Might as Well

“How is it going?” Sam asked as he stepped next to Adam, who was observing the goings-on from one of the balconies of the guild building. Not far from them, hidden from casual view but visible to them, a raven was also observing the happenings.

Under them, in the courtyard of the building were several prospective players, demonstrating their knowledge and ability via casting spells or using skills. There were a few squares hastily drawn on the sand-covered ground and around them observers from the guild both players and NPCs were making notes as players stepped into the squares and used their ‘most impressive’ skill or spell. They cast them either on themselves, the area inside the square, or at the provided target dummy.

If they couldn’t control it to stay inside the lines, they would automatically fail.

Most people were standing as close to the line as possible to make sure that if there was some splash damage, then they could immediately point it out.

When they announced that this would be the first test, there was naturally ‘some’ grumbling, but in the end, Adam’s stature, muscles, and glare quieted the loudest ones. And those who didn’t get the implied message were dragged away by the guards…

Sam didn’t mind. Those who were loudly complaining were probably the least qualified.

“Look at that girl,” he pointed to the nearest square where a small mousy girl stood in robes that hid everything about her body and her brown hair up in a simple bob. She was holding an average-looking white staff, practically radiating ‘shy anime healer’ energy.

She was also precisely filling up the square with green healing energy. The magic quickly spread to all corners, stopping inches before touching the lines in the sand, to the disappointment of the onlookers.

A quick look with his senses told him that there were no fluctuations in the mana, meaning the girl was fully in control of the spell.

“I want her!” Sam declared.

Adam nodded and made a note in his notebook while the raven let out an indignant squawk. Sam just waved at the bird. “Oh, you know what I mean…”

“She is that good?”

“Mhm… Excellent mana control. Best I’ve seen so far,” replied Sam as he kept an eye on the girl and the surroundings. No doubt, several other guilds’ observers were also in the courtyard looking for promising candidates.

At least, that’s what he would do…

As he watched the girl cancel the spell, Sam noticed several individuals standing up from where they were surreptitiously resting and heading for the square where she was doing the demonstration.

“Lucy,” he called out softly.

Instantly, the raven took flight and within a second was sitting on a surprised girl’s shoulder, eyeballing everyone.

All those heading for her froze, realizing what this meant. He saw anger, frustration and all sorts of emotions flash through their faces, but ultimately, all of them turned around or simply left. After all, it was an open secret that Lucy’s familiars were ravens.

There was even an open bounty on the Shadowland website about figuring out a way to differentiate between normal ravens and the familiars. And also, several standing bounties for killing Lucy.

But that was par for the course. All the guild leaders and famous players had bounties on them. Why, Sam was sometimes tempted to have himself killed just for the in-game gold the people were promising for his death.

Then one of the guild NPCs stepped forward and offered to escort the shocked girl inside the building under Lucy’s watchful eyes.

Adam made a few notes, no doubt writing down the details of who were the ones excited to ‘chat’ with the small healer, and then both of them returned as people tried to showcase their abilities, no doubt the appearance of the infamous raven lighting a fire under them.

A few showed promise here and there and Sam made sure to point them out to Adam, who then made some kind of signal and the individuals were escorted inside. Even a few who failed the test were asked to join the guild, as they had useful abilities that would be great to have at hand in the future.

Adam just cast an annoyed glance at him but didn’t argue.

Hours later, bored out of his mind, Sam decided it was enough for him and left Adam in the company of another raven, heading out of the building.

The ongoing ‘financial crisis’ made him curious.

In his inherited memories, there was a brief mention of opportunities in the Auction House, but nothing concrete. Now that he finally had some time, he wanted to check it out.

‘Maybe I could even buy up a few useful things, claiming that the low price made it worth it…’ he mused as he walked through the streets.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when his passive senses – always active, just in case – warned him that a blob of very excited mana was heading towards him. However, as he sensed no active use of mana, he simply relaxed, moving his hand near his sword sheath, and turned toward the approaching person.

It was a woman, wearing a white shirt with a black vest over it and actual suspenders. As she ran toward him, waving excitedly, Sam couldn’t help but take another look. Thus, when the woman skidded to a halt next to him, he only had one question.

“Where the hell did you get suspenders?” he blurted out.

The woman beamed at him, hooked her fingers into the elastic bands of the suspenders, and flexed them proudly. “Cool, huh? Had a crafter friend make it for me!”

“I mean, yeah…” Sam answered, still taken aback by the appearance of the clothing article. Then he shook his head and looked back at the beaming woman. “Anyway, did you want something?”

She continued beaming and, to Sam’s horror, conjured an artifact dreaded by everyone.

A microphone. Well, a magical device that worked as a microphone.

“I was wondering if you would have time for an interview?” she asked while thrusting the device in front of Sam.

“Me? Why?”

She blinked twice.

“Aren’t you Solar, the owner of AFK Company and the Chrysalis guild?”

“Co-owner, but yes,” he admitted by reflex while inwardly he castigated himself for forgetting his disguises. Apparently, he was so bored he was operating on autopilot.

“Co-owner,” acknowledged the woman with a smile. “So, interview?”

Sam glanced around, noting a raven that was staying silent but was obviously radiating schadenfreude. He subtly raised an eyebrow, and the raven nodded its head imperceptibly.

He returned his focus to the woman, who hopefully didn’t notice the small byplay. “Again, why me? And why now?”

