Extra – And Finding the Master Training Center

(*Note: This chapter is shorter, and is mostly about Anarisa – Anamai's reaction to her defeat. But in the next chapter the story will go back to Kiro.)

The town of Lutenberg wasn't popular to most players. It was small, there was little commerce and there were no dungeons nearby. The only interest was the Dueling Arena. As a result, most of the players didn't stay in the town for very long.

But amongst those who did, was a legend. Admired by all, an invincible queen of the arena, where she ruled supreme.

The first ranking duelist, dual-wielding warrior Anarisa.

Yet, on the final day of the annual Scrambler Tournament, the citizens of Lutenberg witnessed something unimaginable. But perfectly in sync with the goals of the tournament.

They witnessed the death of a legend, and the birth of a new one.

One about a mysterious swordsman, with awe inspiring strength, who appeared from nowhere and took the first rank, before disappearing, leaving chaos behind.

It was the start of the legend of Kiro.

****

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for Kiro, the news of his exploits didn't attract much attention from the media.

Their attention was concentrated elsewhere.

In the kingdom of Bellon, the first war between players was being waged, over the control of a level 100 dungeon. It involved only two small guilds, but the sight of armies of players going at it was enough to glue the eyes of millions to their TV or computer screens.

At the same time, Grandis and his guild, Armageddon, released two videos, one of the epic conquest of a level 150 dungeon and one about how they took ownership of the small town next to it. It was the first time a guild owned an entire city.

The exploits of the number one guild, which had over half a million players, was enough to inspire many others. A lot of small and medium-sized guilds, like a guild named DrakeXScales, began harbouring the desire to own their own city.

On a side note, the highest level user, Grandis, had a level of 171. Most of the high level users were in the 160's. Future V. had already announced that it would host a "Race to 200", similar to the "Race to 100" event it had previously hosted, in the coming weeks.

With all that going on, it's understandable that no one paid attention to the conclusion of the Scrambler Tournament in Lutenberg. Especially after the few that tried to upload the fight on the internet realized that you couldn't see the fight as Kiro's figure was completely obscured by a black sphere, making him unrecognisable.

*****

AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

The Samurisa main residence was a beautiful mansion. Surrounded by a small park, it was a house in the Japanese style that exuded a calming atmosphere reminiscent of a temple.

Today, that calm was shattered by the loud scream that originated from the room of Anamai, youngest grandchild in residence.

There was a beat of silence, before the sliding door to her room was forcefully pushed aside. Her loud steps reverberated through the house, as she made her way towards the outdoor training field, where she grabbed two training wooden swords and proceeded to beat a training Bob as if she wanted to break him apart.

As it was the weekend, the Samurisa house was full of occupants. Thus Anamai's father, Rakuri, and her grandfather, Sekiru, master of the Samurisa sword style, were witnesses to this uncommon attitude.

Exchanging a look filled with curiosity, they left the porch chairs they were lounging on and walked to the training field. Anamai usually tried to conduct herself with dignity and maturity, which she though suited both a swordsman and a daughter of the Samurisa house perfectly. For her to give such a childish display of emotions meant that something out of the ordinary had happened.

One look at the storm clouds on her face told the two men that she was in no mood to answer questions. But she didn't look distressed, just furious. Extremely furious. Chuckling a bit, the two men went back to the porch.

****

Anamai kept hitting the Bob for hours. She was soaked with sweat, hungry and tired. But whenever she thought about stopping, his words intruded upon her consciousness.

There is no way that someone like you … can defeat me.

Liquid fury would boil through her veins, and she would start hitting the Bob in a frenzy.

It wasn't the first time she tasted defeat. Her grandfather, her father, older novices… she had tasted defeat at their hands countless times. But it was the first time she had been defeated by someone her age or younger, with less training than her.

Arrogant, miserable jerk! Asshole. She would think, fuming, before being reminded of the moment he smiled. It was a beautiful, somehow tender smile. Seeing it, her heart had skipped a beat. And, even now, the memory was enough to make her heart go doki doki. Why did he make that smile? She wondered for the hundredth time.

She whipped the sweat from her brow. Thinking about it wasn't helping her get answers.

She walked away from the Bob, replacing her practice swords where she found them. She walked past her father and grandfather and studiously ignored them, in no mood to indulge their curiosity.

