PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 29: The Big Bang

(A/N: I call this section the Big Bang, but it’s mainly just an homage. I’m not including most of the details that the Big Bang patch mentions due to the glaring continuity errors. The patch states that the Black Wings succeeded in resurrecting the Black Mage, who proceeded to rearrange Victoria Island. Since the first is blatantly false and the second just seems like a weak lore justification for the reorganization to Victoria Island, the only thing I’m including from the patch is that the monsters around Maple World grew stronger because of his return, explaining the origin of Chaos bosses.

This section covers the revamped Explorer storyline, which I’m not a fan of at all. The original version that we got during the RED patch stood perfectly fine on its own, with only a few minor continuity errors. If you’re curious about reading the old Explorer storyline, check out the pre-Destiny page. This new one largely adapts the basic skeleton of the original plot and attempts to streamline it by condensing the main story into levels 1-30, whereas the original storyline had quests spaced periodically through levels 1-100, which did a much better job of conveying the Explorer’s growth over time.

There’s always been an implication that the Explorer is the canon Adversary, as Tess called us Kao in the original Explorer storyline when no other class got referred to as Kao outside Ellin Forest and Vanishing Journey. However, they’ve all but confirmed this with the new storyline, as the Explorer inherits the will of the First Explorer, an Adversary who fought in the war against the Ancient Gods eons ago.

I personally also believe that the canon Adversary is a Hero because of the iconography of the Adversary wielding a one-handed sword in many animated cutscenes, including the scene in which we create a glowing sword of light to stab the Black Mage during Limina. Although a Paladin can technically also use a sword, they’ve now shifted the Paladin aesthetic to use maces instead.

Additionally, the title ‘Hero’ is much more reminiscent of the Heroes of Maple, and it seems thematically appropriate for the Hero of the present to finish what the Heroes of the past started. This was the main reason why I chose to become a Hero main, despite how painful mobbing used to be with his pathetically small hitbox. Thankfully, that got fixed in the Destiny update and now I hate my life significantly less.

There were several other major changes made, which I’ve documented on this page, but the problem is that even though they sound good in theory, many of them break the existing lore. The biggest culprit is the change that they made with the Black Mage being freed before the formation of the Alliance. This breaks the chronology of basically every storyline set between the time that the Alliance is formed and the Black Mage’s unsealing.

I’ve attempted to reconcile these differences as best as I can, but unfortunately, there are still several plot holes that I can’t remove because those sections have to be placed in certain places, as they would otherwise break a lot more. However, I’ve heard that they’re planning to revamp most storylines in future updates, which gives me hope that they have a plan to fix the plot holes that they’ve introduced.)

On Maple Island, a young Beginner visited the library in the hope of escaping their dull, repetitive life. There, they discovered a dusty book, which contained records of the greatest heroes of Maple World. Amongst the many stories, they were captivated by the Maple Tree Legend, the story of the First Explorer. Enraptured, the Beginner would read the book every day underneath the Maple Tree that the First Explorer loved.

One day, the Beginner was heading to the Maple Tree when they found a girl named Sugar reading aloud the story of the First Explorer, born as a maple leaf who quelled the chaos of the world by forging his willpower into a weapon and slashing through the earth and the sky. (A/N: The First Explorer is one of the first Adversaries who fought against the Ancient Gods eons ago.)

In order to secure a lasting peace, however, he fell as a maple leaf until the day that another maple leaf would herald his coming when the pitch-black sunset would stain the northern sky. Just as the Beginner arrived at the Maple Tree, a glowing maple leaf fell from the branches into the Beginner’s hands. As the light faded, the Beginner wondered whether they had merely imagined it, though they decided to keep the leaf, as it felt special to them.

Just then, Sugar noticed them approaching and introduced herself before asking if they could help her find her maple-leaf shaped hairpin. After the Beginner found the hairpin in the leaf piles, Sugar thanked them and asked for their name before giving them a gift for helping her, explaining that it would help them on their adventures. (A/N: She just gives you potions.)

