Chapter 2: Providence's Blessing or the Devil's Temptation?

Author's note: I'm gonna be using the handle 'Marth' for the MC until he finishes talking with Kyle, then I will resume using "MC" as 'Marth' isn't his name. Also I've elaborated on the dialog to improve understanding of how it is said.

Just as I thought, not even two seconds pass after I hung up and already my phone is vibrating again.

*Fu…*

‘Is there no escaping it then? Well at least the conversation itself will kill some time and hopefully I will be able to talk my way out of it.’

I answer the phone and bring it to my ear once again.

Marth: “Hello?” I say annoyance coloring my voice.

Kyle: “Why do you have to be so mean~” Kyle says in a singsong voice.

Marth: “What did you want to ‘talk’ about?” I ignore his provocation.

Kyle: “Oh? Now you want to talk…” He says sounding offended.

Marth: “I can hang up again.” I threaten.

Kyle: “No wait!” Panic can be heard in his voice.

Marth: “I am waiting.” I say calmly, but traces of annoyance lace my words.

Kyle: “Can we start the conversation over again and let bygones be bygones?” He pleads.

Marth: “Stranger, I will allow it, for now.” I consent. But I remain suspicious of his motives.

Kyle: “Thank you very much, Sir Marthykins of the Welshire~” Again in his singsong voice.

Before the readers get the wrong idea I need to make some things clear. First, I am not a knight of anything and I have never done anything to be knighted. Second, I am not from the Welshire, and third, I am not a hobbit.

Now that is cleared up that, I will explain briefly why he calls me that. My ‘friend’ Kyle, is what you stereo-typically call an "Asshole." He enjoys pressing people’s buttons and seeing how they react.

In my youth, I use to get mad when Kyle called me 'Marthykins' so being the asshole he is, continued to use it when addressing me. Long story short, I mellowed out and stopped caring and then other people I knew from online started calling me that, so the name stuck.

The variation that Kyle just used was just one of the multiple ways he tried to get a rise out of me, but me being the super mellow guy that I am, embraced this new nickname wholeheartedly and he got depressed that it didn’t piss me off. So it was my win. Anyways, it’s now more of an inside joke than anything else, but I digress.

Marth: “Hello Kyle.” I say calmly.

Kyle: “Hello Marthykins, how was your day?” He also says normally.

Marth: “Can’t complain. How was yours?” I reply to his comment and pose him the same question.

Kyle: “Wonderful Sunshine. Absolutely wonderful.” He says sarcastically.

Marth: “Sounds fun.” I say equally as sarcastic.

Kyle: “Well when you work three jobs, and only get a few hours of sleep each night, you can tell me how fun it is.” He says his tone serious.

Marth: “Are the pleasantries done?” I ask, boredom and annoyance laced my voice.

Kyle: “Yes.” He says normally.

Marth: “Then can we move on to the main subject?” I ask him trying to move the conversation along.

Kyle: “Why the rush Sir Marthykins?” He questions me, saying my nickname in his singsong voice.

Marth: “Because if I don’t remind you, you will most likely forget.” I say completely serious. Anyone could hear the annoyance dripping from my voice.

Kyle: “Oh. Right. Anyway have you heard about the new virtual reality game Royal Road?” He says normally again.

Marth: “Yes, it’s all the rage now-a-days apparently.” I say sarcastically.

Kyle: “Then did you know that I applied to get in as a beta tester?” He asks me his voice serious.

Marth: “Good luck.” I wish him the best.

Kyle: “Thank you, but I submitted your name instead of mine.” He says still serious.

Marth: “… What.” I say after a moment to let his words sink in.

Kyle: “You heard me~” He says in his singsong voice.

Marth: “One question: Why?” Slight confusion can be heard in my voice as I ask my question.

Kyle: “It’s for the Project, Marth. That final 1%. Just 1% more and the pet project I started working on 8 years ago will finally be complete. With this opportunity I give you the chance to get that final 1%, because we both know that it won’t happen in the real world." His voice suddenly serious again.

