Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

"Blessing of Bastet?" questioned Jayaa.

"That's an Egyptian Goddess, isn't it? I thought the mythology of that game was based on Norse mythology." Kaizen pointed out.

"Me too."

Isabella suddenly cracked a smile and touched Jayaa's shoulder as if he was an idiot. "You men are very shallow sometimes. The world base of Rise Online is Norse mythology because that is the richest world base there is to explore, but the pantheon of gods and culture present in this game blends different mythologies, cultures and legends, no wonder there are no repeated quests. There are different classes, races and worlds, so you can't judge the story of an entire book just because you've read the first few pages."

"I think you're right..." Klaus said. "By the way, why are you dating an idiot like Jayaa? You seem way too smart to fall for his bullshit."

"Hey!" Jayaa exclaimed, feeling offended. "Well, it's true..." He muttered next.

"Come to think of it, I think you're right. Love, that coffee had some kind of love potion in it, right? Hahaha!"

"Maybe?" said Jayaa in a mischievous voice, slipping his left arm behind Isabella's neck to hug her.

Taking advantage of the fact that the story about the horde event was already over and that he was about to get a candle from his flatmate, Klaus got up from the couch and said:

"I'm going to give the lovebird couple some privacy and I'm going to start packing my things. It's getting late and I haven't packed anything yet."

Just as Klaus said he would, he picked up his moving boxes and went upstairs to his small room on the second floor. The room was exactly as he left it the day he came to check out the space and took the opportunity to organize it a bit.

Each of the three boxes he carried with him had different kinds of things. The first box carried a lot of clothes, such as shirts, jackets, pants, underwear, and socks. In the second, there was his computer and its peripherals, as well as the NeuroGear. Finally, in the third box were shoes, picture frames, some books and other personal belongings.

'That's enough for me. Except if I need it badly, I don't intend to buy anything else until I get my parents' house back.'

In no hurry, he began to organize his clothes in the small closet built into the wall after cleaning it inside. Before, the closet was so dusty and cobwebby that it looked as if it had not been opened for many years. Next, Klaus arranged what looked like a bed, but the mattress was so thin that it could be mistaken for a Boy Scout sleeping bag. He covered this with sheets, making it look more comfortable.

Finally, he began to tidy up his desk. He set up his computer, which was not too big because it had cheap components and was not tiny either, for the same reason. After connecting the wires, he realized that he would not have to go through the trouble of pulling an internet cable, because in the room there was already one with the outlet near the desk.

'Apparently, the previous owner also used this small room as an office.'

After connecting everything to the CPU, Klaus turned on the computer to check that everything was right. After checking that the internet and peripherals were working, he looked at the time that pointed in the bottom right corner of the screen. It was 00:12. Klaus was amazed to see that it was already 12 o'clock, because it had taken him longer than he thought to get his new room ready and he would have to get up early the next day to go to the bank to hand over the keys and also to visit his brother Rhyzer, as he did every Saturday.

I'm not even going to test to see if the NeuroGear is working. I'll do that tomorrow...' Klaus said to himself and turned off the computer.

Just as he was about to lie down on his bed, his stomach rumbled with hunger. A few hours had passed since dinner.

'I wonder if there is any curry left? I've never cooked with such quality ingredients before, so I'm even in the mood for some more.' He thought as he opened the bedroom door and then found the duplex completely dark except for the moonlight and the city light that invaded the living room through the large panes of glass. 'Should I put on a shirt? Nah! I bet Jayaa and Isabella have already gone to their room.'

Suddenly Klaus heard a noise coming from the first. It was a soft sound, as if someone was walking in the house.

'Huh? Did I make a mistake and are they still here?' Klaus thought.

With that, Klaus decided to investigate the noise and went to the living room, where he found the bathroom door ajar. The yellow light from the bathroom reached his feet and apparently the shower was also on. He didn't know if it was Jayaa or Isabella who was taking a shower, or maybe both at the same time, but he ignored this and went to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the first thing Kaizen did was to grab one of the dishes that was in the dishwasher, and since the curry pot was neither in the washer nor in the sink, he went to check the refrigerator.

'Ah, here it is!'

He was happy that the pot was in the refrigerator and that there was still some curry left, but before he could take the pot out of the refrigerator, he heard the sound of someone walking in the house again. Actually, the footsteps were coming from behind him.

When he turned around, Klaus was confronted by a female figure standing in the kitchen doorway, with a white towel on her body and another towel wrapped around her head. This woman was definitely not Isabella, because she was snow white and had blue eyes, not green.

The woman looked at him and seemed as surprised as he was. No, she was much more surprised and scared, because she had a strange man in her house. Unconsciously, she dropped the towel that wrapped her hair, revealing her bright red strands. At that moment, each of them was completely sure who the other was.

​ "Kaizen!?"

"Bloody Lily!?"

They said at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" The two asked in sync as well.