The Rise of PULSAR

Chapter 2: The Dragon Warrior

(A/N: As of 2021, Zen has been completely removed from the game, and any existing Zen characters have been converted into Mo Xuan characters. Zen was the first of the GMS-verse classes to be removed from the game, followed by Jett and Beast Tamer. Beast Tamer and Zen have been replaced by Lynn and Mo Xuan, respectively, who both share the same starting region of Jianghu, and their stories are connected together independently of the other overseas content that makes up GMS-verse. Because of this, I won’t be covering Lynn or Mo Xuan in the GMS-verse writeup, but I’ll still be keeping Zen’s story here because his character remains alive in GMS-verse through Stellar Detectives.

For the sake of completionism, I’ve included Zen’s storyline to this part of the site, although Zen really doesn’t have any tie-ins to the rest of the lore. Zen’s story is supposed to take place in China, similar to how Hayato and Kanna’s stories take place in Japan, although Zen’s homeland is part of Maple World, since he was able to sail to Victoria Island from there.)

At the Red Peony Secret Base, a young warrior named Zen trained under his father, Zhi Zun – the Commander of the Hongwu Group that protected the Emperor of their land with powerful martial arts techniques. One day, Zhi Zun met with Zen and asked him how his training was going, to which Zen replied that he was improving every day. Zhi Zun noted that he had heard from Suha about how Zen was training hard, causing a dubious Zen to wonder whether Suha had really praised his efforts when she wouldn't say anything of the sort to him no matter how hard he trained.

At Zen's words, Zhi Zun laughed and jokingly asked whether it meant that Zen wasn't training hard enough. Zen earnestly promised his father that he was taking his training seriously, as he wanted to become part of the Hongwu Group just like Zhi Zun. Zhi Zun was pleased to hear his son's dedication before noting that tomorrow was Zen's birthday. Zen, happy to hear that his father had remembered his birthday, replied that he himself had forgotten his birthday after all his training, causing Zhi Zun to teasingly ask whether it would be okay if he didn't give Zen a present.

Just as Zen began to reply, Suha arrived and told Zhi Zun that she had something important to report. A surprised Zen asked Suha where she had gone, to which Suha explained that she had gone out for something. She then apologized to him for interrupting his conversation before asking whether she could speak to his father for a moment. Zhi Zun agreed and told Zen to continue his training while he spoke with Suha outside.

After the pair left, Zen noted to himself that Suha seemed worried about something and wondered whether something was wrong. Suddenly, he heard his father exclaim aloud in surprise, causing Zen to wonder what was going on. As Suha continued explaining, Zhi Zun wondered aloud about something happening to the Emperor, to which Zen began considering whether he should follow them.

Just then, Suha returned to the room and told Zen off for eavesdropping before explaining that the Commander had gone out to deal with an urgent matter, and that she would oversee his training in the meantime. She then instructed him to defeat Training Black Chickens in the training grounds, scolding him upon seeing his frustrated expression.

After Zen completed his training, Suha expressed her surprise upon seeing how quickly Zen had finished. Zen was confused by why Suha had suddenly gone from scolding him to being nice, to which Suha revealed that she had only been joking when she had scolded him, and that the Commander had actually told her to give him something if he trained hard.

Zen immediately began wondering whether it was a birthday gift and asked Suha what it was. Suha jokingly asked Zen to guess, to which Zen impatiently told her to show it to him, as he wanted to know what it was. Suha then presented Zen with an official uniform of the Hongwu Group, which Zen put on with pride. Suha then told Zen to continue his training diligently while she left to assist his father with the matter he was attending to.

Having been promoted, Zen entered the new intermediate training grounds and defeated the Training White Chickens there before fighting the Training Cats at the advanced training grounds. After completing his training, Zen found that his father and Suha were still out on business. Thinking on his promotion as an official Hongwu member, Zen resolved to continue honing his skills in order to make his father proud. However, he decided that he would rest first before continuing his training.

Several hours later, Zen awoke and found that his father and Suha still hadn't returned. Just as he began wondering what was going on, a wounded Suha rushed in and urgently told Zen that he needed to hide. Zen immediately noticed that Suha was bleeding and asked her how she had gotten hurt, and where his father was. Suha ignored him and once again repeated that he needed to hide, to which Zen stubbornly retorted that he needed to find his father first, adding that he had no idea what was going on. However, Suha replied that the situation was serious, and that Zen needed to escape through the back gate, as the front gate couldn't be accessed anymore. Her words caused Zen to realize that his father must be at the front gate.

