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Check out the v.254 - Midnight Carnival - Ludibrium Patch Notes
here!
Hiya Maplers!
Grab a pen, it's time to venture with Kain anywhere you want, from Maple World all the way to Arcane River! While you enjoy Kain's release on
June 23, take some time to write a short story about Kain's journey for a chance to win limited edition Kain Posters and MapleStory Keychains!
ONLY ENTRY SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THIS CHANNEL
(Note: Contest is being held on Official MapleStory Discord and Official MapleStory Forums.)
How to Apply
1. Comment on this Contest post
2. Include the following with your entry
- Your In-game name
- World Name
- Your story of Kain
Tips and Criteria
- The story must be about MapleStory's Kain character.
- Please try to keep Kain's personality as it is in-game.
- The overall theme of the story is "Kain's Journey", however, you can have fun and be creative as you wish!
- No explicit content is allowed. Please keep it appropriate and PG-13.
- Please keep the story length to 800 words maximum.
Judging Process
- MapleStory Community team will vote and determine 5 winners and 3 honorary mentions.
Prizes
- 5 Winners
- Kain Poster (Limited Edition)
- One Keychain (Limited Edition) of your choice: Masked Pink Bean or Masked Rock Spirit.
- 3 Honorary Mentions
- Kain Poster (Limited Edition)
Submission Dates
June 21st - July 12th 10:00 AM PT
.
Comments
- Reboot
As he ran through the city of Pantheon, Kain took a moment to reflect on his life.
He couldn’t take any more of this. One week in the Pantheon, and he already couldn’t stand it. Every ounce of his self-control was worn ragged, and if his malice wasn’t partially suppressed by the force field… he didn’t know how much more he could take. If that Kylan or anybody else said one more thing about that pretty pink superhero that he was obsessed with, he would… Grrr. And then playing her ugly screeching voice over the loudspeakers on top of the church! No, he had to get out, and fast.
And that’s why he was currently running through the city. The only place he knew how to get out of Grandis was there. The famous Interdimensional portal to Maple world. Supposedly it was pretty and had some background good music, and maybe, just maybe, he might find who he was looking for there. Anyway, surely anything else would be better than that incessant singing. Superstar spotlight? More like Super-lame spotlight.
“Watch it!” the stickler Cartalion yelled when he bumped into him. That one was always yelling at him for loitering. Just because a man liked to cover up his skin with a high collar didn’t make him suspicious. As he passed Karin, he gave her a short nod. She was the only kid he was a bit fond of here, and hopefully her upcoming-merchant career worked out someday. Maybe in Helisium or something.
He jumped up and smacked some weird bug thing with an umbrella out of the air with his grappling hook. He’d been here a full week and hadn’t figured out where the green thing came from. Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about it in Maple world.
He finally jumped up on a dragon statue’s head, which he’d seen people throwing valuable items into for some reason, then shadow-stepped into the church’s front steps. Never stopping, he ran straight through the door, passed the monks, and then Kain stumbled through the interdimensional portal, tripping over his own feet.
A bright light seemed to engulf him completely, then everything fell into darkness for a minute as his screen loaded the next map. He rolled onto a grass platform and looked up to see giant leaves and a bright sun above him. He was on a giant tree! It would have been cooler if there were more dark blacks and purples, perhaps like if someone’s brother took it over one day, but it was still awesome. He could see almost the entire island from up there, including a large blue fishtank, some houses that for some reason were designed after mushrooms, a town of stone, and a giant… mall? There was a lot of diversity in this place.
Then he looked down and flinched, barely keeping himself from screaming. A scream would most certainly not have fit his vibes. The platform he’d come out of the portal was hundreds of feet in the air. Why was the interdimensional portal so high up? Kain pulled his jacket up higher over his face and began to climb down a rope. Having a rope so long suspended only at one point couldn’t be structurally sound at all.
It turned out his suspicions were correct, because when he’d almost made it to the bottom, the rope snapped, sending him crashing to the ground. Maple World’s first problem.
Gah, Kain thought, rubbing his aching back, that’s embarrassing. I hope nobody saw that.
Still smarting from the fall, Kain turned and found Maple world’s second problem. A horde of tiny, walking mushrooms were all running at him, causing a cloud of dust to rise behind them. His health was too low for this after that fall damage!
He did scream this time, and he didn’t stop as he ran away. Turning slightly, Kain angled his crossbow to shoot several arrows behind him. Tens of shrooms died in tiny dark black and red explosions, but that did nothing to slow them.
