Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 710 New Idea

Klaus Park didn't consider himself a vengeful type of person, not least because he never tried to show off to his former high school classmates that he had turned things around, nor did he try to screw over his enemies in Rise Online, let alone try to take back what his former teammates had done to him by revealing his true identity to the world.

However, the feeling he had with Thenomor was different, more of a feeling of anger. Kaizen knew that if he didn't take care of him once and for all now, Thenomor would try to take revenge in the future.

So Kaizen killed him quickly, swinging his sword without hesitation and separating Thenomor's upper body from his lower with a single movement.

The hall was plunged into absolute shock. Thenomor's now-separated body lay on the floor, blood pouring from both parts. The silence was heavy, interrupted only by the sound of the man in black's moans of agony, as he was still alive but slowly dying.

The vampires, who had laughed at Kaizen before, were now horrified by the scene before them.

Kaizen, with his bloodied hand, removed the sword that was stuck in his chest, and with the help of his healing ability, the wound on his body began to heal at an incredible speed. He then looked at the other vampires and, as he still needed more levels, began to kill them.

...

[You've killed a Vampire. You've gained +100000 XP].

[Congratulations! You've just risen to level 180!] 

...

[You've killed a Vampire. You've gained +100000 XP].

[Congratulations! You've just risen to level 187!] 

...

[You've killed a Vampire. You've gained +100000 XP].

[Congratulations! You've just risen to level 195!] 

In the end, Kaizen was panting heavily, tired, and with practically his entire body covered in blood redder than ruby. All the vampires in the room had been killed, except for their leader.

Zylok, the master vampire, remained on his throne the whole time, watching everything with an impassive gaze. He showed no surprise or shock. His expression indicated that he was assessing the situation, perhaps even pondering what to do next. At that moment, it became clear to Kaizen that Zylok didn't have the same feelings about Rise Online as he did. Zylok was obviously someone much more experienced, older, more lived-in, and perhaps for that reason he couldn't connect emotionally with anything he'd built, which is why it was so easy for him to abandon his whole idea of being a villain for fun.

Despite all this, Kaizen tried to lighten the heavy situation.

"I didn't want to kill him like that, but he left me with no choice. I know he's your pupil, Zylok, but you must understand that he was a threat." Kaizen said, looking at Thenomor's body, which impressively managed to drag itself close to the throne steps after Kaizen's attention was diverted.

Zylok looked at Kaizen and finally nodded. "I don't mind them. However, such brutality is not appropriate for the hero I want you to become, we should talk about your methods when it's all over."

Kaizen lowered his sword and looked at the gray-haired man with regret.

Zylok held up his hand, interrupting any attempt at argument. "Besides, if you want to be forgiven for annihilating my entire race, you'll have to promise me you'll never do it again... Today you showed your strength and skill to me, but the situation is still complicated."

"What do you mean?"

"Until now, I have ruled over the shadows causing fear and uncertainty." Zylok said and claws appeared on his right hand, with which the veins in his arm glowed an almost neon crimson. "And indeed, I was convinced not to live like this anymore by all the arguments you put to me and by your alliance proposal. In the end, however, I've only taken up a vacant position as the villain of this game, assuming a philosophy that already existed and taking advantage of a cult of chaos worship that has always existed. Others will try to take over what I'm leaving to get you, and it won't be easy to do the same with others, I have many bases out there, many outposts, many subordinates, both players and NPCs."

Kaizen sighed deeply. "I know that. However, I believe that this will be infinitely better to fight than the war we're avoiding... And we have a lot of work to do, like bringing all the people of Mibothen back."

"As for that, it won't be so easy." Fryft clarified, reluctantly approaching Kaizen. "We were determined to end it all, so in a pact we handed over all those people in exchange for the help of the nine strongest demons. They'll follow Zylok's orders until the end of the day, but they certainly won't want to go against a contract."

"What? Is that true?" asked Kaizen and looked at Zylok.

The gray-haired man nodded reluctantly. "Before you opened my eyes, I was blinded by power. I couldn't imagine where all this could lead me..." 

"This all means that..."

"Yes, basically the nine most powerful demons keep an iron grip on the people of Mibothen." Fryft said.

