HC: Pacifist | Ch. 261 - Job Offer (Patreon)

BlueFire carefully examined the background on Roth's video feed. There were occasional flashes in the sky and the occasional purple-scaled lizard. That told him Roth was in Thunder Mountain, within one of the Lightning Lizard Lairs. That checked out with the information package he had received from Galatheel and the other Union VIPs. 

The guild's top craftsmen were over the moon about the increasing strength granted to Union VIPs. The stats had become so significant that their guild leader considered kicking one of the craftsmen out and becoming a VIP Union member. These boosts to strength had all come from or were associated with the restriction not to harm multiple lizard races. The lightning lizards had just been added. Roth really was responsible for these bonuses.

BlueFire focused on the man himself. He seemed relaxed and well-rested, starkly contrasting with what he'd seen in the rise of the Hive King event. Back then, Roth was under a ton of pressure, and his mind was all over the place. The man in front of him was the face of sanity. 

If he had to describe Roth Taylor, he would say he was unpredictable, competent, crafty, and annoying. Additionally, he was among the Union’s founding members, an organization that the top guilds didn't dare ignore. It was positioned brilliantly so that none of the guilds could get their hands on it. 

BlueFire disliked that there were so many good things to be said about this player in front of him. That increased his commercial value and had to be reflected in the benefits his contract offered him. On the other hand, they already had his family living in their compound. To extend their stay here would be the natural progression of events. 

As for other guilds who wanted to poach Roth, he suspected that the Krakens, the Phoenixes, and the Cerberus had their eyes on the cookie jar. He had delayed this as much as he could, but it was time to swallow his pride and try to bring Roth in. 

All these thoughts and considerations flashed through his mind in just a second. Outwardly, he maintained a confident, relaxed smile. 

“Hello, Roth. How have you been? You look well,” BlueFire greeted politely. 

“Hey, BlueFire. It's good to see you. How is everyone in your guild? Is your family okay?” BlueFire cleared his throat, embarrassed. He hadn’t expected Roth to treat him in such a friendly manner. “Yes, thanks. You've been busy,” BlueFire prompted. 

“Yes, I try.”

“Good job shaking the tail we put on you,” BlueFire openly admitted. 

“Sorry that I ditched your men in Antioch like that, but I can’t afford for you to steal all my secrets. I'm sure you can understand. After all, you must have plenty of secrets of your own. I don't mean you harm or anything. I'm just trying to look out for my interests and my family.” 

“I respect that. We may have started off on the wrong foot, but I understand what it means to have people to care for.” 

“The Ogres have many employees who depend on us, and we owe it to them, our sponsors, and stockholders to turn in a monthly profit. That means we put our emotions aside and take a cold approach to the game. We have a lot of competitors, and the Ogres didn't get this far by sparing people's feelings.” 

“So, for what it's worth, I understand why you keep some trump cards to yourself. Additionally, on behalf of the Ogres, I want to offer you an apology for tailing you like that.”

Roth blinked a few times, and his mouth twisted into a mask of confusion and uncertainty. “You're oddly open and sincere today, Blue.” Roth teased. “Usually, you don't admit to your little antics so easily.”

BlueFire shrugged, not denying it. “Anyway, Roth, we originally offered you and your family protection for three months.”

Roth's posture became uneasy. “We still have more than two months left on our agreement. Is anything wrong? Is everything okay with my family?” 

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry. We've been keeping our word. They are being well taken care of.” BlueFire didn't reveal his joy for this little victory. He started the negotiations by reminding Roth of everything he had at stake and establishing his superiority. Now, it was time to make a proposition. “We would like to offer you a deal.”

“A deal?” Roth asked, suspicious. “What kind of deal?”

“We would like you to join the Ogres.” 

“You mean as a contracted player?”

“Yes.”

“What are the conditions?” 

Roth’s file mentioned he had been a successful merc who was used to handling representatives from the top guilds. It was an infuriating side to this man. He was not afraid to ask the hard questions or put up a fight in negotiation. BlueFire did not mind. It would not be fun any other way. 

“We would like to offer you a one-year contract as a guild elder. This means that you would have a salary and you could live inside the secure facilities of the Ogres. For every member of your family that the guild allows to live in its compound, the related expenses are discounted from your salary. We're offering you the same salary as all other guild elders.”

“How much?”

“5,000 credits a month.”

Roth slightly twitched his nose.

“Let me remind you that the guild is already offering you a place to live, covering all food expenses and taking care of your family.”

“What does being a guild elder entail? What would those responsibilities include?”

“Firstly, full disclosure,” BlueFire answered decisively. This was the point. They needed to know how Roth had accomplished so much in the game. “What this means is that you are contractually obligated to divulge any questions we might have about your titles, items, quests, race, class, and so on.” 

“You must also submit all your communications to the scrutiny of a monitoring bot. That doesn't mean that we will eavesdrop on every conversation you have. Still, if the bot's logarithm detects that you're leaking privileged information, we’ll immediately investigate the whole conversation, revoking all your privacy rights. Depending on the degree of the violation of the contract, this can lead to contract termination, payment of fines, or other in-game penalties.” BlueFire recited the conditions he had read to other players multiple times. 

“What about contract termination? What are your obligations?”

