Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Kaizen struggled to his feet, still feeling the throbbing pain in his abdomen. He knew he was lucky to have survived the attack, but the feeling of failure still consumed him. He had spent so much time fighting creatures stronger than himself to master his skills and become a good Rise Online player, but there, in front of the forest guardian, he felt powerless.

The guardian, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the situation, watching Kaizen through his discreet helmet and glowing eyes. He was an imposing figure, with shining armor and a gigantic sword in his hand, and Kaizen could almost see a smile on his face.

"Don't think you're out of danger yet," the guardian said in a tone that was both threatening and playful. "If you're not careful, I can finish you off in a heartbeat."

Kaizen swallowed his dry saliva and felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew that the Guardian was right.

Though the healing potion had cured him of the severe bleeding, he was still wounded and weak, practically out of mana. He needed something to eat and some time to heal completely, but time was something he didn't have.

"I've withstood one blow from you, so it's time for you to give me what I want, don't you think?" asked Kaizen, trying to stay calm.

The Guardian shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. "Sure, why not?" he replied. "Where do you want me to start talking?"

Kaizen felt a wave of anger run through his body, for it seemed that the Guardian had lost all respect for him, only the Psyker kept his cool. He knew he had no one else to turn to.

"Start from the beginning," Kaizen said firmly. "Tell me what happened to the Library of the Magi."

By this time, Kaizen had understood that the place he was in was the real Tower of the Magi. Although he had never had a conversation with Alina about this or anything other than the Library of the Magi, it was a logical conclusion.

The guardian laughed, inappropriately. "I must admit that you have courage for someone so weak. But you are right, you have earned the right to know. You are an outsider, so I will explain it to you simply. You are in a place called the Forest of the Lost, and this place is not only full of wild animals, but also full of thieves and tribes of survivors."

"But it wasn't a thief who did that to the library, was it?"

"Certainly not. Nevertheless, the wild thieves here know this forest like the back of their hands and sell many things they find here to the people in the upper levels. Be it trinkets or information. I am sure that a thief or a group of thieves found the entrance to the library and sold the information to the people upstairs."

"And what would the 'upper floors' be?"

"You don't even know where it is, do you, boy?"

Kaizen looked at him seriously. "If I knew where I was, I probably wouldn't be talking to a walking suit of armor about it."

"Fool, I'm not just an armor, I'm the Guardian of the Forest of the Lost!"

"Now you are the Guardian of the Forest of the Lost and not a Guardian of the Forest? What's going on?" Kaizen returned the debauchery of earlier.

The Guardian put a hand to his head and took a deep breath. "Frankly, what boredom won't make me do. Boy, you are in a place called Olaynore, where the Forest of the Lost is, and..."

"So I'm not in the Tower of the Kings?"

"Could you please stop interrupting me when I'm talking? Thank you. And yes, where you are is also called the Tower of the Kings, which is a very vulgar name for such a sacred place. Anyway, Olaynore is a magical place hidden from the normal world and is divided by levels of, shall we say, ascension. As I said, you are in the Forest of the Lost, a place that makes up the second level. The second floor is the City of Tears, a place where it never stops raining. And the last one is the Citadel of the Magi, and I would say that this is probably the place where that strange library came from 500 years ago or so."

Kaizen was silent for a moment, pondering the guardian's words. He knew that the Mage Tower was a much more important place than just the library where Alina worked, he just couldn't imagine how much.

"Now you can talk." The Guardian said.

"I... don't know what to talk about. I mean, I already understand why you're telling me all this. You don't know what happened in the library either," Kaizen replied, looking seriously at the creature in front of him.

"You are absolutely right. All I know is that the place was attacked, but anyone who looked at the place for a minute would come to the same conclusion. That being the case, the only way I can help you is to tell you, as I said before, what there is to know. Considering the thunder of the battle, I believe it could not have been the thieves, so it could only have been powerful people from the City of Tears or someone from the Citadel of the Magi.

"So I'll have to investigate on my own to find out who it was or who they were... I can't say for sure, but I have the impression that whoever broke into the library wasn't looking for books, because only the entrance was destroyed, were they after Alina?"

"Is Alina the name of the librarian you mentioned?"

"Yes, but I don't remember her surname correctly."

"Well, if some mage in the City of Tears or the Citadel of Mages agreed to go down to the Forest of the Lost just to capture her, have no doubt that she is very important to someone."

"And is there any possibility that she is still here? In this forest?"

The Guardian was silent for a moment, as if pondering Kaizen's words. Then he shook his head, as if in denial.

"I do not think so. As guardian of this place, I can sense everything that happens almost everywhere. If she were still here, I would surely be the first to know."

"If that's the case, I have no other school..."

The guardian stuck his sword into the ground and inquired:

"What are you going to do, stranger? You see, I advise you not to make trouble here. Believe me, none of your actions will go unpunished or forgotten by the arrogant mages of this place."

"How many people as strong as you are there to collect all the floors you mentioned?"

"Very few, including the other two guardians, five at the most. Why?"

"If I avoid fighting those people specifically, I'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to try to find another person from this place, because I know you won't tell me how to get to the other floors and things like that."

"You are right. I am the guardian of the Forest of the Lost, so I don't care about your goals."

Kaizen looked at the Guardian with a look of determination in his eyes, knowing that he was about to embark on something important that he had to accomplish, and he would let nothing stand in his way. At that moment, he almost let out a smile, but restrained himself and with a brief nod of goodbye, he turned his back on the Guardian. After that, Kaizen walked into the middle of the large leafy bushes.

"Humph. I hope I never see you again!" the Guardian shouted, causing the Psyker to finally smile and say nothing more.

Moments after Kaizen distanced himself from the Guardian, a system screen appeared in front of him.

[You have found a Hidden Mission.]

[Quest Name: Mystery of the Library

The librarian of the Library of the Magi, Alina Sylly, has disappeared. You must embark on a quest to find her or find out what exactly happened in the Library of Wizards.

Possible rewards for completing this quest:

- 10000 XP.

- Mysterious Reward (1x).

Do you want to accept it? YES/NO]

Kaizen clicked yes and slid the interface screen to the left until it disappeared from his view. He was excited to explore this new region, and amazingly enough, he didn't care about the rewards of this quest, he would do it even if it was just to get a bow and a bronze coin, just to find out how to make the bow more powerful.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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