Creak!
Arthur pushed open the two glass doors and entered the room. The view then shifted to reveal the room filled with thousands of monitors. They had a few cracks here and there and were dirty.
After ascending the few steps of the set of stairs, the four men entered the room.
Arthur drew a chair from below the table and sat down on it with his front facing the other four men. He did so while maintaining a jaded expression on his face.
"You four must have several questions." He inquired with twitch of his finger.
The four men stood silent as they waited for Arthur to elaborate on the purpose of the invitation.
Arthur leaned in close to them and spoke in a low, deliberate tone, "First and foremost, you four are children of High Society. The majority of you have parents who are well-off and influential in their fields.''
He turned towards Isaac and said.
"Wraith, whose real name is Isaac Whitelock, is the son of Maxwell and Isabella Whitelock. His father is the Chairman of the Board at Whitelock Company, which is Snowstar's primary provider of architectural supplies.
"His mother is a world-famous fashion designer, most well-known for her winter clothing, which are available in every city in Winterland. Even I have a few of her creations in my wardrobe.
Isaac was standing there in complete silence, not even blinking while Amour, Xerxus, and Kalzer cast their eyes in his direction.
Then Arthur turned his attention to Amour and said, "The only son of the Grayhound family, Amour Grayhound. Amour is the only child in his family. His father is the Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company, and he holds a monopoly on the market in Autumnland."
After that, he shifted his attention to Xerxus, saying, "Xerxus Kinful, the second son of the Kinful family, the family of athletics. His parents are both world-famous athletes who have won multiple world championships. He inherited their athletic prowess.
"His brothers and sisters are both well-known prodigies who are well on their way to becoming champions in their respective fields. Then there is Xerxus, who is known as the family's "black sheep," but not due to a lack of ability on his part. No, no.
"He has more talent than everyone else in his family combined, but he lacks the ambition to use it. Then one day, White Online came along, and that was the spark that started his passion."
Xerxus displayed a nonchalant arm position.
Then, in conclusion, Arthur gave Kalzer a wry grin as he looked at him and then said, "Kalzer, hated by his father and siblings."
After the brief moment of discomfort that followed, Kalzer's eyes returned to their normal state.
"Since I selected him to be an Alpha Tester, I have always had the impression that he will become just another player who won't amount to anything. After all, there were hundreds of Alpha Testers, and they came from families that belonged to High Society.
"And of those, only ten were selected to serve as Lords, and ten were selected to serve as Ladies. I have kept track of every player's ranking since the beginning of the Alpha Test, and Kalzer was at the bottom for the first two months.
"Then, Kalzer's unique talent began to blossom due to a change in circumstances. The talent of hard work.
"Because of his talent, he rose in rank gradually until he barely reached the top 10 before the Alpha Testing was over.
"After that, he waited for seven to eight years until the servers became available. And when they did, Kalzer wasn't the same kid as before; his talent had developed to an entirely new level in the meantime. Because he wanted to show his father that he wasn't a failure, he was always the highest-leveled player in public from the very beginning.
While clenching his teeth, Kalzer scratched himself on the arm. A few pieces of memories from when he was younger came to the surface in his mind. His father went completely insane after learning that his son had the lowest rank of any player in the Alpha Testing round.
Since that time, his once kind father has become a monstrous figure instead. After that, there was no other option for Kalzer other than to push himself beyond his limits. Every day, he went well beyond his limits, and his mind was constantly on the verge of exploding as a result.
If he were to disappoint his father even one more time, his wrath would likely be taken out on his siblings and his mother.
Arthur radiated a grin as he encircled the group with his arms and declared, "That's who you four are. The four individuals who I have selected to serve as the future generals of humanity."
'Generals?' Xerxus sported a frown.
"..." Amour stood with his eyebrow raised.
Isaac's brows furrowed in concentration.
Arthur lowered his arms and began speaking, "Now, the reason why I invited you four here is because I want to ask you something. The reason for this meeting is because members of High Society have made it their mission to eliminate me.
''Since the announcement, those individuals dressed in protective gear have been working for them, and ever since then, they have been making an effort to eliminate me.''
"!!" Xerxus, Amour, Kalzer, and Isaac all had shocked expressions on their faces.
"Are you implying that our parents are making an attempt to take your life?" Amour asked in a furious tone. He did not have the slightest amount of trust. It was inconceivable that his kind father, who has raised him single-handedly ever since the death of his mother, would act in such a way.
Xerxus clenched his fist and cast a murderous glare in Arthur's direction.
Isaac furrowed his brow and could feel a stirring of rage rising up inside of him.
He was well aware that his father, Maxwell, held Arthur in high regard and would never act in such a way.
Kalzer maintained his silence and ruminated on his memories of his father. It didn't strike him as odd at all that his father would act in such a heinous manner, in his opinion.
"No. I didn't mean like that," Arthur said as he waved his hand around in an attempt to calm them down.
Impatiently, the four men listened to the following words.
"In point of fact, there are very few families that are completely oblivious of my current danger, such as your families," He said.
The expression on Kalzer's face conveyed surprise as he asked, "S-So, are you saying that my father didn't send anyone after your life?"
"Yes, he didn't," Arthur stated calmly, oblivious to the fact that his words caused Kalzer's heart to race in response to a certain degree of surprise.
''Why did you decide to go with us four? Because of our families?" Xerxus scowled and resented the fact that he was always referred to as Kinful's son. After gaining a greater understanding of the world, he became determined to succeed on his own without the assistance of his family.
"No, no." Arthur burst out laughing heartily and then said, "It's quite the opposite, actually. You four have arrived where you are today without the assistance of anyone else. Because of this, I think that the four of you might just be the best wildcard that humanity has!"
"What is it that you want from us?" Amour asked.
Arthur sat back in the chair and rubbed his shoulders as he said, "I am getting tired... I have struggled ceaselessly for an entire year. My adversaries have become too powerful, and as a result, I have not been able to relax. The severity of my wounds has worsened, and it's possible that I won't make it through another month."
''Why didn't you call the police, or anyone else for that matter, to come to your aid?" The question was posed by Kalzer, who stated, "You should have that kind of power up your sleeve."
"No, my self-proclaimed friends and allies are merely pawns in the game played by High Society. It was my own fault that I put more faith in the gods and ignored the advice of my friends and family. They are powerless to assist me in any way, and even the gods have no influence over the situation."
"So, you want us to help you? You want us to risk our lives for you?" Xerxus asked with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face.
Arthur gave him a composed look before responding with a somber smile and the word "Yes."
