Martial Online.



"An update tomorrow!?"

Jesse didn't' feel tired anymore.

He sat up and scrolled through that post. 

The post didn't contain patch notes for the upcoming update, but it contained the source for that information.

Martial Company announced earlier today the upcoming update, and the person who made the post just happened to be the first one to put it in the forum.

He scrolled further down and soon arrived at the comment section. 

It already had an astonishing three million comments, and that number was still increasing rapidly.

He didn't plan on reading all of them, but only the most liked ones.

'Yeah, they are all excited.' Jesse scrolled further down and saw a comment that advertised an ForeverStream account. 

Apparently, the streamer and several top players would discuss the upcoming update.

It garnered a lot of attention.

Curiosity piqued, Jesse also pressed the link and had to download the ForeverStream app. 

It was created by the same company that created the most famous video uploading site in the world—ForeverTube.

After the app finished downloading, he created an account on ForeverStream. 

There was an option to use his Martial Online Forum account to log in, which he used as he didn't want to bother creating a whole new account from scratch.

Then he went to check the currently most popular streamers, some even having over a million viewers, and then found the person who advertised his account. 

He had 800,000 viewers and was still growing. 

He pressed on the stream, laid back on the bed with his head touching the pillow, and began watching it.

...

Four radiantly different players had gathered around a table. 

They were inside a cozy-looking cafe with a fireplace burning brilliantly, sending waves of heat across the room.

The rain pattered down against the window, creating a soothing background noise.

"Like I said, the new update must have new classes." A blond-haired player said. 

He leaned back in his chair, took a sip of the warm coffee, and continued with his theory.

"I also think they're going to introduce a whole new set of abilities and skills for each class."

The blond-haired player had already made a name for himself in the gaming community with his strategic thinking and impressive gameplay. He was the Dojo Master of Thunder Spear, Maelstorm.

His dojo was widely known for only having spear users in its ranks. 

They impressed many by defeating a very difficult boss while streaming the whole ordeal. 

Their skill and strength were widely proven to be among top in Yatagarasu.

"That might happen, but I don't think so." A short-haired man replied hesitantly. "It's known that it's not possible to make another account.

"From what I have heard, over 100 million players had already registered, and that many people would be robbed the opportunity to ever try those classes.

"Also, Brawler and Unique classes can give players the opportunity to create their own "class" and fighting style. As a Brawler, one could become sumo wrestler, karateka or even boxer.

"As a Unique class, the possibilities are limitless."

The short-haired player was the Dojo Master of Burning Fist, Axel. 

He had honed his skills in various martial arts and was known for his lightning-fast strikes.

He checked the reaction of the chat and saw hundreds of messages flying by, but most chatters seemed to have agreed with him.

"That is indeed true, but you two have forgotten something." A voice chimed in from the other end of the table. 

She was a female player with long auburn hair that cascaded down her back.

"Well, what is it, Sunless?" Axel asked with crossed arms. Maelstorm also listened from the side.

Sunless was the Dojo Master of the famous Platinum Edge. She was known for her exceptional swordsmanship and unmatched precision in every move she made.

They originated from Tsukuyomi but came to Yatagarasu to experience different cultures.

She was easily the most famous person in this gathering, even though she wasn't the streamer. 

All eyes were on her when she spoke, and the chat was flooded with messages praising her every move.

"What if there are hidden classes?" Sunless asked with a beautiful smile on her face. "Everyone is so adamant that there are only five classes. However, I don't think that is the case."

Axel and Maelstorm quieted down. They had never considered the possibility of hidden classes before. 

It would make sense because Ember Online had several classes that could only be acquired by completing a certain quest.

"That is a very good theory, Sunless." A handsome black-haired man said. He had a pleasant-looking smile and a twinkle in his emerald green eyes.

He was the Dojo Master of the Emerald, T-Lord. He was also the person who streamed this gathering. 

Before this, he was a rather popular streamer with an average of 10,000 viewers, but now he had broken his record easily, with his view count almost reaching one million!

T-Lord wasn't as well known as others before this gathering, but now his fame had skyrocketed overnight. 

His viewers would consider his strength to be average at best, but his humorous and energetic streams had created a small community of loyal viewers.

"If we are done talking about classes, what else do you all think will be added?" T-Lord controlled the conversation nicely and wanted to move on from classes as it would become boring after a while to be talking about the same topic.

"That is the thing; we can't possibly know what Martial Company is thinking." Maelstorm interlaced his fingers. "This might be a mere bug fix update."

"No, they are intentionally garnering hype." Axel said. "They are planning something big. There is no way they are planning to disappoint everyone, especially knowing that we have all excitedly waited for the first update!"

"I personally think they are going to add more content." Sunless said. "If we are being honest, it is getting rather dull because we can only grind levels and find quests or just explore the world.

"That's why this update is going to make us very busy for the following months. Mark my words!"

"I agree with you." T-Lord smiled. "We'll have plenty of new content to keep us entertained."

...

"Yawn." Jesse watched the stream for a little longer before he got simply too tired to keep his eyes open. 

He closed the phone, put it on the charger, and returned to the bed to sleep.

'Unfortunately, I will be stuck at prison, so I can't experience the update firsthand. That does suck a lot.'

However, he was excited nonetheless and planned to check several streams of the update on his phone. 

He then turned sideways and looked at the empty desk in the room.

'Hmm, with selling the dojo, I have a lot of money in reserve. I still hadn't received the bill from the hospital, but all mail going to my former apartment would be sent here.

'With that extra money, I could perhaps purchase myself a computer. I have always wanted one. Perhaps I could go tomorrow and purchase one.' Jesse then laid on his back and slowly closed his heavy eyelids.

'I wonder... what kind of update it is.'

With moonlight seeping through the closed curtains, the young man fell into a deep slumber.

Tomorrow, a event that would change his life forever would unfold.