Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Kaizen didn't take long to get to the Copper Sturgeon area.

As described by the potato seller, the neighborhood where this was located was weird. The streets were filled with players of the most varied levels, from beginners to players with levels so high that Kaizen could not even analyze them. The bad smell that permeated the streets was repulsive and nauseating. It was not the smell of piss as Bori claimed, only that it did not smell like the streets and alleys of Holinda either. In fact, it seemed as if there was an open cesspool in front of a fan, spreading the smell of shit all over the area.

Kaizen tried not to be bothered by this and made his way to the Copper Sturgeon. When he got there, as soon as he entered, he was greeted by a strange smell of sweat.

There was no lobby like in the hotel; only one counter existed.

Kaizen then went to the counter and asked, "Hi, how are you? I want to talk to Klank. He told me that I could meet him in room 87."

The man behind the counter was a tall, muscular fellow who seemed to have a well-trained body, but he was so sweaty that it looked like his skin was covered in oil. He looked at Kaizen and said:

"Klank? Oh, of course, I know him! But, no, he's not here now. He must have gone to the Arena. The game is about to start."

"He's not here? But he told me to come here..." Kaizen was a little perplexed.

"Look, why don't you go watch the game at the Arena? I bet it hasn't started yet, and maybe you'll meet him there if get lucky."

"What game would that be?" inquired Kaizen.

"You don't know? Hmm! Then you must be one of these meddling men from the white houses." The muscular man stated as he crossed his arms.

"What are you talking about? I just arrived in town. I come from Holinda, so I don't know what's going on around here yet."

Looking sorry for being rude, the man then uncrossed his arms, sighed, and replied:

"Right... What we call games are the formal challenges between Guilds, who are always vying for something. However, today is a special day, because this time one of Taznaar's subordinates will not fight against a member of another Guild, but against a Nobleman. Everyone is excited to see what the outcome of this will be."

After hearing this news, Kaizen had no choice but to go to the Arena. He had many other tasks to do in the city and places in the region that he eagerly wanted to explore, only he feared that if he got distracted by any activity, he would lose track of time and would not be able to find Jayaa that night.

So, he asked the receptionist where the Arena was, and after the man indicated the location, he realized that the place was already marked on the map. So he went to the Arena to kill a little time until the time to meet Jayaa.

The Arena was a gigantic building, which looked like a coliseum by the shape on the map. Since this was further north, Kaizen knew it was in the flattest area of the city; nice to know, as his legs were already tired of going up and down. As he walked, he noticed the buildings and houses gradually becoming more sophisticated, and the stone brick buildings also disappeared over time, replaced by white granite buildings.

As soon as Kaizen arrived at the Arena, he realized how similar the building was to a baseball stadium.

Many people were coming and going, and they all seemed very excited. When he entered the place, he soon noticed a giant scoreboard projected into the air. It was flashing and showed the names of those who would get into the fight and their respective levels.

[Player: Leohorn | Level: 85 | Class: Viking]

[NPC: Ravastine Eilleth | Level: 70 | Class: Sorceress.]

Alongside, Kaizen passed players and NPCs, hinting that this was not only a special occasion for the players, but also for the game world, and proof of this came when a familiar screen appeared in front of Kaizen's eyes.

*Ping*

[Beware! You have just entered an area where a story event is taking place].

This made Kaizen recall memories of a not-so-distant past, but he didn't have time to think much about it because soon afterward, he started hearing a great commotion. All the crowd of the Arena began to shout and clap.

'What's going on?" Kaizen wondered.

"The game is about to start!" A man in the stands shouted.

Quickly, Kaizen looked around for a place to sit in the stands. He had no idea what was going on exactly, but he knew it was an important event.

The Arena was like a large coliseum with seats for thousands of people. In the center of the Arena was a circular ring bordered by pools of flowing lava. At the moment, the ring was empty, but Kaizen knew that it would soon be occupied by the fighters. Soon the arena doors opened, and the fighters entered.

Leohorn was wearing a brown tunic over a suit of mesh armor. His shoulders were encased in large metal shoulder pads, and his wrists were encased in leather bracelets. A sheathed curved one-handed sword at his belt, and over his left shoulder, he rested his metal crossbow. Leohorn's face matched his class, for he had a long curly beard and braided hair, both grayish.

On the other side of the Arena was a beautiful woman with silky brown hair, whose fearless gaze seemed even more ruthless than the sword she already held. Ravastine was wearing a sort of formal military uniform, like that of a sailor in the army, except that each piece of clothing was as black as the densest night, except for the many red and gold details.

Ravastine was holding the completely red sheath behind her thin waist with one hand.

The player and the NPC stared at each other for a few seconds.

When the three-second countdown that floated at the top of the Arena came to an end, two life bars appeared, one for each competitor, and the battle had its decreed beginning.

Leohorn leaned his small crossbow on his right arm, aimed with his left eye closed, and shot an arrow.

The metal arrow went through the Arena at high speed, but a cut actually appeared as soon as Ravastine brandished her saber.

"<Dark Cut>." She uttered.

A kind of purple, ethereal energy emerged from the slash of the woman's blade, and when that touched Leohorn's arrow, the arrow just evaporated from existence. Following this, Ravastine began to use the <Dark Cut> skill multiple times, and all the slashes flew towards Leohorn, who was not fast enough to dodge them all but was still resilient.

Leohorn's clothes ripped, and each cut he received was visibly deep; they started making him howl in pain.

In a short time of fighting, the player's life was halved. Only Ravastine did not let her guard down, as she had already heard rumors about the warrior Leohorn.

"Arhhh... You are a powerful little bitch!" vociferated Leohorn. "But the more I get beaten, the stronger I become."

Kaizen saw that many players around him in the stands were elated to hear the man say this as if they knew what was about to happen.

Leohorn looked at his opponent and uttered:

"<Warrior of Surtur>!"