Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Klaus smiled when he saw that he got the first point. He knew it was a good sign. He was confident in his abilities and determined to beat Ashley.

Ashley, on the other hand, frowned when she saw that she had lost the first point. In a way, she had expected it, but she was still frustrated. She was used to being first in everything, especially dagger combat. They looked at each other through the screen and exchanged a look of defiance.

That was luck. Ashley tried to tell herself, hiding her frustration.

When they turned their eyes back to the game, they saw another dot appear on the grid. They moved their fingers again, trying to catch the dot before the other one. They heard another bell ring and saw that this time Ashley had gotten the dot.

“That was lucky.” Klaus said through the microphone, ironically, almost as if he had heard their thoughts from earlier.

“HAHA! That was just a demonstration of what I’m capable of, newbie.” Ashley replied through the microphone, returning the teasing.

They looked at each other again and exchanged sarcastic smiles. The game continued like this for a few minutes. The points appeared on the grid and they fought for each one with speed and precision. They were so engrossed in the game that they hardly noticed the spectators who watched the game with enthusiasm and curiosity.

It didn’t take Klaus long to realize that this version of Dagger Contest was much more challenging than the mobile version, because although the dots appeared larger in his vision, it was much more difficult to reach and perceive them because the grid was proportionally larger.

The crowd watched intently as the competition continued. The dots appeared and disappeared quickly, and Ashley and Klaus’ hands moved with speed and precision as they tried to catch them. At one point, Ashley managed to get three dots in a row, and the small crowd began to cheer her on, even though she was still outnumbered on the scoreboard. Although everyone was rooting for Ashley, the fact that Klaus was betting his own stay on the special to go on a date with her made many of them want to cheer for him. They were also impressed that there was someone on campus on the same level as Ashley who was not in the Dagger Dispute Society.

The game was even. Neither could gain a significant advantage over the other. Ashley looked at the screen and saw a blinking dot in the top left corner of the board. She knew that this was the crucial point. If she could catch it before Klaus did, she would have a better chance of winning, but before she could even move her finger, Klaus caught it.

*Tim*

Then another dot appeared in the other corner of the screen. Ashley moved her eyes and then her right hand, but again she heard the same sound as before.

*Timm*

Klaus picked up that dot as well.

Ashley felt a lump in her throat because she couldn’t believe that Klaus managed to beat her even without training for weeks. She was one of the best Dagger Dispute players on campus, she couldn’t lose to a newbie who wasn’t even part of the Dagger Dispute Society while she was the leader.

Klaus felt an adrenaline rush through his body and a joy in his heart. He couldn’t believe that he was going to beat Ashley.

They looked at each other through the screen and exchanged a tense look. Then they looked back at the game and saw another dot appear on the grid. They moved their fingers again, trying to catch the dot before the other. They heard another bell ring, and this time Ashley was the one to reach the dot first.

“That’s it!” She shouted through the microphone in celebration.

But she was still far behind. While Klaus had filled in most of the squares in his grid, she had only filled in half, as Klaus tried to reach the squares he had already filled in to prevent her from reducing the advantage he had gained. She looked at the screen and saw that she now had nineteen points to Klaus’s thirty. She knew that she could still win, it was just that Klaus would have to stumble a lot.

The game continued like this for another three minutes. The points appeared on the grid and they contested each one with speed and precision, so absorbed in the game that they hardly noticed the spectators who watched the game with enthusiasm and curiosity. At the same time, the members of the Dagger Contest Society watched the two players take turns picking up the points, not knowing for sure who would be the final winner. They vibrated with every point Ashley won and suffered with every point she lost. They were as involved in the game as the players.

The game was coming to an end. There was only one point left for Klaus to finish the game. Now, Klaus needed luck and skill, because keeping the lead at the end of the game was one of the most difficult factors in Dagger Dispute, considering that each point had a random chance of appearing on one of thirty-six spaces. If Klaus was lucky and the next point appeared on his only empty space and he could reach that point, he would be the winner of the game.

They looked at the screen and saw the last dot appear on the grid. It was a dot like any other, but in their vision it looked different, a golden color that shone brightly in the center of the grid, right on top of an empty square for both of them. This was the point of victory or defeat. They moved their fingers one last time, trying to catch the golden dot before the other, and as Ashley’s index finger almost touched the dot, her hand locked up for some reason, and literally an instant later, Klaus touched the dot, ending the match.

…

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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

More character images in:

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