Brass Close, ilfour.
11:20 p.m. 17 th Banem 1092.
Miote blew into his cupped hands, staving off the cold as he stood in front of a large, two-storied building with a large signboard on which was written, ‘BANK.’
This, as of yet unnad building, was the intended site for the new bank. Miote looked over his shoulder at the n and won patiently waiting for the big event and swallowed hard.
Everything Miote had been working on for the past couple of months had led up to this exact mont. Countless sleepless nights were poured into forming the contracts and stipulations needed to make this a reality. The chesch had forged alliances with nurous rchants, both Residents and Summoned alike, leading to this montous occasion.
“So, tonight is the night, I suppose.”
Miote looked to his right, eyes widening as Damah Dumm stepped out of the crowd and walked up to his side. “Yes. I am thankful for your support thus far.”
“Do not thank ,” Damah Dumm refuted with a shake of his head. “I am a rchant, and thus only invested for the profits.”
Miote looked at Damah Dumm with mixed feelings. Despite their enviable inco, the Hopeful Maggots’ coffers were seriously stretched thin due to their nurous projects. Hence, aside from the Royal Treasury, the Maggots relied heavily on Damah Dumm’s funding.
Because they relied on this man, Miote and Leila took it upon themselves to launch an investigation into his background. However, strangely, every search turned up nothing aside from the fact that he was extrely wealthy and had a hand in nurous businesses around the continent. Nothing about his origins, motivations, or personal life was known, even by his business partners.
“Regardless, you took a chance on us, and I will forever be grateful for that,” Miote stated as he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. Damah Dumm’s origins did not matter as long as the coin was good. Furthermore, the Hopeful Maggots’ dependence on outside funding would soon co to an end. This bank would see to that.
“Haha, I know your type,” Dumm observed with a laugh. “I will accept the thanks before this turns into an argunt.” The rtian’s eyes turned to a stack of boxes behind Miote and then back to the chesch. “What do we await?”
Miote groaned and accidentally raised his right hand, only to realize he wasn’t wearing a watch. “Kashi. My guildmaster.” the chesch admitted. “I just spoke to him. He should be here so—”
Vwooom!
Miote paused as a pillar of light appeared in front of him. The light grew larger and brighter and then suddenly disappeared, leaving nine Maggots in its wake. Kashi, Lunette, Shadow, Leila, Syèl, Shokō, Absalon, Jade, and Larsial appeared before the crowd with linked hands and stunned faces. They quickly let go of each other, slightly embarrassed by the unexpected attention.
“You couldn’t have teleported us sowhere more conspicuous?” Shadow sarcastically scolded Kashi as he stepped behind his sister.
“I didn’t know there’d be so many people,” Kashi defended himself and then looked behind Lunette. “Of course,” groaned the daeben as he realized Shadow had sohow disappeared.
Kashi shook his head and then walked toward Miote with the other Maggots. He glanced at the mass of people behind the chesch and then looked at Miote with question in his eyes. “What’s going on? What’s with the crowd?”
“Good publicity,” Miote replied and shrugged. “If my guess is correct, this might cause a scene, and the more people who witness it, the faster our bank will be legitimized in the public eye.”
Kashi looked into Miote’s eyes. “You sound confident.”
“As confident as I can be,” Miote replied with a shrug. “No one’s done this before, so I’m sort of running blind here. But I’ve done the research and got enough paperwork to cover any and all bases. Now, we just have to pass the final hurdle.”
“What’s the last step?” Lunette asked.
“We need the rchant god’s approval to formally open a bank,” Miote revealed.
“Huh? Why?” Syèl asked, confused. The gods rarely had a hands-on approach in the ga. Sothing like needing permission from the gods to do sothing was unheard of.
Miote looked at Kashi, and upon the daeben’s nod, answered, “That’s because we’re not going to be a bank for only Destia, but also the other world.” Before Syèl could interject with a question, Miote continued, “We’re going to assu the role of exchange station between other world currency and Destia’s.”
“Wait, what!?” Shokō interjected with a loud shout as she realized the truth. She looked at Miote, Kashi, and finally Leila, the trinity behind this plan. “That’s what you guy’s have been planning? That’s where the money’s really coming from, isn’t it!?”
