War Grounds

Udil transformed into a ball of light before disappearing on the map. He was immediately transferred to the post-match lobby to receive his rewards.

[Udil VS SugarMummy]

Victor:

Udil, Level 1, Rookie IV Human ?Hidden?.

Awarding 30 EXP, and MVP Medal.

Rank promoted to Rookie III.

Vanquished:

SugarMummy, Level 1, Rookie IV Undead Mage.

Awarding 5 EXP, and Bronze Merit.

Rank demoted to Rookie V.

[40 EXP left before reaching Level 2.]

[Congratulations on winning straight two matches. Awarding Open World"s Ticket.]

[Beginner"s Tip: The Open World is the real "War Grounds." You may stay there as long as you"re not slain. If you are killed, you"ll have to wait for the next day, and win straight two matches to reenter. "Player Kill" is a common occurrence in the Open World, especially when traveling to hostile territories. Stay safe and come out stronger.]

"Well, it looks like that rookies and noobs are not my matches, anymore." Al confidently chuckled to himself.

"You"re a cheater! I"m gonna report you to the Admin!" SugarMummy sent a message with an angry emoji in the lobby"s interface.

"Yikes!" Al immediately left the post-match lobby, not wanting his profile to stay there for his opponent to peruse.

Not minding his spoiled plans in the Fireflies" Graveyard anymore, Al immediately clicked the door icon for the "Open World" in his display.

[Entry Pa.s.s for the Open World detected. Do you wish to unlock this mode? ]

[Yes.]

[Open World unlocked. Safe travels, adventurer.]

A blue gateway suddenly popped up from the screen. With a grin, Al willed his character to touch the swirling magic.

Swoos.h.!.+

A bright white light immediately swallowed him. After three seconds, the screen turned dark before a portrait of a medieval city appeared on his load screen.

[Transferring player to Alistor City...]

[Please wait...]

Al"s previous excitement finally returned. He giggled like a r.e.t.a.r.d inside his gaming helmet, visualizing the first thing he"ll do, once the loading was completed. "SARS? Are you there? The rank mode"s already done, buddy."

After three seconds, there was still no reply. Al was getting a bad feeling. "Hey! SARS?"

[The Game Administrators had uploaded another algorithm. I"m still bypa.s.sing their security system for the Open World. For now, don"t die. I"ll be back soon.] SARS quickly sent a message.

"Fvck!" SARS was really good at spoiling the fun.

[Loading Completed.]

[Welcome to Alistor City.]

A boisterous crowd immediately greeted Al. He was currently in a plaza. Players and Nonplayer Characters (NPCs) buzzed around the streets, busy with their agenda. The smell was pleasing, but the noise...nevermind.

"Hooyah! My guild, East Life, is currently recruiting more members! Is anyone interested? Nineteen slots are remaining." A Level 5 Human Sorcerer, named Chivaree, kept on waving his hand, ambus.h.i.+ng the pa.s.sersby.

Al just rolled his eyes. A start-up guild has a member count limit of twenty. Aside from the recruiter, it means that there"s no member yet in this pitiful group, but the Human Sorcerer made the "19 slots remaining" sound enticing. Only rookies and noobs will be "jebaited."

"Jebaited" was a common term among War Grounds" experienced players, which simply means baited. The originators in the real world just made it saucy.

Meanwhile, two Human Swordsmen named GreyWitZ and X-1 were dueling on the rooftop. Their movements and executions were terrible than Al"s standards, but the fact that they were on top of a manor, caused others to stop their tracks and watch.

"How did they get up there?" One of the watchers murmured.

"Tsss. A bunch of attention-seekers." Al criticized the two with an unamused look. He was living up to his "I"m-Veteran" facade.

He immediately looked around, searching for familiar landmarks. After a few glances and walking, he saw what he was looking for - the towering gate of the city"s main entrance. To go to this place was his initial plan. Udil immediately sprinted.

In his previous account, Al never managed to exit the city. He seemed to be forever trapped in the place because of a group of players called the "Predators." This group"s members were scattered throughout the exit points of Alistor, ganging up on players, especially the rookies.

PK is not allowed inside the city"s premises, but the moment you step out of the gate - it"s a different story.

Udil slowed down and confidently walked towards the main gate when it was just a few body units away from him. However, he immediately stopped upon seeing the current situation. Spectators were crowded on the side, while at least twenty players were currently huddled near the gate. In front of them was a bald head heavy-armored player standing outside the city"s premises.

