War Grounds

When the group arrived, they rested for a while in their gaming chairs, until Bertran finally broke the silence as he excitedly started the conversation. "What"s the plan? What"s the plan?" He giddily asked as his huge hands tinkered with his Battle Station; the MVP Award really made him ecstatic, or was it because of the chicken teriyaki?

"Alright. It looks like break time is over. Osho, can you still take in more students?" Al smiled at his best friend as he prepared his own battle station.

"Make the most out of me, friends. Who are the new enrollees?" Osho smiled back from Sol"s station.

"Jack McHeart and Harvy Giddy will join your cla.s.s. Are you okay with that, Pat?" Al teased the dwarf-looking guy.

"All fine with me. I"ll need some cla.s.smates to help me search for that "vibration" that our teacher is talking about anyway." Pat grinned before finally wearing his headgear.

"What about me? I want to learn the s.h.i.+nto-Ryu too!" Bertran was at a loss.
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"We"re gonna go for a duo, buddy! Bronze Rank, here we go!" Al shot him a wink and a thumbs up.

"Nice! Come, I"ll carry you, big boss!" Bertran pounded his chest as he, too, finally wore his helmet.

...

It was Jack and Harvy"s first time to see Osho"s character. Meanwhile, Patrick was already sick of staring at the yellow tengu mask that seemed to be devoid of life.

"Alright! Glad to have more students! Haha! Let"s start, then! For this training, the goal is simple - kill me with all you"ve got!" Os...o...b..wed before the three as his level decreased until it was only level five.

Custom Rooms allow users to play tricks with their stats, especially their levels. For those who wanted to fight in equal footing, the player with the higher level may choose to decrease their battle power to level the playing field.

However, Osho"s move seemed to be arrogant as he chose a level that was even lower than the average of his three students. CancerIsLife was at level five, while Macca and SwitchFoot were at level seven.

"Are you sure about this?" SwitchFoot asked.

"Yup. Begin!" With a blur, Osho disappeared from his position.

...

[Ranked Mode - Party]

[Finding match...]

Al and Bertran went for a duo rank match. They needed to win this game to break through the Bronze Rank.

[Match found...]

[Waiting for other players to get ready...]

[Three minutes before the start of the battle.]

[You may access the lobby to make proper changes with your character, or you may directly choose "ready," and if other players are set, the match will immediately start before the timer ends.]

"It"s time to make use of the staff form." Al muttered to himself as he changed his skills.

[Seed of Life removed. Salamance added.]

(Salamance) - Conjures three white flames in the shape of a dragon"s head. Each fireball capable of dealing with 5% True Damage. Damage scales depending on time spent in charging the skill, maximum of five-second cast time, and 10% True Damage for each dragon flame.

[Breath of Life and Death removed. Deck Slicer added.]

(Deck Slicer) - Bombards a circular area of 15 body units with magical cards for 5 seconds. Each card is capable of dealing with 5 HP True Damage and causes mini-stun.

[Whisperer of Life removed. Flying Circus added.]

(Flying Circus) - Conjures the spirit of circus, with each green summon capable of dealing 1 HP True Damage per three seconds. It lasts for one minute and thirty seconds.

Al smiled. All of the skills that he had just added belonged to Zaito"s a.r.s.enal. As the saying goes - to understand your opponent, you must wear their shoes.

...

"Where did he go?" Macca vigilantly asked as he, SwitchFoot, and CancerIsLife immediately stood back-to-back each other.

Bus.h.i.+do!

Floating in the air was Osho; his katana glinted in a blue aura as he dived in the middle of the trio.

Scatter!

The three scattered as they welcomed Osho"s arrival in their midst. They were not afraid as their levels were higher than him, and they have the advantage in numbers, especially that they also have a healer.

Bus.h.i.+do seemed to be a buff skill as embers of blue flames were now flickering in Osho"s body. The prominent features of the fire could be seen on his shoulders, mask"s eyes, and the aurcoating of his katana.

Macca has been itching to use his new weapon. Unfortunately, aside from the new design and improved stats, there was no available pa.s.sive skill from "Arachnid"s Bolt." However, Jack did not mind it as he immediately retaliated with a burst skill.

Power Arrow!

The blue-colored bow hummed as it released an arrow lit by a yellow orb on its tip.

Plugger!

SwitchFoot coordinated with Jack as he threw his pair of daggers. The black coils in their handles sizzled with life as they whistled through s.p.a.ce, heading for Osho"s back.

Slice! Peng!

The arrow was neatly cut into half, and Os...o...b..ocked the daggers.

A level-five player negated two skills from his attackers that were higher in terms of level than him. "See? That"s the advantage of seeing the vibrations." Osho grinned as he faced the dwarf, CancerIsLife, reminding him again of the most important lesson.

"How do we sense these vibrations?" Macca immediately asked as the brief exchange of attacks paused.

"Breathing techniques. Any distortion in the flow of the air is an external action that needs your reaction. This is the first law of s.h.i.+nto-Ryu." Osho answered as he remained still in the middle of the trio.

"Where did you learn this?" SwitchFoot"s face was grim as he asked the question. He was sure of the trajectory of his skill. It should have been a blind spot for Osho.

"From a great samurai. Ever heard of Sakuretso?" Osho"s eyes glimmered with respect upon the mention of the name.

"Nope. Who"s that?" CancerIsLife answered.

"Top one samurai user in War Grounds. My guild leader. Seriously? You should check out the top players in the forums and learn from them. They"re also sharing their techniques. As you can see, five skills seem to be lacking in combat, but if you match them with real-life skills, you"ll be able to create new offensive powers and tactics. Like this one." Osho sunk his katana on the white floor as the blue flames around him suddenly snuffed out.

Out of nowhere, one would be able to feel that the temperature in the room unexpectedly dropped.

Wrath of Seas and Storms!

Osho exhaled deeply through his yellow tengu mask. A blue wisp of energy surged out like waves from his body, slowly brewing a floating figure that seemed to be a storm G.o.d. It was the upper-body of a blue-spirit samurai, who also wore a tengu mask.