On Japan-NHK Worldwide, the spokesperson, Ms. Inahara spoke of the recent video that was circulating around the net. With an abrupt surge of people trying to find information on the person that was on the video, there was another video of that same person but it also triggered a game announcement.

The first video…

Several players recorded a man that came out of a forest. At first, it seemed like it was a boring video but the appearance that man was in, intrigued everyone. Females gossiping loudly as they wanted to know the name of this person. It was a man that had a bloodied appearance but you could see that the man was quite handsome and muscular.

The man in the video was half naked with his pants being nearly ripped up and his shirt was discarded. But, that wasn’t the reason why the video skyrocketed…

The reason was after.

The man began to walk calmly as if he ignored the world in front of him. On his back, there was a vine that connected several...wolves that were impaled through their eye sockets. A lot of censorship was going on because minors do play Infinity but they could not see the bloodied corpse of the wolves, only a black bar that carried a bloody trail.

Those wolves were actually blood wolves and they may be low in level but they are renowned for their cunning tactics and swift maneuvers.

They were all dead...and there was a total of 38 blood wolves all together.

If that enormous amount of dead wolves didn’t shock you, then what comes next will.

A gigantic 2-meter boar was being dragged by the man at the end of the vine rope. It was big and you could see that it had a broken tusk...but as the boar got closer, they saw that the boar was actually killed by its tusk.

The tusk was protruding itself on the back of the head.

Many players were stunned at the appearance. Many wanted to chase after this man because no one has ever experienced this situation before. There were contemporary circumstances that spoke about who would win, this unknown man or the highest leveled person in Infinity.

But, what came next...was the other video…

It stunned everyone because every single player received a message about this…

The second video showed the same bloodied man talking to a tall man that everyone presumed to be the guard captain. Several people recognized this guard captain because some of them had received quests from this same man. People also knew that this Guard captain was a level 50 NPC Warrior.

Not even the highest level character, Black Dragon, would argue that the guard captain was indeed strong. The Black Dragon even dueled against this same guard captain but he eventually lost due to the Guard captain having more experience in the way of the sword. Of course, the Black Dragon didn’t publicize his defeat because who would follow a man that lost against data…

Anyways, the video was kind boring but some showed interest as the people recording the videos, all of them received the same stunned effect. They couldn’t determine the source but they knew it was from the man that was shirtless and covered in blood.

What really shocked everyone was when the bloody man suddenly gripped the Guard Captain’s collar and spoke a few words. It was mostly fizzled out but people could guess that the guard captain was being threatened.

The video continued and one of the guards was about to sneak up on the man.

Some of the females gasped in shock as their handsome bloody idol was going to knocked out but then….

The man threw the guard captain and did a taekwondo tornado kick towards the guard. The sword from the guard was knocked out and then the familiar deadly presence was being emitted.

The players received their stunned effect again and the guard that tried to sneak up on the bloody man fainted from shock.

People began to stimulate rumors and they circulated everywhere.

They saw that the guard captain had sworn loyalty to this unknown man and many of the players thought that this was a city event. They did not know who this unknown man was but after the man spoke...the guy simply left and the video ends.

People are looking for information on this man because they want to speak to him and find out his level. Obviously that this man was undoubtedly strong enough to make a level 50 NPC warrior kneel and swear loyalty to him and much stronger than the highest leveled player…

But to those that were in the game, after the bloody man left, a game announcement has been made….

An unknown player has gained the Rank of Captain within the City of Calrius. This player is the first one to achieve a high position within the game. +100 Fame

Everyone knew that it was probably related to the unknown man and now everyone is searching for the bloody idol…

…

…

After I swore loyalty to this adventurer, the man disappeared quickly before I could ask his name.

Some of my men continued to batter me with questions but I silenced them. Even as a warrior, I, Theo Rindius could judge a man’s worth. I sensed an unfathomable presence from this adventurer.

Like he had more experience than any of the royal knights or even the strongest of warriors. I felt that he had more power than any, thus it was rightful to hand of my rank.

I knew things were lax but I did not expect an expert such as this adventurer to reprimand me. I am quite ashamed at my degrading appearance but luckily...this man took command and is now the Captain of the Guards…

I felt that as long as I stood by this adventurer, I would be able to learn a lot more and of course get stronger.

