NPC into Player: Let's Wreck This Game

Bloom wanted to laugh but he didn't. He knew that establishing his guild was quite a feat for him, for players' community.

However he never thought for the original dwellers of this world to be also interested in his guild.

"How much exactly are we talking about here?" Bloom calmly asked.

"If it was up to me then I would ask for fifty-one percent," the old man said with a sly smile, "but let's be practical. Forty-nine percent is enough for us."

"Ten percent," Bloom firmly said.

"That's... too low, don't you think?"

Bloom felt this bargain would take much longer than he initially felt. Besides, he never thought that the old man's appetite was this big.

What was special about having a guild in this world anyway?

"No, considering the fact that you won't pay a penny for me then it's quite an acceptable price," Bloom calmly said before adding, "but if you want more, you'll have to pay for it."

The old man's eyes narrowed as he never expected Bloom to be such hard rock to crack in this deal. He initially had the impression that Bloom was just a lucky player, a player who had luck beside him anywhere he went to.

However right now he had this vague feeling, a mysterious vibe that Bloom wasn't simple, wasn't simple at all.

"So you want us to pay in gold?" the old man asked, "running short on the fees to establish the guild headquarters?"

"You know about that too," Bloom was surprised a little, "but I have to disappoint you then. I'm not interested in such currency."

"Then black points? Light points? Gears? Or what?" the old man presented a long list of currencies he was willing to use in paying this extra fee, "and how much percent are we talking about here?"

Bloom smiled calmly while saying, "I need nothing of those. I have plenty and can get anything I want," he paused to add more mystery to himself, "and about how much you will get, that depends on the currency we will settle upon and how much you can provide."

"And what currency do you have in mind then?" The old man seemed interested in Bloom's thoughts.

"Men," Bloom calmly said, "I want mercenaries to work under my command."

"Oh," the old man's face paused for a moment before a warm smile appeared on his face, "if you meant this then I can say I can pay tons over tons of them."

"But you forgot to mention one thing," Bloom raised one finger in the old man's face, "I don't just need any mercenaries, I want those who are able to get into my world."

"This..." the old man's face froze when he heard that. "It's such a hard request to answer to be honest."

"Yet it's not impossible," Bloom smiled as he added, "as we agreed upon the currency then I can say the price range here. For one extra percent of my guild shares you'll have to pay five thousand mercenaries with at least one thousand high end mercenaries above level a hundred. Out of them you have to provide at least a hundred of those who can get into my world."

"Who said your guild is worth that much?" the old man couldn't help himself to explode in Bloom's face. "This is a daylight steal!"

"You are the one interested in my guild," Bloom wasn't shaken by this fake storm of rage. He felt quite sure that this old man was faking it, trying to bluff and trick him to lower the price by much.

"Well... we can pay up to a quarter of that price," the old man seemed to struggle and even paused for a long minute. During which Bloom kept his calm facade despite laughing hysterically from the inside.

From such a reaction he was sure to get what he wanted, and even more.

"One half," Bloom slowly said, "and if you don't accept or try to bargain again then this deal is off."

"As if you can win this war by yourself," the old man sneered.

"I know my odds aren't that great," Bloom nodded, "but as I told you, gold coins aren't a problem for someone like me. I'll buy whoever I want now and win this war."

He suddenly paused before his face turned serious, "but you also must have heard about my deeds. Any place that I can reach with such a guild branch of yours will be destroyed by my own hands, whether I won or lost this war."

The old man's face turned serious as well while his silence felt so heavy. Bloom's eyes kept staring fixedly over the old man's face while not showing any sign of hesitation or weakness.

This was a power show off between the two. Bloom knew the old man wouldn't risk losing this trade, yet Bloom wanted to establish the sense of power between the two.

Yes he needed them, but that didn't mean he would perish without their help. He wanted to make sure the old man and whoever stood behind him understood this point quite well.

He wasn't that weak or a push over.

"Give me five minutes," the old man suddenly said, "I'll get in touch with you with the final answer."

"Take your time," Bloom turned his back as if he was leaving the guild, "after all our deal will be off the moment this war kicks off."

