Chapter 169 – Union of Assassins
In the previous timeline, the Union of Assassins was an organization of professional players established by several famous figures. Its area of operations covered the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. Members included six Shadow Dancers, eight Guardian Paladins, eight Dark Berserkers, five Magisters, etc. It was fairly large, consisting of over 6,000 members, almost all of whom were elite experts.
Members ranged from guild leaders and top-ranking figures from major guilds to even solo players. The people who joined could be enemies or allies. So long as the person passed the criteria, they were welcomed with open arms.
The Union of Assassins was much more flexible than a guild.
It existed not to struggle over power in the game but rather to serve as an additional source of income for professional players. Its structure was divided into agent and client. Anyone who accumulated 60,000 points was qualified to become an agent, though they would have to pay a membership fee. If an agent was valuable enough to the union such as a Great Thief or Shadow Dancer, they would be eligible to receive a fixed salary. Of course, that meant they would have to accept a mission at least once every two weeks. As for clients, after paying a security deposit, they would receive certain qualifications based on the amount of money paid. If a client’s qualifications were high enough, they would even be able to get Shadow Dancers, Guardian Paladins, or other equally powerful players to throw their lives away for them.
Clients were differentiated by order of nobility: baron, viscount, earl, marquis, and duke. In the Union of Assassins’ heyday, receiving the lowest ranking title of baron required a person to donate at least several tens of thousands of yuan. The amount required to receive the highest ranking title, duke, was simply unimaginable. Because at that rank, the client would be able to commission the likes of Shadow Dancers.
The Union of Assassins accepted both real life money and in-game gold as forms of payment. Agents were responsible for answering the requests made by the clients.
An entity like the Union of Assassins would inevitably arise in the future. So why not take advantage of the situation and establish such a powerful organization for himself?
For operations to run smoothly, the Union of Assassins had to be flexible. No matter if an enemy wished to join as a client or agent, they couldn’t be refused entry. It was necessary to preserve the nature of fairness within the union. No restrictions would be placed on agents or clients. They were completely free. However, the two parties would never be allowed direct contact, ensuring that the union would be acting as an intermediary when handling requests. That way it would be able to draw a share of the earnings.
After some consideration, Nie Yan realized such a grand undertaking would require the coordination of multiple people. Furthermore, these individuals had to have very high prestige among the professional gaming circle!
He absolutely couldn’t accomplish it by himself. His network of contacts was far from being adequate.
As for suitable candidates, Sleepy Fox and Kill Love came to mind. He needed professional players of at least their statuses to make it succeed. In the future, the Union of Assassins would inevitably become a giant money-making machine. If Sleepy Fox and Kill Love agreed to help, they would undoubtedly want a share of those profits. Just thinking about the money he’d have to give up made his heart ache. However, if he didn’t secure the cooperation of those two, it would be impossible for him to properly establish the union.
He weighed the issue in his mind. If he established the Union of Assassins, he would have full administrative control of all its affairs. He could kick anyone, grant the highest authority, and so on. No one else would have that power. Even if Sleepy Fox and Kill Love took out a portion of the profits, he wouldn’t be losing out on much. In fact, he could even exploit this relation to bind them closer to him.
With that settled in his mind, Nie Yan got to work on establishing the Union of Assassins right away.
He created a dedicated chat server.
Name: Union of Assassins
Purpose: For all professional players and clients who have requests.
Leader: Anonymous
Prince: Currently vacant, possesses administrative privileges (5 Max)
He divided membership into clients and agents and created ranks based on the order of feudal nobility.
Finished with the initial tasks, he sent out invites to Sleepy Fox and Kill Love.
Sleepy Fox was levelling in the wilderness when he suddenly received a notification.
Nirvana Flame has invited you to join Union of Assassins (Special Server). Do you accept?
He felt quite puzzled. Just what in the world is he doing now?
Nevertheless, he still pressed confirm.
On the other side, Kill Love also entered.
Inside the server, three players joined the chat.
Sleepy Fox:「Nirvana Flame, what’s this about?」
Kill Love :「Huh?」
Nie Yan faintly smiled, then said in chat,「You’ll know when you read the description.」
With a doubtful gaze, Sleepy Fox read the server’s information. After only going through a small section, the Union of Assassins’ objective and rules, he soon understood what kind of organization it was.
「It’s a good idea,」Kill Love praised.
「Not bad…」Sleepy Fox nodded in approval.
「Right, so you guys should start recruiting,」Nie Yan said. He assigned Sleepy Fox and Kill Love the role of prince.
Sleepy Fox pondered for a moment before asking,「If this org starts generating profit, how are we going to divide it?」Based on his insight, he could tell with a glance just what kind of influence the Union of Assassins would have, as well as how much revenue it could potentially generate in the future.
