Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The bell above the entrance to the Raven Feather Shop was used more in the last week of the year than it had been in the last 100 years that it had been lying in one of the rooms at the back of the residence.

However, on the first day of January, while Kaizen was doing the process of tempering a spearhead, an unexpected visitor rang the bell as he entered the store.

The store was still closed, so when Kaizen heard the bell, he was surprised. Since Og'tharoz was resting, Kaizen had to stop what he was doing to explain to whoever it was that the store was not yet open.

As the Psyker left the room in the back of the store, he hung his thick apron on a rack along the way and appeared in the counter area while still taking off his forging gloves.

A tall man, who reached six feet in height, was looking at a few items that were in a barrel. These were items that did not please Kaizen, so he did not put them on display and technically they were not for sale either.

"Good afternoon, sir. As you can see, we are practically out of stock. Would you mind coming back another day? Perhaps when we have something that meets your expectations? Or, if you prefer, you can order a specific item." Kaizen said, not even bothering to go around the counter to serve him more closely.

The mysterious man continued looking at the items in the barrel and pulled out an arrow from within this after a few seconds. He looked closely at the arrow and clicked his tongue afterwards.

"Tsk! I'm a little disappointed... I heard so many things about this store while trying to locate it that I thought I would find magnificent items, but is it items in this deplorable condition that people are enjoying here in the Capital?" The stranger asked as he turned his body toward Kaizen with the arrow in his hand.

At that moment, Kaizen could see more about this NPC's appearance. Above his head was a question mark, indicating that he was not a player, but he was also not an RO character like the others.

The man had long brown hair and a bushy beard covered his face. However, one of the features that surprised Kaizen the most was the prop this man wore on his eyes, dark glasses. It was not unusual to find players with ordinary glasses, as this was a common prop in avatar customization and even some NPCs wore normal glasses, but Kaizen had never seen someone wearing dark glasses in this game.

The arrow the man was holding reflected in his glasses as if he were standing in front of a mirror, and Kaizen soon realized that he could not read this man easily. Still, Kaizen, as the store owner, had to be patient. Not least because he couldn't get any information by using the <Analyzer Eye>, so all he had to do was remain calm.

"Sir, this is a bottom-of-the-barrel item, meaning it does not reflect the actual quality of our items. As I said earlier, if you want something that meets your expectations, come back another day. We are closed." Kaizen said.

This seemed to bother the man because he immediately frowned, split the arrow shaft in two, and he appeared in the blink of an eye in front of Kaizen on the counter, as if he could teleport himself.

The dirty overcoat this man was wearing was thrown back with the movement, showing two daggers in sheaths on his belt.

Even with the stranger's harshness and abnormal speed, Kaizen didn't even take a step back, and when the two stood facing each other, they stared at each other for a few seconds in silence. Kaizen with an expression of indifference, and the man with an expression that mixed seriousness and impatience. 𝑓𝑟eℯ𝒘𝗲𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚𝒍.𝒄o𝐦

After a while, slowly a yellowish smile appeared on the stranger's face and he took off his glasses, showing his vibrant yellow eyes.

"Hahaha! You really are as brave as I was told you would be. Man, tell me, you are the one they call Kaizen, aren't you? Or rather... should I call you for what you really are? The only Psyker alive." The man asked with a smile and took a step back after Kaizen showed such impishness.

"That depends. Who told you all this?" Kaizen asked seriously. It wasn't every day that a strange NPC walked into his store and mysteriously knew his secret identity.

"That doesn't matter now, but don't look at me like that. I'm not an enemy." The man held up his hands. "I was only a little ruder earlier as I wanted to know if I could intimidate a Psyker or not. If I could, that would be a source of pride until the day I die! HAHAHAHA!"

"What do you want?"

The man's animated face quickly turned serious again. "I want to make a proposition to you, Psyker. My name is Linus Farwynn and I am a hunter. Do you know what that means?"

"A hunter? Of course I..."

"I'm not a normal hunter." Linnus whispered as he leaned forward a little.

His words caught Kaizen's attention enough.

"What... do you mean by that?"

The man returned to his normal posture and put his hand inside one of the pockets of his overcoat. Then he withdrew a white card from that pocket.

"My point, Mister Psyker, is that your actions have drawn enough attention for us to notice you. You have done a good job so far, avoided the worst case scenario, protected the Capital from a massive attack by The Eye of Hermodr, and protected the Royal Family as well. However, as a Psyker, you not only need to improve in many aspects, you must... I know you must be suspicious of what I am saying, after all a guy like me came into your home so rudely, I would be suspicious too." Linnus spread his arms, smiled, and then whispered to Kaizen. "But if you go to the Three Spells Inn in Holinda and ask the tavernkeeper about Nairo, she will explain everything you need to know."

"What if I don't go?"

"Well, that will be a decision and you must have learned by now that in this world every decision has a consequence. Should you go there, you will need this so that Nairo will not kill you. Take it." Linnus held out a card to Kaizen, who took it.

On the card there were only three words.

"Order of Dalamyr? What is that?" Kaizen asked after reading it, but the moment he raised his head again, Linnus was gone, this time without even making the door bell jingle.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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