HC:Pacifist | Ch. 87 - The First Briefing (Patreon)

Everyone had arrived. After Drake sent out a message, it didn't take long for the veterans to appear. They all now stood in a circle off in a corner of the lab while Mario was being repaired for the third time today.

There were ten people in total. There was Roth, the only one under forty out of the bunch. Then, there was Drake, who now confidently sported his copper arm. Roth had still not gotten used to seeing his friend walking around with two arms. Even now, as Roth looked at Drake, his arms were folded in what seemed a clumsy gesture.

Finally, there were the veterans of the 14th, with the Sergeant half a step more advanced than the others, or maybe with all the veterans half a step behind the sergeant; Roth couldn't be sure. All he knew was that they all respected the man.

Drake cleared his throat and began. "I'm glad to see that everyone is already here. Thank you for coming on such short notice. As you might know, Roth is a merchant..."

"Broker..." corrected Roth. 

All the old men gave Roth a disapproving look, freezing him to the bone. They seemed not to take well that he had interrupted the captain briefing the squad. Drake didn't seem to mind it.

"Whatever. A broker. He has to go every week to the woods, or he'll lose exclusivity, which he tells me is a good thing. From now on, we'll get together here every week so that we touch base and make sure that everything is going according to plan. Agreed?" 

Everyone nodded.

"Very well, as you know, we are all here to try to save my little friend's life," Drake pointed to Roth. 

Even though Roth was the tallest in the crew, he was being called little, but he didn't mind. 

"The man who's targeting him is very powerful and well-connected. To ensure his safety and his family's, we must create something in the game that will make Loki's enemies want to protect us."

Pete, one of the veterans, raised his hand, sparing a glance at Roth as if to let him know that this was the correct procedure for a briefing of this type. 

"Yes, Peter."

"So we're trying to create a bargaining chip, correct?"

"Precisely. I'm not sure how well-versed everyone is in gaming, but from what I've read, there are three extremely valuable things inside the game. Number one, it's guilds. If you're not in a guild, you miss out on many bonuses, resources, and rewards."

Roth moved uncomfortably. Drake spotted the movement and continued as if reading Roth's mind. "We're not going to do anything on this front. It will be hard to beat Loki at his own game when he has two years on us. Let's forget guilds for the moment.

"Secondly, it's information! Information is something priceless in the game. Guides are being sold for millions of gold. If we can get precious enough information, we might be able to get on a big guild's radar. Therefore, from now on, I'd like to ask everyone for your help in creating a communal library. Every time we find something unique or interesting in the game, we can include it in the library. All in favor?"

Roth tapped his foot nervously. Information could be sold for a lot of money. It would be understandable if they didn't want to share their precious intel with others.  All of the veterans raised their hands swiftly. He had worried for nothing.

"Good. Do any of you soldiers have experience with intelligence?"

The 14th all turned simultaneously to one of their members. He was a quiet man who was thin and averagely built. He kept adjusting glasses that weren't there. Roth surmised that he was probably near-sighted and couldn't shake off the habit when inside the game. 

"H does. He's done intelligence," contributed the Sergeant.

"Can I leave it up to you, soldier?"

The man nodded. Even now, he hadn't spoken. In fact, Roth couldn't remember ever hearing the man's voice.

"Very well. Here is what I'd like you to do," continued Drake, turning to the group,  "Pass on to H every piece of information you think is useful. Additionally, if you've purchased any guides, send them to H so he can compile them into a database we can all check."

Drake slowly typed away at the screen before him as if he were clumsily conducting an invisible orchestra.

"H, I've sent you most of the information that Pegasus Guild makes available to their mid-tier players. It's already a place to start."

"How did you get this?" asked H. H's voice was raspy, and he was soft-spoken.

"One of Pegasus' former members passed it onto me." 

Brian, Roth realized. How in the world had Drake managed to convince Brian to give that information up?

"H, I'll leave it to you to determine its commercial value. It can be an important source of income to sustain the group. Whenever you find a guide or paid information worth purchasing, compile a list we can review together. In addition to managing our intel, create a record with a summary of these briefings."

H started busily typing on a phantom screen in front of him. Drake admired H's diligence. Satisfied, he continued:

"Although the information is valuable, there's no way we can rival the networks that guilds have built. It's an uphill battle. I plan to use information as just a way to kickstart the third area of value. This is the one with the least competition and with the greatest potential. If things work out well, we'll have every guild eating out of the palm of our hand." Drake paused for dramatic effect, "Unions. Yes, Sergeant?"

"I'm sorry. I haven't heard anything about unions so far."

"There are some. For example, the lizard that runs this lab is part of the Cyborg Union. Roth has also told me about a Transport Guild. These are all union-like organizations. If there are NPC organizations like this, why can't there be similar ones run by players?" Drake let the question hang in the air, and Roth saw how the Sergeant looked amused at Drake's passionate speech.

"Unions are like a rudder in a boat. It's a seemingly insignificant thing, but it can steer the whole ship! From what I've read and seen, there is a specialized workforce but no unions in this game. The plan is simple: each of us will take a profession and focus on it 100%. You don't have to be the best craftsman in the game, but you must be very well-connected. Establish good relationships with other players in the same profession as you. Find out what their struggles are. I've read that many players who focus on professions work for guilds. What are they lacking? What are their complaints? What are their dreams?"

Drake paced before the group, who followed him with interest.

