Martial Online.

"Are you sure we should be going first?" A little scared-looking player asked as he ventured with his friend deep into the White Rock trial.

"We have to!" A player with speckles across his cheeks said: "No one wants to go first because this trial is so odd. This is a very luck-reliant trial!

"Whoever goes first has less luck than those who go after. However, just because we have less luck than others in this trial doesn't mean that it's impossible!

"We'll have to take this risk if we want to do well in the tournament!"

"Yeah, I know that…" The scared-looking player messed with his hair. "We risk getting nothing!"

"I don't want any scraps." His friend said sternly. "I haven't gotten a single position on the leaderboard before. If we get the first spot, just imagine!"

"Ugh…"

A small distance away, following after them, Anthon, Cauldron, and Ignite followed behind them. More footsteps followed them as other player groups entered the trial after them.

After a while, the two players reached the first test on the trial.

There was a statue-looking figure sitting behind a stone table. There were two stone dices on the table, and there were numbers on all six sides, going from 1 to 6.

Anthon, Cauldron, and Ignite watched as the two players sat on the table.

They were then talking something with the statue, and then the stone statue threw the two dice in the air, and they landed on the table.

After that, the stone statue said something, threw the two dice back into the air, and soon landed back on the table.

Within an instant, the two players tried to run away, but their heads exploded, and they fell lifelessly on the ground.

"So, their luck didn't even get them past the first test." Anthon chuckled and shook his head.

"Afraid?" Ignite asked with a chuckle. "We don't have much more luck than them."

"Luck, hmph." Cauldron crossed his arms.

"Well, I happen to feel very lucky today." Anthon cracked his knuckles and approached the stone table with his two friends.

"Welcome, players Cauldron, Anthon, and Ignite." The stone statue said with an echoing voice, as if he were speaking inside a tunnel. "Sit down if you want to play."

There were two chairs before, but now that there were three players standing in front of the table, one more chair miraculously appeared from thin air.

After the trio got seated, the statue grabbed the two dice and juggled them in his hand.

"The rules are simple." He started with. "I'll throw the two dice into the air. The number the dice land on will determine your three's score. Then, I'll throw the dice again, and that score will be mine.

"If your score is lower, you die. If your score is higher, you may pass.

"Is this understood?"

"Understood." Anthon crossed his arms and said, "Throw them."

"I wish you luck." The statue tossed the two dice in the air, and they landed on the table.

The first die landed on 3.

The second die landed on 5.

"8." The statue said.

"Decent since the max score is 12," Ignite said.

"…" Cauldron stayed silent.

At that moment, Anthon spoke up. "Mister Statue. Do you mind if I throw the dice for you?"

Cauldron and Ignite raised their eyebrows before their lips curled into a slight smile.

The statue looked at him silently before handing him the dice.

Anthon rolled the two dice in his hand before tossing one of them into the air. It spun around in the air before landing on the table.

After a soft bounce, the die came to a stop.

The first die landed in 6.

The statue glanced at it briefly before returning its gaze back to Anthon. Its stone eyes were lifeless and cold.

Cauldron and Ignite looked at the scene without much expression.

Anthon then tossed the second die into the air, and it soon landed on the table.

After the die finished rolling, it stopped at number 1.

"Hah!" Ignite let out a loud laugh.

"Heh." Cauldron grinned.

"Congratulations. You win." The stone statue said emotionlessly and allowed them to pass.

"Thank you very much." Anthon smiled and walked past the stone statue with Cauldron and Ignite.

When they looked behind them, they saw that there were multiple players waiting for their turn. After seeing that the trio successfully passed, their hopes grew a little more.

Anthon and the other two didn't stay behind to see how the other players did, and they walked down to the end of the hallway of the intact temple building.

There was a singular door at the end, and it oozed an ominous presence.

Anthon pushed the door open and saw that there was one stone statue standing in the middle of the dusty room. The statue was nearly ceiling-high and had an enormous stone sword on the back.

"Welcome." The statue's voice shook the room. "Anthon, Cauldron, and Ignite."

"So, what's the test?" Anthon asked while looking at the menacing statue. "This looks like it's the end of the trial. I wonder why no one has passed this before!"

"This is the end." The statue said: "This is the trial of karma. You have done something in the past, and those had consequences that hadn't happened yet.

"I am here to make sure that it happens."

"Oh, and I wonder what that is." Anthon narrowed his eyes.

"It's different for everyone, but you three have the same karma." The statue said, "You three killed someone a while back."

"We have killed quite many; why is this one different?" Cauldron asked.

"Because this one can avenge it." The statue said: "Are you ready for the final test? If you defeat him, you'll receive your reward. If you lose, you cannot attempt this trial anymore."

Anthon, Cauldron, and Ignite shared glances, but then they all said in unison:

"We are ready."

The room started shaking, and the stone statue started transforming. It's height, facial features, and body type changed drastically.

The statue turned into a stone version of an inhumanly handsome man with piercing eyes and a body type that rivaled ancient Spartan warriors. His hair was made of stone, but it still looked soft and flourishing.

A single sword appeared on his robust-looking hand.

"Who is this?" Ignite asked. "I don't remember seeing someone like this."

"No idea," Cauldron said.

"From Ember Online, maybe?" Anthon guessed. "I still don't remember this face."

The stone Ambrose looked at them with a sharp, deadly gaze. It was as if there was the hatred of a thousand souls inside those eyes. It reflected the rage he felt after the trio killed him. 

"Well, let's finish this off." Cauldron dragged his longsword behind him and approached the stone Ambrose.

Anthon pulled out his shortsword and followed Cauldron with Ignite.

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but this karma thing is bullshit!" Cauldron lifted his longsword and hacked it down at the stone figure.

The stone Ambrose effortlessly blocked the powerful strike and whispered with an ominous tone. "One of you asked me once—what good does Dual Wielding do to me?

"Well, see this."

Anthon's eyes widened in surprise. 'I think I told that to someone before!'

A second shortsword appeared on the stone Ambrose's free hand.

Cauldron's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly backed off with his longsword in hand.

Ignite sprinted past him and delivered swift dagger strikes at the stone Ambrose, but he effortlessly blocked them with his two shortswords, using even greater speed.

At that moment, the stone Ambrose used dizzying footwork, weaved past Ignite's strikes, and slashed through his throat.

"Argh!" Ignite held his bleeding throat, not expecting such a strange move, especially an attack this quick that even surpassed his speed!

Swoosh—the stone Ambrose's feet slid across the floor, as if he were skating on the ice, and crashed through Anthon, sending him flying into the wall.

"Shit!" Cauldron swung his longsword at the stone creature, trying to pressure him.

However, the stone Ambrose used Basic Parry to deflect the strike, and then he stabbed the second sword through his waist.

"Urgh!" Cauldron coughed blood and saw his health plummet a shocking amount. "W-what…"

The stone figure's powerful, unconventional fighting style completely surprised the trio in a matter of seconds.