Kill Love:「I think so too.」
「Make a suggestion,」Nie Yan answered. He had already registered the Union of Assassins’ symbol, but if Sleepy Fox and Kill Love decided they wanted to withdraw and establish a similar organization of their own together, there was nothing he could really do about it. However, he felt confident the two would weigh the risks and benefits. It was better to stand united than to fall divided.
「Both Kill Love and I get 20% each. How does that sound?」Sleepy Fox offered, trying to test the waters. The organization was established by Nie Yan. Since the other side invited him out of trust, he didn’t feel good asking for too much. Furthermore, he still wasn’t clear on how deep Nie Yan’s connections went. His mysterious background had always acted as a source of deterrence. Back when Holy Empire was struggling to do Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Easy and Normal, the team behind Nie Yan had already cleared it on Specialist.
His speculations had led to a beautiful misunderstanding.
「You and Kill Love get 15% each. Choose a suitable candidate to become a prince, and they’ll get 10%. As for how the shares are divided, you guys will have to keep that confidential. Within the server, you’ll have to hide your names!」Nie Yan said. Having three big shots in the same place would make sure they would keep each other in check. Then, in the future, he could take advantage of the immense benefits of the Union of Assassins to restrict them. So if a power decided to withdraw, it wouldn’t have too much of a negative impact on the organization.
Nie Yan had already drawn up all the rules for the Union of Assassins. He would be able to see the names of everyone in the organization. The princes would be able to see the names of all members below them but not each other. Everyone else would remain anonymous to each other.
Nie Yan invited Tang Yao and Guo Huai to the server and set their names to hidden.
With them, the Union of Assassins would have five princes. Sleepy Fox and Kill Love also felt endlessly bewildered as they wondered about the identities of the two other princes.
「Who are they?」
「That’s a secret,」Nie Yan replied. He had especially reminded Guo Huai and Tang Yao not to reveal their identities on the server.
Since Nie Yan didn’t wish to say it, they wouldn’t feel good asking further.
「I think we can get Fa Lan to join,」Sleepy Fox suggested. That old man from Sapphire Shrine was an influential figure. His deep network of contacts would be beneficial for the organization’s growth. The person being recruited would have to at least be worth the 10% they were given.
「I think so too.」Kill Love nodded.
「I guess it’s decided then, Fa Lan it is,」Nie Yan said. Sapphire Shrine’s might indeed couldn’t be overlooked, especially when they were likely to produce three Magisters in the future. They were an ultimate trump card.
After a while, Fa Lan was invited to the Union of Assassins. After finding out what it was all about, he praised them for their creativity. He had great expectations for the growth of the organization.
In the previous timeline, the leader of the Union of Assassins’ identity always remained a riddle. The mysterious figure had never divulged his name. Nie Yan decided to also keep his identity a secret. Anonymity brought along many advantages, and it allowed a person to avoid unnecessary trouble.
According to the rules of the union, all princes would have to invite a certain number of agents and clients. Sleepy Fox, Kill Love, and Fa Lan all began recruiting people. Under Nie Yan’s urging, Guo Huai also began sending out invites to various well-known individuals.
One after the other, professional players successively joined the Union of Assassins.
The chat server rapidly filled up with people. Among them was no lack of famous players. When they first joined, they were confused, but they would quickly figure out the purpose of the organization. After which they would hardly be stingy in giving out their praise. If the Union of Assassins became successful, it would be a huge boon for them. In the future, they would be able to receive plenty of worth without having to look all over for clients themselves.
Sleepy Fox, Kill Love, and the others were well aware that if the Union of Assassins gained a foothold, it would be far more profitable than them starting a gaming org to accept requests on players’ behalfs or selling equipment. So they were pulling in a good portion of customers in. The Union of Assassins’ clientele also began growing.
In just a short hour, the number of agents in the Union of Assassins already reached over 600, while there were over 100 clients. The first requests began to be placed on the server. They consisted of helping players on quests, killing boss monsters, and so on. If a person wanted a famous player to help them level, the amount of money they needed to pay was quite considerable. If a client made a request, they would have to deposit the money in the Union of Assassins’ bank account. When the request was fulfilled and the client was satisfied, the money would be given to the agent. It was equivalent to an online service platform. By fulfilling many requests and earning money for the union, an agent would be able rise up through the ranks and take on more lucrative tasks.
In a short while, the server was bustling with activity. With Sleepy Fox and the others supervising, Nie Yan could simply sit back and relax.
Though this was only the beginning, they already recruited so many members. As the business expanded, with its reputation growing accordingly, so would the number of people joining.
When the Union of Assassins was fully developed, that was the time they would be able to swim in piles and piles of gold. Its prospects were very bright.