The Shifu and His Disciple

Being under someone wasn't something Lucas was used to and he needed no Shifu (master) to guide him on this game.

[Clan Chat Channel]

Champion: C'mon Aeryn, you know how hard it is to take in new disciples now!

Aeryn Faith: You're just doing it because you need one more disciple to unlock a reward, right?

Champion: That's not it! I'm sincere about guiding our newbie!

Anyone could become a Shifu and accept disciples as long as both parties were willing. Lucas had not expected to meet someone asking him to be his Shifu so quickly. Although he hadn't thought of getting one, accepting Champion as his Shifu could help him a lot in the game. At least he'd be able to complete the lower level dungeons and daily missions faster.

[Clan Chat Channel]

Lucien Cavalier: I could really do with some guidance in this game, Shifu!

Aeryn Faith: I'm warning you, Lucien. You might regret this…

Champion: Okay! Let's team up and go complete the disciple ceremony so you can become my third official disciple!

Champion sure felt like a conman who had successfully hooked his third target. Lucas wondered who his two seniors were.

[Clan Chat Channel]

Aeryn Faith: Gosh, it's getting late already! Give him a break! Lucien, you can reconsider his offer.

Champion: I'm a very good Shifu! See, I've already accepted two disciples.

Aeryn Faith: One of them's your friend who stopped playing, the other one was naive enough to believe you can be a Shifu…

Their bickering made him laugh. It didn't matter whether Champion was a worthy Shifu because he knew the game well enough.

[Clan Chat Channel]

Champion: You're not sleeping yet, are you, Lucien?

Lucien Cavalier: Nope, we can complete the ceremony now if you'd like.

Aeryn Faith: Uh, I'm heading to bed. Remember, Lucien. There's always an option to break the Shifu and Disciple relationship.

Champion: I know you won't do that, Lucien.

[Champion has invited you to join his team.]

Completing the ceremony required the Shifu and his disciple to team up and complete a series of simple missions. Lucas gladly accepted his request.

[Champion has initiated the Team voice chat.]

"Hello, hello. You can hear me, right? Turn on your voice chat!"

Champion began blabbering into his mic. He seemed to be far more talkative than PandaHero. This must be the reason why Aeryn warned him.

Lucas pondered about using the voice chat as he was wary of others recognizing him. But he doubt his new friends had heard Ash Knight's voice before so it was safe to talk to them.

"Hi, Champion. Or do you prefer me to call you Shifu?" he greeted Champion.

"Wow, you sound young! Maybe we're about the same age!" Champion came to that conclusion after hearing Lucas' voice for the first time, and he had only spoken eleven words.

"You can call me Shifu, Champion, or Champ. Anything you prefer. Let's get started on the ceremony!"

[Champion requests you to follow him. Yes/No]

Accepting his request, he was transported to an altar on the high mountains overlooking the breathtaking view of the seas. Standing in front of him was his soon-to-be Shifu clad in light blue robes.

[Champion initiated a Hug. Accept it: Yes/No]

There were plenty of actions players can initiate - hugging, dancing, drinking, and more. Lucas accepted his hug and felt a pair of arms embracing him tightly.

"Hi, disciple! Ok, that was weird. Shall I call you Lucien? Or Cavalier? The latter sounds like caviar. How about Luci? Or do you want me to call you by your full name? Hmm, Lucien Cavalier is quite a mouthful." he went on to suggest other names to address his new disciple.

"Aha, I know! I'll just call you Luc from now on, short and sweet. How's that?"

"Luc" was better than "Luci" or other strange names Champion had come up with.

"Yeah, you can call me Luc," he agreed to it before Champion changed his mind and decided to call him something else.

"Okay, Luc it is! Let's approach the NPC and initiate the disciple ceremony."

Speaking to the NPC standing near the altar, they initiated a series of simple tasks that needed to be completed before the ceremony could begin. It only required them to search for items and return them to the NPC.

Once they were done, they were ready to go through the ceremony where he was required to offer a cup of tea to his Shifu.

[Champion and Lucien Cavalier, congratulations on completing the disciple ceremony! Please check your inventory for the rewards.]

Opening the chest sitting inside his inventory, Lucas received:

Silky White Robes x1

Silver Leaves x500

Fan x1

The rewards weren't the most fantastic but 500 Silver Leaves were precious credits. As for the Silky White Robes and Fan, they were generic items that everyone would receive once they go through the disciple ceremony.

"Yay! I've finally unlocked the reward for getting a third disciple!" Champion was overjoyed. "Wait, don't get me wrong. I'm really sincere about guiding you in the game too."

There were rewards once players managed to rope in a certain number of disciples - 3, 5, 10…and so on. His instincts told him that Champion wasn't using him to get those rewards and he hoped he was right.

"Okay, Luc. Starting tomorrow, I'll walk through everything in the game with you. Oh, and I'll introduce my other disciple when he comes online! I gotta work tomorrow so I'm heading to bed too. See you!"

"Heading to bed" was a phrase that he wanted to use too. His HP was full so he was energetic even though it was already past midnight. He found a nice tower to admire the moonlight while thinking about what the future holds for him.

With two new friends, a new clan, and an unexpected Shifu, he no longer felt so lonely. But there were far greater challenges ahead. His new clan was made up of casual players who had no intention of becoming stronger. How would he be able to convince them when the time came and he needed teammates willing to conquer sages and dungeons to find the easter egg?