Marth: “Kyle.” I say serious.

Kyle: “Yes Marthykins?” His voice light and cheerful. From his tone I knew immediately he was trying to hide something or is lying to me.

Marth: “I know you didn't just drop 13 grand on me just so I can complete that 1%. You don’t have that kind of money available to you. Who else helped fund this little ‘investment’ and what type of return are they seeking.” I say completely serious.

Kyle: “Damn. I hoped you would be overwhelmed by gratitude and not notice that.” Kyle sighs.

Marth: “I am not as naïve as I once was.” I say annoyance once more apparent in my voice.

Kyle: “So I've noticed.” Kyle sighs again.

Marth: “Kyle.” I say, my voice icy.

Kyle: “Fine, fine. Basically I persuaded the entire crew to help out and everyone chipped in some.” Kyle finally confesses.

Marth: “You leaving out the most important thing.” My voice still icy.

Kyle: “And what is that Marthykins?” His voice light and cheerful again.

Marth: “What interest rate are you guys going to be charging me?” My voice grew colder still.

Kyle: “They said I can decide on what would be appropriate.” He says normally.

Marth: “And that is?” I ask him, my tone no longer as icy but still cold.

Kyle: “40%?” He offers.

Marth: “2%.” I counter offer.

Kyle: “30%?” He revises his offer.

Marth: “5%.” I raise my offer slightly.

Kyle: “25%?” He lowers his offer once again.

Marth: “3%.” I say dropping offer lower than my previous one.

Kyle: “20% and that is as low as I am willing to go.” His voice had a finality to it, but I knew better.

Marth: “No deal. Time to write a disclaimer.” I say dismissing the whole offer.

Kyle: “Fine. 15% and no lower!” Kyle lowers his offer trying to entice me.

Marth: “Good bye Kyle.” It didn't work and I refuse his new deal.

Kyle: “Wait! 12%!” Panic can now be heard in his voice as he offers an even lower deal.

Marth: “I am hanging up now.” Which I decline once again along with a threat.

Kyle: “No wait! 10%!” The panic finally sets in and he starts pleading with me.

Marth: “How am I supposed to pay back 13 thousand with 10% interest when I have no adequate source of income? No deal.” I refute his offer and giving him solid reasoning why he is asking the impossible.

Kyle: “9% and you can pay us back with in-game money.” He gives an new offer in panic and gives me an alternative payment method as well.

Marth: “And do what? Gimp myself out of most of my growth due to lack of money while you live pretty off my sweat and blood? No thank you.” I smile as I know the end draws near, and refuse his offer once more with more solid reasoning.

Kyle: “7%! That’s my final offer.” His panic has reached an all time high as he gives me his "final offer".

Marth: “How do you expect me to get that 1% if I have to spend all my time grinding money for interest payments? Thanks but no thanks.” I say refuting his offer once again with a reasoning he can't refute as it was his whole premise of purchasing the capsule and subscription for me in the first place.

Kyle: “You are driving a hard bargain this time.” Kyle says sighing for a third time.

Marth: “As I said, I am not as naïve as I once was. I will no longer be your willing cash cow.” I say my voice growing colder by the word.

Kyle: “Aw Marthykins, you don’t mean that~” He says in his singsong voice.

Marth: “You just want me to owe you something, don’t you? Just so you can lord it over me? Is that it?” My voice colder than ever before.

Kyle: “You don’t know that~” His voice light and cheerful.

Marth: “I knew it.” Mr Freeze would approve of my voice right now.

Kyle: “You know nothing. You see nothing. Good day sir!” He says mimicking the way the source says it.

Marth: “Yep.” I say calmly and hang up the phone.

*click*

I hang up the phone and place it on the table.

I mentally sigh. ‘While I might have delayed the inevitable, I have at least bought some more time and hopefully positioned myself in a stronger negotiating position.’

