrilla smiled knowingly. Ophelia returned from the ticket kiosk. Her White Seraph cape contrasted with the rogues’ capes. read more

link
Last of the Shadow Foxes: 5 Revelation

The sauna was relaxing. The hot water soothing Emerson’s tired muscles. He sighed as the steam filled the air and bubbles popped gently on the water. The assassin was glad that a hot water vein ran through Subway Station 303. Geothermal heated water straight from Perion. Emerson dipped his head into the pleasant water. As he resurfaced, he felt someone else get into the pool. Wiping his eyes he saw Ophelia on the other side of the sauna. read more