A New World: Middle Kingdom Book 1

by Mike Han

  Prologue

  Damien walked into the darkened laboratory. The technician monitoring the multiple screen looked up and greeted “Evening security chief, what can I do to help you?”

  “What are the status of our subjects? Have we began receiving the data telemetry yet?”

  “Yes Sir,” the technician replied. “We have three green lights. Unfortunately we have lost all connection for the other subjects. Professor Liam was here a moment ago. His analysis was that the other subjects either couldn’t survive the transition or their spawn location was not ideal. However he seem quite overjoyed.”

  “Of course! This is after all his crown achievement and will sure be a subject for much discussion among his peers. He is right of course. Anyone would love to dig out this secret from him. That is why he is so secretive and even though we are collaborating with him, we still could not figure out how all these worked. Well, let’s hope our subjects can provide the data for him to refine this process. Thanks and keep me updated if anything out of ordinary happened to the rest of the subjects.” With that, Damien walked out of the room.

  Chapter One

  Initializing…

  Welcome to Middle Earth. Please input your name.

  My Name? That’s easy. My name is… That’s strange. I can’t seem to remember my name. I can’t seem to remember anything. What is happening? Where am I? Wait… I remember that I am called Jun. WTF!?! Why can’t I remember anything else and why the **** can’t I seem to move? Hello?! Anyone there? Damnit… looks like I can only just input my name for now.

  Jun, welcome to Middle Kingdom. Please do not feel alarmed for your temporary loss of memory. As stated in the contract, as part of the Alpha tester team, you will be subjected to memory suppression to ensure better immersion in this virtual world during the testing period of a year. Enjoy the martial world of adventure.

  As I pondered the last part of the message, the virtual darkness began to recede. The sound of rolling wheels on a rough ground intruded into my senses first, followed by the rolling sensation from a moving vehicle. As the surrounding gained light and color, I found myself in a boxed-up area, which I soon realized was a wagon with shades-drawn windows along the sides. Lifting up one of the shades, I discovered that I was alone in a carriage that appeared to be heading towards a small village in the distance.

  “Hey mister! Are you awake yet? We will be reaching our destination soon” A voice called out to me from the front of the carriage.

  Destination? What destination? Oh man, I seem to have signed some agreement to play some virtual game for a year. A FREAKING LONG YEAR! I am going to kill myself when this is done, that’s if I remember why I do such a stupid thing in the first place. Okay, let’s see. If this is a game, I should be able to activate some menu or character sheet. Hmmm… Let’s see. Oh! A prompt at the corner of my vision. Wait, let me activate it. Okay, this is stupid. I can’t touch it. Now I get it, I just need to focus on it to activate it. This game sucks! Where is the game guide? Hello game developers! If you are listening to me, YOU GUYS SUCK! How do you expect us to play this game if we can’t remember anything?

  Enough of ranting. Let’s see. Ah my stats…

  Character Name: Jun

  School: Nil

  Strength: Weak as a pup

  I couldn’t help but notice the absence of any attribute, as well as a lack of information. There was not even a class description. This is so frustrating! Was it designed this way or is there a bug? I look around for some sort of help icon but could find no means to contact any moderator for help.What is school or this strength description? Did I miss a step in the character creation? I don’t have a choice to choose any class? This is crazy, I don’t want to play as a peasant for six months of testing. So many questions but no way to get any answers. I clenched my fist in annoyance as I kept looking at the information screen.

  A sudden jerk and the carriage began to slow down and a moment later, came to a halt. “Mister, we have reached the destination. You can come down now.”

  Closing the information screen, I slowly got off the carriage and for the first time, took a look around to see where I am. From what I could gather, it seem that I am along what looked like a quaint medieval village situated by a river. The rendering is so perfect. Everything look so real. Sights of children playing near the reeds at the river, while people haggle at the market in the front of the village was so life-like, for a moment I was confused as to whether I was in a virtual world or the real world. There was nothing that I could see to let me know who is a player and a NPC. Looking around, I noticed that the carriage stop had been set up just at the entrance of the village and I could see other wagons and carriages approaching this stop point. As I was looking around and wondering what I should be doing now, I noticed a giant of a man beckoning to me to approach.

