The feeling of returning to the Starting City of Holinda was a mixture of emotions for Kaizen.

The last time he had been there, he knew almost nothing about Rise Online, how things worked, what the world beyond the walls looked like. Still, facing this complete unknown was not a problem for Kaizen. In fact, it was the most exciting thing he had done in the last few years of his life.

It was a sunny day, like the day Kaizen first logged on. The trees were rustling as intensely as ever. The wind refreshed the laborers in the fields.

Although Holinda was a city with nobles, proving to be an essential trading point, finding plant fields and farms was not so unusual in this region.

Kaizen felt that he might even be interested in becoming a farmer, but that would only happen if the profession of the farmer was more lucrative than blacksmithing.

‘No… That should be impossible. A farmer probably only has the benefit of getting free food.’ He continued to theorize about this as he watched the field workers.𝓞𝒱𝐞𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t

The trip to Holinda took almost two hours, as Kaizen had the slowness debuff applied by excess weight in his inventory, so he walked quite slowly.

On the way, he noticed that when he left the Cloudy Woods region, he met many more people, even much more than when he made the same journey with Magma’s group.

Some NPCs asked for his help this time, and he didn’t refuse these small tasks and brief talks. Thanks to this, he learned much more from talking to these people who lived in the game world than from reading articles on the Webnet.

During the journey, wolves with steel fangs jumped out of the bushes to attack him in the middle of the road, but they were all easily killed.

In addition, he also had to run away from a strange skeleton that crawled along the ground behind him. It was bizarre that he could not read this gruesome creature’s statistics with the <Analyzing Eye>.

Kaizen could swear in front of an entire court that during the walk, there was a moment when the whole region was covered by a shadow and that when he looked up into the sky, he saw something moving above the clouds.

Walking alone through the world of Rise Online was something frighteningly fascinating and exciting. Kaizen did not know what he might find in every corner.

Luckily, as the newcomer was walking along one of these long paths, already spotting the great walls of Holinda from afar, he heard sounds of horses’ hooves approaching. He looked back and saw that a small cart, which was being pulled quietly by a thin donkey, was coming. Usually, Kaizen wouldn’t dare ask a stranger for a ride, but he was tired, his food had run out, and the sun seemed to be getting hotter.

He stepped out of the middle of the road and stretched his right arm upwards. That way, maybe the wagon driver would at least stop and talk.

As the wagon came closer, Kaizen could see the name above the head of the person driving it. Therefore, the man in question was an NPC. Kaizen used the <Analyzer Eye> to ensure his safety and was even more relieved to see that the man was only level 4.

Kindly, the driver of the small wagon, stop to chat.

“Good afternoon, stranger! Are you going to Holinda? If you are, I can offer you a ride.” Said Oloster with a friendly smile.

Oloster was an old man of about sixty with long dirty white hair, whose skin was full of sun marks. He also had a completely white left eye, indicating he was blind.

“Yes, I am going to Holinda, Old man. Wouldn’t it be a problem to take me with you?” Kaizen asked.

“Not at all! Come on, take a sit!” Oloster stretched out his right arm politely to help Kaizen up. “You look pretty tired to me, there’s no reason to refuse a helping hand sometimes, even if you are as young as you are.”

It was not in Kaizen’s plans to refuse such an invitation, so he accepted and climbed into the wagon with a smile on his face.

On the way to Holinda, Kaizen started a conversation with Oloster by asking the old man’s name. Although the boy already knew the answer to his question, because Oloster was an NPC, Kaizen realized that asking the NPCs’ names made them happier and more willing to talk. In contrast, when he called them by name directly, it created an aversion, and the NPCs became more afraid.

After the exchange of introductions, the talk continued to flow.

Oloster revealed himself to be a nomad, a wanderer, who does not stick to a specific place in the world. The world is his home.

Kaizen was deeply interested in the subject, as he knew very little about the world of Rise Online.

In that case, Oloster was more than happy to share his worldly knowledge. More than anything, the old man loved to talk about it.

So, Oloster told him that the world where the human realms lie is called Midgard, a place full of green fields, rocky mountains, and lush deserts, surrounded by an endless sea.

​ Midgard is a place full of deep mysteries whose answers seem to have been lost in history.

Labyrinths, dungeons, abandoned cities, lairs, Orc villages, fortresses, flying islands, and many other things with no apparent explanation can be found. However, in every corner of Midgard, there is a living being ready to clear the dark, dispelling the fog of the arcane.

There are dozens of gigantic human nations scattered across Midgard, but the most famous ones, without a doubt, are the kingdoms: Vrikhodour, Tretidian, and Mibothen.

“Actually, the last kingdom I mentioned is a principality, from what I remember. However, Mibothen has the economic power of a kingdom!” stated Oloster in a prickly voice. “By the way, answering your previous question, we are currently north of the capital of Tretidian!”

“Sir, thank you very much for your teachings. Now I am sure I will not get lost again. Would you like me to buy you a drink as a gesture of gratitude?” Kaizen spoke as he stepped down from the wagon at the gate to the city of Holinda, where his and Oloster’s paths diverged.

“No, stranger. I am glad that an old man like me can help you so much with my endless speeches. Goodbye!”

Oloster, with his old cart pulled by the donkey Pog, followed the road and did not stop at Holinda even to rest.

Kaizen thought at this point that all the NPCs in Rise Online were nice, but as soon as he turned around and faced the town, he remembered the trouble he had had with the nobles, the ignorant answers from the merchants, and the contemptuous looks from the citizens.

Nevertheless, Kaizen wanted it all to be different now. He had titles, earned fame points, and rose many levels. So, he lurched up the column and stated aloud:

“Now, toward the Auction House!”

…

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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