Town Builder - 82 - Negotiations (edited 12-16-24, just +150 words and no major changes)

Chapter 82: Negotiations

I settled into my drafting room. I had several projects that needed attention, but it was time to review the NPC auction. Opening the auction tab, I was in utter disbelief. Expert NPCs require a minimum bid of one gold, but sorting the mess, most already had bids of over 500 gold. Some of the more valuable NPCs listing their primary skills as a building, mage, or warrior skill were in the 1,000s of gold. I hadn’t been part of the first auction with the early start players, but it was clear that now the competition was beyond fierce.

The NPC cities were now allowed to bid but were in the minority of higher bids. However, they did have a few bids on the more desirable NPC crafters. I did not have a shortage of gold, but I didn’t want to get into a bidding war. Even with my gold reserves, the larger guilds probably had millions of gold brought into the game daily. A player was limited to 10,000 gold a day, but a guild that sponsored 10,000 players? That was 100,000,000 converted daily if they maxed it out.

I looked at the number of bidding slots I currently had—seventeen with all my bonuses, towns and cities, and new kingdom classification. It seemed paltry since my Duchy now controlled three towns. However, I also got passive migration, adding a few NPCs daily to each population. These NPCs were rarely valuable in the scheme of things with novice-level skills, but they did fill in gaps in our economy.

I started sorting and scanning the lists. The first thing I noticed was that the NPC list had greatly expanded, and it was easy to find out why after a quick search in the forums. The Incursion had killed thousands of NPCs worldwide, and the NPC auction was a back door for NPCs to be repopulated. Large cities that lost a disproportional amount of NPCs received compensatory NPC auction bids. Since we lost no one, I didn’t get any bonus picks.

I sifted through the list of grandmasters, and they all had bids of at least fifty thousand gold. There was even one legendary master on the list. An elf with his primary skill listed as water magic. But a guild had already bid 120,000 gold for his services and there was still 9 days left before the auction closed!

Name: Dentz, Level: 370, Profession: Steward of the Seas, Race/Sex: Elf/Male, Age:782, Primary Skill: Legendary Master Water Magic

An NPC only listed their top skill unless you used a trait to unlock more information. Novice was skill level 7, the expert was skill level 23, master was skill level 67, grand master was skill level 89, and legendary was skill level 109.

On top of his skill, his level of 370 was absolutely insane. It was going to take players years to reach achieve a similar level. I was sure whichever guild won the bid was going to have a challenging quest to retain his services. I lamented having used my token to guarantee an NPC auction bid, but how could I have known a legendary master would come up in the next auction? That meant his skill was at least 109 in water magic but could be as high as 138. He also probably had additional skills close to that level as well. I closed the description to look at ones more in my range.

What type of NPCs should I focus on? What was my budget, and what was a reasonable cost? I bounced back and forth between the forums and the auction to try and sort out what the upper limits would be. The consensus was that a master-skilled NPC would end up costing around 10,000 gold in these first few auctions. Twice that, if the NPC had a higher utility, like crafters, skilled mages, or warriors.

I pulled back my aspirations to expert-level NPCs. These NPCs should close closer to 1,000 gold each in the first phase of the auction. With Malcum’s bonuses to NPC skill growth, I thought this was the wiser investment. I carefully selected twelve NPCs with expert skills to fill holes in Malcum’s industries. The remaining five bidding slots would be for master-level NPCs, but I would wait until the day the auction was closing to throw my hat into the ring and get involved in the Auction Bidding Wars. I planned to budget 250,000 gold to obtain those five NPCs.

I needed to dump more plans on the player auction to increase my war chest for when the auction closed. As I was sorting my NPC bids, I noticed that Kuba was making progress in recruiting his acquisitions experts. My timer to complete his epic library to retain his services was ticking, but he was not waiting for it to be finished. He had recruited six of his fifty researchers already. According to my interface, all were between levels 30 and 35 and were already out on assignment. His researchers were tasked with traveling the world and collecting rare books for our future library.

I flipped over to the build queue and found my Acquisitioner’s Warehouse incomplete. That needed to be done, so I pulled builders from Phoenix’s Rest to complete the structure in the interface. I planned to join them tomorrow to finish the partially completed structure.

He had also hired all eight of his library guards, and it took me a moment to figure out where they were housed in Malcum since we had yet to start their building. They were all level forty elite human NPCs, indicating that I didn’t need to get all my NPCs from the auction. My head hurt as I figured out these details and the stress of managing my limited builders.

