*Thumph thumph thumph*

 

In a large gym and training facility within the Demobraun compound, Elle, who wore a tight white crop top and black yoga pants and with her medium hair tied to a high ponytail, was hitting a punching bag. There were people older than her that observed her.

 

[The young lady’s form is perfect, as usual.]

 

Said an old man who’s a righteous martial arts sect master with long white hair and beard. He was the representative of the observers that were the trainers hired to give Elle self defense training ever since she was a child.

 

[I could never get tired watching the lady put our teachings together into something perfect.]

 

Said another old man who’s a martial arts cult master with a completely bald head and intimidating stature. Normally, martial artists of different kinds and disciplines would be at each other’s throats, arguing over which one is better. With Elle at the center, they united and became an unofficial committee of martial artists who shared knowledge with each other to perfect their fighting techniques.

 

[Despite being a professional, I’ve learned so much from the lady and everyone here, and right now I’m still learning. I’m so envious of those who've been teaching her since the start.]

 

Said a lean yet muscular man who’s a mixed martial arts professional fighter. Initially, there were only a few trainers hired to teach Elle self defense. Masters from all over the world caught wind of the sudden increase in proficiency of a small group of self defense experts and came to see how. They ended up joining the group that taught Elle without accepting pay.

 

[I bet Elle could cripple multiple grown men with her bare hands, haha!]

 

Said a western looking woman who’s an agent of a military agency. After a few years of seeing Elle’s talent and how she absorbed everything like a dry sponge, the trainers eventually got carried away and started teaching her and each other techniques that are not only for self defense. Secret techniques, forbidden techniques, deadly techniques, weapons, survival, etc. They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn't stop to think if they should.

 

(Too bad I had to share our secret assassination techniques, but considering the amount I’m learning here..)

 

Thought a man who looked like a common trainer, but was actually an undercover spy. The trainer group was actually infiltrated by spies and assassins from various organizations, private and government, to learn. They had to share their own knowledge to avoid getting kicked out of the group. Without Elle knowing, the best and deadliest spies and assassins were produced around her.

 

*SLAM* *Creak creak*

 

With a strong last hit, the punching bag swung and its chains squeaked. Betty, in her usual maid uniform, came with a drink and a towel to wipe Elle’s sweat.

 

*Phew* (These modern world techniques are something else.)

 

Elle couldn’t help but think so a lot of times during her intensive trainings. The fighting techniques were something that could never exist in her previous world that relied more on magic.

 

[Good work, young lady. Please rest now, so you don’t strain your body.]

[Alright. Thanks.]

[I can’t say I’m not glad you’re suspended from school, now that you’ll have more time to train with us this coming week. You didn’t use these techniques on people in your school now, did you?]

[They’re too weak and dumb to even consider it.]

[Hoho, as expected of the lady!]

 

After the trainer representative finished speaking with Elle, the trainers concluded the session and left. They spoke amongst themselves on their way out. They were brainstorming, thinking up new things for them to teach Elle.

 

One of the trainers remained and went to speak to Elle. The western woman from a military agency. She had medium length blonde hair, her face had serious and strong features, and she wore white BDUs¹Battle Dress Uniform. Camouflaged uniform used in the military.. She was a relatively new comer to the trainer group, though the CQC²Close-quarters combat. A close proximity engagement involving small firearms, melee weapons, and hand-to-hand combat. lessons she gave seemed very practical and were probably learned from experience.

 

[Ms Voyevoda?]

[Good work, Elle. Have you considered my offer?]

[Yes. For now, I will continue with school until I graduate, then I’ll see what you can offer.]

[Thank you.]

[However, this isn’t the first time I’m scouted. There are other recruiters in consideration as well.]

[Then I’ll just have to make sure to show you our techniques are more superior than theirs.]

 

The woman introduced herself as Voyevoda when she first came, probably an alias or a codename. She was one among many military and intelligence agents from different organizations that were eyeing Elle. And among those organizations, hers was one of those that protected Elle and those around her from the more forceful recruiters without Elle knowing. It will be one of her advantages once it’s time for Elle to decide on her career. She knew Elle was not one to be controlled using forceful methods.

 

[I’ve been meaning to ask you something, if you don’t mind. This might become useful to the other people that I train.]

[Sure, what is it?]

[Elle, what drives you to train this hard? Despite your immense talent and not joining any competitions or not having a clear career path, you still spared no effort in improving yourself.]

 

It was one of the gripes of most of Elle’s honest trainers. A talent hidden away from the world.

 

[I just don’t feel comfortable being weak.]

 

When Elle awoke to the memories of her past life, being a weak human child with no magic made her unsettled. She herself asked her father to hire people to train her, though it didn’t work out at first as the first trainers hired weren’t proficient enough to handle Elle.

