Martial Online.

The Game Master, Graham Loch, stood in front of all the players in the meeting hall.

Near the ceiling, hundreds of cameras recorded every angle.

Today, the second round of the tournament starts.

"Some of you might've found hints that tell the context of the second round, but most of you don't." The Game Master started with.

"Now, I'll tell you what the second round is about."

All around the world, everyone perked up their ears as they waited in anticipation for the Game Master's announcement.

"The second round is Battle Royale." The Game Master snapped his fingers, and suddenly a holographic map materialized in front of everyone, revealing the designated battleground for the intense Battle Royale.

"500 teams will drop on each of these islands, but only 50 will survive through to the third round."

The players showed signs of nervousness and excitement as they began whispering with their teammates and with players they made alliances with.

Further back in the hall, Ambrose and Moriarty sat side-by-side with calm and collected expressions on their faces.

For the last few days, they have been strategizing about the second round.

"So, I guess you were right." Moriarty said and heaved a sigh. "That's good."

Ambrose shrugged and leaned back in his chair, waiting for the second round to start.

He expected the battle royale to be bloody, but even he was quite surprised that 50 teams would only survive through each island.

That would lower the team count from 10,000 to 1,000.

"Now, you may choose one skill of your choosing." The Game Master said, "In front of you, an interface will appear. There, you have the option to choose one skill that is available.

"Choose wisely, as that can greatly impact your success in the following round."

In front of all the players, a holographic interface appeared, displaying a variety of skills to choose from.

Without a second thought, Ambrose chose the skill he had decided a day ago and looked past the holographic interface and straight at the Game Master.

He was ready to start the show.

After a short while, all the players had chosen their skill, as there was a time limit of one minute to choose. Most players looked dissatisfied with the amount of time, as they wanted more time to choose.

However, most decided to settle for offensive attacks.

"Good luck." The Game Master said sternly and snapped his fingers. "The second round starts now."

Whoosh!

All the players vanished into thin air, leaving the Game Master alone in the empty room.

"…" The Game Master slowly logged out.

…

Graham opened his eyes, waking up from something that felt like he had taken a very deep slumber.

He pressed a button on the side of the VR pod, and the cover slowly slid open.

Graham climbed out of the VR pod, and scratched his head while trying to gather his thoughts.

"I need coffee…" He muttered, making his way over to the small kitchen that was tucked in the corner of the room.

The room was a small office-like room in the Martial Company's Headquarters.

As he put the coffee brewing, he leaned against the kitchen desk and looked straight at the VR pod.

The VR pod looked sleek and futuristic, with its smooth black exterior and glowing blue lights. It was shaped like a sleek, futuristic egg.

It was a new creation of his that would revitalize the person using it, and unlike the headsets, it even helped to improve physical well-being, and one could even satisfy their hunger with its built-in nutrition system.

However, it was rather expensive to create, unlike the headsets, and that's why it was only a personal project of his.

At that moment, the coffee stopped brewing, and he poured himself a cup.

After adding milk, he took a sip and savored the rich, creamy flavor.

Knock, knock.

Two knocks on the door interrupted his moment of relaxation.

"Come in." Graham said rather curtly, wanting to get back to his coffee.

The door opened, and a curly-haired woman, Jonna, waltzed in with a cold look in her eyes, clearly ready to confront him about something.

"Jonna, what is it?" Graham asked with a raised eyebrow. "The broken headsets should've been brought in. You were assigned to go fix them."

"I have something to talk to you about." Jonna said with a serious tone. "By the way, nice speech at the gathering earlier."

"What is it, I soon have to attend a press conference." Graham sighed and took a sip.

Jonna looked straight into his eyes and opened her mouth.

Graham listened silently while sipping on the coffee, but each word later, his expression turned colder and colder.

Soon, Jonna finished speaking and looked at him with a stone-

cold gaze. She was preparing for whatever outcome would come from her confession.

"Saving him, hah." Graham put the coffee cup down and said, "I cannot save him. You killed him."

Jonna's eyes showed a pang of pain.

"Just check some of the statistics." She brought out her phone and started scrolling through the data. "T-the mistake is very marginally small, and I am sure there is a way to save him!"

"No, there isn't." Graham firmly shook his head and angrily spat. "The brain disorientation, the heightened emotions, and the bleeding. He is too far away to be saved anymore."

Jonna bit her lip painfully.

"Who is he?" Graham asked with a deep frown. "We'll need to get rid of him before he comes after us."

"W-what do you mean?" Jonna's eyes widened in shock.

"It'll be just a matter of time before he realizes that the headset is the reason for him dying." Graham said coldly. "He must already know that the reason for his incredible strength is the headset.

"Then, when he starts panicking, he'll come after us, wanting us to help him. Then, when we can't, he'll ruin us."

"S-so you just plan on killing him?!"

"You already killed him," Graham said with gritted teeth. "Now, tell me his name."

"No…" Jonna pulled out her phone and quickly deleted all the data about him. "I can't."

Graham looked at her coldly, watching as she deleted all the data.

"You cannot hide it." Graham said. "I'll find out eventually. Whenever the next glitch comes up, I'll find out who he is."

Jonna clenched her fists hatefully.

"Also, you are fired." Graham said coldly. "You are lucky. I could easily throw you in jail for this, but I would rather have this subject die down.

"Do not mention anyone about this, ever. I know if you do, and you'll find a new home in the nearest maximum security prison."

Jonna lowered her head, feeling frustration and fear. She then walked out of the room with a pained look in her eyes and felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

Back in the office, Graham breathed out and collapsed down on the ground.

It looked like he had just run a marathon without any training.

"Such a stupid girl." Graham muttered under his breath, but then his gaze softened. "I wasn't any different. My impulse killed my wife."

He brought out his phone and looked at the picture on it. He looked straight at the smiling, red-eyed girl with braces on her teeth and felt a pang of regret.

"Argh…" Graham stood up and sat down on his office computer and brought out some old blueprints from his previous experiments with the VR headset.

"She managed to improve it." He held his hair and leaned back on the chair. "What could I do…"

At that moment, his eyes brightened up, and he instantly turned to his VR pod. He realized one special part of it: the built-in nutrition and health system.

"That could be it!

"Heureka!"