Despite Suha's protests, Zen rushed out the room and began heading towards the front gate. On his way, he encountered Skeleton monsters that blocked his path. Hearing his father's voice in the distance, Zen fought past the monsters and arrived at the front gate, where he encountered Zhi Zun confronting Emperor Sunyao, who was engulfed in dark energy. Zhi Zun warned the Emperor not to come any closer, noting that he had become something else entirely. The Emperor replied that Zhi Zun seemed to be smarter than the others, just as Zhi Zun began attacking.

The two began battling, with the Emperor noting that Zhi Zun was stronger than he had thought. Zhi Zun then realized that the Emperor he was facing was a fake one, as the real Emperor would never have used such evil power. Upon seeing the battle, Zen rushed forward to assist his father, who warned him to stay back. The Emperor, realizing that Zen was Zhi Zun's son, unleashed dark energy at Zen.

Just then, Zhi Zun ran forward and blocked the attack with his body, gravely wounding him. The Emperor then disdainfully noted that Zhi Zun was a fool for sacrificing himself to save others. As Zen rushed to check on his father, an injured Suha arrived at the scene. Zhi Zun then ordered Zen to flee, promising that he would take care of the rest.

Declaring that it was over, the Emperor summoned his army of skeletons and terracotta warriors. Suha then attempted to drag Zen away, striking him when he refused to leave his father's side. Zhi Zun ordered Suha to take Zen and flee before unleashing his full power upon the dark army in order to buy them enough time to escape.

Suha carried a dazed Zen into the forest, where she told him to pull himself together. She then explained that the Commander had agreed to meet them by the pier and told him to keep moving forward, adding that she would cover him by dispatching the enemies tailing them. Zen pushed ahead and arrived at the pier, where he found Suha waiting for him. Upon finding that his father wasn't with them, Zen asked her where he was, to which Suha told him to get aboard the ship while she looked around.

(A/N: Before Zen's secondary weapon was changed to a Martial Fist, Suha would give Zen a Treasure Box, which was his original secondary weapon.)

As he climbed aboard the ship, Zen was surprised to find that there was no anchor on it, and that it was already starting to drift away. Suddenly, the Emperor's army arrived at the pier, to which Suha reluctantly admitted that they were setting sail. As the Emperor ordered his forces to capture them, Zen demanded Suha to explain what she meant. Suha revealed that she had lied about Zhi Zun meeting them, restraining him as the ship set sail from the burning base.

Several months later, Zen and Suha's drifting ship was found by Kyrin, who brought them both aboard the Nautilus. After Zen awoke, Kyrin explained the situation to him and revealed that Suha was being treated, as her injuries – while not life-threatening – were nevertheless quite serious. She then introduced herself as the captain of the Nautilus and explained that her ship was where the pirates of Maple World gathered together, though most had spread out in order to fight the Black Mage and his forces.

She then asked Zen whether he wanted to join them, to which Zen agreed. After Zen officially became a pirate, Kyrin gave him Suha's gun, explaining that Suha had wanted to give it to him before she had lost consciousness. She then suggested that he meet with Athena Pierce at the Bowman Instructional School in order to begin his journey.

Zen then began training around Maple World until he was called back to the Nautilus by Kyrin, who revealed that Suha's condition had become critical, and that it was possible that she may even die soon. She explained that she had called the best doctors to treat Suha, and that they had told her that they would need medical ingredients from the Patrol Robot S monsters in Edelstein. Zen collected the ingredients and brought them Kyrin, who told him to bring them to Betty in Ellinia. Betty used the ingredients to craft a medicine for Suha, which Zen brought back to the Nautilus.

Kyrin administered the medicine to Suha, who woke up and thanked Zen for saving her life. She then asked Zen whether he wished to learn the martial arts skills of the Hongwu Group and decided to administer a test to see whether he was worthy. Suha summoned a panda monster and told Zen to eliminate it. After Zen passed the test, Suha noted approvingly that he had grown much stronger before awakening him to the first stage of Hongwu martial arts.

