Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Klaus's routine had become considerably easier after he got his own deep immersion room.

Now he no longer had to make the long journey from the campus town to his dormitory, or vice versa.

On the downside, his life was a little more difficult, as he had to juggle normal classes, compulsory classes, department activities and deep immersion sections. Despite this, it was a life he enjoyed much more than when he was jumping from one temporary job to another.

So in the morning, just after leaving the deep immersion room, Klaus went to the dormitory. As he neared the door, he heard someone behind him say:

"Good morning!"

Klaus looked back and saw a boy with black hair and green eyes. "Oh, it's you, Andrew. Were you in the pod room?"

"Yes, and you? When I logged out, I thought I'd find you there, but I was the only one there." Andrew put one hand on the back of his neck and laughed nervously, as if he were judging himself for having spent the night playing.

"It seems that, because I stood out, I can have a few perks. I got a little capsule in a room just for me." Klaus put a hand on his waist and smiled proudly.

Andrew, looking a little sleepy, started walking towards the door. "Being famous must be so good..."

Klaus opened the dormitory door and left it open for Andrew to practically crawl inside. "Yeah, it has its privileges. Anyway, did you also get the call from the department for the joint exercise?"

"Yes, but I still want to understand how a joint exercise is going to work with us, the Archery Department, and the Athletics Department and the Fencing Department. I can't imagine."

Klaus put a hand to his chin and thought about it. "Indeed, it will be interesting, but Lara said in the group that we should wear our training uniforms, so let's change and..." He sniffed under his left armpit. "And a shower would be nice too."

Klaus entered the dormitory after Andrew and closed the door softly behind him. The hall was illuminated by the soft light of dawn seeping through the half-open curtains. His room, number 25, was simple, with two bunk beds on opposite sides, a large wooden closet and a small study table in the corner.

His other two roommates, David and Nathan, were sound asleep, after all, it was still early and they had at least another hour until their first class.

Klaus walked over to the closet and opened the sliding doors, revealing a small assortment of clothes hanging and stacked on shelves.

As Andrew sprawled on his bed, yawning loudly, Klaus grabbed a clean towel and a few items of clothing to change into. He took the T-shirt from the department uniform, but chose a pair of sweatpants so that he would be more mobile when training together.

He grabbed his kit with a toothbrush, toothpaste and other products and headed for the dormitory's shared bathroom. Inside, he turned on the shower and adjusted the water temperature to lukewarm. As the water poured over his body, Klaus closed his eyes and relaxed, enjoying that moment of tranquillity before the excitement of the day began.

His mind was usually very turbulent, with lots of thoughts about everything, but he had become calmer over the last few days, probably because he finally no longer had the pressure to keep evolving and wanting to progress faster and faster in Rise Online. However, he also knew that he hadn't reached the pinnacle of power.

There were undoubtedly much stronger evolved players, or Charles Richards wouldn't have been worried.

In any case, all this wasn't something he had to worry about for the time being, as he was focused on helping Og'tharoz and his wife.

After a few invigorating minutes under the shower, Klaus turned off the water and dried himself with the soft towel. He watched his reflection in the foggy mirror, adjusting his messy black hair, then looked at his own physique and said:

"Looks like I really can't neglect my training." He pulled some fat from his abdomen and laughed briefly to himself.

When he got back to his room, Andrew had joined the others and was snoring as he dozed off, but at least he had put his uniform on, so Klaus basically had to wake them all up and get them out of the dormitory.

After changing and getting ready for the day, Klaus and his dorm mates left in the direction of the cafeteria. The corridors were quiet that early in the morning, with only a few students walking towards the cafeteria. The sun was beginning to illuminate the campus, creating a serene and promising atmosphere for the day ahead.

Klaus led the group, followed by Andrew, who still looked a little sleepy, and the other dorm mates, David and Nathan, who joined the walk with sleepy expressions. The group chatted about the joint exercise they would have in an hour, trying to imagine what the dynamic would be like between the different departments.

When they reached the cafeteria, they were greeted by the tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee, freshly baked bread, fried eggs and pancakes. The atmosphere was busier, with students gathering at tables to eat breakfast before classes. Klaus and his friends grabbed trays and began to serve themselves, choosing from the varied options of food available.

As they sat down at a table near the window, Klaus noticed the presence of Lara, the Captain of the Archery Department, who was chatting animatedly with other colleagues. He waved to her, and Lara waved back, smiling.

Andrew was the one who was most curious about how the different departments' training styles would interact, because he had only had brief contact with the other departments, unlike Klaus.

"I think they want it to be an opportunity for us to learn from each other," commented Andrew, taking a sip of coffee to fully wake up.

"Um... I don't know if I like the idea. The guys from the Athletics Department seem very full of themselves, and they got a good placement in the tournament." said Nathan.

"Hey, guys! Looking forward to it?" Lara asked, approaching the boys' table with her tray. "I bet you're probably a bit nervous and wondering how the dynamics are going to work. Do you want a spoiler?"

"Of course they do, and first of all, why schedule this dynamic at the baseball stadium? We don't even belong in that department." said David, his mouth a little full of food.

"Excellent question, and you'll see that it fits in with the idea that I and the captains of the other departments had. Pay attention, I'm not going to explain it twice."