"Hey pup.. How are you?" Asked Daniel with a big smile.
Wolfie took a few steps towards him, then, he dashed away, and started to run around the large metallic cave, causing millions of sparks to lighten the area, and shrill noises to reverberate in the surroundings.
"Don't mind his behaviour.. I think he is simply sharpening his claws.. I doubt he has an idea of how to simply modify his body." Said a disembodied voice that came from the entrance of the cave.
Daniel turned around, and there, he found Leffe and Buriath. "Is that something that metal elementals usually do?" He asked.
The two human-like elementals showed an embarrassed expression for a moment, then, Leffe responded by saying "It's not like humans don't do silly things when they are young.."
"Fair enough.. hehe" Said Daniel, as a big smile appeared on their faces. "How are things going in the city?"
"Nothing much to complain about. A few criminal groups come out every now and then, but we are able to take them out easily. We have decided to limit the birth of new elementals of our two kinds, as due to the perfect spheres that we have.. We were growing at too high rates. We only use them to cultivate now." Responded Leffe with a satisfied tone.
After Leffe finished speaking, Buriath joined by saying "There is only a minor worry around the city. We have heard from Ligart that the prices of the spheres will increase. People are worried that they will be paid less for their work."
"Tell them not to worry about that. Their workload didn't change, and so will their revenue." Responded Daniel calmly. "How are Roley and Jerigh doing?"
"Roley had nothing much to learn from us, and Jerigh insisted on starting with metal essence.." Responded Buriath with his usual serious tone.
"Very well. I'll leave things to the two of you." Said Daniel before teleporting away once again.
-----
Five days later.
In these past five days, Daniel's company had seen a huge decrease in profits.
They were forced by the collective's regulations to increase their prices up to their standards, causing their customers to turn to the closest shop instead of their.
This had also caused them to be unable to buy as many treasures as before, and by extent, to have less product to sell.
As it was now, the only advantage their company had against the others that operated in the same field, was the speed in which they completed the orders where a customer would required for a sphere to be produced by using their own treasure.
Of course, these changes did not affect Daniel or his group that much, after all, they had the potential to deal in various fields, as compared to most companies, they had the work of an entire city to monetize.
His castle's library had been opened for citizens to visit, and the experts had already started to pass down their knowledge to the younger generations in fields like alchemy, enchantment, blacksmith, and others.
The various cultivated fields were enough to sustain the main city and its surrounding villages, and the excessive products were sold in their shops within the capital, and in their company building.
Many representatives of external companies that were part of the collective had come to visit the Golden Karma company. They would bring gifts, be treated as guests, and be sent on their way as kindly as possible, after all, Emelnie, whose job was to worry about the relationship between companies, had already guessed that these representatives were sent for no reason but to scout their level of operation.
Everybody was doing the job they were supposed to, and everything was going smoothly.
Daniel had spent the past few days trying to better his comprehension of the essences, and cultivate. He had managed to reach the peak of the fourth stage of immortal cultivation thanks to the use of a few high crystal.
He had decided not to push through the fourth stage though, as he didn't want to spend too much of the money left in the company's treasury for himself.
It was now time for the game organized by the collective, and the venue, which was built for the occasion right outside of the city, had already started to fill in.
The collective was formed by companies, and therefore, they didn't simply limit themself to the creation of a competition. Instead, they made a proper fair, in which the thousands of companies could be publicised and in which people could spend their money.
The game between the companies was simply the main event, and everybody could spectate it by purchasing a ticket, and entering the oval-shaped stadium that had been created for the occasion by the companies which dealt in metal, wood, and earth essences.
This stadium was massive, and it could hold at least a hundred and fifty thousand people. It had been built through the manipulation of the elements, and was therefore, despite the fact that it would be taken down after the event, potentially permanent.
Built underneath the stadium, was a massive hall, in which the thousands of participants, along with one of their elders, interacted amongst each other. Edmund, Jerigh and Roley were the representatives for Daniel's group.
Halfway up the stands, was the floor reserved for the heads of the various companies. Inside it, the thousands of company leaders, along with a few more representatives, interacted while enjoying a sumptuous refreshment.
Daniel as the leader, Emelnie as the person in charge of the company's image and relationship between companies, and Alesia as one of the future inheritors of the company, were the three that had decided to presentiate to this gathering of leaders.
"You must be Mr. Hiel.. It is a pleasure to meet you. My company has heard much about you, and about your spectacular variety of products." Said a very old woman, accompanied by a middle aged woman that seemed to be around fifty, and a girl that appeared to be not older than twenty, to Daniel.
