Martial Online.

Ambrose re-appeared in the room of the facility, returning from the long second round with a sleepless night, feeling exhausted and desperate for some rest.

"Oh god…"

He touched his forehead and massaged it in an attempt to alleviate the pounding headache that had been plaguing him.

At the same moment, another flash of light descended from the ceiling, and Moriarty appeared on the second bed of the room.

Moriarty looked towards him and softly said, "Good job."

"Mm." Ambrose nodded and asked, "You all right?"

"Yes, thanks to you." Moriarty sighed in relief. "That creature who chased you. What the hell was that?"

"I am not too sure…" Ambrose whispered.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from somewhere as if it were coming from speakers, and the voice said that the next round would begin in three days.

"Three days…" Moriarty whispered.

"I am sorry, but I am not much in the talking mood."

Ambrose said and scratched the back of his head.

"I am tired, with a head-pounding headache. I might just go to sleep."

"I understand." Moriarty put his leg up and leaned against it. "Go rest; you deserve it. We'll catch up when you return."

Ambrose nodded and logged out of the game.

Moriarty watched as he disappeared and then lowered his head with a heavy sigh.

"That was close…"

He looked at his trembling hand and forced himself to form a fist.

'I hate myself, but this is the last time I am letting something like this happen.'

Moriarty raised his gaze and cracked his knuckles with a loud popping sound.

…

"Ahhh…"

Jesse softly opened his eyes, removed the headset, and put them on the bedside table.

Immediately, he felt his arms sore, and he felt like his bladder was about to explode.

"Shit…" He sat up and rushed to the bathroom.

After a short while, the sound of toilet flushing echoed through the quiet room, and Jesse returned to his bed with a refreshed look.

He plopped straight down, not wanting to move from the spot for the rest of the day, even though he had been lying on this same bed for a few days straight.

However, he was mentally exhausted, and the idea of moving was just far too exhausting.

Bzzz, bzzz…

His phone vibrated on the nightstand, but Jesse couldn't muster the energy to reach for it and fell asleep without checking the message.

…

A day later.

In Nocklund's Winter Forest.

"Whoo…"

Jesse stood on a tree stump, shirtless, and swinging a large, ten-meter-long tree up and down as if it weighed nothing.

However, he had swung it over ten thousand times by now and was sweating profusely.

"Argh…"

Jesse's muscles bulged as he imagined the things that happened in the second round.

First, the fight against Zahhak.

Jesse swung the tree down and raised it straight up. He increased the difficulty by adding weights to his arms by increasing the amount of muscle.

As he swung it down one more time, he remembered the scene with Kitsune, and he squeezed the bark so hard that it shattered and cracked.

He lost his grip because of it, and the tree fell to the ground, blowing snow into the air.

Jesse dropped down the stump, sat down, and took a towel to wipe his sweat.

He enjoyed the freezing cold weather, as it provided a refreshing contrast to his intense physical exertion.

Buzz, buzz.

His phone vibrated in his pocket once again.

'More messages…'

Jesse thought, and he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

He had received lots of messages and talked with Emma. Apparently, he had become an overnight sensation as the fight with Zahhak was shown in the main broadcast.

'That's pretty embarrassing, not going to lie, but I wouldn't dare show my face anywhere if I had lost.

'Luckily, that didn't happen.

He opened the phone and ignored most of the messages, but checked his emails.

Somehow, some news stations had found his email somewhere.

'Probably from Martial Online forums, those details are public, if I recall.'

He checked the emails, and most asked him to join them for an interview, but then he saw an interesting email.

[All-Online]

[A new Virtual Experience that will surpass Martial Online!]

[Ambrose, you have been invited to be one of the rare testers]

[Do you wish to accept?]

[Press the link at the bottom if you do!]

'A scam?' Jesse wondered, but he thought the message seemed somewhat legit.

Most scam messages looked very messy and unprofessional, as they were mostly spammed by bots.

However, the message interested him, as he expected more of the companies to try to take advantage of Martial Online's fame and replicate it.

However, Martial Online was a game that he didn't think was possible to replicate in a hundred years, but the world didn't have a small number of geniuses.

'I guess I'll check whether this is legit later.'

Jesse closed the phone and pocketed it. Then he took his shirt and coat, put them on, and started flying back to Rothsmith Estate.

However, when he was about to land near the estate so that he wouldn't be seen, he saw groups of journalists gathered near the gate, trying to catch pictures of someone.

'Journalists? What the fuck do they want?'

He walked out of the snowy forest and walked down the road towards the gate, where the journalists had been gathered, wanting to question them.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?"

The journalists turned around, at first with nonchalant expressions, but as soon as they saw the handsome face with the now-famous purple eyes, their expressions brightened, and they started snapping pictures furiously.

"Ambrose, what do you think your chances will be in the tournament?!"

"Ambrose, what do you think the next round will be?!"

"Ambrose, do you have anything to say to your fans?!"

Jesse stood still, taken aback by the barrage of questions, and was unable to respond as they spammed him with all sorts of questions, from his gaming life to his personal life.

At that moment, the gate opened, and a group of people rushed out, led by Sebastian.

The guards of the Rothsmith Estate immediately pushed the journalists aside, and gave Jesse a clear path inside.

"Young master." Sebastian bowed, and led Jesse inside the estate.

The guards then followed behind, closed the gates, and left the journalists alone outside. They shouted angrily, as if they were demanding answers to their questions.

"The hell…" Jesse looked behind them, confused by their persistence. "What in the world?"

"You are famous now, master."

Sebastian said with a slight smile.

"Rothsmith family is also famous, but journalists are rarely this bold that they are coming straight to the gate. I guess Nocklund's news stations are desperate to get an exclusive scoop on you."

"How did they find my real identity, anyway?" Jesse asked. "I don't think my face is that well-known in Nocklund."

"Probably shared by some youngerfolk in High Society." Sebastian said.

"They met you at the Christmas dinner and now see you at the tournament. So, they probably shared it with their friends that they know who you are, then the news spread further beyond their circles, and it then spread like wildfire till the news stations found out."

"Sounds fair, I guess." Jesse sighed. "I hate dealing with people, and now I can't avoid that, I suppose."

"No, you can't." Sebastian smiled and patted his shoulder. "Fame can be a scary thing, but you'll handle it. Your parents won't let anyone take advantage of you."

Jesse nodded slightly and took a deep breath.

'I never expected to be famous, but here I am…'