*****

A cold shower and a meal later, she was sitting in front of the computer in her room. Thinking about him, his words and mismatching actions didn't do her any good so she decided to find him again.

Finding him in game would be close to impossible. She had never seen him in Lutenberg before so he most likely moved around. It was a big world. Tracking him in it would prove difficult.

Besides, she was stuck in the real world for a day, so she might as well search for him in this world.

Opening her favorite search engine, she typed Kiwana, dojo, Taekwondo and Judo. She was very grateful that he had said it was in Kiwana, as that's where she lived. It saved her (*Note: And the author) from a lot of complications.

There were thousands of results. Martial Arts had regained popularity in the past few decades, and it was not uncommon for dojos to teach multiple martial arts.

The Samurisa was a dojo that taught its own style, but that was rarely the case.

After a few minutes of sorting, Anamai had singled out about a dozen dojos and had found their websites.

Remembering his words, she had specifically considered dojos that taught judo and taekwondo, not mixed martial arts as was popular these days.

After, she went into each site, looking for pictures of members. For some reason, probably because she herself had kept her own appearance in game, she didn't even consider the possibility that he had modified his appearance in New World.

She went through pages and pages of pictures, trying to find one that resembled him. It took her about an hour of searching before she finally found it.

It was a picture of a boy in a judo gi. He was a little younger than the Kiro she had met, but their faces were almost identical. Besides, the name under the picture, Yukiro Tearan, was a dead giveaway.

She looked at the name of the dojo: Yangjang Multiple Martial Arts. She had never heard of it. She noted the address.

She then did a quick search on Yukiro Tearan, but it yielded nothing but a few more pictures. Nothing like an address or a phone number, or even an email address.

Seeing it was a dead end, Anamai went back to the dojo. By train and bus she could be there in a little more than an hour if she left immediately. But should she go? It almost felt like she was stalking him. The image of a smile popped into her mind. She shook her head. Refusing to dwell on it further, or she'd be paralyzed by indecision, she immediately grabbed a few items and ran out of her room.

Once more ignoring her father and grandfather, which were loitering in the hallway, she made for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Her dad asked.

"Out!" She replied.

Very informative.

*****

Rakuri watched his daughter storm out the door.

"Any idea what got into her?" He asked his dad.

"No idea." He replied. "But I know how we can find out."

He gestured towards the door to her room with a grin.

Rakuri soon had an identical grin on his face. Whatever had put her in such as state was obviously game related. With Anamai gone for who knew how long, it was the perfect time to go snoop… investigate.

They approached the room like burglars approaching a safe.

"By the way," he asked, "do you know why she brought her swords with her?"

His father could only shrug.

****

One hour and 23 minutes of travel later, Anamai stood in front of the Yangjang Multiple Martial Arts' dojo. At first glance it looked like a house with a big back yard, but Anamai could see training equipment lying about in it. The big sign on the front yard was also a giveaway.

She stepped to the door and rang. A man in his early twenties, wearing a dobok with a black belt answered the door.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Is this the Yangjang dojo?"

He pointedly looked at the sign, then back at her, making her feel ridiculous.

"Yes."

She had no choice but to ignore her discomfort and push forward. "Do you have a member named Yukiro Tearan?"

"Yukiro…" his engaging smile wittered. "He was a member here, yes. Why do you ask?"

Was huh… "Be… because I want to fight with him." For some reason the image of his smile had popped into her head as she was talking.

"Fight, hum…" He made a slight smile, which soon disappeared. "I think that might be difficult."

For some reason her face was red. "Why would it be difficult?"

Surprise coated his features. "You don't know?"

"Know? Know what?"

"I'm not sure I'm the best person to tell you…" he hedged. "You should ask his family directly."

"I don't know their address." She replied, confused about his reactions.

"I'll give it to you. It's not far from here."

(*Note: It's usually a bad idea to just hand out the address of one of your friends to a complete stranger that came looking for him while holding swords. But the plot-force is strong with this one.)

*****

The Tearan residence was a small two-story western-style house with a tiny front lawn. A car in the entrance and the light Anamai could see from the two front widows indicated there were people inside.

