FB: Chapter 40 – Investors (Patreon)

“You certainly don’t do things by half April,” Anthony said as a helicopter flew us to the meeting with investors in New York City. My time was too valuable to go by car, which would waste too much time. I had one security member with me on the helicopter and a team would be waiting for me when I landed. There was also a second military grade helicopter off to the side.

I had upgraded my protection service with Secure Solutions to their highest level. Which meant that I had round the clock protection with a large team being deployed when I traveled. It was the kind of protection that the leaders of nations would receive. It cost me a million dollars a day. The thing was, you couldn’t spend money if you were dead and I was much easier to target outside of Exponential than inside of it.

Some might think my security precautions were excessive, which was why I wasn’t sure if Anthony was speaking about my actions in game or the helicopters flying us to the meeting.

“I take my safety incredibly seriously. And I can afford such protection now. Better to spend the money, than die horribly,” I replied. I was spending 365 million a year for this level of protection, which was pocket change in my mind. I had purchased a 5 year contract for just under two billion dollars.

“With your massive success, we can adjust the valuation slightly,” Anthony said.

“One percent for a billion dollars. We will sell up to thirty percent,” I replied.

“You want a valuation of a hundred billion dollars? That seems a bit much,” he said.

“I have a noble title in game, no one else does and we are about to take a town,” I replied.

“That information has already leaked out. Players are swarming Halfenbrook… you wanted them to swarm,” Anthony said while coming to a realization. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Players and other guilds weren’t experienced enough yet to understand the trap I had planned.

“Keeping large scale guild maneuvers secret is impossible. Someone always leaks something, either on purpose or on accident. The real trick is managing that chaos. Getting all the people interested in participating or interfering to show up, will make it possible to complete the quest where we might have struggled otherwise. Our guild wouldn’t be able to complete it with our own power,” I replied.

“Anything you can share with me?” Anthony asked.

“Just monster waves attacking the town. We need the hordes of people to hold off the hordes of monsters and soften up their initial waves. As for the boss monster, I will be dealing with it directly once it emerges and its protectors have been removed. It will have a level of around 100, which means no one else will be able to easily damage it,” I explained.

“Your focus on Luck and poison. You can win?” he asked. I could tell he was stressed out since he was asking me so many questions, but I didn’t mind. I was more than prepared to handle this event.

“Easily, since people will rush in like headless chickens, thinking they will be the one to slay the boss monster like some hero. It will be expensive, since I will have to shell out quite a bit of money to boost the payouts for monster kills and to hire high level NPCs to protect the town itself,” I replied.

“Then we can start exploiting the area?” Anthony asked.

“To an extent. We need our guild members to focus on clearing monsters in the area. There is a hidden modifier that boosts a town based on how many nearby monsters are killed and how often. It also helps that the players stimulate the economy more as well. Our members can focus on monsters in the area of the town, since a portion of the tax revenue will go back to me,” I said.

“Not the guild?” Anthony asked. I was going to make sure our revenue streams were kept separate. As the noble in control of the town, I would control the taxes, but the businesses that would be set up would go right into the guild’s coffers.

“I will be spending over a 100 platinum. You are welcome to check my expenses based on what the guild is getting. Once I have control over the town and surrounding regions, we can look at solidifying our hold over the area and building up. But that is expensive. Even with the mines we can open, other players will target them. Our people need to focus on getting stronger and building up a larger war chest,” I said.

“Any plans to keep other guilds away long term?” Anthony asked as New York City came into view in the distance.

“Yes, but I want to avoid fighting if at all possible. After this meeting, there will be an officers meeting. I notice you have had a port installed,” I said.

“I will be there as well, as Vice Leader, even though I am handling things outside of the game. I want to see how you manage things in game,” he said, and I nodded at that.

“Your insight would be appreciated. I will be working the officers hard, very hard. Success needs no explanation, failure will result in them being replaced,” I said. We continued to lightly chat as our helicopter came to land on top of a skyscraper. The other helicopter circled the area twice before going to refuel and wait until we were ready to leave.

We took the elevator right to the Executive Conference level at the top of the skyscraper that had been reserved for this meeting. We were a bit ahead of schedule as we entered the top level atrium that took up two floors of the building.

The room had several people already. We allowed two advisors and two guards for each investor. There were people of all nationalities. The amount of wealth and power in this room were immense. The personal wealth totaled a couple trillion dollars, while the amount of money they could move easily eclipsed a hundred trillion dollars.

These were the people behind future super guilds. Anthony was greeting these people, but he was considered poor in comparison to them. I could tell they all had their eyes on me. I was the person with the real value in this meeting. Like a piece of meat they were ready to carve up and split between themselves. After going around and answering some basic questions and shaking hands, it was time to start. I would not be delaying things for the few investors who had yet to show up.

“Let us start with the presentation,” I said and one of my security people nodded. The lights were dimmed and another person started up the projector and laptop I had brought. The room quieted down as everyone took their seats.

“Hello esteemed investors. My name is April White, but many of you know me better as the top player in Exponential, Foxy Blight. I am the Guild Leader of the Fanged Fox corporation, which is equivalent to the position of CEO. In addition I hold the title of Lead Champion of the Guild, which has no real world equivalent,” I said.

The projector showed the logo of our corporation behind me on the screen. “The challenge with guilds is that they are heavily player dependent. The Fanged Fox guild is focused on becoming a super guild with over one million members through various means.” I hit a button on a controller and my slide went to the next one.

“We are focused on three key areas in regards to our players. Retention of talent through contracts in game. Elevation of high level combat talent to prestigious Champion positions within the guild for high level quests and other events. And finally, building out the guild infrastructure to support high level players while bringing in coinage and dividends,” I said and went to the next slide.

“While I might be the strongest player in Exponential, there are limits to what I can do alone. Also, it creates a dangerous failure point. This will be mitigated as more Champions are retained by our guild and the various guild officers become more used to their positions. Now let us look at the long term revenue streams,” I said.

“First, exploitation of resources in game. That will generate significant coinage by integrating into the NPC economy. Second, basic members working to kill monsters in order to be part of our guild. This will be achieved by offering protection while leveling up in specific areas and providing equipment and information to make the process as easy as possible. Third, we will be offering contracts in the real world to both prisons and nursing homes. This will increase our member base, while also increasing our revenue, allowing us to get paid at both ends,” I explained and went to the final slide. This was a short presentation on purpose.

“The valuation has been adjusted. To one percent for a billion dollars, up to thirty percent will be offered,” I said. Financial statements and other details had already been sent to these people ahead of time.

“I will take all of it, right now, thirty billion,” a man dressed in a white robe said. One of the old oil barons who had a lot of inherited wealth and had survived the collapse of the oil industry after the advent of fusion power. Everyone looked at him in shock. No one said anything for a long moment as everyone processed what was just said.

“Done. Let’s handle things immediately. Thank you everyone for coming. The offering is now closed,” I said, taking a decisive position on the sale.

“And if we offered more?” another investor asked.

“I don’t plan on selling any more shares at this time. But I am sure Anthony would be interested,” I looked over at the man who stood up and came to the front of the room.

“I have a 28% stake in the Fanged Fox corporation. I am willing to sell 18% of that stake for a similar or greater amount than the 30% we have already put up,” he said.