Interlude - III

"I repeat," Stephen went on, "you have another chance. In case you misunderstood, another means just one more."

People in the plaza couldn't yell to make their complaints heard, but they found a roundabout way to do it, which was by showing their middle fingers to the director of Avalon.

Stephen was completely unfazed by their provocation.

"The second round of beta will begin twelve days from now on," the director stated. "Those that are eliminated can cash in their last chance then, though I fear another chance would do nothing unless you're simply unlucky on your first play.‌ So most of you want to save that chance for later when you're prepared for it. Then again, it's up to you. What does the director of Avalon know, anyway? He's just a guy who hates gamers and wants to make money."

'This guy really is a troll,' Ben thought.

It was pretty clear why gamers hated this fella so much. Even though Stephen was in a simple floral shirt, shorts and sneakers, the whole air he emanated was that of provocation. He was blatantly showing others that he didn't care about them at all, because he was better than them.

Although most of the reasons for the hate were because this guy states facts that gamers didn't like most of the time. Ben listened to everything giving his full attention, though, in case something huge came out.

"The next round of beta will have about four times the players. And we'll continue to introduce Apotheosis to more people like this. We gave ourselves two years' time to complete this. Hopefully, even with all your complaints, we'll make it. Anyway, it seems you guys still have complaints, even after knowing you have another chance."

Stephen finally gave the crowd a half glance.

"Why only one more chance, you ask?" Stephen responded. "You people don't seem to have the faintest clue what it takes to organise a massive project like this. We don't really have the resources to waste on every incompetent candidate."

That got even more ‌provocative actions from the players. Stephen remained as cool as a cucumber. As if their complaint would change nothing. Not his mind, or anyone responsible for the game.

Ben sucked in a breath. He wasn't sure he understood the resources part enough. The VR helmet was hella expensive, the official price was five thousand global credits, which was already enough to buy a branded car. As for the unofficial price, there was no limit to it, considering anyone could log into the game as long as they had the headset.

Ben's own sister had been planning to use his helmet to play, but unfortunately, all the slots in the beta were closed by the point he gave her the set.

She was really pissed at him for this. Well, good news for her, she would be able to play in twelve days, though Ben wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let a fourteen-year-old play in such a brutal and uncensored realistic game.

'I would have to explain everything to Mum and Dad first,' Ben mused, and put that in the back of his mind. He refocused on the conference.

"I get your complaints, I really do," Stephen said, counting his fingers. "You guys want the best game to play with no strings attached, no pain, ‌no bugs, no censorship, no crashes, and of course, no more bans. The shits you guys have pulled sometimes leads me to question humanity.

"But have you ever wondered that we already gave you almost all of that? In Avalon Online and its sister projects?"

The crowd stopped their provocation for a second and exchanged glances, unsure how to counter that. Some of them simply didn't listen and continued to show their middle fingers.

"I'm going to level with you guys for this once," Stephen continued, drinking one sip of his drink. His avatar was far more realistic than the game should have let him be. "You want comfort, escapism, and fun. Just play Avalon. Nobody will judge you, but please don't come up with your sorry asses and complain if you can't even put a little effort into yourself. You're complaining mostly about your own incompetency."

Ben wasn't sure if Stephen was the right person to address the crowd. He was simply infuriating them with cold facts and grim realities. If most people wanted grim realities, they wouldn't have been playing VR games, for god's sake.

But it seemed Stephen had a reason for it.

"Since the start of the twenty-first century, humanity has grown only weaker as a whole. We advanced technologically, and yes, there are handfuls of you who are the exception, but there are countless people among you with latent potential. Countless of you who wasted your potential for years.

"Well, it is your life. You are subjected to do whatever you want with it. Waste it whatever way you want, I don't care, but. . . But if you ever feel like you should live up to your potential or even uplift yourself, then and only then you should come back to Apotheosis. It's built for a different purpose altogether."

A huge holographic screen flashed behind Stephen in the middle of the plaza.

"The Apotheosis Project is formed in the true spirit of athleticism and to uplift humanity as a whole. Apotheosis is a stage for players to push themselves to their limits in pursuit of their dreams and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to pursue their own passions and strive for excellence in everything they do as well.

"Apotheosis should stand as a shining testament to humanity's collective greatness as well as individual achievements, showcasing the incredible things that we can accomplish when we work together towards a common goal. Not something to downcast humanity as a whole.

"Apotheosis Project was built differently with the direct purpose of raising gods of a new age."

The holographic screen flashed with the visuals of the game, showing split images of players fighting zombies or other wild animals in the game.

On the very top of the screen, Ben found 'TheWall'. His Apotheosis Online avatar wasn't nearly as impressive as Avalon's, but that hardly changed anything. Naik, 'TheWall', Captain of Silver Titan and also the two-time champions of the World Avalon League, was contesting against a pack of deadmen alone. And was winning.

Other players were fighting on other split screens as well as groups of players teaming up to battle the horrifying monsters. Weirdly, Ben found himself in one of the screen, hunting wild beasts and teaming up with his friends.

Ben gave it half a glance and returned to 'The Wall'. Ben couldn't move his eyes from the God of War.

Sadly for Ben, the champion's visuals were cut short as another person appeared on the top screen.

It showed a lone figure escaping from a pack of savage wolves.

Ben's heart skipped a beat as he recognised the individual.

'Ulysses'.

Ben had met him quite early in the game, though the encounter wasn't exactly as he imagined. Ulysses of the past was more of a cheerful and charismatic fellow, but the person he met in the game seemed to be just rude.

Well, he could be under difficult circumstances that Ben wasn't aware of, not to mention he left the Esports industry completely, keeping no contact whatsoever.

The Ulysses of the present was struggling with the packs of wolves, unable to showcase the awesomeness he was entitled to in Avalon Online. He was sluggish and slow, hardly better than third-rate pro players.

But that changed altogether as he burst into motions, displaying impossibly athletic movements. Naik was simply brutal with his title of the Titan of War, while Ulysses was the testament to style and brilliance.

Unconsciously, Ben found himself clenching his fists.

He felt a sense of pride as he watched the battle, knowing that he was part of the same community that they belonged to. And these were the mountains he had to climb.

These are his goals because Ben simply didn't want to play in the world league. He wanted everything out of it; he wanted to become the best, a champion like them.

________

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