Isla exclaimed with a shocked tone as she stared at Arthur with wide eyes.
âShush!â Arthur quickly put his hand on his mouth, signaling for her to lower her voice. His eyes wandered to the people around him and quickly noticed them watching the interaction with curious looks.
They noticed how Isla had stopped in front of his table and that naturally raised their curiosity.
âGoddamit, why the hell is this girl here?â He cursed inwardly. Of all the people he expected to stumble upon now, Isla was the last person. She was also perhaps the last person he wished to meet after what happened yesterday. âSo she was on this island too? Great! Perfect!
Iâm very lucky, arenât I? Like what are the chances of this happening?â
Arthur felt like fate was mocking him with how things had turned out.
ââŠâ Isla blinked a few times before she nodded her head. Then, walked past him and sat on the table right behind him with her back facing his back. The students were naturally confused for a few seconds.
âWhy did she stop near his table?â
âMaybe he said something weird to her? The bastard!â
âWell, she seemed to have moved on. What a weirdo.â
Hearing the mocking tone of the students, Arthur sighed as he picked up his cup of coffee and drank from it. âSigh, patience, Arthur. I need to be patient.â
âI didnât expect us to meet again this soon,â Isla said in a quiet tone as she pretended as if she was reading the menu.
âMe neither,â Arthur replied.
âActually, I had a hunch that you might be here too. You didnât look older or younger than me.â
âPeople told me I look younger than my age.â Arthur continued eating as if nothing happened. At this point, he gave up trying to escape or pretend Isla wasnât there.
âThey donât have a keen eye.â
âPfft, a weird way to compliment yourself, but sure.â Arthur laughed slightly. Then, the two went silent for a while as if they didnât know what to say. Eventually, Isla opened her mouth again.
âSo, can I know your name now or are you going to run away again?â
â⊠I didnât run away, Miss. Thatâs called a tactical retreat. Itâs an essential part of all confrontations.â Arthur clicked his tongue.
âA tactical retreat requires a threat in the first place. Was I a threat to you?â
Arthur: ââŠâ
The boy opened his mouth before closing it again as if he didnât know what to say. Then, he sighed and replied. âWell, you werenât a threat. More like an annoying intruder if I have to be frank.â
âOh, an annoying intruder?â
âYeah, no offense to you. But, you and your small group seem like too much trouble for my taste. I donât mess with that.â
Arthur was being completely honest. The moment he came across the masked player and the rest of the group, his senses went off. They seemed like the exact type of people that would bring him trouble. They didnât necessarily seem like bad people, but they had that âMain characterâ aura that he could recognize easily.
âEspecially this girl. She stands out like a sore thumb. No, more like a beacon of light in the darkness.â He thought to himself.
âThat is the very first time someone told me that,â Isla replied with an impressed look on her face.
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âYouâre the one who asked.â Arthur shrugged. âAnyway, Iâm Arthur. Nice to meet you.â
âIsla. Nice to meet you too.â She replied.
âI hope this will be the last time we interact, Isla.â He said as he finally finished his food and lifted his hand to call for the waitress.
However, Isla spoke at that moment. âCan I ask one last question?â
âWhat?â Arthur replied as he got ready to leave. However, her next words made him completely freeze for a split second.
âAre you hiding that youâre rank 1 because you donât want the attention that comes with it?â
Arthurâs expression went completely blank. Meanwhile, Isla casually sipped her coffee.
âWhat are you talking about?â Arthur sat down again. âShit, she caught on?â
âItâs very obvious if you ask me. I have seen how you fight and I know that youâre stronger than me. So, naturally, that makes you Rank 1. Unless I made a mistake somewhere.â She replied.
âWha-â Arthur was about to continue pretending that he didnât know what she was saying. But, then, something clicked in his head when he heard her words. His face frowned visibly before he turned to look at Isla for the first time. The girl also looked at him silently.
âYouâre⊠Youâre Darkmoon?â He asked.
âNice to meet you again.â She replied.
ââŠâ Arthur pursed his lips as he continued looking at her before he slowly turned around and sat again. âWell⊠That makes a lot of sense, doesnât it? Youâre the strongest player I met so far.â
âSame here.â She replied.
â⊠Wow, just wow.â Arthur laughed as he rubbed his face. âYeah, this is some kind of joke for sure. Iâm being pranked right now.â
âIâm sorry for discovering your little secret, Mr. Rank 1.â
âSigh, are you going to reveal that piece of info?â He asked. At this point, Arthur realized that he had already been caught from the start and he had no chance of actually changing her mind. Isla seemed like an extremely clever individual and changing her mind was almost impossible.
âHmm, no, I wonât do that. I have no interest in spreading other peopleâs matters.â She replied. âI just found myself curious when I realized that you might be the Rank 1. But, how did you do that?â
â⊠I donât know really. Iâm just playing and having fun. I donât know why Iâm Rank 1. Honestly, itâs all too weird to me too.â He replied.
Arthur genuinely didnât know how he ended up in the position he was in at that moment. He thought he was going to simply enjoy playing the game casually yet somehow, he ended up being the best player in the world amongst hundreds of millions of other players. It felt unreal even after he came to accept it.
âSome people definitely deserve it more than I do. But, good luck to them taking it from me. Iâm not handing it over.â He thought to himself.
âInteresting,â Isla muttered as she looked at the cup in front of her, deep in thought. âWhat is your goal in DO?â
âGoal?â
âDo you wish to achieve something? Perhaps something great.â
Her question was rather odd and the tone in which she asked was also odd. But, Arthur didnât think much about it as he didnât understand her at all.
âNo, not really. Iâm just trying to have fun and change my life for the better. If I can do that, then Iâm satisfied.â He replied.
For a moment, Arthur smiled peacefully. His dream for the future was very straightforward and even simplistic. Yet, it didnât change at all. Even now when he could easily aim for something âgreatâ, he still didnât wish to change himself.
âMy wish will never change and I donât want it to change either.â He mused.
Those words made Isla stop for a moment from sipping her coffee as she closed her eyes. Then, she said. âCan I call you âArthur, if you donât mind?â
â⊠Hm? Yeah, I donât mind.â
âWell, Arthur, Iâm going to request something from you. Meet me tonight at 7:00 PM at the entrance of the village.â She said as she stood up. âI think it might interest you.â