Syèl raised his hand, humor in his eyes as he said, “For the sake of the ignorant ones in the back, could you, please explain in Dumbo terms, what’s going on?”
“You’re the ignorant one,” Shokō jabbed with a snort, but then looked at Miote and said, “It’s your show. You can explain.”
Miote nodded in gratitude and then began the explanation. “In most MMOs, there’s an in-ga bank that allows people to buy in-ga currency with real-world money. King’s Journey had this system, and Line will soon implent this system.”
“Wait, isn’t that pay-to-win, though?” Syèl questioned with a raised brow. “I thought all those chanics died after the great 2024 AE ltdown.”
“It is, but King’s Journey got a pass because of the way it implented the bank,” Leila explained. As soone who played King’s Journey extensively, she was an authority on the subject. “Genaco doesn’t generate the in-ga currency. Instead, custors can only acquire in-ga currency through exchanging with other gars who have fard the gold.”
“And this exchange was solely done through the in-ga bank,” Miote continued, “With Genaco taking 5% of the exchange as commission. Most of Genacos in-ga revenue ca from casual gars who did not have the ti to grind for gold to get better loot.”
“Wait.” Syèl held up his hand. “If what you’re saying is true, why’s there none of that right now?”
Miote looked at Kashi, and the daeben answered, “To fit with the the of a broken world.” The daeben raised his hand, giving Jade a signal.
Understanding his intention, Jade chanted a short spell. A translucent mana shield appeared around the group, blocking any sound from escaping outside. With the barrier in place, Kashi proceeded, “To sell the idea of a world that was still recovering from utter annihilation, the developers took away 99% of the infrastructure in the ga. No healing. No transportation, no banks, very few kingdoms. Basically, all the things we gars are used to and take for granted.”
Syèl’s brow rose. “Why the hell would they do that?”
Kashi sighed and then continued, “I’m not sure, but Miote and I thought it might be an opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” Jade questioned.
“Yeah, to fill up most of the infrastructure before the developers get around to finding ways to add them back.”
Absalon’s eyes widened. “So, the train, skyboats, and all those…”
“Yes,” Kashi confird. “Partly, they were to improve Rosendun’s political power. But Miote convinced
they could also be a large source of inco if we completed them before the developers brought their own transportation system.”
“And the bank? Whose idea was that?” Lunette asked.
“Kashi had the idea first,” Miote confessed. “He told
the developers would eventually implent a bank of their own, and it would be a great power move if we got it first before them.” The chesch rolled his eyes as he chastised the daeben, “Power move. He never realized how much money we could get from doing this. Can you believe Kashi wanted to have an in-ga bank just to hold both Resident and Summoned’s cash? Luckily, I alerted him to the massive landside available if we also served as an exchange center.”
“The unfortunate thing is that it is much easier to open a bank than it is to open an exchange center,” Leila said. “Because at that point, you are dealing with real-world currency, which can leave Genaco to lawsuits. Hence, unless all the necessary precautions are taken, the company would never allow any external entity to have that authority in their ga.”
“And you beat that?” Absalon questioned with an incredulous look in his eyes. What were they feeding the children of this generation?
“Yeah, we did,” Miote answered with a nod.
“Well, he did,” Kashi clarified with a grin. “All I did was say, “I want a bank.” He did all the hard work after that.”
“How’d you guys pull it off?” Jade questioned, excitent in her eyes as she began to see the future potential of this bank.
“It wasn’t easy,” Miote honestly replied as he began opening the boxes behind him, revealing dozens, no hundreds of binders containing several sheaves of papers. “And honestly, there isn’t enough ti to explain. But to put it concisely, I found a loophole in the ga’s systems. To comply with the policy of everything in this ga having an in-world explanation, the exchange system is handled by the rchant god’s AI. So, rather than apply to Genaco, all we have to do is convince the AI. Or, in this case, the rchant god, Savi , that our bank is a viable option for the exchange platform.”
“How do you know it’s viable?”
“I’ve ticked off all the boxes Savi gave ,” Miote replied with a nod. “The hardest was Security, but Kashi finally cov—”
“Wait a mont,” Absalon interrupted with stunned eyes. “Did no one else hear what he just said? You talked to Savi? The god? You talked to a god?” The mage general looked at his peers’ relaxed expressions and could not help but question, “That isn’t normal right? Talking to a god?”
