Gabriel was only half a block from Lucy’s office, when he saw her standing in front of a coffee shop seemingly in an argument with his ex and her now boyfriend. “Pull over here, please” Gabriel ordered the Automated taxi. Gabriel exited the cab a little bit ahead and walked back towards Lucy. He caught snippets of the conversation as he got closer. “What is the point of being a Talent Agent if you aren't going to represent actual Talent!?” Melissa asked, her snide voice managed to penetrate above the hubbub of the busy sidewalk. “I told you Melissa, I am not taking on any new clients. I already have enough.” Lucy responded, by the tiredness in her voice it appeared she had been saying the same thing for a while now. “Just forget it Babe, she clearly wouldn’t know a good deal even if it hit her in the back of the head.” The drawl voice of Melissa’s new partner stated. Lucy was about to respond but stopped herself when she noticed Melissa’s eyes widen slightly; something coming up behind Lucy had stolen her attention. A shadow slowly started to spread up Lucy’s back, it appeared as something was attempting to swallow her. Lucy felt a presence standing directly behind her now and turned her head slightly to take a look over her shoulder. Gabriel’s toothy smile appeared in her vision. “Hey Lucy, Melissa and you’re... Titt, right?” Gabriel said, as he arrived next to Lucy. Gabriel held his hand out towards Melissa’s partner, a big smile and clear innocent looking eyes greeted the man. “It’s ToDD. And you’re Gabriel. Melissa has mentioned you once, I think.” Todd replied. Todd didn’t reach out to shake Gabriel’s hand, leaving it to hang in the air like a wet noodle. Gabriel brought it back with a shrug, he gave Melissa a small nod and turned to look at Lucy. “So, what’s happening? You appeared to be in a bit of a disagreement” Gabriel asked. “It’s nothing much Gabriel, Todd has just recently received a Guild Token in D.O. and is planning to start his Guild. It will be backed by his father’s company and Melissa wanted me to exclusively represent the Guild but as I told her on the phone yesterday. I already have enough clients and I don’t plan to take on anymore.” Lucy said, saying the last part while staring at Melissa. “I was just trying to do a friend a favor. Why is that so bad?” Melissa asked, Gabriel thought she was trying to put on an attempt to look sad but it just came out looking like she sucked a lemon. “It doesn’t matter Babe. With the Silver ranked Guild Token my party got, there will be hundreds of people wanting to represent Apex. Let your friend represent her little team of nobodies, when she comes begging in a couple of months, I might throw her a bone, a big bone.” Todd smugly replied, ending with a greasy wink at Lucy. “Ah crap! I forgot about the Pig!” Gabriel yelled, cutting off Lucy’s response to Todd’s innuendo. The mention of Babe, reminded Gabriel that he forgot to grab the boar for the Villagers after he killed the Lizardmen Chiefess. All three of them stared at Gabriel after his sudden outburst. “What...who are you calling a pig?” Todd spluttered; Gabriel had been staring through him as he his mind was suddenly elsewhere. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you Melissa, I was talking about another pig. Anyways, Lucy we better get going, I have that meeting soon and I need your dad’s help with some transactions.” Gabriel said, as he turned around began to walk away. Lucy offered the stunned pair a quick apology and walked after Gabriel with fast strides. They only had a small walk before reaching the office, Lucy stared at Gabriel the whole time. Gabriel felt her stare and gave her a raised eyebrow. “What? I didn’t mean to cut your conversation off so quick but I really do need to see your dad.” Gabriel explained. “You just called your ex-girlfriend, a woman who you use to wait on hand and foot, a Pig, not once but twice. Has D.O. changed you that much?” Lucy asked, the word suspicious, was almost floating out of her head as she looked at Gabriel. “Well... it’s not just that but I suppose it was one of the main causes. I honestly just realized one morning, that I wasn’t taking anything in my life seriously and everything that truly matters I took for granted.” Gabriel replied. In many ways it was true, in his past it wasn’t until he was close to losing everything and was being hounded every moment that it all hit him. He had squandered the best years of his life, trusted the wrong people, betrayed the right people and even arrogantly thought he reigned supreme for a time. It all culminated to his cold corpse being strung up and the last few people that mattered to him, be violently taken away. “I plan to make every moment count now. That’s why at times I might appear rushed but I just don’t want to live with any regret. You don’t get a second chance again, do you?” Gabriel finished with a small smile. “You are right, there are no do overs in life. That’s why my father has always said, if you have no other option but to jump, don’t just tip toe towards the edge. You have to take off running and leap as far as you can.” Lucy replied, as they entered the lobby elevator of her office building before she continued. “That’s also why I decided to start my own Agency. I didn’t want to work for some large company and watch as my hard work, would be taken away by someone higher up the chain than me. Then used as a platform for them to get rewarded. Like back in high-school and all through college too, any group projects I participated in. I would do all the work and the other lazy bastards would just leech off my effort.” Lucy vehemently said, her little nose scrunched up in anger. The pair waved at the receptionist as they passed her and made their way into Clint’s office. Clint was standing in one of his dapper looking three-piece outfits in the middle of the room. He had a lit cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth, it looked as if it was almost burnt down to the nub without him taking a puff, as he stared at a TV Screen attached to one of the walls. Noticing the two entering, he only shot them a small wave and continued to watch the T.V. Gabriel looked over and saw that Clint was watching a popular entertainment talk show, called Gramers Entitled. It was hosted by a popular TV presenter named Joseph Graham, he covered everything when it came to digital entertainment. Recently he had