Kaizen put a hand to his mouth and started thinking, hammering out ideas and, in a matter of moments, seemed to come up with a quick idea. "So why don't we defeat them? Theoretically, if they can't fulfill their part of the contract, we don't have to fulfill ours either, do we?"

"Kaizen, I don't know if you know. Demons are cunning beings, creatures that are created in the deepest, hottest part of Múspellsheimr. Yes, they're like rats to the Fire Giants, but they're definitely stronger than most players, including the Evolved." Zylok explained.

"Are you saying that one of them could be stronger than you?"

"No, of course not, at least not one, but dealing with more than one would definitely be a problem." Zylok said and took a deep breath. "However, what if you talked to Surtr, Fryft?" he asked.

Kaizen's eyes widened and as he looked at Fryft, he remembered that she was the leader of a guild called Arguments from Hell. For this reason, before Fryft even opened his mouth to argue, it was Kaizen who asked:

"After all, what's the relationship between you two? I thought she was your subordinate out of fear, but something tells me I'm wrong."

Zylok looked at Fryft and she looked at him, then a thought, a hypothesis crossed both their minds: was Kaizen confusing things?

"It's a business partnership, of course." Zylok quickly explained. "Fryft is a very influential Evolved in Muspelheim, because her guild's base is there, and it was through her that I managed to make a pact to get the demons."

Fryft nodded frantically, not adding another word.

With a resilient sigh, Kaizen turned his attention back to the discussion. "So, Fryft, do you think it's possible to get around the contract with the demons if you talk to Surtr? Perhaps you can find a loophole that will allow us to rescue the people of Mibothen without violating our agreements?"

"There is a possibility, although it's risky. Demonic contracts are like complex webs, full of clauses and loopholes. If we can identify a loophole, we can exploit it. That's where my guild, Arguments from Hell, comes into play. Even with a loophole in the contract, for most people it wouldn't be possible to thwart demons, but there might be a chance."

Zylok added: "Fryft is one of the most cunning Evolved I know. She has a natural ability to unravel deals and find ways around them. That's why we made this partnership. By combining the brute strength of the Fire Giants and Fryft's intelligence, we have a real chance of challenging the demons."

Kaizen was beginning to understand the complexity of the situation. "So, what's the first step?"

Fryft held up a finger and explained: "First, we need to analyze the existing contract to find any possible loopholes we can exploit. But before that, we have to ask one of the demons to take a look at the contract, which sucks because the contract goes into Surtr's personal vault."

Kaizen was so lost in the scale of what they were talking about that it only remained for him to ask the right questions.

"How do you plan to do that?" Kaizen asked.

The leader of the Arguments from Hell guild smiled enigmatically. "I have my plans, but the most important thing right now is to prevent the demons from engaging in combat, because then we'd have a chance to argue that they didn't fulfill the desired role."

"As for that... Kaizen, you weren't alone, were you? Where are your friends?" Zylok asked, making Kaizen finally remember the whole plan he had created.

Kaizen raised his eyebrows to the limit, surprised at his own inattention. Little did he know that at the same time as all this was going on inside the capitol, the city of Mibothen was practically surrounded by reinforcements, including thousands of players from all corners of Tretidian and Vrikhodour.

The influence of the alliance between Kaizen and Bloody Lily has enlisted the help of some of the most powerful non-evolved players in existence, among them:

Ricroar, the only dark elf on Midgard;

Salles and Jeewok, Korgrak's subordinates;

Lara Davidson and Leohorn, Taznaar's subordinates;

Draken, the leader of the Sentinels Guild, who has always wanted to meet Kaizen in person;

Kevneth, the Unique Class player Guan Yu, who faced Kaizen in the tournament;

Igan, Lieutenant of the Order of Dalamyr, the last survivor of that order;

Gear, Gnorlin, Khaduth, Mirthor and Aulenarca, all players in a small party that Kaizen saved when he faced a gorgon.

And of course Korgrak and Taznaar, in the vanguard, accompanied by half the royal forces of the Kingdom of Tretidian, including Arthas, Davster and Ravastine Spelloyal herself.

In addition to all of them, the information that flowed through the webnet was enough to bring together tens of thousands of other players who were Kaizen fans or who didn't want to feel left out of all the commotion, after all, politically this was a fight of good against evil.