Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The arrows Klaus fired moved through the air like little snakes, snaking through the shooting stand before hitting the target with a satisfying thud. The change in Klaus' accuracy from the previous rounds was remarkable. Now, every arrow could hit the center of the target, which seemed to be his new normal, and he continued to shoot, fast and efficient, without mistakes or misses for the most part.

The holographic targets appeared on the stand one after the other, and Klaus concentrated on each one before firing. And with each arrow that Klaus shot, he quickly loaded a new arrow while looking for the place where the next target would appear.

Then the next arrow would fly towards the next target, cutting the air with a whistle even sharper than the previous one. Klaus seemed to be in complete harmony not only with the bow and arrows, but also with his own body and instincts, knowing exactly the power and trajectory he needed to use. As his arrows flew, he didn't wait to know if the arrow would miss, he just focused on the next target and forgot about the previous one.

The sound of the arrows cutting through the air was interrupted only by the metallic sound of the targets being hit, followed by the sounds of the department members sighing in surprise once again.

His colleagues watched without saying anything, but they were increasingly impressed by Klaus' skill. They noticed the remarkable difference between Klaus before and Klaus now. It was as if they were watching a completely different person shoot. So he was not being a snob when he said that he had tested some things before, because it was not a lie.

Mrs. Nairn, who had been skeptical before, now watched Klaus with an expression of admiration and a twinkle in her eye.

Finally, when the last target was hit, Klaus let go of the bowstring and let out a satisfied sigh and smile. He turned to face Mrs. Nairn and the rest of the group, keeping his posture straight and his face impassive. The crowd cheered and muttered compliments.

"Wow, he's really good!" One boy praised him as he applauded.

"This guy didn't even take himself seriously from the beginning. He hit 28 out of 30 targets."

"Looks like he's improved a little since last time, huh?" David inquired of Nathan, who also nodded in amazement.

Carrie smiled and continued applauding. She wasn't as surprised as the others, because she shot with the same method as Klaus, but she wasn't strong enough to be as fast and impressive as he was, but she was certainly more accurate.

"Man, I've never seen anyone shoot that well!" one of the group exclaimed in awe.

"That was amazing, Klaus!" said another member of the group, still a bit stunned by what he had just seen.

Klaus, on the other hand, was a little shy with all the attention on him. He wasn't used to being complimented and didn't know how to handle it yet. He smiled shyly at the group members, not quite sure what to say.

Mrs. Nairn approached Klaus with an unusual expression that seemed to be a mixture of shyness, regret, shame and pride. Her cheeks were as red as a strawberry.

"Klaus, that was... impressive. Congratulations," she said. "You exceeded my expectations, but I have to say, a test is not the right place to test new things like you did before. That might sound demeaning and disrespectful to your colleagues, you know what I mean?"

Klaus smiled and thanked them, still a little embarrassed. He looked down for a moment before he looked back at Mrs. Nairn and said:

"Thank you, Ms. Nairn. I will take your advice. And, boys, I am sorry if I have offended you, it was not my intention."

Mrs. Nairn nodded with a smile and put her hand on Klaus' shoulder.

"You can become even better than you already are, Klaus. I know you know that, that's why you tried to try new things, but don't forget to be patient." Then she turned and looked at the others. "In fact, all of you can become even better than you already are. You were chosen for this special program to develop your talents and become great names. But we must work together as a team. We can't have one member of the department trying to prove something on his own. Let's work together to achieve our goals.

Klaus and all the other members of the department nodded in agreement with Ms. Nairn's words. They knew she was right.

"With that in mind, I have already made my decision about who will be the captain of the department. And before I announce it, I want you to know that the position of captain will not be filled by the best among you, or the most talented, or the most communicative, but by the one who best fits my idea of a leader today. The captain's role will be to mediate between me, the other members, and the program committee.

Everyone looked at each other, trying to figure out who would be the chosen one. They were nervous, anxious to know who would be chosen as captain. Some of them had sweaty hands, others had slightly shaking legs. The tension in the air was palpable.

Klaus was also curious who it would be, but he remained as calm as ever. It would be better if it was one of his roommates like Andrew, because then he could do the errands easier, but it would also be bad if that was the case. In any case, Klaus knew that he still wasn't the best of all options, so he wasn't worried about being chosen for the captain's position.

Mrs. Nairn paused dramatically and looked at each of the group members, noting their tense and worried faces, before finally saying:

"Considering all that I have said is necessary for a captain, I have decided that Lara Calvacanti is the best choice. Lara, I am counting on your services and I hope you will not disappoint me. Now you are all dismissed, we will meet again on Saturday at the same time as today. Don't be late."

The group members began to applaud and congratulate Lara, and Klaus was no different. He noted that she was very agile, even with a heavy bow, and that she had observation skills as good as his, only she was stricter with herself. In addition, Lara was so beautiful that any man would pay attention to her words, and so serious that all women felt respect for her.

And only when the teacher chose her, Lara allowed herself to smile a little with closed lips.

...

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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