The Park’s were very busy with their two moves, so their house was full of cardboard boxes in every room.

Klaus was going to move to Central New York, and his family would move into Chun’s friend’s kitchenette. Obviously, Klaus was not comfortable with this situation, but what could he do? Rent a house or apartment big enough for everyone to live together in New York? That was impossible. In current times, they could pool their three salaries and still not get paid enough for it.

For now, taking the cheapest route was the best option for them.

However, in the last two days, Klaus had a lot of time to think while exploring the regions that were new to him within the game.

The plan to travel to the Howling Draughts, and the time it was taking, made him realize that the trip that should have taken only a day or half was taking almost three days. He had only five to six hours to play after he got home, so his speed of advance through unfamiliar areas was far above the average of the other players, but still not enough. Klaus didn’t just want to make extra money with Rise Online, he wanted to pay off his family’s debts.

Klaus knew what he had to do to achieve this goal and be able to play longer.

On Wednesday morning, he told Jayaa several times that he was going to the bathroom and would be right back. His friend was strange at first, but he thought categorically that Klaus was just anxious because, at night, he would finally get to know his new apartment, so Jayaa didn’t interfere.

Although this was not far from the truth, Klaus was more nervous for another reason.

On all his trips to and from the bathroom, he passed in front of the door of Megan, his boss. Both the way there and the way back. He was nervous and didn’t know how to say it the right way because even though he had worked several jobs, Megan was the coolest boss he had ever had.

Letting her delicate glasses slide down her thin nose, Megan rolled her eyes when she saw Klaus return to his desk instead of talking to her. While it wasn’t too hard to know what he was thinking of doing, Megan was especially good at reading people and already knew what he would ask her.

When Klaus looked at the computer clock and realized that it was already 12:00, he swiveled his chair to the left, toward Jayaa’s desk, approached, and reached out to mute the phone.

“Hey, lunchtime. I need to talk to you.”

Jayaa, solicitous as always, asked, “Did something happen? Don’t tell me you have the shits…. I won’t go to the hospital with you, I hate that kind of place.”

Klaus smiled. “Dude, it’s not that. I’m about to do something, I just need a little push. You’ve played Rise Online, right?”

“Uhum…” Jayaa nodded, and gradually his confused face changed to surprise because he quickly assimilated what his colleague was about to say. “Klaus, you’re considering starting to play for money or something, aren’t you…? You, your debts. Fuck, now it all makes sense!” He exclaimed.

“Shhhhhh…” The other office workers called for silence when they heard Jayaa shout.

The blond-haired man heard people asking him to be quiet so much that he didn’t even care anymore.

“Keep your voice down.” Klaus whispered to him. “What makes sense?”

“Pay attention, man. You were a pro-player in Myth2 and made a lot of money, didn’t you? It makes perfect sense for you to think about making money from the game that is on a meteoric rise. You know, if you want, I can help you with the beginning. It’s a little complicated, but I gave my girlfriend some tips.” Jayaa showed her white teeth to Klaus as she confidently tapped him lightly on the back.

Klaus offered him a nervous smile at that moment.

“Ow, ow! Have you started playing yet? When? Where? Or rather… with whom?” Jayaa clenched his eyes and moved closer.

Looking away, Klaus replied: “That’s not what I want to talk about, yet. What I want to know is if you’ve actually made any significant money from the game yet.”

“Duur~ I obviously have, do you think I’m an idiot? Anyone can make money, if they’re good… It’s okay that I didn’t even get to see the greenies because a mage offered me some random chests in exchange for all my money. Plus, there was also the super stylish outfit I bought, and I had to buy items after I got killed and lost that outfit…”

“In other words, you are poor at the game.” Klaus said.

“Pretty much that.” Jayaa agreed without even looking sad.

“You’ve been playing for how long?”

“Three weeks, and I already know what you’re going to ask next, so I’ll answer: I made $70. Which is definitely not much, but I only play about 3 times a week at most, so it’s not that bad. 70 dollars is more than many people make per month in underdeveloped countries around the world.”

“You are completely right, except that I need a little more than $70 to pay for medical expenses. How about 2 million?”

“2 MILLION?!”

“Shhhhhh.” It was Klaus who asked him to keep his voice down this time. “Dude, I’m thinking about getting out of here and just focusing on the game, what do you think about that?”

“Sure. I have a NeuroGear at home you can use… Wait, when you say ‘get out of here’, you don’t mean quit, do you?”

Klaus nodded.

Jayaa shrugged his shoulders back and took on a more serious countenance. “Can I be honest? Go ahead with it, man. Life is made up of risks. If you’re not scared, then you’re not taking a risk. And if you’re not taking risks, then what are you doing?” Jayaa said.

His colleague’s words, which seemed to have come out of a TV series so precise and correct, served as the final push that Klaus Park needed. So, Klaus did what he had been doing all morning. He got up from his desk, entered the corridor on the right, and went straight to the end. This time, instead of going straight past Megan’s office, he entered her office after knocking.

“Megan…” He entered more calmly than he normally did.

Again, her glasses slid down her nose, and she looked at him complacently. “You don’t have to say anything, Klaus, I already know what you’re going to say.”

So, he walked over and sat in a chair in front of the woman’s desk. “Do you agree to be my girlfri… Just kidding, I really came to resign.” He smiled.

The brief expression of fright on Megan’s face disappeared when Klaus finished his sentence. She laughed briefly and slid a sheet of paper across the table to him. This sheet had a space for a signature.

“Before you sign, I have to ask as a person who cares: are you sure about this? You seemed very nervous a few minutes ago.”

Before answering his boss, Klaus picked up the black pen and touched the button on top of it for the tip to go down.

*Tlec*

The tip came down, and Klaus brought the paper closer to his resignation as he leaned forward. Strangely, a feeling that mixed relief, fear, and trepidation filled his chest and made him smile.

​ “I guess that’s my moment to take a chance.” He uttered.

With a quick motion with the pen in his left hand, Klaus wrote his full name in the signature space and handed the sheet back to Megan.

…

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:

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