Toby enjoyed the peace of the early morning sun as he strolled across the plaza towards the newly finished guild house. They had been at it until late last night to finish it off, so he wanted to spend some time alone to think everything over a bit today before he got swept away again.

He'd gone from a nobody looser on earth to a master of what was supposedly going to be a major player in this part of the Nexus.

And this was only his third day here. The expectations put on his shoulders felt both exhilarating and incredibly scary at the same time. Would he be able to do it? There was so much at stake that a feeling of panic constantly threatened to burst out of him.

Drawing a deep breath to steel his resolve, Toby passed through the door under the shiny new sign with the guild name, adorned with the guild banner and motto.

“olim fuerat. futura prospera” It read. So fitting for someone like me Toby mused. “Once out, prosperous future”

It really summed up how he had felt. Locked up in a life with no chance at prospering.

He'd had to deal with always falling short, having victory snatched from his hands again and again due to his medical condition.

He'd even missed out on graduation day. Spending it in a hospital instead of partying it up with the rest of the gang. He had even gotten best in class, but he wasn't even there to receive the price.

Not to mention all the job's he'd lost over the years when inevitably, employers found out about it.

Toby sighed. The last job hadn't even been any good. Pay sucked, but at least he hadn't been on social welfare. 2 years was a record for him though. Most jobs were at temp agencies, and lasted only months at best.

He had suspected that the temp agency kept informing the employers about his condition. Despite his best efforts, those jobs never turned into something solid, except that delivery job.

The boss had been a great guy. He had known about it, but as long as Toby did the job and kept his drivers license, it wasn't an issue for him.

It hadn't lasted ofc. It was only a matter of time before his condition struck again, and strike it did. Another round with doctors, nurses, neurologists, Scans, and probing. Followed by new drugs.

The story of his life was all about the medications.

He hadn't even been able to take a beer for those last 2 years before all this stuff happened. It was no wonder he went all the way into a stupor that first night with Urist and Ortho. He finally could enjoy his favorite poison again. The very thought brought a big smile to his face.

“Aaahhh!! It only took the extinction of the human species to cure me” He laughed out loud while spreading his arms.

“I'm dead and out, Now I can finally prosper.”

“What are you talking about” A feminine voice startled him out of his happy reverie.

Toby swirled around just to see Alice sitting on a corner of the big table they had added in the board room of the guild. He had walked all the way there so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed where he was.

“I was just reminiscing about my life before I died and got turned into whatever it is I am now” He replied.

“You are not dead” Alice pointed out the seemingly obvious.

“I'm not, but the former me is,” He countered. “Continuity or not, I am no longer have a living breathing body, thus I am dead.”

“Does that thought bother you then?” Alice asked with a seemingly puzzled expression.

“Not in the least. you see, my life sucked, and I died.” He said with a frown.

It really didn't bother him at all. In fact, he was fine, no more than fine. He was quite happy about it. Literally reborn into a new world.

“The key element here, is that this ghost has been given a chance at not only a new start, but been given a massive starting boost. Propelling me forward in a way that the old me could never have been,” he said while pointing at himself.

“I guess I have you and the end of the world to thank for that right?” he finished.

The silence stretched out while Toby waited for Alice's response. She seemed to be in deep thought at what he had just said.

“I might have helped out a bit” she admitted. “But I stand to gain as much from this as you do.”

“Maybe it was some kind of fate that brought you to me then,” Toby countered with a wide smile.

“I've been given a huge opportunity here, and I do intend to grab it with both my hands and hold on for dear life.”

“Shouldn't that be 'dear death' Toby?” Urist asked while walking in on them. A big grin evident on his face.

“Do ghost even have hands to hold onto anything with?” Ortho added as he walked in right behind Urist. Practically mirroring his grin.

“Good questions my friends. Good questions that I have no answer to,” Toby laughed. They were pretty good people his new friends. Fate had indeed intervened on his behalf.

He looked forward to getting to know them better in the years to come, but right now they had business to attend to.

“Are we ready to commence the first board meeting then?” He said, changing the topic to the order of the day.

“Yes we are,” Ortho said while finding his seat.

Toby walked to the end of the table and sat down in the guild masters seat.

Toby looked at them in turn, gathering up his wits, then proclaimed. “The first board meeting of the guild is now in session. Alice If you will?”

“Why certainly” She answered before she went trough the current guild situation. Toby found the whole process pretty boring, especially since he already knew everything from beforehand. He was there doing the work alongside her after all.

“And the bottom line is, That we are now ready for operation, but flat out broke” Alice finished with a grimace.

Toby nodded and retook the word “Thank you Alice, Then onto you Ortho, How is the status of our quests?”

“We have completed the Guild HQ, quest, and the reward has been spent on the new quest board in the situation room.” Ortho began.

"Our current active quest is Destiny's dice. A quest that rewards us for getting the required world created.”

“As of now, we have 2 locked quests awaiting the creation of the new world, so that one is our top priority.”

“The reward is going to become very useful as well, we get 10 civ starter kit's."