And then he was the one to close the call, not the old man.

This conversation was heard from everyone around. Anne's face showed her shocked expression as she seemed to know who that old man was.

"You... are really daring," she couldn't help but say, "he isn't someone you should trifle with."

"Neither do I," Bloom put both hands behind his back, "now we'll have to wait. Whether he comes back with an answer or the war starts, I'm fine with any of these ends."

Bloom wasn't sure if he was being watched right now by the old man or if Anne was in direct contact with him at the moment. So he decided to put out such a fake act to make sure the old man and whoever was behind him wouldn't take him as a fool.

Or question his resolve.

"When is the war going to happen?" Tony asked while his face beamed with a shiny smile. He wasn't the only one with such expression, even the king kept patting on Bloom's shoulders from time to time out of his excitement.

And he even laughed as he couldn't control his excitement.

Striking a deal with the main mercenary guild in this area was something. This didn't only affect this war, but it also affected their future without doubt.

"I believe it will start in a few minutes," Bloom calmly said as he checked the clock in his profile page and saw there was less than three minutes left for the protective period to end.

"No, it won't start right away," but Anne suddenly dropped such a bomb that attracted all of their attention.

"What do you mean by that?" Bloom seemed skeptical towards her declaration, "the shield will be lifted in a few minutes."

Anne seemed to enjoy this sense of power, knowing something the three men in front of her didn't.

"Losing the protective shield is a thing," she slowly said, "and attacking the fort is another."

"But..." Bloom was about to argue but Tony interrupted him as he hurriedly asked:

"Do you have any confidential information regarding this?"

For a moment Anne seemed to go silent. The two beside Bloom thought she was hesitating to tell, however Bloom had another opinion.

She was in direct contact with her superiors, the old man in specific, and she was just waiting for his further instructions.

Bloom saw her reactions before when he mentioned war. She never showed any confidence or calmness like what she was showing right now.

That meant she didn't know anything regarding such tips before. And only now did she get such valuable info, an info the old man threw out to her to be used as leverage.

Or a way to buy them sometime.

"I can tell," Anne slowly said, "but in exchange for something in return."

"What thing?" Bloom calmly asked while his mind provided many speculations about the condition she would propose.

"As this war won't start soon, why not wait for the answer of my guild for a bit longer?"

Bloom's eyes shone brightly before he nodded. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Five days," and her answer made him greatly startled.

"You gotta be kidding me!" he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath of air. And his reaction made Anne's face beam with an interesting smile.

She seemed to know how he would react beforehand, however she seemed not to buy it until it happened.

"You are clever, more clever than others think. Do you know that?" she couldn't help but say.

Bloom wasn't in the mood to speak right now. His mind was dead fixed on something else.

"What's wrong?" Tony seemed to get the change in his air the moment he heard about such news. "Isn't it better to have more time to adapt to this war?"

"I agree with Tony," the king said, "like this we can both go and recruit more armies to aid."

Bloom couldn't help but take a deep breath and nod. "You are right," he said, "but there is a catch to this."

The two glanced weirdly at him but he didn't speak to them right away.

"But I want a contract to be signed between the two of us," Bloom said before slowly adding, "me and that old man."

"About what?" Anne's face didn't change or show any surprise to hear his words. She was slightly taken aback by his realization of her contacting the old man right now.

But she already put him in high regard, so it didn't startle her for long.

"If the enemy moves to strike, I wanna know about that before they arrive at my walls."

"We can dispatch eyes around here for that," Tony said, "this is a main trade route with many merchants coming and going. We can gather tons of info about this easily."

"You don't get his point, what a shame," Anne couldn't help but say in a sly tone, "he wants to know where the enemy will hit, here or there."

"There?" the king's face changed drastically just like Tony. The two missed this point at first, but now they already grasped what was going on.

"That's..." Tony's face changed as he paused in his words.

"I know," Bloom nodded, "so I want that contract to be signed off right away."

"I'll tell him that," Anne still faked not being in touch with the old man right now, "give me ten minutes."

And Bloom nodded while watching her leave inside the central plaza once again.