Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

In the center of the SoFi Stadium pitch was an immense circle, marked with clean white lines that delineated a boundary that the contestants could not leave, according to the instructions.

Presenter Peter, a tall, charismatic man, stood with the contestants in the center of the circle and raised the microphone once again. His voice resonated through the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the grand final of the Individual Archery Tournament! Today, we have before us the ten best competitors, each of them fighting to prove their skill and determination. But before we begin, I want to remind you all that this is the last day of the NIST National Tournament, run in partnership with Hónghé Holdings!"

The applause rang out again, echoing through the packed stands of SoFi Stadium. The crowd buzzed with excitement, eager to witness the thrilling final of the Individual Archery Tournament. Sponsors' flags fluttered in the wind, coloring the scene in vibrant shades of red, green, gold and other colors.

Peter raised his hand, calming the crowd, and all eyes turned to him. "Competitors, you have trained hard to reach this moment. Today, not only your archery skills will be tested, but also your calmness under pressure. For this reason, the final will not follow the example of the first two stages, which saw competitors eliminated little by little; on the contrary, no one will be eliminated until the grand champion is announced. In other words, you will only have one challenge in this grand final and this challenge will count for points that will rank you. Do you understand?"

The contestants nodded, some exchanging nervous glances with each other, while others kept a concentrated look on their faces.

With a gesture, Peter pointed to the circle the contestants were in and said:

"Before we begin, let me explain the rules of the final." Peter continued, his voice firm and clear. "Each of you will have a quiver with fifteen arrows and a bow of your choice. As with the first stage, we'll be using hologram technology to increase the challenge and offer something different from the basic target practice of the first two stage challenges. So this field will be full of trees like this in no time." Peter snapped his fingers and the white lines that delimited the circle on the lawn began to glow softly.

In a matter of seconds, the landscape around the competitors began to transform. Holographic trees emerged from the ground, creating a simulated environment that imitated a dense forest on the stadium pitch without any effort.

The crowd was fascinated by the technology that was unfolding before their eyes. The stadium had now been transformed into a vivid representation of a mysterious forest, complete with the gentle sound of wind blowing through leaves and the distant chirping of virtual birds.

Peter smiled, watching the reaction of the crowd and the competitors.

"You are now inside the Forest Challenge. The holographic trees are programmed to react to the arrows, so be careful not to hit them, as this will subtract points from your scores and you will lose your arrows. However, the real thing is the creatures in this forest."

Peter pointed at the screens, and silhouettes appeared. Thus, gradually monstrous shapes were revealed, surprising everyone.

There was a green-skinned troll, with huge arms and a worn-out club; a wave of ethereal spirits, glowing in bluish tones, that seemed to float among the trees; a black wolf with fiery eyes that emanated an aura of fire; a slender, spectral figure that faded and appeared like smoke; and a living tree, with twisted roots and branches waving like tentacles.

It was as if Rise Online had been brought to real life.

"These are the Forest Challengers, competitors! Each one is worth different points, depending on the difficulty of hitting them and the risk they pose. Remember, your score will be calculated based on the accuracy of your shots and the points you score with these creatures."

The competitors watched with a mixture of fascination and apprehension. On the other hand, the audience went wild at this revelation, for it wouldn't be a tedious archery contest after all, but a battle of the best young archers in the country against holograms of monsters.

The competitors exchanged nervous glances as they watched the silhouettes of the creatures projected on the screens.

Some of them kept their expressions focused, while others seemed slightly lost, trying to assimilate the unexpected challenge into the challenge.

Lara, from the New York Archery Department, adjusted her quiver and picked up her bow with trembling hands. She was known for her impeccable precision, but facing holographic monsters was a completely new test. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stared at the green troll on the screen, the monster that seemed to be worth the most points, but also seemed to be the hardest to hit.

"You can do it, Lara..." she whispered to herself, trying to gather her confidence.

Andrew approached and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, they can't touch you. They're holograms, so only your arrows can touch them, because they have the technology to do so."

Lara seemed to be reassured by Andrew's comment, and Andrew's words gave Klaus an idea. 𝐢𝐧𝗻𝗿𝐞𝗮𝐝.𝗰𝗼𝗺

If they weren't going to be attacked directly by the creatures, what was the point of having a creature as big as a troll, because with a bow and arrow it would be enough to keep a considerable distance and keep shooting until it killed, because it was a big target. It wouldn't make sense for a competition like this to have so many creatures if the easiest one to hit and find was probably a troll, unless the troll was a kind of decoy, capturing the competitors' attention and undermining their arrows.

'In other words, the creature that gives the most points if hit is actually a fast or small creature.' Kaito thought about it.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

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https://discord.gg/bpqq9u4gS8

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