Eventually, I will regain my rank back as the man was an adventurer but I will gratefully hand over my position.

I ordered the men to begin the wolf pelt extraction and began to give out orders to the remaining guards that were on standby. I told them to spread the information that we have a new captain and that tomorrow, they would meet their new captain.

After issuing the orders, I began to gather the information that our new captain had requested of me. Guard Elric followed me to the side as he was like an assistant to me or some advisor.

Evening was closing in and every guardsman was busy until it became pitch black. They had successfully extracted the pelts from the wolves and they stored the wolf meat and boar meat within the storage unit.

The storage unit was located in the Barracks where it was an internal freezer that the city librarian/magician had casted her ice magic to sustain fresh items.

I quickly dismissed everyone and they all left to do their nightly business, either sleep or raunchy night activities in the southern area.

Naturally, I stayed in the building where the guard captain’s quarters were located in. I would’ve moved out but it seems that our new captain was out for the night…

As I was about to retire for the night, one of the guardsman that was on night duty was frantically yelling at the Captain’s quarters. I hurriedly went down and opened the door to find a man in armor that was covered in sweat.

His forehead had beads of sweat and his lips were dry from the long run.

The frantic night guard spoke…

“Capta--- I mean, Vice Captain! There’s a fight going on at the training school! It is between our new captain and the instructor!”

I panicked…

The instructor...our captain is quite bold...but I don’t even know the outcome of this battle…

I know that our captain has an unfathomable presence that spoke of many experiences but this instructor...was actually...the strongest person within Calrius...he is the personal knight of Lord Kelbrim...the Lord of Calrius...with all those weapon masteries...I don’t know if our new captain will be able to hold off against the instructor…

I left with the frantic guard and we ran towards the training school…

…

…

The instructor spoke in a calm tone…

“So...what is an adventurer like ‘you’ doing at my training school.”

The instructor was eyeing me cautiously as I maintained a safe distance in between us.

I relaxed and went into a slightly casual defensive position.

My training gi was fluttering gently as the wind rustled in between my outfit. My training gi was quite loose as it provided free movement and easy flexibility to adapt to any situation. It was black and white with black being the majority color. The outfit interlined with my figure and created an opening where it gradually revealed a portion of my neck but it naturally covered my chest. The outline of the training gi has a white lining that showed the edges of the outfit and around my waist, there was the belt that held the outfit together from falling off of my body. The belt was black but the outline showed a line of white that was similar to the outline of the entire training gi.

[Author’s note: Just think of an MMA Training gi that is black with white outline or an old fashioned training gi. Probably like this one http://www.mma-icons.com/images/kuvat/badboy_bjj_gi_black01.jpg or http://images.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/143269315/max_h-1000+max_w-1000/ok-prem-blk.jpg Both are pretty good since I use both in real life…]

This instructor seems to want to challenge me...I think he sensed the blood that is still on my body…

“I came here to train. Isn’t this the training school?”

I responded to answer the instructor’s question. His expression was a bit forced as his smile was curt. He looked at me and spoke again..

“You..adventurer...I can tell that you do not need to train here. Leave or I will have to respond with force. This is a place of training, I cannot waste my time with people that do not need my instruction and neither will I tolerate an expert showing off his skills here. Leave now.”

His words were harsh but he still kept his calm expression.

I wanted to practice a bit…

“I came here to practice. I will not interfere with your lectures...unless you want to spar here...right now?”

“Oho..a mere adventurer is trying to tempt me...Very well, let’s do a sparring match. We shall discard our weapons and replace them with wooden weapons to lessen the degree of harm.”

Mhm...so just wooden weapons...I’ll add more to that condition…

“Okay then, let’s make it only techniques then with no skills. I will fight you with only techniques”

“Alright.”

I quickly toss my iron sword back into my inventory and the instructor sheathed his weapon too. The instructor took off his sword belt and laid it on the floor as the door to his training school opened up. One of his assistants came trotting out the door, carrying a wooden barrel that had wooden weapons protruding out the top of the barrel.