Maybe he could get somewhere they couldn’t reach. He had to reach the grey brick town he’d seen earlier. Kain ran and threw himself face-down over a grey wall, praying he could make the jump. He couldn’t run anymore, not for all the money in the world.
But it worked. The mushrooms couldn’t get him up there.
Kain rolled over on his back and sighed, only to see Maple world’s third problem. The droopy eyes of a giant snail with large, luxurious grey mustaches loomed over him. The snail bent down its head…
And that’s where Kain’s journey to Maple World ended. He respawned in the Pantheon church, put his ear plugs in, pulled his head in his knees, and let out a long groan.
Server: GMS Bera
Kain: An Origin Story
Kain panted, hands gripping his torn knees.
"Keep running, or they'll catch us," Luska panted. He felt his sister's hand tugging at his shoulder.
Kain gritted his teeth and willed his aching legs to propel him away from the intense heat radiating behind him. Behind them, what the pair had originally called home was now reduced to smoldering ruins, casting a faint ghastly glow against the dull night sky.
The stars and moon were absent, casting little light on the pair's surroundings. Still, Luska led them deftly through the forest, having spent enough time in the forest to know to know the varous paths with her eyes closed.
The far-away sounds of the fire blazing and voices shouting became slowly replaced by the sounds of the forest and its inhabitants. Kain tried to steady his breath and listen to the rhythmic thumping of his footsteps, almost synced with the hoots of an owl no doubt flying somewhere overhead.
Kain suddenly heard a branch snap somewhere behind them.
"Did you hear -," Kain abruptly cut off as he saw his sister motion to be quiet. They exchanged a glance and a nod, or at least what Kain thought was a nod, and quickly strode onto another path, more narrow and less trodden than the one they had been on.
Kain tried to concentrate on the sounds that were coming from behind them, to try to figure out how close their pursuer was. Whoever they were, they were fast, and gaining ground on the pair.
If Luska was thinking the same thing he was, then they were headed towards an encampment that the two had set up in a situation like this. An encampment fitted with a couple traps, where Kain and Luska would have a chance to turn the tables on their presumably much stronger pursuers.
Kain's body seemed to give an extra jolt of energy, operating purely in survival mode at this point, and the two ran even faster than before. In no time, the pair were made it to their encampment site, where they slowed down.
Still panting, they hurriedly dug through the pile of equipment at the center of the encampment, looking for the smoke bombs that would help them escape.
"Looking for these?"
Kain's hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he and Luska turned to face the source of the voice. Slowly, five men emerged from the forest into the edge of the encampment, holding crossbows. One of them, the speaker, was holding the smoke bombs in his hand, with a grin on his mouth.
"Hands where I can see them," the speaker, presumably their captain, barked. Kain and Luska slowly lifted their hands, minds racing to try to figure out a way to escape.
"Looks like we got ourselves some vermin tonight," the man chuckled with the others.
Kain felt a visceral reaction bubbling up, which started growing and growing as he listened to the man talk. It was a vehement sort of hate, malice even.
"Aye, I didn't know some second class citizens could be worth so much," the captain commentated. He strutted closer to the pair, making sure to brandish his much too shiny crossbow. "You're lucky we caught you. If someone else had, you'd be in much worse condition."
The feeling that Kain had earlier was bubbling over, triggered by the man's words. Images flashed through his mind - the neighborhood kids throwing rocks at him; hiding behind the curtains so that the adults wouldn't look through the window with their disapproving glares. Kain felt himself slowly slipping away, losing control of his body.
The next moments were hazy, as Kain seemed to remember a oxymoronic dark flash and a loud crack that drowned out the rest of the forest before he lost consciousness.
Kain groaned. He opened his eyes to see the canopy of tree leaves above him. Was he in heaven? He winced as wiggled his fingers and sharp bolts of pain tore through his body. He looked down at his right hand, which was shoddily bandaged with a combination of moss and cloth.
Luska noticed him stirring, and came over and patted his head to check his temperature.
"What happened?" Kain asked, hoping for some answers.
"I'll tell you later. For now, just rest," Luska responded.
Kain had many questions, but he thought it'd be better to ask them later. He didn't have the energy to argue now.
One thing was very clear, however. Kain had to become stronger, so that he had the power to fight against whoever, or whatever, was pursuing them. For now, he was just grateful that he and Luska were alive.
