Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The hunter of the Order of Dalamyr named Nairo was waiting for Kaizen outside the manor house when she heard and saw with her own eyes the whole house shake. She had never seen anything like this happen before.

After a few seconds nothing more happened. Not a single sound could be heard. In fact, the pine forest was quieter than ever. She wanted to go into the manor, because the 30 minutes Kaizen had promised her had already run out. However, she refused to believe that the Psyker had died on a mission with her, so she continued outside, waiting for him. Then, she didn't hold back and started pacing back and forth, while thinking anxiously.

'What if he really is dead? I knew I shouldn't have let him go alone on his first hunt.... Did he promise half an hour? Who the hell could survive half an hour fighting head-on with an Evil Spirit? Oh, what am I going to tell Linus when I tell him that all I taught Psyker was that he should find out the name of the Evil Spirit and use holy water? Oh, crap. I'm really screwed...'

As she was thinking about this, she heard the front doors of the manor open and from inside the residence came out the black haired boy with a smile on his face.

Kaizen was without the black cloak that covered him before, thus showing off his strong arms and his chest marked on his black t-shirt, which he wore a lot because he didn't find it very comfortable to wear armor all the time.

"Sorry for the short delay, but the job is done." Kaizen said, approaching her and tossed the bottle of holy water to her.

"W-wait a minute, did you really get it?" Nairo caught the vial in the air and inquired, a little in shock. She was experienced enough to know that it was unlikely that someone with little experience could defeat an Evil Spirit on their own.

"Yes, and it was much harder than I expected. You were right, those things are strong. Still, I had fun."

'Enjoyed yourself?" thought the huntress.

She knew that no one who faces Evil Spirits usually finds it fun, and that usually after battles these people are usually exhausted, both mentally and also psychologically.

"O-the name of the Evil Spirit...so you figured it out, did you? Why didn't you use the holy water?"

"Actually, I had to improvise a little. All I found out was the family surname. It was Kulenov or something like that. And about the holy water, I didn't know how to use it and I don't know if it's something rare, so I didn't even try to use it."

The answers Kaizen gave only left Nairo more dumbfounded. The things he said were unbelievable, absurd and unthinkable.

How could anyone defeat an Evil Spirit without using holy water and without exorcising it with his name? For Nairo's entire life, she had always thought that this was the only method, and hearing otherwise from Kaizen simply baffled her. However, as she watched Kaizen calmly tap his cloak to remove the excess dust, she finally understood.

'Linus was right. This man is Psyker, and I cannot forget that. If he stays with us, and I keep doubting him, I may end up being a hindrance to him.' She thought.

Kaizen realized that she was looking at him and looked at her with the corners of his eyes. "What? Are you disappointed because I was slow? Or is it that you are impressed?" He turned his face more towards her and showed his wicked expression.

Nairo smiled amiably and gave his shoulder a weak punch. "I'm disappointed, obviously. If you promise something, keep it. That is one of the rules of the Order of Dalamyr. You were lucky that I trusted you and waited out here instead of leaving. However, I'm glad you did it and didn't let me down anymore."

"Ah, come on! Don't be so rigid! Speak plainly: 'I am impressed with you'."

The huntress then took a deep breath and said:

"All right. I confess that I was surprised that you didn't use any of the things I told you to use and yet managed to finish off the Cursed Spirit in just over half an hour. Even experienced hunters would not dare to face a creature of the type you did today, and almost none that I have ever met could do it at the same time as you. However, you were also foolhardy to have gone alone, and I was also wrong to have allowed this. This must not be repeated."

*Clap, Clap, Clap!*

A brief round of applause happened as soon as Nairo finished speaking, and the one who did this was not Kaizen. So Kaizen and Nairo looked in the direction where the clapping sound came from, and they saw Linus Farwynn, with his leather overcoat, black hair, and dark glasses, coming out from behind the house.

"You spoke very well, Nairo. You were objective, you warned Psyker about the points he must improve, and you even admitted your own mistakes. I knew you were perfect for this case." Linus said, smiling.

"When did you get here?" Nairo questioned, surprised with a serious look.

"Since before you arrived. I wanted to see for myself how this place was and I also wanted to observe how you guys would do."

Nairo looked at Kaizen, and he immediately said before she asked:

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't know he was here either."

Linus moved closer and placed a hand on Nairo's head, stroking her. "Don't worry about it. The most important thing is that you were able to finish the job. You trusting each other was essential to that."

"So why are you here? Were you just really curious to see if we would get along or did you have a special reason?" inquired Kaizen to Linus.

"A little of that and I was here too because if you guys couldn't make it, I would exorcise this Evil Spirit myself. This village is too close to Holinda to let something so dangerous loose. For some reason, this particular Evil Spirit has managed to hide too long from us. If we took even longer, it could be that in addition to this entire village, his mist would expand throughout the entire forest and he would also become very powerful."

"And what would be the consequences if that happened?"

"Basically, the paranormal mist has the ability to attract supernatural monsters, so it wouldn't be strange for a lot of specters and other such monsters to start appearing in this region. Anyway, glad everything went well. By the way, Psyker, it looks like you found this experiment fun, didn't you?"

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad."

"Wouldn't you be interested in doing more of that? That is, joining the Order of Dalamyr? You have shown that you are already stronger than most of us and that would guarantee many special cases for you with high rewards in cash and items. You are a blacksmith, I bet you like rare items... And we have proven to you that we know about the things that are going on in the shadows of this world. If you join the Order of Dalamyr, we can have a mutually beneficial relationship. You help us solve cases and kill creatures, and we will provide all the information you want. What do you think?"

"Um. Not a bad idea, but I don't want to officially be part of your little group. Let's just keep in touch for, as you said, mutual benefit."

Linus smiled briefly and nodded. "As you prefer. I will send an owl to your house as soon as I arrive at the Order's headquarters. Do we have an agreement?" He extended a hand to greet Kaizen, who returned the gesture immediately.

"All right, but don't contact me for the next few days. I'll be busy, I have something big to take care of."

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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