Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



When Klaus put on his NeuroGear, he uttered:

"Start Connection!"

Then his vision was sucked into a vortex and when everything finally went dark, a series of system screens began to appear for him.

[Calibrating data...]

[Data Calibrated]

[Checking for RISE ONLINE game updates...]

[An update has been found.]

[Downloading the update...]

[Downloading the update...]

[Downloading the update...]

[Installing update...]

[Update installed successfully]

[Do you want to connect to RISE ONLINE? YES/NO].

Without any hesitation, he clicked YES with his semi-transparent body and immediately began to see the same hand stretched out to touch the button being wrapped in a layer of skin. The environment around him began to be loaded with polygons. For a few moments, this connection phase was always like being immersed in a sea of data, with information and code flowing around you.

As soon as the update finished loading, the world came into view around Kaizen, and he found himself standing in his room on the second floor of his store. The bed was simple, as was everything else in the room. There was a lamp on the bedside table and Kaizen looked down at his hands, as always amazed at the feeling of being in the game.

He took the first step, his feet making firm contact with the floor and producing the metallic clatter of his boots. He felt the texture beneath his feet, but something was different. The room was strangely noisy, with atypical noises, considering that it was almost dawn in the Kingdom of Tretidian.

Before he could continue looking out of the window, a figure appeared in front of him, breaking through the wall and startling him. It was the demon of Og'tharoz. His sudden appearance took Kaizen by surprise, and he leapt up, his hand automatically going to his chest.

"Og'tharoz!" Kaizen exclaimed, adrenaline still pulsing through his veins. "You almost scared me to death!"

The demon let out a laugh that echoed around the room. "Ah, Kaizen, you know I love a good dramatic entrance. How have you been, my friend?"

Kaizen smiled, feeling at ease with the OG's presence. "I'm fine, thanks. And you? How have you been since we last saw each other?"

The demon shook his head contemplatively. "Ah, you know that time is a funny concept for me. It seems like only yesterday, but it also seems like centuries. But I'm not complaining, eternity has given me time to explore many things in the confines of this house, at least."

Kaizen then approached the window and looked out. "Do you know if something is going on? Why is everything so hectic?" He asked, looking at the people hurrying through the streets.

The Og'tharoz demon shrugged. "I have no idea what's going on out there, Kaizen. As you know, my limit is this house."

Kaizen nodded, understanding his companion's limitation. He had already gotten used to it.

"It must be related to what happened in Mibothen," Kaizen assumed, assuming it wasn't another attack.

"What happened in Mibothen?"

"They say a catastrophe, they say the kingdom has disappeared. I don't know yet. In any case, all the kingdoms should be on alert now. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone was nervous about anything out of the ordinary, especially given the history of this capital."

Og'tharoz nodded, agreeing with Kaizen's logic. "You may be right, my friend."

Kaizen sighed, remembering Klank.

It was hard to believe that an entire kingdom, with the territorial extent equivalent to that of a country, could be destroyed in this way.

"They're right to worry." Kaizen said, leaving the room.

The demon gave a malicious smile. "But what now? Do you have a plan? Are you going to investigate what's going on in Mibothen?"

Kaizen shook his head. "Yes, but before I go there, I want to do everything right. First, I'll check the library. Maybe Alina can find out more about what's going on."

Og'tharoz nodded and together they walked down the stairs from the store to the basement, where the game library was located. The place was imposing, with very high shelves full of magical tomes. In the center of the place stood Alina, a young woman with hair so blonde it was almost silver and purple-white that seemed to glow with a soft light.

Kaizen approached her and bowed respectfully. "Alina, I need your guidance."

The mage looked at him with wise eyes and nodded, albeit a little surprised. "Kaizen, what happened?"

So Kaizen told her everything he had heard through Andrew and Emma, everything he had been able to find out about what was happening in the Kingdom of Mibothen.

Alina watched Kaizen with piercing eyes, her yellow irises seeming to absorb all the information. She then began to speak in a soft voice, which matched the aura of wisdom that surrounded her.

"Kaizen, a long time ago, you and I shared a suspicion about The Eye of Hermodr. Given a few reasons, we began to believe that they were hidden there, even considering that you ended up there, for some reason, after that attack."

Kaizen nodded, clearly remembering those discussions they had just a few days ago. "Yes... For me, Mibothen has always been a mysterious place, full of secrets. It seemed like the perfect place for them to hide."

Alina paused, her gaze distant as if she were recalling old memories. "However, Kaizen, what happened in Mibothen is something I've never seen before. The destruction, the way the kingdom could simply have been wiped out. I don't believe that something like this could only be caused by the Eye of Hermodr, they don't have enough power for that, otherwise they would have done it before. I believe it could have been caused by something beyond, above them and us, something higher."

Klaus frowned. "Alina, are you suggesting that this could be the work of a god or an entity?" he asked, clearly skeptical, with a silly smile.

The magician nodded slowly. "It's a possibility, Kaizen. After all, Midgard is just one of the many worlds in Yggdrasil, and you know it's possible to travel to other worlds. It wouldn't be surprising if one of the gods of Asgard came down here to help with the chaos caused by the Eye of Hermodr."

"Wait, are you listening to what you're saying? Gods? No, that's impossible."