Martial Online.

'I don't feel anything...' Jesse looked around, but he couldn't step forward or feel his body. He knew this was the starting point that one would see when they activated the VR helmet.

"Screen." He said and a selection of choices appeared in front of him. One of them was the log out button, and the other was the store button.

He pressed on the store, and immediately an image of Martial Online popped up. All other games were much smaller, and it was clear which game had the most importance currently.

Jesse pressed on the game and saw the price tag. He pressed the "buy" option and filled in the credit card options, then finished the transaction.

After finishing the transaction, the game started downloading.

While the game was downloading, Jesse moved his hands around and sighed after not feeling anything. He expected the same thing to happen once he entered Martial Online, but he still had a small amount of hope left.

He expected the game to feel great, but not really realistic.

Currently, he felt like he was not disconnected from reality but just lying on his bed with a VR headset on.

After the download was completed, Jesse hesitated before pressing the "enter" option below the game.

Nothing happened.

He raised his eyebrow and looked around in confusion.

At that moment, the white empty space disappeared, and Jesse appeared in the middle of a yard with a stone ground.

A small breeze of wind drifted across the air and touched Jesse's face before moving away.

"W-what?" Jesse let out a surprised voice as he looked at the surroundings. He touched his face, as he was certain that he felt the wind clearly, as if he were really standing outside.

Jesse lowered his gaze, and unlike in the empty white space, he saw his legs. He looked at his hands, clenched them, and then loosened them. It felt very real.

His eyes shook, and he hesitantly looked at his legs, then moved them forward.

After taking a single step forward, he let out a surprised laugh. "Haha!"

His smile grew, and then he took another step forward.

He was now standing on the front steps that led to the entrance of the dojo. It was the only building nearby.

Jesse turned around and saw a cliff and a long stairway that led to a city below. The city looked traditional, with narrow streets lined with quaint buildings. It looked very welcoming and cozy.

A river winding through the streets, mountains looming in the distance, and the presence of natural beauty added to the serene ambiance.

Jesse imagined himself walking along a tree-lined path, enjoying the rustling leaves and listening to birds chirping in the trees.

He then remembered the dojo.

Jesse turned to the dojo and then back to his hands. He hesitated about whether he should try pinching his finger to test the pain sensors, but after hesitating for a moment, he decided not to.

Instead, he entered the dojo.

There, he saw a bald-headed man wearing traditional Japanese clothing and holding a sword in his hand. The man had his eyes closed and sat cross-legged as if he were meditating.

"Excuse me... Where am I?" Jesse asked and was about to land his feet on the floor of the dojo.

"Take off your shoes, youngling." The bald-headed man opened his eyes with a smile.

"Ah." Jesse pulled his foot back and looked at his shoes. He didn't notice that he was also wearing shoes. They were made of leather, and he'd never seen them before.

He took them off and placed them on the side. He didn't have any socks on.

He then stepped onto the dojo's floor and approached the bald-headed man.

"Please, sit." The bald-headed man pointed at the floor before him.

Jesse nodded and sat down carefully. All of his movements were filled with hesitation and carefulness.

"Welcome to the city of Amaterasu.

"I am Amaterasu's Sword Grandmaster, Kiryu. Nice to meet you." The bald-headed man, Kiryu, bowed with a smile. "My duty is to help you begin your journey."

"Oh, nice to meet you." Jesse nodded and looked around the dojo. "This place is..?"

"It is my dojo, Kiryu's Dojo. I teach Kiryu's Swordsmanship." Kiryu smiled.

"Oh." Jesse nodded and hesitantly asked. "Is it possible for me to learn it?"

Kiryu smiled and shook his head. "There is only one way to learn my swordmanship; one has to impress me first."

"Ah." Jesse nodded. 'He sounds like some kind of final boss...'

"Now, time is limited, and I shouldn't waste your time." Kiryu said. "First of all, decide your name. Choose carefully; it is an important choice, and you will be unable to change your name afterwards."

"Okay..." Jesse caressed his chin and pondered. 'I shouldn't use my real name. What kind of name... Huh, maybe that one? It is my favorite book, and that character is my all-time favorite.'

He made up his mind.

"I have decided." Jesse looked at the bald-headed man and said. "Ambrose."

The bald-headed man nodded his head in approval. "Nice to meet you, Ambrose."

Ambrose nodded, and his lips curled into a small smile. 'I should remember to use the name Ambrose primarily here. I have to abandon the name Jesse while I am here.'

"Next, choose your class." Kiryu said. "There are five classes—Swordsman, Spearman, Archer, Brawler, and Unique."

