VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne

Chapter 300: Power to the People

Percy panted heavily as he glared at the man across from him. They were evenly matched, and it was clear that going any further would only result in a tie, which clearly annoyed the Enforcer. The smug smile had completely disappeared from his face, replaced with a frustrated scowl as he growled through gritted teeth.

Winning would have been nice, but seeing this cocky prick humbled was even more of a delightful feeling. At least it was the one positive thing that had come of this entire strange day.

He twirled his sword, stabbing it into the ground, before letting it go as the golden hue faded from the blade. He glanced at his father, just in time to catch his eyes. The two glared at each other, before his father looked away a moment later, seemingly more interested in the empty space next to him as he talked to himself.

Percy clicked his tongue, his slightly good mood completely spoiled, as he stepped out of the basketball court so that these rich and powerful leaders could bet on or invest in the end of the world as they knew it.

"When will you make the announcement?" Someone amongst them asked, directing the question towards the smiling Noel. It was a valid question, causing a wave of muttering and nodding amongst the politicians and business men.

In years gone, revealing such information would have been considered insider trading and against the law. But they owned the law, so why did they care?

"We shut our game down for a week long update," He said with an affable smile, glancing over the crowd,

"We will tell the people of their new future two days before the update finishes. That will give us some time to get our affairs in order, as well as get our new businesses up and running.

Now, for those government officials who are panicking over the security of their nations, allow me to introduce the guild registration system." Noel announced with a greed filled smile, waving his hand as he turned towards the massive screen that hung above the court, which started to display the next portion of his presentation.

***

After the Bank Incident, which forced her to stay behind an extra two hours just to be interviewed and then pressured into signing an NDA by those Enforcer pricks, Valerie kept her head down low just like Ren had asked.

Although she still did not like him, and constantly joked about his predicting abilities, she had no choice but to trust some of the things he said. After all, as much of an issue as she had with him, he was literally from the future and knew what was going to happen. It would be stupid to turn down that advantage.

So for the last few days, she had actually been on her best behaviour. Her plant delivery had arrived, filling her apartment with vibrant green, so she had been keeping herself busy by taking care of those and building her power with a mixture of plant meditation and source remnants.

Ren had been harassing them over those last few days to quickly build as much power as possible, which made sense when it came to fighting monsters. But he was a little too insistent on it being before then, which finally made sense when Valerie sat down to watch the news conference that Rift Diver were having.

Instead of addressing a controversy or any of the issues, or even giving details of the update like many expected, they showed what Valerie had been dreading. Across the world, countless people watched the footage from the bank with shocked and confused expressions.

The camera angle was just conveniently high enough that Valerie’s actions just so happened to be cut off at the bottom. A little too convenient.

"Now I know what you are thinking," The Spokesman said with a blindly white smile, as he paraded around the stage with a ridiculously large haircut and a bright blue suit,

"Of course this has to be fake, right? That it has to be generated or edited in some way. But you would be wrong. Ladies, Gentlemen, Borgs and Otherwise. We at Rift Divers have given you the gift of magic! Real, true Magic! All for the price of a very affordable energy drink per day.

A price I’d say was worth it, don’t you think?" He laughed, waving his hand towards the table piled with drink cans that all just so happened to have the logo facing out."

"But if you don’t believe me, then we will be carrying out live demonstrations for all to see at these select locations, and they will be live streamed for any to hop in and show their love for their favourite game."

The Spokesman flashed his heavily whitened smile as a series of city names scrolled across the bottom of the screen. None of them were in Valerie’s city, but that didn’t matter. She was her own demonstration.

"As for those naughty little gamers who have already discovered their abilities and have been keeping it to themselves. Well, we already have something for you. Introducing, the Monument of Power and the guild registration!"

He waved his hand, as the camera zoomed out, showing the tall, spire shaped building that he was standing in front of.

The Spokesman walked inside, with the camera trailing behind, as he gave the captive audience a tour. Although not everyone had been watching from the start, as not everyone was into games or cared about update terms, by this point in his speech it was possible to say that he was literally addressing the entire world, and even those beyond that.

The Monument of Powers facilities were limited, it wasn’t a large building, but a lot of the gamers realised exactly what it was built to be. A Guild Hub. It was no surprise that the Spokesman made sure to announce that these had been subtly and quickly constructed in the centre of every city, and those that it did not currently exist in would have one soon.

"The most important part of any monument, Never mind the Monument of Power," The Spokesman continued, bringing them back to the main entrance room, before gesturing over to a large wall that had the words ’Hierarchy of Power’ etched into the wall high above,

"Is who it is a Monument to. In this case, it is a monument to you dear listeners. But not just anyone can climb this ladder and crown themselves the most powerful being of all. Only by registering in the tower can one be crowned.

Not confident in your own power? Then come with friends, join the guild ranking. If status and the praise of all those beneath you aren’t enough, then how about I tell you a little secret, hmm?" The Spokesmen laughed.

He leaned close to the camera, taking on a casual stance as if they were just two friends having a conversation that they didn’t want the boss to overhear.

"I know that starting at the end of this month, that the top three of the individual rankings and the top three on the guild rankings, will earn a special prize, and then every three months after that! But those rankings aren’t concrete, they could change at any point!

So why wait? If you feel that tingling of power, then come on down and get yourself registered. Who knows? It could be you at the top of that leaderboard. And if not... Well, who says you have to stay that way? Bottoms up!"

He smiled devilishly, lifting a can of D-fuel into frame, with the logo perfectly aligned to camera, before drinking it. He downed the entire cane, crushed it into a tiny ball with his bare hands, before swirling his hands in the air in fake, over-dramatic mystic actions.

Nevertheless, a fireball conjured itself into existence, floating above his palm that he played with for a few seconds, before tossing it at the camera, allowing the final shot of the announcement to be the camera engulfed in flames, before they faded away to show the grand majesty of the Monument of Power.