On October 7th, the main PUBG Twitter account shared this Twitter post with a video and the caption:
On tonight’s episode of Mysteries Unknown we explore the dark history around a plateau in Peru with some perplexing properties.
And with a link to PUBG Lore site.
Pre Website
Before the PUBG Lore website opened, 9 popular PUBG influencers were sent packages containing several items including a mysterious fragment of a stone tablet that would have originated from Paramo and aptly called the Paramo Stone. The other items included were a letter from Dr. Burton A. Northrop, the key to decipher the stone, and an image of the complete stone. The stone fragments were stuck in customs for some of the Influencers and the stone was never completed. You can see parts of what was decyphered and the key to the mysterious text in this youtube video.
October 7th
The website first showed several photos and objects with a Get Notified box that allowed you to enter your email address, a notification button, and a share button. This is what was later called the Staging Area
. It is to note that after the website was updated, you could no longer access the staging area but it was later found on a
separate link.
After entering an email address to be notified, 6 elements in the background start glitching and was discovered to be clickable. On the click, a very quick video of a few seconds would play and you would get a prompt to enter a passcode.
SPOILER
Each element indicated a specific map in the PUBG game.
Entering the proper map name would give you a specific sentence and the image corresponding to that map would no longer be interactable.
Here are the passcodes and what they are attached to:
- Erangel - The chest pawn -
Will you embrace who you are meant to be?
- Vikendi - The dinosaurs -
But I found a new father. And I like his game much better.
- Karakin - The broken statue -
Every secret. I know it all.
- Miramar - The lighter -
What do you know about him? What has he told you about his plans?
- Sanhok - The food -
Do you know how much these people pay to watch this?
- Paramo - The volcano -
But what if he didn't have to die at all?
Once all 6 passcode were entered, a new message appeared:
You have proven yourself. Magna Venari.
October 15th
On October 15th, it was noticed that the website had been updated and the staging area had disappeared. The website now contained many entries, such as characters' lore, journals, and other stories. You could also notice that some of the locked entries had a corresponding date to them which was speculated to be their unlocking date. Unfortunately, nothing was discovered before the website was changed once more. We also did not find any way to access these pages once they were gone.
October 16th
On October 16th, the website was put in maintenance with this message:
Updating Coming back online shortly...
SPOILER
A quick look in the source code revealed this line:
<meta property="Yes, you!" content="Ubj bevtvany, n Pnrfne plcure... Trg ernql sevraqf, guvf vf bayl gur ortvaavat.">
It was identified as a Caesar cypher:
How original, a Caesar cypher... Get ready friends, this is only the beginning
A new line also appeared an hour after this was found:
<-- Status: 1% -->
And again changed a few hours after to:
<-- Status: 3.14159265359% -->
This new status matched the Pi number but no significance was found in relation to the website.
October 18th
On October 18th, the background image for the website changed. This new image showed 1 braille code and 3 locked ones.
1st Unlock
SPOILER
The source code also changed to reflect the update:
<-- Status: 11% -->
The first braille code was translated to a difficulty level and a link:
Beginner
OVG.YL/#5468753
The second braille code:
Medium
The third braille code:
Hard
The fourth braille code is unclear compared to the others:
Gafeginner
We are unsure if it actually what it is until it is unlocked
The start of the link used the Caesar cypher that had been seen previously in the second part, the # indicated to look for numbers and had to be removed, as was indicated by the braille character being yellow, to lead to bit.ly/5468753 and revealed the first journal entry with the following caption:
XxxxxxxXXxxxx did discover the method used by the Dr...
letting us know when skeletons expired
XxxxxxxXXxxxx never did he have an email address
since 1980 did he himself rest
[email protected]
A quick read of the journal entry and of the caption below it points you toward a method used to determine the age of something, called radiocarbon dating. The credited inventor being Willard Libby (or per his full name Willard Frank Libby) who died in 1980.
WillardFLibby would fit the email nomenclature given in the caption.
After sending an email to [email protected], you would receive an automated reply:
Hi friend!
Thanks for contacting Willard Libby. Unfortunately, he died in 1980. To continue your quest for knowledge, reach out to our office directly.
Phone: 1 346-766-2103
Toll-Free: US: +1 833-877-5048 | Canada: +1 833-345-0727 | UK: +44 808 169 4350 | FR: +33 805 08 08 99
More branch opening Soon...
Calling a number would bring you to a phone system with menu options:
Welcome friends!
Please be advised that our menu has changed so listen carefully.
For journal entry number 1, press 1
For journal entry number 2, press 2
For journal entry number 3, press 3
For journal entry number 4, press 8
Yea I Know, IT sometimes are like that.