(A/N: Before Zen's secondary weapon changed from a Treasure Box to a Martial Fist, Suha would explain that the Treasure Box was an old treasure passed down since the time of Zen's grandfather, whose true power he can start awakening. She reveals that the Treasure Box will enhance the owner's ability, in ways beyond just their full potential.)

Following Zen's awakening, Suha presented him with a new weapon and explained that in order to investigate the conspiracy behind the Emperor's corruption, she would need to return back to their homeland. She then told Zen to continue training in her absence, adding that he could start by investigating the commotion between fairies and humans at the Ellinel Fairy Academy.

Zen then began training in Maple World in order to hone his new martial arts abilities, with Suha soon calling him back in order to inform him that her investigation into the Emperor's corruption had led her to discover that the dark force had spread its influence into Maple World. She explained that in order to face that darkness, they would need to grow even stronger, for which she decided to help Zen's growth by sharing the last thing that his father had told her. She revealed that his father had sensed great potential within Zen, and that he had believed that Zen would be strong enough to lead the Hongwu Group once he fully awakened that potential resting inside him.

(A/N: Originally, Suha referred to the Treasure Box as having great potential, rather than Zen.)

In order to help awaken that potential and fulfill the Commander's wish for Zen to lead the Hongwu forces against the Emperor, Suha sent Zen into a practice field and had him eliminate a powerful bear monster. Satisfied with his performance, Suha taught Zen more powerful Hongwu skills in order to help him fulfill his destiny as his father's successor, tasking him with remaining on the path of chivalry and loyalty.

Zen then continued training his new abilities until Suha called him back, explaining that she needed his help in order to complete her investigation by investigating three places: Magatia, Ariant, and Leafre. Zen began investigating by obtaining clues from the Homunculus monsters in Magatia, Sand Dwarves in Ariant, and finally, Red Kentaurus monsters in Leafre.

Surprised by how spaced out the clues were, Suha decided to more into them, soon calling Zen back to reveal that she had discovered the force controlling the Emperor to be the evil mind, formed from the souls of evil beings merged together upon death. She also revealed that the evil mind was known to be a follower of the Black Mage as well. (A/N: There was never really any sort of elaboration on this line.)

In order to destroy the evil mind, Zen traveled to the Entrance to Sky Forest and used the evil essence created by Suha in order to draw out the evil mind, which appeared in the form of terracotta warrior. After defeating the monster, Zen reported back to Suha in order to inform her of his victory. Just then, however, the voice of the possessed Emperor called out to them, laughing and demanding to know whether they truly thought that they could destroy him. Kyrin then rushed in and noted that there was a great amount of gathering fog. To everyone's shock, the fog materialized into the Emperor. However, Suha assured Zen and Kyrin that the Emperor was merely an illusion.

The Emperor noted that they had gone through great lengths to find him and his subordinates, though he declared that they still wouldn't stop him. Zen immediately denounced the Emperor as his father's killer, to which the Emperor merely laughed that Zen was hardly in a position to speak when the knife was still at his throat. However, Suha told Zen to pay the Emperor no mind, as his real body was elsewhere, though Zen asked her how he could stand idly while his father's killer was standing before them. Upon hearing his words, Kyrin realized that the Emperor was the one who had driven Zen and Suha to sea.

The Emperor then asked Zen and Suha whether they truly believed that they could stop him, which Zen vowed to do, proclaiming that with his own hands, he would give meaning to his father's sacrifice to save his life, adding that the Emperor shouldn't look down on those who walked the path of chivalry. However, the Emperor merely laughed and noted that Zen was foolish to think so after Suha had spent so much time investigating, revealing that his presence was a warning for them to stop their attempts by wasting their unfortunate lives when they had fought so hard to survive.

As Zen angrily rushed forward, the Emperor's illusion disappeared, causing the dark fog inside the room to lift. Zen immediately turned to Suha and asked her where they could find the real Emperor, to which Suha told him that she would tell him later, as he first needed to grow even stronger. In order to help him, Suha taught him the advanced Hongwu techniques in order to help him reach his full potential.

(A/N: This was where Zen’s storyline originally ended, although CMS and TMS added a conclusion to Zen’s class story through the Royal Tomb, which was an expansion of the Temple of Time. By traveling through the Gate of the Past, players could complete the Royal Tomb storyline, set in the past when the Emperor was first corrupted by darkness and attacked the Hongwu Group.