Kuba had even hired four of his allotted twenty librarians. I was paying for an array of NPCs under his direction and received little benefit in return. I was torn between making progress on the library or building up Phoenix’s Rest into a viable town. I wanted to do everything, but that was not possible.

I contacted Mad Dog through the voice chat, “What are you up to? Any chance there are any builders among the players auditioning for Silver Linings Playbook?”

“We are getting ready to grind for scorpion eggs. Trying to get another level before logging off for a rest today. Sorry, mate. The top-tier guilds are paying players who focus on building are being paid ridiculous wages. The guilds need to build their towns and claim territory in the early stages. We have a few that dabble but no dedicated builders. Most solo players are here to explore and fight, and crafting is secondary.”

I briefly thought about paying for my own player workforce, but at this moment, it would draw unwanted attention, and the expense would become a burden after a while. Also, converting gold to real-world currency would result in a massive loss. The powerful guilds had finances already established in the real world to pay the players they were recruiting, whereas I did not. “What about other dedicated crafters?”

Mad Dog sighed, “Same, just hobbyists, mate. Most are only dedicating two or three skills to crafting. They are focused on leveling through questing and killing monsters.” I thought that was slightly strange, but then I remembered only my NPCs received most of the crafting bonuses in Malcum. Players could choose to worship the Sullen God and get her bonuses, but you needed to be in my employ to get the structure and lordship bonuses.

“Thanks, Mad Dog. Sorry to interrupt your leveling.” I disconnected. That reminded me to check on the mining work camp. It was overcrowded with players looking to get a quick boost to their mining skills. Expanding the work camp was a low priority, but Mad Dog insisted I keep the players happy. Mad Dog had even posted simple crimes on the forums to help players get incarcerated. The favorite one of the players was sealing pies left on the window sill to cool.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the copper mines were actually extremely profitable now with all the free player labor. I sighed as I rearranged the queues again to double the mining camp’s capacity in the near future.

I mindlessly spent the night producing low-end plans that should get a few thousand gold each. I didn’t want to ruffle the admin’s feathers too much until I negotiated my emancipation with them. Blood Crisis had sent a message that the lawyers were discussing scheduling a meeting.

In the morning, I sent Grinder off to post the plans for me while I worked on the warehouse for the researchers. It turned into a long day, and I got to watch the demolition of buildings to expand the Adventurer’s Hall. Neral, the giantkin Guildmaster, was supervising and excited about his expanded facility. It was late in the day when the warehouse was completed. We hadn’t used premium materials and only got a 25% bonus for the building’s abilities.

Rare Acquisition Specialist Warehouse, (Bonus: NPC Specialists can gain 5% level advancement per day training here) (Skill growth while training is 65% faster) Max Capacity: 50 NPCs Profession Effect: Structure Regenerates 1% health every 24 hours (stacks with similar effects)

This building should provide Kuba with a recruiting tool. If he could quarter some of his researchers, they should experience rapid growth in their level and skills. As I was giving the excited Kuba a tour, I got the message I was waiting for from Blood Crisis.

I opened it immediately. The lawyer he had retained for me had set up a formal meeting with the game lawyers. The meeting would be in-game and take place in two game days. I immediately met Blood Crisis at my lord’s manor, and we spent hours going over what I wanted to achieve from the meeting so the lawyer could prepare.

The next two days were a blur as I was not focused. Fortunately, I had the my guild mates in the Silver Linings Playbook Guild to pick up the slack. Jaesmin and Joy also did their best to keep my spirits up, but I was having second thoughts about risking what I had built to get my freedom.

Several things happened as I waited to address my fate. Mad Dog secured five fish spawning artifacts for the Crescent Lake. They had been rare dungeon rewards and were yet to be deemed valuable. The spawn sites were for mud catfish, lightning bass, crimson snapper, giant pike, and rainbow trout. They had no value in any skills other than cooking.

He had negotiated the purchase through the guild forums, and it would boost the morale of the citizens by giving them a more varied diet. My grand master cook, Fareth, was also excited about the culinary opportunities. The unique spawning fish also attracted players who wanted to fish recreationally. Mad Dog joked that Malcum would become a vacation hotspot for fishermen.

The double expansion of the copper mines was a modest success, tripling its capacity. There was no shortage of players to work the mines, and as they expanded, we delved deeper and found a potential access to the Endless Dark. I had the side chamber sealed for the moment, not wanting to have to deal with spawning monsters from the dangerous Endless Dark.

