"Ahem. I'll continue then, shall I?" Zhao Jianyu looks down at .
Three parts mortified, one part mystified by whatever insane cosmic anomaly just allowed to flirt with the hottest girl I've ever seen, I nod and weakly wave for him to go on.
Afraid of accidentally making eye contact with the gorgeous spear warrior again, now that I'm back to my senses and realize I have no fucking clue what I'm doing, my light gray eyes sweep across the 1400 players who didn't qualify for the special prizes. Though they'd clapped politely when the Top 100 had been praised, most couldn't keep their faces from contorting in envy. Seeing Zhao Jianyu about to speak again, half of them lean forward, hoping the giant might have sothing to offer them as well.
He doesn't disappoint. "Those who did not rank at the top, fear not. Your ti may yet co. Every mber of the beta test is guaranteed priority registration for the official launch of Viren's Refuge and the limited release V-Haven full-imrsion pods."
"Helllllllls yes!" a player wielding a huge battle axe yells. Laughter and cheers once again fill the Coliseum.
Protheus' mouth twitches into a small smile. "I'm glad you recognize the value of such a benefit. As you may have surmised, the technology necessary to run Viren's Refuge is complex and delicate. 73% of the component parts of the V-Havens alone are Vir-Tech proprietary designs."
Wow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that, given how aweso the V-Havens are, but I'm still shocked. How long has Vir-Tech been secretly developing this tech?
How much of a freaking genius is Zhao Jianyu?
"Complexity, as always, equals increased costs and decreased production volu. At this ti, Vir-Tech will only be able to sell 50,000 V-Havens. We project the ga will have progressed to at least the second Mythic Realm before the next round of players will have the opportunity to join in."
The lighthearted excitent morphs into a more intense, charged atmosphere. Everyone here understands how important the earliest stages of a new ga are for players determined to riseand stayat the top. With such a small initial pool of players, the odds of beta players racing to the forefront are even higher than they'd normally be.
I'm in no way immune to the electrifying thrill of competition perating the air. My fingers itch to draw my dual blades and get started.
But then Zhao Jianyu speaks again, and this ti, his words pour ice-cold water over the heated energy of the players. "At this ti, I will announce the official prices for the V-Havens and the monthly subscription to Viren's Refuge. The V-Havens will cost 20,000 credits (CR). The subscription is priced at 1,250 CR a month."
For a long mont, disbelief silences the crowd. Then the first outraged shout acts as the trigger for everyone else's cries of protest. I don't share my astonishnt out loud, but I get where the dissenters are coming from. Those prices are absolutely insane! The subscription alone is enough to afford a nice studio apartnt. And the 20k for the V-Haven doesn't even cover the nutrient solutions required to run the pods. Those go between 50 and 1500 CR depending on quality grade, and one bottle only lasts about 40 in-ga hours, even if the player doesn't do anything insanely ntally strenuous. When I was working on raising the proficiency of the Chakra Burst skill, I went through an entire bottle of C-grade solution in 18 hours.
At the cheapest, a player is looking at 40,000 CR a year to play a video ga. That's absurd!
"I understand your hesitancy," Zhao Jianyu replies to the dissenters. "But think about what you're actually paying for. Viren's Refuge is an entirely new world. Every player is guaranteed in-ga housing. Every player has the chance to acquire a mount. Free transportation via teleportation will beco available as Realms are unlocked. Plus, I think everyone in this room is clever enough to understand the variety of money-making ventures this ga will offer."
He's right about that; one of the most active threads on the beta forum focused on all the money-making sches we could already tell would be viable in the future.
At this point, I am solidly swayed. Sure, it's a ton of money, but as Zhao Jianyu said, we're essentially purchasing a second ho and second car. Plus, Viren's Refuge offers much cooler versions of each for far cheaper than they'd be in reality.
I don't have a death wish, though, so I don't say anything. The guy who gets to play for free doesn't get to speak right now.
Even if I didn't earn the free play reward, though, I'd still be ready to sign up tomorrow. I'd be practically bankrupted, but the last of my insurance money would cover the initial costs.
Of course, if I hadn't been sixteen and stupid when I originally signed my contract with Team Digital Discord
or if my parents hadn't been such unsupportive dicks I had to forge their signatures instead of having helpful, knowledgeable adults to read over the confusing legalese
I would have enough savings to last a couple decades, easy. Unfortunately, I was, in fact, sixteen and stupid and believed myself invincible, so I signed away almost every cent of any possible insurance payout for a debilitating, career-ending injury.
The team's blown through most of my payout, training my replacent, so I hear.
Firmly moving away from that depressing train of thought, I sneak a glance at ol' Protheus. Through all the murmurs and so outright yells from people who are addicted to the ga but worry they can't afford to keep playing, Zhao Jianyu's avatar never reveals any expression. I wonder if he's actually that stoic or if he used his admin privileges to turn off his expression simulator to seem more cool and collected.