Realizing that Sugar had mistaken them for an Explorer, the Beginner clarified that they weren’t an Explorer themselves, though they liked reading about the adventures of other Explorers. They explained that they had come to the Maple Tree in order to read about the First Explorer. Sugar smiled and realized that they were talking about the Maple Tree Legend, to which the Beginner excitedly told her that Amherst and Southperry, the two towns on Maple Island, had been built centered around the Maple Tree in honor of the First Explorer.

Sugar asked the Beginner if they wanted to go adventuring and be part of the First Explorer’s legacy, but the Beginner sheepishly explained that they were so weak that they had never thought about leaving Maple Island before. In order to repay them for finding her hairpin, Sugar decided that she would help them become stronger.

She lifted a heavy box of snail shells and told the Beginner that even though she was awkward, she was also strong. However, Sugar accidentally tilted the box, causing all the shells to break. As Sugar lamented that she needed the shells to obtain a ticket off Maple Island, the Explorer suggested that she hunt snails in order to get more shells.

Sugar excitedly told the Beginner that they could help her gather snail shells and led them over to the hunting grounds where snails roamed. After the Beginner brought half the shells, Sugar revealed that not only had she collected the other half, but she had also gathered enough for the Beginner to exchange for a ticket.

As the Beginner protested, Sugar told them that they had been afraid that they were too weak, but they had just proven that they were strong enough to hunt the snails. However, the Beginner told her that they couldn’t drop everything and leave, as they believed that one needed to have a special mission in order to do so. However, Sugar replied that not every Explorer needed a special calling, and that some even decided to adventure for no particular reason.

When the Beginner asked Sugar whether she was an Explorer, Sugar confirmed it and told them that her reason for adventuring was to make new friends in order to help them. When she admitted that it was a dumb reason, the Beginner assured her that it was just as good a reason as any. Sugar then told the Beginner that the First Explorer whom they looked up to had just been an ordinary person who had saved the world because of his good heart.

She added that the Beginner had a good heart as well, as they had helped her despite having just met, which made her believe that they would make a great Explorer. She then laughed and said that people might tell their story as the Second Maple Tree Hero, though the Beginner told her that it was way over the top. (A/N: I like the fact that Sugar is speaking out of experience, as she had been friends with the First Explorer during his journey eons ago.)

She then told them that they would experience hard times and happy times during their adventures, and that having someone with them through the hard times would make things go easier. She asked the Beginner whether they would join her on her mission, and after the Beginner considered it, they took the glowing maple leaf as a good sign and agreed to come. She and the Beginner then made their way to Southperry.

Along the way, they met a girl named Mai, who gave them their ship tickets in exchange for the snail shells, which served as proof that they were strong enough to handle exploring Maple World. They then gave their tickets to Captain Vasily and boarded the Sangri-La.

(A/N: I’ve covered the Special Explorer storylines in an earlier section, but just for reference, Cannoneer and Dual Blade both share the revamped Explorer storyline, just as they used to share the original Explorer storyline. However, Pathfinder no longer shares the regular Explorer story. Cannoneer’s storyline slightly diverges here due to the story revamp. When Cannoneer tries to board, he’s told that the Sangri-La is full, and so he instead boards a different boat that crashes on Coco Island. After escaping with Monkey and Cutter, his story returns back to the regular Explorer storyline.)

During the voyage, they encountered three others hoping to become Explorers: a girl named Olive who hoped to become a bowman and gain riches, the aloof Tess who wanted to become a great pirate, and a boy named Rondo who wanted to become a thief. While conversing, Sugar told the others that she wanted to be a Cleric while the Beginner revealed their aspirations. They also explained that they had come across a glowing maple leaf, which intrigued Tess.