 

[It’s also fun learning many ways to break a human.]

[Oh? Then, you’ll find our place enjoyable. After all, we also teach ways to break someone not only physically, but mentally and psychologically as well.]

[Ahem!] Betty

 

Betty interrupted the conversation that seemed to go a weird direction before they could get carried away.

 

[It’s almost time for Elle’s lunch.] Betty

[Right. Sorry for taking too much of your time. See you in the next training session.] Voyevoda

 

Voyevoda joined the other trainers that were leaving the facility. Elle and Betty also left and returned to the mansion.

 

---

 

After bathing to wash off her sweat, Elle, now in an elegant casual dress, had lunch with Betty in the mansion dining area. Normally, the maids were to have their lunch separately from their masters, but Elle forced Betty as always to eat with her. They occupied adjacent seats on the long dining table that could accommodate up to 15 people with each having enough space for a full course meal and a servant at their side.

 

[Elle, you need to be more careful of those shady and dangerous organizations. What if you get involved with some kind of syndicate?]

[I’ll be fine. They’re the ones who should be careful.]

[Voyevoda’s especially scary, though.]

 

Elle shrugged at Betty’s warnings.

 

[So, did you have fun in DWO?]

[I enjoyed it. I’m gonna login regularly.]

[Ooh, then we’ll get to play together once you catch up.]

[Speaking of DWO, I received a message from the company that manages it.]

[Huh?]

 

Elle took her phone that was on the side of the table, navigated through it, then put it back down the table. A holographic screen big enough for Betty to see appeared above it, showing the message.

 

[They're gonna include clips of you in their live broadcast later?]

[I already approved of it, but it seems they also need approval from father, so we'll see. Wanna see the sample they sent?]

[No, I wanna see it in the live broadcast.]

 

*Brrr* *Brrr* Betty's phone that was also on the side of the table vibrated. She tapped twice on its screen to check the notification. A small holographic screen only clearly visible to her appeared.

 

[It seems your uncle, Mr Raymond, will come over for the weekend along with Jonah and the twins. They'll arrive this evening together with Mr Demobraun and join us for dinner.]

[CleFai, huh? And their toy.]

[Don’t call Jonah their toy. The twins look up to you. You’re such a bad influence to them.]

[I never mentioned Jonah, though. You yourself are thinking of him as the twins’ toy.]

[Muuu!]

 

Clementine and Fainabelle, the twin sisters three years younger than Elle, Jonathan, the twins’ brother two years older than Elle, and Raymond, the older brother of Elle’s father. Although Elle didn’t have siblings, she had cousins that came close.

 

[Poor Jonah, losing all his confidence and self esteem with his accomplishments trampled by you with a smirk. His sisters that used to cling to him now turned into mini versions of you. Don’t you feel sorry for him? He’s supposed to be the Demobraun successor, you know?]

 

Betty tried to make Elle feel guilty. Instead, Elle smiled at the nostalgia of her breaking Jonah’s spirit and stealing the favor of his sisters.

 

[Ugh..anyway, your father and uncle will probably continue teaching Jonah about being the family head here, while the twins are probably just tagging along to play with you. Don’t teach them bad stuff!]

[It’s what uncle wants, though. I’ll have them conquer the social circles.]

 

To Raymond Demobraun, the pros outweigh the cons of having the twins learn from Elle. With a big and high profile family, he believed a bit of cunning would be helpful once the twins got involved with family matters. He wouldn’t let the twins near Elle if he thought otherwise.

 

[Alright, you can start cleaning up now. Thanks for the meal.]

 

*Clatter clatter* Betty gathered the tableware they used. Elle was about to leave the dining area, but she stopped to ask Betty something.

 

[By the way, what's that live broadcast you mentioned earlier?]

[DWO Official is scheduled to go live soon. They will show upcoming events and contents, and answer some questions and complaints. You can watch it from the official website. You don't have anything else to do for a while, right? Maybe you'll find something interesting there.]

[Okay, I'll check it out while there's nothing to do.]

 

---

 

In the mansion living room, which was a large modern designer home living room with a glass wall on one side that had a great view of the garden and pools, Elle lounged on the spacious sofa near the fireplace and fiddled with her phone.

 

[Ms Eleanor, please mind your manners. Your underwear is showing.]

*Yawn*

 

A different maid at the side warned Elle. Elle lazily fixed her unkempt dress while still lying on the sofa.

 

(It's about time for the livestream.)

 

Elle connected her phone to the large TV mounted at the side of the fireplace away from the glass wall, then she casted the livestream to the TV.