Her heart was beating erratically. Consumed by the thoughts of confronting him, now that she was approaching her goal she started second-guessing herself.

What would he think when he realised she had went through all that trouble to confront him again? Would he laugh at her? Mock her? Would he think she was nuts?

Anamai knew that a lot of people behaved differently in New World than they did in real life. Was this Yukiro one of those, a fierce warrior in-game but something else entirely outside? Maybe he was a shut-in. It would explain the reaction from the guy at the dojo.

All of these questions were pointless. Anamai would get her answers with just the ring of the doorbell. She knew perfectly well that she was just stalling.

It was understandable. Anamai was perfectly aware of how suspicious her actions looked. She had been forced out of the game (*Note: that made me lose the game, for those that understand the reference) because he had killed her, so she tracked him down in real life to confront him. Any policeman after hearing that story would immediately arrest her, without any further inquiry into her intentions.

Indeed, thinking about it that way didn't help her. She put it aside for now. She was fully committed, the only thing left was to push forward.

She walked to the doorbell and rang.

After a few moments, she heard a series of light steps before the door was opened slightly.

A small girl, maybe 11 or 12 years old, with brown-red hair cut at shoulder length, with cute brown eyes and an adorable and childish face was standing in the opening, looking Anamai over with a curious gaze.

"Yes?" She asked.

Gaahhhh! She is soooo cute! Anamai thought.

"Ehem… I'm looking for a Yukiro Tearan. Is he here?"

"Ehhh! Why are you looking for my onii-chan?"

So he was here! Just then, another female voice came from within the house.

"Mina, who is it?"

She – Mina – turned towards the inside of the house. "It's a girl looking for Kiro-oniichan!"

Anamai could hear the sounds of footsteps, before the door opened wider. A woman, who could only be Mina's mother judging by the obvious resemblance stood in the doorway. Looking at her.

"Good afternoon. My name is Allise, Allise Tearan. I heard you were looking for my son."

Anamai realized she hadn't introduced herself yet. "Yes. My name is Anamai Samurisa. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said, making a slight bow.

"A pleasure to meet you, Anamai-san. So, why are you looking for my son, may I ask?"

At this point Anamai realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to just blurt out that she wanted to fight with him in front of his mother and sister.

"I just… just wanted to meet with him in real life." Again, she had a vision of that smile he did, and her cheeks reddened.

"To meet with him huh…" Allise had a slight smile on her face. "Why exactly?"

Forget it, she sucked at lying.

"I, I wanted to spar with him." Again, that damned smile!

"To spar, huh. He would have liked that." Allise's smile faded. "Unfortunately that won't be possible."

Once more, Anamai received the exact same reaction. "Why?"

"Because he has been in the hospital for several months now."

****

After that, Allise proceeded to tell Anamai the particulars of Yukiro's accident and his subsequent hospitalisation. But Anamai had trouble accepting it.

She just couldn't superpose the image of a fierce warrior she had of Kiro with one of a prone body on a hospital bed.

Allise offered to drive her to the hospital where he was and she accepted, too shaken to question the unexpected generosity.

On the way, Allise kept up a steady string of questions. How had they met? What was he doing? How was he doing?

What was he doing? Was he having fun?

Anamai responded as well as she could. Yukiro's mother laughed a lot when she heard about Anamai's defeat at Kiro's hands.

At the end of the drive, she confided a bit in Anamai: "You know, I'm really happy for him, that boy. Even though his body is like it is, I am glad he can have fun in this New World. He was always an active and shy kid. I'm happy he can have fun and make good friends like you."

Who's his friend! Anamai wanted to retort, her cheeks red.

Allise continued: "You know, I have difficulties going to his hospital room. Intellectually, I know my son is doing well in another world, but every time I go there, seeing my son's immobile body is too much. It reminds me of when my husband died. That's why I rarely go see him anymore. Even my own children go to see their older brother more than I do. They can't wait until their birthday, when they will be able to join New World and go meet him."

They left the car and walked into the hospital. After they went past the reception desk, Allise motioned Anamai onwards.

"Go on now, I'll wait for you here. He is in room 405."

A few stairs and a long corridor later, Anamai stood in front of room 405. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and entered.

The room was empty, with nothing but a visitor chair, a few medical machines and an open-aired VR pod.