“Is it that rare?” Kashi questioned. “I’ve talked to three and once t like five of them.”
Lunette raised her head and nodded, “I was there when he t them.”
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Shokō brushed her hair behind her head. “Syèl and I talked with a goddess once when we freed her..”
“I’ll do you one better,” Syèl boasted with a huge grin as he waved his right hand, “I actually slapped her a couple of tis.”
“Ah, I forgot I work with monsters,” Absalon muttered under his breath and then looked at Jade with relief. “At least there’s one normal per…” His words caught in his throat when he recalled everything they just saw at rriheim. “Uh, never mind.”
Jade snorted and then turned to Miote. “So, basically, you’re pretty confident right?”
“Yes,” Miote replied with a nod. “Are you guys ready?”
“Whenever you are,” Syèl prompted with an excited grin.
Miote looked at Kashi, who nodded his approval. “Alright then, let’s get started.” The Maggots, except for Kashi, stood behind him as he dropped on one knee. “Great Savi, god of rchants, I humbly co to propose the opening of the first bank in Destia. I ask that you judge whether we be worthy of this great honor.” Miote finished his plea and awaited the god’s response.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, prompting Syèl to whisper, “Hey, did you break sothing? Wanna try two knees? Maybe a dogeza?”
Miote inwardly rolled his eyes, but when the silence persisted a few seconds longer, he began considering dropping the other knee. Krakoom! However, just when he was about to drop the knee, a massive lightning bolt suddenly struck the ground a few inches away from the chesch, seriously startling him.
Before Miote could regain his composure, soone in the crowd scread. “The sky! Look at the sky!”
Miote and the Maggots looked up, eyes widening as a massive gold line appeared in the clouds as if soone had sliced the clouds in two. Monts later, the line began to spread outwards, pushing away the dark clouds and revealing gold light that washed over the entirety of ilfour.
From several miles, a large golden patch could be seen in the sky where daylight had unbelievably consud the night.
“No, that’s not sunlight,” Miote retorted, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as the curtains were pulled even further, revealing a magnificent golden estate in the sky. The streets, buildings, and gates were all made of pure, glittering gold! It was the light reflecting off these gold estate that was really shining down upon ilfour at the mont.
As Miote watched, another lightning bolt shot out of the estate and slamd into the ground. This ti, however, a man remained behind after it dissipated. Miote gazed at the fancily garbed thirty-sothing-looking, rtian man with a gold cane. “It is an honor to finally see you, Lord Savi.”
“Nice to et you too, Miote,” Savi, the rchant god, replied with an exuberant cheer as he snapped his fingers. A square table with two chairs, one on each side, appeared beside him. He took a seat on one side, looked up at Miote, and then said, “I have waited a long ti for this.” Savi gestured at the chair opposite him. “Please, have a seat.”
Brass Close was as silent as a graveyard, the crowd’s hearts thumping hard as they endured the gargantuan pressure oozing off Savi, the rchant god. This was a true god. Residents and Summoned alike struggled to stay on their feet, unable to withstand the god’s aura.
Miote turned to look at Kashi, who nodded. His resolve strengthened, the chesch sat down opposite the rtian god, his nervousness hidden behind a loose smile. “I have spent countless nights anticipating this exact mont. I hope I do not disappoint you.”
Savi grinned, saying as he waved his hand, “You succeeded in summoning
down here. That is half the battle complete.” A transparent, crystal goblet appeared on the table with a set of rhinestone plated mugs. The rchant god grabbed a cup and poured himself a drink, eyes glowing as he studied Miote. “So, tell . Are you confident?”
Miote’s eyes flashed, reacting to the god’s challenge. The chesch picked up the goblet and poured himself a drink. Maintaining eye contact with Savi, Miote downed the mug and then said as he set the cup on the table, “Yes, indeed I am.”
“Good! I applaud your bravado,” Savi praised as he clapped. “A rchant’s confidence is just as important as their business acun, sotis even more so. I would never work with soone who shows unease to potential custors.” The god gulped down another mug of the fine wine and then asked, “Alright, child, before we proceed to the inspection, I have one last test.” Savi’s golden pupils locked onto Miote’s, preventing the chesch from looking elsewhere. “What is the most important thing to a rchant?”
