Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



After going over the rewards for killing the King Spider-Scorpion, Kaizen approached Hellround, who was feasting on the monster's remains.

"You could at least show up sometime to help me, right?" Kaizen said.

The black, long-nosed dog looked at Psyker for a moment, as if he didn't understand, and then went back to devouring the monster's thick paws.

"Never mind, I can't blame you. I'm the one who asked you to stop showing up randomly. If you obey me, it's a sign that you've matured. By the way, you could have been in danger if you had shown up at any of the fights in the tournament or when you were exploring the labyrinth."

Again, the dog looked at him, listened to what he was doing, barked in agreement, and disappeared, still wagging its tail happily.

Unconsciously, Kaizen reached into the mouth of the Spider-Scorpions' lair and pulled out a piece of web.

[You have obtained 'Special Spider-Scorpion Web'.]

"Okay, now just take it to Tuck at the fortress. I want to see if he can really make an invisibility potion as promised..."

So Kaizen entered the dense forest. The leaves of the trees painted the landscape with warm shades of orange, red, and yellow. Some leaves were slowly falling to the ground, while others still resisted the wind, which was beginning to blow harder as the new storm approached in the distance. Psyker walked cautiously, watching for every shadow and movement in the forest, but he almost believed that this was a peaceful region, except for the Spider-Scorpions.

As he listened to the sound of breaking branches echoing beneath his feet, interspersed with the singing of birds and other wild animals that could be heard in the distance, Kaizen wondered what was making a fortress in the middle of nowhere. He knew it was still a few dozen kilometers from the nearest town, and this place didn't seem to be a border or anything like that.

Many theories ran through Kaizen's mind, but he soon became convinced that for some events, there was no need to search for answers.

The cool, damp forest air reached Kaizen's nostrils, bringing with it the characteristic smell of damp earth and rotting vegetation. He observed the local beauty with admiration and a certain nostalgia.

As the minutes passed, Kaizen got closer and closer to the ruined fortress. What had once been a large military base was now nothing more than a pile of stones and debris scattered throughout the forest. The place seemed to have been abandoned for decades or hundreds of years, with crumbling walls and wooden doors that had practically rotted away with time.

As he approached the fortress, he saw his own footprints on the ground and no others. Coincidentally, the cold gale began to blow harder, so Kaizen wrapped himself in his traveling cloak and quickened his pace. He approached the main entrance of the fortress, which was locked, and as before, used <Psychokinesis> to float over the wall.

Arriving at the alchemist's room, high up in one of the fortress' towers, Kaizen pushed open the door and entered the room. Inside, he found Tuck sitting in front of a table much larger than he was, with a green liquid bubbling in a large vial next to him.

"Kaizen! You have finally arrived! I've been waiting for you!" Tuck exclaimed as he stood and approached the Psyker.

"I brought the Spider-Scorpion web you requested." Kaizen said, handing the web to Tuck. "Come, I'll show you how to make this potion and we'll get out of here as soon as possible."

Tuck took the spider-scorpion web carefully, examining it closely with his eyes. Then he began to gather the ingredients for the invisibility potion, explaining the steps of the process to Kaizen.

First, he added a few drops of a light blue liquid to a small container, then added some of the scorpion spider's web, stirring the mixture carefully. The web quickly dissolved, forming fine glowing crystals at the bottom of the container. Meanwhile, Kaizen watched with curiosity and interest, asking several times about the nature of the ingredients.

Then Tuck took the remaining scorpion spider web and began grinding it with a mortar.

Kaizen watched the alchemist with curiosity, noting how deftly his hands moved as he manipulated the ingredients.

Tuck added a few drops of a clear liquid, which Kaizen later learned was the halfling's own saliva, to a small jar and began to stir the mixture vigorously. Then he poured the bubbling green liquid from the vial next to the mortar onto the shredded portion of the spider-scorpion web. Tuck began stirring the contents of the mortar with a wooden spoon, working carefully to mix everything evenly.

While stirring, the alchemist added some other ingredients that Kaizen did not recognize. They had a strange appearance and emitted a strong odor. Tuck continued to stir the mixture until it turned a gray-green color and had a smooth, sticky texture, but this strange appearance disappeared when he finally added this part of the potion to the first part, which contained the crystals formed from the web and the liquid. When they were all together in one container, Tuck heated them up and mixed them together. In the end, the potion was a shade of blue to light green and had the same viscosity as a glass of water.

"There, it's done!" Tuck said, putting the spoon down and stepping away from the table. "Now all we have to do is wait a few minutes for the potion to cool and be ready to bottle."

Kaizen looked at the halfling with a bit of awe, fascinated by the alchemist's ability to create something so special and seemingly so easily. Kaizen wondered what it would feel like to be invisible and what he could do with this new power.

After a few minutes, Tuck finished preparing the potion and poured it into two small bottles. He handed one of the smaller ones to Kaizen.

"This is the invisibility potion. Just drink the whole bottle and you will be invisible for about two hours. But be careful! Invisibility doesn't make you invincible or immune to anything, you can still be touched, detected by sound and other forms of detection." Tuck warned.

"Understood. Thank you, Tuck." Kaizen thanked him and put the vial in his pocket.

"No need to thank me, Kaizen. It was a pleasure to help you. But now we need to get out of here as soon as possible. I don't know if this tower can take another storm." Tuck said, looking anxiously at the window and the dark sky.

Kaizen agreed and they left the alchemist's room, down the stairs and out of the ruined fortress. The heavy rain fell on them now, soaking their clothes and hair.

Tuck asked if Kaizen would accompany him to the nearest town, but Kaizen declined, saying he would be in the forest for a while. Then the halfling said goodbye, thanked him again, and drank the invisibility potion, disappearing from Kaizen's sight forever.