Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 194: Savings and Expenses

Some commotion took place when people saw a building appear out of nowhere, many curiously looking at what was going on. However, no one dared to get close after seeing Zac enter looking like a stormcloud, allowing him to be undisturbed in his meeting with the Manager of the contribution manager.

“Greetings Lord Atwood,” a mechanical voice sounded as soon as he entered. “Thank you for choosing the [Furem Harq Merit Exchange].”

The voice pulled Zac out of his brooding, and he put the matter of Alea and Hannah aside. He would simply have to talk to Hannah later and explain the situation. While he hadn’t done anything wrong he didn’t want Hannah to think he immediately ran to a new girl after breaking up with her.

The structure he’d purchased was a contribution management service. He’d long decided that he would purchase this service rather than trying to build a system up from scratch. There were so many things to consider, such as how to measure and grade all sorts of contributions to the town. Furem Harq was an ancient clan that had worked in this field for over a hundred million years.

That time span was mindboggling for someone who until recently had a hundred years lifespan. On earth, great dynasties were measured in thousands of years, but they were just like the blink of an eye compared to the longevity of the Furem Harq company.

The Golem-led company was on the slightly more expensive side when it came to these services, taking a larger cut, but they had many other advantages. For one they guaranteed the safety of all resources managed by them, apart from attack by a B-grade powerhouse or above.

Apparently those kinds of people were considered walking natural disasters, and no one would insure against the appearance of that kind of old monsters. Still, the policy was more than enough for an infant world like New Earth.

They also allowed a Lord to take out resources representing 25% of the deposited value at any of their subsidiaries through the multi-verse. It meant that if Zac ever got to the point that he left earth to explore other galaxies he’d have a convenient way to get some money that Port Atwood would continuously generate.

Most importantly they had a completely unblemished record even after running their business for such a long time.

“Hello, welcome to Port Atwood,” Zac said, turning to the living machine that spoke earlier.

It looked quite different compared to the Creators. Rahm had looked like a faceless statue before he changed into a human shape, but the golem in front of him was a different breed.

It seemed to be created by liquid metal, forming smooth outlines that changed as the golem moved. Interestingly enough its various body parts didn’t actually connect, but were somehow held together through some invisible power.

It also had a humanoid face, though it was slightly jarring to speak to a head floating on top of the torso.

“I am Khar. Please, this way,” the golem said, and walked to a large desk where they both sat down.

From there the golem asked about most aspects of Port Atwood, from what resources they possessed to what they valued and what their goals were. Zac truthfully told the golem everything, apart from mentioning the Creator Shipyard. He knew the questions were designed to find a proper contribution model, so he didn’t hold back. Besides, it wasn’t like the paltry wealth he’d accumulated was worth much of anything to this golem.

“I would suggest we start by using model FH-83004. It is a merit exchange designed for emerging forces such as yourself,” Khar said. “It focuses mainly on development, rather than things such as war. The merit allocation is designed to promote personal improvement in citizens, and creating new types of facilities, setting the foundations for Port Atwood to keep growing.”

“What the downside?” Zac asked.

“It is more expensive to run than many other models. Performing things as gaining a class, and later evolving, are rewarded with contribution points. These things are usually taken for granted in established forces. There are also “bounties” in creating facilities not yet available in the faction, or finding materials that are currently lacking. It’s a method to teach the citizens how to improve by pushing them forward with money,” the golem answered.

“Can it be changed later if needed?” Zac asked.

“Certainly. You, or your representative, can at any point change the model or make adjustments to the current one. However, be aware that sweeping changes to contribution are often met with displeasure by citizens,” the Golem answered.

“Ok, we’ll follow your suggestion. A Stargazer named Veth-Abarak, or Abby, is my administrator, and will come by and iron out details later,” Zac said as he put down a few cosmos sacks on the table. “These are the initial materials for exchange.”

The pouch contained most of the things he’d collected since the integration, most of them coming from dead Demons and the pouches of Rydel and the Corpse Lord. Of course, he’d already taken out everything that might prove useful for him in the coming months, or things he didn’t want to be sold such as the notebooks of Mhal.

“For now the whole inventory can be public,” Zac added after some thought. “For the Dao repository, Abby will go over the respective prices for the skills. The skills can only be listed but not bought so far. I need to inquire about some things first.“The value of the things in the pouches was likely equivalent to well over a hundred million nexus coins, and hopefully seeing the mountains of wealth would make his people work harder, and also increase the trust in his faction.

“Certainly. Going by the model and the expected revenue turnover the coming month I would project the cost to be-” the golem said, but was interrupted.

“Is it possible that the Furem Harq could give the Kar’Arvadina-branch of the Iliex some face?” a lifeless voice suddenly sounded from behind, making Zac turn around.

With some surprise, Zac noticed that it was Rahm. It was a rare occasion for one of the Creators to leave their shipyard, and Zac could only guess it was due to them recognizing the force behind the Merit Exchange. Both of them were big players in the multi-verse after all.

However, Zac soon realized that he might have underestimated the Creators by quite a bit, as the branch manager practically flew out of his chair as he ran over toward the creator and almost fell down into a kneeling position in front of him.

“Lord Iliex, you honor our small clan with your presence,” he hurriedly said. “We were not aware that Port Atwood was friends with a branch of your great clan. Our clan will, of course, be happy to cede our charge for the management of this branch.”