“Well, you have the most successful player-run companies in this country, and your actions with the guild have garnered some interest,” came the reply.

“That…actually makes sense,” he admitted. “But who do you work for?”

Her anticipating looks vanished, and she was beaming again upon hearing that question.

“Nobody! I’m– “ she flexed her suspenders again. “ –an independent streamer who hunts for the freshest and most interesting stories! You can call me the… News Hunter!” she exclaimed, striking a pose by using one of her hands to flex her suspenders and the other in a victory sign vertically in front of her eyes.

“You’re new huh…”

“N-no! I’m a very respectable streamer with an international audience…” she told him with a slight blush on her face.

‘Have I heard her name somewhere?’ Sam wondered as the woman tried not to fidget under his gaze. But he was drawing a blank…

Up on a ledge of a building, the raven was nodding its head very insistently…

Sam let out a sigh and nodded. “Fine. You got an hour…”

She immediately jumped into the air, pumping her fist. “Yes! First story!” Then she realized what she said and tried to hide it for some reason by coughing into her fist. “What I meant was that it will be my first story today! Yes!”

“I’m sure…” Sam replied bemusedly. “How about we relocate somewhere more private?”

“Oh, how about Heavenly Forest? I always wanted to see how it looks inside!” came the excited reply as Sam began walking with the ‘streamer’ following him.

He just snorted. “If you need to ask, you won’t get inside…”

She had the temerity to pout. Though Sam had to admit it was a powerful pout.

“How about one of the meeting rooms at the company?”

“Did you choose that place because that way you can easily get rid of me if I ask inconvenient questions?”

“Yeah, sure… let’s go with that…”

Half an hour later they were sat in one of the countless meeting rooms of the headquarters, with the streamer – whose proper name Sam still didn’t know – oohing and aahing at everything. She was in the middle of organizing her notes and affixing the microphone artifact to the middle of the desk. Then Sam watched bemusedly as she began playing around with her system screens.

They were interrupted by the door opening and Claire entering with a placid smile and pushing a cart filled with all sorts of snacks and drinks, including tea.

“Oh! Even maid service? How amazing!” she exclaimed as she eagerly accepted the offered cup of hot beverage. Sam was then served – including a small slip of paper – then the snacks were placed between them, surrounding the microphone.

Claire then curtsied. “Would you like anything else?”

Sam directed a questioning gaze at his guest, but she was still gushing over the spread, visibly taking photos, so he just smiled at Claire. “No, thank you. This is splendid.”

“Of course, sir,” she answered with a small bow and left the room, head held high.

It took his guest a few minutes to return from her enjoyment of the various foods that Claire provided, which ‘surprisingly’ included a few of her favorites. That time allowed Sam to check the paper.

On it were just a few words.

Joanna, streamer, potential asset

‘Well, if Lucy thinks so, then who am I to gainsay her…’

He cleared his throat and put his friendliest smile on his face. “So, Joanna, how about we get started?”

Her eyes went round. “Woah! How did you know my name? I watched you! You didn’t even open any screens!” She looked around suspiciously. “Is there an invisible ninja here whispering things to you?”

“Of course not. We keep our ninjas in our castle.”

“Then how…”

“I’m just that good!” he declared with a mischievous smile.

She, once again, pouted at him, but he held strong. Finally, she shook her head and let out a sigh. “Fine. Let’s start…”

Sam made a go-ahead motion, but he said nothing.

Joanna took a few calming breaths, glanced at a screen only she could see, and began.

“You are Solar, the co-owner of the AFK Company and Chrysalis guild?”

“That’s me…”

“Excellent! The players have long been curious about you and I’m here to ask some questions that are on everyone’s mind!” she declared.

Sam nodded with a smile. “I’m at your service, as they say.”

She took another deep breath, leaned forward, and then continued.

“Tell me, Solar, were you the one behind the current crash of the gold market?” She slapped her fist down on the table, rattling the silverware and cutlery. “The people have the right to know!”

He just stared back, bemusedly.

“Why do you think it was me?”

She looked back intently, as if expecting him to confess to causing the gold market crash, faking the moon landing, and assassinating at least three medieval kings. Finally, she shrugged.

“Eh, worth a try…” she said with a small smile. “But! How about something more interesting?”

“I’m all ears!” Sam chuckled. ‘How interesting… I wonder if she is really like that or just playing it up?’

“Then what is your opinion on the market crash? As a well-known businessman in the game, you must have felt the sting of the crash more than others. How does it affect your businesses?”

Sam didn’t have to think much about the answer.

“Well, Joanna. It’s very simple. We expected this to happen, so we were prepared.”

“Really?”

“Sure. In every game that has some kind of market, somebody inevitably figures out a way to cheese or glitch unlimited money, thus crashing the market. Usually, this necessitates a switch over to some other item as a replacement currency until the admins or developers intervene.”

“And you are prepared to do this in Magic Unbound?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Absolutely.”

“And what item had you chosen?”

Sam leaned forward with a little smile and tapped the side of his nose. “Now… that would be tellin'."

Once again, she tried to use her pout, but Sam heroically resisted. And when she saw it was ineffective, she immediately continued with her questions.

“Next question then. Why do you think the developers haven’t addressed this issue?”

“Now that is a good question, Joanna. In my private and not at all professional opinion, there could be many reasons behind it, but the most likely scenario is…”