Since Klaus didn’t want to go home so soon, because he would have to tell his father and mother about his decision to leave the company, he wanted to organize as much as he could of his new room in Jayaa’s apartment.

So he went down to the first floor, went to a nearby convenience store, and bought a few things, like cleaning products, a new lamp, and tape to close the boxes that were open. Klaus wished he could at least make his room into a livable place so that he wouldn’t literally sleep in a storage room when he moved out on Friday.

When he returned, the first thing he did was to replace the burned-out light bulb with a new one, and for this he didn’t need a ladder, because the ceiling was low and he was tall enough, so he just stretched. Then he swept the room, cleaned the moldy layer from the walls, organized the contents of the boxes as best he could, closed them, and put them under his bed. In this way, with small actions, in less than half an hour the small room no longer looked like a kidnapper’s captivity. There were still a few details to tidy up, but in time everything would be organized.

As soon as Klaus allowed Jayaa up to the second floor again, the blond man was impressed.

“Bro, how did you do that? That turned out perfect, I’m serious. Don’t tell me you know how to cook too, do you?”

“Yeah, I know a little. What do you have in mind?”

“Curry! Do you know how to make it? That delicious, hot and spicy dish. Hm~ It’s just that pizza is over, you know, I wanted something with sustenance.”

“Of course I can make Curry, however, I won’t make it for you today.”

Jayaa’s shoulders slumped and so did his ears, like that of a puppy. “Erh? Seriouslyy? Why, man?”

“Because I’m tired. I’ll make it on Friday if you buy the necessary ingredients, or maybe not, who knows.” Klaus spoke, throwing his black suit jacket over his left shoulder and leaving the room. “Otherwise, don’t forget to send me the password for the door. Adiós.”𝒪𝔳𝑙xt.𝑐𝑂𝔪

Jayaa ran to the second-floor wall and shouted to Klaus, who was already descending to the first floor:

“Hey, Klaus, wait! On Friday my sister will be back from a trip, at least that’s what she said this time, so it can’t be Friday. Come make the curry tomorrow! I’ll buy everything you need.

“I’ll be busy tomorrow and so will you. The curry is on Friday and you can’t negotiate. Look on the bright side, if your sister will be here, she can see how good I am at cooking and maybe even fall in love with me.” Smiling with confidence, Klaus replied.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. That’s impossible!” yelled Jayaa after Klaus opened the door to leave. ‘It’s impossible, right?’

On the way back to his house, Klaus had to use subway and train, but he used this travel time to rehearse a few times the words he would say to his parents. However, when he arrived home and saw them packing up their things together in the garage, the words came out of his mouth naturally and calmly. He was an adult and although he knew that quitting in the middle of a family financial crisis was not the most normal decision, he felt that what he was doing was the best in the long run.

Chun and Michael Park were very understanding. After all, they had been through this same conversation years ago when Klaus had signed his first professional contract.

After that, all four family members had dinner at the small table after a long time. It seemed that the problem with the house helped them to connect again.

When Klaus entered his large room, which was no longer as crowded as before, he didn’t even think much about what he should do. He turned on his computer and also the NeuroGear.

Normally, people in his situation would hesitate or get nervous when they went to play again, but Klaus didn’t mind pressure. It actually made him a much better player.

[Do you wish to connect to RISE ONLINE? YES/NO.]

“Yes!”

Before he opened his eyes already in the other world, Kaizen felt the light breeze cool his face and throw his hair back. The sound of the rustling of the trees was loud, and the birds that flew singing in that oak forest made him feel how peaceful this region was.

“I’m in Midgard, right? I wonder how beautiful the other worlds are.” He wondered as he slowly moved his right palm to pick up a leaf that fell from the branch above where he stood.

The leaf that landed in his hand was full of detail. This had a simple shape, was light, and it was possible to see each breakdown as if the leaf were real. In a way, this was real.

“Definitely, the other worlds must be as beautiful as this one.”

Soon after, Kaizen summoned the Spear of Theus to wield. The blade of the spear was already worn down, possibly because it was already old, because it hadn’t gained repairs for over a hundred years, and also because Kaizen used it to fight Mutant Rank creatures, something that was above his level.

“Only 2 more levels and I will be able to use mutant weapon. I have no doubt that the Butter Bear Sword is better than that spear.”

Before leaving for the Howling Draughtsmen, Kaizen opened his inventory and checked how many Moss Scorpion meats he picked up.

“37 units of meat from a mutated monster. I have to go that to capital to sell that to Klank. I want to know how much he’s going to pay for these drops this time…”

More than ever, Kaizen wanted to make money, so hunting and selling rare monster drops was the fastest way to do that for now. In the future, Kaizen’s plans was to use these same drops to make ready-made items, so he could charge whatever starting price he wanted at auctions or, even better, he could set up his own store. Little did Kaizen know, however, that when he left the oak forest and headed east, he was about to cross paths with people who would change both his way of thinking and his way of acting.

…

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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