Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

To obtain the mark, Kaizen entered the circle of stones arranged in an intricate pattern in one of the rooms of the shaman's house. His breathing quickened his heart, or vice versa, as he watched the shaman prepare to begin the ritual.

The old wise man in his black robes had said something earlier about intense pain, which made Kaizen a little afraid. He did not handle pain very well. Most of the time, he was very angry.

The shaman looked at him with misty eyes and began to sing a chant in a strange language as he approached. The shaman's chanting gradually intensified, and Kaizen's vision began to blur and his mind became confused, until the halfling's words became a roar that filled the entire space of his mind. Kaizen felt a chill run down his spine like a shock as the spell began to work.

The stones of the magic circle began to glow at that moment.

The left side of Kaizen's chest burned as the shaman raised a hand and touched him, applying a small amount of viscous liquid to his skin. Kaizen looked down at the table he was lying on and saw a magical circle begin to form in his flesh, but the sensation was completely strange; it didn't burn like an iron mark, but tore, as if a scalpel was cutting deep into his skin.

However, after a few seconds, this tear began to burn inside him, making him want to scream, but Kaizen held back his scream and only squirmed a little as the mark went deeper into his skin. Strangely, his HP didn't drop.

The circle forming on his chest glowed in shades of red and gold, radiating a magical power that completely enveloped him.

When the circle was finally complete, the pain stopped.

Panting, Kaizen struggled to catch his breath as the shaman moved away from the table. He stood up, feeling the mark on his chest pulsate. He looked down again and saw that the magic circle was now glowing like an ember. Inside the circle was a simple triangle, unlike the multiple lines inside the mark of the thief Jeff.

[You have earned the title of 'Marked by the Magi'.]

[You have gained +10 points in the Magic Resistance attribute.]

"It is done," the shaman said with a wistful smile. "You now have the mark you wanted so badly."

Still a little dazed from the pain, Kaizen nodded and covered the mark with his tunic.

"Thank you for this." He thanked her.

"You handled the pain well. Most people faint the first time they receive this mark. Since it's also something that's burned into the soul, it's always easier the younger you are. Anyway, what are you going to do now, Psyker?"

"First, I will go to the City of Tears. From there I will look for information about Alina, and if I don't find her there, I will try my luck in the Citadel of the Magi."

"If you go up there, I don't know how the mages in the Council will react. They can either idolize you or hunt you down for being a psyker, it's hard to predict when you're dealing with mages."

"Well, I'd rather they idolize me and help me free Alina, it'll be easier that way."

"I don't know if simplicity is the Mage Citadel's style, but I hope you're right. A war between the people of Olaynore and a psyker is certainly not something the founders would want," the shaman said, handing Kaizen a piece of parchment.

The player looked at it strangely, took the paper, and inquired:

"What are they?"

"The chants for traveling between levels. There is a magic circle drawn on his chest, and others in the center of each floor. Olaynore's natural mana will do the work of connecting those two points, and since you are much smaller than a teleportation station, you will be pulled along. That's how it works."

"What if it goes wrong?"

"It could only go wrong if I make a mistake, but I don't make mistakes when I make Marks, so you'll be fine, don't worry. Now go and do it outside my house, I don't want my roof destroyed." The halfling said and started to push Kaizen out of the house.

Kaizen left the shaman's small hut. The only source of light outside was still the strange crystals near his door.

Although Kaizen was relieved to breathe the fresh air of the dark forest, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Soon, he could make out the tall, towering trees that surrounded him.

The air was humid, with a strong smell of earth and moss.

The sounds of the nocturnal animals still echoed in his mind, though they were quieter in this part of the forest. Kaizen looked at the halfling in the doorway and nodded again in thanks.

Then Kaizen looked at the parchment the shaman had handed him and began to chant the following:

Through magical circles we shall fly,

In shadows and air we'll glide,

To the city where water rolls,

And tears can be shed from heavy souls.

With the power of mana to guide our way,

We'll break through barriers to stay,

In the blink of an eye we'll arrive,

To the city of tears where we'll thrive.

With the piece of parchment in his hands, Kaizen recited sentence by sentence the magical chant the shaman had shown him. As the words came out, the mark on his chest began to glow with a bluish hue, vibrating in unison with the words of the chant.

After chanting the words, Kaizen focused on his breathing as the energy around him increased. The wind began to blow strongly around him, whipping his clothes and hair into the air.

Suddenly, he felt a force pulling him upward, and when he blinked, he was already higher than the tall trees of the Forest of the Lost. He could see the entire immensity of that forest until his eyes could no longer reach it. The dark night sky above his head became a swirling mass of bright stars, and Kaizen was pulled along at an astonishing speed, as if being sucked into a black hole. The feeling of displacement was disorienting, almost painful, but he trusted that the shaman had done a good job.

The image of the dark forest below him quickly disappeared as he was carried away. The wind howled in his ears and he closed his eyes to block out the dizzying sensation of movement.

When he finally opened his eyes, he realized that he was floating in a city whose sky consisted of nothing more than a huge cavernous ceiling from which water dripped endlessly, like a rain that never stopped bathing the city.

Below him, a lake shimmered like a sea of tears. He could see the lights of the Gothic city reflected in the surface of the lake, and a sense of relief washed over him as he realized that he had finally reached the City of Tears.

At that moment, however, the Psyker realized that he had not been teleported to the center of the floor, as the Halfling had claimed. In fact, he was dozens of feet up, looking down over the city, but he wasn't floating either, which could only mean that he was in free fall.

"Aaaaaaaaahhh!"

With a cry of despair, Kaizen fell from above. His arms and legs flailed wildly as he fell. The cold wind whistled harder than ever in his ears, mingling with the sound of his gasping breath as he fell.

Finally, Kaizen hit the liquid surface of the lake with a great splash, enveloping himself in a swirl of water and bubbles. The sound reverberated loudly and even created waves.

After a few seconds, he surfaced. Dark, waterlogged hair covered part of his eyes.

"Cof...! Cof!" He coughed, swallowing salt water as he struggled to catch his breath. For a moment, he floated there, panting and dazed, trying to orient himself amidst the breathtaking surroundings.

The waters of the lake shimmered with a soft light, illuminating Psyker's face as he recovered from the shock of the fall. Still dizzy and disoriented, he had no idea where he was, but he didn't have much time to think about it.

Soon Kaizen noticed some hooded figures in the distance approaching the shore of the lake, all carrying lanterns with very bright lights that could easily reveal him.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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