(A/N: Tess behaves sarcastically and rudely for most of your main storyline, which is a stark contrast to his easy-going, friendly nature in the original storyline. In the original story, Tess recognizes you as his best friend, Kao, from Ellin Forest, though this reference has been removed in the current storyline. Given that Tess has been singularly-driven on a centuries-long mission to break the blood curse on himself and Kyrin, and since he doesn’t recognize the Explorer as his best friend anymore, it makes some sense as to why he behaves standoffish with you and the others equally, although I still vastly prefer his old personality.)

After arriving at Victoria Island, the five decided to split up and meet their respective job instructors. The Beginner asked Sugar whether she wanted to meet up after they finished their first job training, but Sugar told them that she had something to take care of first and encouraged them to keep training. The Beginner then met their job instructor and learned the basic skills needed for them to train, allowing them to officially become an Explorer.

(A/N: At this point, Dual Blades will proceed with their special storyline. They’ll return to the regular Explorer questline after finishing the Dual Blade story.)

Soon after, Tess reached out and told the Explorer that he might be able to help them learn more about the glowing maple leaf. After meeting at the Six Path Crossway, Tess examined it and concluded that it was a normal maple leaf, unlike what he had thought it might be. He then suggested that they keep training in order to uncover more details and suggested that they go help the locals in Henesys.

Soon after, the Explorer received a note that contained an announcement for all Explorers that Olive was wanted for stealing an important treasure of Victoria Island. Surprised, the Explorer went to the Bowman Instructional School and met Athena Pierce, who explained that someone had stolen the treasure while it had been in transit from Rien to Henesys.

She added that it was a very precious jewel, and so its owners had charged the Bowman Instructional School with its safe delivery. Though she found it hard to believe that Olive, her own disciple, was responsible, she asked the Explorer to join the search. The Explorer agreed to help, and so Athena sent them to reinforce the search party in Ereve.

While patrolling around Ereve, the Explorer thought to themselves that the treasure being precious meant that it must have been strictly guarded, and so they wondered how Olive could have managed to steal it. Soon after, they encountered Olive, who told them that she was on a mission to clear her name. The Explorer stopped her as she attempted to leave and fought her in order to keep her from escaping.

The Explorer, who believed that she was lying, told her to hand over the jewel, citing how she had mentioned that she had wanted to get rich when they had first met on the Sangri-La as proof of her intentions. However, Olive explained that she had been framed, and that she had come to Ereve following a lead as to who had really stolen the treasure.

Just then, Rondo arrived to apprehend Olive. As he dragged her away, Olive begged the Explorer to ask Neinheart about the Master of Disguise. Upon questioning Neinheart, the Explorer learned that he had once met the Master of Disguise, who seemed to have a penchant for precious jewels. Neinheart then made a copy of the Cygnus Knights’ notes on the Master of Disguise and gave the document to the Explorer, who brought it to Athena Pierce.

Athena was relieved to know that Olive wasn’t the culprit, but explained that there were still more complications, as the treasure stolen wasn’t merely a precious jewel, but a Seal Stone. She told the Explorer that the Seal Stones had the power to reshape a continent, and that it had been created by one of the Heroes who had fought against the Black Mage. She added that the stolen Seal Stone - the Seal Stone of Victoria Island - was one of many.

(A/N: Following the plot point in Aran’s storyline, Lilin sent the Seal Stone to Athena Pierce for safekeeping. In the original storyline, the stolen Seal Stone was actually the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert, which no longer exists in canon after the Explorer revamp.)

The Explorer asked about the Black Mage, whom Athena explained was a great villain who had invaded Maple World centuries ago and destroyed everything that he touched, even splitting the continent of Ossyria, which had resulted in the formation of Victoria Island. Regarding the Heroes, Athena explained that there were five Heroes who had fought against the Black Mage when he had invaded Maple World, and that one of those Heroes had created the Seal Stones.

The Explorer asked why the jewels were called Seal Stones if they had the power to reshape continents, to which Athena explained that they had been created to seal the Black Mage. She told the Explorer that before the final battle, the Heroes had created two contingency plans. The first one was that in the event that they lost the battle, the Seal Stones would bind the Black Mage for eternity. The second one was that in case the sealing failed, the Seal Stones would turn back time for the split continent and restore it, which was a last resort.

