Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 4 NPC's

Klaus Park glanced back at the sound of footsteps and saw three guys in flashy armor approaching where he was, all of them had blond hair and blue eyes.

As they were just watching for a while, Klaus continued to pay attention to the Training Center instructor's teachings.

However, the guys suddenly took a few steps forward and began talking aloud to Berni Coyle, the instructor accompanying Klaus Park.

"You're Berni Coyle, aren't you? You are in jail for tax evasion. Boys, tie him up." said Elfire Waylan.

"What did you say? Can you repeat?" the instructor asked, very confused by the sudden news.

One of Elfire Waylan's followers advanced, grabbing both of Berni Coyle's arms and forcing them back without giving the instructor even a minute to defend himself against the accusation. "You're under arrest for not paying taxes. This is evasion, do you understand what it's?"

"Evasion? I didn't do anything, I promise. I pay all my taxes on time!" Berni began to despair.

The other follower of Elfire drew his sword from a side scabbard and shouted, "Calm down, sir! Don't lose your mind!"

Berni Coyle was as young as the noble boys, but their social class was markedly different, as shown by their clothes, so Berni was startled by what Elfire Waylan said, but he didn't dare scream or cry out for help. The others in the arena looked without wanting to interfere, both the NPC's, knowing that those boys were noble, and the Players, who understood that this was a History Event.

At the mercy of the social aspects of the city of Holinda, the instructor knew there wasn't much he could do to avoid such an awkward situation. The nobles had ultimate authority, they owned all kinds of investments in the city, including the Adventurer's Guild, so he would be getting into a big fight if he reacted to the arrest in public.

So Berni hung his head in shame and let his hands be tied behind him.

The ones on the edge of the arena were whispering about what they'd seen, but no one dared do anything at all.

"Are they really going to arrest you for not paying tax?"

"Isn't that a little too cruel?"

"It's just an NPC, don't get involved."

"He looks so innocent, who's to say he's more of a tax evader..."

The nobles were usually strict with the laws, including collecting taxes, but Klaus Park didn't care about any of that; he just wanted to complete the tutorial.

"Wait a moment," Klaus exclaimed after driving the wooden sword into the training dummy's chest. "I still haven't finished my training with Mr. Coyle."

Elfire Waylan looked back over his shoulder and saw that the tall man Berni was talking to had decided to intervene. At that moment, Elfire cast a contemptuous look at Klaus.

"What can you do? Will you pay his debt?" The boy guiding Berni through shoving asked with a smirk.

The public in the place immediately reacted to the situation, as surprised as the nobles.

"Hey? He's a Player, isn't he? Is he really going to pay off an NPC's debt?"

"Is the idiot really intruding on a history event?"

"What is so special about a training center instructor doing this?"

"Look at his clothes. He's just a rookie, he doesn't even have money to buy a starter gear."

In fact, Klaus Park only had three bronze coins in his pockets, which was the starting amount for all new players.

"I will not pay any debt. I just want to finish my tutorial. Can't you guys wait a few minutes? Then you can take him prisoner." Klaus Park was sincere with his intentions.

Everyone in the arena's jaw dropped at the rookie's statement, except for Berni, who couldn't contain his laughter, and Elfire Waylan, who clicked his tongue and turned utterly to look Klaus Park in the eye.

The moment Elfire Waylan turned, the blue cloak on his back swung, as did his golden hair. "Are you interfering for something so… so insignificant? Look for another instructor!" he ordered.

"Do you see any other instructors around here?"

"Then come back at another time! There will definitely be one!"

"Nah, I want to finish my tutorial now." Klaus Park didn't have much time to waste if he wanted to make the most of what the game had to offer by Monday.

At that moment, the second noble that accompanied Elfire Waylan could not hold back any longer, and as his sword was already out of the sheath, he just brandished it towards Klaus Park. Everyone watching the scene sighed as they saw him slash, but Klaus Park just took a step to the side and managed to perfectly dodge the attack, causing the sword to hit the sand floor hard and get stuck.

'Ow, did he just try to kill me? Can NPCs really attack players that casually?' Klaus Park thought. He knew that PVP wasn't allowed inside big cities, so he was shocked by the revelation that NPCs didn't have the same restriction.

Klaus Park looked at the boy seriously after dodging and then took two steps back.

The noble boy had a very stressed-out personality, and the detour from Klaus Park did not help him to calm down. Huffing in rage, the noble tried to pull the sword off the ground and tried again, but no matter how much he pulled, the blade didn't come out.

"Want a little help?" Klaus made fun of him.

Soon, the boy abandoned the plan to use the sword and withdrew a dagger from the belt of his armor. "You will pay for this with your life!"

Elfire Waylan placed his right hand in front of the boy's chest, preventing him from running towards Klaus Park.

As Elfire Waylan was a shrewd man, he had already noticed that the number of people watching the discussion was even greater than when people wanted to talk to him, so he thought of using this to promote himself.

"You are an idiot? Why are you acting like this with a citizen of your city? As nobles, we should consider his request and handle the situation like the nobles we are." said Elfire Waylan to his follower.

"What do you mean by that?" Klaus Park was confused as to why people had sighed at his words at that moment.

Elfire Waylan withdrew his steel sword from its black hide scabbard, planted his feet firmly on the sand floor, took the sword hilt in both hands, and exclaimed, "Sir, I challenge you to a real duel!"