"Charge!" A Level 1, Rookie IV Human Warrior named Sterben shouted as he and the rest rushed towards the blocking player.

"Haha! No one gets to leave the city without my permission. Die, you fools!" The bulky character mocked.

"Unrequited Courtesy!" The man effortlessly waved his ma.s.sive mace, releasing a thick and black horizontal slash, which enveloped the charging group of players.

Splurge!

Blood showered as twenty bodies littered the dirt, devoid of life. The surrounding spectators gasped, and those who were previously hesitating to join the fray felt lucky for not jumping in.

"Fvck! Why the h.e.l.l is the Vice Guild Leader of Predators here? What a madman!" Al gasped. His blood started to boil, unsettled with this injustice. "A d.a.m.nable creature who preys on the weak!"

[Madd, Level 32, Silver IV Human Berserker, Vice Guild Leader of Predators.]

The "Predators" was a dishonorable guild that plagued the City of Alistor for almost a year already. No one knew about its profile. Its guild leader had never revealed itself to the public. In the past months, many human players had finally grumbled about the issue in the forum.

In response, a few high ranking human players returned to Alistor to hunt down these maniacs. However, it seemed that the guild had plenty of scouts as they vanished from their usual posts, temporarily restoring the order within the city. After a short time, these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds slowly returned to their habit of blocking the pa.s.sages and hiding when the stronger ones appear, creating a vicious cycle.

This course of events kept on repeating until it was set in stone - the Predators became the unofficial overlord of Alistor City. "Stone Troopers" was the official ruling guild in the city, but they seemed to bat a blind eye against this issue, raising suspicions that the two guilds were colluding.

In exchange for safe pa.s.sage, the members of Predators collect a minimum of 20 merit points, scaling depending on the entrant"s profile. For newbies, this price was too much to ask.

Al was keen on discovering this mysterious guild leader"s ident.i.ty and finally put an end to this madness with SARS" aid. Unfortunately, the bot was currently unavailable.

"Looks like, I"ll have to call Osho." Al"s pride prevented him in the past to ask for his friend"s help. However, he needed his "forever carry" today.

[Contact List.]

[Friends (0).]

[Search for a player by entering their ID #. _________]

[19971111.]

[Osho found.]

[View Profile.]

[Level 40, Silver II Human Samurai, Member of the Guild, Keyboard Warriors. Currently playing Ranked Mode - Party]

[1,251 matches played. 58% Win Rate]

"What?! He had already ranked up and joined a guild?" Al was taken aback by the quick progress of his friend. Just a while ago, they were together, but now Osho was steadily climbing his way to the top.

[Friend Request Sent.]

"Hey, loser! What"s taking you so long? I"m already here in the Open World. Can you come to pick me up in Alistor City? I have something to show you. Beating you since birth, Al Gentrix." Al sent a message, indirectly asking for help.

[Friend Request Accepted.]

[Congratulations on getting your first friend!]

"Nice! That"s what I like about you, Osho. You"re quick to respond." Al muttered to himself as he grinned. He already imagined the slaughter that he and Osho will do in this place, minutes from now.

[Osho sent you a message.]

[Read.]

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"Hey, dead weight! Too bad! Our team is in the zone right now. We want to take advantage of it and play another rank game :P Haha! I finally got accepted to the guild! You understand my situation, right? This is my chance to break through to the Gold Rank. Let"s celebrate together later. Okay? I"ll set you up a date with Sophia... Also, I"ll send Nisha to pick you up, instead. Your forever carry, Osho."

"Eh? I thought that he"s in school? Beating you since birth, Al Gentrix." Al quickly replied, not minding the other details.

"Yup, he officially dropped out of high school, and enrolled in a specialized training camp for War Grounds hehe, technically speaking, he"s still in school. He"s on a 1-hour break right now. I had already told him, and he"s on his way. No need to mention it, I know that you"re trapped again with the Predators. Haha bye loser, my match is about to start. Your forever carry, Osho."

"Tsss! The privileges of the rich!" Al mocked in his mind.

All this time, he was not familiar with Nisha. Every time he visits Osho"s house, Nisha was locked in his room, playing War Grounds. It was not until now that Al had pondered about the potential of his friend"s little brother.

"Dear G.o.d of Fortune, not another loser like me, please." Al hoped with all his heart.