I had enough headaches from the Endless Dark. My charismatic vampire spy was causing problems out near Phoenix’s Rest. The player was getting his revenge for getting killed by my NPC Titus. He was stealing the construction materials that we were shipping out there to build up the town. At least, I assumed it was him, as his player ID was spotted in the area when the thefts occurred. Black Beaty assigned one of her agents to protect future shipments, but whenever the carts arrived, there were always some missing materials.

The thefts were slowing the growth of the support buildings for Phoenix’s Rest and preventing it from becoming a town. I surmised Gray Weasel may have discovered what we were guarding and was stalling until his guild, Eternal Legacy, could put together a raid to seize my dungeon.

But maybe I was just being paranoid. I had enough strong NPCs stationed at Phoenix’s Rest that I did not think there could be a serious threat. I briefly had a nightmare that Frost Siren won the bid on the Legendary Master Water Mage and used the NPC to take my scaling dungeon by force.

During the two days, two of the expansions for the Adventurer’s Guild had been completed, creating a major stir on the forums. Not only did we highlight a mechanic where buildings could be upgraded with proper plans, but the addition of over two hundred daily job postings also encouraged more new adventurers to start their game in Malcum. Our player population soared to over four thousand players in twenty-four hours.

I also drafted a new and much larger player auction house. It would not be built anytime soon as we had too many other build projects

Eternal Large Very Rare Auction House Plans (250), Requirements Woodcraft Carpentry 23, Masonry Structures 23, Ritual Magic 43, Requires Portal Stone, Range 5,000 miles. Ability: Siphon Tax 1%, Effect: Structure Regenerates 1% health every 24 hours (stacks with similar effects)

The ability to siphon tax allowed me to get a 1% of all transactions that occurred through my auction house. This was in addition to the tax the admins already charged all transactions. Right now, players were spending mostly silver or a few golds at most, so the tax was not a significant sum. But in the future, when players started selling artifacts worth thousands of gold, it would be printing money—or encourage them to travel to a different auction to sell their loot. I also planned to get an NPC administrator for the auction house in the NPC auction, hoping to get bonuses similar to those I got for the Adventurer’s Guild Hall from Neral.

The enhanced range on the auction house would also save me from having to travel to Crystalhelm to sell plans. When the auction house was replaced, I would invest heavily in materials to increase the range to at least 7,500 miles.

The only other exciting happenings were the player guilds building their guild houses in Malcum. They were leasing land from me, and I winced when I saw the structures going up. The players needed to understand that materials and the proper skill levels were important for erecting buildings, ruining the aesthetic of Malcum. I almost wanted to tear down and evict the guilds with their hideous structures.

I was in the process of ordering an increase to logging across the river when Blood Crisis arrived at the Lord’s Manor. “Tallis, it is time,” he said simply. I nodded and brought Joy to Jaesmin, who was working on one of the Adventurer’s Hall expansions. We hugged and kissed, but it felt a little mechanical. This might be the last time I was in the game. If I didn’t return, The Duchy of Malcum would be inherited by Mad Dog. I had set that much up, at least.

Blood Crisis had a small artifact that led us through a doorway in the manor into a formal-looking board room. It was in a skyscraper, and the window showed the streets far below. It was odd to be in such a modern environment after being trapped in the fantasy game for such a long time. The lawyers in black suits waited for me, flanking a middle-aged woman who I recognized from my early gameplay as an admin.

My own lawyer was in an ugly, dark emerald green suit. Finishing taking in the view, I shook my lawyer’s hand. He introduced himself, with a British accent, “Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Carden. I am Liam Stewart.”

“Thank you for taking my case,” I replied and took a seat next to him. Blood Crisis sat on the other side of me for support.

The woman wore a fabricated smile. “Well, this is your meeting, William. Our time is precious, and if we don’t see this going anywhere quickly, we will adjourn.”

“Please call me Tallis,” I instinctively replied. William was a name I no longer associated with, but I probably should not have said that. It told the woman that I preferred my game avatar to my real-life body.

My lawyer cleared his throat, “We are here to discuss William Carden’s recognition as a free person.” He tapped a screen, and piles of papers appeared on the desk. “We have had his death certificate repealed.”

The woman had a tight smile, “So, why have this meeting? You can come and collect your client in Boulder, Colorado, immediately.”

“There is a slight matter of compensation,” my lawyer added hastily. “You know the class action suit is going to be successful; otherwise, you wouldn’t be meeting with us.”

One of the admin’s lawyers made to speak, but she silenced him with her hand and answered for herself. “The Corporate Protection Act will protect us from liability. We followed every law, and we believe the debt the hard-wired players incurred under our magnificent care will be upheld in the courts. Yes, those players will be free, but we will no longer be required to fund their life support.”