"Our goal is to create unions for the most popular professions in the game. We have to be able to create something that benefits whoever joins us. It has to be something subtle enough so that guilds don't mind their workforce associating themselves with us but irresistible at the same time. If we can create unions within the professions and secure control, gentlemen, we'll own this game."

Roth raised his hand. "I don't get it, Drake. How does having a union help us?"

"Imagine that guilds have a war coming up. What items are needed most in a war?"

"Medicine, weaponry, equipment," answered one of the veterans.

"Very well. So what we do is we go to the unions of the chemists and blacksmiths and tell them to stop working until we give them the order to. Then we go to the guilds and ask them for a price. Whoever pays it wins the war."

Roth gulped. This was evil stuff. "Isn't that unethical?" tried Roth.

"Yes!" answered Drake decisively. He was thinking like a mobster. The veterans seemed horrified at the sudden dark turn in Drake's speech. Roth raised his hand.

"Yes, Roth."

"Listen, everyone. I got myself into this mess. I know this is all a game, but the players are real people. I don't want to rip anyone off. If you allow me, Drake, here is what I would like to suggest." His mentor's warm smile showed he wasn't mad at Roth, to his relief. The older men also seemed to relax.

"I still don't know the best way to go about this. But, from my experience in the game, if you stick to your principles and try to do what's right, there are many hidden opportunities. My suggestion is the following: Let's try to create unions. Let's try to find a way to make it something everyone else has to join. But let's not get mixed up in wars or try to provoke the guilds. Let's be a high tide that raises all the boats. What do you think?"

Everyone seemed pleased with Roth's suggestion. "The boy's right," contributed the Sergeant. "What we have to do now is lay the groundwork for an organization that can rival Loki's. We'll figure out the details along the way."

"Well spoken, lil' Roth," praised Drake, "As you can see, this boy is worth saving. Right?"

One of the veterans gave Roth a little pat on his back, and he felt the blood rush to his head and his cheeks burning.

"Regardless of the specifics, everyone agrees this is a good direction, yes? Very well, then. There are ten of us. I'll tell you what the most common crafting professions are."

"Crafting professions? We're not going to go after the supply chain?" asked Charlie.

"We had to choose one or the other, but too many professions focus on gathering resources. I'm betting our money on the most specialized workforce. Besides, harvesters' professions must run all over the place, whereas craftsmen focus on cities. Since they are more packed together, they'll be easier to influence.

"Raise your hand if you want to take over any of them. Remember that most of your time here will be doing this profession, so choose stuff you like or feel comfortable with. At the same time, your mission is to create unions in each of them. Blacksmiths."

Peter raised his hand.

"Very well. Pete will be taking care of the blacksmiths. Please take note of all of this, H. Blacksmithing is by far the most common one in the game. We're counting on you, Pete."

"Sure, thing."

"Carpenters." One of the two women in the squad stepped forward and raised her hand.

"Emily will be doing the carpentry. Jewelers." 

To Roth's surprise, SergeantSarg raised his hand. "It's best I do it. My old man used to run a jewelry shop."

"We're counting on you, Sarg. Then, we have tinkerers and technomancers. For both jobs, having the [Programmer] profession is a bonus. Therefore, whoever wants to do one should consider becoming a cyborg and will have to spend some time with me down here in the lab. As far as I know, missing a limb or two can help you to become a cyborg more easily."

Everyone looked at the other lady in the platoon.

"Maggie used to be our squad's mechanic. She's missing a leg too," commented the Sergeant.

"And she will kick your butt if you fall out of line too, Captain," added Peter. Everyone laughed except for Drake and Maggie, who were staring each other down. Roth had never seen Drake show fear, but he noticed how he lost the staring contest and looked away from Maggie. Drake cleared his throat and continued.

"Cooks?"

One of the squad members excitedly raised his hand, causing another chuckle to run through the group. He was the heaviest and seemed the only one who hadn't bothered to stay in shape after leaving the army.

"Benny will work with the cooks. Chemists?"

Charlie stepped forward. As a doctor, Roth had expected that he'd be the one choosing the crafting profession that produced medicine.

"There's only tailors missing, but I don't want to give H too much work. His role is important." 

Roth stepped forward. Since others were doing him a favor and were older than him, he let them choose first.

"Roth, you're already a merchant. Isn't this going to be too much for you to handle?"

"I have one empty slot to fill, captain." Roth used the honorific, granting him looks filled with praise from the veterans. "And besides that, unlike you all, I have to stay in the game 24/7. I think I can find the time to take care of this." As an afterthought, he added, "Besides, my name is Roth Tailor. I think it'll suit me." Drake nodded.

"Very well. While you're at it, lil' Roth, see if you can start a merchant union or something." In his heart, Roth was already turning gears in his head, thinking of how to advance his profession and how to become a tailor.

Besides, his first contact with art in this game had been when he'd seen the rat tapestries. Even though tapestry weaving was a specialty inside of tailoring, it was still something that Roth already knew about after hearing Aramis's lecture. It sounded like something he might enjoy.

"As for you, H, try to find something that works well with your task as our bookkeeper."

Roth looked around. Ten of the most common professions in the game had just been assigned a seed. Hopefully, the seed would grow into a powerful organization that could give all of them shade in the future.

Ch. 86 - Inner Light

INDEX

Ch. 88 - The Rescue Library