 

*Knock knock*

 

Someone knocked on the door, then the maid opened it and Betty entered the room.

 

[Oh Betty, done with the dishes? Come sit with me. You there, you may go.] Elle

[Good work. I'll take over from here.] Betty

[Thank you.] Maid

 

The maid left quietly and closed the door on her way out, then Betty went to sit on the same sofa where Elle laid. When Betty sat down, Elle squirmed to reposition herself and use Betty's lap as a pillow. Elle's dress became unkempt again, and Betty reached to fix it.

 

[Looks like it's about to start.]

 

The screen showed an empty stage on a beach side. The stage was guarded by strong looking people that prevented a crowd from climbing the stage. Elle used her phone to control their view and its zoom level. On the left of the stage was a beach shore, and on the right was a port city.

 

[That's Sixthen.]

[Facing the ocean?]

[It’s the last major fiefdom down south. Oh, it’s starting.]

 

Two magic circles appeared on the stage. It was similar to the one that appeared on Elle’s feet when she logged in or out. The magic circles shone, then a person came out of each. A young man who wore a floral print shirt and swimming trunks, and a young woman who wore a two piece bikini and her waist covered by a pareo.

 

[Everyone! Thank you for coming!] Woman

[We're your hosts, Hans] Man - Hans

[and Gretchen.] Woman - Gretchen

[Welcome to our monthly DWO Official Live!] Both

 

The two greeted and waved at the crowd. They also waved at the floating orb, which was the camera for online viewers.

 

[Now remember, for the sake of the online viewers not logged into the game, this stage and the vicinity around it is currently running in real-time as always. The other fiefdoms' fountain vicinity that displays a holographic screen of our live as well.] Hans

[Is this how time magic works in DWO?] Gretchen

 

When Elle pointed their view towards the port city and zoomed in. They saw people that moved twelve times faster.

 

[Speaking of time magic, there's a showcase of it in our consolidated highlights of regular events from the past month. From Seconden siege defense.] Hans

[Wow, such an advanced magic from an event meant for lower level players.] Gretchen

[Rest assured, the time magic user there wasn't overleveled for the event. It's the opposite, actually. Stay tuned, everyone, we'll show the event highlights in the latter part of the live.] Hans

 

[That's probably you.] Betty

[Am I the only one who can use time magic?] Elle

[Maybe there are others, but not in Seconden, and not that flashy.] Betty

 

Some of the crowd were curious about what the hosts were talking about. The ones that weren't already seen videos of the recent Seconden event and guessed that it was what the hosts spoke about.

 

[Okay! Without further ado, here are the upcoming cosmetic items coming this month!] Gretchen

*Cheers*

[Those who missed out on past cosmetic items, some will be revived in this month's lineup] Hans 

 

The two hosts separated, then a holographic screen appeared between them. The live broadcast switched to what was shown in the holographic screen on the stage. It showed various cosmetic items and the prices, as well as the release dates that were in batches on a weekly basis until the next live. There were weapon and armor type specific ones that were either one-time use or reusable, themes that were either timed to expire or perpetual, etc.

 

[Why not just make those in-game?] Elle

[I don't think anyone would be able to make a bikini armor defensive enough. They'll have to use cosmetic items to make their high defense armor take the form of bikini armor.] Betty

 

Betty pointed at the bikini armor shown among the showcased cosmetic items.

 

[But there is an option to make one on your own. It will turn out as a regular equipment at first, then a certain cash item can convert it into a cosmetic. The conversion item is expensive, though, and the equipment will lose its effects.]

[I see. Is that how you made the cosmetic theme that you gave to me?]

[Yeah. Aside from the cosmetic conversion cash item, I also used “imagined form” and “undroppable” cosmetic enchantment cash items.]

[And how much did those cost you?]

[I..rather not say. Ehehe..]

 

The live continued to showcase cosmetic items.

 

[That seems a lot. They release that much every month?]

[Those sell like hotcakes, you know. Cosmetics might as well be the game's main source of income. You'll start to meet users of those cosmetic items in Thirden and beyond, since that's when people start to earn enough gold to trade with cash users.]

[That's ridiculous. Who'd even use something like that bikini armor from before?]

[You'd be surprised, haha. Don't you have an urge to wear something you can't in real life?]

[Like you in that cosplay-type maid dress?]

[It's cute! Oh, it's over.]

 

The cosmetic item showcase ended, then the live broadcast returned to the controllable camera. The hosts started chatting about the showcased cosmetic items, hyping it further.

 

[So aside from cosmetics, what are the other cash items in DWO?] Elle

[Those with effects that don't have impact significant enough to make the game considered "pay-to-win", like death penalty reduction items, XP boosters, or special encounter boosters.] Betty

[Special encounter?]