  “Young man, you seem lost! Do you need any help?” the giant smiled at me knowingly.

  Ah! I should have guessed that the developers would put someone at the beginner area to help beginner like me.

  Giving him a quick nod; the giant smiled and continued, “I am Shang. People around here called me Old Man Shang. So what can I do for you, young man?”

  “Old Man Shang, I am new in town and would greatly appreciate any advice you can give to me. By the way, are you the GM, player or NPC, if you can answer me, please?”

  Shang gave out a laugh. “I like a humble young man but I do not understand what you mean. What is GM, player or NPC? Are you talking about gambling? No? Alright, you don’t look local. Did you come from a distant land? You don’t look like a trader or a merchant too. If I may add, am I correct to say that you have come to seek knowledge on the scared art from the major schools in the Middle Kingdom?”

  Alright, this is weird. I can’t tell if this person talking to me is a player or an NPC. Guess I just have to play by ear. Scared art? Major schools? Middle Kingdom? Well, the welcome message did mention something about martial world and this probably is the Middle Kingdom. So this virtual world is probably based on some scared art fighting style, and not the typical knight and magic type of adventure. Okay then, time to go with the flow.

  “Shang, you are wise. I am not local and had come to this place seeking knowledge on the scared art. However as you can see, I am young and ignorant so would like to seek your advice on this.”

  Shang gave a loud laugh and said, “You found the right man! When I was young, I was a disciple from the Monastery and trained under the Elder of the Tiger Hall. However, I was not suitable for the life of a monk and left after learning from them for a year. But the skills I had learnt benefited me after which I joined an escort agency and travelled around the middle kingdom transporting valuable goods. Now I am retired but I still keep abreast of the news and rumors of the schools in middle kingdom.

  There are six major schools in the middle kingdom. They are the Monastery, the Balance, the Flying Knife School, the Imperial School, the Eagle Claw and the Beggar Sect. Which of these interest you?”

  “All of them sound so interesting. Could you give me more information about each of them?”

  “Hmmm, alright. Of these six schools, the Monastery, Balance and Beggar Sect are known to be the orthodox sects. This means that their members are not allowed to commit crimes or any acts of depravity, and must be chivalrous towards people of needs. The Flying Knife and Imperial School are neutral and their members, other than no harm to school and fellow disciples, are not bounded by such restrictions. The Eagle Claw was rumored to be formed by survivors from Evil Demon Clan that was destroyed some fifty years ago. Though their disciples had yet to be indicted for any crimes, there had been rumors
that the school was involved.”

  Evil Demon Clan? That sounds interesting.

  “My former school, the Monastery, was founded by Buddhist followers and one of the oldest school in Middle Kingdom. The followers practice martial arts, for self-defense as well as to uphold justice. Over the years, many brilliant disciples have refined their skills and the sect is known as the strongest sect in the kingdom. Though there are many types of skills to be learnt there, their mainstay skills are predominantly their Long-Style Fist and their Da Mo staff.

  If the Monastery is known for their hard and explosive martial skills, the Balance is known for their soft and subduing power. This sect focused on the building of internal strength, using their unique breathing technique, which formed the core of their martial skills. If there truly is a school that can rival the Monastery, it will be the Balance Sect. Their skills’ strength lies in the Demon Banishing sword and Silky Fist.

  The Beggar Sect is actually more like a society than a school. Their founding was initiated by the forming of a group of beggars to protect themselves from bullies, as they form the lowest class in society. Over many years of wars and calamities, this sect had slowly solidified as a base to gather societies’ outcasts and orphans. With the emergence of strong leaders over the years, this sect had gained structure and their leaders had developed skills to teach their members to protect themselves and other unfortunates. They are known to be proficient in their quarterstaff skill and Begging Palm style.

