War Grounds 48 PREPARING FOR WAR

The hidden man gate was abruptly pushed open by a huge man, who barely fitted through the small passage. He was wearing a corduroy bear cotton baseball cap that was too small for his big head, barely covering his curly brown hair. "Al Gentrix? Is that you?"

"Ah, I'm Osho. Hi. Hehe. Have we met before?" Al's best friend suddenly found himself in an awkward position in front of the looming figure.

"Papa Bear? Bertran?" Al was grinning. The huge man in front of Osho seemed to be no other than the Orc Charger in the game - Papa Bear!

"Ohhh. Al Gentrix! Is that you? Big boss? We've finally met! I thought that you're an older adult. Haha! Come here, you nasty guy!" Bertran's deep voice was too loud as he ignored Osho, who he had just mistook as Al.

Pak!

Bertran gently slapped Al's right shoulder, almost pushing the latter out of the way.

( T_T )

'It hurts.' Al feinted a smile as he gently rubbed the right base of his neck. It was aching.

"It's finally nice to see the rest of the gang. Hey, Osho. Are you a new recruit? Come here, dude. Hand me that box. Come, everyone's waiting inside." Bertran's voice was energetic as he effortlessly carried the box inside the workshop.

Al shot a nod to Osho, as he followed Bertran through the man gate.

The workshop was still dimly lit by the surrounding colourful LED lights. "Al Gentrix! We've been waiting for you, man!" Jack McHeart hollered. He was currently seated in Sol's station, feasting on a bowl of what seemed to be a chocolate cereal. Meanwhile, Harvy Giddy and Patrick Gadlock were sitting on their gaming chairs, munching their own share of snacks.

"Good morning, team! Everyone, this is Osho Kagashi. He's my best friend. He plays the game too." Al acknowledged the group as he introduced his friend with a grin.

"Hi. Nice to meet you all." Osho bowed.

"Wow. You're so formal, dude. Are you a religious person?" Jack nonchalantly asked.

"Nah. Just a cultural practice from where I came from." Osho smiled.

"That's nice! Anyway, Sol is currently not around, but we have Bertran Godofrodo here with us. Everyone, let's give him a round of applause again. Our should-be-MVP, Papa Bear!" Jack hosted the team huddle.

"Thank you! Thank you, everyone." Bertran was grinning; he was surely basking in the limelight of claps from his teammates.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time, even the smug-looking Patrick. It was a pleasant atmosphere.

"So, what's the plan? Will Osho join us here in WisDOOM?" Bertran asked.

"I'm afraid not. My account's not a rookie anymore. Hehe." Osho answered. There's no hint of boasting in his tone.

"Oh, so what are you here for?" Jack innocently asked.

"I came here to see Gerd and Yakouza. Hehe." Osho directly answered.

"Eh? What are you talking about? Aren't those two, some famous personas?" It was Patrick who butted in.

"Yup, I've already met Gerd, a while ago. Hehe." Osho admitted.

"Wow. That's cool. So, what made you think that Yakouza is here?" Pat continued to probe, not yet getting the main point.

Osho shot a confused look to Al.

"Hehe. Actually, Solomon is Yakouza, and Sophia is Gerd." Al finally dropped the bomb.

Prshhh!

Jack sputtered what he was still chewing upon hearing Al's words. The good thing was that he was not facing the computers nor any hardware. "Seriously?!"

"Yup. Hehe." Al reassured his claim.

"No way. Do you mean that all this time, I was just simply talking to the crafter of my weapon? How awesome is that! He's the founder of our workshop too! I should tell my brother! He'll be happy to sponsor us! Haha!" Bertran rejoiced.

Al could not help himself from grinning. With a famous forger as their backer, they won't have to worry about their equipment anymore. "So, when will you join us?" The boy poked Osho.

"Haha. I'll think about that soon. I'm a loyal person, dude. Stop tempting me!" Osho grinned. "I'm all good now. I'll just return to school, and attend the next class, Al. Too bad, Yakouza is not here."

"Wait! Won't you join us in our training?" It was Bertran, who asked upon hearing Osho's statement.

"Nah. I'm already at Silver Rank, Bertran. Hehe. I won't be able to join you in rank matches." Osho scratched his head.

"Yes, you won't be able to join us in the rank mode, but maybe you can stay to spar with us." Harvy miraculously spoke.

"Haha! That sounds like a plan! Hey, you dwarf! Fight me in a man to man battle!" Bertran pointed his finger to challenge Patrick.
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"Get lost! How am I supposed to fight you!? I'm a fvcking healer!" Pat rolled his eyes.

"Well, well. It seems that we'll have to work harder from here on. Our backers are no ordinary people, after all." Jack finally stood up, casually cracking his fists. "Here's how we'll prepare for the coming war. Come."

...

Alistor City.

Despite the trending blog, regarding the impending war between Titans and the Six Purgatories that warned players to stay away from Alistor, many rookies still buzzed through the barely fixed city.

Looking around, one would see numerous high-ranking players.

"This is exciting! Can you see them, X-1? These are famous players, and they've all gathered here today. It's time to show them our skills!" A Human Swordsman named GreyWitZ marvelled as he stood on the rooftop of a manor.

"Tsk. Why did we return anyway? We've been fencing here for almost an hour, and no one batted us an eye." X-1 mocked.

"Hey!"

The two swordsmen, suddenly jerked up when they heard a deep voice behind them. Their drawn swords immediately pounced at the source of the sound. Unfortunately, it was no other than Lidar.

Lidar effortlessly blocked the reflex attacks of the two as he held the tip of their swords. "That was a nice stroke." The man grinned as he gently pushed the weapons back. "Why are you still here? Have you not heard about the invasion that will happen tomorrow?

"Li-Lidar. X-1 that's Lidar!" GreyWitZ could not believe what he was seeing. A man in black-gilded cuirass with a greatsword hung on his back; the strongest human player was standing before him now.

"We're not afraid, Lord Lidar. We want to witness how you'll defend this city against the Six Purgatories." X-1 immediately bowed on his knees, while GreyWitZ was hesitant at first before he followed suit.

"Haha. There's no need to be formal. Stand up. Alright, I'll be expecting your help then in defending this city." Lidar laughed as he seemed to be serious in enlisting the two measly rookies for the defence of Alistor. "If worse things happen, immediately go to the sewers. A secret passage could be found near the tree, north of the pole where the Titans' banner is hung. Do you understand?"

"Aye! We won't fail you, Master Lidar." The two swordsmen bowed.

Lidar grinned as he disappeared in a blur in front of the two.

"X-1. Tell me that I'm not dreaming. That was Lidar, right?" GreyWitZ's eyes were disbelieving.

...

Lidar was now standing on the parapet of the walls of the main gate, surveying the greenery outside of Alistor's southern area. Beside him was a white-bearded man, wearing golden robes and holding a large brown wooden staff.

"Guild Leader. What's the situation?" The Human Warrior respectfully asked on the seemingly old-aged character.

"There are still no updates from our scouts, regarding the Six Purgatories and their subordinate guilds. However, any minute from now, the Seven Heavens should have arrived already." The player named DumbleBell answered.

IGN: DumbleBell

Level:?

Rank:?

Race: Human

Class: Wizard

Affiliation: Guild Leader of Titans

"I see. Do you really think that they'll take us, seriously?" Lidar nodded his head before asking another question.

"I don't think so. After all, just any one of those purgatories can stand toe to toe against us. When was the last time that you had a clash against 'him', anyway?" The Wizard answered before passing a personal question to his subordinate with an amused face.

"Are you referring to that Undefeated Demon?" Lidar grinned as he clenched his fist.

Chapter end