World: Luna
Kain: New life
After leaving Pantheon I found myself in Maple World, surrounded by greenery and tiny walking.. mushrooms? Man I don't know anything about this place but I sure do know that I am not about to touch one of those creepy buggers. The wounds of having lived a life of deceit and darkness on top of the loss of my sister were still raw, but I needed to continue living. Not just for me but for the both of us. With the new name I was given and a mind filled with determination I found my way to the town called Henesys and received guidance from the local master of archery Athena Pierce. It was a rather peaceful town, really. I came across a man who seemed to be upset about his runaway son. I'm not one for making friends per se, but if I wanted to survive I was going to need as much information about this world as possible so I decided to ask him some questions. Turns out that he was was the chief of this town and he explained to me that there were monsters running rampant around town and that it was causing some troubles for the townsfolk. As if that wasn't bad enough, the old man was starting to get rather worried about his no-good of a son too and he asked me for the favor of bringing a watch to his son. 'Why am I suddenly burdened with this responsibility? I have better things to do,' I thought to myself as I accepted his request anyway. Maybe I'm just going soft, maybe I felt like a troubled kid like him deserves a home because I no longer have one, I don't know. 'Let's just get this over with', I muttered under my breath as I went on my way.
My senses were honed like a blade yet my thoughts must've distracted me as I bumped into someone. Their body felt hard and muscular, however as I looked up I saw the face of a young lady with flowing, blue hair. 'Sorr--' as I was about to apologise the lady let out a high-pitched shriek. 'Look at what you've done!! You're getting your eyeliner all over my clothes!' 'Are you going to pay me the 100 million mesos for the cleaning service??' I was taken aback by her sudden statement. 'I'm not wearing any make-up,' I stuttered. 'Oops hehe busted,' she said as she stuck out her tongue. She was clearly messing with me and I wasn't quite sure how to escape this walking beefcake with worms for brains. She opened her mouth again, 'Ya sure you're not wearing any? What's your secret, severe lack of sleep? Good genetics?' Good lord will she ever shut up? 'I'm YuHellscythe by the way! Or as I'd like to call myself, the Black Mage's worst nightmare to come. What's your name?' She tilted her head as she stared at me with her big sky-blue eyes and I felt compelled to answer, 'It's Yuuya.' 'Who's this ''Black Mage'' you speak of?' Her eyes widened just before she burst into laughter, 'Hahahaha..ha that's a good one. Oh sorry about that, you must not be from here huh.' Either she's playing dumb or she really does have no lights on in that head of hers. I can't be too sure, but I sure can't let her know that I'm a Black Nova, 'I'm from Grandis so yeah I am not from here miss know-it-all.' She briefly explains to me who the Black Mage is and how he's responsible for all the recent terror and troubles in Maple World.
'I was on my way to the Temple of Time to investigate, care to join me? I could use a pretty little sidekick like you.' I was at a loss for words again. She really does everything at her own pace doesn't she? Her proposition peaked my interest however. If she's going there to investigate I might get some valuable intel as well. Sorry Stan, I'll check up on your son later I thought to myself as I agreed to tag along with the self-proclaimed ''worst nightmare'' of the Black mage.
It was a mistake.
The memory whale took my memory. I should've never gone to this temple with that rando. I cannot have this happen to me again, not like this! My sister... my home land....... The memory keeper tells me I need to go back to roots and remember my home, and I come to the realisation that I've made new precious friends and comrades: they're my new ''home''. YuHellscythe looks a little pained as she shoots me a weak smile: 'Let's go get our memories back aye, champ.'
Hiya! Thanks to everyone who participated!
We plan to announce the winners within this week so stay tuned!
Hi Maplers!
Hope you've leveled up your Kain character and received rewards from Kain's Road to Remembrance event!
Writing contests are always entertaining with the various, unexpected stories you all bring to life. There were quite a few to read but I can confidently say it was worth it lol. Now, let's announce our winners and honorary mentions!
*These are listed in submission order
Please congratulate our Winners!
Mapl3r
Shrou7da
Rencial (Discord)
Kimbob (Discord)
Queenie (Discord)
Now please congratulate our Honorary Mentions!
HT (Discord)
Patriad (Discord)
Hamziena
Thanks to everyone who participated!
These were all very interesting stories without a doubt and I hope to see more of yours in our future contests!
Again, congratulations to all of you. Now, we'll reach out to all the winners and honorary mentions about your prizes via Discord/Forums DM!
Enjoy playing with Kain and we'll see you all next time!
Interesting! Thanks!