Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Maelstrom, now smiling sardonically, doubled up in front of them, and Jayaa, perplexed, muttered: "A clone?"

Og'tharoz nodded. "Clones... that's his specialty."

The two Maelstroms moved in sync, but with only a shiny coin dancing between their nimble fingers. The wind whispered around them.

Kaizen, Alina and Xisrith watched intently, their eyes trying to follow the coin that changed hands at an almost imperceptible speed. Maelstrom's duplicity was confusing, but Og'tharoz, with his experience, knew there was a trick to it.

"Stay alert," Og'tharoz muttered. "He's trying to disorient us."

The Maelstrom clones continued to toss the coin among themselves, each movement a challenge to perception. The winds of the sandstorm, although diminished, still created an atmosphere of tension. Each particle of sand seemed to carry a memory.

Andrew, keeping his eyes fixed on the clones' hands, felt his heart racing. "Og'tharoz, that seems impossible. How can we be sure?"

"Trust your instincts. There's always a logic to his movements, but now only sight can help."

The Maelstrom clones stopped abruptly, both with clasped hands and defiant looks on their faces. "Round two," they said in unison, tension growing in the air. "Which hand?"

Og'tharoz listened attentively, focusing on the sounds around him. The wind carried a subtle melody, a rhythm he knew well.

"Something's different," he muttered to himself, trying to decipher the enigma before them. He observed the clones, every detail in search of a clue. Then he looked at Kaizen and said, "What now? Have you figured it out?"

Kaizen nodded. "The coin... isn't with either of them."

Alina's eyes widened. "But how? We saw the coin moving between them!"

"Exactly," Og'tharoz replied, his tone calm but firm. "They want us to think that the coin is with them. But Maelstrom is a master of tricks and illusions. We need to look beyond the obvious."

The Maelstrom clones smiled, as if they knew they were playing on the group's perception.

"So, guys," they said, "what's the hand?"

Og'tharoz took a deep breath, concentrating on the feeling of familiarity the situation brought him. He then looked at Kaizen, his eyes shining with sudden understanding. "Tell him."

Kaizen nodded slowly, his eyes moving behind them. "Yes. Look behind us."

Everyone turned, and there, in the shadows of the diminished storm, was another Maelstrom clone, grinning mischievously.

"He was distracting us," said Kaizen, realizing Maelstrom's strategy. "The coin is with him."

Og'tharoz smiled a satisfied smile. "In his right hand," he said with conviction.

The clone behind them opened his right hand, revealing the shiny coin.

"Impressive," said Maelstrom. "You really can see through my illusions. But the game isn't over yet."

Kaizen stepped forward, his determination renewed. "This is the last one."

The sandstorm disappeared completely, revealing a vast, desolate field of dunes around them.

"Round three," announced Maelstrom, his hands beginning to glow with arcane energy. "Let's see how you do with demon magic involved."

Og'tharoz, Kaizen, Alina and the others braced themselves, feeling the pressure of the upcoming challenge. The air around them seemed to vibrate with intense energy, and the ground began to shake slightly. Suddenly, dozens of clones emerged from behind the dunes, they raised their hands, and the coin began to fly like a bullet between them, making the line glow.

"This is a game of perception," said Maelstrom, his voice echoing across the field. "But now, it's also a test of endurance. You've proved to have good eyesight, but do you have a good memory?"

Og'tharoz narrowed his eyes, feeling the magical energy around him. "Get ready," he warned the others. "He's increasing the difficulty."

Maelstrom began to move his hands in a complex pattern, the coin splitting into multiple images, each one glowing brightly as it flew between the more than forty clones.

The group tried to follow the movements, but the speed and magic involved made the task almost impossible. It was as if reality itself was being manipulated in front of them.

"It's going to be a bit difficult to keep your eyes focused on the coin in this desert." Maelstrom said, at which point Bloody Lily had to blink when a grain of sand got in her eye.

Og'tharoz did the same, his sensory abilities in full force. He felt the vibration in the air, the cadence of Maelstrom's movements.

"There's a pattern," he finally said, his eyes opening with renewed understanding. "It's all a question of timing."

Alina, upon hearing this, tried to synchronize her own senses with Og'tharoz's. "Concentrate on the cadence? As if it were that easy." she said to herself, trying to find the logic in Maelstrom's movements.

Kaizen, for his part, watched carefully, his eyes following each movement with calculated precision. "We're close," he murmured, his heightened senses picking up on the subtle nuances of Maelstrom's movements.

Finally, Maelstrom stopped, his hands closed again, each glowing with an intense light. "Which hand is it?" he challenged, a confident smile on his face.

Og'tharoz looked at Kaizen, his gaze a little tense this time. "Can you see it?"

Kaizen nodded. "Yes. The left hand of the third clone to the east."

"Does everyone agree?" Maelstrom asked.

"Not me," said Xisrith, raising a hand and opposing the leader.

"Oh! Where do you think you are?" The clone closest to them asked.

"With you. The coin hasn't left your hand since you left it, at least not physically speaking. I may not be good at everything, but I like to think I'm perceptive and Og'tharoz has just said that you're a demon who likes illusions. So what you did was give everyone the illusion that the coin was moving quickly between your clones' hands, while it wasn't." Xisrith explained.

"But going by that logic, the coin could be in the hands of any clone, so why did you choose just that one?" Jayaa asked, looking a little unsure about contradicting Kaizen.

"For two main reasons." Xisrith raised his right hand. "Firstly, it's practically impossible for there to be a demon or even a living being who could make objects move so fast that Kaizen would get lost. He can follow almost everything with his eyes now, so it's natural to deduce that such speed could only be an illusion.

The second reason is that he's a demon, the only superior one to survive among the demons who protected the circles, so he must have tremendous pride, even though he's just a butler. It's typical to want to show yourself superior with an obvious move like leaving the coin as close as possible to the challenger."

Maelstrom's smile disappeared with Xisrith's analysis. Discover hidden content at m,v l'e-NovelBin.net