Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Kaizen looked at the colossal creature with unwavering courage. His feet touched the ground with determination as he analyzed the monster's every move.

The monster roared with ferocity, displaying a terrible breath, capable of swaying the trees behind Kaizen and Andrew.

"You really never brush your teeth, do you?"

The monster advanced, swinging its sharp claws from its right palm toward Kaizen. With agile dodging, Kaizen leaned back, avoiding the deadly blows. He then counterattacked with his spear, executing a series of quick strokes to teach the creature a lesson.

Each strike of Kaizen's spear hit its target with millimeter precision. And Kaizen moved fluidly, combining attacks and dodges.

The monster tried to retaliate with its sharp claws and fangs, but Kaizen was impressively fast, even for players of his level, and he also always seemed to be one step ahead of his enemy. However, the monster had tremendous stamina to withstand his blows as well.

The battle raged rapidly at a breakneck pace, causing sellables with the speed of the two fighters. Kaizen took no damage, but sweat dripped down his forehead, because he needed to perform to show some difficulty, so he wasn't using any skills.

With each successful blow from Kaizen, the monster roared in pain and fury. But Kaizen didn't back down, his indomitable spirit was fueling his determination.

After a series of devastating attacks, Kaizen finally managed to strike a vital spot on the colossal monster. With a deafening roar, the monster collapsed to the ground, trembling in its last moments.

[You killed a Wild Berserker, you gained +7000 XP].

[The amount of XP you received will be doubled.]

[You received +7000 XP.]

As Kaizen looked at the notifications that appeared before his eyes, he heard clapping and then Andrew stating:

"You were amazing, Kaizen!"

Kaizen blushed a little. "Ah... That was nothing. In fact, I want more, I need to move up a few levels."

Andrew nodded, wielding his sword with renewed enthusiasm. "All right, I'm under time today, but we can't forget that we'll have training at night."

The two friends moved on, plunging deeper into the forest. Every step was an invitation to danger, every shadow an opportunity for them to evolve. They were determined to overcome the obstacles and grow in power and skill.

As they advanced, the sunlight filtered through the treetops, painting magical patterns on the leaf-covered ground.

*

When they finally left the hunting area later, they were in tatters and totally exhausted.

"It was like you said. The deeper we went in, the more monsters we found." Andrew stated, sitting down on the ground, completely depleted of stamina and mana.

Kaizen also let himself fall beside Andrew, panting. His body was covered in scratches and battle marks, witnesses to the numerous confrontations they had faced along the way.

"Really, but I've evolved a few levels..." admitted Kaizen, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Andrew looked at Kaizen and laughed. "You were worried about that? I was more worried about not dying."

As they rested, moonlight bathed the room, tinting the sky with shades of orange and pink. Just then, a serene wind passed by, refreshing them, and they looked forward, gazing at the magnitude of the Tretidian Capital.

"This place is kind of beautiful..." Andrew stated.

As they watched the Tretidian Capital from afar, Kaizen laughed with Andrew, but noticed something unusual. An aura of stillness and immobility seemed to envelop the cityscape. It was common to hear the sounds of merchants even at night, not to mention the music of the taverns and the traffic of carriages and goods, but everything was strange. It was a feeling, because in the distance everything seemed repetitive and mechanical, and the lights flickered in a single pattern, as if on a loop.

Kaizen felt a shiver run down his spine, while a feeling of uneasiness settled in his chest. Something was clearly wrong there.

"Andrew, do you notice this too?" whispered Kaizen, with a worried look on his face as he stood up.

Andrew found the question strange. "What are you talking about?"

"I... just walk with me. I want to see something." Kaizen stated.

As Kaizen was determined to investigate more closely, they approached the city, which was only a hill away. However, as they approached one of the walls, Kaizen noticed something strange: the road ahead was empty and the image beyond the walls was blurred, as if looking through a veil.

At this moment Andrew stopped asking questions and finally realized that there was indeed something going on.

Curious and worried, Kaizen moved forward, ignoring the silent warnings in his mind. However, his progress was abruptly halted when he came upon an obvious magical barrier, but disguised by a powerful illusion spell, blocking his path. It was as if an invisible wall separated him from the rest of the city.

"A magical barrier..." whispered Kaizen, perplexed.

Andrew moved closer, examining the barrier with a serious expression. "That's not good. What's going on?"

Kaizen's eyes widened, because in that instant he realized what was happening. He had seen something similar before only once before, a long, long time ago. More specifically when the Eye of Hermodr made its first attack on the Capital.

Kaizen reached out hesitantly to touch the barrier and was immediately repelled by an invisible force as he had expected.

"There is an event happening."

"An event?"

"Yes, I bet you remember when a wave event happened here in the capital a few months ago. A barrier similar to that was what prevented reinforcements from helping the players inside the barrier and also to keep out of the way of the event. The same must be happening now."

Andrew raised his eyebrows, shocked. "And what do we do? Should we wait or...?"

Kaizen promptly denied with his head with a mixture of frustration and worry taking over him. "No, I can't wait. My store is in there and so are many of my items. I need to figure out how to break that barrier or cross it."

In reality, Kaizen was not worried about any of his items. The most important items he always carried recklessly in his own inventory. He was more concerned about who was attacking the city and why in the last attack the Palace was a target, so this time might not be any different.