Martial Online.

A beautiful, fair-skinned young woman with long, flowing black hair and shining red eyes stood inside a bookstore, helping new customers choose their books.

She was one of the most popular and well-known players currently in Amaterasu, known as the Wandering Lady, but she also received another nickname lately, the Goddess of the Whispering Pages.

This part of the street was also one of the most protected ones, as it was protected by Saturn Dojo and their master, Prince himself, who was considered to be one of the strongest players alive.

Rumors said that he had taken a liking to the Goddess of the Whispering Pages and was known to be fiercely loyal to her. Therefore, no one dared to act recklessly here.

At this moment, a man with a black poncho and a hood over his face stood in the nearby alleyway, side-leaning against a brick wall while gazing over to the store.

"…" Ambrose stared at the beautiful young woman and touched his ear as his silver earring area started to itch for some unknown reason.

Inside the store, Bella's body jolted in surprise, and her cheeks suddenly blushed for some unknown reason. She looked around the store, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

'Strange…' Bella touched her warm cheeks and shook her head.

She then formed a smile and joined two elderly women in choosing their books, which would be nice to read to their grandchildren.

Outside the store, Ambrose shook his head, walked out of the alleyway, and left the area of Whispering Pages. He felt a sense of relief, as if a boulder had lifted from his shoulders.

'She seemed well; that is great.' He thought to himself.

As he walked among the crowd outside a small baker's shop, a bald-headed man was seated on a bench, enjoying a warm pastry.

At that moment, he found the person he was looking for and formed a faint smile.

"Ambrose, may I have a word?"

In the crowd, Ambrose came to an instant stop and perked up his ears. The voice sounded like it came right beside him, but when he turned to the right and left, there was no one except passing pedestrians.

"In front of the baker's shop."

Ambrose frowned and walked through the crowd, soon arriving near the baker's shop. He saw a bald-headed man with a hat covering most of his features eating a tasty-looking pastry.

"Who are you?" Ambrose asked as he approached him.

"Sit first, eat second, then talk." Kiryu said with a mysterious smile and handed over the second pastry to Ambrose.

Ambrose hesitantly accepted it and sat beside the stranger. He looked at the pastry, took a small bite, and shrugged his shoulders as the taste was rather mediocre to him.

After both finished the pastry in silence, Kiryu patted his lips with a handkerchief.

"Nice weather, isn't it?" He asked as he stared towards the cloudless sky. "More than usual. It's not too hot and not too windy. Just perfect."

"You wanted to talk to me about the weather?" Ambrose questioned. "I have learned not to underestimate strangers who simply want to talk."

"Well, does my face ring bells?" Kiryu removed the hat briefly and looked at Ambrose with a faint smile. "I might not look special or eye-catching, but you should remember me. It hasn't been too long since our meeting."

"You are…" Ambrose looked surprised. "Kiryu."

"Mm." Kiryu put the hat back down, as he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention.

He was still very popular in Light Continent as the Guardian Angel of Amaterasu. His pictures were often plastered on the walls of the city, and people would often recognize him.

"The guardian angel himself wants to talk to me; I am honored." Ambrose crossed his legs, not acting as respectfully as everyone else who met Kiryu would.

There was a simple reason for that.

Kiryu allowed the World Quest to happen, letting tens of thousands die. Whether it was because the Martial Company coded him to ignore it or whether there were other reasons, he didn't care.

He didn't think Kiryu was worthy of respect and worship.

"I sense anger within you." Kiryu said with a faint smile. "Mind if I ask why?"

"You are a guardian angel who doesn't guard anyone." Ambrose said with a hint of disdain.

"Mm." Kiryu nodded. "Your anger is justified."

"What did you want to talk about?" Ambrose asked impatiently.

"Why have you come to Amaterasu?" Kiryu asked. "What are your plans?"

"You are wondering whether I will disrupt the frail peace of this city." Ambrose sneered. "I have no interest in causing trouble to the residents of here."

"Residents…" Kiryu rubbed his chin. "You are talking about the original citizens of this world? Not the newcomers, aka players, correct?"

"You must know the players." Ambrose said and scratched his neck. "They will cause problems, and I will most likely cause problems for them."

"That is all I needed to know." Kiryu chuckled and stood up with the help of his crimson walking cane.

"That's all?" Ambrose asked in surprise.

"That's all." Kiryu chuckled. "Also, what happened to the Reverse Tiger Blade dojo? I heard that you visited them, and you said you wouldn't cause any problems to them, so what happened?"

"They are my students now." Ambrose replied with his arms crossed.

"Very interesting." Kiryu said with an interested smile. "I'll keep Watchmen and Inquisitors away from you."

"Why?" Ambrose stood up and asked with a suspicious look.

"That will be better for the future." Kiryu said and looked at his purple eyes. "You are wondering why I let Karma do his hideous deeds, correct?"

"Mm." Ambrose nodded.

"I could have stopped him before he managed to shed even the slightest amount of blood." Kiryu said. 

"The destiny and fate are frail things.

"You must know. You have fought against fate recently."

'How does he know?' Ambrose wondered with narrowed eyes.

"I sensed that the fate and destiny of the world would go downhill if I stopped Karma." Kiryu said.

"The guardians of the cities have this power to shape the future, but it must be used wisely."

"If I had stopped Karma, I would have stopped thousands of deaths, but I would have risked millions of lives as a result. I don't know what would have happened, but I am confident that it has something to do with Lord Ravan."

"Lord Ravan?" Ambrose frowned.

"The Demon King of the Dark Continent." Kiryu said, his voice filled with carefulness and dread. "He is always waiting. Waiting for the opportunity to strike and bring chaos to the world."

He then tapped his crimson walking cane against the pavement, tipped his hat, and said. "We'll be most likely seeing each other soon. You might be the first person to reach me."

"Reach you?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"The players have plenty of trials ahead. You have passed some, as have others, but not nearly everything.

"The final trial will be facing me on the top of Mt. Sword. Only one can defeat me; maybe it's you or someone else."

'Defeating him…' Ambrose narrowed his eyes. 'I can tell that I am not even nearly enough yet. Kiryu is above Mars' strength, and he will not be easy to defeat.'

Kiryu then walked away, soon disappearing into the crowd.