(A/N: This isn’t strictly a continuity error, but the implication from previous storylines has always been that the primary contingency for the Seal Stones has been to turn back time on broken continents, with the sealing spell being a last-minute plan. Although, this actually does give better context to why they’re called Seal Stones.)

With their questions answered, the Explorer was sent to join Olive as part of an investigation team to infiltrate the Verne Mine in order to find the Master of Disguise and the Seal Stone. The Explorer and Olive traveled to Edelstein, where they met up with Sugar, Rondo, and Tess. Sugar told them that they would need to disguise themselves as Black Wings members in order to enter the mine. As they argued over the best way to obtain a hat, Tess suggested a majority vote. (A/N: You get the choice between stealing a hat, asking someone for a hat, buying a hat, or just charging in.)

However, Tess ignored the vote, despite being the one who had proposed it, and decided to act on his own. He found a passing Black Wings member and began to fake cry, tearfully explaining that his late mother’s dying wish had been for him to become a member of the Black Wings. He made up a story that he had failed to join the organization due to his incompetency and asked if he could borrow the hat just so that he could experience wearing it at least once in his life.

The boy, who was actually Xenon disguised as a Black Wings for a Resistance mission, gave up his hat, though he quickly revealed that he had seen through their façade and explained that a real Black Wings member wouldn’t be fooled by such a terrible performance. When the Explorer realized that he wasn’t a member of the Black Wings either, Xenon explained that he wouldn’t ask for their identity if they didn’t ask for his, although he agreed to answer any questions they had.

Xenon told them that the Master of Disguise’s real name was Baroq, and that as a high-ranking officer, he wouldn’t be easy to run into. He explained that the Black Wings had occupied the town and were a militarized cult trying to revive the Black Mage. He also suggested that they enter the mine and start their search in the room of another executive named Eleanor.

Before he left, he also gave them dossiers on all the officers of the Black Wings. After he left, the group decided that the Explorer would wear the hat in order to enter the mine while Rondo used his Dark Sight skill to hide in the shadows in order to accompany them. Before they left, Sugar used her magic to buff the Explorer for their mission.

(A/N: If the Explorer is a magician, Sugar will tell them that though she’s sure that they know how to use Bless, she still wanted to do something for them. The Explorer will tell her that they can’t actually use Bless just yet and thanks her.

If the Explorer is a thief, Tess will note that since the Explorer and Rondo are both thieves, they can both use Dark Sight. However, he tells the Explorer to hold on to the hat in case they need to drop their Dark Sight.)

In the distance, Xenon wondered why the Explorers were investigating the Black Wings, but he decided that it had nothing to do with him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but note that there were five comrades who had gathered together.

(A/N: In the original Explorer storyline, it was revealed that one of the criteria for using the Seal Stones is five different powers gathered together. I have no idea why this was brought up, as it plays no role in the revamped storyline.)

Inside the mine, the Explorer and Rondo encountered two rooms and wondered which was the right one. Rondo told the Explorer to close their eyes, after which he took off his hat and used his fox Anima ears to listen and determine the right room. (A/N: I have no idea how he figures out the right room just by listening.)

Inside, they found the Seal Stone of Victoria Island and a note from Baroq written to Eleanor explaining that he was leaving the Seal Stone in her room. Laughing at Baroq’s stupidity at leaving such an important object unguarded, the Explorer and Rondo took the Seal Stone and the note and returned to the others. Outside, Rondo gave the note to Olive and told her that she could use it as proof that Baroq had impersonated her for his mission. Sugar then opened a Mystic Door to the Bowman Instructional School, where the Explorer gave the Seal Stone and Xenon’s document to Athena Pierce.

(A/N: If the Explorer is a magician, they’ll wonder how Sugar already knows how to use Mystic Door when she’s just a Cleric, as it’s a 3rd job skill.)

