Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



Armed with his victory over the leader of the Lamia, Kaizen watched the Palace from afar, realizing that there were still more challenges to face.

The monsters continued to wreak havoc in the streets of the Capital, but Kaizen knew that this was something the other players could handle. Thus, he went to an alley, put on the mask that was the Guardian's Elm, and advanced toward the Palace with a leap propelled by <Psychokinesis>.

As he approached the imposing doors of the Palace, he was greeted by a vision of complete destruction. The debris and rubble strewn around the Palace entrance testified to the intensity of the clashes that had taken place there. In addition, many soldiers were lying fallen or dead beside the walls, which was a shocking scene for Kaizen, after all some of the armor and swords he had forged were lying with the corpses.

This made Kaizen feel anguish, but also a lot of anger. And just as he was walking through the gates of the walls, Kaizen heard a whisper that sounded like someone calling his name.

Kaizen turned back and actually saw a man crawling through the mixture of dirt and blood with his hand outstretched.

Immediately, Psyker rushed to help this man, for he was the only one among everyone who was alive, so there was still room to save him.

"Kai...zen..." The man muttered once again and could no longer stand to raise his arm.

"Talk to me, stay conscious. I have something for you here." Kaizen stated, opening his inventory.

Kaizen's fingers glided with extreme speed across the system interface, opening his inventory and then typing the name of the item he wanted into the search bar. Then, in the palm of his right hand materialized a glass vial whose contents were a deep green liquid, that is, an advanced healing potion. Without hesitation, Kaizen put the mouth of the vial against the wounded soldier's mouth and dropped the liquid.

A greenish aura enveloped the guard, healing his wounds and scratches, and after a few seconds he opened his eyes, causing Kaizen to be relieved.

"You saved me, Kaizen... I always knew you were a good man." The soldier stated.

Kaizen didn't even know who this NPC was and was pretty sure he had never seen him in his life, so he assumed that being recognized was part of now having a lot of fame on the continent.

"I just did what was in my power." Kaizen stated and helped the man to his feet. "Are there any other living ones like you around? I have a large stock of potions with me, I can help them."

"There should still be one or two, but don't worry about that. Inside the walls there is a stock of healing potions that we were used to administer, so I will help whoever is still alive around here. You are more important, you are stronger, so you should go help your majesty." Affirmed the guard.

"Of course I will. That was already in my plans. But where are they? In the Throne Room or in the chambers?"

"I don't know, Lord Kaizen, probably.... I only know that it has been many minutes since everything has been silent in there. I fear for the worst."

Kaizen frowned, looking up at the palace tower. "Who did this to you? Who could wipe out a magical defense and also such an intense physical defense? Was it the lamiae?"

The man quickly denied with his head. "We were doing fine, we were even managing to control the airspace with the help of the mages, only that was useless when she appeared."

"Who is she? What did she look like?"

"It was all too fast, sir. I was replenishing the archers' arrows when an explosion destroyed the part of the wall where I was standing. We all fell. Afterwards I only remember flashes of memories and confused scenes while my consciousness was faint. I remember seeing one by one the guards falling to her magic, as well as her silhouette floating so that her long hair didn't touch the ground." The guard explained with his eyes bulging just remembering.

"So, the enemy is a mage.... All right, I believe that is all I will get. Anyway, thank you very much. I'm off, so don't die!" Kaizen said, already walking toward the great wall gates.

The soldier nodded with a fearful countenance.

Kaizen entered cautiously, watching every corner for signs of life or remaining enemies.

As he advanced, he contemplated the devastated, dead garden, as well as the quietness of the place compared to the center of the city. The impression he had was that the monsters were no longer attacking the palace because whoever was controlling them had already passed or received the order that the palace was overrun. If this was the case, Kaizen would be in more trouble than he wanted to be.

Upon entering the palace, Kaizen felt how heavy the air was with the dark energy that permeated the place. The halls were completely dark and the grand halls that stretched out before Kaizen were more of a challenge now than ever before.

On the floor of the initial hall, it was still possible to find some remains of monsters, mainly lamia, and also traces of blood.

Kaizen, however, had no time to check these blood trails. First he needed to go to the Throne Room to check if the royal family was there. If they were, he would have to take them somewhere safe, perhaps the library since Alina could transport them anywhere with one of her big-school magics.

Crossing the initial palace lobby to the staircase leading to the great doors of the throne room, Kaizen could feel that a dark aura hung in the air, a combination of fear, despair and evil power. The walls were marked by cracks and bloodstains, while the lavish tapestries were now torn and faded. And when he finally stood before the doors to the throne room, he pushed them hard, causing a loud creaking to echo throughout the palace.

As he gazed into the throne room, he instantly realized that the king was not there. The place was empty and partially dark, lit only by moonlight seeping through the dozen or so panes of glass. However, at the level Kaizen was currently at, thanks to the Intelligence Attribute his perception was high enough to know that there was someone inside this place, someone behind the throne.

"Who's there?" asked Kaizen loudly, his voice echoing through the quiet hall.