Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

After visiting the Library of the Magi, Kaizen chose not to explore the Tower of the Magi yet, because there were more pressing things to do. Still, he was very pleased with the end result of his brief trip to the tower, because it earned him a class assignment, a strange scroll with Ancient Runic Language, a complete map of the Tretidian Kingdom, and also knowledge about various subjects.

However, the Wizard's Tower was definitely a mysterious place that he wanted to explore. Many questions lingered in Kaizen's mind, such as who in fact the librarian was, what she was doing in that library, how long she had been there, how many mages were in the tower, and if this place really was a Dungeon.

As Kaizen went through the portal back to the Royal City, he tiredly entered his house, only intending to put his most important items away in a closet.

The moment he opened the door, he was in for a huge surprise. The demon called Og'tharoz, who wanted to tidy up the second floor of the house with the furniture that the Psyker had bought, had done a great job. With an air of renovation, it seemed that even the thick layer of dust that coated every inch of the rooms had been extinguished.

The foyer was clean, with a rug written 'Welcome' and a closet for shoes and coats, not to mention a coat rack.

Where there used to be the living room, there was no more. Instead, the counters that Kaizen had bought to display the future items he would make were lined up, albeit empty, and since the room was without the old couches, the pile of wood, and the closets, which had disappeared from view, the room no longer looked so scary.

Kaizen was impressed, because the chandelier over the entrance hall and the tidy counters not only provided a more polished presentation of the residence than how it had looked before, but also created an elegant appearance.

Since the front part of the second floor had no walls and was supported only by columns, everything was exactly as Kaizen imagined it when he first entered this house. This was the store he longed to have, except for the cracks in the walls and columns, which still needed repair. In addition, many decorative objects were missing, such as clan banners, swords, spears, armor, and all sorts of things that can be found in a blacksmith store.

"It would also be interesting to have a stuffed monster's head to give an air of grandeur to visitors..." He thought.

On the counter, Og'tharoz had left a note.

[I just finished tidying up your house as you requested. I hope you like the end result. -Og'tharoz.]

Inevitably, Kaizen smiled at the note. It was ironic to think that a demon made a point of leaving a note for him. Then the Psyker went to the back of the second floor, where the walls appeared and also where he found what would be his refuge from the city for several days, his forge.

The forge was tidy, with the tools and weapons Kaizen had bought for his future projects. Everything was arranged so as not to get in the way of movement within the workshop. There were two furnaces, a workbench, a wooden pedestal and a wooden bench. Although the forge did not yet look as functional as Kaizen would have liked, it was perfect for its current purpose and that was the most important thing.

While Kaizen was storing some important items in cupboards in back rooms, such as the scrolls he had acquired, the Grimoire of Curses, the Peacemaker's Orb, and also his money, so as not to lose everything if he died, he heard someone knocking on the door with the old, rusty iron beaters. The sound of the knocking on the wooden door echoed loudly throughout the house.

*Tum! Tum!

Psyker had no idea who it could be, so he frowned, after all the house had a reputation for being haunted and kept most people away. Still, he was curious so he went to answer the door.

When he opened the door, Kaizen saw two familiar faces. They were Salles and Jeewok, both subordinates of Korgrak, who was also among the two men.

Obviously, Kaizen was surprised to be met by the Leader of the Metal Dragons. This man was one of the few players Kaizen feared, because he had no idea what he was capable of. Besides Korgrak being the first to know who Kaizen actually was, he had a mysterious aura that was intimidating.

"What do you want, Korgrak?" Kaizen asked, feeling uncomfortable by the unexpected visit. "How did you find me? I'm sure I didn't tell anyone my address."

"Did you really think I would take my eyes off you?" The man said, letting out air through the sides of his mask, "You're a smart guy, so you know what I want."

In truth, Kaizen wasn't sure what Korgrak was talking about, but looking into the piercing eyes of this weird mask was like looking into himself. The feeling the Psyker had was that Korgrak could see into the deepest part of his soul, and so he suspected that this masked man also had something like the <Analyzing Eye> Skill of his class.

Kaizen snorted, helplessly, after Korgrak's response and stated:

"All right, I'll listen to you. Come in." He stepped out of the way of the door for Korgrak to enter inside the house.

The masked man nodded and took a few steps forward, entering Kaizen's house. Salles and Jeewok tried to follow him, but Psyker stopped them with his arm.

"I said I would listen to him. I have no reason to let the ticks get in here!" declared Kaizen, seriously.

"Hey! What are you talking about!?" Jeewok, who was a handsome young swordsman, felt insulted and stewed his chest at Kaizen, who measured him from head to toe with his eyes.

Salles, who was an older man, didn't even need Kograk's help this time to realize how much stronger Kaizen was and so he held Jeewok by the arm. "Shut up and don't make a fuss. No one can know that the boss is here, so we don't intend to attract attention."

Jeewok gritted his teeth as he stared at Kaizen like a rabid dog, but soon gave up and crossed his arms.

With Korgrak's two men serving as guards outside, Kaizen closed the door and was alone with the Leader of the Metal Dragons. However, when he turned to continue his conversation with Korgrak, he was silent as he saw that the man had dropped his black hood and was removing his mask. As Kaizen watched Korgrak do this, the Psyker's countenance gradually became more and more shocked, because long white hair fell down to below Korgrak's shoulders, an extremely white complexion revealed itself, and eyes of a deep blue hue, which seemed to glow even in the dim light from inside the building.

Korgrak was a woman.

An extremely beautiful woman.

No, beautiful was not the right word to describe her. She was an extremely attractive woman and the shock of this discovery made Kaizen's heart flutter for a second.

"Hey-hey! What do you think you're doing, huh!" Kaizen stammered with shock. "You're a woman?!"

"Yes, I am a woman." Korgrak clarified, without any trace of shame or fear. "Is there a problem with that?"

Kaizen almost turned red, but he looked away and said firmly, "Possibly not."

It was hard for him to admit to himself that he had been attracted to a woman he had just a moment ago thought was a man.

"Good, then let's talk." Korgrak said, crossing her arms, but not like a serious person and rather as if she were uncomfortable. She was also avoiding looking Kaizen in the eye.

When she was startled, Kaizen took a few steps back from the shock, but soon recovered and moved closer.

"Let's go deeper, so your companions won't be able to hear us."

"Don't worry about that. In this game, it's not possible for players or NPCs to hear what's going on inside real estate unless you knock or have a stealth skill evolved to the max."

"Ah..."

Korgrak realized he was looking at Kaizen directly without realizing it and looked away again.  "Anyway, I just want to clarify that I'm not mad about what happened at the Howling Designers."

"I know. If I was, I would have told everyone what I look like, after all we knew each other long before all that happened."

"Yes, you are right. However, Taznaar was furious about that and since you challenged him to a fight, he invited me to be one of his allies in that fight... You know, he thinks I also want to get back at you for stealing our raid. And I bet he also invited the Bleeding Lily. Obviously, I didn't accept because I owe you a favor for providing me with the information about the Scarlet Demon Spider, however, the Druid Centaur had a drop that I craved, a single drop... So,I want to know this: were you able to obtain an item called 'Peacemaker Orb'?"

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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