The night slowly passed as the group spent their time working even though the dwarves and Sora were asleep. They didn’t require rest as much as those three as they were players and their stamina regenerated fast.
They worked through the night and till the sun rose. When the three kids woke up, they joined the group as they put the finishing touches on their new home. Things were going well for the group as they worked, blissfully unaware of the fact that the capital outside was in turmoil.
After the events of the two days prior, people started attacking the Red Pearl in the press, forming strong allegations against them. After the disaster, many theories surfaced and the masses started taking them seriously.
Things like the lack of care for the safety of people, the harsh working environment, and the lack of sincerity from the higher-ups toward the disaster. The momentum of these claims, as baseless as they were, still formed momentum as the citizens took them and spread them through word of mouth.
Naturally, that hit the Red Pearl a lot as people immediately started boycotting their products. When the company expected things to calm down, they weirdly kept getting worse and worse, and no damage control could stop this tidal wave of critic.
Even smaller mistakes they committed across their long years of spotless image started appearing again and being used against them.
The one who was the most affected by all of this was naturally the CEO.
Sitting in his office, staring at the piles of paper stacked on top of his desk, he felt as if the entire world was collapsing right before his eyes. His eyes, dark and baggy from the lack of sleep stared tiredly at the workload left for him.
The past two days had been a nightmare for him. He didn’t think everything will start collapsing so suddenly and it wasn’t even his mistake.
Rubbing his face, he grabbed a piece of paper and read its contents. It was one of the hundreds of complaints he had received in the past few hours. Reading the content, the man suddenly turned around and started tearing the piece of paper.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHY ARE WE FACING SUCH A BACKLASH!! It was just one mistake, you filthy bastards!!” He yelled as he threw the torn pieces of paper on the ground and stomped on them really hard. “I have been building this company my entire life! This makes no sense!”
In his entire career, the man had never seen anything like this before. It was as if everything that could’ve gone bad had gone bad. It was almost a perfect example of Murphy’s law working its magic in the worst way possible.
“What should I do? If things continue at this rate, they will soon start digging deeper into our business…” Sitting down with a tired sigh, he stared through the window. “If they do that… Things will get ugly… Really ugly.”
At the same time, he didn’t forget about the mysterious people who blackmailed him for a ransom. He tried to locate them but they only found the broken trackers thrown in a random alley. That was more than enough to make him lose his mind as everything he planned was ruined.
“It was all because of those intruders and what they did. If they didn’t do it… My company would’ve been going perfectly without a hitch.” Grabbing the last few strands of hair on his balding head, he started plucking them as if he had gone insane.
“Just wait till I get my hands on you! I will make you taste something far worse than death!! I won’t spare you, even if The Supreme One itself tries to stop me!”
The words he uttered were filled with hatred and anger so deep, that the man would’ve died from the sheer blood pressure going through his veins.
***
“Fuuuh… We’re done! We’re actually done!!” Arthur exclaimed as he put down the last piece of furniture which was a vase on the ceramic table. Looking around him, his eyes flickered with excitement.
All he could see around him was a fully furnished floor which was the seventh floor. Since it was the last floor, it was dedicated to all forms of entertainment. It had a beverage area, an area for mini-games, a lounge, and even musical instruments.
The entire place looked comfy and inviting for people to just relax after a long day of work.
“This place looks amazing!” Herculia exclaimed as he came up to the seventh floor.
“Are you done with the other floors?” Arthur asked as he approached his friend.
“Yes, we just got done with it.” Herculia greeted Arthur as he tapped his hand. “Come on, the others are waiting for us down there to take a look at the final product.” He said.
“I’m coming right away.”
The two then descended through the floors. The sixth floor was the bedroom area where the entire group could rest. The fifth floor was for strategic meetings and planning. The fourth and third floors were for office work for when the group finally creates an entire system to become a full-fledged guild that could take in players.
Finally, the second floor was the training area for the new players. It was deliberately stationed in the middle for all the new players to hear the noises of other players training and feel the serious atmosphere inside the establishment.
Passing through each and every floor, Arthur admired their great work. The place truly looked magnificent by every standard. He can easily say that it was the building he ever walked into, even when he included the real world.
‘We have truly done wonders. Those two kids gave us the golden plan.’ Arthur smiled as they finally arrived outside where everyone was waiting for them.
“Took you so long to get him, Herculia.” Emmy said as she waved at them.
“Sorry for making you wait,” Arthur said as he walked out and turned around, staring at the outer appearance of the building and he could only hold his breath for a second. Continue your saga on empire
The building looked completely different from anything he had ever seen. The design was a beautiful mix of simplicity and a deep sense of fantasy. Wherever he looked in the building, it felt as if it was a dream world. The structure on the outside didn’t differ that much from that. It looked imposing and tall, but also beautifully resonating. It gave Arthur a sense of adventure, of hope, of dreams, and of possibility.
Anyone who saw it felt a desire to explore the world and to see everything it had to offer.
He never thought a building could instill these feelings in him but it did.
“…” Standing there, Arthur silently admired the building. “A place that fits the name… Horizon.” He muttered.
“What do you think Arthur?” Finlay asked curiously.
“About this?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Well, this… This is the future.”
Just a few words, but the meaning behind them was more than enough to make everyone stare at him.
“The world shall know us for what we are…”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3