As Kaizen reflected a bit on his past and spent some mana in the training room, he began to get excited about the start of the tournament. No doubt, this would be a great challenge, and he really wanted to fight Evan to find out how strong he really was in Rise Online.

I wonder if he is a flank specialist like he was in Myth2. At least that would explain his light clothing. Kaizen thought, but deep down it didn't matter how strong Evan was if Kaizen was more, and Psyker knew that, so he was trying to understand this new ability called <Psychokinesis>.

Suddenly, Kaizen heard a squeak coming from his right wrist and looked at his wristband, which was an important part of the tournament because it stored all the information about the player, and Kaizen was surprised when this item started emitting sound, like a speaker.

"Attention, competitors. The group stage will begin in one minute..."

At the same time he heard this female voice, he felt the ground shake like an earthquake, but it was only the competitors in the other room roaring in celebration. This made every hair on Kaizen's body stand on end.

"... All players must remain stationary. The armband will transport all 3208 players into three groups and assign them to the three different locations, and then the first phase will begin. Good luck to everyone."

As the announcement was made, Klaus felt his excitement rise. Being teleported to the battleground made him feel like he was about to participate in a Battle Royale match, but on an unprecedented scale. Standing outside the training room, he could look around and see other players also wearing bracelets, all preparing for battle, as if he were in the lobby of a game, and it made him feel nostalgic.

But this tournament was undoubtedly on a scale far beyond any Battle Royale that has ever existed. Three huge groups with over 3,000 players between them. This was unimaginable. Kaizen knew that even if he was strong, this would not be an easy task, as it would take a lot of luck not to stop suddenly in a multiplayer battle. He would also have to be smart enough to read everything that was happening on the battlefield. Without a doubt, this would be the biggest challenge Kaizen would face since he started playing Rise Online, even bigger than the Wizard's Tower.

With a sudden buzz, Kaizen felt the classic sensation of teleportation in his body, a strange dizzy sensation as if the ground beneath his feet had disappeared. His vision blurred and he felt his stomach churn. For a moment, he felt like he was floating on air, before he was thrown back to the ground with a jolt.

When Kaizen opened his eyes, he realized that he was in a new place. He found himself in a snowy, mountainous region, surrounded by huge walls of rock. The air was cold and crisp, with snowflakes swirling around him.

Kaizen could hear the sound of other players teleporting to the same area as him, and when he looked up to the sky, he saw hundreds of beams of light near him, indicating where several players had also fallen. He looked around for signs of his opponents, but saw no one close enough. Nevertheless, he immediately equipped Næġling Falske as a precaution.

To his left, he saw a steep, snow-capped mountain, and to his right, a dense pine forest. Ahead of him was a winding path that led to the top of a rocky hill. Kaizen knew that he had little time to prepare before the battles began, so he had to position himself correctly. He took a deep breath and focused his mind, mentally analyzing the icy, majestic landscape he found himself in. In this moment of calm, he could hear the wind whistling through the mountains and feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as he moved through the challenging landscape.

"I need to get to the top. That way, I can see the enemies approaching and won't be surprised by an arrow all of a sudden." Kaizen said to himself.

However, climbing the steep mountain was very risky, though more rewarding. Since it was tricky terrain to climb, Kaizen knew that he would be in trouble if a player surprised him while he was trying to climb it. That left only two options: the pine forest and the path that led to the top of a hill. The safest option would be to follow the second path, but Kaizen knew that it would be a very targeted location by the other players. On the other hand, the pine forest offered some cover and could be used as an ambush, but he would have to be careful not to get lost or trapped in the trees.

Kaizen carefully considered his options and decided that the safest and most strategic option was to follow the winding path that led to the top of the rocky hill. He began running toward the path, keeping Næġling Falske ready for any eventuality. The terrain was rough and covered in snow, enough to cover Kaizen's ankles, but he continued to climb.

As he climbed the hill, he kept looking back to see if any enemies were approaching.

Finally, after a long climb, Kaizen reached the top of the hill. Up there, he found a small abandoned fortress with a watchtower and some stone walls. He realized that this was the perfect position to monitor the battlefield and protect himself from surprise attacks. He quickly hid behind the stone walls and looked down at the frozen landscape.

From his elevated position, he could see the pine forest below, as well as the steep mountain. He could also see dozens of players appearing all over the area, some running into the mountains and others into the forest, and he could already hear the first sounds of battle.

Kaizen knew that he had to be patient and watch his enemies carefully before taking any action, but as he looked at all this scenery, Kaizen remembered one thing: there were no snowy areas in the Tretidian Kingdom. This meant that he was in a different realm, and as he realized this, Kaizen also remembered that he had a map of all of Midgard, so he would have no problem locating himself like the other players and could see exactly what the region he was in looked like to gain an advantage.

...

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://discord.gg/bpqq9u4gS8

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