When Klaus, Andrew and Nathan arrived at the Dagger Dispute Society building, they were stunned. The place was packed. The line to sign up was so long that it wrapped around the entrance.
"I don't think I'm going to sign up anymore." Nathan said, discouraged.
"You're already in the archery department and you've signed up for lots of extra subjects, there's no reason to sign up for a society." Relieved, Andrew justified his withdrawal.
"I agree with you, Andrew." Klaus said quickly after seeing the long line. If he waited in that line, he probably wouldn't have much time to play Rise Online.
"Wait a minute, is that guy second to last in line David?" asked Nathan in shock, and Klaus and Nathan didn't even have to look hard for that guy, because David was a tall boy with long hair and a beard, who easily stood out among so many nerds.
Fortunately, Andrew and Nathan didn't even notice that Klaus wasn't with them when they approached David. They only noticed his absence when they looked back and saw him gone.
Klaus quickly left the Dagger Dispute Society building, he didn't want to waste too much time on this. This was just the beginning of the special program, there was no reason to commit to a society or anything like that so soon.
Determined to continue his exploration of the Wizard's Tower, or rather Olaynore, Klaus ran practically all the way to the campus town and just as he was about to enter the pod room building, his new cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Obviously, Klaus stopped for a second to answer the phone, as it could be his mother who wanted to ask how his first day of school went or something like that. But Klaus was in for a surprise. In fact, it was not Chun Park who called him, but Klank, the boy he usually traded Monster Drops with.
"Hello, Klank?" Klaus asked confused.
"Hello, man! Seems like it's been a long time since we last spoke! By the way, happy new year!"
"Happy New Year to you too. We haven't talked since the day of the chariot mission. Do you need anything?"
"Actually, yes, I do. Would you be interested in a trade?"
"What kind of trade?"
"I have a powerful spear, but I don't have the level to use it, and I don't know anyone who uses spears. I don't need money, so I don't want to sell it.
I thought you might be interested, since I've seen you using several different types of weapons."
"Um. I am interested in a spear, it's been a while since I had one. What do you want? You see, the last one I had was struck by lightning."
"Oh! So you used a spear back then. Damn!!! Anyway, I bet you've been busy, because it's been a while since there's been any news about Kaizen. So I bet you've got a lot of good and weird drops in you, too. When you get a chance, give me a call and we'll arrange a meeting to settle this exchange, I'll keep this spear with me for you."
After Klaus said goodbye to Klank and hung up the voice call, he entered the pod room, ran his ID card through the scanner, entered a pod, and logged on to Rise Online.
When he entered the rented room in the tavern, he got out of bed and stretched. His spine crackled as if it were rusty, and he walked down to the second floor, where he nodded to the tavern keeper and sat down in one of the corners of the tavern.
Although this tavern was a dilapidated looking place on the outside, it was undeniably a very lively place on the inside. The customers talked loudly and without fear of disturbing anyone, which made Kaizen think that perhaps this was the culture of the people in this strange city.
A few moments later, a beautiful waitress approached Kaizen's table, carrying a tray with a mug, which she placed on his table.
'Huh?' Kaizen thought.
Apparently, the tavern owner had interpreted Kaizen's nod as an order for a drink, and Kaizen wouldn't normally complain about that, except that when he looked into the wooden cup, he saw a green liquid instead of the classic golden, sparkling liquid. This made Kaizen realize that there was probably no beer or mead in Olaynore, just this viscous green drink.
Kaizen clicked on the item to examine it with <Analyzing Eye>.
[Item: Strange Drink (Consumable).
This is an alcoholic drink favored by the magicians of the City of Tears. Although its origin is questionable and its ingredients are unknown, it is a drink with an unforgettable taste.
Item Level: 0
Attack: 0
Defense: -1.
(Note: If the user drinks large amounts of this drink, he may suffer debuff effects, the limit of which depends on the amount of health points he has.)]
The tavern owner stared at Kaizen from the bar, anxiously waiting for him to take a sip. Since it was not a poisonous drink or a potion with a lot of debuffs, Kaizen took a deep breath before taking the cup and swirling it around in his mouth. Looking back at the tavern keeper, the old man seemed very pleased.
Sitting at this table in the corner of the tavern, Kaizen watched the patrons intently for several minutes while pretending to drink this strange liquid. He needed information to continue his current mission, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself. The City of Tears seemed to be a dangerous place, and he had already learned that discretion was the key to survival there.
First, he needed crucial information, such as who Adohorn was and what he was really doing in this city. Kaizen knew that he could act on any relevant information he received.
After a few minutes, he overheard a group of drunken mages discussing a place known as 'The Den' among the clatter of voices in the tavern. From the way they commented that they were frightened when they entered the place, it seemed to be a dark and dangerous place, but it was also known as a meeting place for many of the city's criminals, as the local black market was located there.
Kaizen realized that this could be an important clue, considering that Adohorn was Jeff's contact for selling the things he found in the Forest of the Lost. Therefore, he was probably someone who frequented the local black market to resell the items Jeff found.
But knowing that such a place existed was not enough, Kaizen needed more information, and for that he would have to approach those drunken mages.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: /NandoFalske
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