“Maximum profit,” Miote stated without hesitation. But before Savi could speak, he continued, “In an ideal world, that should be the most important quest for every rchant. Unfortunately, the world is far from ideal. It is impossible to chase maximum profit without harming the custors in so way. So, for , a rchant should seek out the highest possible profit while causing the least amount of harm to their custors.”
Savi’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Miote. “So, you’re saying the custors are more important than wealth? And you consider yourself to be a rchant?”
“Perhaps, but to , the custors are my wealth,” Miote stated with a shrug. “I might be able to con 1000 Syros from a man today, but if I treat him right, I can con 10,000 Syros from that man over a couple of months or years.”
Savi’s eyes rose in interest. “Either way, you’ll con this man?”
“Of course,” Miote replied. “A rchant’s job is to find a way to sell a piece of rock for the price of ten or more. That is maximum profit. So might disguise the rock like a diamond to sell it off, but that will hurt the custor in the long-run and make them hate the rchant. I, however, will sell the rock as a piece of rock, but I’ll either find a way to lower the cost of procurent or add a piece of story to increase its value. This way, the custor buys the rock for what it is, even if I managed to fleece a couple of Syros off them. That my rchant creed. Happy Custors, Maximum Profit. In that order.”
“So, the custors co before wealth to you.”
Miote poured himself a drink and then stated, “Consurs are my source of wealth, and contrary to what rchants believe, the common people are not stupid. If we push them too far, eventually they will see us for our bullshit and shift to another rchant.” The chesch downed the cup and then said, “I prefer fostering happy relations with all clients or custors. The longest-lasting dynasties, be they companies, organizations, or countries, are always those whose clients, citizens, whatever, were happy. The Hopeful Maggots abide by this creed in everything we do.”
Behind Miote, a small smile spread up Kashi’s lips as he harkened back to the ‘deal’ he and Miote made with ilfour’s mayor for the mines. ‘Well, for the most part. Not all custors are created equal.’
“An honest rchant,” Savi remarked as he relaxed in his chair. “And one who cares about the consurs of his products. It is rare to find rchants of this caliber. Especially one who is as successful as you are. I find that as hus get richer, their inhibitions tend to loosen, allowing them to increasingly justify ripping off their consurs.”
Miote nodded. “Yes, that is indeed true. But in the other world, I was lucky enough to witness the fall of a giant company that treated its consurs with scorn, seeing them as sentient coin purses rather than people. Their fall is used as a case study in schools to this day as what not to do to increase profit margins.” The chesch sighed and then said, “I never want to end up like that, so I treat every custor with the respect they deserve. So, for , the more successful we get, the tighter our inhibitions have to beco, for fear of slipping and becoming sothing we no longer recognize.”
“Good answer,” Savi praised as he raised his mug and saluted Miote. “At the very least, I know I will not be entrusting sothing as powerful as the first bank since the Calamity to a greedy waste.” The god downed the drink and then lanted, “Of course, since there’s a first, there’ll be a second and third, and so forth. Among those will definitely be scum who will aim to exploit the common people. Still, I hope that in the event you pass, your bank will set an example for those on the fence to follow—a way to acquire profit without harming the people.”
Miote bowed his head and solemnly promised, “We, the Hopeful Maggots, will strive our best to set an example for the rest of the world to follow, bad eggs notwithstanding.” ntally, Miote added, ‘Kashi and Syèl of course.’
Syèl frowned and leaned in to whisper into Shokō’s ear. “Why do I feel like he just insulted ?”
“Do you think you are anyone’s role model?” Shokō replied as she turned to face him, a leery smile on her face.
Syèl grinned as he playfully replied, “Sowhere out there is a young murderer who just completed his first kill, all because he looked up to .”
“That’s the problem, idiot,” Shokō rebutted with a light chuckle.
anwhile, Savi raised his glass as he smiled at Miote’s pledge. “I thank you for that. If nothing else, it lessens the burden in my heart.” The rchant god then clapped as he sat up in the chair, his deanor instantly switching to that of an inquisitor. “Now, let
see the proposal.”
