Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 776 Genius

"However, as you may have realized, fame is not all wonders..." said Charles and looked directly into Klaus' eyes, watching the reaction on the young man's face as he absorbed every word the old man said.

Klaus, for his part, remained silent, his eyes fixed on Charles' serious face, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, Klaus, the world of the Evolved is far more complex and dangerous than you could ever conceive," Charles began, adjusting his glasses with one finger. "Your skill and achievements certainly caught their attention from the start, because even I became interested. However, evolved people are arrogant, although you were evolving rapidly and becoming stronger, they would never have imagined that you would become a danger or an opportunity for them. If they had their eyes on you back then, it was only for entertainment."

Then Charles spun around in his chair, stood up and, as he extended his left hand to the wall behind him, the watch on his left wrist glowed and a hologram more sophisticated than anything Klaus had ever seen in his life appeared. It was like looking at a system screen, only in real life, and the definition of it was much greater than the simple projections that some technologies like video games and expensive cell phones could reproduce.

On the hologram screen in question, a photo of the day of Kaizen's last great achievement wearing his mask was displayed. It was a picture of The Eye of Hermodr's second attack on the Tretidian Capital, the day he found out about the King's Sword.

"The notoriety of your deeds in Midgard was certainly enough to attract the attention of millions of ordinary players, who began to see you as a symbol, and at the same time the Evolved began to consider that you had a lot of potential." Charles explained and even let out a breath of air through his nose at the end, with a brief smile accompanying him. "Yes, although they are players of a much higher level than most, with skills that defy any conventional understanding, they are not very fast, after all, in a world like that of the Evolved, there are many more things to worry about. They don't just play to win; they play to change the game, shape the narrative in a way that few can understand and also transform the real world through RO."

Klaus absorbed every word Charles said without interfering, but there were some questions in his hand that he could no longer ignore.

"All right, I get the part about them being powerful, both in the game and in real life, but why do you fear them so much? In our first conversation, you explained that they were a threat and had too much influence, but why is that a concern for a Rise Online developer?"

Charles Richards nodded, pulled back the hologram on the wall, reducing it to the size of a computer screen, sat down and placed the translucent screen between him and Klaus on the table.

"I'm more than a developer, Klaus. Have you ever wondered how Rise Online is so superior compared to all the other VRMMORPGs that exist or are even being developed?" Charles dragged the translucent screen to his right.

Klaus nodded. "I occasionally wonder about that, but there's no answer on the internet."

"Of course not, but there are theories about it, but none of them come close to the real answer. After all, in order for me to formulate the idea of what I created to make Rise Online possible, I had to do a PhD in Quantum Physics and Quantum Computer Science, as well as a Masters in Computer Science and Software Engineering. Of course, I had to specialize in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the same time as studying Complex Systems Engineering and Advanced Programming, and Computational Neuroscience and User Experience Design were also important in the process of creating the game, of course. Therefore, few people know about the technology that made Rise Online not only possible, but actually real and, as proof that I trust you completely, I'm going to let you in on this big secret."

"What?" Klaus raised his eyebrows in surprise, but somehow he didn't know how to react. Should he feel excited, honored or afraid?

"Of course you should know about this, Klaus. You've become a valuable piece on this board. Your exceptional ability and, more recently, the fact that you've become an Evolved, have made you a central figure in all this. And now, inevitably, you have attracted the irrepressible interest of the other Evolved. They've watched, they've waited and now they're sure to act." Charles continued, casting a serious look. "And since I want to make sure that you understand as much as you can, even more than most of them, I'm going to reveal to you the biggest secret of Hónghé Holdings, is that all right with you?"

Silence hung in the room as Klaus processed all this. The aura of tension was undeniable. Finally, Klaus nodded resolutely, which drew a smile from Charles.

"All right..." The gray-haired man dragged the holographic screen back to the space between him and Klaus on the table. "As you can imagine, there is no known machine or computer in the world that can process the amount of information that Rise Online does. There are millions and millions of active users, different worlds, landscapes scaled 1 to 1 with real life and cities full of players, not to mention real-time information being updated all the time, with the world being changed and generated every second. Nothing imaginable by man could even dream of being able to process so much information so quickly. However, after so many years studying, researching and looking for a way to make my childhood dream come true, I succeeded. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, a stroke of luck with the right person at the right time, but I found the answer and then I created the world's first quantum supercomputer."