On it, hooked to several machines, was a boy in a hospital gown.

Anamai walked closer.

The boy had the same brown-red hair as his sister and mother. His face had average features, full of life despite their immobility. His eyes were closed.

He looked exactly the same as when she had meet him in New World. With the exact same slender build, with well-defined muscles. He didn't look at all like someone that has been laying on a hospital bed for months.

But the many tubes stuck in his body, along with his rigid immobility, provided undeniable evidence.

A surge of indescribable emotions swirled inside Anamai's head. Sadness? Pity? Regret? Something else? She wasn't sure. But she did know that the sight of this frozen body was unbearable and tragic, especially knowing how vibrant and full of life he was in New World.

Unwilling to stay there a second longer, Anamai almost ran out of the room.

*****

On her way back to her house, Anamai's thought circled back to her first days in New World.

She had been intoxicated by the atmosphere, and the thousands of possibilities the game offered her.

Then she'd discovered the dueling arena, and immediately signed up. It had been challenging at first, and incredibly fun.

As she got better, victory became easier. She rose in the rankings like an arrow shot from a bow, until she reached first place.

At that point the duels were no longer fun. They were just obligations.

She stopped login in, except when she had duels.

Her duel with Kiro was the first excitement she had had in a while.

There is no way that someone like you, that has only fought one type of enemy, can defeat me…

It was settled. As soon as she could login again, she would leave Lutenberg. New World had many possibilities. She didn't need to explore just one!

For a second, she felt envious of Kiro, who could spend all his time in the game. Then she made a frown: it had come at the price of his body.

****

Back at her home, she went directly to her room.

To be greeted by the sight of her father and grandfather, watching the screen of her VR pod intently.

Normally the privacy settings prevented the pods of other people from recording a person who used them. But there was one exception.

Fearing that player killers would use the privacy settings to mask their identity, Future V. made several precautions.

If a player using the privacy settings killed another player, that player's pod would record the other player for an hour before the kill and would follow the killer for an hour after, even if that player made use of the privacy settings.

Of course, the footage was framed by a lot of legal mombo jumbo that warned the viewers that any attempt to copy, broadcast, and/or distribute the recordings would result in legal actions from Future V's lawyers.

All of this meant that Anamai's VR pod was the only one that had a record of her fight with Kiro.

As she stepped into the room, she saw on the screen the image of herself with her own sword at her throat.

Under her horrified gaze, Kiro smiled and then delivered the final blow.

Anamai rushed to the screen, turning it off. She turned around to face the two men, her face on fire.

"Don't worry," her father said, fingering the camera he had in front of him. "We have it on tape!"

"So, when are we meeting him?" Her grandfather asked.

****

The Master Training Center was supposedly located inside a ring of mountains just of the mountain chain that split the continent in two. Supposedly. Kiro had been here for weeks, on the said ring of mountains, and he was no closer to finding the entrance to the training center than he had been when he first reached this place. When he had arrived, it had been winter. Now, it was well into spring and the snow had melted away.

He had tried climbing over the mountains, but had had no success. 30 meters above ground the mountain side became smooth and hard. There were no holds, no cracks, and no way to pierce the wall to make some. Not that he hadn't tried.

The mountain itself was preventing him from scaling it.

Building a ladder would also be futile, as it would have to be close to a kilometer high to be effective.

Digging a tunnel would require machinery that didn't exist in this world, or more manpower than Kiro could provide in ten years.

So Kiro had been making circles around the mountains, looking for a cave, a pass, or the entrance to a tunnel leading to the other side, but for now the only thing he had to show for it was an increase in his survival and parkour proficiencies.

The mountains looked different after the snow melted. He noticed a huge rock lying against the mountainside. It had been covered in snow before, but now that the snow had melted, Kiro was able to see it. It was huge, much bigger than all the other rocks around, and it seemed out of place.

Kiro walked to it.

What had Master Fabridzia said? That entering the Master Training Center would be proof enough that he was qualified? Now Kiro had a pretty good idea of what she meant. And what he had to do.

He stepped up to the rock. Took out his sword. And then used Piercing Aura Strike.

The boulder exploded, revealing a passage that lead into the mountains.

Bingo, Kiro thought, before venturing into the passage.