Pressing 1 to reach journal entry number 1 gave the following:
June 13th, 1982
The proud warrior people of Paramo had no words in their language to mean sickness or health. They simply lived and died.
I have seen references to the same individuals over unaturally long stretches of time. Longer then any normal human life span.
Perhaps they passed their names down to their children. Generation after Generation. Yet even in the mordern day local village at the base of the mountain, there is no hospital, no medic, no doctor.
Strange coincidence. The answer to this riddle is here somewhere, beneath my feet.
We begin our first excavation in 1 week.
Pressing 2, 3 or 8 gave the following:
This entry is not yet unlocked.
Pressing 4, 5, 6, 7, or 9 gave the following:
This is not a valid option but we admire your curiosity
Pressing 0 gave the following:
All our offices are closed right now, there's no one to talk to.
Pressing * or # would just loop back the phone menu.
2nd Unlock
Around an hour and a half after the first braille was available, the second unlocked with an updated background image.
SPOILER
The source code also changed and gave us a new status:
<-- Status: 13% - uploading new audio entry -->
The second braille code was now available and could be translated as follow:
Medium
OVG.YL/V6239245
The yellow character was different this time but it was to be removed again to get [bit.ly/6239245 bit.ly/6239245] and lead to a pastebin:
The key is constant, irrational, calculated as men breathe or as eagles sustain themselves in the wind: with ten fingers only.
Answer: bit.ly/entry_XXXXXXXXXX
A quick search on the first part of the riddle revealed it was a reference to Euler's number and that is represented in decimal with 2.71828...
The second part of the riddle refers to ten fingers only which referred the first 10 digits of the number:
bit.ly/entry_2718281828
This new bit.ly link brought you to imgur for another journal entry and at the same time, unlocked the phone journal entry number 2:
December 21st, 1983
Wheeler has been presurring me to come to a conclusion about the mass disappearance, and whether there is truly anything extraordinary about this city.
He mentionned something about an advance time table. About how things will soon be out of his hands.
About 30 minutes after the second braille was solved, the source code was updated:
SPOILER
<-- Status: 26% - Entry updated -->
3rd Unlock
Almost 2 hours after the second braille was solved, the third unlocked with an updated
background image 3rd Unlock Background Image
.
SPOILER
The status in source code changed to update to the follow:
<-- Status: 61% - Status: 8 unique ID calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. -->
Something noticeable was in the second braille on the newer background is slightly different. The character in yellow was inverted to be a # instead of a V.
The third braille code was now available and translated to:
Hard
OVG.YL/#1259437
This third braille link followed the same principal has the other two and lead to http://bit.ly/1259437 a pastebin with the following:
Climb a tree whose roots are logs, from its single trunk to the sixth level, and count the branches along the way.
Answer: bit.ly/entry_XXXXXXXXXX
To solve this, you had to use a binary tree with logarythm numbers as roots. It lead the players to the numbers 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,and 64 and the solution being [bit.ly/entry_1248163264 bit.ly/entry_1248163264]. This in turn lead to Imgur for a new journal entry and unlocked the phone entry number 3:
July 9th, 1983
Very very good news today. And unexpected. We have located a massive burial site just North of the residential area. Too busy making preparation to go into further details just yet.
The source code changed several time during the day. The 4th braille stayed locked and seemed to be based on activity for it to unlock. What follows is the progression of the source code changes:
SPOILER
<-- Status: 61% - Status: 8 unique ID calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. --> - When the third lock opened.
<-- Status: 61% - Status: 12 unique ID - 61 calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. --> - About an hour after the third lock opened.
<-- Status: 61% - Status: 15 unique ID - 87 calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. --> - About two hours after the third lock opened.
<-- Status: 62% - Status: 18 unique ID - 96 calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. --> - About three hours after the third lock opened.
<-- Status: 70% - Status: 21 unique ID - 113 calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. --> - About six hours and a half after the third lock opened.
The last thing that was noticed is a slight change to the website going back to the initial maintenance message.
October 19th
The 4th braille did not unlock on this day, the only thing that changed was the source code status updating:
SPOILER
<-- Status: 70.1% - Status: 27 unique ID - 137 calls received. Activity Low. More resources required for the next unlock. -->
October 20th
4th Unlock
On October 20th, the fourth was unlocked with a new background image.