A satisfied look spread across her face, as papers appeared in front of her. “You will be reclassified as an employee once your emancipation is successful. We will then promptly terminate your contract, freeing you from our care.”

She was threatening us and putting us on the defensive. I could already draw my own conclusions. If I was an employee, then my Tallis avatar and everything I had built in the game would be forfeited. My lawyer shifted uncomfortably next to me before he spoke, “We are prepared to make concessions.” Blood Crisis had relayed my conditions to my lawyer, and he knew where I drew the lines. “My client is prepared to pay restitution for his past care with in-game gold at the dollar-to-gold conversation rate.”

The woman paused and considered something as she opened an interface that only she could see and paged through some things. Her expression was blank, a benefit of being in a VR environment. I didn’t know what she was calculating or communicating with, but I suspected she was trying to figure out how long it would take for me to repay the millions I owed in real world currency.

She looked up, “Possibly with the provision that your character remains at level 39.” The Matriarch AI had been correct. They didn’t want us to level.

“That is not acceptable!” I blurted a bit heatedly, “How would I repay the debt if I cannot level.”

That was a stupid question, as she clearly knew I had been generating a massive amount of game gold with my plans. “Oh, I think you will be just fine. You should be able to repay the sum in a year with your current skills. In return, you will be allowed to keep your avatar—and assets.”

My lawyer asked unhelpfully, “What about his immersion pod and life support?”

She gestured graciously, “He can keep them, and we will give you three months to transfer them from the Boulder Facility.”

“Why?” I asked, holding back my anger. “You planned to let us level once the new players passed us? Why the change?”

Her expressionless face addressed me, “Because we have players investing hundreds of thousands of dollars daily, some millions. They are paying for the experience while hard-wired are stealing their achievements in the game, getting first clears of dungeons, and forming relationships with important NPCs. The pushback for letting you remain in the game has been—stressful.” Her face showed she was looking sympathy, but this was VR, and it could have been fabricated.

“Why not reset the hard-wired players?” Blood Crisis said, breaking his silence.

The woman drummed her fingers on the conference table, thinking. She was deciding what to reveal to us. “It was not, and still is not possible,” she finally said and didn’t elaborate. The rumors must be true.

“What if there was a back doorway to reset my character? At least reset my experience to level 1 and let me keep my skill advancement?” I asked.

The woman arched her eyebrows, “What did you have in mind?” She at least seemed interested.

“Use the in-game contract ability to siphon off my experience,” I offered. “But I want to be free to level afterward.”

The woman opened the screens to review what I proposed. As she made a few calls, it was clear she was not intimately familiar with all the game mechanics. She finally started making calls to the people who could actually make the decision. My proposal was met with modest approval. My lawyer then got involved as he looked for loopholes and started to finalize the points.

1)    My experience would be stripped to reduce me to level one, but my skills would not be affected. All my stats, accolades, and traits would remain, but I would not gain additional ones until I reached level 40

This point was a bit sticky as skills were capped at the player’s level when the game launched. I had a number of skills in the 40s; most notably, my drafting skill was 48, and I wouldn’t give that up. This skill cap was one of the reasons why players were leveling slowly. My professional skills cap was set at five over my actual level. My four profession skills were drafting, earth magic, ritual magic, and masonry structures.

2)    I would retain lordship over the Duchy of Malcum.

This was a contentious point in the negotiations. In the end, the compromise was 50% of all revenue would be applied to repay my debt. I was probably screwing all the other hard-wired players in the game that were seeking emancipation. The admins could point to this point to hinder the growth of other players in my situation. That is if they wanted to remain in the game.

3)    I couldn’t expand my Duchy past five town/cities for one game year.

I had no trouble with this point as I was struggling to develop the three towns I currently held and promoting Phoenix’s Rest. A year was not a long time in the game, anyway.

There were a dozen other points, but they were meant to close loopholes for me and prevent the admins from stabbing me in the back. My settlement would be used as leverage against the others, but I thought I had also given them a clear path to freedom as well. Clearly, the corporation was adamant about not letting us keep our levels, so I thought I had gotten a reasonable deal. One of the stipulations was that my drafting skill could not be nerfed, ensuring me a path to constant wealth was open.

It took hours for the talks to conclude, and when it was all finalized, the woman summoned a familiar NPC. “This is the Matriarch, the Open World’s governing AI. She will form your contract to reduce your level to one.” With her back to the lawyers and the admin woman, the Matriarch smirked as she approached me. Maybe I would be getting a better deal than I thought.

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