There, the students found themselves inside another massive hall similar to the one they had just been in except this one had a large wooden stage on the other side and massive stands surrounding it filled with red chairs.
It looked like a luxurious theatre rather than a mere hall. Pleasant music played in the background, giving the place a very calming atmosphere.
"This place is only getting bigger and bigger," Danny muttered as he stood next to Isla. There was simply no way they could expect the institution to be this vast and interconnected. The design felt almost like pure magic. There was simply no way one would expect such a theatre could exist casually on one of the floors.
The administration body moved down the stairs slowly.
"Take your appropriate seats," Theodore said. "The ceremony will start in a few minutes." Then, he disappeared along with his colleagues somewhere, leaving the students alone.
"... They're so quick with it."
"They appeared and disappeared so quickly. Why are they in a hurry?"
"The seats have our names on them, look!"
As the students started getting more and more familiar with the theatre, they slowly started walking down the stairs and spread everywhere, trying to find their seats.
"We should also move," Isla said. "Stay attentive, guys."
"You don't have to tell me that." Herculia stretched. "I didn't like those people. They gave me the chills."
"Me neither..." Emmy nodded.
"In any case, we can get together after whatever ceremony they're going to do." Danny shrugged as he started walking down the stairs.
The group then separated, everyone going to a different section of the theatre, searching for their name. Since names were organized based on the number of their assigned rooms too, it was easy to find their spots.
"Hmm, my place is... Here!" Arthur exclaimed as he found his seat and sat down. The soft cushion felt very good on his back and thighs. It was a very comfortable chair.
"Ugh, my back, man." He muttered. "I feel like an old man."
"You don't move like an old man, though."
"Huh?"
Arthur looked up, only to realize that Isla was sitting next to him. He blinked in confusion before shifting his gaze to her chair. There, he saw Isla's full name and her room number.
"Wait... You have the same room number as I do?" He asked in confusion.
"Seems so. What a coincidence." Isla crossed her arms and said.
"..."
"..."
For some reason, nobody made a single more noise the moment he started speaking. He didn't even need to say anything about that and everyone instinctively understood they needed to remain silent. That kind of presence was unreal.
"We have gathered all of you here, from all nations and continents. You have left your homes, and your families heeding our call. That I am grateful for. It is never easy to follow another man's dream. But, I never stopped dreaming. Ehem, I should stop blabbering on and on. I shall introduce myself." The man said.
"I am the founder of Divinity Corp and the creator of Divinity Online. You can simply address me as 'The Founder' if you wish so. Oh, I do like being called 'The Dreamer' too." He said with a small chuckle.
Just like that, the entire theatre was submerged in complete and utter shock. A bombshell was just dropped on their heads so casually.
"... Did he just say..."
"Did I hear him correctly?"
"The founder?"
"What?"
"That man is the founder of DO?"
"Isn't he completely anonymous and doesn't appear in public at all?"
"... Considering the fact that he just introduced himself like that. It can only be the case..."
"Wow! The Founder! I heard so many rumors about him!"
"Isn't he some kind of alien?"
All kinds of comments erupted everywhere. Nobody could contain themselves from voicing their thoughts. After all, if what he said was true, then they were witnessing something historical. The legendary man behind Divinity Corp and the genius behind Divinity Online, the game that changed the entire world, was standing right in front of them.
"The founder..." Arthur muttered with a deep frown as he gripped his chair arm. "So that's the man himself..."
"..." Isla remained completely silent while holding her chin. She was inspecting the man thoroughly, trying to find any small details she could gather about him.
"Now, please, I know this is sudden and very much unannounced. But, for such a great day, I cannot simply leave the entrance ceremony for someone else to do. Divinity Online and this academy were my dreams that I worked on for decades and I needed to be here today, to speak about it."
"..."
'He had chosen the perfect moment to show himself. Not only did he keep himself completely anonymous from us. He also appeared on a technically remote island. We can't outside the world unless under supervision so nobody can reveal his location or anything about him.' Isla thought to herself. 'He's a cunning man...'
Even though The Founder seemed like a very polite and calm man. Isla could easily read through such a facade. She had met many people who acted that way. But, none left this deep of an impression on her from the very start.
"Now, what was I about to say? Oh right, I'm supposed to announce the official start of the school year here in the academy." Opening his arms, he said. "Well, Let's begin shall we?"
A//N: I'm going to be updating the third tier of the story tomorrow and the day after so you won't be able to read the chapters till all the updates are done. It's going to be 10 new chapters so stay tuned and don't forget to check the story when the tier is fully updated :)