Martial Online.

As Julian and Zadkiel entered the room, it felt like the whole world held their breaths, but then floods of messages filled the Martial Online forums and the internet as a whole.

It wasn't unexpected that they qualified, and if they hadn't, it would've been the biggest surprise in the whole tournament yet.

Zadkiel's fans were overjoyed and had already celebrated so hard that one would think that they had already won the whole tournament.

Julian's fans were more discreet and were quietly confident in their chances in the tournament.

Since Julian neither streamed nor made videos, his fanbase wasn't that big, but everyone knew him and appreciated his skill.

"Congratulations, The Titans!" Graham clapped his hands and then looked at the fourth door.

"Let's welcome the fourth team to qualify!"

The door swung open and revealed a pair of identical-looking people, but of different genders.

One smiled cheerfully, which instantly melted the hearts of the audience, while her teammate coldly looked around.

"Kiramise Twins!"

"Wohoo!" Cleo cheered and laughed happily while waving towards the camera.

Leo stood behind his sister with his arms crossed, but then felt a powerful presence next to them and glanced briefly at them.

Julian exchanged glances with him and narrowed his eyes.

It was as if there was an unspoken tension between them.

'Powerful one.' Julian came to a conclusion and smiled slightly. 'Good. It looks like the finals won't be boring.'

Leo looked away and closed his eyes in meditation.

…

"Haha, those are my kids, all right!"

A well-toned man sat cross-legged inside his school of martial arts and looked at the television with a large grin.

His students were clapping and whistling loudly towards the screen.

"Oh my."

At that moment, a beautiful middle-aged woman came from the back of the room with a tray of drinks in hand and smiled at the screen.

"Cleo and Leo, oh my." She was overwhelmed with joy to see her children on television.

"Haha, I knew they would make it through!" The well-toned man said proudly. "I taught them, after all!"

"Modest as always." His wife rolled her eyes and playfully nudged him.

Then she put the tray aside and clapped her hands excitedly. "Celebrations are on order. I'll also order the tickets to Loch City!"

…

"The fifth team to qualify is this team, Colonel's Assistants!"

The fifth door swung open, and a pair of serious-looking men stepped through with their backs straightened and a long stride in their steps.

They looked very serious and were the kind of people who wouldn't enjoy jokes.

"They all look soft." Evan, a sharp jawlined man said with a scornful look. "They wouldn't last a day in our line of work."

"If we hadn't qualified, we might as well drop dead!" His teammate, Gregory, said loudly.

Gregory had a high nose bridge that gave him an air of superiority, and he wore straight-sleeved jackets that made him look even more arrogant.

They were part of the Black Legion—an infamous military organization that operated near the High Seas.

They were called mercenaries, but they preferred to think of themselves as soldiers of fortune.

They worked for the country that paid them the most, which made them criminals in most of the countries.

However, they weren't criminals in the country where cities such as Loch City and Nocklund were located, allowing them to compete freely in the tournament.

Nocklund and Loch City were in a country called the Land of Everdream. The Land of Everdream had looser regulations when it came to mercenary work, allowing the Black Legion to still operate near them.

High Seas was also not that far from the Land of Everdream, where pirates frequently raided merchant ships for their treasure.

…

On a three-sailed ship, the sound of alcohol bottles clinking echoed throughout the air.

It was a ship belonging to the Black Legion.

"Haha, Evan and Gregory showed those brats their place!" The drunken mercenaries celebrated with laughter.

At the captain's quarters, a long-bearded man with a sword for a hand sat with a cup of wine on the other hand.

There was a small television mounted on the wall that wasn't that high quality.

Currently, it was showing the tournament while occasionally turning to black-and-white static.

"Good job, Evan and Gregory." The captain laughed and walked to the door before opening it with his sword hand.

"Set sail for the Land of Everdream. We're going to Loch City, men!"

…

As time moved by, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth teams were also introduced to the rest of the world.

At that moment, the tenth door opened, and loud stomping reverberated throughout the room.

Everyone turned to look at the door and saw two, very large men stepping through with bare chests and only loincloths covering them from the waist down.

At first, some thought they were some kind of exhibitionist, but after a further glance, they realized that they were most likely just wannabe sumo fighters.

"Hohoo!" Yokozuna cheered loudly and laughed. "We made it through."

"We did it, boss!" Ozeki said excitedly. "We're finally going to get girlfriends!"

A few players felt their eyebrows twitching after hearing them.

…

In a sumo dojo somewhere in the Land of Everdreams.

"Huh, it's them!" A surprised-looking sumo fighter said as he pointed at the television. "They actually qualified? The hell."

At that moment, a nearly two-meter-tall sumo fighter with a menacing scowl approached from behind; his shadow loomed over them.

He was the teacher of this sumo school, and he was one of the highest-ranking sumo fighters in the entire world at the moment.

As he saw two of his former sumo students standing on the television, his eyebrow clearly twitched.

He kicked them out because of their lack of respect for their sumo culture. They wanted to create their own sumo that would help them become even more powerful, which created a rift among them.

They said that they would show them that kicking them would be a mistake and that they would become the strongest dojo in the entirety of Martial Online.

They laughed at that idea, as first of all, they didn't care about Martial Online, and second, they thought they lacked the talent and skill to ever become the strongest dojo.

"He calls himself Yokozuna." The tall sumo fighter said with a scoff. "Kuro, how arrogant of you."

"What shall we do?" A student of his asked.

"Nothing. We'll continue training. The next sumo tournament is just around the corner!"

"Yes, master!"

As his students returned to training, the sumo teacher turned back to the television and frowned. 'I wonder how strong your sumo is now, Kuro!'

…contemporary romance

Yokozuna and Ozeki stopped on their own platforms and looked at other players in the room, but to not look weak, they focused on maintaining their composure.

At that moment, the door beside them slowly opened, revealing the 11th team to qualify for the finals.

"Ah…"

A bright, yellow-haired man entered the room with his arm loosely hanging beside his body. It was almost cut off, only hanging from a few strands of skin.

A gray-haired man followed after him, and quickly closed the door behind them. He then collapsed on the ground with clear signs of exhaustion.

It looked like they had to fight through a long and grueling battle to reach their destination.

"W-we made it through?" The gray-haired man asked weakly.

"Congratulations, Team Rothsmith!"

Graham announced their team name, and as the name Rothsmith was spoken out, many ears perked up in curiosity.

Sunseeker, the yellow-haired man, and Moonshadow, the gray-

haired man, sighed heavily with wounds all around their bodies.

They were the team that the Rothsmith family paid a lot to have on their side!

They were a famous duo—Sunseeker and Moonshadow!

done.co