Martial Online.

Amaterasu, Saturn Dojo.

On top of the wooden gate, a sigil of Saturn was carved into a wooden sign. The sigil showed a planet with a ring around it.

Knock, knock!

"Hmm?" A copper-skinned player stopped cleaning the yard from the fallen leaves and looked to the wide, wooden gate with a raised eyebrow.

Whenever a member of Saturn returned to the dojo, they didn't bother knocking and just opened the gate to let themselves in.

Meaning, they had a visitor.

Recently, they had a lot of visitors because of their master's success in the tournament.

It brought a lot of positive attention to their dojo, and their numbers increased significantly, making them one of the strongest forces in Amaterasu.

However, after recruiting enough that the dojo was getting a little bit too small for the number of people, they stopped recruiting.

"A guest…" The copper-skinned player approached the door, wondering whether it was another player desperate to join their ranks.

If that was the case, he would have to turn them away.

After putting his hand on the doorknob, he swung the door wide and straightened his back to show his pride as a member of Saturn.

"Whose there?"

After the door was fully open, the copper-skinned player looked at the two strangers and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

First, he looked at the beautiful, fair-skinned young woman with red eyes that almost sucked in his soul and felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her.

However, after gazing at her for a little too long, he felt incredible pressure coming beside her, and when he looked to the side, he saw a pair of purple eyes that seemed to bore into his very being.

"Ngh…" The copper-skinned player gritted his teeth as he felt like his body was breaking apart, and shockingly, he saw his health even deplete just by being stared at by those intense purple eyes.

"Prince wanted to meet me; is he here?" Ambrose asked coldly.

Bella wryly smiled as this happened because of her, as Ambrose was able to sense that she was uncomfortable being stared at for so long by a stranger.

"W-who…" The copper-skinned player fell to his knees and asked while being out of breath. "A-are you?"

"Ambrose."

After hearing his name, it was like loud bells rang inside the copper-skinned player's head and his heart was filled with a sense of fear and recognition.

He raised his gaze slightly to see the face, and at that moment, it was like hammer hit him in the head. He immediately recognized that face.

It was a person who was on the same level as their powerful master, Prince.

One of the finalists of the tournament, Ambrose!

"I-I am sorry, I-I didn't recognize you…" The copper-skinned player touched his chest and tried to breathe, but couldn't.

"Jesse." Bella touched his shoulder and gently said, "It's fine."

"Mm." Ambrose lowered his presence to a minimum and asked, "Is Prince around?"

"Haaa, haaah, haaah…" The player greedily gasped for air and nodded shakily. "I-In his office. H-he has been waiting for you."

"All right." Ambrose grabbed Bella by the hand, walked past the copper-skinned player, and headed straight towards Prince's quarters.

After they left, the copper-skinned player was finally able to stand back up, but he noticed that his shirt was covered in sweat.

"So, that's Ambrose…" He thought out loud in fear and gulped loudly. "The most wanted player alive!"

…

In an office, Prince was checking the latest updates on his recruitment.

However, his eyelids had started to feel heavy as he couldn't stand looking at any more text.

He wanted to be outside, hunting for experience points and increasing his levels as the tournament was around the corner.

However, he knew that he had other responsibilities, such as being the dojo owner.

But after today, he planned to leave for a few weeks and only spend time in Crow Forest to focus on training and preparing for the tournament.

Knock, knock!

At that moment, the sound of knocking reverberated from the door.

Prince nonchalantly said, "Come in."

Creak—after the door opened, two unexpected visitors stepped into the office.

"Ah, Ambrose!" Prince stood up to his feet with surprise on his face, and then looked at his companion with a brief surprise. "Bella, I didn't expect to see you either."

"Prince." Bella nodded with a smile.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Ambrose asked.

"Yes, please take seats." Prince gestured towards the chairs in front of him and then sat down as well.

After Ambrose and Bella got seated, Prince started with:

"First of all, congratulations for making it through the qualifyings. I was honestly surprised to see you with Moriarty, who is quite a famous name in the gaming world.

