"There are many protagonists in the world."
"Main characters who have a profound effect on the world."
"Some like Reginald Coulan, the head and creator of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online, are protagonists of the virtual world, though there are many, including players from all sorts of backgrounds."
"They are leaders of great powers with vast amounts of both wealth and influence."
"But in the early part of the 22nd century there was only one in the business world."
"A man who is to be feared and respected in equal measure.
"James Larant."
"The creator of Dynasties Online, the first and likely last game of its kind."
"Others have tried to replicate his success, of course, but none ever succeeded."
"Because unlike James, who had woven his game into the very fabric of the world, creating a new virtual online marketplace by capturing the attention of the lower classes, turning it into an existence vital to the stability of countries around the world."
"Others could not."
Just like how other marketplace sites struggled to compete with Amazon, other VR games like DO failed to compete with it.
"And in so doing, forcing businesses to invest lest they get swallowed up whole."
"Looking back on it now it is as terrifying as it is genius."
Quote from The Rise of Dynasties Online: The Second World.
….
The last few weeks have been very profitable for James Larant, the creator of Dynasties Online.
Because the stupidity and arrogance of certain pea-brained young people has made his life a lot easier as it gave him the leverage he needed to force them into his game and invest into it whether they liked it or not.
James had been expecting an attack on his servers from the moment he received his own quarterly report.
Well, actually, no, that was a lie. The eccentric CEO had been expecting an attack since the day his game's servers opened, but understood that the most dangerous and likely time for such sabotage would be when the various corporations of the world finally realised just how much a VR game could affect them.
This was because he knew.
He knew that when the other businesses received their own quarterly reports and connected their lowered performance to Dynasties Online, they would call him wanting to buy a large piece of this new virtual online marketplace he had created, which had only gotten more and more popular over time, when people realised just how convenient it was.
These businesses would then take drastic action if they failed in their negotiation, which they inevitably did, as they could not allow such a threat to their interests to continue living, leading to the current advantageous situation that James was thoroughly enjoying.
A situation in which he was proud to have had a hand in meticulously crafting a play that was plotted to end only in one way, as all the actors were nothing more than puppets who danced to his tune.
In James' overwhelming victory.
As it was James who had allowed the schematics of the lower floors of Dynasties Inc's HQ to be leaked to Spencer and his conspirators.
It was James who had arranged for someone to be bribed to allow them entry into his lair so they could be trapped and swiftly dealt with.
And it was James who now controlled their fate and the reputation of their companies.
A state of affairs, any of his opponents who knew him well and had to deal with him regularly would say is catastrophic.
As James always took his piece of meat, whether you liked it or not.
Every time he would consume a piece of meat, people had overlooked, and they would mock him initially, but in the end, it turned out to be the most delicious morsel on offer, making their once scornful gazes turn jealous.
It was just a shame that in their arrogance, these business leaders who looked down upon James as an eccentric idiot, never once asked questions which may have saved them.
Unfortunately for them, it was way too late to back out now.
A situation where over 50 businesses need to invest in Dynasties Online lest they get sued for corporate espionage and suffer a severe blow to their reputation.
Because you cannot underestimate the impact that Dynasties Online will have on these businesses.
Of course, some businesses are unaffected, mainly those in China and Russia, where Dynasties Online did not release due to personal disagreements between their governments and James.
This is because, unlike almost every other major corporation that wants to operate in those countries, James did not play ball with these governments and instead made his own demands.
Yes, that is right. A businessman wanted to negotiate and make demands with governments, not just any governments but superpowers at that!
To say that the representatives of these countries almost spat out blood when they heard such demands from James would not be an exaggeration whatsoever
Such an action or thought should be inconceivable to them because to these government officials, the businesses should go crawling to the government officials, not the government officials caving due to their wants and demands!
Because what James wanted from China was simple.
He wanted the Great Firewall taken down and information to go around relatively uncensored, like it did in western countries, and to allow Chinese people access to parts of the internet that may have previously been kept from them.
Well, that was an exaggeration, what he actually wanted was for his game forums, and all the products sold and attached to his game, and anything else related to its subscription to be free from any censorship or intervention from the Chinese state, which is not something easy for governments to swallow, especially the more authoritarian ones.
Because he would allow no one to censor his forums.
This was of course a demand that was refused with the Chinese government blacklisting him and saying that he can do no trade with China or any company registered in the country not realising that this threat which usually made even the most prominent companies and corporations cave had no effect whatsoever on the British born CEO shocking them slightly but he was just one businessmen out of many so after refusing him they took no other action and met with the next eager businessmen wanting access to their vast market.
Other countries also refused but didn't blacklist him not wanting certain skeletons that are known throughout the world but not known within the country itself to be widely found out as James was a very influential person who can make things very difficult for people if he wanted to because he was well connected in both the business and political worlds.