Though they wondered whether Xenon’s document was trustworthy, Athena briefly looked through it and noted that they could trust the source. As they all began to leave, Olive stopped the Explorer and attempted to stammer out a thank you before giving up and instead leading them to a secret training ground. There, the Explorer trained by defeating a Blue Mushmom before Olive revealed that it was her way of thanking the Explorer for listening to her and getting the document from Neinheart, which had led to her exoneration. After Olive left, the Explorer felt happy to know that they were able to help people on their adventures. They then decided to return to Athena Pierce in order to ask her for a new mission.

Athena told the Explorer that they had good timing, as she had something she wanted to discuss something with them. She explained that after looking through Xenon’s document, she had begun to wonder why the Black Wings wanted the Seal Stone if they were planning to bring back the Black Mage. She explained that the Black Mage had split the continent, and so it didn’t make sense that they would want an object that could put it back together.

The Explorer speculated that if the Seal Stones had the power to seal the Black Mage, then perhaps they held the power to break it as well. However, Athena told them that it was impossible for someone to undo the Seal of Time, as the Black Mage was sealed behind the Gate of the Present, which had been locked up ever since the seal had been activated. She explained that even if the Black Wings had the power to break the seal, there was no way for them to access it behind the Gate of the Present.

She also explained that she regularly sent scouts to monitor the Gate of the Present, and that all of them had consistently reported that there was no way inside. Nevertheless, she told the Explorer that she could never have too many scouts and asked them to visit the Temple of Time. She then teleported the Explorer to the Three Doors, after which she wondered aloud that if the Explorer was as special as Tess thought, then perhaps they would catch something that she and the others hadn’t.

(A/N: The revamped storyline gives me so much whiplash. We went from reading on Maple Island to going to Ereve, then to Edelstein, and now Athena wants us to go to a level 140+ area when we’ve been a 1st job Explorer for literally 20 minutes.)

Upon arriving, the Explorer was surprised to find the Gate to the Present open. As Athena had emphasized how dangerous the Temple of Time was, they decided to report back to her. However, they felt something calling to them and instead decided to enter the Gate of the Present. Upon entering, they made their way to the Black Mage’s throne room, where they found the Black Mage sealed behind the degrading Seal of Time.

The Explorer immediately noted that the aura of evil was like tar all over their skin, as well as the fact that one of the five Seal Stones powering the seal was cracked. The Explorer returned back to Athena Pierce and explained that not only was the Gate of the Present open, but one of the Seal Stones powering the seal was cracked.

They then suggested replacing the cracked Seal Stone with the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. Athena and the Explorer returned to the Temple of Time, where Athena noted that the Gate of the Present was shut. When the Explorer told her that it appeared open to them, Athena realized that they had a special power that allowed the Gate of the Present to open for them.

(A/N: The original Explorer storyline, as well as Shade’s original storyline, stated that the Gate of the Present only opens to those not from Maple World. The original Explorer storyline made a mention of the Explorer being from another world, while Shade’s existence was erased from the world, which is why both of them were able to enter. This explanation was likely removed because of the complications that would arise from non-Maple World classes entering the Temple of Time.

The special power that the Explorer has comes from the maple leaf containing the essence of the First Explorer, who was an Adversary, which means it’s likely that the Gate of the Present only opens to Adversaries, or perhaps any significant source of divine power, such as Transcendents, which would explain how the Black Mage and Rhinne could open it as well. Something interesting to note is that in the Odium storyline, it’s said that there’s no door in Odium that won’t open to a Vessel. A Vessel is a person compatible with a Seal Stone, with the player being one of them. It could be the case that the Gate of the Present is built similarly to the doors of Odium, which is why it reacts to either us or the First Explorer.)

