Chapter 20- The New ‘Persona’

Looking at the ranking, Arthur gasped slightly. He didn't see his name in the number 1 spot, or the second spot. Instead, his name was the first one in the ranking. The second spot had 999 points, while the first spot had 1010 points.

'I don't know how I feel about that. Should I be happy that I'm at least not number one, or terrified over the fact that there are two monsters above me?' Rubbing the back of his head, he sighed.

What made him even more alert was the fact that the two above him didn't hide their names as he did. 

''Darkmoon', and 'BlackBlade'. Who are they I wonder?' He mused. He was almost certain these two had acquired special classes like he did, perhaps classes that were way stronger than his or at least on an equal footing.

Looking at the rest of the ranking down to the top 100, he noticed that most of them showed their names. He didn't know if that was just a coincidence or if every single one in the top 100 was an arrogant idiot. Either way, Arthur was one of the very few who didn't reveal their names, so in a way, he stood out like a sore thumb.

"I'm the only one without a name in the top 10. Brilliant." Arthur sighed as he stood up and dusted his clothes. 'I didn't want to stand out, and I had the exact opposite effect. You're very smart, Arthur. Someone needs to hand you a goddamn award for your massive brain.' He rolled his eyes and looked around him.

The entire village was now even more noisier than ever. Everyone was talking about these rankings, sharing their spot, and trying to spot any known figures in the highest spots. 

"Who is Darkmoon, I wonder? They're already the strongest player in the game and it hasn't been four hours!" 

"There is also Blackblade. What an ominous name!"

"Guys, what about the 'Unnamed' third spot? That one feels far more ominous since they don't want to even show their names and they aren't falling that far behind. They're the number one in this region!"

He heard countless whispers and talks amongst the players, and many of them included the unknown third place in the global ranking. The curiosity of the players peaked and theories were already forming on the spot.

Arthur tried to ignore all these talks as he headed to the village exit. Hearing them talking about him felt really weird. He felt like he was under the spotlight even though nobody knew that it was him.

He was never accustomed to being the target of attention. He had always been a part of the background and he wanted to keep that same lifestyle as long as he lived. Granted, he was now faced with a rather peculiar situation where he reached a spot where he shouldn't be, but at least nobody knew him yet so he can keep his private life to himself for now.

Reaching the exit of the village, he looked behind him at the masses of players before sighing and walking away, vanishing into the forest.

***

*In the outside world*

After its launch, the entire world directed its eyes to Divinity Online. Those who didn't enter the game world had to jealously watch how the others were playing. Naturally, the news on TV and all across the internet focused on Divinity Online.

Many celebrities didn't wait to start recording their journey in the game, garnering a viewership in the tens of millions. 

However, what started as an already massive event that took over the globe, completely shifted upon the reveal of the ranking leaderboard. The reaction of the population was surprise and then immediate curiosity.

In a matter of seconds, the leaderboard spread across the internet, reaching countless people. Forums were created as people started dissecting the ranking, taking each name and trying to find every single piece of information they could find about it.

A good number of the top spots belonged to rich upper-class people and celebrities with impressive athletic abilities. They had the advantage over normal people since they knew how to fight already, and they simply applied their knowledge to the game so their progress was faster than the average player.

However, by far, the ones that took the spotlight in terms of attention were the top three global ranking players. Not only because they're the very best, but also because they're now arguably the most important people in the world.

Especially the unknown number 3. Since they were the only ones that didn't have a name attached to their rank, they stood out like a sore thumb and the internet naturally saw that as their biggest target.

"That rank 3 is really suspicious."

"Why are they hiding their name? Are they trying to sound mysterious?"

"So corny! I bet they didn't have anything worth mentioning and they suddenly found themselves in that spot."

"Guys! Who wants to be that they will fall very quickly once the actual players start taking the first place!"

"Milady Emily can step on me!!"

"All hail 'Persona'."

In a matter of minutes, the unnamed player's popularity skyrocketed. People started trying to figure out their identity in hopes of knowing who this person could be. Videos were posted about the matter, garnering millions of views in record time.

What was at first just a third player, somehow became the most eye-catching one out of the top three. 

His nickname became 'Persona.', the mysterious player with no name. Surprisingly, many were already starting to become fans of him. They liked his mystery, and how nobody could find anything about him yet. It made him feel like a ghost, or perhaps some kind of mysterious hero.

They didn't even care that the game had barely started and that there was a chance he would fall off quickly. After all, people love mystery as much as they get scared of it when it involves them and Persona was the perfect target for that amidst all the rage that is Divinity Online.

Meanwhile, Arthur, who was the target of all of this attention, was completely unaware of what was happening.

***

"She said to look for a hill around this area," Arthur muttered as he opened the map to check where he was exactly. "Hmm, it seems to be close by. This map is really useful. You can't really get lost using it, at all."

Although his map only showed a fraction of the terrain, it was already more than enough for him to actually know where he was and how to come back. 

Moving through the thick trees, Arthur emerged in an open area in the heart of the forest where he saw a hill protruding in the middle of it. From this angle, it looked like an inconspicuous area. 

But, when Arthur walked around its perimeter to the other side, he found the mouth of a big cave carved into its side. The cave was quite dark with rock protrusions emerging from the ceiling, giving it a very terrifying atmosphere.

"... I guess this is the place," Arthur muttered as he stood in front of the cave. "Orcs and a dark cave. Could it get any better? Probably not. Oh well, let's get this over with. It's just an orc, this shouldn't be way harder than the previous quest."

With those words as his encouragement, Arthur walked into the cave. His goal was clear, and supposedly not that hard.

A//N: Give me all your ps!