There, the students found themselves inside another massive hall similar to the one they had just been in except this one had a large wooden stage on the other side and massive stands surrounding it filled with red chairs.
It looked like a luxurious theatre rather than a mere hall. Pleasant music played in the background, giving the place a very calming atmosphere.
“This place is only getting bigger and bigger,” Danny muttered as he stood next to Isla. There was simply no way they could expect the institution to be this vast and interconnected. The design felt almost like pure magic. There was simply no way one would expect such a theatre could exist casually on one of the floors.
The administration body moved down the stairs slowly.
“Take your appropriate seats,” Theodore said. “The ceremony will start in a few minutes.” Then, he disappeared along with his colleagues somewhere, leaving the students alone.
“… They’re so quick with it.”
“They appeared and disappeared so quickly. Why are they in a hurry?”
“The seats have our names on them, look!”
As the students started getting more and more familiar with the theatre, they slowly started walking down the stairs and spread everywhere, trying to find their seats.
“We should also move,” Isla said. “Stay attentive, guys.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.” Herculia stretched. “I didn’t like those people. They gave me the chills.”
“Me neither…” Emmy nodded.
“In any case, we can get together after whatever ceremony they’re going to do.” Danny shrugged as he started walking down the stairs.
The group then separated, everyone going to a different section of the theatre, searching for their name. Since names were organized based on the number of their assigned rooms too, it was easy to find their spots.
“Hmm, my place is… Here!” Arthur exclaimed as he found his seat and sat down. The soft cushion felt very good on his back and thighs. It was a very comfortable chair.
“Ugh, my back, man.” He muttered. “I feel like an old man.”
“You don’t move like an old man, though.”
“Huh?”
Arthur looked up, only to realize that Isla was sitting next to him. He blinked in confusion before shifting his gaze to her chair. There, he saw Isla’s full name and her room number.
“Wait… You have the same room number as I do?” He asked in confusion.
“Seems so. What a coincidence.” Isla crossed her arms and said.
“…”
‘Coincidence, that’s like a one in several thousand. Wow… I’m not even going to question that.’ Arthur sighed inwardly as he looked ahead.
“How are you feeling about that Theodore and his colleagues?” Isla asked coldly while staring at the stage with a calm expression.
“… They have something wrong with them. I don’t know what it is but it’s definitely there. Do you recognize him or any of the other people with him, Isla?”
“No, I don’t recognize them. I don’t forget the face of someone I met before so I’m certain I never met them.”
“But, considering the fact they have such a high position, they could’ve not been normal people. There should be something about them on the internet or in the media.” He said.
Divinity Online was known for not allowing any leaks in its system. They are very careful about everything they do, down to the smallest details. So, information about these people is going to be hard to find even though it logically shouldn’t be hard considering how vast the world of the internet is.
At that moment, the music suddenly stopped and the lights inside the theatre were turned off, submerging the place in darkness.
“Oh, here we go,” Arthur muttered while adjusting his position to focus on the stage, ready for what was about to happen. The entire place went completely silent as a highlight focused on the red curtains covering the stage down there.
Then, slowly, those curtains started opening on their own, revealing a single silhouette standing in the middle of the stage, alone. Nobody could see their face since the place was very dark. But, when the light finally focused on the silhouette, their appearance was revealed… Or to be more precise, their lack of facial features was revealed.
A man clad in a professional suit with a tall stature and an average build stood with his arms behind his back. He had a weird black mask on his face with no features on it at all. It was just a blank black mask.
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
“Who is that?”
Gasps of confusion echoed across the entire place. Nobody understood why a masked man was standing on the stage. It was not what they expected to see.
“A mask?” Isla muttered as she squinted her eyes. “What is happening? Ar-” As she turned to look at her friend, Isla realized that the boy had a shocked expression on his face.
“Arthur?” She touched his shoulder, snapping him out of whatever state he was in.
“Huh?” He looked at Isla.
“Are you ok?”
“Ah… Yeah, I’m fine. I was just a little bit surprised, that’s all.” Arthur replied in a weird tone as he looked down at the stage again. Nobody knew what was going through his head at that moment.
Meanwhile, the man himself seemed unbothered by the weird stares he was getting from all these students.
“Dear players.” He finally spoke, in an unnaturally deep voice.
‘He’s using a voice changer.’ Isla frowned. ‘He doesn’t want anyone to recognize his voice or face. Who is he?’
“Or shall I call you ‘The Heroes Of The New Generation’?” He asked. “I am truly honored to finally see you all here, sitting on those very seats. It has been a dream of mine to live this day, the very first day of this honorable academy. I have never thought that day would come so quickly. Yet, here we are.” He said in a calm, deep tone.
“…”
For some reason, nobody made a single more noise the moment he started speaking. He didn’t even need to say anything about that and everyone instinctively understood they needed to remain silent. That kind of presence was unreal.
“We have gathered all of you here, from all nations and continents. You have left your homes, and your families heeding our call. That I am grateful for. It is never easy to follow another man’s dream. But, I never stopped dreaming. Ehem, I should stop blabbering on and on. I shall introduce myself.” The man said.
“I am the founder of Divinity Corp and the creator of Divinity Online. You can simply address me as ‘The Founder’ if you wish so. Oh, I do like being called ‘The Dreamer’ too.” He said with a small chuckle.
Just like that, the entire theatre was submerged in complete and utter shock. A bombshell was just dropped on their heads so casually.
“… Did he just say…”
“Did I hear him correctly?”
“The founder?”
“What?”
“That man is the founder of DO?”
“Isn’t he completely anonymous and doesn’t appear in public at all?”
“… Considering the fact that he just introduced himself like that. It can only be the case…”
“Wow! The Founder! I heard so many rumors about him!”
“Isn’t he some kind of alien?”
All kinds of comments erupted everywhere. Nobody could contain themselves from voicing their thoughts. After all, if what he said was true, then they were witnessing something historical. The legendary man behind Divinity Corp and the genius behind Divinity Online, the game that changed the entire world, was standing right in front of them.
“The founder…” Arthur muttered with a deep frown as he gripped his chair arm. “So that’s the man himself…”
“…” Isla remained completely silent while holding her chin. She was inspecting the man thoroughly, trying to find any small details she could gather about him.
“Now, please, I know this is sudden and very much unannounced. But, for such a great day, I cannot simply leave the entrance ceremony for someone else to do. Divinity Online and this academy were my dreams that I worked on for decades and I needed to be here today, to speak about it.”
“…”
‘He had chosen the perfect moment to show himself. Not only did he keep himself completely anonymous from us. He also appeared on a technically remote island. We can’t outside the world unless under supervision so nobody can reveal his location or anything about him.’ Isla thought to herself. ‘He’s a cunning man…’
Even though The Founder seemed like a very polite and calm man. Isla could easily read through such a facade. She had met many people who acted that way. But, none left this deep of an impression on her from the very start.
“Now, what was I about to say? Oh right, I’m supposed to announce the official start of the school year here in the academy.” Opening his arms, he said. “Well, Let’s begin shall we?”
A//N: I’m going to be updating the third tier of the story tomorrow and the day after so you won’t be able to read the chapters till all the updates are done. It’s going to be 10 new chapters so stay tuned and don’t forget to check the story when the tier is fully updated 🙂
