Neon Solaris Online: Birth Of The Master Gamer

6. Martial Arts Academy

The moment the first floor opened up, it would signify the launch of the game, and the NPCs of the starting town would start to appear. Finding a class before then was crucial, and Matteo knew the place like the back of his hand.

Reaching the martial arts academy, it did not look like what some would have expected for a building. It was made of a thin material similar to the ones used by the Japanese in ancient times, giving the building its own unique taste that contrasted with the European world setting.

Neon Solaris had a way of messing with the mind like this. For Matteo, it only made the building stand out more.

"Might as well hang a sign announcing the place to everyone." He said this while ignoring the sign hanging over the entrance.

He was ready. He walked into the building while glancing over his shoulder to make sure that The Dragon was nowhere to be seen in his peripheral vision. Then he stepped inside to see some people already there, talking to a man dressed in white robes.

Matteo knew them to be veterans; they were after the warrior class. Matteo was there for an entirely different reason—he wanted to enter the secret room and find the hidden martial library.

Walking to the back of the martial academy and away from prying eyes, he approached a small memorial that held the portrait of a man without a face. The man without a face was just part of the side lore of the story and was never really important.

Matteo reached up to the portrait and pressed down on a button that lay to the side. A small hole opened in the ground, revealing a flight of stairs leading down into darkness.

Matteo started to descend just as the roof of the hidden staircase closed behind him. He had no problem staying in the dark a little longer, but he did have a problem with whoever he might find down there. Any one of the veterans could be lurking, and as much as he wanted to keep a low profile, avoiding making enemies was a good start.

The farther he walked, the more he could see light coming from the base of the staircase. He reached the bottom and found himself in a massive space that looked like a training ground. On one side, various weapons hung on the walls; on the other, a number of bookshelves were stacked with books.

What illuminated the room was a number of oil torches hung up on the wall.

Matteo set his sights on a particular bookshelf positioned at the end of the wide space. They were skill books, which would be useful when needed. He had initially expected a little competition over the books, but now that the party system had been introduced, he expected things to be much worse. He could just imagine some greedy bastards stocking up on different skill manuals for their future party members.

As he walked quietly to the back, he could hear the flipping of pages and the sound of someone by the shelf. He reached the final shelf to see a young woman at the end. To his relief, it was only one person.

The young woman was taller than him by a foot, wearing the same clothes as he did, only with a mask over her face. She glanced at him for a moment before paying him no further attention. They both knew starting a fight was foolish but of course there were those foolish enough to start one.

Matteo had a similar idea earlier, so he wrapped a small cloak he had found in the martial academy over his face.

He started to search through the books as fast as he could, causing the woman to do the same. He found a book titled Leaf Style Swordsmanship and took it. He still needed two more books. The Iron Body basic skill book, which would enhance one's stamina and endurance while granting an additional skill, and the Feather Step, which he found a moment later.

The young woman turned to face him just as she was walking away. He caught a glimpse of one of the books she had in her hand.

"Shit, she has the Iron Body skill book. She must know how valuable it is." Matteo thought as he heard her run to the part of the training hall where weapons were hung on the wall.

Intrigued by what weapon she would pick, he looked to see her take up a bow. He had initially thought she might have been The Snake, but it soon came to him—there was a player who had used the same longbow in the early levels, and he was not on her good side.

"Why would she need the iron body skill book is she was a long ranged fighter?" Matteo thought to himself.

The purpose of the underground room was to acquire some basic skill books and a weapon that would be slightly more advanced and durable than what basic beginners would be getting—it was better than nothing.

Another advantage of the room was its hidden backdoor exit. The woman seemed to know this, and she soon fled.

Knowing he was running out of time, Matteo ran for the wall of weapons to grab one or two for himself before anyone else arrived. That was when he heard a loud roar.

"I better not catch you there, Noble Zero!"

It was The Mad Dragon—the last person Matteo wanted to see.