Eventually, enough people realize they aren't getting anywhere, and the voices quiet. I swear the Titan briefly closes his eyes and sighs, but when he speaks again, his face is a perfect stoic mask, and I wonder if I've imagined it. "I understand your hesitancy," he repeats, more quietly this ti, "and I would never ask anything unreasonable from my beloved players."
His deep voice carries a gentle warmth now, so that he truly sounds like a benevolent immortal speaking to a group of cherished mortals. I inexplicably feel warm and cared for, until hosickness crashes into like a tidal wave.
"Understand that I have a valid reason for asking so much from you. From the mont Vir-Tech was founded fifteen years ago, I have never once accepted a corporate investnt. Every last credit swallowed by the ravenous monster that is my overeager research and developnt departnt has co directly from my pockets."
A new wave of shock spreads throughout the Coliseum, as all of us try to wrap our heads around this insanity. Who doesn't accept investnts? What company doesn't rely on them?
"I have seen the path a company follows when it grants control to outside corporations. The path quickly veers into a crooked disarray of greed and unrelated interests. A once-shining company is forever dimd by the shadow of corruption. More than anything, I want Vir-Tech to avoid such a fate. I want Viren's Refuge to truly be a refuge, a sanctuary, a ho for humanity. I want the ga to truly belong to the gars."
We all see it, then, Zhao Jianyu's vision. And we, the gars, for all we squabble and fight amongst ourselves, know that at our cores, we are the sa. Our love of adventure, of mystery, of competition, connects us to each other and to the Viren's Refuge of Zhao Jianyu's dream.
This ti, when Protheus sighs, I know it's real. The pain in the sound hits like a spear to the chest, and I reach up, as if to pull it out.
"Alas, right when I've reached the threshold, I find my way blocked. Money," he grimaces in the way only a person who has had a lot of money can, "it always cos back to money. And I, unfortunately, no longer have the funds necessary to provide my technology inexpensively. Especially after all the overti I'm going to have to pay my employees in the weeks leading up to the release, given all the issues you pioneering betas discovered."
That almost makes feel guilty.
"So I want to propose sothing a little unusual."
Coming from this man, the phrase 'sothing a little unusual' could literally an anything, and most likely ans 'sothing batshit insane no one would think of in a million years, yet look at , I'm doing it, and it's even going to work, even though all the laws of EVERYTHING definitely say it should not work.'
"The first 50,000 sets of V-Havens and subscriptions will likely be the priciest player investnts for the ga, especially given the lack of definitive proof that the system will be worth the cost. By the ti the company develops future generation models of the gear, Viren's Refuge should have proven its worth, so the high costs won't be so difficult to swallow. Since the first players are taking a risk to invest in my company, my company is willing to take a risk to invest in them."
He pauses, as if to make sure we're paying attention. Obviously, we all are. I don't think anyone's even breathing.
"Shares."
No. Fucking. Way.
"Each of the first 50,000 players to purchase a V-Haven and register for Viren's Refuge will receive nonvoting shares in Vir-Tech. Within 5 years, I expect every one of the initial investors will have received the cost of the ga back, likely multiple tis. So the real question is, do you believe in this ga enough to believe it will still be going strong in 5 years?"
We all think back to the last few months of pure awesoness. All 1499 players nod.
A real smile graces Protheus' face, transforming him into a figure I could absolutely imagine sneaking down to earth to teach us loveable munchkins how to build a civilization.
"Naturally"
Ha! Naturally, he says, as if anything out of his mouth follows the natural order of anything.
"if I want this ga to belong to the gars, simply providing shares is not enough."
Really? Feels like enough. I don't think my heart can take any more than this.
"I plan to put up my own personal shares in the company, as collateral of sorts. I am announcing to the world that I believe in my ga, in my company, in my vision, and in all of you."
Oh my god, don't believe in us, are you crazy? We're a bunch of socially-awkward kids who like to play with swords and blow shit up! We are the last people on this planet deserving of trust, are you serious?!
"My shares will be treated as ga commodities. Players who contribute most to the success of the ga will receive a greater number of shares. At the end of the initial Nine Mythic Realms conquest, the final Player Rankings will determine which players deserve voting shares."
He looks at expectantly, so I know I'm supposed to be real psyched about whatever the hell voting shares are, but I barely graduated high school, so I'm just glad I sort of know what a share is, periodassuming I'm right in assuming it's like a stock thing, which I understand to be a money thing that can make a person a lot more money if the company does well. Or sothing.
Anyway, I try to make my surly frown look more ecstatic, but it must fail, because Protheus sighs again, and this sigh I recognize in the depths of my soul. This is a bonafide 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed' sigh, and I want to shrivel up and die.
"Let rephrase. The players who rank at the very top of my ga will prove they deserve everything my ga has to offer, including the ga itself. Essentially, when the ninth Mythic Realm is conquered, I will relinquish control of the company. At that ti, the players who earned voting shares will take control and choose whichever direction the company will take from that mont on.
At last, a ga will belong to the gars."
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