I ignore the next call which was from Kyle as I plugged in my headphones into my laptop and started up a game I was still working through. It was a very grind-y game and due to Finals, I couldn't give it the attention it deserved.

‘At most this game will eat only 100 more hours of my time. It is still not enough to fill my summer though. Now if I took Kyle’s offer… and got Royal Road… No. I must not be tempted. There must be additional strings attached besides the unspecified interest rate. And if I play that game and HE awakens… I just can’t let my guard down.” I mentally sigh again.

Phone: “Hey listen!” (Imagine this is navi's voice.)

Marth: “Can it Navi, I am in the middle of a battle. I’ll answer you after I’m done.”

Phone: “Hey listen! Hey listen!”

Marth: “Done. Now let’s see what Kyle’s messages are.”

Kyle:

*Fu…*

‘My terms, huh.’

I type the following messages and send them to Kyle.

With that sent I resume my game.

Two hours later, my phone went “Hey listen”. Since I was at a saving point, I saved my game and exited out. I looked at his text.

Kyle:

*Fu…*

‘I am sighing way too much over this.’

I open TeamSpeak and connect to the server that Kyle runs for others. I scroll through the rooms and see him in his room. I double click it to enter.

Marth: “Kyle.” I say calmly.

Kyle: “Hnnn what I do? Oh, it’s just Marth.” Kyle says offhandedly as he recognizes my voice.

Marth: “You said to get on for further details, so here I am.” My voice still calm, no annoyance can be heard in my voice yet.

Kyle: “So here you are, huh.” He says softly.

Marth: “Kyle.” My tone serious.

Kyle: “Yes, what I do?” He says in confusion.

Marth: “I guess there is no deal then.” I say resignation in my voice.

Kyle: “Aw, you’re no fun~” He says in his singsong voice.

Marth: “Good bye Kyle.” I say calmly.

Kyle: “I guess you don’t value our friendship anymore.” You could hear despair in his voice, but I won't be fooled.

Marth: “Yep.” I say and leave the channel.

[You have left the channel] I return to my own "room" on the server.

[Friend has entered your channel]

Kyle: “I am depressed. Marthykins doesn't value our friendship.” His voice still containing despair, but he still manages to say my nickname in his singsong voice. Tired of his bullshit I threaten him.

Marth: “You are avoid the main topic, and if you continue to do so I will block you on Skype, put your phone number on ignore, remove and black list your e-mail, ignore you on all games we use to play together, and never come on TeamSpeak ever again.” My voice as cold as ice.

Kyle: “So harsh~” His voice was light and cheerful.

Marth: “One.” My voice lost all trace of inflection and became monotone.

Kyle: “Okay fine. I’ll talk about the main topic… what was it again?”

Marth: “Two.” My voice remained in monotone.

Kyle: “Ah yes the details of the loan terms. I talked to the others and they said they wanted 5%.” He suddenly realized I was serious and the conversation finally began in earnest.

Marth: “Compounding?” I ask my voice regaining its natural sound.

Kyle: “Obviously.” He says as if it was the natural course of things. It was but that is besides the point.

Marth: “Annually?” I ask him.

Kyle: “Here’s the thing, they wanted semi-annually.” He says softy, trying to say it without me hearing it. Unfortunately for him I do hear it.

Marth: “So 2.5% interest every six months compounding.” I say resolutely.

Kyle: “No they wanted 5% every 6 months.” He tries to correct me.

Marth: “That is over 10% in interest payments annually. My cap is 5% annually, any higher and the deal is automatically refused.” I say refusing the deal if it is only 5%.

Kyle: “I understand.” He quotes Charlie Sheen.

Marth: “Do you do you really?” I ask doubtfully.

Kyle: “I understand.” He says again.

Marth: “Moving on. As for the principal of the loan?” I ask him, moving the conversation along.

Kyle: “The consensus was for the cost of the capsule to be initial loan amount, while the prepayment of the 12 months of subscription fees be the group’s gift to you.” He says after a few seconds.

Marth: “I see. What about the subscription costs after the first 12 months?” I ask him.

