The moment Arthur tapped the button, it vanished quickly. Then, something else appeared in its place.
[Ding!]
[Mysterious player has conquered a Memory Gate.]
[Ding!]
[Mysterious player has conquered a Memory Gate.]
The message kept ringing and repeating in his head again and again. Meanwhile, Arthur looked at it with a calm and composed look as if he didn’t feel anything. Yet, his eyes were still shining with that same light. He knew what he just did and he felt like he had done the best thing ever.
‘I’m going to make this a worthwhile time for you lot.’ With that, he started walking and vanished into the forest.
“Let’s make the best of it, shall we?”
***
The entire world of Divinity Online was as active as ever. Although nobody had left the First Step forest yet, many were working toward that goal. Many players formed their own groups of friends and family to play and hunt together.
Since the ‘Guild’ system was yet to be established, groups were the best option as the game was very hard to tackle all alone. Some people tried to go the solo way and most of them ended up losing all their experience points and their items in a short period of time.
However, what was certain was that everyone was learning and grasping Divinity Online with each passing moment. They were learning about the world and its intricate lore. They were learning about the people that lived in it as each one had their own background, unique character, and realistic personality.
And most importantly, they were learning how to fight and become stronger and stronger. Their motivation was over the roof. With each win, they were stepping up to a new level.
The world was moving as usual, until one particular notification suddenly rang in everyone’s head at the same time. In every single region and every single server, people received a notification that had the same words and the same meaning.
However, its sheer impact was unrecognizable.
“What?! Unknown player?! What’s this?”
“Memory Gate? What’s a Memory Gate?!”
“That sounds so ominous!”
Everyone was naturally confused by the sudden announcement. Many thought it was some kind of bug and even more were shocked by the sudden development. Everyone immediately understood that some unknown player had achieved something so impressive, that the game had to announce it to the world.
It didn’t take a few seconds before people noticed something.
“Hey guys, check the rankings!!”
“Huh?! Oh my lord!!”
“Persona! He increased 3000 points!”
“What?! How could that even be possible?! Wasn’t he only 3250 points like a few minutes ago?”
“What did he do?”
A mass confusion spread across the entire player base across the entire world. Nobody understood what was going on, but that didn’t last for long either as many started putting pieces together.
“Could the unknown player be… Persona?”
That single question flipped everything upside down. The question had one logical answer and that was ‘Yes, Persona had done it.’. They were all aware of how hard it was to gain points in this game and so, gaining 3000 points in one fell sweep required something simply ridiculous. Something worth announcing to the world.
“Persona! He did it again! He is in a league of his own!”
“What is a Memory Gate, though? And how did he conquer it alone?”
“He cannot be a human! He’s some kind of freak of nature!”
“All hail Persona! He’s the true god of this game!!”
Chaos ensued everywhere as people talked about this piece of news. The awe people had for Persona grew far and wide, reaching new levels. Many people who doubted his potential and thought that he got there with pure luck started changing their minds a little.
The people that already become his fans were even more excited by this news. After all, he had done something that nobody had done before him since the game was released. There were billions of people playing and many of them were spending their entire day and night playing nonstop stop and yet this person was able to not only rise above them but completely destroy them in such a short period of time.
“Haha, look at the top ten spots. They aren’t even close to him. Except for maybe Darkmoon. That one seems to be holding their position.”
“Persona and Darkmoon are utter monsters! How are they so strong?!”
With that, the entire internet and even the news outlets were submerged in the excitement of this development.
***
Meanwhile, amongst these many players, a particular group was looking at the news with interest.
Within the deep parts of the forest, they were resting after hunting for a few hours. The group consisted of four individuals, two girls, and two boys.
“He’s in a league of his own…” One of the boys muttered with a subtly shocked look on his face. “What’s up with this guy? Is he cheating or something?” Looking at his friends with a confused look, he asked.
“Hahaha, I bet he is one of the developers! Those bastards are playing their own game and trying to pretend like they’re better than us. Isn’t that right, Danny-”
“Didn’t I say not to call me by my real name in the game, Herculia?” The boy named Danny glared at his friend. Herculia was a large man with a strong look on his face and thick brown hair.
He had a wide smile on his face as he laughed heartily.
“Sure sure, my friend.”
“You two don’t seem to understand what’s happening.” One of the girls stopped eating her grilled meat and said. “This Persona is clearly just some kind of talented freak that got their hands on knowledge from Divinity. If I have to bet, they’re probably the son of an influential politician.”
“That sounds like a more far-fetched possibility than being a Developer, Anna,” Herculia replied with a shrug. “Divinity Corp would rather clash heads with every government than release any information about DO and that was what happened for the past few years when the game was still not released yet.”
“I agree with ‘muscle head’, they have kept everything a secret ever since they announced the game was in development. They wouldn’t give that information to anyone. Isn’t that right, prez?”
Immediately, everyone looked at the last girl sitting next to a tree with her eyes closed as if she was taking a nap. She didn’t seem like she was bothered by what was happening around her. However, the others could only keep staring at her for one reason or another.
Eventually, she opened her eyes as she grunted slightly. Then, she ran her hand through her hair. “When does this ringing stop? It’s annoying.”
“Pfft, she doesn’t care, does she?” Herculia laughed loudly. “She never bothered with rankings or news or any other nonsense.”
“That’s Prez for you. I wonder what you think of the player Persona, prez?” Danny asked with a curious look. “He’s your ‘rival’ isn’t he?”
The girl stared at him silently for a moment before she closed her eyes again. “We’re here for a reason far more important than pitiful rivalry. Don’t lose focus on your goal.”
Silence took over the entire place for a good few seconds. The girl’s words were strong and impactful, as simple as they were and nobody could deny that.
“She’s right. In the end, it’s just rankings. Unless we come across this person, there is no reason to care now. We’re already doing great by being this high up in the rankings. Besides, we’re on our way to wherever the Academy is and things will become really hectic really soon.” Anna added with a nod.
