Martial Online.

A ship with sails as white as snow cut through the dark waves, nearing the fog that shrouded the mysterious sea on the horizon.

The crew ran about, tightening the knots and securing the rigging as they prepared to enter the infamous Dark Waters.

It was going to be peaceful until the fog, but once they pass that and enter Dark Waters, they couldn't be careless even for a moment.

Inside a small cabin, Ambrose sat on a worn wooden chair, feeling the ship rock back and forth.

The water splashed against the window, creating a soothing rhythm that Ambrose found oddly comforting.

'Soon, Dark Waters.' He crossed his legs and looked out of the window towards the darkness, feeling like he was being pulled towards an unknown destiny.

He couldn't shake the feeling that his life was about to change forever.

He then shook his head and checked the holographic screen, showing the loading bar.

[98%...]

'Soon, very soon.' Ambrose thought to himself as anticipation coursed through his veins.

Suicide Swordsman class was extremely beneficial for him, increasing his health and helping him survive many deadly battles.

Without that class, he would've died many times over!

He therefore wished for the upgraded class to be even better and hoped that it wouldn't reduce the health that Suicide Swordsman provided. 

Knock, knock—a knocking startled him from his thoughts and brought him back to reality.

Creak—the door opened, revealing a man with a brown tricorn hat and bushy beard.

He was the captain of this ship.

"Hello, young lad." He said with a very deep and raspy voice. "Where ar' you goin'?"

As Ambrose was not very familiar with such a deep accent, it took him a moment to realize what he said.

"Wherever the ship takes me," Ambrose replied.

The captain nodded. "We'll be goin' to Borneo Island, where we'll be restocking. That is near the fishing paradise where we goin', so that's basically as far as we go!"

"Alright then," Ambrose nodded. "I'll be going there then. Thank you."

"Hm." The captain nodded and closed the door; his footsteps sounded away as he left.

'Borneo Island, huh.' Ambrose leaned on the chair and felt even more excited about his adventure.

This had been a small dream of his since watching some exploration documentaries as a child.

He never thought he would actually hop on a ship and go explore things, but here he was, going straight to the unknown.

'Dark Continent is on the other side of the Dark Waters, but that place might be out of my reach for now.'

Ambrose then stood up from the chair and removed his boots, placing them neatly by the door.

He then sat down on the small bed and laid down, his feet dangling off the edge.

As he put his arm under his head, he looked at the ceiling and let out a long sigh, feeling the weight of the long voyage to get here finally starting to lift from his shoulders.

The holographic screen perfectly hovered near the ceiling, displaying the loading bar.

It had finally reached 99 percent.

"Hm?" Ambrose suddenly felt cold, and a shiver ran down his spine.

He sat up and saw that the window was covered in frost, and beyond that was a sea of fog.

Whistle—a loud whistle pierced the silence, causing Ambrose's heart to race.

Then a shout followed.

"We have entered the Dark Waters!"

It came from the deck, but it was loud enough for Ambrose to hear it.

'Dark Waters...' Ambrose stood up and walked over to the window.

He then used his sleeve to wipe off the frost that had formed on the window and barely managed to see the dark, foggy sea stretching out before him.

'It's like I've entered a new world.' He thought and then returned to the bed to lay down.

Ding, ding—almost simultaneously, he heard a familiar dinging echo.

The loading had finished.

With excitement, he checked out the holographic screen with his heart racing like a marathon runner.

[100%]

[Suicide Swordsman Class Upgrading...]

[Upgrading Completed!]

[Class: Blade Master]

[Blade Master: All sword-based attacks are enhanced by 50%—all damage suffered will be reduced by 75%—Health Increased by 150—Health Recovery Items have a 150% increase in effectiveness—Learning sword skills is 50% faster]

[You are now the master of all blades and your reputation as formidable swordsman has started to spread across the land—Increased reputation and charm increases your chance of recruiting talented people to your dojo!]

[The First Upgrade: Suicide Swordsman - Completed]

[The Second Upgrade: Blade Master - Pending...]

[The Third Upgrade: ???]

'Whoah...' Ambrose read through the text, which said his reputation had started to spread, and felt strangely excited.

'This is indeed a great upgrade. It seems that I can also upgrade it a third time; I am not sure if I can do more.

'So, I suppose I just have to try to find more Upgrade Tokens.'

Ambrose cracked his knuckles and made the messages disappear.

He let out a very satisfied sigh, as this meant that he had once again gotten stronger.

'All my attacks are enhanced by 50%... That is insane.' He let out a chuckle. 'Well, sword-based attacks only, but I only have sword-based attacks if Heaven Drop doesn't count.'

After a short while, he remembered an item he received after upgrading to Suicide Swordsman class, which he didn't receive now.

'Right, I got some books.' Ambrose curiously opened his inventory and took out the thick, dark brown hardcover book.

After flipping to the first page, it was an almost blank yellowish page with only the title of the book "Book of Suicide Swordsman" printed on it.

Last time, he couldn't open the second page.

This time, when he tried to open the second page, it peeled off the first page like glue had worn off over time, and shockingly, every text on the second page was still readable.

'It actually opened?' He thought with great surprise, feeling like it was a miracle that none of the text had been ruined.

However, when he tried flipping to the third page, he was again unsuccessful.

'As expected, but what was on the second page?' He returned to the second page and sat up while placing the book on his lap.

With the gas lamp providing light, he carefully began checking out the text with great interest.

'This page seems to be about someone from the ancient era?' He thought, as it already mentioned the Ancient Grounded Gods.

He cleared his throat and began reading the passage aloud to himself.

"Cursed, these Grounded Gods!

"Their wrath would be unleashed upon all who dared to disturb their sacred resting place.

"However, how come they are allowed to treat us slaves?

"Why are they acting all high and mighty?

"They did not create us!

"The Holy Father did!

"We are not their servants; we are humans, and we are not lesser beings!

"Tomorrow, the clan leaders of thirteen races will gather below the crescent moon, and we will stand united, strong, and mighty against the common threat—the Grounded Gods.

"Their sickly experiments have brought chaos and destruction to our lands for far too long, but tomorrow marks the beginning of our uprising.

"I have written this to my fellow comrades as a call to arms and a declaration of our unwavering resolve.

"My name is Mythic Satanwalker, and I am the 2nd leader of Human Race. I am ready to lead us into battle and fight for our freedom."

Ambrose finished reading the page and was left with questions.

'Mythic Satanwalker... is this diary of his?' Ambrose wondered and then closed the book.

'It seems like the mortals rebeled against the Ancient Grounded Gods. I suppose they won since they are not here anymore, but to find out more, I suppose I have to upgrade my class more.'

After storing the book back in his inventory, he laid down and opened his interface.

With the last look at the ceiling, he pressed log off and left the game.

Among the fog-shrouded waters, the white-sailed ship continued its journey towards the great unknown.