War Online

Arc Training Center, Leafway city;

Two young men are competing against each other in an indoor setup.

Scoring another ten, Wan Xue smirked at the other guy, "There's no way you can beat me, Shiwon."

Han Shiwon scoffed, "you are only ahead of me by a score of 3. There are still 6 rounds left."

5 minutes later, after winning by 7 points, Wan Xue grinned, "Told you. I'll win easily."

Suddenly, he was slapped in the back of his head and heard a voice, "Hey, what are you showing off your skills for. You learned Archery from your childhood while he just started 1 year ago. Not to mention, you are 3 years older than him. If you want to compete against someone, go and defeat Hyori, instead."

Wan Xue laughed embarrassedly while rubbing the back of his head, "c'mon, uncle. You know that I can't. She's on an entirely different level."

The middle-aged man who was standing behind is Ma Ling, the Master Archer who is considered as one of the best in the eastern continent back when he was in prime and currently, he is the boss of ATC.

Just then, 16-year-old Shiwon spoke, "Hyori-Noona is here. Hmm, who is that?"

Upon hearing her name, Wan Xue turned his head to see Hyori and Wil entered together.

A frown appeared on his face as he saw both are talking to each other with all smiles.

Looking at them, she waved her hand and then bowed to the boss as they stopped before them.

Before anyone else asked, Hyori introduced Wil, "this is my friend, Williard. He wants to learn Archery. I thought since Master is here, why I should recommend someone else to him."

While Wan Xue eyed him suspiciously, Ma Ling asked Wil, "Did you ever practice Archery before?"

Wil asked in return, "Does it count if I say I'm a strong Archer in War Online?"

"War Online?" All four of them wondered out loud together at the same time.

Upon seeing their response, Wil fell silent and stared at them for a while before opening his mouth, "It's a virtual reality game."

"Oh, so, it's just a game, huh. C'mon, bro. How does shooting an arrow in-game is the same as the real world," as Shiwon commented, the other three nodded in agreement.

Wil tried to explain, "It's virtual reality. Not a game you can play on television or a computer. The feeling is completely different. It's like… forget it. Can I just get a membership?"

Giving up lecturing these archery enthusiasts, Wil paid 3000 credits joining membership fee and was given a membership card like others after paying another 6000 credits annual fee.

"Hyori, since he is your friend, I'll put him under your care."

Then, he looked at Wil and said, "If there's some doubt even she was unable to answer it, then, you can ask me directly.

For now, you can practice in the beginners' section. After you get a hang of it, then, you can practice in advance section. If you like long-distance targets, you can enter the training field."

***

As Hyori and Wil standing in the beginners' section where the target is just 15 meters away, Wil sighed as he spoke, "I expected that boss to not know about it but seriously, you four too? You go to college. How can you not know anything about it? War Online has more than 50 million player population, you know."

Hyori bitterly smiled, "I'm in the science department and I spent most of my time either studying in the library, class or at the lab at our university. In my free time, I practice Archery. So, I rarely had the time to care about such things as games."

Two hours later, in the advanced section;

Wil shot the arrow at the dead center of the target, which is 30 meters away.

Looking at it, he mumbled, "Hmm, looks like my skills returned. No, my precision is even better than the past. I guess playing in the game really improved my skill a little. But, this isn't enough. Anyway, I'm practicing for two hours already. It's enough for today."

"Hyori-ssi, I'm going back."

As he turned, Wil saw Hyori stayed still like a statue.

"Hello?"

He stood before her and waved his hand.

"kyaa... Yes?" As she came off her senses and was startled to see him up close.

Stepping a foot back, Wil said, "I said I'm leaving. I'll continue with longer ranges, next week." 

"Ah, yes. Sure." Hyori nodded. 

Meanwhile, the boss who was monitoring his score on the screen with the other two for a while, mumbled, "Does playing games will affect Archery level to this extent for real?"

As Wil left the training center, Ma Ling ordered his nephew, "Wan Xue, find out about this game so-called War Online."

***

After returning home and had lunch, Wil just slept on the bed until he got a phone call from his father in the evening.

As soon as he saw the number, Wil was taken aback as they rarely talk to each other except when it's an important conversation that will usually end up with his dad ordering him something for sure.

"Dad?"

"Wil, How are you?"

"I'm fine, dad. Is everything alright? Your tone doesn't sound normal"

"I told you not to worry about such meaningless things. It's not what you think. *Cough *Cough. It's just a cold. Anyway, how's your college life?"

Wil went silent for a couple of seconds as he was skipping it daily. So, he lied, "yeah, it's good. The environment is good. I even made some friends and we created a gaming club. You know, War Online? I'm telling you it's one of the best things ever…"

As he went on explaining the game to his company creation plan, Mafia lord grinned, "Seems like you enjoy that game more than the college."

As Wil went silent for a while, not knowing what to reply, his dad spoke, "Aster will provide you a VIP card with no limit. Just spend your college life as you wish. Don't hesitate to spend the money."

After a while;

Disconnecting the call, Lord Philip grinned, "That brat didn't realize that there's nothing that can be hidden from his father. But, still, it seems like he wasn't fooling around like before. It's indeed a good thing. *Cough *Cough."

***

The next day at 8:00 A.M., Summersoft announced the system is online.

30 minutes later, after having his breakfast, Wil entered the capsule and logged in.

"Welcome to War Online"

Wil found himself in familiar surroundings in the peaceful Angel sanctuary. As soon as he entered the game, the first thing Wil did was to check the three new unique skills he gained earlier.

Just looking at the first skill itself brought a wide grin on his face. The second skill brought an astonishment and the final skill made him almost lose his balance.

Fire pegasus (Level 1): Summon a fire pegasus to use a flying mount for traveling great distances. The mount disappears as soon as the user engages in battle. Flying speed: 250%, Running speed: 75%. CD: 0 seconds. Cost: 0 mana.

Special skill: Become invisible for 10 seconds.

Gravity Suppression (Level 1): Control gravity around you and force your enemies to stuck onto the ground helplessly for 10 seconds. Doesn't work on Ascended NPCs, players, and legendary grade and above monsters. Range: 50 meters. CD: 60 seconds. Cost: 5 Mana.

Heavenly push (Level 1): Control the element of wind and push your enemies 50 meters away from you with a 0% attack. For every 10 mana consumption, Attack damage increased by 100%. Range: 30 meters. Cost: 0 mana. CD: Depends on mana consumption.

*

"The third one is really an overpowered skill. With Aerona's earrings, I have nearly 600 mana.

If I really put everything on one attack, every Heroic boss and every player is as good as a mosquito. Not to mention, my mana will increase as I level up.

The only problem is the cooldown.

But then again, if I consider overall damage against a single enemy, my Earth Golem is still the best one though."

Just then, Wil received messages from Aster and Supreme Master simultaneously.

Shadow Blade: Young Master, you are finally online. It's a complete mess. I'm receiving many messages continuously from the ally guilds. It seems most of them want to take full compensation from the system. By the looks of it, most of the guilds will also break the alliance with us, as soon as we hand them their gold."