Martial Online.

"Ahh..." Ambrose laid down on the platform and stretched his limbs after hours of fighting. "I hate crows."

"Hahaha..." He let out a tired laugh and touched his cheeks. They were filled with scratches, and most of his basic clothes were also rags. There were barely any spots without signs of scratches and dried up pixel blood.

Ambrose tried to tidy up his messy hair, but at the same time, he caught a glimpse of the ceiling. He frowned, and his eyes began slowly widening.

A square-shaped hole appeared in the ceiling, and from there, a dark chest started falling.

Ambrose's eyes showed signs of panic, and he quickly rolled to the side.

Smash... The chest hit the floor with a loud thud, sending dust flying everywhere.

"What the hell?" Ambrose asked in wonder as he slowly got up. He looked at the fallen chest with a frown. It was a dark brown treasure chest, and it was covered in dust.

"Is this the reward for completing the trial?" He crouched and touched the treasure chest. He planned to open it, but then he remembered something.

'My luck is quite low. If I want a good reward, I should assign my stats first!'´

Ambrose sat on top of the heavy treasure chest and said, "Interface."

A holographic screen appeared in front of him. He had ten stat points, which he could assign to any stat he wanted.

"Alright." He interlaced his fingers and pondered aloud. "Hmm, since I completed the trial, my reputation should be alright among NPC. But that is only my theory. I won't know before I visit Amaterasu again.

"However, I know enough that Charm should help me get quests easier. Even if I put all 10 stats into Charm, the effect shouldn't be drastic, but I won't find out if I don't put anything in it.

"Charm should be used for something, and I think it is for this reason. I have to try it. I will add five to Charm.

"Then, I need luck. I will spend the other five on luck."

After assigning the stats, he pressed "Apply" to apply the changes. The interface slightly changed.

***

[Name: Ambrose]

[Level: 3]

[Class: Swordsman]

[Title: ]

[XP: 3/150]

[HP: 6/40]

[SP: 0]

[Silver: 0]

[STR: 10]

[CHA: 5]

[INT: 3]

[LUC: 6]

[AGI: 1]

[VIT: 20]

[DEX: 10]

[STA: 15]

***

"Alright." Ambrose then stood up and turned to the treasure chest. He saw that there was no lock; therefore, he could open it anytime he wished. He grabbed it from the edge, took a deep breath, and then pushed the chest open.

The treasure chest's lid opened, revealing a dusty interior.

Ambrose frowned and tried to see inside. In there, he saw mostly dust but also several items. One of them was a black cloak; one was a brown pouch; and the last item was a small box with a golden lock. There wasn't a key to open it.

'Huh, a black cloak, a brown pouch, and a small box that I can't even open?'

He took out the black cloak, and a notification bar appeared.

[Crow Cloak: Increases the defense of the user]

'Wait, this is the cloak that those guys had. I didn't expect that they would get it here.' Ambrose looked at the Crow Cloak and then wrapped around his shoulders. The cloak fit his figure perfectly, and there was a hood, which he could use to hide his face.

He then took out the brown pouch and opened it. His eyes bulged in surprise.

[189 Silvers Acquired!]

The small silver coins sucked into Ambrose's interface, and then the brown pouch turned into dust and seeped through the gap between his fingers before disappearing into the ground.

'189 silvers!' Ambrose exclaimed and let out a laugh. That was a much better reward than he expected. 'Maybe my new luck helped? Not sure.'

And lastly, he picked up the small box with a golden lock. However, he couldn't do anything to open it.

'What is the point of this if I can't even open it?' He sighed in frustration and tossed it into his inventory.

The dark brown treasure chest suddenly vibrated and began hovering a meter above the platform. Then it flew back into the ceiling and disappeared along with the square-shaped hole. The ceiling returned to normal.

'This was a very fruitful trip.' Ambrose was pleased, and then he turned to the ground, where black feathers were strewn about. He thought about selling these as well. However, when he picked up one of them, a notification appeared.

[Disease Crow's Feather: Brings Plague and Disaster to Residents of Amaterasu]

"Uhh..." Ambrose dropped the feather and decided not to take it with him after all. 'I would have killed those crows for nothing if I returned to Amaterasu with these. The result would be the same: many would die, and my reputation would take a massive hit.'

After finishing his business at Crow Cave, he left through the long hallway, stepped out of the granite door, and walked out of the arc-shaped entrance.

Ambrose inhaled loudly after entering the outside air once again. The cave was very stuffy and dusty, therefore, inhaling fresh air was a pleasant experience.

The air was much fresher than in the real world.

He then glanced at the stone table, and there was now an extra name.

***

[The Leaderboard of Crow Cave]

[1. Anthon]

[2. Cauldron]

[3. Ignite]

[4. Ambrose]

***

'Hmm, should I sell information about the location of Crow Cave?' Ambrose thought. 'I could do it in forums. There are many sellers of different information. I, of course, can't afford it, and some of them sound very shady.

'Like the location of the legendary sword. Hah, that guy might be able to scam some clueless kid, but I am not naive enough to fall for that.

'However, selling information about the cave sounds quite good. I could earn some extra money after spending all my savings to purchase the VR headset and the game.'

Ambrose thought it sounded good and planned to make a post after he logged out. For now, he had to do something.

He started walking away in broad daylight. Destination, Amaterasu.

...

Flarehead, a middle-aged man with a long beard, was sitting on a wooden chair with a monocle on his right eye. He was looking at the items on the table.

There were sixteen pieces of wild hog tusks, a wooden spear, a wooden bow, and five arrows.

"Hmm, a wooden spear, a wooden bow, and five arrows are basic items. A wooden spear is worth 1 silver, a wooden bow is worth 1 silver, and those five arrows in total are worth 3 silvers. In total, five silvers."

Ambrose nodded, as it sounded reasonable.

"However, these wild hog tusks are slightly more valuable." Flarehead said and lowered his monocle before saying his price. "I will offer 25 silvers. They would only be worth 20 silvers in normal conditions, but since you have so many, I can offer slightly more. How does that sound?"

"Oh, that sounds great." Ambrose looked surprised. 'Maybe my reputation has truly improved? Hard to tell.'

Flarehead smiled and brought a pouch worth 30 silvers. "Here, and I hope you bring me more valuables in the future. I am known for giving fair prices!"

"I will keep that in mind. Thanks." Ambrose thanked the merchant and left the store. The 30 silvers entered his interface, increasing his wealth from 189 to 219 silvers!

'There is only one remaining thing left to accomplish before logging out.' Ambrose looked to the end of the street. There was a two-story weapons store with different weapons on display.

'Buying a proper weapon.'