“As you wish,” Miote stated and stood up from the chair. He walked to the stack of boxes and picked up a few while eyeing Kashi and Syèl for help. Thankfully, Kashi and Syèl followed his lead and picked up the remaining boxes. Once he was sure they had everything, Miote walked back to the table, which to his shock, had drastically increased in size, enough to fit at least seven seats.
Miote quickly caught himself and then proceeded to place the boxes on the table with Kashi and Syèl. When all boxes were accounted for, the chesch opened each one, revealing dozens of docunts neatly arranged in stacks. Miote took the piles out of their boxes and gently set the nurous docunts on the table.
Finally, Miote reached into his inventory and took out a three hundred page, binded docunt, and handed it to Savi. “This is the proposal. Every docunt referenced in there is present among these. If you have any questions, please ask.”
“How efficient,” Savi praised as he accepted and then proceeded to wrap the docunt proposal in his aura. Woong! The proposal booklet shone with a golden light as the rchant god rapidly scanned through its contents. Seconds later, the docunts on the table also burst bright with golden light.
Savi’s golden eyes were unfocused but purposeful as he scanned through the thousands of docunts. Sotis he would frown, but monts later, it would turn into a satisfied smile. The rchant god could not help but praise Miote. The chesch had truly covered all the basis when drafting the proposal.
Everything from the bank’s interest rate for Residents and Summoned, to its policy on utilizing saved funds for investnts, to how the records were kept consistent across any and all branches forthwith, were clearly and articulately recorded. Savi had no holes to criticize.
Savi could tell from the proposal that Miote was no beginner at forging contracts. He did not know what the chesch did in the other world, but it had to be related to money for him to be this good.
Woong…
The glow on the docunts dimd as Savi’s inspection ca to an end until they completely went out. The rchant god smiled as he turned his focus to Miote. “You were very thorough, even going as far as getting over 200 wealthy clients pre-launch. However, there are two things I have to change before I can approve of your bank.” Savi tapped on the table as he continued, “For certain reasons, only one bank at a ti has the authority to exchange currencies with the other world. This authority cos with nurous privileges and trendous revenue, as you are most definitely aware.”
“Yes. That played a large role in our decision to start a bank,” Miote honestly replied.
“I understand,” Savi acknowledged, but then said, “However, those privileges co with a few crutches, as that role is an extrely sensitive one.”
“What are they?”
“Unfortunately, all staff involved in the bank will be Residents provided by ,” Savi stated. “I cannot risk having personal information fall into the hands of others. The only way I can confirm there will be no leaks is by staffing the bank with my people.” The rchant god noticed Miote’s frown and soothed, “Do not worry, however. You will still receive a full report on all transactions at the end of every working day. Also, all operational decisions remain yours. The staff will only handle the facilitation and docuntation of transactions. Is that all right with you?”
Miote thought about it and then nodded. He grinned and shook his head as he confessed, “To be honest, I think you are doing
a favor. I, too, do not intend to trust Summoned with sensitive information as they do not fear retaliation. Furthermore, anyone sent by you will be much more competent than the staff I pick. So, yes. I do not see the downside.”
“Are you being honest right now?” Savi mused as he regarded the chesch with a teasing smile. “My staff will have perfect accounting, making it difficult to cheat out money from the bank.”
“Believe it or not, I am not the type to steal from my own ho,” Miote replied with a grin. “I have no qualms with this decision.”
“I see,” acknowledged Savi with a nod. “Now, on to the second thing,” he said as he turned to look at Kashi. “Let
see this world of yours. Keep in mind that even with this child’s excellent work, it will be all for naught if you fail.” Savi paused and then looked into Kashi’s red eyes, “Are you confident?”
In response, Kashi smiled and raised his hand. A large portal appeared in front of the daeben as he matched the rchant god’s gaze. “Confidence has no outco on the result,” said the daeben with a relaxed air. “Win or lose. We’ll only find out after you see it for yourself.”
“Confident then,” Savi mused as he rose to his feet and approached the portal. He stopped at the portal’s mouth and looked at Kashi. “…Or is it blind arrogance?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“How bold,” Savi laughed and then disappeared through the portal which closed behind him.
The Hopeful Maggots and the bystanders nervously gazed at the still Kashi, knowing that the next ti Savi appeared, they would have the final verdict on the bank’s status.
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