Countries like Britain and America, which had already somewhat made peace with their past crimes, were mainly unaffected by this, and so had already had laws in place to protect the freedom of the internet and were unafraid of James's conditions as most companies under them worked under similar rules.
And it's not like he would create something that would change the way the world works, that could damage those countries who refused to work with him, right?
Right?
Unfortunately, no one could have ever expected the heights of Dynasties Online would go to and these countries would very quickly regret their decision and spend years and even decades getting to the levels other countries who had initially allowed it got to.
This ban suited James just fine because he never got any of his raw materials from them in the first place and only worked with companies from countries that he felt operated in a better or more moral manner, even if those companies he bought from or worked with China themselves that was for them to decide not he and it was their right to choose just as it was his right to refuse to buy from them directly.
Many people would think, isn't this the same thing?
They would be right in a practical sense, those companies he didn't want to work with still made money, and he paid more as a company in Canada that buys materials from China will make him pay retail price, but there were just too many suppliers that work with Chinese raw materials, even if he tries his best to limit it.
But one day that may change because while raw materials may come from China but no finished products sold by those companies would or could be directly sold instead they would have to sell to other intermediaries, and later once he had captured enough of the market of the lower classes of the world and subtly expanded his power and influence, he can start to make rules pressuring China to change its tune.
Because it was these finished products that sold and made the most profit, so in essence, if Dynasties Online continued to succeed and flourish, then all they could do is sell raw materials to those who had access to this new virtual online market that would include a large percentage of the worlds working class, massively cutting into their profits.
After all, you had to be a player in the game to access the new online virtual market. In addition, only citizens of countries where it was released and accepted could actually create an account and enter the game, and this was true for both the market itself and anyone wanting to sell anything through.
This also had the bonus of lowering the number of players initially, as both Russia and China accounted for a large portion of the world's population, an amount of people that, until the businesses had fully invested in the game, James would struggle to support on his own.
Just thinking that just under 1/3 of his players came from India alone was enough to give James the fright of his life as he forgot that 1.4 billion of the 6 billion people on earth lived there!
This resulted in 200 million people, just under 15% of India's population, playing the game, making up nearly 1/3 of the current playerbase.
And all of that 1/3 only came from one country!
And these numbers will only rise over time as more and more countries join in and play the game to get access to its ever-growing market of players.
As a result, apart from his disagreement with the Chinese government, there were other reasons for him to not release his game for the entire world just yet as no matter how wealthy he is he did not have the funds to upkeep 20% of the entire worlds population for months on end even if he could still upkeep a good portion of it as evidenced by the last 3 months.
A coincidence that happened to allow him to keep his morality intact while making sure his game did not become too big too quickly by ensuring countries whose conduct he was less than impressed with had to struggle more.
A masterstroke that would be a success whether in the personal or the practical sense.
Surprisingly, despite this, James has immense respect for China and its culture, as he enjoyed their dramas a lot and finds their history fascinating, if brutal at times, he just disagreed with the way the current leadership governed it and would not bow to any of their demands.
However, James's problems with countries like China were the last things on his mind now.
As it was his demands that he made to the various companies who schemed against him that he was truly occupied with at this moment, alongside dealing with more angered CEOs once he was done.
The demands were simple in exchange for not revealing anything to the public about their actions, and not suing them for their crimes. All he asked for was £50 million of investment from each company into the game, by buying up in-game currency, and for them to take an active role in it.
That was it.
When multiplied by 100, that was £5 billion coming in, of which he would get 5% from transaction fees.
Compared to the massive amounts of money that he needed to pay out, this seemed like a paltry sum, but what he wanted was for the race to invest to begin.
Because those who invested in the game would quickly realise the profits they could make through its online marketplace and other stores they manage to set up in the game.
Especially product slots, which you have to play and gain influence in the game to gain access to, apart from the one you start, and as you gain power, influence, and status in the game, you will get more product slots.
James smiled at this thought.
He knew that two people had already tasted the sweet nectar of his online platform and would no longer hesitate to go all in, helping significantly lower James' risk and future problems.
His two good friends.
Lee Smith and Theodore Forlond.
….
Lee Smith sat in his office looking over his mahogany desk at a report that had been delivered to him weeks ago with a sigh.
Even now he still could not believe it. Could not believe the upset and genius behind his friend's scheme that he knew now would irrevocably change the world forever.
He was one of the first to figure out and predict the effect Dynasties Online would have on the world, which is why he did not hesitate to enter the new virtual world to begin gathering resources, but he did hesitate in one thing.
His investment into it.
More specifically, whether he would invest real world money into it.
And just how much that investment would be.
This is because he could not be sure whether his good friend James Larant could withstand the pressure and couldn't be sure whether the profits businesses could make in the game would warrant them doing everything they could to compete for the benefits brought by this new virtual world he had created.
As the pressure exerted by those powerful international corporations was no laughing matter.
And neither would the eventual pressure he received from the various countries around the world be either, as they had far more experience and capability to sabotage James than most of the business world did.