The assistant was a woman that was approximately in her early twenties. She had light blue hair that matched her azure colored eyes. Her face was innocent and she had a happy expression despite carrying a barrel full of wooden items. She had a developed body that rivaled most of the females in the city and even was comparable to the librarian that I met yesterday. She wore a warrior’s outfit and she had a short dagger on her side.

The woman laid the barrel on the floor and smiled at me and the instructor, but her eyes were fixated on me.

Her eyes were glued onto me as if she wanted to do something but she was very hesitant on doing so. While she stared at me, I smiled back in response and her face ruptured in a faint red expression. She left the area and ran back into the training school.

The instructor already eyed the wooden weapon that he was going to choose but I still haven’t found mine...I need a long wooden place that is slightly curved towards the end, a direct replication of a katana would be excellent…

I continued to look through the various wooden weapons and found a slightly old wooden weapon that had the appearance that it had clearly been used and it was worn out. I grabbed the old weapon and saw the instructor flinch at my choice.

The wooden sword had the identical configuration of a Katana blade but without the hilt. It was a worn out bokken that many practitioners use for practice in kendo and various sword styles.

I wielded the weapon and faced the instructor that had a calm expression but I can tell that he’s shakened by my choice of weaponry. The instructor spoke before the start of the match..

“Okay, adventurer. What will be the stakes if one of us wins and one of us loses. What are your conditions.”

His posture was serious as he asked this question and I began to think…

I am going to stay in this city for a bit...I won’t be able to leave the city until the four weeks of city protection is lifted. I am the new captain so I will be busy with that but I also need to learn some other things about this world…

I read the books about this continent and I needed more information about Elreim. I plan to go on an adventure to establish myself in this world and eventually build a house somewhere and live on the resources of the land.

This instructor is the personal knight of the lord and I need support from a higher position if I end up in political conflict...I see…

“I want you to set up a private meeting between me and your lord. These are the conditions I set.”

The instructor’s face goes pale at my words.

Almost immediately, he blurted…

“I refuse!”

“Why!”

I exclaimed. What is so hard about setting up a private meeting...aren’t you the personal knight of the lord…

“Because the lord will not meet a commoner in private. He needs to have an explicit reasoning for your attendance.”

I see...well, I may be a commoner and an adventurer...but I recently became the Captain of the Guards that protect this city…

“I am a commoner true...and my reasoning may be insufficient...but I am the Captain of the Calrius city guards!”

“You lie! How dare you lie during a conditioning proposal!”

The instructor was irritated but I didn’t lie. There was an unspoken rule about lying while declaring conditions during a match. It shows a person’s worth that they are truly worthless if they lie while setting the conditions.

It also shows that the person is untrustworthy and will betray you at the last moment.

The instructor dashed towards me while holding his wooden sword.

The instructor’s weapon was a wooden replica of his weapon that was concealed in the sheath. It was made of a slightly darker wood that seems to be stronger than the average wooden weapons.

He purposely mixed in a few good and bad weapons to show a person’s judgement of good weapons.

As he rushed forward, he began to incline his sword attack and strike towards my head. I responded with a quick parry and deflected his attack with ease.

His sword slid down the side as I parried and with my strength, I bashed the instructor that lost his balance due to my parry.

The instructor was pushed back several feet as my strength was overpowering. But the area around me had visible signs of destruction. Below me, there were cracks that formed from my bash and my feet slowly formed embedded formations in the ground.

The instructor was astonished at my strength but his expression returned to normal. He looked at me and I glared back.

My blood felt a sense of thrill as it did back in the forest. I recognized that this instructor was a worthy opponent and strong enough to be the lord’s personal knight.

I changed my stance and got into an sword-style position. Both of my hands gripped the wooden sword and the pointed edge pointing towards the instructor. My stance was confusing for the instructor as it felt odd to him.

He felt strange as he looked towards my stance and saw that I did not have an absolute opening. Most stances usually expose a portion that would be determined as the absolute opening but he clearly could not find it.

My body was feeling excited as I could fight against this instructor. None of the sword practitioners in the real world could offer a good fight but this was a new world. There obviously were unknown techniques and I wanted to test myself against this new world.

