The new armor forged by Zahir cost Kaizen a whopping 700 silver coins, or 7 gold coins, in his pockets. Since he had 17 gold coins, there were now only 10 gold coins left after the payment to Zahir.

The dwarf was happier when he could take the money for himself than when he saw Kaizen wearing the armor he had worked so hard on all night.

Kaizen was a little disappointed that the intrinsic benefit of his profession of Blacksmith’s Apprentice, which gave a discount on weapon purchases, was not activated because the purchase from Zahir was for armor. Still, it was understandable.

‘In the future, I hope to gain discounts on armor as well. Maybe when I move up the ranks in my profession…’

After Zahir finished giving Kaizem some advice on blacksmithing, he ordered that the moment Kaizen returned to Holinda after exploring the Howling Draughtsmen, repairs on the new armor be done in his store and not in any crummy blacksmith store. Kaizen agreed to this request on the condition that he got a super discount, which the blacksmith had to accept out of pride and also because he wanted to hear about what the Howling Cliff is really like, and not the tales of fearful adventurers who don’t risk taking on this region hard enough.

*Ping*

[You have found a Hidden Quest].

<strong>[Quest Name:</strong> Visit the Howling Cliffs

When you told Zahir that you would visit the Howling Cliffs, he became interested in the subject. Explore the region for over an hour and return to tell Zahir how the trip went.

Possible rewards upon completing this Quest:

– +500 XP.

– Class Points (1x).

– Discounts on repairs with Zahir (Your relationship level must be at least at a good level).

Do you wish to accept? YES/NO<strong>]</strong>

Kaizen looked at the screen that suddenly appeared and, without a second thought, he clicked YES.

[You have accepted the mission ‘Visit to the Howling Cliffs.’]

𝑶𝐕𝓁xt.𝒸𝒐𝑚

<strong>[Warning! The quest will fail if:</strong>

– You return to the Zahir Lodge without having visited the mentioned region<strong>].</strong>

The amount of experience as a reward for the mission was surprisingly low. However, the discount benefit was satisfactory, but what made him accept this mission was the surprising Class Point. He still only had 2 Class Points and needed 3 more if he wanted to unlock the skill <Mapping>, which would allow him to copy skills from other users and maybe even NPCs.

In any case, when Kaizen left Zahir’s store, he had already decided to show the Dagger of Obsession to the dwarf only when he returned to make repairs to the armor. This way, perhaps the dwarf would be convinced that he is no ordinary novice. Kaizen just didn’t do it right away because he wanted to have enough time to talk to the blacksmith when he did, and at the moment, he couldn’t wait to explore the world again.

Now that the main item for travel was already in Kaizen’s body, he knew he needed to go shopping for a few more things before he left.

So, he walked to an exclusive market street near the Holinda Starting Square and bought lots of fruit, which were the cheapest edible items in the game. He also got potato loaves.

In addition, he bought a much larger water canteen than his starter one. The trip could be long, so having a more considerable amount of water would be useful.

In total, only 10 silver coins were spent on these essential purchases, which put Kaizen’s greedy spirit at ease after spending the equivalent of $70 on armor. Despite this, the novice could already tell the difference between when he wore armor and when he was not.

Before, people would look at him and see a guy in rookie clothes, which displayed the fact that he was low-level. However, since he was now wearing a very nice armor set, all the users who looked at him at least not only didn’t laugh or joke but also had him as a target of admiration. Thousands of new users started playing Rise Online every day. Still, the first thing they usually bought after getting a little money was items that improved the aesthetics of their avatars, buying non-newbie clothes or cheap armor just to look different from the black-clad newbies.

Kaizen’s story was just an isolated one, of someone who totally ignored his aesthetics and focused on just figuring out the game’s mechanics and how the world worked. Logically, this made him hundreds of steps ahead of users who started playing on the same day as him.

When the newcomer finished filling his canteens with water from the fountain in a square near the eastern exit of Holinda, he looked up at the large archway with the high iron gates and noticed that far fewer players were leaving the city from this area. He didn’t know the reason for this, and he thought it was better, but after looking at the city guard standing under the arch, Kaizen decided to ask him a few questions to better inform himself.

Kaizen normally approached the guard, the man was wearing a golden plate armor set with an ornate sun on the chest. Kaizen said:

“Good afternoon, officer. I was curious about something and decided to come and ask you.”

“Good afternoon, warrior. Feel free to ask your question, I am here to help any citizen who is in this city.” The man with the thinning beard and droopy eyes replied.

Kaizen looked up from the guard’s head and noticed that there was no name.

“You are a player…” He muttered.

“Of course, I am. Do you have a problem with that? If it’s about information, I’ve been working as a city guard for two weeks now, so you can ask any question.”

“Okay, if you’re so well-prepared, tell me why there are so few people coming out here. I looked for a while in the last five minutes and saw only two players. The other day, I was near the south exit and that place is always crowded.”

“Don’t you know? Man, everyone knows that the east exit of Holinda is an almost forbidden place for low-level players. Only very high-level players dare to go out this way.”

“Ah, yes… Now that you said it, I remembered that.” Kaizen lied. He had never heard of it.

“Well, of course, you know. Everyone knows. The only ones who shouldn’t know are the lonely, friendless players who can’t socialize enough even to put together a party. However, I don’t think that will be a problem for you.” The guard offered a genuine smile to Kaizen.

“Thank you?” Kaizen said as he looked away. ‘The worst part about it is that he is right… I like playing alone, but having a duo wouldn’t be such a bad thing either.’

…

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

More character images in:

https:///bpqq9u4gS8

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