บท 48: 047 Creating a Conglomerate (Part Three)
James took out two contracts, one for Ryan and the other for Cat. They were two different contracts. Ryan's was focused on his division's gathering, crafting, and providing Cat's division with their goods. Cat's contract was about managing the sales side of the business; they were also to provide for both Ryan's division and James's group.
James gave them some time to read over the contracts. They both spent half an hour combing through the contract. In the end both seemed happy.
Cat was the first to sign a contract, she was excited to start. This opportunity would launch them to the top merchant guild in the game. They had a lot of expectations to maintain but the profits and success would make everything well worth it.
Ryan followed shortly after; he was not as well versed while dealing with business contracts. At first he was going to blindly sign it but both James and Cat urged him to read through it. It was not that Cat didn't trust James, it was an essential part of the business world. You always want to know what you are getting yourself into.
They handed their contracts over to James, who in turn signed his name as well. Mercury signed as a witness. After the contracts were signed James handed them a copy so that all parties had their own copy.
"What do you want the first items of the agenda to be?" asked Cat.
"Update both of your guilds on the current plan. Just tell them that you two agreed to join together and tell them the general business plan. Have them gather at the city's Guild Center so they can join the new guild." explained James.
"What should we name the guild?" Ryan asked.
"Blue Moon Trading" James proudly announced.
Mercury latched on to James's arm, "You are always up to no good. You have something up your sleeves, don't you?"
Ignoring Cat's and Ryan's look of shock over Mercury's actions, James had a smirk on his face. "There are a plethora of empty buildings in town. Ever wonder why the developer's didn't do anything with them?"
Ryan gave his theory, "Isn't it just to make the city look full?"
"That might be a side effect, the true reason is because they are purchasable by players. Most of it is commercial. The larger buildings are Guild Halls. The only three requirements are that you need to be able to afford the rent / cost of the property, enough nation / city fame, and a letter of recommendation." explained James.
"You plan on buying a building for the business?" asked Cat.
"Yes, once we have the capital I have several buildings in mind. One will be a large guild hall for you all to work in. At the center of the city, within the shopping district, there is a grand building. I plan on turning that into our own shop and auction house. Before I buy those two buildings and make it public knowledge that players can own properties, I want to buy up several buildings in busy parts of the city so we can have smaller general goods stores as well." James was happy with his plan.
Even Mercury was surprised at James's ambitious plan; she stomped on his foot with annoyance, "You kept that plan to yourself, you didn't let me know!!"
Seeing she was about to walk away, James grabbed her arm and spun her into his chest, "How about I make it up to you; you get first pick on the Runes we get."
"Wh.. What is your relationship?" Cat never expected to see such a sight.
Mercury gave a vague answer, "I own him, he has a large debt to pay back."
Cat looked towards James to see if he would confirm or deny Mercury's claim. He only shrugged his shoulders. Cat was only able to make assumptions, [It kind of makes sense. I doubt that Reaper would actually act like this.]
"How much money are we going to need to purchase the first two buildings?" Cat needed to work on logistics.
James still needed more information, "I am not sure right now."
"Do you even know where to get a letter of recommendation? You have the fame and can get the funds but what about the letter?." Mercury wanted to berate James.
"I have a hunch, I can also ask for more information about how to purchase the buildings." replied James.
Mercury thought about it for a few seconds, "Alfred?"
James gave Mercury a strange look, "What? You are close to one of the top dogs in the city after all."
"Yeah, I need to take a visit to the Fire Tower," said James.
"Cat, let's go start the merger. I am excited to start." Ryan said eagerly.
Before Cat and Ryan went on their way James asked Cat to wait a second. He passed her the gold he promised. "Take that for starters; I need to get a hold of Magicks for the runes."
She took the money and went off with Ryan, they had a lot to do.
Now that they were alone Mercury moved even closer to James, "So, Mr Rich, how are you going to share the profits with me? You do have debt with me after all." she teased.
James looked her straight in the eyes and tried to put on his most serious look, "If you want gold and items I will be happy to repay the debt I owe that way. You won't have my person as collateral anymore." James wanted to see what she would do.
She grabbed his ear and pulled his head down, "You wouldn't dare."
James freed himself from her hold, "You never know!" he started laughing as he left the room and Tavern.
"Hey! Don't you walk away from me!" yelled Mercury.
She ran to catch up to James; they were both heading to the Fire Tower. James needed to talk with Alfred. As they went Mercury looked up at James with worried eyes, [Would he really do that?...] Her mind was filled with thoughts.
James walked straight to the hidden portal to Alfred's office without anyone stopping him. They knew better this time. They didn't even question Mercury's presence.
He walked into the portal and Mercury absentmindedly followed James into the portal. When she arrived on the other side of the portal she ran into James's back causing her to snap out of her trance.
James looked back to make sure she was okay. He heard her whisper, "Sorry.. I'm fine.." He knew something was up but they had limited time.
Alfred looked up from his paperwork filled desk, "Blaise? What a surprise. Have you found anything about the hidden Evil?"
James shook his head, "No, I came for different reasons." He looked out the window and gazed over the town.
Alfred followed his gaze and waited for James to talk. "I want to buy some property here in the city. Could you help me with the process?"
"Huh? You wish to own your own land? I mean it is rare for adventurers to own their own land here in the city. Typically only nobles can afford their costs." said Alfred.
"I wish to establish a guild hall for some friends and open a store to sell my extra goods to other adventurers." replied James.
Alfred stood up to think. "The price depends on the location and size of the building. Buildings closer to the center of the city are more expensive than those on the edges of the city. Buildings for guilds are just generally more expensive as well. If you have the money I can help you meet with a property sales person."
