With sweat flying across the air, Ambrose continued swinging a wooden training sword at a wooden pole that was shaped like a human.
The Wisdom King sat in the distance while enjoying tea and watching the young man train. Whenever he didn’t like what he saw, he shouted and made Ambrose correct it.
That happened multiple times, sometimes only separated by one minute.
Smash, smash—the wooden sword made contact with the human-shaped pole. He stabbed, cut, slashed, and chopped with unwavering determination.
Ding, ding—suddenly, Ambrose halted his attack as he heard several dings as if he had received a message from someone. However, when he checked his chat history, there was nothing.
Then a bright glow descended from the sky.
Ambrose looked towards the sunny sky and widened his eyes in surprise.
There was an announcement hovering high above.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Players of Tsukuyomi have activated the World Quest!]
‘I wondered when they would activate it.’ Ambrose thought. ‘I wonder if they will succeed. Only Yatagarasu is left.’
“Why are you resting?” The Wisdom King put his tea cup down. “Continue!” 𝐎𝗏xt.𝗰𝑶𝔪
“Yes, grandmaster.” Ambrose turned to the wooden pole and smashed his sword against it, with a small wooden piece breaking off from the impact.
…
A muscular, horned creature slammed through the wall that protected the vast city of Tsukuyomi. It was the Minotaur, a mythical beast who feasted on the flesh of the innocent.
The creature charged towards the terrified citizens, causing panic and chaos to ensue.
Swoosh—arrows crossed the air and smashed into the Minotaur’s thick skin, but bounced off as if its skin were made of rubber.
“Heh.” The Minotaur let out a deep, menacing laugh, as if mocking the feeble attempts to stop it. It then leaped up into the air and smashed its hooves down onto the ground with a thunderous impact.
Crack—the cobblestone ground cracked, and a powerful shockwave swept across the streets, shaking buildings and sweeping innocent civilians off their feet. The windows trembled before shattering into a million tiny pieces.
Many civilians got cuts on their limbs, but they managed to crawl to the safety of one of the shops and buildings.
The Minotaur smirked as if it enjoyed the sight of the destruction.
Suddenly, several arrows smashed into its enormous biceps, but they bounced off like nothing.
When the Minotaur turned its head to the side, it saw several players snuggled behind a small chimney, shooting arrows whenever they could.
Tap, tap, tap—at the end of the destroyed street, loud footsteps thundered as silhouettes began appearing.
“Haaaaaa!” Loud screams belonging to a hundred-strong player army filled the air. They had anticipated the arrival of World Quest for a long time, and now that it finally arrived, of course they all wanted the top reward.
They had heard about the famous Serenity, whose name was on everyone’s tongue as the one who secured the top rewards in previous World Quest.
They also wanted to experience the same fame.
Thus, they attacked like a hivemind of ants who only saw the enraged Minotaur as nothing but a bag of treasures.
“Raaaaaaaah!” The Minotaur smashed its fist into the cracked ground with a deafening roar. The ground shook violently while the players stumbled about, many even falling down.
Then, hundreds of arrows flew from all directions and rained upon the muscular Minotaur. Its massive body trembled under the onslaught, but it stood its ground. There was not a single scratch on its thick skin.
This was the City of Archery, and thus, a large majority of the city were archers!
The City of Spears, Yatagarasu, and the City of Swords, Amaterasu, didn’t reward their players for choosing a particular class.
However, it was different with Tsukuyomi.
The Saintess Yuna, whose Archer Dojo lay on top of Tsukuyomi’s highest peak, gave special bonuses and privileges if the players chose the Archer class.
While in Tsukuyomi, the accuracy of Archer class skills was enhanced, allowing players to hit their targets with pinpoint precision. Same with health, which was doubled while inside the Tsukuyomi’s walls.
There were heated discussions about it and how it was fair. Yet, the Martial Company refused to make any adjustments as according to them: It was Saintess Yuna’s decision.
“Raah!” The Minotaur let out a thunderous roar and sent several players flying with the swing of its enormous arm. The rare few who chose swordsman and spearman classes charged forward and flanked the enormous creature.
“Mahahahaha!” The Minotaur laughed as the puny humans attacked. It then reached into the empty air and pulled out a black metal club. The club was in the shape of a baseball bat, but it had sharp spikes protruding.
“Myth Buster!” The Minotaur swung the club with tremendous force, sending a ground-breaking shockwave across the player army. The ones closest to him got swept by the powerful shockwave and flew hundreds of meters into the air before falling to their deaths.
The players that were slightly further away crashed into faraway buildings; most of them died from the impact, while a rare few survived with their health bars blinking red.
Several streets away, a group of three players stumbled and almost fell, but the ground stopped shaking, allowing them to stabilize their posture.
“Damn, the fight must’ve already started!” Marty, the red-haired young man shouted. In Martial Online, he carried the name “Toxin” which had already started to become slightly infamous on the Tsukuyomi.
Unlike the majority of the playerbase, he didn’t choose Archer class. He chose Unique and weapon he chose was baseball bat. It was a rather unique weapon, and so far, it had been more of a disadvantage than an advantage.
However, he believed that with this weapon, he would reach the top.
Beside him, Allison carried a bow in her hand. “Let’s run. We have to before it’s too late!”
“I don’t think we need to hurry.” Holly said behind them. She also carried a bow and quiver filled with arrows. “Isn’t the time limit three days?”
“Players from Amaterasu defeated their enemy in fifteen hours or something!” Marty shouted. “Luckily, it’s the weekend, so we have extra time to play!”
“I won’t be playing the whole day for this quest.” Holly said, without caring about the game as much as her friends do.
“Come on, Holly. We could sell our rewards and earn lofty amounts of crowns!” Allison tried to encourage her friend.
“Ugh…” Holly groaned and followed after her friends. When they finally reached the site of the battle, they saw many players struggling to fight against the monstrous Minotaur.
Swoosh—suddenly, a lone player leaped across the air with a sword in hand. He moved his mouth as if he were saying something and then charged at the Minotaur with his face hidden by the hood.
“Piss off, ants!” The Minotaur smashed its club into the skulls of the nearby players, sending their bodies flying in all directions. The bones cracked, the skulls shattered, and the blood spewed. None of the players survived.
Then the Minotaur saw the hooded player and smashed its club towards him.
Swoosh—the club smashed into the ground, sending shards of dirt and debris flying into the air. Everyone witnessing the sight, whether players or viewers from various streams, believed that the foolish player had died.
However, to their utmost surprise, several cameras captured the sight of the lone player behind the Minotaur’s back. He wasn’t facing the monstrous beast but instead held his blood-stained sword.
Spurt—a large, bloody cut appeared on Minotaur’s impenetrable skin. Everyone was stunned, especially the monster itself.
“Hmm…” The lone player lifted the hood, revealing his mysterious gray eyes. “A creature of power, not skill.”
The most famous player of the last century made his debut on Martial Online.
A player whose name was whispered with awe and fear across several Virtual Worlds. Whether it was Ember Online, Viking Online, or Space Online, this player dominated every game.
He was a true legend in the world of online gaming.
Saint Julian.