Martial Online.

Amaterasu, Immortal Dojo.

Clang, clang!

In the yard, dozens of students practiced their sword fighting techniques under the watchful eye of Tiger Erwin, who had a green belt adorning his waistline while the students had a white belt.

Inside the dojo, Bella sparred against a cute, blond-haired young woman who had her hair tied back in a ponytail.

At that moment, Bella used dizzying footwork to evade past her opponent's defenses and landed a skillful kick to her opponent's side.

Her opponent fell to the ground and rolled onto her back, wincing in pain.

"Ah, Bella, you've gotten faster…" Lottie, Bella's best friend in the dojo, said with an exhausted smile.

Bella smiled sweetly, which highlighted her beautiful visage.

Around the dojo, the male students couldn't help but glance at the two beautiful young women, who had become the stars of the dojo because of their beauty.

With their cheerful smiles and happy personalities, they always brought smiles to everyone's faces during the exhausting training sessions.

Just as Ambrose had instructed every student of his, everyone had one tied behind their back as they were still trying to train their non-dominant hand.

It had been a slow process, and there wasn't a huge amount of progress as it had only been a few weeks since the training began.

However, each student was a diamond in the rough, and slowly they started to show their potential.

At the back of the dojo, three exhausted-looking students cleaned the floors with brushes. However, one thing was different about them.

They didn't have a belt yet, as if they hadn't been accepted to the dojo yet.

They were none other than Konrad, Micah, and Isaac.

"Aigh, my back is killing me." Konrad said as he leaned against the wall for a brief break. "The dart that decides my destination has brought me to worse places before, so I shouldn't complain, but…

"I want to start learning swordsmanship!"

"Ngh…" Micah, an aspiring school student, stretched his shoulders and rolled his head. "Where is the master of the dojo, though? We can only start training once the master has approved us."

Isaac yawned and said, "This cleaning part stinks, but I guess it is a part of becoming strong. However, I do wish to go grinding for XP to increase our level before meeting the master…

"At our current level, we will look like weaklings!"

"You three are new recruits?"

At that moment, they heard a strange voice coming from the stairs that were right beside them. It was the stairs that led to the second floor of their master's quarters.

"Huh?" Konrad turned to look, and as he saw who it was, his eyes widened in amazement. "Whoah, who are you?"

Micah and Isaac turned around with quizzical expressions, but once they saw the person, their brushes fell out of their hands in shock.

"Y-you are… Ambrose!"

They screamed in shock and tripped on the bucket of water that was behind them, soaking their clothes and making them fall hard to the ground.

"Ambrose?" Konrad repeated the name and raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

A handsome, purple-eyed man, with one of his eyes having a star-shaped pupil, looked at the three recruits with a curious smile.

However, Konrad felt incredible pressure that he couldn't quite explain.

'This man is powerful!' Konrad thought with a cold sweat running down his back.

'He is scanning us three, and I feel like none of my secrets are safe!'

"You two are players." Ambrose pointed at Micah and Isaac, then at Konrad. "And you are NPC."

"Yeah…" Micah said nervously and bowed his head in respect. "It's honor to meet you, Ambrose!"

"S-same!" Isaac bowed as well, nervous sweat rolling down his cheek.

"It is an honor?" Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "I don't think the player has greeted me that way before. So, I can assume that you two weren't aware that this dojo was owned by a player?"

"Y-yeah, we weren't." Micah said, "One guy said to go here if we want to become master swordsmen, so here we are!"

"One guy?" Ambrose looked at them in curiosity. "Who? Do you know the name?"

"We only know that he calls himself Lancelot." Isaac replied.

"Lancelot…" Ambrose nodded. "That name does ring a bell. So, you two want to join?"

"Y-yes!" Micah and Isaac shouted energetically.

"That's fine for me. I'll talk with Erwin soon and get you two your own white belts."

Ambrose said and then turned to Konrad.

Micah and Isaac clenched their fists in excitement, not believing their eyes.

Just a few days ago, they watched as this man in front of their eyes qualified for the biggest tournament in the history of the world.