“Business needs to have a price for no strings of Karma to be sown. A charge of one percent should be fine,” Rahm said.

“Of course, it’s as you say. We’ll follow your instructions,” the manager quickly nodded.

Zac only gaped at the exchange. A one percent fee was the lowest the merit control center would ever go, but only huge forces with revenues millions of times larger than Port Atwood got those kinds of deals.

“Good. And I count on your discretion about our presence to not inconvenience Lord Atwood. Currently, we are modeling our production after the Allbright Empire’s designs,” the Creator continued, his face still completely wooden.

“It won’t leave this one’s mouth on threat of death,” the manager hurriedly assured.

The Creator nodded in affirmation before it turned to Zac.

“Foreman Karunthel sends his regards,” Rahm said, before simply walking out again.

Zac added visiting the spider-boss to the list of things to do. He had just saved Zac a lot of money, and he needed to thank him personally. After the short intermission by Rahm, the foreman was quite a bit more helpful, even giving a few tips of things other successful factions had done to quickly improve their town.

The golem also heavily discounted the contribution plaques that they would distribute later. The plaques were both a wallet for the contribution points and also a recording device of sorts. It could somehow understand when people contributed to Port Atwood, and automatically awarded points according to the algorithm Zac had chosen.

Zac was astounded by the thing and wondered how such small plaques could have so many magical functions. The golem explained that the plaques were actually only subsidiary arrays to a mother-array in the branch. The mother-array in turn was just a subsidiary of an extremely powerful array in the headquarters of the Company.

After finishing his meeting with the merit exchange Zac headed toward the Thayer Consortia. Zac was happy to see that the derelict buildings on the compound had all been swapped out with new ones, giving the business a far better impression.

The inside of the store had changed as well, and the once empty stores were fully stocked with all kinds of things. However, a large section of the store was covered with leather armors. Bringing the artists and watchmaker had been a good idea it turned out, as they had changed their profession and were quickly becoming promising inscribers.

“Lord Atwood,” Calrin said as he approached with a frown.

“Hello, Calrin,” Zac said with a small smile as he saw the angry gnome. “You look chipper.”

“I still don’t understand why you need a merit exchange. Those places are bad for business,” the gnome grumbled.

“Well, they still need somewhere to spend their Nexus Coins,” Zac said with a shrug. “Besides, I heard that you’ve started opening branches?”

That perked Calrin right up, and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Indeed. There are currently subsidiaries in the two human towns, and one of the beastman villages. The subsidiaries generally sell a slightly improved supply of the things you can find in a normal General Store, with extra sections containing mainly the products of Port Atwood,” he said with a smile.

“However, there’s still only money coming in from our own people. I hope you’ll go out and help open branches in the mainland,” Calrin continued.

“I’ll work on it,” Zac promised. “Perhaps I can get some business during the treasure hunt in a few weeks.”

“Good. So what brings you here?” Calrin asked.

“Let’s go somewhere more private,” Zac simply said.

Calrin only nodded and led Zac to one of the private rooms that was meant for appraisal of treasures that customers brought in. The Thayer Consortia didn’t only sell items after all, but also purchased anything that they thought they could make a profit from.

After the doors were closed Zac brought out one of the miasma crystals and placed it on the table.

“A miasma Crystal? Their uses are a bit limited, so they’re amongst the least valuable attuned Crystals,” Calrin said hesitantly.

“I’m not selling them. I need crystals that are the opposite of miasma stones. Is there something like that? Like life-crystals?” Zac asked.

“Is the wound still bothering you?” the gnome asked with a frown.

“No, it’s healed by now, but I still need the crystals. Preferably on a large scale,” Zac said.

“Well, there are crystals called Divine Crystals,” Calrin said after a while. “They hold lifegiving energy, though it cannot heal wounds without being processed into pills. However, there are no F-grade Crystals of that sort. Generally, Nexus Crystals with elemental affinities are usually E-Graded and up, depending on the element. Some, like Time Crystals, are at least C-Graded from what I understand.”

“What about the Miasma Crystals?” Zac asked.

“They’re an exception. From what I’ve heard they aren’t formed naturally, but produced through unknown means by the Undead Empire,” Calrin answered with a shrug.

“So, can you get your hands on Divine Crystals?” Zac asked.

“Yes, but they are not cheap,” Calrin said as he prodded the Miasma Crystal on the table a bit. “There are a lot of uses for Divine Crystals. Many powerhouses even decorate their cultivation areas with them, as they improve the ambience. They can also help prolong the life of the elderly, though the effect is somewhat limited.”

“How much?” Zac could only sigh.

“An E-Grade Divine Crystal is roughly 100 times the price of a Normal E-Grade Nexus Crystal,” Calrin said.

Zac could only groan at the quote, as it was even worse than he’d thought. One crystal being over a hundred times more expensive meant that each E-Grade Divine Crystal cost half a million.

“Is that generally how much more expensive an elemental crystal is?” Zac couldn’t help ask.

“It’s on the more expensive scale, but it’s usually 50 to 100 times more expensive. It’s simply much more beneficial to use attuned crystals to improve at higher stages. They also make Arrays and such far stronger. They are simply superior.”

“Fine,” Zac said with a sigh. “Try to get 25 of them as soon as possible.”

“Always a pleasure of doing business with you,” Calrin said with a widening smile.