Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



The Valkyria Arena was a huge circular stadium that could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. Outside there were magical holographic screens that showed what was happening on the battlefield, as well as the faces and names of the players, and information about their guilds. In addition, there was also a sound system that transmitted the voice of a narrator and the sound effects of the battle.

The arena was practically divided into two halves, each representing the fans for one of the finalists. On one side were the fans of Bleeding Lily and her guild. They wore red clothes and waved flags with the guild symbol on them. They chanted and shouted the name of their heroine, confident in her victory. On the other side were Kaizen's fans. They wore normal clothes, often black to match their hero and waved flags with his mask symbol. They also chanted and shouted their leader's name, challenging their rivals.

In the middle of the arena, there was a large circle that enclosed the battlefield, and the battlefield was covered by a transparent dome that protected the players and the audience from possible attacks or outside interference. Inside the dome, there were various obstacles and elements that could be used by the players to hide, move or attack. There were logs, rocks, columns, and puddles of water.

The crowd was divided between those who were cheering and those who were worried. Kaizen had not yet appeared, and no one could tell where the hell he was or what he was doing. Some thought he had been kidnapped, others thought he had given up. The only thing in common between the two fans was that everyone wanted to know what had happened to him and whether or not he would turn up.

However, the truth about what really happened to Kaizen was something that only a few people knew.

— Competitors' Waiting Room, 15 minutes after the first semifinal. —

Kaizen was resting from the intense battle as he watched the fight of Bleeding Lily and Xanthea through a magic hologram coming out of a crystal in the center of the room.

In his left hand was a generous loaf of nut bread and in his right hand was a mana potion. It was not easy to recover completely during the short rest time between playoff battles, so he was using two methods at the same time, one to recover fatigue, MP and HP, and another to recover MP even faster.

He devoured the delicious bread voraciously, because the taste was divine. However, he suddenly remembered that he had to pay a gold coin for this map, and almost choked, because he suddenly stopped chewing.

After he recovered, with watery eyes, he said to himself:

"Cof... Cof... I have to eat calmly and savor every morsel with esteem to make it worth that price." His eyes shone with determination.

As he watched the battle intently, he suddenly heard the rustling sound that the main door of the hall emitted when it was opened.

Kaizen quickly put on the Guardian's Elm and raised his gaze to the hall door. He prepared to stand up and greet whoever was entering, for he had been alone until then, but what he saw left him confused and puzzled. A strange man entered, and Kaizen was almost certain that he had never seen him before in his life. Maybe he was one of the organizers? No, he was different from these people from the alliance between the kingdoms; he wore a long purple tunic with gold details, and a pointed hat with sparkling stars embroidered on it.

Kaizen's eyes locked on the man's hands, who carried a dark wooden staff with a shining crystal sphere on the end.

Kaizen didn't recognize him immediately and wondered who he could be and the reason for this man walking towards him.

Maybe it was one of the players he had faced in the preliminary matches? He couldn't remember the appearance of everyone he had killed during the Battle Royale. Or maybe it was a spectator who had approached him to praise his performance, a fan so to speak?

No, it was definitely neither of those options. Something in the air suggested that this man was more than that.

"Hello, Kaizen. My name is Charles Richards. I am one of the developers of Rise Online."

Kaizen was even more confused. A developer was standing there, in front of him? What did he want?

Charles approached, extending his hand to greet Kaizen. Kaizen hesitated for a moment, but stood up and then extended his hand back.

"What is a Rise Online developer doing here?" asked Kaizen with a bead of sweat coming down from his forehead. On second thought, he could imagine a few reasons why the game's developers might be irritated with him.

Nevertheless, surprising the Psyker, Charles gave a sympathetic smile. "I've come to make a proposition to you, Kaizen."

Kaizen felt his heart race. Just looking into Charles' serious and succinct eyes he was getting an odd feeling. Still, Kaizen was curious and asked:

"What's the proposal?"

Charles settled himself, leaning against one of the columns in the hall, and began to speak in a mysterious tone.

"What would you say if I told you that victory in this final should not be important, but only the hindrance to something much better for you?"

Kaizen almost widened his eyes, surprised by Charles' words. He couldn't imagine what could be more important than winning the championship and earning a legendary rank item that could earn him millions.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kaizen.

...

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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