Chapter 2: The Business World
In a world full of monsters and magic, the ultimate authority wasn't held by the mightiest hero or the wisest king, but by the cold, calculating hands of the Corporate Boards. The true game was played not on the battlefield, but in the shimmering glass towers where business and profit were essential.
The Price of Power
The Awakening had turned power into a quantifiable asset, and the Gates were the ultimate investment opportunity. Large corporations, often referred to simply as "The Consortium," saw the rifts in reality not as existential threats, but as mines full of valuable, exotic resources.
Every organization the Hunters, the Mercenaries, even the state-sponsored Special Forces was ultimately a subdivision of a major corporate entity. They provided the muscle, but the corporations provided the gear, the logistics, and the money.
In the mahogany-paneled office of OmCorp Resources, CEO Marcus Thorne leaned back in a chair that cost more than a small city's yearly budget. The entire wall was a screen displaying real-time data: Gate Stability, Resource Yield Projections, and Hunter Performance Metrics.
A middle-aged executive, wearing a panicked look, stood stiffly before him.
"Sir, the Iron Golem's Heart resource extraction from Gate 7 is down 15% this quarter," the executive, named Mr. Alistair, reported, fiddling with his collar. "The local Dwarf population is resisting our automated harvesting units."
Thorne didn't raise his voice, but his calm was scarier than any shout. "Alistair, are you suggesting that a few stubborn subterranean creatures are interfering with a projected eight-figure profit?"
"They are threatening the mining teams, sir. We could divert the Black Squad to pacify them, but their current contract is for Dungeon clearing, and that will incur significant overtime fees," Alistair said, a bead of sweat tracing his temple. He was worried about the numbers, but more terrified of Thorne's quiet displeasure.
Thorne waved a dismissive hand. "Overtime? Negotiate. Offer them triple bonus for a clean sweep. If the Dwarves refuse to share the earth, remind Black Squad that OmCorp bought the rights to that land and everything under it. The resource comes first. Profit is the only metric that matters."
Thorne's thought: The strong earn the right to exploit. That is the fundamental law of the new market.
The Edge of Evil
While the major corporations played the ruthless game of legal acquisition and exploitation, a darker, more dangerous element lurked in the shadows. These were the extremely evil organization cults and rogue corporate offshoots driven not just by wealth, but by a terrifying and short-sighted greed for forbidden power.
These groups didn't care about quarterly reports; they were obsessed with uncovering and using the most dangerous materials found in the deep ruins. Their ultimate goal was to resurrect ancient evil.
In a dark, concrete bunker beneath the city a place far removed from the scrutiny of the wealthy main corporations a cloaked leader, known only as the Arch Master, addressed a small circle of followers.
"The fool Thorne thinks he's powerful because he can trade a few crystals for gold," the Architect hissed, her voice sharp and filled with mocking contempt. "But gold cannot stop the inevitable collapse. We seek the power that created the Gates, the power that can remake reality!"
A nervous follower, a defector from a former research team, spoke up hesitantly. "But the cost, Arch Master. To draw out the Shade of Malek... the scripture says it will consume all life for a thousand miles."
The Arch Master's eyes, glowing faintly yellow, narrowed. "And what does that matter to us? We will be its chosen stewards. The world of men has failed us; they have left the weak to starve and worshipped their numbers. We will take the ultimate power, and then we will have the ultimate benefit."
She held up a small, dark artifact a piece of crystallized, corrupted mana taken from a deep Ruin. "Let the corporations invest in Hunters and Mercenaries. We invest in true destruction. Because only through complete ruin can we build a world where our will, and not their financial ledgers, is law."
The business world was a constant negotiation between these forces: the visible, cold-blooded corporate empires harvesting the universe for wealth, and the secret, fanatical groups digging for the knowledge that could end everything for their own dark gain. For the ordinary people caught in the middle, the threat of a monster from a Gate was almost preferable to the cold, calculating ambition of the corporate elite.