Martial Online.



Inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Yatagarasu.

"I wonder if I will ever have a bounty on my head!" A grinning young man said out loud while sitting upside down on a ragged sofa.

The surrounding warehouse was dirty from years of neglect, with dust and debris covering every surface.

Several young men had logged back in after the servers went back up. They were still waiting for a few of their friends to return, as they planned to play the entire night.

"Haha, having a bounty is fucking badass." A smile spread across one of the young man's faces as he examined his new tattoos he got yesterday. 

The tattoo covered his left arm from shoulder to wrist, depicting fierce dragon scales in vivid colors.

"Maybe one day when I am tired of staying in here." The grinning young man said while blood rushed into his head while hanging upside down loosely. "I could try for the highest bounty ever received by player. Hahaha, then everyone fears my name"!

"You have read too much of that pirate manga." His friend chuckled.

"Ahahahaha." The grinning young man laughed.

Kre-Chak—the warehouse's heavy doors opened.

"Yo, got the silver?" The grinning young man asked, expecting to see one of their friends return from his short trip.

"..." A blond-haired man walked down metal staircases while looking towards the entrance of the warehouse. 

He had just logged back in and heard a little bit of the conversation.

He was the leader of this group and its oldest member. 

In real life, he was a famous thug in his small town known for his ruthless tactics and scary presence. 

His infamous nickname was Dragonborn, which he adapted to the game because he liked the sound of it.

He recruited the young men after recognizing their potential for violence and loyalty.

"Hmm?" Dragonborn frowned as the doors stayed open, but no one stepped inside. 

The young men gathered around the sofa sat up properly and looked towards the entrance, shouting their friend's name, but received no reply in response.

Tap, tap, tap—a hooded figure entered the warehouse. 

He sported a black cloak with a hood pulled low over his face, obscuring his features from view. A sword gleamed in his hand, reflecting the dim light of the room.

With his other free hand, he was dragging a bruised and battered young man behind him. The face looked unrecognizable as it was so swollen and purple.

The young man's eyes were filled with terror as he struggled to keep them up. He teared up when he saw his friends, but because of his swollen lips, he couldn't speak.

"Herald!" The young men screamed in shock.

Ambrose hurled the beaten up young man across the warehouse. He crashed into the ground right before the group of young men.

"Who the hell are you?" Dragonborn leaped down the remaining stairs and pulled out his sword.

"None of you deserve to know it." Ambrose lowered his tone and pointed his glorious Black Sword at the blond-haired man. "This won't take long."

"S-such arrogance!" The grinning young man wasn't grinning anymore. He pulled out his lengthy spear and leaped across the air towards the hooded figure.

"Spear Storm Strikes!" With the spear put into a thrusting stance, he began repeatedly stabbing the spear towards the hooded figure. His strikes were precise and relentless.

"Basic Parry. Basic Parry. Basic Parry." Ambrose nonchalantly moved forward while using the simple parry skill. 

The spear strikes were precise and relentless, but they were slow. 

Thus, he easily deflected them all.

Following that, Ambrose lifted his sword high in the air and slammed it down.

"Spear Block!" The young man lifted his spear to block the sword. However, the Black Sword slashed through the spear like it was made from wood.

"A cheap weapon." Ambrose said and swung the black sword, the blade swiftly separating the young man's head from his torso.

The young man's lifeless body fell to the ground, blood pooling around him.

[You killed a Player!]

[450 XP Earned!]

"Attack him!" Dragonborn shouted and rushed towards the hooded figure with the rest of his subordinates.

Ambrose effotlessly blocked Dragonborn's sword, but then several spear strikes appeared from the side. They looked deadly and intimidating.

Stab, stab, stab—the three spears stabbed deep into Ambrose's body, blood spewing like a fountain.

"Haha, you thought you could defeat me?" Dragonborn laughed triumphantly.

"Yes." Ambrose said simply, pulled out a Red Sword from his inventory, and slashed through the spears, destroying them. 

The young men backed off with stunned expressions, carrying their broken weapons.

However, the spear blades were still stuck inside Ambrose's body, causing his health to slowly drop.

Yet Ambrose didn't care in the slightest as he caught a glimpse of his health. Instead, he laughed.

[HP: 225/310]

Ambrose swung his sword powerfully, pushing Dragonborn backward. 

He then rushed forward and began smashing his swords down, while Dragonborn tried desperately to block all the strikes.

Crack, crack—slowly, Dragonborn's metal sword began showing cracks. The blade was cracking apart!

"I-Impossible!" Dragonborn shouted in shock.

"50kg, 1kg, 50kg, 1kg, 50kg, 1kg."

Dragonborn's arms trembled under the relentless assault, and at last, his blade had enough and shattered like a frozen glass. 

The shards of the weapon scattered across the dirty warehouse, leaving him completely defenseless.

Swoosh—two swords, one black and one red, simultaneously shredded through Dragonborn's body. 

Blood splattered across the room as his lifeless body crumpled to the floor.

"..." Ambrose lifted his head and glanced at the remaining young men, who backed off in terror. He smiled and chased after them.

In the following minutes, screams and cries echoed through the warehouse. 

At the moment the third minute came, the warehouse was quiet once again.

Ambrose slowly sheathed his Black Sword and tossed his Red Sword into the inventory.

Then he pulled out the spear blades from his flesh, tossed them away, and ate several apples to restore his health and heal his wounds.

He then turned his attention back to the fallen bodies, surveying the aftermath of his battle with them. 

They had dropped several brown pouches.

He checked the amount and was surprised to find over 20,000 silvers.

'Most of it was the blond-haired man's. I suppose he kept most of the silver they had stolen.' 

He tossed it into his inventory, then picked up their dropped items and started looking around the warehouse.

Soon, he found a book tossed carelessly on the dusty ground. It looked like they had grown bored quite quickly and simply tossed it away.

He took the book, wiped off the dust, and read its title aloud.

"White Rabbit... It is hers." Ambrose heaved a sigh of relief, happy that it wasn't damaged or destroyed. 

He then gently put it inside his inventory and checked around the warehouse before leaving it.

He expected the young men to soon return to the game. There was no reason for him to kill them again, as they would simply spawn back on Yatagarasu.

"Hmm, the bookstore was called Whispering Pages, if I remember correctly. I wonder if Emma is still online. Even if she isn't, I can just drop off the book and give them the silver back before leaving, I guess.

"Any of the major cities aren't safe for me. I guess my next destination should be those Dojo Temples. It is time for me to fully focus on training and improving my skills."

With a new goal in mind, he began searching for the bookstore, Whispering Pages.