Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

After the negotiation, Kaizen and Klank said their goodbyes, but a few moments after they turned their backs on each other, Psyker heard his colleague's voice.

"Hey, Klaus, wait a minute." Klank said, running towards him.

"What is it?" Kaizen inquired, confused.

Klank looks around, then leans forward and whispers:

"I heard reports that Korgrak was asking about you behind the scenes, where you might be and if anyone had seen you here in the capital in the last few days. Have you done anything to irritate them or anything like that?" He asked worriedly.

Kaizen thought for a few seconds and remembered that he had promised Korgrak something, but now he couldn't even remember what it was. However, he knew that Korgrak knew where he lived, so he tried to allay Klank's concerns and said that it was probably just some promise he had to pay to her, which was why she was looking for him.

Klank seemed relieved by Kaizen's explanation. Kaizen thanked him for his concern and promised that there was nothing important in his relationship with Korgrak. With that, the two friends said goodbye and went in opposite directions.

After that, Kaizen decided to return to the Raven Feather shop. Arriving there, he entered without blinking, and since it was lunchtime, the shop was empty. As a result, Og'tharoz wore a bored expression behind the counter, but as soon as Kaizen entered, the demon greeted him with a smile.

"Kaizen, my friend, are you back already? How are you?" said Og'tharoz.

"I am well, thank you. Listen, did you hear any comments about me in the days I was gone?" asked Kaizen, a little concerned about the information Klank had given him.

"Some people have been asking about you lately, asking about the blacksmith and not necessarily your name. However, two days ago, a man with a bizarre face showed up here. He asked about Kaizen, and as you told me, I told him that I didn't know who he was. The man seemed disappointed, but he left a piece of paper with a series of numbers that made no sense at all. I don't know what this is all about." Og'tharoz replied, frowning and handing over the paper from his pants pocket.

Kaizen was thoughtful, but when he looked at the order and spacing of some of the numbers on the paper, he thanked Og'tharoz for the information and said he already knew exactly what those numbers meant. Then Kaizen went to his forge room and signed out.

Inside the Deep Immersion capsule, Klaus took his cell phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. He double-checked the number and carefully typed it on the phone's virtual keyboard. After a few seconds, the call was finally answered.

"Hello?" A female voice answered.

"Good morning. I received this number, which you probably left with a friend of mine. You must already know who I am, so can you tell me what this is about? Why are you looking for me, Korgrak?" he asked in a serious and controlled voice.

"I believe we have business to discuss, don't we, Kaizen? Go to the Library Square of the capital today at 1 pm. You know very well where it is," the woman on the other end of the line replied.

"Business?" He asked, confused.

"There's no need to talk about it on the phone. You'll remember it better when we meet. See you soon." She ended the call abruptly.

Obviously, Klaus was confused and worried by this conversation. Try as he might, he could not remember what his promise to Korgrak had been. He could only remember that they had a 'rendezvous' in his shop a few weeks ago.

In the real world, it was still less than nine in the morning, so he assumed that Korgrak had actually scheduled the meeting based on the time in the world of Rise Online, so he logged in again and immediately checked the time. It was still 12:30, which meant that he still had half an hour to get to the place where he was fighting the Eye of Hermodr.

With that in mind, Kaizen and his mare, Black Cloud, quickly made their way to the Library Square. Since he was traveling on horseback, it took him only twenty minutes to cross the city and reach the square, which meant he was ten minutes ahead of schedule.

Kaizen looked around, taking in the hustle and bustle of the place. The plaza was a large open space, surrounded by many commercial buildings and filled with gamblers and merchants moving in all directions. At the end of the square was the library, a large and imposing building with white columns and glass windows. The ground was paved with light-colored stones that contrasted with the dark buildings that surrounded the square. There were no trees, just a few stalls scattered along the sidewalks.

Kaizen dismounted his Black Cloud mare and tied her to a nearby post. He looked around again, searching for the recognizable figure of Korgrak, but to his surprise he didn't find her, but another person from her guild, a man with deep circles under his eyes, an angry look on his face, a large sword on his back, and a bottle of beer in one hand. As soon as Kaizen sensed the man's presence, the man sensed Kaizen's presence as well.

Korgrak's colleague threw the empty beer bottle into a trash can and began to approach Kaizen.

"Sup, bro," the man said, approaching the Psyker for a handshake. His voice was deep and rough, and it sounded like he was always about to start a fight. "I don't know if you remember me, but I am Salles of the Metal Dragons Guild. Korgrak can't be out in public too much, or it will draw unnecessary attention, but he asked me to come here to welcome you. You have some free time today, right?"

Kaizen looked at Salles and analyzed his intentions. He seemed aggressive, but at the same time he seemed to be controlling his emotions. Kaizen decided it would be best to remain neutral and listen to what he had to say, so he crossed his arms and inquired:

"What does Korgrak want from me? And why now?"

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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