Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

As soon as Klaus saw who the sender of the letter was, he tried to close the door to his room as fast as he could.

Jayaa, who had delivered the envelope and was standing outside, was confused and put his foot on the door to stop him from closing it. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a second to read this here by myself. I'll be right down to talk to you."

Obviously, those words were not enough to make someone with a naturally curious spirit like Jayaa go away so easily.

"Hummm... Is it a letter from a girlfriend from jail or something?" Jayaa asked. He didn't understand that Klaus didn't want to share more details about the contents of the envelope

Klaus sighed, opened the door again and pulled Jayaa into his room by the collar of his shirt. Then Klaus just stuck his head out into the hallway to check if Emma was nearby or on the second floor. When he realized that she was not, he once again sighed and went inside his room. He just could not foresee that in the next instant Emma's door was opened by her.

The red haired woman came out of her room still in her pajamas and with a sleepy expression as well. She looked strangely at the door to Klaus' room closing and then she heard voices coming from there, but she shrugged and went to bed again.

Conforming that he could not lie or hide the contents of the envelope from Jayaa for long as he was not the type to give up easily, Klaus said quickly:

"I received a letter from NIST."

Jayaa looked at him with surprise. "Oh! And... what exactly does that mean? Oh, don't tell me it's an E-sports organization that wants to hire you! That would be too snazzy!"

"No, it's not that. NIST is short for National Institute of Standards and Technology."

"Klaus, let's face it, you know and I know that I there is not the slightest possibility that I would know what that means." Jayaa stated, opening her arms.

The black haired boy sat down in the chair near the computer, put a hand to his low head and explained:

"As far as I know, NIST is a government agency that does research, development and standardization of technology."

"Oh! That's really impressive, not as cool as you becoming a proplayer again, but it's also cool. And what do they want with you?"

"I don't know. You interrupted me before I could have enough time to read everything." Klaus raised his head.

"So...?"

Confused, Klaus looked at Jayaa, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"What are you waiting for? Come on, read it soon, man!"

"Okay, I'll read it."

Klaus unpicked the paper in his hands, opened the letter, and read it aloud.

[Sender: National Institute of Standards and Technology.

To: Klaus Park.

Subject: Special Invitation

Dear Mr. Klaus Park,

On January 5, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will hold a series of tests in New York in order to select 500 (five hundred) exceptional people for a special training program in a unique collaboration with the multinational company Hónghé Holdings.

Hónghé Holdings believes that you are a promising candidate and has recommended you, as all the other guests have done.

The special training program will serve to highlight rare and great talents that are hidden among the most diverse areas of society, from youth to adults. This program will also serve as an opportunity for free university study, and there is a course choice for each of the four areas of knowledge.

If you are one of those admitted, in addition to free housing available in the occupational space nicknamed 'campus', you will be free to come and go, both for work and other activities.

At the end of the six-month program, those who complete it will receive a certificate of completion and a scholarship to any college they wish, provided the amount of academic points earned by you during the program allows it.

Our intention is always to evolve society and this time we need you for that, and we certainly want you to be among those selected.

The address of the place and the time of the test will be sent to your e-mail on the day of the test. We look forward to your participation.

Sincerely, Philip D. Pate].

Klaus finished reading the letter and was surprised by what he had just read. Then slowly he raised his head again and looked at Jayaa, who was silent.

Jayaa was a little surprised and serious.

"You will?" Jayaa asked without looking him in the eye. "I mean, you're focused on getting money to pay off your family's debts now, aren't you? There's no reason to go. Not to mention you're the military..." He said with a look of disgust and then whispered, "I've heard that military people are a bit misogynistic towards Asian people entering the military."

Klaus looked at his friend for a moment and then laughed euphorically. When he realized that Jayaa was not laughing, he wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes and asked:

"Wait, are you serious? I'm pretty sure that NIST is not a military agency."

At that moment, Jayaa changed his expression and laughed hesitantly.

"Ha.... Ha...! Of course I'm joking. Anyway, whether or not to go on this weird thing is your decision, I don't want to give my opinion. I'm just going to ask you to think very carefully about it and discuss it with your family."

"All right, I'll do that." Klaus stated.

In reality, Klaus was already thinking about all the possibilities that this opportunity would offer him. As much as his greatest desire had always been to pay off his family's debts, he had also always wanted the chance to live his own life, to experience a college environment, several friends, and everything that a normal person is normally entitled to.

Jayaa was already opening the bedroom door, but before he left Klaus inquired:

"Dude, what are you doing for Christmas?"

The blond haired boy thought for a second to answer, then turned back to Klaus to answer him.

"Isabella and I are going out. She decided at the last minute that we should each give three gifts to each other, and in the end she and I forgot to buy all the gifts, so we'll go shopping together today and probably end up having a nice hot drink in a dodgy bar in town. What about you? Are you going to spend it with your family?"

"No, actually, no. I will be helping my father at a shelter today and will be back here later. But I will go have lunch with them to kill some of the nostalgia."

Jayaa's eyebrows rose and a small smile broke out on her face.

"That's good." He said and left the room, leaving Klaus with the slight impression that Jayaa was even more awkward than usual, as if he was hiding something.

However, Klaus couldn't blame him, as he also thought it best not to tell about all the money he had earned. Besides, more than worrying about Jayaa's behavior, Klaus had to think about what his final decision about his own future would be.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

More character images in:

https://discord.gg/bpqq9u4gS8

Like it? Add to library!

Don't forget to vote with Powerstone to support the book if you like it...