been showing non-stop clips of D.O. and interviewing popular players from previous virtual games that had switched over to D.O., Clint’s hawk eyed stare wasn’t on Joseph Graham though. It was on the person he was currently interviewing, Leonard Braxen. “So, tell me Leonard, what is it of D.O. that has made a business mogul such as yourself, want to not only invest financially in, but even join personally into the world of Deliverance Online?” Joseph Graham asked the large middle-aged man sitting across from him. The giant of a man, who was closer to his middle fifty’s but looked just on the cusp of forty, gave the presenter a charming smile. His piercing blue eyes felt, that even though you were seeing them through a screen, if he was to look directly at you, you would feel a sting in your own eyes. Leonard Braxen appearance could be easily described by one word, clean. Everything about him, from his clothes to his hair, was always in immaculate order. “In as brief as an answer I could give Joseph, there of course multiple layers for why a company or a single entity, would invest in a virtual reality. One of the main reasons when we are talking in relation to D.O., is its realism. This virtual world, once further explored, will be visited not just by the ones looking for adventure or action but by the people who just want to enjoy the world. Valhalla cannot be simply described by a word like beautiful, it is truly magical. I personally play it, as like many other hot-blooded Americans out there, I enjoy the freedom the world provides. Putting D.O. under the lens of a businessman though, I foresee a brand-new market for companies to expand in. With the world bank backing the currency alone had already seen a rise in people becoming rich overnight, which in the short term has helped multiple countries to see a rise in their own currency. Obviously, we could speak for hours on this subject but I know more of the reasons why, thousands upon thousands of people are joining D.O. every day, will become apparent soon enough.” Leonard replied. His words succinct and clear, a natural orator. “Thank you for your apt answer. I know from reading articles on you previously, that you are a man that usually likes to keep his thoughts close to his chest. So, I will get to the main reason you have agreed to partake in this interview. I, like many other players of D.O., have heard or even saw for themselves the announcement that you have officially started your guild Overlords, with a Gold ranked Guild token no less. A lot of people want to know what it takes to join your guild, one that you have announced will be personally led by you and your family?” Joseph Graham asked, even sitting forwards in his chair slightly in slight anticipation. “That is correct. Overlords will be personally led by me, there are also many higher positions in the guild we have left open for one to advance too. We will be using a widely used but trialled and true method for advancement, based on Guild contribution points. Braxen Co will also be the main contributor for our guild. Guild initiates can expect to be paid a weekly wage of $1000, that of course is just the starting wage, there is always room for increases and bonuses depending on your talent and contribution. Overlords main branch will be based in Stormhaven, however we already have plans in motion to set up Guild branches in all main cities. If you are in Stormhaven you can join our Guild tryouts this upcoming Saturday or apply on our new Overlords official website, you can also visit there for any further details.” Leonard said, he chose to talk directly at the screen when he started his pitch. “Fucking Charismatic prick.” Gabriel heard Clint mutter. “Well, you heard it here first folks, if you want to become a part of the world-wide recognized super company, Braxen Co, but don’t want to work in an office, join them fighting monsters, brewing potions or even fighting in large scale battles in Deliverance Online. I have one final question before you go Mr. Braxen. I have heard whispers of a couple of pro-gamers you have recruited recently but have you had any luck of attaining some of the new upcoming stars in D.O., like the enigmatic High-Elf Sorceress, Rosaline Thornswood or even the mysterious Giant slayer, Osiris?” Joseph Graham asked. Both Clint and Lucy, looked to Gabriel at the mention of his name but they found only a face devoid of emotion as he stared at the screen. His face appeared like granite, completely unmoving, the only thing that had a slight change was the flickering of colour in his purple/blue eyes. “I don’t want to say too much Joseph. Most of the new stars in Deliverance Online, are complete unknowns making it hard for a lot of interested parties to find them, for now at least. I have it, on good information though, that my people should be in contact with several of these players soon, we hope to offer them the best of conditions to join our up-and-coming guild” Leonard replied. “I cannot express my thanks enough Mr. Braxen, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come here.” Joseph Graham said, shaking hand with Leonard. “It was my pleasure.” Leonard said and even waved at the screen with a friendly smile, as he walked off screen. “Now we will be showing some videos from some recently new dungeons based in the Dwarven Kingdoms, also to keep you around, we will have a special announcement from Boundless Entertainment themselves that will affect the world of Valhalla greatly, stay tuned after these messages.” Joseph Graham said, the T.V. screen went black as Clint turned it off. “Do you think that’s true Gabriel? That the Braxen company thugs know who you are in real life or does he just mean they know your location in D.O.?” Clint asked, turning to Gabriel. “Most likely in game but could be IRL too. Either way their isn't much I can do for now but keep moving forwards. Speaking of moving things forwards, I have recently come into a large amount of Gold and need to sell off a lot of it. Can you help me again, Clint?” Gabriel said, his voice starting off cold but began to fill with life by the end. “Sure thing Gabriel, I will notify the accountant too. How much this time? Couple of thousand?” Clint asked while relighting his cigarette. “A little more, let’s say about 40,000 Gold.” Gabriel said with a toothy grin. “Well fuck me...” Clint’s muttered as he began to grin as well.