Those are worth a lot of credits if we are to sell the ones that are left over when we have gotten the first civilizations going.”

“The last locked quest” Ortho sighed “Is an obligatory survey quest to find a starting spot for humans. Thus unlocking the ability to spawn them in from a custom spawnpool unique for the main quest”.

“Thank you for the report Ortho” Toby thanked him.

“So where do we go from here then?” Toby asked. “What options do we have for getting that world created, and how do we finance it?”

“We need an experienced world creation Team” Urist answered. “I know a few candidate teams, But they are expensive.”

“Everything about this endeavor is expensive” Ortho sighed dejectedly. “We need sponsors badly”.

“We could sell space on the world” Alice shot in. “Some P2W whales can fund a world in no time if we find the right ones.”

Toby really didn't like P2W schemes. It tended to end up with games where only the rich ones had a good time, and everyone else got to suffer.

As if reading his expression Alice hurried to add “We owe the draconian's money already. They are big on using credits so they can have an easy life hoarding trinkets and watching everyone else duke it out from the safety of their lairs.”

“It would allow us to pay for the world, and maybe cover some of that debt before they use it as leverage against us, forcing us to accept their Pay to win shenanigans anyway, at less favorable terms for us”

She was making too much sense. Toby guessed he had to have a meeting with them sooner rather than later. Maybe he could negotiate some terms that wouldn't ruin the worlds balance too much.

“Alright, We'll consider it, or at least have a meeting with them about it,” Toby said while raising his arms.

“Good, Because they have already asked for a meeting, preferably today.” Alice said with that predatory toothy grin she sometimes exhibited when she got what she wanted.

As usual, Alice was the one who was truly in control, and there was nothing Toby could do but hope that she was truly on his side.”

“I guess we should consider other factions too then?” Toby tossed out there.

“I guess so” Ortho nodded.

"We should add the Damonian heggemony to the list of possible sponsors” Urist added to the list of candidates.

“You just want your damn circus” Ortho replied in a surprisingly heated tone. “I hate those people, They only want to take over the whole world.”

“Spoilsport”, Urist countered with a grin. “you can't have a fortress without a circus full of clowns down below.”

Toby stopped them before it could get out of hand. “I've played enough dwarf fortress to understand what you desire Urist, But we need a very secure foothold before we can add demons or whatever to that world.”

Toby had no intention of adding any would be conquerors to the world until the quest was at least half complete, no matter how well they payed for the privilege. This quest was the guilds life line after all, and it has to succeed no matter what.

“Alright.” Toby started, changing the topic to something safer.

“We need to get the show on the road, Urist, can you take responsibility for setting up a team for creating that world?”

“Sure thing Toby” Urist quipped. “I have already given it plenty of thought. Just get some money in the bank, and we can have a world up in a week or so”.

“That's good” Toby sighed with relief. At least one thing was going to go fairly easily.

“Alice, I need you to brief me on those Draconian's before I meet them, I need all the leverage I can get if we are to not be screwed over on any deal”.

“I will have you up to speed in an hour max.” she replied.

The look she gave Toby told him everything he really needed to know. This was going to go the way she had planned from the get go.

“I'm putting you in charge of the day to day running of the reception Ortho. We need capable people to greet and meet our future customers” Toby said as he finished delegating tasks.

Ortho simply nodded his ascent, but he did look pleased. Toby wondered a bit about what type of personality lurked under that preternatural calm and easygoing demeanor of his.

He hadn't seen Ortho raise his voice even once before now. Even when he was drunk as a sailor on leave did he show anything other than amusement and calm. There had to be a story behind Orthos distaste for the Damonian heggemony, but he'd have to pump his friend for that story later.

With Alice on administration, Urist on development, and Ortho on service, they were set to open the doors for visitors. Although Toby did feel that it probably wasn't enough. How many races would there be on that world by the end of the year at this rate? All of them?

He pushed the thoughts aside. Now he had a meeting to prepare for. Who would have thought he would become a businessman like this.

“alright guys. Meeting adjourned. Let's work hard now, and play even harder later.” He finished. Finally ending the ordeal called board meetings.

“Yes guild master” The gang replied in unison before standing up to do their delegated tasks.

Guild Quest board: Quest name: description Status Extra information Requirements for completion The Lost children of Terra Your Guild has to save all the people who rejected simulation earth. And are in danger of irrevocably having their minds harmed by it. Awaiting obligatory side quest completion People saved: 0/ 2.125.892 Saving the current batch of people in need of extraction from the earth simulation Destiny's dice You can't rule a world that does not exist. Create a world for your lost children. Active Reward: 10 civilization starter kits. A world created that can support a human civilization Manifest destiny 1 Make a civilization to stand the test of time Pending Reward: 1000 credits Start a civilization with a capital and 5 villages. Total population of at least 5000 Surveyor of the land Find a place for the lost children of Terra to live and thrive locked Reward: Unlocks access to the Lost children of Terra population pool Find an embark location to start the first settlement of humans.