  The Flying Knife School is mysterious and their members seldom divulged their abilities. What is known is that their disciples’ primary skill appeared to be the Flying Dagger. Another well-known ability is their disciples’ quickness and lightness of steps. Many experts had tried to catch their disciples and yet no one had been known to be successful.

  Imperial School was a recently established school. Though its history does not rival that of the other major sects, in the decades that it was formed, its disciples had gained a name for the sect as being ruthless in accomplishing its goals. The founding master of the school was a retired imperial guard, and was given special permission by the Monarch to use the title “Imperial” and the school still maintained its connection with the imperial establishments. Their disciples consist mainly of members from the aristocracies and the school motto of “Fast, Deadly and Lethal” adequately described their Wind Blade and Grappling techniques.

  Lastly, the Eagle Claw sect. The recent emergence of this sect was shrouded in mystery and rumors abound of the founding members being survivors from the long-past Evil Demon Clan. Many members of the orthodox sects who had tried to duel with their disciples, described them using a lethal claw technique that often lead to their defeats.

  So young man, after hearing all these, which school are you interested in? Maybe I can use my influence to help you get an audience in joining the school.”

  Wow, all these schools sound so interesting. Though the Monastery boast the strongest school, however I really doubt I would enjoy spending my time training with monks. Being a beggar really doesn’t meet my definition of fun time. Flying Dagger sounds interesting but jumping around and shooting stars is not really my style. So we are left with Balance, Imperial School and Eagle Claw. I don’t think I want to play a bad guy for now and am definitely not an aristocrat. So seems like I am left with the Balance.

  Turning towards Shang, “Mister Shang, I have decided that I would like to join the Balance and learn from them.”

  Shang gave me a nod and said “Excellent choice. Here, take this emblem. Elder Hao of the Balance Sect is an old friend of mine and had gifted this to me when I helped him with a task in the past. Fortunately for you, the Crane Hall which he belonged to, are currently still recruiting newcomers as disciples. Seeing this emblem should put you in a favorable light for recruitment.”

  The emblem that I held displayed a chest with a sword over it. Giving a bow towards Shang, “Thank you, kind Sir. If you can provide me with the direction to the Balance School, I will be on my way.”

  “Don’t worry, I have a wagon heading towards that direction. You can catch a ride.” Following that, Shang grab hold of me and hauled me like a bag of potatoes towards one of the carriages at the stop point. Just before pushing me in, he continued, “Young man, you have a good rest. You will need it for the grueling trial to enter the school. Good luck.” With that, he gave me a push and close the door.

  What a peculiar turn of event this had been was my last thought, before everything faded into darkness as fatigue overcome me and I fell asleep along with the rolling motion of the carriage.

  Chapter Two

  “Young man, wake up. You have reached your destination.”

  A sound pierced through my troubled sleep as I yawned and shrugged off my sleepiness. Looking out the window, I realized it was just past noon outside and slowly stepped out of the carriage. For a moment, something from that voice nagged at me. Then I realized that it was Old Man Shang. “Mister Shang, I didn’t realize that you were the one who drove me here. By the way, where is this place?”

  Shang smiled and sweep his hand across the surrounding. “We are at the foot of Mount Pinnacle. If you look over there, near the shadow of the mountain, you can see the entrance to the Balance sect. Do you still have that emblem I gave you?”

  Nodding absentmindedly, I took out the emblem that he gave me back in the village while looking carefully where Shang was pointing. Indeed, about 500 feet away, there was an archway with the placard at the top written “Balance Sect”.

