On the street of Amaterasu, a group of players had gathered in the park to discuss their next exploration. They were a party that only did explorations, finding new villages and places that the majority of the playerbase didn’t know existed.
They then sold the information.
At that moment, a player with short, tousled hair leaped over the metal fence and sprinted towards the group.
“Erwyn, you are late.” The leader of the party said while holding a woman in his arms.
He was undeniably handsome, his hair a radiant shade of blond that resembled the gleam of pure gold. His masculine physique exuded confidence, leaving no doubt that he would captivate the attention of those around him, especially the opposite gender.
“Boss, I found what we’re looking for!” Erwyn said excitedly.
“Hmm, and what could that be? Refresh my memory.” The leader waved lazily, beckoning him to continue.
“There is a dojo on sale in the forums!” Erwyn said and the rest of the party looked amazed. They thought it would be very hard to find someone who would willingly sell a dojo. They needed a dojo to share techniques with each other, increasing their strength at the same time.
“Oh, how much?” The leader of the party moved the woman in his arms to the side and turned to Erwyn.
“Well… the thing is.” Erwyn sighed and scratched the back of his head. “It is an auction.”
“Cursed!” The members of the party sighed deeply. An auction of such a rare thing could become very expensive very quickly!
“Hmm, I see.” The leader of the party nodded. “I will log out for a moment and check it out. Who made the post?”
Erwyn nodded and said. “A player named Ambrose!”
…
Jesse kicked the shoes off his feet and locked the door behind him. He staggered to the kitchen, placed his purchased items neatly on the refrigerator, and then closed its door. 𝑜𝗏xt.𝗇t
He tossed the keys into the bowl on the kitchen desk and took out his phone. After opening the forums, he saw that he had received several messages.
He opened them curiously and saw that they were from the same person. The person wanted him to sell the dojo for 500 crowns. The auction’s highest bid was currently 300 crowns.
“Not happening.” Jesse closed the phone and pocketed it. He knew the auction would go higher than 500 crowns. It had to.
He didn’t know how much people would be willing to pay for the dojo, but he came to the conclusion that if the World Quest was the only way to get Dojo Key, it must be very valuable.
Ding, ding!
‘Huh?’ Jesse heard the doorbell’s ringing sound echo throughout the house. He wondered who it could be as he walked to the door and opened it.
After the door swung open, there was an old lady, clutching her walking cane, standing in front of him. Wrinkles adorned her aging face, and the old-style outfit donned her fragile looking body, as if a single breeze could knock her down from her feet.
“I am the landlady of this apartment complex. You may call me Madam Matilda.” The old woman said with a powerful temper. “There are only a few rules you should be aware of. No loud noises; animals aren’t allowed; and pay rent on time. Do you understand?”
“Yes, madam.” Jesse replied. He didn’t underestimate the old lady, even though she was old and fragile looking. She was clearly very experienced in the ways of the world, and if she wanted to, she could throw him out and make him homeless.
Therefore, he engraved the rules in the back of his mind.
“Good. I will be living in that building, over the road.” She pointed at the five-story building, which seemed to be her private house. She was clearly wealthy beyond Jesse’s comprehension.
“If there is anything broken or in need of fixing in your apartment, come meet me.” Matilda then said her farewells and returned to her own house.
Jesse closed the door and scratched his hair. “She is very stern, but pretty kind, I guess.”
He yawned and went to his wheelchair. He then pulled it inside his bedroom, pushed it to the corner of the room, and then laid down on the bed. His legs were starting to ache.
“I wonder if there is anything to do. I doubt visiting Crow Forest is worth it now.” Jesse reached for his VR headset and placed it gently around his head.
After pressing the button, he entered the magical world of swords, spears, and martial arts.
…
Ambrose appeared in his familiar dojo room. He again fondly looked around, as this might be the last time he was here. He didn’t know whether he would receive a crazy bid for this.
He had crazy ambitions for the price. Many players would be willing to sell it for 500 crowns, as it was a crazy amount of money to earn from games. However, Ambrose wanted it to go much higher.
After opening the curtains and the window, he inhaled the scent of the city and then returned to the downstairs.
He tapped the shoulder of the training dummy and looked around the empty, crude dojo.
“Hmm…” Ambrose opened his inventory and took out a green whistle. It was still smelling terrible, as if it were made from rotting material.
“Orc Whistle, huh. Let’s see…” Ambrose placed the whistle against his lips and wanted to puke out the bread he had just eaten when he walked back from the convenience store. He ate it to quench his hunger for the time being, as he still wanted to visit Martial Online.
Whistle… Ambrose blew into the whistle, and a sound that resembled crying birds and screaming crows reverberated across the dojo.
At the center of the dojo, a green-skinned figure appeared from the mist. The orc had broad shoulders, large tusks protruding from its mouth, and prominent lower canines. Its facial features looked menacing, with eerie red eyes.
The smell it emitted made Ambrose sick to his stomach.
“Gerrrr!” The Orc turned its menacing gaze in the direction of its summoner. Its killing intent was clear for all to see. It reached into empty air and pulled out a wooden mace from nothingness.
‘Huh, it has inventory, or what the hell was that?’ Ambrose reached into his hip and unsheathed his swords. He stood tall, wanting to test his strength against the green-skinned creature.
Before, with his skinny posture, he didn’t pose a threat to anyone. No one would have thought of him as a threat if they were fighting against him.
Now, his athletic, tall stature made him look like a powerhouse. He was no longer the weak young man from Nocklund or the loser his family thought of him as.
“I wonder how strong I am with 100 strength.”
“Gruh!” The formidable Orc charged forward, brandishing a mighty mace, its grotesque mouth agape, drool flinging into the air with each menacing stride.
Ambrose, fueled by determination, smashed the two swords against the oncoming mace with a resounding impact. The clash reverberated through the air as he unleashed a powerful roar, defying the Orc’s ferocious assault.
If anyone was spectating the fight, they would believe that the Orc would send Ambrose flying towards his doom. However, a shocking scene happened.
Ambrose’s muscles bulged as he began pushing the mace backward!
The Orc looked stunned, as it never expected to lose the battle of strength against a weaker race!
With gritted teeth, Ambrose summoned every ounce of his strength, propelling the mace away from him with a forceful strike. The Orc, caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, staggered backward, now disarmed and momentarily vulnerable before his opponent.
“Dual Basic Slash!”
A green blood splattered across the walls and onto the face of the training dummy.