After all businessmen are at heart merchants and are not used to the scheming or sabotage that the various countries are intimately familiar with.
Well, most aren't anyway.
Countries like Russia and China were particularly strong in that field, though, which only gave him pause for a second.
But these doubts were washed away when he received that report and heard about the conflict between James and those idiots who tried to conspire against him and its outcome.
It also helped that compared to others, his losses were lower thanks to him investing all the in-game currency he gained from his territory and ventures back into the game and his dynasty in it.
It was not significantly lower as he hasn't invested enough for that to be the case yet, as he has not yet managed to set up shops in every major city in the game, but it was lower enough for him to see the massive impact the game had.
Of course, while the general public would be unaware of what occurred, those like him with wealth, power, and influence were far more aware of what goes on, and things are very hard to conceal from them.
It was only because everyone ignored Dynasties Online as James' whimsical personal project that could never work that it managed to stay so under wraps and surprise the business world like it had.
That and the fact that James, despite what his official qualifications say, is one of the most talented and terrifyingly competent people in the world.
If he wants to know something, he will know it.
If he wanted to keep something hidden, even the most prestigious intelligence-gathering organisations would struggle to find even one slight lead.
Because now, thanks to those foolish, arrogant young masters, the business world would now be forced to invest, when before they had a chance not to, as long as no one from any industry outside of the Larant family heavily invested into the game, then they may have been able to hold out and waited until eventually the Larant family fortune ran out and James had to either shut down Dynasties Online or capitulate to their demands.
But that was no longer an option anymore.
Because once these companies realise just how much they stood to gain from Dynasties Online and found out just how much it would cost to try to shut it down, then they will make the only logical choice remaining to them.
Do whatever they can to fight for the buying power of the working class, which would be intricately connected to this new realistic virtual world that seemed more realistic the more time you spent in it.
This means that both he and his good friend Theodore Forlond now have to go all in.
They both knew that by now, Dynasties Online could not be stopped.
As the business world is too competitive to allow such a thing to happen, as it is a world where people will do anything to get a leg up on their opponents.
With a sigh, Lee closed his eyes briefly, calming down his rampant emotions.
At first it was because of his friendship with James himself and his knowledge of his capabilities that stopped him from doing the sabotage that so many businesses had begun to do.
Because Lee wanted to help his friend out even a bit, he, unlike the other businesses and players, had not exchanged one copper with the game system, used all the product slots, and established as many stores in-game as he could.
After all, James made a commission, if only a tiny 5 or 10% from every sale he made to the players of Dynasties Online.
In fact, many of these businesses did not even use their product slots to register any of their products, let alone set up stores in game, as they wanted to force James to compromise with them and didn't want him even making 1 penny in commissions from them, even if they would make more profit than he did from the transaction like Lee Smith did.
But Lee did all these things, allowing him to start to capture the in-game market of players, which allowed him to take the fewest losses in his industry.
But now Lee Smith, the CEO of Emart, one of the most influential supermarkets in the world, was going to go all out with all the resources he could muster.
Because Dynasties Online would no longer fail as his friend James Larant had become the one and only protagonist of the business world capable of irrevocably changing it forever.
And he looked forward to the new reality that his friend would lead them into, taking as many benefits for himself as possible.
After all, what good friend would not help in a time of need.
When the 30-year-old's bright blue eyes opened, they radiated a sharp intelligence and a gaze that would make even the most experienced employees shudder.
Pressing a button on his desk near his phone, he spoke through the intercom.
"Tyra, could you come to my office please?"
Lee asked, though it was more of a command, and his secretary knew that as well, so only a few seconds later, his office door opened and his secretary entered the luxurious office..
"You called for me, Chairmen Lee?"
She asked composedly, bowing slightly, due to bringing around her employer for so long, as she had been working for him for over 5 years now and had long gotten used to his stern and serious gazes.
"I did, Tyra. Please get me 100 of those new gaming cabins for Dynasties Online. And not the ordinary ones either, I want the ones that were released only a few days ago with the 100% immersion factor as the company will need them for the future."
Lee Smith said shocking her.
Of course, like everyone else in the world, Tyra had heard of this new game but did not think that it was so influential that it would get Chairman Lee to invest so much into it.
It was a very fun and realistic game. Many people even said it was too realistic, and she had heard it was possible to make money off it, but she didn't see why that would affect their company in the slightest.
But it didn't matter, such decisions were not hers to make, and if the chairman said he wanted 100 game cabins for the business, then she would get 100 game cabins for the business, after all, it was his hide on the line, not hers.
"Yes, Chairman Lee, I will get them as soon as possible."
Tyra said bowing respectfully.
"Thank you Tyra and send Roland in will you."
Chairman Lee politely commanded, and Lyra quickly went to get the number two of the company, it seemed something big was happening for Roland to be summoned.
Something was likely to change their company massively.