"What are the differences in the classes?" Ambrose asked.

"Swordsman is a class that specializes in swordsmanship; Spearman focuses on spearmanship; Archers focus on archery; Brawlers are unarmed combatants; and Unique doesn't specialize in anything; they are basically able to use any weapon."

"Swordsmen can't use spears as an example?" Ambrose asked.

"They can, but quite poorly. Unique players can use both swords and spears well, but it is harder for them to learn them than for Swordsmen and Spearmen."

"I see." Ambrose nodded. 'It sounds like a difficult class; I shouldn't choose it since I am a novice in VR games, and I shouldn't give myself such a big handicap already.

'I am not a big fan of archery, and I don't really want to become Brawler either; I don't think it suits me.

'So, it is either Spearman or Swordsman.'

Kiryu smiled while waiting patiently.

Ambrose looked at him and asked. "Which one should I choose, Swordsman or Spearman?"

Kiryu smiled and looked like he wanted him to ask that question.

"Swords are the most majestic and powerful weapon. Spears may have range, and fighting them can be quite problematic, but swords are greatest in close combat, and with a good skillset, swords can also be extremely powerful at long range."

"Hah, you sure are fond of swords." Ambrose wryly smiled and knew which Kiryu would prefer. He was, after all, carrying a sword already.

"Of course." Kiryu showed his sword. It had a red patterned hilt and a fancy crimson sheath. He unsheathed the sword, revealing a long, curved, single-edged blade.

"This sword is a katana. Its name is Amaterasu, named after this city."

Ambrose saw his reflection through the blade and touched his cheek. His face was exactly the same as in real life, with dull blue eyes and shoulder-length black hair.

'The face is still the same. I am kind of disappointed.' He sighed.

"So, which class will you choose?" Kiryu asked with a smile.

Ambrose looked at the fancy katana and then at Kiryu's face.

"Swordsman."

"Excellent choice!" Kiryu let out a laugh. He seemed very pleased.

Kiryu sheathed the katana and then smiled. "One last thing. You received 50 stat points; you may assign them. There are strength, charm, intelligence, luck, agility, vitality, dexterity, and stamina stats. Choose carefully.

"You receive 10 stat points with each level up."

Ambrose nodded and then scratched his hair. He wasn't sure how to open his interface.

"Say—Interface—and it should show up." Kiryu said.

"Interface," Ambrose said.

***

[Name: Ambrose]

[Level: 1]

[Class: Swordsman]

[Title: ]

[XP: 0/100]

[HP: 10/10]

[SP: 50]

[Silver: 0]

[STR: 0]

[CHA: 0]

[INT: 0]

[LUC: 0]

[AGI: 0]

[VIT: 0]

[DEX: 0]

[STA: 0]

***

'50 stat points. There are eight stats. I need to choose carefully.'

Ambrose rubbed his chin and looked carefully at them. 'At the beginning of the game, I would need strength, vitality, and stamina. It would help in fighting and getting experience points—XP most likely means experience points.

'HP is only 10; that doesn't sound a lot. I definitely need to increase my vitality.

'Charm sounds useless, what good does it do to me? Unless it changes my face, it doesn't sound good at all... Luck sounds good; intelligence probably helps with learning skills, I guess; agility is quite obvious; dexterity helps with movement; stamina increases my stamina...'

Ambrose looked at Kiryu's smiling face and then started assigning the stat points. Soon, he had spent all fifty points.

The interface now looked like this.

***

[Name: Ambrose]

[Level: 1]

[Class: Swordsman]

[Title: ]

[XP: 0/100]

[HP: 30/30]

[SP: 0]

[Silver: 0]

[STR: 10]

[CHA: 0]

[INT: 3]

[LUC: 1]

[AGI: 1]

[VIT: 20]

[DEX: 5]

[STA: 10]

***

'1 stat point on vitality increases my HP by 1. I think my stats look alright; I had to focus on strength and vitality. I am satisfied.'

"Now that you are done, you are ready to embark on your journey." Kiryu pointed out the dojo. "You must have already seen the city. It is Amaterasu and your new home.

"I wish you good luck on your journey, and perhaps we will see each other again."

"Ah, thank you for everything." Ambrose stood up and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. He then left the dojo, picked up his leather shoes, and stopped at the cliff with the steep stairway in front of him.

"Also, remember to check your inventory!" Kiryu's voice sounded from the dojo.

'Inventory?' Ambrose turned back to the dojo and said. "Inventory."

Another screen appeared in front of him.