"Does that mean you could help me with a letter of recommendation?" asked James.
"I can." Alfred then took out some paper and a magic pen. He quickly wrote the letter James asked for. "With this you should have no problem."
Alfred looked outside once again, "How much money do you have to spend, I can help recommend a few locations based on your limit."
"Alfred, how much does the price differ between renting and buying?" asked James.
Alfred answered James's question, "Well, once again depends on location and size. Typically you pay less just building the land and building at once."
"Hmm, thank you for the information. I have two buildings picked out already. Could you help me with a property manager?" asked James.
"I certainly can", Alfred opened a hidden room in his office. It was a Waystone.
"You have a Waystone in your office?" James was surprised.
"You know about them?" Alfred answered James's question with one of his own.
"Yes, my friends and I found one near a dungeon. It unlocked the Waystone System for us." James answered the question.
"Good, I don't have to tell you how it works. I have set this one to take you to the sales agent. You have my Emblem and are taking our personal Waystones. She shouldn't ask too many questions." Alfred wanted to hear more about James's adventures but now wasn't the time.
"Thank you Alfred, do you mind if I borrow some of your office space? I need to craft some Runes so I can make sure I have enough money." asked James.
Alfred's ears perked up, Runes! James just asked him if he could craft runes in his office! It was as if James was offering him a front row show! "Of course, please do!"
James went right to work. He took out various rune slates, brushes, ink, chisels and readied himself. He wanted to craft enough runes to not only pay for buildings around the city but also to further jump start his business.
He started crafting higher tier runes. He wanted to cause a stir but keep his team's advantage. His current Rune of Defense provides a flat 15 points of defense, so he made half a dozen Runes of Defense that provide a range between 7 and 10 points of defense. They would still sell for a large chunk of change.
Alfred was watching in awe the whole time. He was trying to take as many notes as possible on the rune creation process. He never had luck being a Rune Master before but that won't stop him from learning new things.
After James made the Minor Runes of Defense he moved on to power runes. He kept the same quality as the defense runes. He had created a dozen runes of the Minor tier; they would increase their respective stats between 7 and 10 points.
He was happy with his work so far. He was about to start on the runes they would sell in mass but stopped. He came up with a great idea.
[Agility Runes!] I have yet to make any, agility is important for all classes as well!
He created 6 runes for agility. He was only going to sell one of the runes, the remaining ones were for his friends and himself.
He managed to make two 'Runes of Agility'. He decided to give one to Mercury and keep one for himself.
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Rune of Agility
Can be used to enchant boots.
Effect: 25 points to Agility.
Creator Alias : Magicks
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He also made three decent minor runes, the twins and Talon would get one each. He had used up all his high quality rune materials on the previous two runes so they would have to deal with these for now.
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Minor Rune of Agility
Can be used to enchant armor.
Effect: 15 points to agility.
Creator Alias : Magicks
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Lastly, he made a single rune to sell on the open market. He had yet to determine how exactly he was going to sell it.
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Minor Rune of Agility
Can be used to enchant armor.
Effect: 7 - 10 points to agility.
Creator Alias : Magicks
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After he made the agility runes James proceeded to make a dozen of each rune for defense and power. These runes only provided a flat boost of 5 points in their respective attributes. He wanted to sell the better runes for the majority of the profits and then sell the really low quality runes in mass quantities as an insult to the top guilds.
Alfred was in heaven, he was able to take great notes for the low quality runes. He felt confident that he could even manage to create his own runes now.
"Thank you for your help Alfred, we will be on our way now," said James.
"Good luck, Blaise!" Alfred waved them goodbye.
Mercury was still being quiet, she was really worried that James would stop treating her the same as he currently does. James figured it was about time he smoothed things out. "I'm not going to go anywhere; we are friends after all."
Mercury looked up at James. He was smiling and his beautiful eyes were looking down into her own eyes. She felt emotions welling up inside but she kept them to herself. "Good! You wouldn't get away from me that easily!" She returned to normal.
The Waystone took them to a large building, James had talked to Mercury as they were looking around for the person Alfred told them about.
It took them a while to find anyone to help them. They walked up to a person working at a desk to ask questions.
"Hello, my name is Blaise. Alfred from the Fire Tower said I could find a property manager here and sent us over." said James.
The sound of heels clicking against the hard floor could be heard approaching. They both turned around and saw a tall woman walking towards them.
Starting at her feet, she wore classy red 4 inch heels. Her long sexy legs were hidden by ever-so-slightly see through black tights. Accompanying her tights was a pencil skirt. She was wearing a tight white blouse that closely hugged her torso and chest. Her lips were covered with cherry red lipstick and she wore glasses. Her long blond hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had a strong sense of maturity and classiness radiated off of her.
"It has been 10 years since Alfred had any interaction with me, does he really think I will do anything to help you?" the woman said.
"Hello, I am Blaise and this is Reaper. We are looking to purchase some properties; Alfred said you were the best person to talk to." James tried to butter her up.
"He has always been a sly dog. Fine, the old man will owe me. You came looking for the best and you found it. Follow me into my office." said the woman.
The two followed behind the tall woman for a minute or two. They finally appeared in front of an exquisite door. The woman opened it and they saw a very beautiful room. It was well furnished and laid out perfectly. It looked very inviting.
She walked to her desk and crossed her legs as she sat down. James and Mercury followed suit.
"Okay, I should introduce myself first. I am Charlotte Elrock and I am the top real estate agent in Glish. If you want it; I can sell it. Of course, you will need the capital to afford it. I don't take credit." she smiled.
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