He was one of the 64 players that were competing on the biggest stage in the world.

He was basically a celebrity, way above common people. It would be impossible to meet such a high-status person usually, but now that person was going to be their master!

They could hardly believe it, and they felt their cheeks redden in excitement.

Konrad looked at Ambrose's bright, purple eyes with a slight smile and waited to introduce himself.

"Your name is?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"Name's Konrad!" He said loudly and clearly.

"And how did you stumble on the door steps of my humble dojo?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"I threw a dart, and here I am!" Konrad said with a smile.

"A dart?"

Ambrose's eyebrow jumped and he motioned for Konrad to explain better.

"Yes, a dart!" Konrad continued. "I always throw a dart on a map and go where it leads me!"

"First, I threw a dart on the world map, which landed on Amaterasu. I arrived here, found a map of the city, and threw another dart.

"It landed on this exact place where your Immortal Dojo was!

"I always know where fate leads me, so here I am!"

"Fate, huh…" Ambrose nodded. "Very well. I'll get you your own white belt as well."

"Thank you, master!" Konrad bowed at a 90-degree angle with a broad smile on his face.

"Jesse!"

A cheerful sound tickled their ears, and then they saw the beautiful young woman run past them before jumping into their new master's embrace.

Konrad, Micah, and Isaac looked at Bella in surprise, as they hadn't seen her act like this before. She had often acted like a quiet girl from a neighbor, but now she was full of energy and excitement.

Lottie watched with a blush on her cheeks and looked at their master, who had just returned, and smiled in excitement as some of them had already grown worried that something might've happened to him.

"Bella." Ambrose smiled, his expression softening, and patted her head gently. "I am back."

"You sure took your sweet time." Bella said softly and then left his embrace with an embarrassed smile. "You made it…"

"Mm." Ambrose nodded. "I am going to Loch City."

"Nn…" Bella nodded and felt nervous about the thought.

"Oh, master!"

At that moment, students started swarming inside the dojo as the training session outside had ended.

As soon as the students saw that their master had returned, their expressions brightened, but their nervousness also started kicking in.

They had trained as hard as they possibly could for the past few weeks because they wanted to show their worth and perhaps increase the color in their belt.

Tiger Erwin bowed humbly and said with a smile, "Nice to have you back. I see you've met our new recruits."

"Yeah." Ambrose nodded. "Put an order for their belts."

"I already have." Tiger Erwin said with a smile. "We should be getting more belts of every color tomorrow."

"Good, good." Ambrose nodded with a smile and asked, "Anything else happened while I was gone?"

"Well…" Tiger Erwin scratched his cheek. "There was nothing in our dojo, but the streets had been restless for the past week."

"How come?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"Well, first of all, two player factions had openly started fighting, no matter whether it was day or night. Whenever they saw each other, they would attack, and passerby's would always get hurt.

"Then there is the Berserker Epidemic that has been on the rampage lately. First, it affected only animals, but recently some slum dwellers had also started to get infected.

"I've only heard rumors, and apparently it is a very painful experience."

'The Berserker Epidemic is the same as a soul injury, so of course it is painful.'

Ambrose thought inwardly and wondered who the hell was the reason for all of this.

'This is the work of someone; I am sure of it, but why the hell would someone do that? I'll be around for a few weeks before the finals of the tournament start, so I suppose I can start investigating a little bit.

'If this Epidemic, isn't ending, it will just become much worse. Perhaps, just in case, I should make more Soul Healing Potions to prepare for the worst.

'There is a church nearby, so at least having the blessing of the holy man isn't a problem.'

"Also, there has actually been something that involves you." Tiger Erwin said. "A person named Prince said he wants to meet you in his dojo. If I remember correctly, he is the dojo master of Saturn.

"Saturn Dojo has increased in strength rapidly recently, especially lately."

"I see, thank you." Ambrose nodded. 'I wonder what he wants from me.'

"Can I come with you?" Bella asked curiously. "I haven't seen Prince lately, and I am wondering how he's doing."

"Mm, sure." Ambrose nodded. 'I suppose I'll go meet him and see what he wants.'