Kyle: “Um…” He hesitates.

Marth: “Kyle.” My voice growing colder.

Kyle: “They wanted to add that into the principal amount as it is incurred.” He says softly again trying to say it without me hearing it.

Marth: “That is fine but the principal only increases when the interest payment is due, and interest is only calculated on the previous principle amount. Am I making myself clear? I tell him.

Kyle: “Clear as mud.” He says. His confusion apparent in his voice. Since he doesn't understand I elaborate.

Marth: “Basically I will pay interest at the end of month 18 only to the tune of 2.5% of the principal balance that was in existence on month 12. And on month 24 I will pay interest on the interest on the principal at the end of month 18 which included the first 6 months of subscription fee. And so on and so forth. Is it clear now?” I ask him.

Kyle: “Crystal.” He says calmly.

Marth: “Good.” I say satisfied that I was understood.

Kyle: “The group said there would be no interest payments for 18 months…” Kyle starts saying the next part of the terms but I cut him off.

Marth: “No, there will be NO interest accrued at all for the first 12 months. The first payment will be at the end of the 18th month. If they don’t accept this there is no deal.” I tell him how I want it firmly.

Kyle: “I understand.” He says once again.

Marth: “Stranger, I will believe you... for now.” I use my own game quote.

Kyle: “As for the exchange rate, they did not understand your terms.” He asks me. Sighing I explain what I meant.

Marth: “Basically since the game isn't officially out, the RWT (Real World Trading) for Royal Road isn’t established yet. It will take some time for it to get going if the game is a big hit, which from the hype it will be.”

Kyle: “…” His silence tells me everything.

Marth: “The exchange rate of in-game money to real money will be fluid from one day to the next and can change at the drop of a hat. I am not willing to shoulder the risk of my payment appreciating or depreciating and paying more or less than the intended amount. That risk will lie solely in the group’s shoulders.” I say my tone firm.

Kyle: “I see, I will explain that to them. That’s about it for the terms right?” He says as if he understands what I said.

Marth: “You still haven’t told me what conditions you are hiding yet.” My voice soft but firm.

Kyle: “But there aren't any hidden conditions Marthykins~” He says in his light and cheerful voice.

Marth: “I guess this is where negotiations break down huh? Seems like I will be …” I sigh but before I can finish Kyle cuts me off.

Kyle: “Okay. Okay, okay, OKAY. The hidden conditions are as follows…” He finally cracks but before he can tell me what they've been hiding I cut him off as well.

Marth: “You know what. I don’t care anymore. Tell the 'group' that there will be no hidden strings attached otherwise the deal will be deal will be denied. That is all.” I say with a finality in my voice that surpassed Kyle's previous attempts.

Kyle: “I will let them know what you have relayed to me.” He tells me.

Marth: “Good. Now if you would excuse me, my laptop battery is dying and I need to be getting home. Make sure they know that any deviation from my given terms means my disclaimer will be sent out.” I warn him.

Kyle: “I understand.” He says once more.

Marth: “I pray you do, for your sake.” I warn him again.

I disconnect from TeamSpeak and pack up my laptop. After stretching a bit, I get up grabbing my laptop bag and books and set off to the campus bookstore.

P1: ‘Well done. You actually managed to pull that off.’

‘It’s not over yet. I am merely attempting for force Kyle’s hand. Not sure if it will work in the end.’

P2: ‘Video games?’

‘Yes, more video games.’

P2: ‘VIDEO GAMES! Video games! Video games! Video games!’

P1: ‘Silence you.’

P2: ‘Video Games!’

‘He is such a little kid sometimes.’

P1: ‘Hello Kettle, are you calling Pot black?’

‘Maybe.’

P1: ‘All yokes aside, we need to stay on top of this otherwise it will be over easy.'

‘And I thought my puns were bad.’

Author's Note: I will be returning to using MC instead of 'Marth' as the conversation with Kyle is now over.