The three of them looked like each other, and it was clear that they were grandma, mother, and Daughter.
"Please, call me Dan. I don't deserve to be called mister by my elders." Responded Daniel with a polite smile.
The old woman, clearly impressed by Daniel's good manners, smiled sweetly, and said "I am the founder and previous president of the 'Healing Touch' company, and these are my daughter, the current president, and my granddaughter. We deal in.."
"In healing pills, enchantment, and on a smaller scale, alchemy, light, and time spheres. Of course, I've heard of your company as well." Said Daniel, interrupting the old woman's presentation. He then pointed at his entourage, and said "These are Emelnie, our company chief of communication and public relations, and one of our future administratives, her daughter Alesia."
Once again, the old lady was impressed by Daniel's preparation. She looked at him with attention, and after noticing something in the way he looked, spoke of, and presented Alesia, a feeble thought in her head disappeared. Instead, she said "I have heard of your beauty by my grandson. He never stops talking about the platinum blonde beauty that has recently joined 'The Superior Alchemy'. I can see why now, and that your beauty is clearly inherited."
After a few compliments, Daniel and the old lady talked about the possibility of future collaborations, and finally, they bid farewell.
In the five hours before the beginning of the main event of the competition, the three of them had to endure many of these kinds of encounters.
At some point, Daniel noticed a middle aged couple.
Both of the man and the woman looked depressed, and didn't seem like they were happy about being present to this big event, at all. From the woman's eyes, Daniel could see that she had spent the past few days crying, while the man, moved and interacted in an apathetic way.
Due to the sheer amount of participants, to each person had been given a small patch with the name of their company, and their logo sewn on it.
On the chest of these two individuals, was a family crest with a single word written on a red bow. This word, spelled the name Helvha, and indicated that the two belonged to the Helvha family.
It didn't take long for Daniel to remember where he had read the name Helvha.
The Helvha family was one of the many groups that had fallen victim to one of the assassinations that had been commissioned to the broker.
The reason why these two people were here, was because they were the heads of the Helvha family, and according to the logbook, the person which belonged to their family which had been killed, was the young mistress of their family.
This explained the state of the couple, after all, they had recently lost a daughter to what looked like a vicious robbery.
Daniel approached the frantic couple, which noticed him after he reached five meters of distance, and turned to look at him.
"Who are you?" Asked the man.
"I don't want to bother, but I've recognized the name and the crest of your family from your patch. I only came to give you my deepest condolences for your loss." Said Daniel while showing genuine compassion to the two of them.
The woman placed a hand on her husband's back to calm him down, and said "Thank you, Mr. Hiel."
"You know me?" Asked Daniel with faint surprise.
"Of course.. You've caused quite a stir within the collective. Even if you haven't caused a big damage, you would have, had you grown further, and continued to operate on your own." Responded the woman through a forced smile.
The surprised disappeared from Daniel's face, leaving space to stern expression. "I would have liked to see how much my company could have grown on its own, unfortunately, these are dark times. After that attack to my company.. You can understand me."
Deep confusion appeared on the man's face, which said "What do you mean by that?"
Daniel pretended a hint of embarrassment, and said "Well, I have heard the rumor that your daughter has been assassinated by one of her love rivals.. If I am mistaken, I am terribly sorry."
The moment these words left Daniel's mouth, the hearts of the two stopped in unison. Their faces filled with shock, and it seemed that they had came to a sudden realization.
Daniel could see the rage grow steadily within the man's blue watery eyes. Which was only interrupted after he heard his voice once again. "The competition is about to start.. If you need anything, do come and look for me. I might have a few more comforting words for you."
The middle aged couple took a deep breath, and after taking in Daniel's words, they nodded at him, and watched as he walked away.
Since the moment Daniel had seen the various hit jobs in the broker's logbook, he had already decided that he would share these information with the victims. Unfortunately, he could not be too obvious about it.
This time, he had decided to pretend that he had heard a false rumor about their daughter being killed for a matter of love.
Some people might have thought that Daniel was incredible insensitive for saying something like that, but to the victim's parents, which knew the story to a much deeper level, what Daniel had said was not an insult, but a revelation instead.
The two quickly realized that there was a possibility that what Daniel had said, could be what had actually happened.
Finally, the last words pronounced by Daniel, convinced the two of them that he was actually trying to tell them something, and that he wasn't a simple insensitive youth with false information.
The moment Daniel walked away from the couple, a person appeared in the middle of the stage.
This person was well dressed, and seemed to be around forty years of age. He was good looking, and possessed a good build, but despite all of his qualities, Daniel's eyes were drawn by a single smaller detail.. The missing ring finger on his right hand.