SPOILER
The status of the source code changed to:
<-- Status: 85% - Status: 71 unique ID - 297 calls received. -->
When calling the phone number, it had also changed. It now stated the following before the usual menu:
Hi, please enter a unique 7 digit code to continue. Do your best to keep this code nearby, you have no idea when you're gonna need it. You can also attach it to your tail, you know; if you prefer body bag and stuff. Press pound at the end of your code.
The fourth braille code was translated to be:
GDBeginner or 74Beginner - this was subject to debate as both GD and 74 use the same braille characters
OVG.YL/V9534561
This fourth braille link followed the same principle has the other three and lead to http://bit.ly/9534561 a pastebin with the following:
In an anomaly of magnitude, find the frequency of these leaders: 2196
Answer bit.ly/entry_XXXXXXXXXX
The solution was Benford's law and the wiki page specifically. Using the percentage associated with all 4 numbers found in the example, you were lead to http://bit.ly/entry_1763014667 an Imgur of another journal entry. No new phone entry was unlocked and no 7 digit code was found.
Journal Entries
Here are the current Journal Entries discovered so far during this ARG. They have been put in chronological order and include their source.
Entry from pressing 1 when calling. Refer to the 1st Unlock for details on the phone number.
SPOILER
June 13th, 1982
The proud warrior people of Paramo had no words in their language to mean sickness or health. They simply lived and died.
I have seen references to the same individuals over unnaturally long stretches of time. Longer than any normal human life span.
Perhaps they passed their names down to their children. Generation after Generation. Yet even in the modern-day local village at the base of the mountain, there is no hospital, no medic, no doctor.
Strange coincidence. The answer to this riddle is here somewhere, beneath my feet.
We begin our first excavation in 1 week.
Entry from milestone 2 after solving the second braille puzzle. Refer to the 2nd Unlock for details on the puzzle.
SPOILER
February 14th, 1983
Third straight week of excavation in the upper residential section. There is much to decipher and translate. Ceramics, baskets, cookware. It is exhilarating, to be so close to the everyday lives of these long-departed ghosts, to imagine one’s self sipping from a carved wooden ladle, or relaxing by a mud and stone hearth. Perhaps if I could think like them I could (unreadable).
Received a distressing letter from Evelyn today. Miranda has lost the ability to speak. Perhaps permanently. Our physician could not determine whether it is physical or psychological, but it is not uncommon when approaching the advanced stages of her condition.
Is is possible I will never hear my child say “I love you” again?
Entry from pressing 3 when calling. Refer to the 1st Unlock for details on the phone number.
SPOILER
July 9th, 1983
Very very good news today. And unexpected. We have located a massive burial site just North of the residential area. Too busy making preparation to go into further details just yet.
Entry from milestone 1 after solving the first braille puzzle. Refer to the 1st Unlock for details on the puzzle.
SPOILER
July 14th, 1983
Astonishing! There are skeletons here that are, unthinkably, far older than any human being in our modern world could imagine. We have carbon dated four skeletons so far, Two of them ordinary citizens, were in their nineties when they died – a ripe old age. But the other two, the warriors… Frisell has estimated their ages to be at least one hundred and thirty and one hundred and fifty years old! Both warriors were buried with armor em – blazoned with this symbol (turn): (see the symbols in the link)
I have SWORN Frisell to secrecy. Can’t risk this getting back to Wheeler before (unreadable).
Symbols translation:
TEMPLE SPRING
Entry from pressing 2 when calling. Refer to the 1st Unlock for details on the phone number.
SPOILER
December 21st, 1983
Wheeler has been pressuring me to come to a conclusion about the mass disappearance, and whether there is truly anything extraordinary about this city. He mentioned something about an advanced timetable. About how things will soon be out of his hands.
Entry from milestone 3 after solving the third braille puzzle. Refer to the 3rd Unlock for details on the puzzle.
SPOILER
March 4th, 1984
It is over. It is all over. The crew has abandoned me. Just as we have entered the final stages of our great discovery. They have all been bought out – every last one. By whom? no one will talk. Non-disclosures. I am willing to bet wheeler’s com-pany is behind this. How did he know about the artifact? And the bodies? And the well? I have kept the true meaning (Symbols scribbled over meaning, see link) of all these discoveries so close to the vest . . and still there is nothing that a corporation with unlimited funds can’t buy. No – they can’t buy me. I will stay here until I finish what I started.
Symbols translation:
The symbol over willing: R
The 5 symbols over true meaning: RETU? - the 5th symbol seems incomplete and doesn't correspond with the key that was given to the influencers
Entry from milestone 4 after solving the fourth braille puzzle. Refer to the 4th Unlock for details on the puzzle.
SPOILER
March 4th, 1984
(Unreadable)
the sky . . . goddess. . return ...will not die