Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

[You have slain a Servant of the Eye of Hermodr. You gained +1000 XP.]

[You have slain a Servant of the Eye of Hermodr. You gained +1000 XP.]

[You have slain a Servant of the Eye of Hermodr. You gained +1000 XP.]

Kaizen heard this notification repeatedly in his mind. He was so focused on the various possibilities for the actions of the cult goons in the clearing that he acted before he even realized it.

'Before these guys had a chance to act, I had to act first.' Psyker thought as he looked at the bodies of these men. 'Anyway, they weren't very strong and they definitely didn't come here alone. I couldn't hear properly, but when I was trapped by those walls, I heard one of them saying something about calling someone. That can only mean that there are more people here.'

After thinking briefly, Kaizen began to look around him, searching for what the servants of The Eye of Hermodr were hiding, and at that moment he remembered that they didn't seem to be trying to hide something but rather protecting it. Immediately, he also remembered the distressed looks on some of the men's faces when they saw him.

'Where were their gazes directed at just then...?' Kaizen tried to remember and easily recalled that the men's gazes were aimed at their own backs, that is, where the burned tree was. 'It's there. They were protecting something there.

Before continuing, Kaizen turned toward the forest where Ravastine was hiding and raised his arm, calling her with a simple sign.

The princess was still in shock at the Psyker's speed of decision and his signal was what made her remember that she wasn't watching a play, but rather that she was accompanying someone amazing. Seeing in person how amazing Kaizen was, not only for his physical strength but also for his unwavering personality, made the competitive spirit, which was inside Ravastine, burst into flames.

'I can't be left behind!' she thought as she smiled, motivated.

When Ravastine came close, Kaizen asked her to be quiet by placing his right index finger in front of his mouth as a signal. He then pointed down, leaned toward her, and whispered:

"They are underground. There may be only six or sixty more, I don't know.... The entrance is near that big tree, but let's not wait for them to come out. For all I know, someone of them may still have the ability to create teleportation portals, so we can't afford to wait until they don't use that to get out of here. Just follow me and cover my rear. Do you understand me?"

Ravastine was a woman who was raised from childhood listening to palace guards talk and she graduated from a military school in the capital, so she knew very well how to follow orders, so she quickly nodded to Psyker's commands.

"Right. Let's follow." Kaizen whispered and looked at the large tree.

As she got closer to the large tree in the center of the clearing, it wasn't hard to notice that between some roots and the dirt floor was the small mouth of a cave. This entrance was not very big and only big enough for one or two people to pass through at the same time, but it was going to be more than enough for Kaizen and Ravastine.

Without hesitation, Kaizen crouched down and entered the cave followed by the princess. The darkness was total, so that they could not even see their own hands after a few steps. However, Ravastine solved this problem literally with a snap of his fingers.

*Tlec*

A small purple light appeared over the palm of the princess's left hand, who smiled confidently. "What? Besides fencing, I'm also somewhat versed in magic."

Kaizen smiled at her and joked a little:

"Very well, be my firefly."

With the light, they were able to continue on their way.

The bowels of the cave were filled with roots and the path got steeper and steeper as the corridors alternated in thickness. Unlike a dungeon, there wasn't even a ladder, brick or torch in this place and that's why the tunnels seemed so confusing, but it wasn't easy to get lost because there were few paths and they were all very different.

After walking for a few minutes, they finally reached the end of the tunnel. Ravastine turned off his lighting magic as soon as they began to hear voices. At first, they couldn't understand what these voices were saying, because they were muffled and even the echo didn't help. Still, peering through the shadows of the long tunnel, they got much closer and began to understand. It was laughter and debauchery and cursing.

'No doubt, it's the servants of that cult...'

When they reached the real end of the tunnel, there was a corner and the voices were not so far away anymore. They couldn't see what was happening in the next chamber, because if they turned the corner they would probably be seen, except that the voices of the people on the other side of the wall echoed as if the next room was a large hall.

Kaizen realized this quickly, and he was right, the next chamber was very large, because the roots of the big tree at the top of the clearing held up there. Although it was large, the chamber was not naturally lit except for the hundreds of fluorescent flowers on the walls, but each of the servants of The Eye of Hermodr held torches, whose light certainly illuminated the entire room very well, so there was no way to sneak in. All this was leading Kaizen and Ravastine to one decision, one path.

Psyker looked at the princess and asked:

"Are you ready for your test?"

Ravastine nodded. "Yes. Let's go soon, so we can get this over with as quickly as possible."

Kaizen then stood up and signaled for the princess to stay behind. She understood the gesture and so hid in his shadows.

The Psyker took a deep breath and then turned the corner, walking calmly. He didn't even bother trying to tiptoe so as not to make noise, not because he thought that being direct was the best way, but because there was nothing else to do. There was no way to sneak into a place where there was only one entrance.

When Kaizen turned the corner and could finally see what was happening in the next chamber, his eyebrows were unconsciously raised.

There were two dozen servants of The Eye of Hermodr and in the middle of them was a large cage where at least six beautiful women were imprisoned who had red hair, white skin and cow tails on their asses.

'So, those are the Skogsrå...' Kaizen thought as he looked at those women.

According to legends, the Skogsrå were creatures from Norse mythology. Beautiful women who inhabited forests and were friends with animals. As supernatural creatures, these women rarely used to appear to ordinary humans, and when they did, it was considered a good omen for travelers and also for farmers, because it was said that only people with good hearts could see them.

However, another story said that when someone offended them, they turned into monstrous, savage creatures that did not hesitate to devour anyone who crossed their path.

'Well, it seems that at least the story about them turning into monsters was a lie...' Kaizen thought, looking away from their half-naked bodies.

At that very moment, someone among the servants of The Eye of Hermodr noticed Psyker.

"Hey, guys! Look, someone's gotten this far!!!"

Among all the henchmen of the cult, there was a man in a cloak who was the tallest and sturdiest of them all. He was so tall that he certainly exceeded three meters, indicating that he was probably not human. Immediately, this man turned around and looked over his left shoulder to see what the intruder was talking about. If it was just another idiot, he would have no interest. However, as soon as he saw that Kaizen didn't have a startled or stunned look on his face from encountering a room full of enemies, this man from The Eye of Hermodr grinned like a maniac.

"Look! Look what fate has brought us! A prey for our Skogsrå!" A woman with deep dark circles under her eyes and square glasses said, smiling sarcastically. "Looks like we'll get to test out the new little toys even sooner than I expected..."

At that moment, the giant man walked by this woman's side and indelicately pushed her aside with his huge hands. "Don't even think about it, damn you! This guy is my enemy! You guys can take care of the little girl behind him, I don't care!" His voice was thick and loud at the same time.

Looking at these two individuals, Kaizen had two certain ones. The first was that all the people present in that chamber were strong, and the second...

'These two are the leaders of this attack, so if these two are killed as soon as possible, the others won't even feel like fighting.'

…

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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