[That ogre berserker you fought was a special encounter. Monsters wielding high rank weapons that you can take after killing them are also special encounters.]

[That reminds me, I wanted to ask you something about item ranks.]

[Hmm?]

 

The hosts continued to talk about cosmetic items while trying some themselves, but Elle and Betty didn't pay attention to it much. Elle wanted to ask Betty about ranks when she was about to sleep the night after Seconden's event, but didn't get a response that time.

 

[How good is an S rank for me to get it while I'm just in Seconden?]

[Did you get one from the berserker? Well, a Seconden S rank item is as good as a Thirden A rank, Fourthen or Fifthen B rank, and Sixthen C rank.]

[Is that so? Actually, I made an SS rank light armor out of the berserker materials.]

[WHAT?!]

 

Betty raised her voice in surprise. The head maid would have her forehead veins swelling in anger if she saw.

 

[Noisy..] Elle

[S-so, it's as strong as a Thirden S rank.] Betty

[I guess?]

[PKers will target you for that, so you better not show its info around! It won't stop people from finding out if you're using it and you get appraised, though..]

[They can try.]

[Have you never died yet?]

[I did once, by myself.]

[...]

 

Betty looked down her lap where Elle laid. There, she saw Elle smiling smugly.

 

[Ugh, whatever. Let’s just continue watching, looks like they’ve moved on to the next topic already.] Betty

 

Elle and Betty put their attention back to the live broadcast. The hosts spoke to the crowd in a hyped manner.

 

[Are you guys ready for tonight's special event?!] Gretchen

*Cheers*

[How long have we been waiting, finally. However! Is everyone truly ready?] Hans

[What do you mean?] Gretchen

[It looks like we will be facing enemies that make current bosses look small fry.] Hans

[Hee? Let's see what the Sixthen margrave will say about that. Everyone, please pay attention to this next video.] Gretchen

 

The hosts separated again to show a holographic screen, and the live broadcast switched again. It showed a black screen.

 

[The enemy attacks have intensified lately.] ?

*Dun dun*

 

A deep and rasped voice resounded, then the video showed a slow mo of Sixthen port city and its soldiers being attacked by monsters, accompanied by a dramatic background music.

 

[We fended them off for now, but we won't last if this continues.] Husky voice

 

The scene changed into what looked like the aftermath of the city after the monster attack, as seen from a high place by an old yet strong looking noble-like person in the largest building in the city.

 

[The shipyards are ready, milord.] Soldier

 

A soldier came and said so to the noble.

 

[Then, I guess it's time. Prepare the armada! We’ll bring the fight to them!] Husky voice - noble

 

The scene changed. Soldiers marched as they boarded huge five mast ships.

 

[Only the best will be useful for this mission.] Noble

 

The scene changed again. It showed an incredibly muscular bald man who was half naked. He used a huge sword to cut a huge turtle monster with a rocky shell in half, along with everything behind it.

 

[Those strong enough to cut mountains in half.] Noble

 

A red haired woman who wore a witch-like robes and pointed hat. She raised her staff and summoned a meteor on a crowd of monsters.

 

[Those that can wipe hordes with a single magic.] Noble

 

A blue haired boy who wore light clothing and had white feather wings coming out of his back. He flew as he led a group of people of bird-type races to summon a thunderous tornado over the seas.

 

[Those that can control the weather itself.]

 

Elle who wore her Gothic Travel Gear. She stopped a dragon and everything else around it in a colorless dome.

 

[Time itself.] Noble

 

Elle who was still in her travel gear. She brought a dragon down with a javelin throw from the sky, taking down other players along with it as the floor where the dragon stood fell into the fissure.

 

[Those that are resolved to sacrifice even their allies to win.] Noble

 

Then, the scene changed to one of the huge wooden ships within pitch black darkness in the middle of the ocean as a storm raged. It was wrapped by a giant squid monster as it faced fleets of ghost ships boarded by monsters.

 

[So tell me, resurrectors.] Noble

*Flash* *Boom*

 

Lightning struck from a distance, followed by the delayed sound of thunder. The flash of the lightning showed a silhouette of a distant giant tentacle monster that seemed ten storeys tall.

 

[Are you ready?] Noble

 

The screen turned to black, then a stylish text slowly on screen with the silhouette of the tentacle monster behind it..

 

~~~

SIXTHEN ARMADA

Dream World Online

2***-08-27 00:00 *ST

~~~

 

After a few seconds, the voice resounded again while the screen still displayed the text.

 

[What lies beyond that the monsters guard this heavily, I wonder. We'll see..if we survive.] Noble