Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

"What?!! Did you meet the former king?!" Kaizen and Alina asked simultaneously. It turned out Og'tharoz was a demon, not an evil demon, but still a demon.

Og'tharoz let out a hoarse laugh, realizing his friends' shock. "Yes, I knew the former king of Tretidian. Long ago, when I had no certain goal, I wandered these lands. At that time, the kingdom was ruled by a wise and brave man, whose name was King Ealdor. He was a just leader and respected by all, both humans and mystical creatures like me."

Kaizen and Alina were completely intrigued and asked Og'tharoz to continue telling about his history with the former king. The demon agreed and, with a nostalgic look, began his narrative.

"I was searching for answers and redemption, after a life of struggles and battles in my dark past. It was then that, by chance, I found myself before King Ealdor. He did not judge me for my appearance or my demonic nature, instead he listened to me carefully. King Ealdor believed that in the heart of every creature there was a potential for goodness and for change. He saw not only the evil in me, but also the ability to make me a force for good. His generous heart and wisdom touched me deeply, just as it did when I first met you, Kaizen." said Og'tharoz.

Kaizen and Alina exchanged puzzled glances. It was hard to imagine that someone like a king could be that benevolent.

"So, upon becoming a friend of his, I was personally summoned by the king to offer my services as an advisor in the magical arts."

"You worked as an advisor to a king?" asked Kaizen, curious.

"Yes, for a short time, during a war against a duchy." replied Og'tharoz. "I offered my knowledge of dark magic and shadow creatures to aid the kingdom in times of conflict. However, eventually, as you know Kaizen, I fell in love and moved to this land, where I live to this day.

"So you stopped being an advisor after the war?" inquired Alina.

"Yes, I resigned and left," explained Og'tharoz. "King Ealdor understood my motives and never bothered me, even in his death."

Kaizen and Alina listened intently to Og'tharoz's story, fascinated by every detail. It was amazing to realize that a demon like him had been welcomed and understood by the former king.

"So you two share a common history," Alina commented, looking at Kaizen. "You were both taken in by a powerful king."

"Yes, it would seem so," Kaizen agreed. "And speaking of power, I have some news. King Steveren has asked me to keep the King's Sword for now, to protect it. He believes it will be safer with me."

"That is a great honor, Kaizen," said OG'tharoz in awe. "The King's Sword is a legendary weapon, and now you are its guardian? But why?"

Kaizen nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. "Yes... it's a long story, are you pressed for time?"

"Of course I do, there's a lot of shelves to tidy up, thousands of books have fallen off the shelves thanks to the tremors of your battle." said Alina, teasing him.

Kaizen smiled and thanked them internally for their support and together they continued to organize the library for the rest of that day and Kaizen told everything a longer version about everything that happened to him this time.

The following days were very busy in Raven's Feather. The store street was always very busy and some players and NPCs visited the store, looking for equipment and magic items, only Kaizen was still forging them.

Since the NIST Special Program Tournament was coming up in just over two weeks, Kaizen had to split his time between forging new weapons and armor in Rise Online, always focused on making sure his customers had the best of the best, and between his training on campus. Luckily, he was able to split his weekdays between archery training and fencing training, and since this month's monthly evaluation grades would depend entirely on tournament accomplishments, he didn't have to study. Still, he had almost no time for other areas of his life, like his girlfriend, his family and his friends.

Klaus missed spending more time with his girlfriend, Ashley, but she understood the importance of his responsibilities and how hard he worked, so they kept in touch through messages and occasionally, when Kaizen could get a break, they talked by voice call.

However, one quiet afternoon, after finalizing an order for large shields for the Royal Guard, Klaus decided to pay Ashley a surprise visit. He knew that she usually spent a lot of time at the Dagger Dispute Society, where she dedicated herself to improving her skills and coordinating the team.

Arriving at the building, Klaus spotted Lisa in the middle of a conversation in the main lobby. She was focused, so he didn't approach her immediately. Instead, he watched how her black hair swayed gently with every movement and how well she spoke. Klaus couldn't help but feel an immense sense of pride to be standing next to someone so skilled and determined.

Klaus waited patiently until she finished her conversation and approached her when the other person left.

Surprised, Ashley smiled at the sight of Klaus and hugged him warmly. "You're here! What a nice surprise."

Klaus returned the hug with affection. "I missed you and decided to come here. How has your training been?"

Ashley smiled and looked into Klaus' eyes, conveying affection. "Training has been challenging, but I'm doing my best to prepare for the NIST Tournament. We don't have a competition category, but we will have a booth for spectators to play and I talked to a friend from California who is in the TOP 10 of the best players in the world, he will show up to show some of his talent.

We know how important this is for our resumes and our future, so we can't afford to falter. But then, tell me how are your training sessions going?"

"We're progressing well, but the rest you'll have to come watch me to check." Kaizen said.

"You know I'm going anyway, right?" She replied and moved closer to him, slipping her arms behind his neck.

"I'm just making sure you go."

"Ah! You've reminded me of something we're testing, come with me, it's a new technology for playing Dagger Fight still in the experimental stage, so you need to give me your opinion."