Martial Online.

The countdown ticked down, and it was only ten minutes before the start of the third round.

Ambrose and Moriarty sat in their room while waiting for the third round to start. They didn't feel nervous or excited and just focused on steadying their mentality.

"I wonder what the third round is about then…" Ambrose said curiously.

"Some players found a clue, but from what I've found out, even they have no clue."

Moriarty said and leaned back in his chair, side-eyed at Ambrose.

"What were you doing for the past few days?"

"Relaxing." Ambrose cracked his knuckles. "The rest was very much needed, and now I am in much better condition."

"Did you check your health?" Moriarty asked curiously, "You all right?"

"I forgot, to be honest." Ambrose scratched the back of his head, "I am feeling good, though."

"Mm…" Moriarty nodded, and turned his gaze back to the countdown that slowly ticked down.

"You're ready?" Ambrose leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees, and looked at him.

"More ready than ever before." Moriarty rubbed the back of his head and smiled confidently.

"Good, good…"

The countdown ticked down at blitzering speed, and soon it reached the end.

As soon as it reached zero, the countdown started blinking red, and the room filled with a deafening alarm.

Then, the face of the game master appeared on the wall.

"It's time for the third round." The game master said with an echoing voice.

"This is also the last round of the first phase of the tournament. After this, only 32 teams are remaining and are qualified to join me in Loch City."

"This is the last one already?" Moriarty looked surprised.

"What kind of bloodbath are they preparing us for?" Ambrose frowned, concerned about what lay ahead.

"Since the first round, a group of players had been eligible for a Wild Card tournament that was hidden from the public."

The game master's words shocked everyone.

"Only the strongest players that were knocked out in the first two rounds were eligible, and from them, a small group of players survived to join you in the third round."

"To think that something like that was happening behind our backs." Moriarty said.

"Yeah…" Ambrose narrowed his eyes.

"The third round is what we call random craziness." The game master said with a sly smile.

"Your opponent and the challenge will be absolutely random.

"Luckily for you, after one defeat, you are not out of the tournament. However, the place you end up after defeat is called the underworld, and whatever team is the final survivor there will become one of the top 32 teams to advance to the finals.

"For now, the match-ups will be left up to fate. Also, you will finally have all of your skills, levels, and items with you."

"Yes, finally." Moriarty replied with a slight fist pump towards the ceiling.

Ambrose let out a sigh of relief.

"Let the round begin." The game master snapped his fingers, and a bright flash of light engulfed the room, transporting the two players into a different room altogether.

It was an empty room, except there was a wheel of the lottery with numbers and symbols painted on it.

Ambrose reached out to his inventory and pulled out his heavy-looking crimson sword. He gripped it tightly and, with a small smile, swung it through the air.

Moriarty took out his spear and masterfully twirled it in his hand.

However, at that moment, he heard a voice inside his mind.

'I am back.'

"Cursed…" Moriarty looked like he had eaten something sour.

'I saw that you suffered a defeat.'

'You were watching?' Moriarty asked in slight surprise. 'I thought you were gone.'

'I wasn't talking, but I couldn't speak because of your lack of level.'

'Are you here to gloat?' Moriarty asked. 'Yeah, I lost in humiliating fashion. You must've enjoyed that.'

'I had no reason to enjoy it. Your loss is my loss, and I don't like to lose. However, now with me, you won't lose to anybody.'

'Yeah, whatever.' Moriarty rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Shall we spin this?" Ambrose asked and approached the rolling wheel of the lottery.

"Yeah, go ahead." Moriarty crossed his arms.

Ambrose grabbed the wheel by the edges and gave it a forceful spin.

It spun rapidly, the numbers blurring together and the images looking hazy.

After a short while, it slowly came to a stop with a loud clank.

The image showed a drowning man gasping for air, his arms reaching out towards the surface.

"That doesn't look good…" Ambrose said, but then he and Moriarty appeared in another room with a flash of light.

It was an ordinary-looking library with bookshelves lining the walls and a cozy fireplace crackling in the corner.

However, Ambrose and Moriarty were locked inside a metallic cage, and they tried cutting through but were unsuccessful.

At that moment, another flash of light appeared on the other side of the room, and a pair of players appeared.

Their clothes were covered in blue blood, and their expressions were fatigued and haunted, as if they had just escaped from a terrifying ordeal.

"They must be Wild Card players." Moriarty said.

"Yeah…" Ambrose narrowed his eyes but saw that the two weren't inside a cage like they were.

The two players turned their gazes to the cage and narrowed their eyes dangerously. They took out their swords and prepared to attack.

But then, water started pouring in from the ceiling like a downpour, drenching all the books on the bookshelves.

"We are going to drown." Moriarty said, but he didn't sound too panicky as the water wasn't rising too fast yet.

Ambrose brought out his crimson sword and hacked down at the metal cage, but couldn't break through.

"Do you have a way to escape?" Moriarty asked casually.

"I do; what about you?" Ambrose raised an eyebrow.

"I do," Moriarty said with a smile.

"Good." Ambrose grinned and said, "Self-Possession."

The soul connected with his body, and then he used its phasing ability and walked straight through the cage like it was made of air.

Moriarty crossed his arms in front of him and shouted. "Dimension Crossing!"

The reality around him hugged his body, and he disappeared into a swirling vortex of colors and light.

Almost immediately after, he reappeared from another swirling vortex, and this time it was outside the cage. It looked like teleportation, but he barely managed to move one meter, but it was still enough.

"What the heck was that?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"I can cross dimensions." Moriarty said with a grin. "A small ability of mine. It is my Soul Ability. I don't know much about the different dimension, as I can only spend ten seconds there before being pulled back to my own reality.

"If I moved there, I would have also moved in this reality, but not visibly."

Ambrose had more questions about it, but he didn't have time to ask him as there was something to do first.

The water had already reached their knees, and the two players were slowly moving towards them, trekking through the water.

"We've suffered through the Wild Card. This ain't nothing!" A loud-voiced player angrily claimed, and his teammate nodded angrily.

Ambrose grabbed his crimson sword with both hands, but then the water started pouring rapidly, and almost instantly they were submerged.

They looked surprised and saw the water reach the ceiling, filling the room completely.

Ambrose and Moriarty shared a glance and started to look around for any escape.

However, at that moment, the loud-voiced player lunged forward and slowly stabbed his sword through the water.

Ambrose used the power of his muscles and blocked the stab with the large blade of his crimson sword.

'What the fuck is wrong with him? They aren't afraid of drowning? How can a few days in the Wild Card change someone so much that they've lost their mind?'