Child of Destiny

...

Real World.

World Gaming Organization Headquarters.

A couple of people were walking out of Troy's office. It was hard to tell what they were thinking because of the mixed emotion reflected on their faces.

They just watched a battle that was going to be recorded in the history of the gaming world. A collision between the 'Hyper Active Immersion' and 'Reality Manifestation'.

The two people that just walked out of the office were the heads of the 'Analysis' and 'Research' Departments. Their jobs were to dissect all of the data that they got from the battle between Shin and Diablo and study all of it in every detail.

In the meantime, there were only three people left inside the office, and they were Carlos, Troy, and the Chairman of the World Gaming Organization.

There was a brief moment of silence within the room as they watched Shin and Diablo wrapped their battle. And when they saw the two separate, the Chairman turned to Carlos. "Cooperate with those two departments and inform me of your discovery."

"Yes, Chairman!" replied Carlos while standing up. He hesitated for a moment before finally voicing his current concern. "But what are we going with Diablo, Sir?"

"There may be a few numbers of people who already achieved the state of 'Hyper Active Immersion' when playing the game but they are not that rare given that a lot of great games are already been released in the past few years."

"But even among the top players who achieved it, none of them come close to Diablo. He is the first person to manage to utilize that state to its perfection since the time it was first discovered."

"At least, since the time when that particular generation of players revealed it to the public," he added with a careful tone.

The Chairman stroke his chin for a moment, thinking. Then he turned back to Carlos and ask. "So, what do you suggest?"

Hearing that Carlos no longer hesitated and immediately said. "I think it is better if we invite Diablo to participate in the research in this area."

The Chairman raised his eyebrows when he heard and refuted. "But we can't directly involve with the players of the game. It will break the balance. It is going to be more complicated for us to solve."

"I am not talking about inviting him to be part of us but to put him on a special program, Sir," clarified Carlos before adding. "There is already a lot of research about this area and already produced positive results. And those are also one of the reasons why we manage to successfully create the system for the 'Reality Manifestation'."

"But it still not enough reason for us to directly involve ourselves with a player," pointed the Chairman sharply. "There are also large guilds who are already doing similar research for their members."

"The information about the Hyper Active Immersion State is not a secrete, after all. This is the reason why the large organizations supporting those powerful guilds are nurturing their talents. And from what I remember, they are already close to achieving similar results based on their recent progress."

Carlos understood the point but he still couldn't give up on Diablo. From what he could see, this particular player would be a key figure that would lead the Virtual World to its new era. "But Diablo is a special case, Sir. What's more, he is not a part of any kind of organization, so he will not survive long if we leave him alone."

"Being in a Hyper Active Immersion is indeed amazing, but staying in that state will also put a lot of burden on the mind of the user. If that person is not supported properly, they are going to become a cripple sooner or later."

"Worst, they could even die while playing the game, Sir," the expression on Carlos' face was getting gloomy while thinking of they were going to lose such a talented person.

Unfortunately, the chairman remained unconvinced and sternly replied. "As I said, we can't directly involve the players. We can't be biased just because that person shows a remarkable feat and overwhelming potential."

"If you really want to support him, then you can just send him a message through the system and inform him that his situation can lead him into something dangerous. Isn't that also a part of your job as the head of the Monitoring Department?"

"You can also give him a prescription on how he will deal with it. But anything beyond that is no concern since it will no longer be the scope of our authority."

"It is up to him to look for the solution to his problem. He can look for a suitable organization that will help him or looks for another way if he stubbornly wants to remain an independent player."

"Everything else is up to fate," he added while looking at Carlos with full seriousness.

Carlos still wanted to continue convincing the chairman but he suddenly saw Troy shaking his head at him, saying that it was pointless.

Carlos could only nod his head and bow. "I understand, Sir. And sorry for my imprudence."

The Chairman waved his hand, telling him that it was fine before saying. "If that is everything, you can go now."

Carlos bowed once again before excusing himself. "Yes, Sir."

When Carlos left the room, Troy, who remained quiet since earlier finally turned to the chairman and spoke. "I understand your point, Sir. But isn't it a bit too harsh? After all, Carlos' intention is pure."

"He only cares about the advancement of our technology and the well-being of our players. After all, this is the reason why he chooses to be in the Monitoring Department despite his talent and vast knowledge in our field."

Strangely, the Chairman didn't reprimand those words and chuckled a little. "I know it very well. But we still need to remain neutral in everything. If we directly interfere with the private lives of the players, it will destroy the balance."

"We can't also support them with our funds and facilities even if they show us a potential that will be beneficial to our growth. It will lead us to break the Oath that we take before making this Organization."

Hearing that, Troy could only sigh helplessly. "Then I guess there is really no way for us to help that kid even though he is really a good prospect."

"And given his background and past experiences, he will not join any kind of organization despite knowing how dire his situation is."

"Actually, we can even forget about that. Given his level of Hyper Active Immersion, there is actually no place in the world that can help that kid aside from our facilities."

"This is the real reason why Carlos wants the Organization to support that kid," he added as he found that it would be a pity to lose such a precious talent.

It was at this moment that the chairman smirked. "Heh! Who says that?"

Troy was taken aback by those words and quickly turned to the chairman with a confused look on his face. "Eh? What do you mean by that, Sir?"

The chairman didn't give him an answer and just stared at him with a profound look instead. It was as if he was saying that Troy already knew the place that he was referring to.

Troy stared blankly at the chairman as he was trying to look for the answer inside his head. Then a few places on par with the World Gaming Organization indeed popped into his mind.

"Ah! Are you planning to send the kid in that place, Sir?" he blurted out as he thought of a particular place that perfectly fit the situation.

The chairman smiled mysteriously as he answered. "Just like what you and Carlos had said, we can't afford to lose that kid. We are not in a position to support him, but it didn't mean that we can give up on him."

"So-… why not we send him to our friend to do our job instead? It is not like we are breaking the Oath this way. We can save the kid and get the data that we need at the same time."

Troy immediately understood what the chairman was planning to do, but there was still an issue that needed to be addressed. "But how can we be sure that the professor will agree with it? After all, there are a lot of projects that need to be dealt with in that place."

"I doubt that the professor will agree to this," he added with concern.

Hearing that, the chairman laughed out loud as he found that concern hilarious. He then turned to Troy and replied with a scornful tone. "You underestimated the curiosity of that guy a little too much."

"Have you already forgotten why that old fool agreed to participate in creating this game despite his busy schedule? It is because Virtual Development piqued his interest."

"What's more, he is also one of the leading figures who develop the Reality Manifestation State. So, tell me, what will be his reaction when he learned that there is a person who can use the 'Hyper Active Immersion' to its peak potential."

Troy could now see where the confidence of the chairman was coming from. No researcher would refuse this kind of project when presented to them.

Moreover, he could also see that this particular topic was not only concerning the 'Reality Manifestation' and 'Hyper Active Immersion' states. This also included the mystery of the human mind and its potential.

...…