I saw that the instructor was cautious so he was waiting for my attack. The instructor wanted to see if he could defend against my attacks…

Alright then, you want to tempt me…

I posed myself forward and quickly dashed into a blur. The instructor was astonished at my burst of speed and I reappear towards his side. His stance had weak opening positions towards the side of his body and I took advantage of that.

My weapon aimed towards his side and before he could intercept my attack, I had already connected. My weapon sunk a few inches into his body and he was flung backwards in pain. My sword was clearly faster and he was stunned for a few moments.

The instructor looked at me in disbelief that his guard was broken.

I finally spoke to explain..

“Your stance is definitely good but you have openings. Even though you can guard against most attacks, you cannot deflect attacks that are faster than you. You are experienced but there are better stances that will help you on fighting people that are faster than you.”

I explained my reasoning as to why he lost against my attack.

The instructor knew that his attacks were a slower than mine and at first he was sure that he stopped my attack but I had already connected.

His expression was struggling to maintain a calm impression but the next words stunned me…

“Alright...let’s use skills now...I will adhere to your conditions but first we will fight with skills!”

His body was enwrapped in a white glow and his speed increased several times. I was stunned and his sword connected as it struck my shoulder. I reflexively grabbed my shoulder as it shuddered in pain. I glared at the instructor that used a body-enhancement skill.

My eyes were glaring and the instructor flinched at my presence.

The atmosphere was getting damp as my bloodlust was beginning to activate. I held the bokken in my right hand and slowly began to walk forward.

The instructor noticed that I hadn’t said a single word in protest towards his declaration of using skills.

He began to vanish in a blur and appeared in front of me to attack again but I had already deflected the attack. He was astonished but he continued his assault but it was futile.

My wooden sword was deflecting his every move as he appeared in blurs all around me. The instructor was feeling the dread of my bloodlust but he wasn’t affected by the effects because he was quite powerful too.

The instructor noted that his attacks weren’t getting through and his body began to emit a infusion glow of white and orange. His assault increased and his strength was multiplied.

I felt angry that I was slowly beginning to lose.

My defensive attacks could no longer ward off the instructor’s new attacks and I had to result in parrying. Several attacks got through and my body winced in pain.

I felt that this instructor was really strong and I felt really happy.

The real world no longer had strong opponents because majority of them had already died.

My body was getting stiff under the instructor’s assault and the clashes began to resonate in loud bangs.

This normally was not possibile with wooden swords but somehow the instructor’s sword and mine were made out of different wooden materials.

His was slightly darker in color while mine was lighter in color.

It was as if we had polar opposites and my weapon was also worn down unlike the instructor’s pristine wooden weapon.

The area around the training school began to gather noise and naturally groups of people gathered around. Majority of the training players and NPCs within the training school had already came out and they watched the entire match. The instructor’s assistant was eyeing me as she watched from the sidelines and she could not help but worry.

I continued to parry his attacks while struggling to maintain a defensive position. My forward walk slowly began to slow down and I halted while receiving multiple sword strikes from opposite directions.

The instructor was gaining speed and his attacks were steadily getting stronger. My body stance was now defensive and I could not retaliate because everytime I tried, the instructor would attack on the other side of my body.

It was getting dangerous as the attacks increased...but my expression was happy.

I feel that this instructor should feel the techniques of my shishou…

My blood was boiling for competition and finally I started…

My swings began to gradually get faster and faster. My parries began to turn into deflective strikes and eventually I was on par in attacking speed and I began to retaliate against the instructor.

My presence grew stronger and the surrounding crowd of people were stunned as they were in my area of effect.

My sword began to change in variations and my body shifted into different positions to thwart the imposing instructor. His body was increasing but my attack speed was much faster and he could not follow up on my variant style that changed constantly.

The clash of wooden swords were creating a natural field of dread as every clash resonated in the air. The nearby buildings that had windows were broken from the clashes and several of the players began to feel the backlash and some lost hp while within a safe zone.

Suddenly…

My body began to radiate a black aura and it counteracted against the instructor’s white and orange glow. My attacks became more dreadful and menacing as it created a black flair that occurred every time when it clashed with the instructor’s weapon.

The notifications were pinging constantly but I had disabled the notification display.

The instructor’s expression went grim and suddenly the area was engulfed in a darkness sphere...

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