"It feels like the time we went to search for Crow Trial was just yesterday, but here we are, going to stand on that big stage soon."

"Mm." Ambrose nodded with a chuckle and asked, "You and Barbarian, huh? I thought you two were rivals."

"Yeah, it wasn't easy to work with that block head." Prince said with a scoff. "I heard

Barbarian mention you after the tournament. Apparently, you two fought once?"

"Yeah, it was in the early days of Martial Online." Ambrose scratched the back of his head. "I don't want to admit it, but I was destroyed by him."

"In the early days of Martial Online, I don't think there was anyone able to defeat Barbarian, but now the physical strength matters less as a high level can close that gap."

"Mm." Ambrose nodded and then jumped to the point. "What was the reason you wanted to meet with me?"

Prince leaned on the desk, intertwined his fingers, and suddenly looked serious.

"I and Barbarian are searching for alliances."

"Alliances?" Ambrose asked with a frown.

"Yes." Prince said with a serious tone. "In this tournament, all the help is welcomed. Teams that are only doing it alone will be the first to fall. Alliances are extremely important.

"Especially against monsters like Zadkiel and Julian!"

"You want to team up to defeat those two?" Ambrose asked.

"Yes, if it comes to that." Prince said. "Anything can happen in the tournament, and perhaps there will be something they're not very good at and lose because of it.

"But we can't rely on luck and most likely have to beat them in a frontal fight. I don't think there is any team that is strong enough to defeat them."

"I see…" Ambrose crossed his fingers with a thoughtful frown.

Bella listened from the sidelines, not having any intention to participate in the conversation, as she was happy enough to watch Ambrose after not being able to meet him for a few weeks.

"So, what do you say?" Prince asked. "Of course, you would probably have to convince your teammate. Or maybe you should talk to him first before coming to a conclusion."

"No need." Ambrose said, shaking his head, "I have to refuse."

"W-what?" Prince looked completely taken aback, as he didn't expect him to refuse the offer so suddenly.

Bella also looked quite surprised, as she thought that the deal was not too bad.

"Why?" Prince asked with a frown.

Ambrose slowly stood up from the chair and looked into his bright eyes.

"I want to defeat Julian alone, and I do not need help."

"Eh?" Prince thought he misheard it. "Y-you should think this through."

"Also, I don't think the finals have any use for alliances." Ambrose suddenly said. "In my opinion, the tournament will be bracket-styled, team-versus-team matches until the very end."

"Eh?" Prince opened his mouth and asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Why only thirty-two teams?" Ambrose asked. "It was a very specific number of players, as there could've been fifty or even hundred teams to qualify through the third round.

"But, thirty-two, which is perfect for a bracket-styled tournament, and also, I think Graham wants the strongest team to win.

"No alliances. No trickery. No luck. Just strength and absolute strength will win."

"That…" Prince started tapping his finger against the desk, wondering whether he could be true.

"I think Jess… I mean, Ambrose is right." Bella said suddenly from the side. "For fath… For Graham, the first rounds were just appetizers and gimmicky games.

"In the finals, Graham will only care about the strongest team being the last ones standing. So, from what I think, Ambrose is right."

"Maybe…" Prince sighed and nodded. "I guess I'll have to take you for your word. We can't ask for alliances from other teams either."

"Aren't there more teams from Amaterasu?" Ambrose asked.

"There is, but I don't want to work with them." Prince said with a troubled look. "Roaring Engines, for example, are nothing but thugs, and they will backstab us immediately.

"The only team I could trust was yours, but I guess me and Barbarian will have to do this alone.

"Barbarian is fine with that anyway, as that blockhead has nothing but fighting in his mind."

"Thanks for the invitation. Sorry that my answer didn't satisfy you." Ambrose bowed slightly and said. "I hope we can go for a drink in Loch City."

"Mm." Prince stood up and shook his hand. "See you there. Take care, you as well, Bella."

Bella smiled and bowed before leaving the office with Ambrose.

After the door closed, Prince took a seat and scratched his blond hair.

"Bracket style, huh? I definitely have to increase my strength further now."