Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The outcome of the situation in the Mist Palace wasn't perfect, but it was pretty close to what Kaizen had expected.

Of course, he had never imagined that there was an entity of mysterious origin controlling this Emperor of the Mist, nor would anyone have thought of such a thing before seeing it for themselves, and luckily, Kaizen was much more powerful than when he first heard about this Emperor, otherwise he could have gotten into a lot of trouble without meaning to.

In the end, Kaizen's group got the most important piece of information they were looking for: the location of Týr. This brought them a few steps closer to rescuing Og'tharoz's wife, but the next steps they had to take would be crucial and would show whether they could do what they wanted or not.

In a normal game, Kaizen would think this was all crazy.

This was a quest that didn't even have a notification, an information screen, or even a name, but in the last two months he had learned that not all quests in Rise Online had these characteristics, because he often created these quests himself out of thin air, so of course the game system wouldn't suggest a reward for a quest that the player created himself, because creating was different from causing, like when it came to ''The Eye of Hermodr''.

In any case, Kaizen wasn't doing all this because he wanted something in return, but because he wanted to see Og'tharoz happy, even though he was "just another NPC.

After descending the mountain where the palace, prison, and city of the dark elves were located, they used the rest of their game time to return to the portal near the ice dwarf village with some supplies and a pair of shaccares. The elves gave them to them as a thank-you, and Kaizen didn't refuse, as they would need everything to make it to the far reaches of Niflheim to find Týr.

The rest of the mission, however, had to be postponed until the next day.

*

When Klaus emerged from the deep immersion capsule, he saw Hollie Rees leaning over one of the tables in the living room, sleeping peacefully.

If he had known where her dormitory was, he would have taken her there, but he still didn't, so he picked her up and carefully placed her on the small sofa next to the drinking fountain in the living room.

Then Klaus looked around for anything that resembled a blanket. The closest thing he found was his blouse, which was lying on the sofa itself, and he used it to cover her legs.

After Klaus left the Deep Immersion Pod room, Hollie opened one of her eyes in a discreet gesture as if to check if Klaus had really left the room. She wasn't completely unconscious when he picked her up, just resting her eyes and too embarrassed to interrupt him.

The blush that colored her cheeks betrayed the slight embarrassment of being seen in a moment of vulnerability.

After leaving the room, Kaizen found the Special Program campus shrouded in the gloom of night. This part of the campus was very quiet at night. As he walked towards his dormitory, Klaus fiddled with his cell phone. He needed to sell a few more items at the World Market to send some money to his family, and his mind was a little preoccupied with that.

"Maybe I should put some of the Legendary Items I've created up for sale. There are more and more high-level players, so there might be a high demand for Legendary Items". Klaus thought aloud.

However, before he could fully immerse himself in his thoughts, an unexpected encounter changed the course of his evening.

Klaus was walking with his head down when, from his perspective, he saw someone walking in the opposite direction, but on the same path. He raised his head and his eyes met those of Ashley Cox, his old girlfriend. This unexpected encounter sent a wave of conflicting emotions through him. For a moment, past and present were strangely mixed.

Klaus was about to move on, ignoring Ashley as if she were a temporary illusion, when her voice broke the night's silence.

"Klaus?" she called out.

He stopped, not out of hesitation, but out of consideration for the feelings they had once shared. He turned to face her, and although her face was extremely familiar, the sensation and feeling he had once had for her now seemed distant.

"Ashley..." He replied.

Ashley took a few steps towards him, her green eyes shining with an undefined emotion. "I..." She said, but stopped. "H-how are you?"

That obviously wasn't what she wanted to say and Klaus found himself analyzing her face. "I'm fine, although I'm worried about some things as usual," he confessed.

"That's... good, I guess."

Klaus smiled and waved his hand before putting it back in his pocket. "Yeah, I guess. See you, Ashley."

"Klaus, wait," she asked with pleading eyes. "I know I was a fool to listen to my parents and break up with you that day. I see now that I didn't mean it. Isn't there a way that maybe we can go back? Try again?"

He looked into her eyes and saw the mixture of sincerity and hope.

"Ashley, I understand what you're saying, but things have changed for me since then. You made me realize that a person who had a special place in my heart looked at me the same way I did, and I didn't even know it."

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "O-oh," her voice trailed off for a moment before she regained her composure. "I understand. I just... thought we should try to talk about it."

"I appreciate your honesty, Ashley. But I must move on now, and I hope you too find the happiness you deserve."

They exchanged one last look, laden with so many shared memories, before parting on that quiet night.

When he finally reached the dormitory, Klaus felt a mixture of relief and melancholy. The conversation with Ashley had brought back so many memories and feelings, but it had also confirmed that he wasn't attracted to anyone other than Emma M. Nielsen. Nielsen, so he sent her a text message that night:

[Klaus: I love you.

Emma <3: Why so suddenly? *crosses eyes*.

Klaus: Just making it clear ;)

Emma <3: That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me... I love you too, my love. I want to see you so much!]