While conversing with Me, Myself, and I, we reached the bookstore where we became just I. Entering the bookstore, I walked to the book return counter and placed my rented books on to the counter.

MC: “I would like to return these books.”

Cashier: “Okay, may I see your student ID?”

MC: “Sure, here you are.” I hand the cashier the student ID I had in my pocket. After a minute, it was handed back to me.

Cashier: “Alright, all clear. Thank you and have a nice summer.”

MC: “Thanks and you too." I take my card back and return it to my wallet. Turning around I walked out of the book store and proceed to the parking garage.

???: “You’re late.” A male voice says.

MC: “Sorry, sorry. The line at the book store was long.” I apologize to the owner of the voice.

???: “Sure.” He says not believing me. He opens the door to his vehicle and unlocks the doors.

MC: “Thanks for picking me up.” I say as we get into his vehicle.

Brother: “No prob, that’s what brothers are for.” He says with a grin. And turns on the ignition.

MC: “You sure? I thought they were for annoying the living hell of out each other.” I ask him raising an eyebrow.

Brother: “That’s a side perk.” His face now sporting a full smile, as he pulls out and we proceed towards the exit of the garage.

MC: “I see.” I say nodding in understanding.

Brother: “So how’s living alone?” He asks me as he pays to exit the garage.

MC: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I say cryptically.

Brother: “I feel ya. Mom is worrying if you’re eating properly and etc. You know, the usual stuff.” He shrugs but his eyes remain on the road.

MC: “I’m making do with what I've got.” I also shrug.

Brother: “Still can’t believe you were able to move out before me.” He says laughing.

MC: “What can I say? I just got lucky that’s all.” I say my noncommittal, and shrug again.

Brother: “Luck huh? Well share some of that ‘luck’ with the rest of us.” He says grinning again.

MC: “We’ll see.” I turn on the radio and we listened to music in silence until I got to my apartment.

Brother: “Bro.” My brother says as I am getting out of his car.

MC: “Hmm?” I look at him with an eyebrow raised.

Brother: “When are you going to learn to drive?” He asks me straight out.

MC: “Probably this summer. Why?” I say after thinking about it for a few seconds.

Brother: “Just wondering, because I can’t drive you around forever.” He says sighing.

MC: “I know.” I say softly.

Brother: “As long as you know~” He says in a singsong voice.

MC: “Tell Mom and Dad that I said “Hi” and that I love them.” I tell him as grab my bags.

Brother: “Sure thing.” He says as I close the door.

I watch my brother drive off before walking to my apartment door.

???: “Good afternoon Landlord-san.” A female voice says and I turn around to see who it is.

MC: “Ah. Good afternoon Wakahisa-san.” I say greeting the woman who came up to me.

Wakahisa: “Finished with your exams already?” She asks me. Her voice pleasant to ears.

MC: “Yes. Today was my last one. How is your husband doing?” I reply calmly.

Wakahisa: “He is doing fine. He is at work right now, but he will be home in a couple of hours and when he does come home … Mmm.” Her voice trails off as she she hugs herself. Probably thinking about what will probably happen tonight.

MC: “Don’t go at it too hard otherwise you will break the bed.” I say sarcastically.

Wakahisa: “Don’t worry Landlord-san, we don’t use the bed.” She says softly. She is probably still thinking of what will happen tonight.

MC: “Ah right. Well, it was nice talking to you Wakahisa-san, but I have much to do so I must go.” I say with a straight face and prepare to go to enter my apartment.

Wakahisa: “Must you go? I will be very lonely in my apartment all alone. Perhaps you can keep me company until my husband comes home?” She asks seductively.

MC: “I appreciate the offer, but I like you and John too much to ruin our friendship over something trivial like this. Besides if he can’t satisfy you, I doubt I can.” I sigh.

Wakahasi: “Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me Landlord-san.” Her tone still seductive. Wakahasi-san then returns to her apartment and I enter mine.

‘Whelp, time to clean up this mess I call home, otherwise I can’t live in it.’

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