7 Chapter 7 - The Challenge of Two Friends

HeroLick and Buu have been friends since they were young, and 20 years ago, they began the ambitious undertaking of creating an AI that would eventually become the foundation of the Yunatea virtual world. After extensive research and a significant investment of both energy and money, they were able to bring their dream to fruition.

Immortal Legacy was an immersive game with a virtual world called Yunatea, a place with a seemingly real and time-honored history reaching back tens of thousands of years. Its lifelike, accelerated progression was made possible by a remarkably advanced Artificial Intelligence.

Upon its grand opening to the public seventeen years later, Yunatea had transformed into a remarkably realistic alternative world, having developed organically with minimal Game Developer involvement.

When Buu became the most influential person in the Golden Age Company, taking on the role of the CEO in charge of the Immortal Legacy, the world had been missing HeroLick for 10 years. He had passed away, leaving behind a huge ambition that he was never able to witness come to fruition. His vision had been realized, however, as Immortal Legacy had grown to be an international phenomenon with a tremendous investment value that had truly revolutionized the lives and lifestyles of people around the world.

In a tall building in the heart of downtown West Lake, a 45-year-old man with salt-and-pepper hair was seated in an office room. His frame was draped in a long white coat and a pair of glasses that framed his eyes. Marco Flare, better known by his gamer tag 'Buu', was renowned for his contribution to the success of the popular game 'Immortal Legacy'.

Marco, as was his usual practice, was sitting in front of his computer, monitoring and preparing the best way to develop the Immortal Legacy in the future. The task was quite a pressure on his head recently, particularly since one of the gods of sin had yet to choose their champion.

Suddenly, the pocket of his white coat vibrated, and Marco, without hesitation, answered his ringing phone.

"Yes?" he said.

"Mr. Director, good news!" came the hurried voice of a woman from the phone. "Akidia, goddess Akidia!"

"Yes, what about that useless goddess?" Marco asked casually.

"She has chosen her own champion!" the woman responded firmly.

Marco was overcome with a sudden surge of energy, and without hesitation, he shut off his phone and leapt out of his chair. "Wait," he commanded. "I'll be right there; make sure you have all the information I think I'll need."

By that time, it was already evening, and though the company required their employees to work regular hours, there were a few who had been assigned the night shift. In a spacious control room with a big screen on one wall and a number of smaller ones on the other, a few people had gathered to monitor the significant events that had just transpired in Immortal Legacy.

Hurrying over, Marco adjusted his glasses as he gazed at the screen. Upon seeing Akidia conversing with a player none of them were familiar with, he murmured, "Akidia? What made her decide to go with this player? Could you show me the stats of that player?"

Marco's eyes widened in surprise. "What?!" he shouted. "A level 25 player? How is that possible?"

"Broken..." Marco murmured under his breath, referring to the player's online gamer tag.

The woman beside him responded, "Mr. Director, I don't know what the goddess Akidia thought when she chose that man, but according to the data we found, it seems that he has only been online for an hour every day over the past year. Despite this, he was able to accomplish a remarkable feat. He completed almost all of the side quests, as well as hidden quests and a few other tasks that only a few players are able to complete. And even though he wasn't focused on leveling up, he was still able to reach level 25 within a year of playing Immortal Legacy."

Marco remained silent and thoughtful. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the goddess Akidia could make this decision," he said. "She has always gone her own way and this time seems to be no exception. But she must have chosen wisely... this person is certainly hardworking."

"Yes, Mr. Director," replied the other, "even though he doesn't log on very often. I wonder if this will make him play more often now that he's been given this honor?"

Marco paused for a moment, considering the possible outcomes of the situation with the last champion selected. It was clear that a new age was about to dawn on the Immortal Legacy.

"Good, then," he said with a nod and a smile. "We will work even harder after this. All the gods of sins have chosen their champion, and there are sure to be numerous exciting adventures ahead."

"But, Mr. Director," his assistant interjected.

"Yes?" Marco asked.

"There is one pressing matter that needs to be addressed," she said hesitantly. "If I may, I would like to show you..."

The big screen in front of them again displayed data about the blessings and all the bonus rewards Akidia had given to her champion.

"She gave five blessings to one player at a time?!" Marco exclaimed, disbelief and a slight tremor evident in his voice. "Not only that, but she let him make a contract with five spirits from the start. Oh my goodness!" He added, his breaths quickening.

"Does she know the risks of her actions? By only choosing one champion, she will have a hard time winning the war since she will not have any backups. And if her champion gets into trouble due to all the blessings she has bestowed upon him, she will also be the first deity to lose the chance to have a champion in Yunatea, she will become an outcast deity or even lose her deity status." Marco said with a bit of pressure, his breaths quickening.

Marco's assistant was silent; she shook her head in response to Marco's words. "Does this mean bad news, Mr. Director?" she asked anxiously.

"This is bad, because she bestows too much responsibility on a single player. Are you sure she really understands how to play this champion system?" Marco turned to his assistant, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. But then he took a deep breath and exhaled with a little loss of hope. "Looks like we can't expect too much from the goddess of Sloth."

Marco massaged his forehead, feeling dizzy with the current situation. "Please keep an eye on the upcoming developments," he said. "And, since this is going to be a very big phenomenon, make sure Leon also gets enough scrutiny because of this incident."

With that, Marco walked away from the large room, leaving his assistants frowning in confusion.

"Leon?" one of them asked.

"Leon is the one behind the gamer tag of Broken," the other said.

"But, how did the director know that name? Haven't we discussed that with him yet?" another asked.

"I don't know," the other responded, "maybe he is also monitoring the same thing in his room."

They conversed, trying to solve the puzzle they had been presented with.

Marco returned to his office room, and his gaze immediately fell on the most advanced capsule he had, which he often used to enter the virtual world of Yunatea. He intended to enter that world and attempt to contact Akidia, for he had something he had to tell the goddess.

But before proceeding with that, Marco walked over to his desk, and his eyes fell on a small frame containing a picture of two men in long white coats, both with cheerful faces.

"Arthur Chambers…," he muttered softly. "Please tell me this is just a coincidence."