“In case the decision to terminate your contract comes from the Ogres, we will give you at least one month's notice. The only exception is if we find that you have breached the contract. You can peruse all the small print and contract conditions if you like.” BlueFire sent Roth a copy of the contract.

“It seems like a pretty standard deal. How would this affect the Union? Also, how does this affect me being trapped inside a bomb?” 

These were sensitive points that BlueFire had given thought to, of course. He would never come to such a meeting unprepared, especially with someone who had made him look like a fool more than once. 

“Regarding the Union, we understand it works because it maintains neutrality in guild affairs. The contract doesn't involve the Union. Any agreements between the Ogres and the Union would be negotiated with the Union management.” 

If BlueFire could, he would have taken over the Union organization. It was still growing but revealed a lot of potential. The secret to it was the VIP seats. This cornerstone prevented the Union from being copycatted or counterfeited by the guilds—that and neutrality. But that could always be faked with the proper planning.

“And the pod?” Roth pressed. 

“I'm going to level with you on this, Roth. We've contacted Nexus and have been in direct contact with Phineas Cotton, the company's president. They were horrified to find out about your situation. We're trying to save you as best as we can, but the pods were made to be unhackable. The last thing we want is for you to die inside the pod. Nexus’ best minds are working around the clock to open it.”

“Thank you for presenting this offer. I need some time to think about it.” 

BlueFire didn’t flinch. It was rare for a player to immediately accept such a contract without asking for time to consider it. Something told them that ArmlessShark would probably join their next conversation about this. He shuddered internally but managed to keep his cool.

“So be it. You let us know. 

*

“Hold it, hold it,” Drake called as a series of blacksmiths carried a heavy metal rod over their shoulders. This was a critical point that would dictate the success of this operation. “A little to the left. Engineers get ready to turn on the valves. Smiths activate whatever active skills you have to increase the crafting success rate. Tinkerers prepare to activate the clasps. Ready? Set. Go!”

The smiths marched in unison, carrying the rod into the generator while the engineers tweaked the angles of the valves to get the best alignment possible. The tinkerers stood at the ready, guiding the rod into the clasps. The ariarium rod clicked, and the clasps snapped.

After they had inserted all the rods, the shield generator looked remarkably similar to a metal porcupine. “Fire it!” Drake called. As the generator rotated at increasing speeds, there was a satisfying hum. A round of applause went through the crowd.

Congratulations! You and your team have successfully repaired an ariarium generator.

+500,000 engineer XP.

Engineer level up!

+10 renovation tickets.

Drake inspected the generous boost to experience. All around him, he could hear excited comments about gaining yet another level thanks to the city-wide quest.

“Good job, everyone. Take five. We'll do the next one in a moment.”

When Drake left prison, he had never imagined he would become a taskmaster in a digital city’s renewal project, captain of a virtual mafia, and manager of a syndicate. 

Drake's eyes met Pete’s and Maggie’s, who were also working the generators with him, and he gave them a thumbs up. He looked at his cybernetic arm as he did so. Here he was with two arms and many more friends. Even though the veterans were a few years older than him, they still respected him despite his shady past. He had made friends for life, and it was all thanks to…

Ring! Ring! 

“I’ll be damned.” Just as he was thinking of how his friendship with Roth had brought him here, here he was calling him. “Hey, Roth, how's it going?”

“Hello, Drake. Good! How are things with the Union quest?” 

“Things are progressing well. All the boosts to the VIPs' strength have been really helpful. We’ve just finished putting another shield generator together. You know, something interesting happened a few minutes ago.”

“What was that?” Roth asked, curious. 

“Someone came asking me directly if I knew anything about light traps.”

Roth grinned. “Well, it's good that the word is out. That will make the next batch of equipment I craft sell for even more. Anyway, Drake, I just received a call from BlueFire.”

“What does that old fox want now?” Drake could count the number of people with BlueFire’s level of craftiness with the fingers of his only hand. 

“He called me to offer me a contract. He wants me to become a guild elder for the Ogres.”

“Really? What are the conditions?”

“See for yourself.” Roth forwarded him the contract. Even though Drake was no mob lawyer, he still had quite a keen eye for finding traps between the lines or in small print. He’d explored these many times to make his customers pay their debts. 

Glancing at Roth, he found that he was waiting patiently as lightning struck the purple giant lizards walking behind him. “How goes the lizard quest?” Drake asked as he skimmed through the document. 

“It's going well. I only have two more spots to hit before I’m done. But things are taking longer now.”

“How come?”

“Loki should have realized that I'm trying to visit all the lizards by now. I have to wait for [Snake Form] to come off cooldown before I move between dungeons.”

Drake nodded approvingly. “That a boy. This is a marathon, Roth. Be patient.” Drake got to the end of the contract and found no mention of the Union. “What did BlueFire say about the Union?”

“They said something along the lines of understanding that the Union is a unique organization that can only work if it maintains neutrality between guilds so they don’t want to mess with it.”

“And about the pod,” Drake insisted. 

“They said that they're working on it but don’t have any hopes of cracking it anytime soon. What do you think, Drake? Should I join the Ogres?”

Ch. 260 - Heavy Losses

INDEX

Ch. 262 - Constructs