  Next, Shang waved to get my attention and pointed off to the side of the archway and said “If you walked further off that way about a mile, there is a village called Balance village. The people from that village had decided to reside near to Balance sect to enjoy protection from brigands. Well, young man, it’s time for me to go. I hope that you will learn well from the school and in future, will see a hero-in-the-making.” With a smile and a wave, he turned around, jumped up the carriage and drove away before I got say anything.

  “Thanks Old Man Shang and hope to see you soon.” I shouted at him. A wave from him was all the acknowledgement I got as his carriage disappeared into the distance. As I slowly turned and walked towards the archway, I began to feel anxious about my choice of school. Was this really the right choice for me? Should I have chosen something else? So I was caught by surprise when I heard a voice called out to me from the shadow as I reached the archway.

  “Hmmm, good evening young man. Did you come to seek entry to the Balance sect?”

  Startled, I jumped back before finally noticing a frail-looking old man in worn-out attire near the archway with a broom in hand. He was looking intently at the emblem that Old Man Shang had given me when I left the carriage. I must have been so engrossed in my situation that I had failed to notice the old man when I arrived. Deciding that it is better to be courteous when possible, I quickly addressed the old man:

  “Good evening, Sir. I am sorry for failing to notice you when I arrived. My name is Jun and to answer your question, yes, I had come to seek entry into the Balance sect. Would you, kind Sir, please direct me as to how to properly gain entry into the sect?”

  “Well, well, young master Jun. It is nice to notice that there are such courteous outstanding young candidates, after all. Indeed, you are not the first to arrive and I had greeted several candidates over these few days, but you been the most courteous among them.” He gave out a laugh and then pointed behind the archway at a series of stairs that seem to extend all the way up to the mountain. Just four hundred feet up and I could not see where the stairs seem to spiral its way round the mountain. “Follow the steps all the way to the top till you reached another archway. That will be the first entry into the Hall of Crane. An elder from Balance sect will be there to greet you.” Turning away, he began sweeping the area around the archway.

  “Thank you, kind Sir for your assistance. Do you require any help with your chores?” I inquired, but without t
urning towards me, he shook his head. “In that case, Sir, I’ll be on my way. Take care.” I began the tedious quest to climb up the mountain.

  In the end, it took me near three hours before I reached the archway that was mentioned by the old man, and the sun was about to set over the horizon. I was drenched in sweat and my legs muscles were protesting to the three hours hike up the mountain. During the three hours hike, there was no one that I noticed along the way and nothing to capture my interest. The surrounding was just the stone stairs and the green scrubs common among mountainous area. It was a relief when I saw the archway “Crane Hall”. Just as I reached the archway, someone stepped out from inside and I was shocked to see the same old man from the foot of the mountain.

  “Young master Jun, I am glad to see that you have made the trip up, although you did take longer than I have expected. I am Elder Hao and I welcome you to the Hall of Crane as a prospect disciple for the Balance Sect.”

  With slight annoyance and respect showed on my face as I bow and answered: “Greeting, Elder Hao. Thanks for your direction up the mountain and your welcome to the Balance sect. However if I might ask without appearing rude, how did you ascend up the mountain faster than me and yet I did not see you on my way up?”

  Hao gave out a laugh. “Young man, I took a faster, albeit more dangerous route. I might appear old and frail but I still have some abilities and skills.”

  Chastened by my rudeness, I was embarrassed and quickly apologize to the elder, “Elder Hao, do forgive my impudence. I do not mean to sound arrogant, I am just amazed that you arrived ahead of me, and judging from your demeanor, you have arrived way ahead of me and the route that might seemed dangerous to me, sounds easy and routine to you.”

  Shaking his head and giving me a smile, Hao approached me and patted me on my shoulder “You are still young and has a long road ahead of you. But it is good that you are humble and willing to learn. I see that Old Man Shang had given you that emblem to find me. You must have impressed him thus he gave you that emblem. Come, follow me. Let me introduce you to your fellow classmates. You arrived just in the nick of time as the recruitment will be closing at sunset, and so are the last to arrive for this year intake.”