Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

"What is it, son? You went to the Hospital to visit Rhyzer last week, so is it something to do with him?" Michael asked.

"No, of course not." Klaus promptly replied.

"Phewww! You spoke with such a serious tone that I thought the worst."

"There's no need to get that tense. What I have to talk about is actually good news."

Even after Klaus tried to calm him down, Michael continued to look at his son with a face that mixed concern, anxiety, and confusion. After all, Klaus was never as close to him as he was to Chun, nor was he ever the type to share secrets with him. So, a thousand questions were going through Michael's mind about what was going on, especially the reason that made Klaus decide to reveal something to him first.

"So, speak up. What is this good news?" insisted Michael.

Klaus looked into his father's eyes and said in a husky voice:

"Dad, I did it. You and Mom and Ard will be able to go back to the house.... And Rhyzer will have more time to get better."

For the first few moments, Michael's worried expression didn't change at all.

The wrinkles on his forehead were unchanged, nor were the dark circles of his tiredness.

However, soon his lips began to peel away from each other, and his mouth began to open, perhaps wanting to speak something or ask.

Words were lacking for Michael at this moment. He, who had been fighting for this family for so many years, simply could not believe it at the first moment.

Obviously, the first thing Michael wanted to do was ask about how Klaus had managed to resolve the situation. Yes, even as Klaus' father, not believing that the biggest problems in their lives had really been solved was suddenly a natural, intrinsic human behavior. However, after a few seconds Michael hid his own lips into his mouth and closed his eyes so as not to end up crying. He saw no reason to doubt his own son's sincere words.

Instead of instinctively questioning Klaus as other people would, Michael chose to believe him. Klaus had already proven himself to be a great son to them throughout his life and he had also proven to them not long ago that he could make money from Rise Online. How could Michael question whether this was true or not?

When Michael opened his eyes after a few brief seconds, restrained tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes. Michael looked into Klaus' eyes and opened his arms, asking for a hug for his son, who didn't even hesitate.

The hug between them was not a simple hug, it was a hug filled with the great admiration Klaus felt for his father, for all the struggle he had made for his family to have a better future. It was also an embrace filled with gratitude on Michael's part, that Klaus had been able to accomplish what his father and the entire Park family had fought so hard to achieve.

"Thank you, Klaus. I always knew you were not only a great player, but also a great son." Michael said as he hugged as tight as he could.

"That's just the beginning, Dad." Klaus replied.

Michael smiled and nodded his head. He knew it wasn't the end, they still had a lot of work ahead of them, Rhyzer was still fighting all the medical prognoses, the paperwork with the bank was still running, Chun was nowhere near working in his dream office and Ard was growing up fast.

In addition, the whole world was changing very fast and a big decision awaited Klaus.

*

—  First Continental Meeting of the Rise Online Guilds. In London, Capital of England. December 21st. —

The O2 Arena was the venue chosen to host the biggest event about Rise Online after its launch that shook the structures of the games and electronics industry.

Obviously, many brands were directly and indirectly involved in this event, not to mention that it took permission from Hónghé Holdings itself for everything to go smoothly. So this event captured the attention of the whole world, and apparently this was exactly what the leaders of the major European guilds wanted.

Not only had the organizers offered the possibility for smaller guilds to form partnerships for buying and selling resources or land, formal alliances, item exchange contracts, and create extensive networking, but something more would be needed to also catch the attention of the general public that wasn't interested in stuff. And of course, nothing could get more attention than a grand showmatch between powerful players from a professional scene that keeps growing.

However, this would be no ordinary showmatch. The organizers of the event announced that the goal was to reveal to the world the true strength of the Evolved players.

An every man for himself fight with some representatives of the most famous guilds in Europe. Nobody could ask for more than this at the end of the year.

Hundreds of millions of spectators were eagerly awaiting the start of the fight in front of their devices, be it a television, cell phone or computer.

And among all the players who were entering the simulated battlefield on the server made especially for the event, one of them got the crowd buzzing.

"Hey, don't tell me he's going to fight too! Is that serious?!"

"Wow, I've always been curious to see him in action!"

"I saw a video last year where he shows up to save some NPCs and his pose was so badass!!!"

Wallace Hallett was a player who had not migrated from any other game to Rise Online and had been ascending on his own in the media world since the first beta-test.

He wasn't just a prodigy or a promise of a great player, he was already at the level of a professional international player. It was no wonder that at the age of 21 he was already Vice-Captain of the Lunar Darts Guild, the third most evolved guild in Europe.

Wallace Hallett's avatar bore the name Cresthill and was a classic Drow, with long white hair and pointed ears. However, unlike Ricroar, who was also of the Drow race, Cresthill was much thinner and a bit taller, reaching nearly ten feet in height.

Cresthill was given the Assassin Class early in the game and although his avatar height became a disadvantage to himself considering the class he was given, he solved this by just choosing not to be a typical stealth assassin. And the event narrator himself told of this journey of overcoming when Cresthill joined the server.

"Cresthill, The Indomitable Assassin, is not famous for nothing. Despite being given the Assassin Class with a very tall body, he used secret strategies to increase his Strength, Agility, and Vitality attributes, and this made him virtually invincible in direct combat. Mixing skills of an assassin and the classic fencing he learned from great knights on his adventure through northern Midgard, he is simply deadly. Those who have faced him says he is a perfect assassin, whose swift movements cannot be heard or seen even when it is Cresthill that is on the defensive!"

The Drow was standing alongside several other players on the simulated battlefield, which was a vast field of green grass and completely blue sky.

"However, he is not the only big star who will participate in this match, we will also be able to enjoy the famous Ragiähl Wikström, the beautiful Squire who breaks hearts! She is part of the Swedish guild Winds of Hope and I bet you she is much more than just a pretty face."

...

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

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