Non-Zen classes who traveled into the past would appear to look like Zen (within the lore, not actually in-game), and they would also get access to some of Zen’s skills, as well as some very minor exclusive dialogue. Unfortunately, there’s no record of a Zen playthrough, and so I don’t know what exclusive dialogue that Zen got, but I’ll still cover the events of the Royal Tomb here without including any exclusive dialogue. Until the removal of the Royal Tomb, Zen also got some additional dialogue to his fourth job advancement quest, which I’ll cover here as well.)

Suha then told Zen that she was leaving once again in order to learn more about the Emperor. Soon after, Suha returned back and informed Zen that she had discovered the likely location of the Emperor, though she warned that it was a dangerous place. She explained that the Emperor was at the Royal Tomb, which was a place where the belongings of past Emperors were brought after their deaths, allowing them to hold onto their endless desires. Because of the nature of the tomb, Suha believed that the evil mind – strengthened by the evil thoughts of the past Emperors – would likely be there as well.

(A/N: The paragraph above was the additional dialogue that Zen got in his fourth job advancement. The stuff below is the actual Royal Tomb stuff.)

Traveling through the Gate of the Past, Zen and Suha arrived back in time at the moment when the Emperor had attacked the Red Peony Secret Base. Together, they fought through the Skeleton monsters and found Zhi Zun fighting the Emperor at the moment when Zen had originally witnessed. Just then, Zen attacked the Emperor and managed to defeat him. However, the Emperor laughed and revealed that Zen had merely destroyed his clone, and that his real body would be waiting for them deep underground. After reuniting with his father, Zhi Zun and Zen returned back to the base, where Zhi Zun asked his son to help him recover after his battle against the Emperor. Zen helped the Hongwu warriors recover stolen herbal ingredients from the Emperor's forces, which were used to craft medicine for Zhi Zun.

After recovering his strength, Zhi Zun told Zen that there were two sacred objects that needed to be destroyed before facing the Emperor. In the Royal Tomb, Zen defeated the Terracotta General and Fanged Snake before fighting his way to the Emperor's location. After a fierce battle, Zen managed to destroy the Emperor's true body. With the evil mind's curse broken, the Hongwu warriors were able to retake their home, though they noted that they needed to be vigilant, as the evil thoughts haunting the tomb could cause the evil mind to return once again. For this reason, the Hongwu warriors asked Zen to continue protecting the tomb as a warrior of great chivalry and bravery to prevent the Emperor's curse from resurrecting.

(A/N: With the end of Zen’s storyline, I’m also gonna add in his Aftermath cutscene. Unfortunately, there are no records of his Black Heaven cutscene, and so the Aftermath cutscene is all I have. This cutscene also has Zen mention how he couldn’t save his father, which does contradict with the Royal Tomb storyline, and so this either means that the Royal Tomb storyline isn’t canon to Zen’s story, or that the writers didn’t remember it.)

After the battle against the Black Mage, Suha found Zen standing pensively at the edge of Nautilus Harbor. Suha told Zen that everyone was out celebrating and suggested that he have some fun, to which Zen merely murmured an acknowledgement. Upon seeing Zen's mood, Suha noted that Zen was the hero who had saved Maple World and asked him why he seemed so down.

However, Zen replied that he himself wasn't sure, confusing Suha. Zen clarified by explaining that during his adventures in Maple World, all that he had thought about was revenge, though during that time, he had also met precious allies and saved the world with them. However, he notes that in the end, he still felt helpless, as he had failed to save his father. He told Suha how his father had wanted him to uphold the path of chivalry, and how – after losing his father and being so far from home - he wondered whether he would be able to continue his father's legacy.

Suha reassured him that the land that he walked on, and the sky that he stood under, didn't matter so much as who he surrounded himself with and the mindset that he possessed. She told Zen to remember his father's determination to seek justice, and his own will to save Maple World no matter what, as that was the way of the Hongwu Group and those who walked the path of chivalry.

Upon reflecting on her words, Zen thought about the Hongwu Group, Maple World, and all the people whom he had protected through so many trials and tribulations. With his father's memory in mind, Zen vowed to keep moving forward. Seeing Zen's fiery resolve, Suha wondered whether the Commander was watching from above at the warrior of the new world who would inherit the Hongwu will.