The Explorer entered the Black Mage’s throne room, where the Black Mage himself began to speak to the Explorer, telling them to turn back because it was not yet time. He declared that he would soon break free, and through his power would the world come to order. He then offered the Explorer a place in his new regime, but the Explorer decided to ignore his words and began to replace the Seal Stone.

The Black Mage then asked whether the Explorer had chosen to walk a broken path, just as the cracked Seal Stone shattered. The Black Mage immediately broke free of his seal and quickly disappeared, teleporting the Explorer back to the Tree Doors. The horrified Explorer apologized to Athena Pierce for failing to fix the seal, though Athena reassured them that it wasn’t their fault.

(A/N: The GMS localization made some changes to what the Black Mage says. In the original KMS dialogue, the Black Mage is much more overt about the power of the Adversary, recognizing that the Explorer is one who has “broken free of order”. Whereas the GMS translation talks about how he’s going to bring order to the world, the KMS dialogue says that he’s going to replace the existing order of the world, which is an obvious reference to his fight against the Overseers.

The “broken path” is also more heavily implied to be the Path of Destiny that the Adversary needs to break free of. The Black Mage telling them that it’s not yet time combined with the fact that he recognizes the power of the Adversary carried by the Explorer makes it seem that he was genuinely scared for a moment that the Explorer would defeat him before his plan could come to fruition, which spurred him to break the seal prematurely, despite it not yet being the proper time.)

As the leaders of Maple World began to mobilize in preparation, Agent N reached out to Luminous and explained that the Black Mage was on the move, likely near Lania’s home. He told Luminous that Agent O had just sent them the message, and though the other agents were on their way, he wanted to let Luminous know before they arrived. Luminous used the Aurora Prism to return to Lania’s home, where he found the entire forest warped with the power of darkness.

He saw Vieren nearby, who apologized weakly for having failed. Luminous asked him where Lania was, to which Vieren told him that he had no idea how the Black Mage had found them, but added that the Sentrobo had been destroyed. Though Agent O and Penny had managed to hide, Vieren hadn’t been able to stop the Black Mage from taking Lania. Vieren then attuned the Aurora Prism to the Black Mage’s location so that Luminous could go after him.

Luminous used the Prism to arrive in a different area of the forest, where he heard Lania calling out to him. He followed her voice and discovered her collapsed on the ground. Suddenly, she cried out as she was engulfed in a great wave of darkness. Possessed by the Black Mage, she began to attack Luminous with dark magic. Luminous used his powers to drive the darkness out of Lania, who collapsed motionless on the ground, just as the Black Mage himself appeared.

The Black Mage mocked Lania for her weakness, claiming that she had faltered before a mere sample of his power. Having both Lucia and Lania taken away from him, Luminous swore that the Black Mage would suffer for what he had done. The Black Mage asked if Luminous was shaken and called his compassion a rotten crutch. Disgusted with the Black Mage considering love a weakness, Luminous challenged him to a duel and promised to show him the power that love had granted him. However, the Black Mage refused, explaining that he wanted to save their final battle for another time.

After he vanished, Luminous was relieved to see that Lania had awoken, who revealed that she was remembering memories of being Lucia in her past life. She told Luminous that she had never blamed him for her death and told him to stop feeling sorry about everything. Though Luminous protested that she wouldn’t have died if it hadn’t been for him, Lania snapped at him and said that they were together again, and that it was all that mattered. However, she reminded him that no matter what, she was still Lania. With a weight lifted off his heart, Luminous told Lania that they should head home.

Soon after the Black Mage’s return, Maple World’s most powerful monsters were strengthened by his dark influence, including Zakum, Papulatus, and Horntail.

(A/N: The idea of the Black Mage corrupting and strengthening monsters into Chaos bosses holds up a little less well with bosses who appeared after the Black Mage’s unsealing, such as the Root Abyss bosses. It seems like they’ve established the nomenclature of bosses to have Chaos bosses refer to actual monsters, such as Zakum, Kalos, or Gloom, while humanoid bosses like Magnus, Seren, or the Black Mage are called Hard bosses.)