A player in Rise Online has three ways to gain EXP and level up.
The first method, and the easiest to understand, is by killing a monster, NPC, or another player. Once completed, each kill in the world rewards the player with a certain amount of experience. Such amount can be different according to the level, meaning the stronger your prey is, the more EXP it will drop.
The second method is by completing acquired missions. Of all the three ways to level up, this is the only one that doesn't decrease the amount of EXP over time. However, the amount of EXP varies greatly from easier to harder missions.
Finally, the third way to get EXP is the easiest. When the player performs any task, Rise Online will reward him with small amounts of EXP. These tasks can range from baking bread, cooking food, or even successfully landing a hit. The amount of EXP provided by tasks is small and gradually decreases as the player performs the same task.
The latter method allowed Klaus Park to evolve three levels while fighting Elfire Waylan. It usually took two or three full days to get out of this early stage.
The truth is that the situation in which Klaus imposed himself was what allowed him to cut that path. Within the towns, battles are not allowed unless they are duels between Players, and duels between Players don't give EXP, but duels between Players and NPCs give EXP, and Klaus Park was not only fighting an NPC, he was fighting an NPC of a much higher level than he was on a Story Quest, giving him more EXP than he would receive in an entire day.
However, as Klaus Park was a rookie, he wasn't too scared by his deed, nor by the fact that he ended the day with two negative levels. For him, these things might be normal to happen.
After falling to his knees in the square after looking at the Class he received, Klaus realized it was getting late, and as his day had been long, he decided it was time for bed and logged out.
As he fell asleep in his partially darkened room, lit only by the wire that connected the NeuroGear to the computer, Klaus wondered if he should create another account and start from scratch. Of course, he didn't have the money to buy another account, so he would have to ask for a refund. In the end, with strong and heavy eyelids, Klaus decided he'd think better of it the next day.
*
The following day, Klaus Park woke up early, around eight in the morning, and before doing anything else, he did his 20-minute calisthenics session with the iron bar on his closet door. Then he took a hot shower, dressed in warm clothes to go out in the cold, and went downstairs to the first floor of his humble home.
In the kitchen, Klaus found Chun and Ard Park, his mother and younger brother, respectively.
Chun Park was a better 50-year-old who appeared to be much younger than most women her age. Her skin was brightly white, her eyes small, and her beautiful black hair was long.
"Good Morning!" Chun greeted Klaus upon seeing him.
"Good morning bro!" Ard Park immediately got up from his chair and ran to his older brother.
Ard Park was seven years old, small, and had a face very similar to Klaus's, with black hair and eyes, but Ard's face had the difference of being a little rounder and his eyes a little bigger.
"Good Morning." replied Klaus Park, still a little sleepy, having gone to bed so late, and he grabbed Ard by the head with one hand when the boy was about to hug him. "Don't even think about it, I won't take you today either."
In midair, Ard Park crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks. "Why won't you take me? I want to see Brother Rhyzer too!"
Their mother smiled after taking a last sip of coffee from her cup, got up, and bent down to be at the height of her younger son.
"Ard, we have already explained to you that the hospital is not a nice place for children. Your brother took you last week and I took you in the middle of this week, let Klaus have some time alone with Rhyzer for today." Chun Park said, and Klaus soon released the boy's head.
"Alright..." Ard made a sad pout with his mouth and returned to his seat at the table.
"Is the dad not home?" Klaus asked Chun next.
"No, he went to work today too, said he's staying late to earn overtime." Her mother responded, brushing a strand of hair behind her right ear.
"Okay, I'm going to the hospital then."
Since the department at the insurance company where Klaus worked was only open from Monday to Friday, he usually used Saturday off to visit Rhyzer Park at the hospital.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Klaus, aren't you forgetting to tell me something?" Chun asked.
Klaus Park looked at the woman, not understanding what she meant, and then he remembered what had happened the night before.
"Do you want to know how yesterday's date with your friend's daughter went? Hmm…she was annoying, so I dumped her."
"What!? Did you at least give her a chance!? Klaus, she's simply the most beautiful woman in town. How could you turn her away?" The look on Chun's face changed in just a second from sweet and calm to furious. Chun was already rolling up her jacket sleeves, ready to punch Klaus if he gave a superficial answer.
"I'm leaving!" Klaus Park left before giving any answer, which made Ard Park laugh a lot.
Chun immediately glared at the boy at the table angrily, which didn't faze Ard.
"Hahaha! Mom, why do you and your brother always fight after the dates you get him? Haven't you learned that he doesn't like to be pressed with this wife thing?" Ard asked and put the spoonful of cereal in his mouth.
Chun Park was left unanswered for the younger son's question. She understood that Klaus didn't like his mother arranging dates for him every month, but Chun feared that Klaus would get caught up in his obsession with paying off all the family's debts and forgetting to live his own life; after all, Klaus was 21 years old and never had brought a girlfriend home.
"Oh! Mom, I almost forgot to tell you. Last night the brother asked me for the video game. Can you take it from him later, please?" Ard revealed, causing Chun's eyebrows to rise and a slight smile on her face.
More than anyone else, Chun Park knew how much Klaus had suffered since Rhyzer's accident, moving through all sorts of jobs he hated, abandoning his promising professional career, and being the only one in his high school class not to go to college, so the possibility that Klaus had at least gotten back to playing games made her feel a little hopeful.
...
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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