“Now, what was I supposed to say? Oh right, one last thing to all of you. The academy, as you all might’ve expected, is going to be very demanding with your performance and attendance. It will take most of your day and energy. But, Divinity Online is still a priority to all of you. The game had begun recently, but its true start hadn’t been announced yet.” The Founder said in a calm tone.
“True beginning?”
“What does he mean?”
The students were a little confused by what he said. They thought that the game had already begun, so why would its true start not be announced yet? That made no sense.
‘Wait…’ Isla and Arthur were confused at first, but then they got a hunch on what he was talking about.
“Yes, I can see some of you have figured out what I’m talking about.” The Founder added in an almost amused tone. Then, he snapped his fingers and the screen behind him changed to something completely different.
What was before a large table filled with names, turned into complete darkness. The entire place went silent. Then, the black screen started lighting up, revealing a bright sky-blue color.
The scene spanned down, revealing distant white objects floating in the distance. It was the clouds. Then, the camera slowly moved down, revealing the vast lands beneath it. Large green plains, rocky mountains, icy regions, large lakes and seas. A calm music fused with the natural sounds around it.
In the heart of this picture was one single place. An unbelievably large city, stretching in all directions. The horrifying area it took over spanned entire regions, from the south to the north and from the east to the west. All these different regions mixed together into this city as if it were the center of the entire world. It’s magnificence and the overbearing feeling it invoked in people was instantaneous.
Then, the camera moved down, descending into the bustling city, moving through its streets, giving a glimpse of the endless masses of people moving through it. The music that started with the video slowly picked up pace, turning far more rhythmic than ever before.
The camera continued traveling through the city, getting closer and closer to its center. There, a looming structure cast its shadow upon the world. The camera then slowly shifted up, revealing the shrouded structure, hidden behind a veil of darkness as if it was engulfed in the night while the rest of the city was in the light.
It was eerie, yet also mysterious. It was incomprehensibly huge, yet also seemingly within reach. The Divine Tower was right there, in the heart of it all.
Then, slowly, out of the shrowding darkness, three single words appeared ominously as the music came to a screeching halt and were replaced by distant howls and cries of agony, giving the entire atmosphere another layer of mystery.
The words said “New Update: Guilds And Wealth” in large, gray lines. Then, the showcase came to an end.
“Yes, the update everyone had been waiting for. ‘Guilds and Wealth’! The update had taken some time. But, we are finally here.”
“WOOOOAH!!!”
Instantly, cheering erupted in the stands as students clapped their hands. The announced first update! It had been circulating on the internet that the first update was but a few days away. People didn’t know when since there were no official announcements.
“In this update, we are finally unlocking the new Guild System and the conversion systems. I know that all of you have waited for these two particular functions ever since the game was released. We had to make sure we released them at the perfect time.” The Founder said. “And that moment had just happened yesterday.”
“Huh?”
“What moment?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yesterday, at night, a few players had done a great achievement. They were the first to reach the Capital Of Glory in the human territory which is the first stop in your journeys in the Divine Realm.”
“Wait, what?!”
“Some players reached the capital, already?! I thought that would take a long time!”
Exclamations of shock echoed across the entire place. This was completely news to them. After all, everyone was too focused on getting stronger to actually contemplate traveling to the capital. That was a journey that required immense strength and luck. It was in and out of itself a colossal achievement. Then, the most obvious question came. ‘Who are these players who did this?’
“Could it be…?”
“Yeah… It could be…”
The first name that came to their heads was naturally one single name… ‘Persona’.
“Persona… He’s the only one that could pull off such a feat.”
“Yeah, he’s the strongest player in the world! He must’ve been the one that did it!”
“Now that I think about it, his points had been explosively increasing for the past several days! That makes sense!”
“He must’ve gone through one hell of a journey for his points to increase that much in the rankings!”
“But, he said ‘Players’ so it’s not only Persona.”
“The others must be very high-ranking players. It could’ve not been anyone else.”
The discussions that ensued between the students were all basically the same thing. Persona was the player that did that with the help of some other stronger players.
“Look at them being surprisingly accurate about their predictions,” Isla said in an almost amused tone.
“… Yeah, I’m so very happy they’re talking about me like I’m some godly being.” Arthur facepalmed.
“They are not wrong. I have witnessed it with my own eyes. You have done some things even I cannot explain.” Isla replied.
“It’s not like I’m going around trying to do that. It just happens, ok?” Arthur frowned. He understood why Isla was saying that. Even he was shocked at the stuff he had done on the journey.
From their fight with the child of the azure flames to the forest accident and everything in between. Arthur was put in situations where he had to do more and more exceedingly ridiculous things just to survive and emerge victorious.
‘This game rewards those who are clinically insane like me.’ He mused.
“Now, now, I know you’re eager to know who those people are. But, we cannot disclose that information unless those same players are willing to reveal themselves.” The Founder said as he for a split second, he stared at Isla and Arthur.
The two felt a chill run down their spines at that fleeting glimpse. They had felt as if an icy storm had swept them and vanished quickly.
‘He knows.’ The two thought at the same time. It was very much within the realm of possibility that the Founder knew about their journey and what they went through. Still, that look he gave them from behind the mask was truly terrifying. The man was a pure threat and they could only fear that threat.
“Now, with that done and said. I can officially say that the ceremony is over. I’m sure you expected something grandiose and lavish as a ceremony for this historic day. But, we decided on something simple and effective. That way, what will happen next will blow your mind. With that being said, good luck to all of you, and may your journey be fruitful.”
The moment he finished those words, the curtains slowly moved over, closing the stage. The light in the room was turned on again and the pleasant music resumed playing in the background as if nothing happened, leaving the students in a dazed state.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
