Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



After Heitor's performance, in the middle of the gym, a competitor with blonde hair and determined eyes took her place in front of the screen. Her name was Sofia, an accomplished archer who had surprised everyone with her skill in the previous stages of the tournament. Like Andrew, she didn't do incomparable things like Emma and Max, but she knew a lot about technique and was precise, which for an archer is often enough.

Sofia was wearing a fitted archery suit, which emphasized her good posture, and she raised her bow with a smooth movement as she prepared to shoot. Her gaze was focused on the tall, blurry targets and seemed to block out all the noise around her.

As Sofia wasn't tall enough to be able to raise her bow above her head and shoot, she had to aim upwards and try to make the arrow arc to land on one of the targets.

With a quiet sigh, she released the bowstring, and the arrow flew towards the nearest target. She needed to hit at least one target to match Heitor and two targets to take the lead in the leaderboard.

The crowd held its breath as the arrow flew upwards and began to fall, losing momentum and maintaining a stationary speed. Everyone thought that the arrow would manage to hit the first one

However, the arrow passed next to the pillar and missed its target, which caused a series of disappointed sighs from the audience.

Sofia remained calm, not showing her frustration. She prepared for her second arrow and adjusted her posture slightly, still looking focused.

Emma, who was watching the scene carefully, turned to Max and whispered:

"This is a challenging situation for all of them. It seems that Sofia is having trouble calculating the correct trajectory to hit the targets, not least because this isn't a typical shooting situation."

Max nodded, also caught up in the tension of the moment. "Yes, it's a really complicated task for them. They have to rely on their instincts and knowledge of archery... But when we say 'they', does that mean you already know how to get around this problem?"

"Of course I do. In Rise Online I often have to shoot arrows in the middle of forests or steep terrain, so I got used to making my arrows twist and bend." Emma said with a normality that frightened Max.

Max felt a chill as he looked at her saying this and replied:

"Seriously, you're a monster."

"Thanks for the compliment." Emma smiled.

Meanwhile, Sofia launched her second arrow. This time, she adjusted it more to the left, trying to correct her previous mistake. The arrow rose quickly and began to descend in an arc. The audience's hearts almost stopped as everyone followed the arrow's trajectory with their eyes. But again, the arrow missed its target, this time grazing the top of the pillar before falling to the ground.

Sofia sighed, a hint of frustration crossing her face. She wasn't a competitor who let herself down easily, but it was clear that the pressure might be starting to get to her. She needed one shot, a single shot to have a chance of qualifying. So she prepared for her third arrow, knowing that she could no longer afford to miss.

This time, Sofia adjusted her aim carefully and pulled harder on the bowstring. She visualized the arrow's trajectory in her mind, calculating the force and angle needed to hit the target. When she finally released the bowstring, the arrow flew faster than before and hit a higher point.

The crowd watched as the arrow rose until it was lost in the spotlight and when it began to descend towards the target, everything fell silent. And then, with a crisp sound, the arrow hit the bull's-eye. An explosion of applause and shouts echoed through the gymnasium; Sofia had finally hit a target.

This time, Sofia let out a smile of relief, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. She still had two more arrows to shoot, and now that she had hit them, her confidence had increased, as well as knowing the right strength, the biggest problem now was the angle, because the second target was a few centimeters further away.

As Sofia prepared for her last two arrows, Emma turned to Max again and said:

"She's clever."

Max agreed, his eyes fixed on Sofia. "Definitely... That's the exciting part of these competitions, when the competitors overcome challenges and show their true potential."

Emma looked at Max from head to toe. "Who are you and what have you done with the Max I know?" She asked and then smiled mischievously. "I think I understand what's going on. She's the target now..."

"What? Of course not." Max said, looking away.

Sofia continued to shoot her arrows, and on the last one she managed to hit another target, causing the audience to be impressed once again, and Heitor to fall to his knees.

Sofia had stood out more than expected, hitting several targets and showing off her exceptional skill. Her face lit up with a tight smile of pride and satisfaction and she joined the competitors.

Max approached Sofia and greeted her warmly. "Incredible, Sofia! You kicked ass there!"

Sofia ignored him and continued walking towards where she was before. "Get out." She replied and her smile disappeared, turning Max's face white.

Emma saw the scene and, with a smile, said to her department colleague:

"Don't worry about it, buddy. It happens to everyone..."

"What? Have you ever been dumped too, Emma? Tell me who the bastard was and I'll make fun of him for the rest of my life."

"Something like that..." She said and put a hand on Max's shoulder. "Wish me luck." Emma started walking towards the semi-transparent screen.

...

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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