The Acknowledgment - Volume One

Businessman

                Just as he entered the dungeon, he stepped into the national park, not too far from home. His clothes battered, beaten, and torn he took his first steps out from the portal exhausted. His human form returned to him, and he took in the beauty he could see from where he stood. Half of him didn't want to move more than he already did. The drive home was longer than he remembered, and when he got home, he didn't want to do anything but rest. Despite this, his phone buzzed and rang. "What now?" He asks, sitting up and answering the phone. "Hello?" He asks. "Are you serious, sir?! Are you still in bed?!" Mari Asks, "Uh... Yeah, I was up late last night raiding dungeons," Winter explained, half lying to get out of this situation. "Do you have any idea what time it is right now, sire?!" She asks. "Nope... What time is it?" He asks, stretching his head. "It's two o'clock!" Mari exclaimed, loudly. "What? Is there something I'm forgetting?" Winter asks. "Mr. Greats, you have a meeting today. You didn't forget did you?" She asks, "When do I have to be there?" He asks, becoming increasingly serious, in a cold sweat. "Five o'clock!" Mari replied. " won't be late... I've got plenty of time to get ready," Winter responded, getting up and walking over to his bathroom. "Just call me when you're in the building!" She hung up.

                With much of the hard work done, he started looking through his walk-in closet, but couldn't find much that he felt suitable for such a meeting. "I should probably dress better than a t-shirt and sweatpants... Since I'm going to a meeting, and all," Winter sighed heavily, "Oh well," he grabbed nice clothes from the hanger. Later on in the day, he stopped by his bank. "How may I help you today?" Asks the young receptionist. "I want to make a debit card and update my bank account," Winter explained leaning back in the surprisingly comfortable chair that was placed at the desks. "Sure thing," she took a look at a couple of things, putting things into the computer, and looking down to confirm a couple of things on his current registry. "Wait... 1.4 trillion dollars?! But he looks so young! How does he have so much money?" She thought with surprise, "May I ask what your occupation is, sir?" She asks, "I'm the owner of EWR, and I raid on the side," Winter explained shrugging. "Ahh," she nods, "I heard that EWR makes a fortune, and raiders make really good money... He probably has a high rank on top of his large business," she thought. "Our bank is currently offering a new investment opportunity for our VIP clients," she began. "We've had great responses so far. Would you be interested in investing today?" She asks to read from a script. "Looks like the raids and business investment do pay off," Winter thought, "No thanks," he replied awkwardly.

                With the update complete, he went out for a haircut. From there, he made his way to the main EWR building deep within the city. The tallest building there is in the city. "Seriously? Who are you, and what did you do with the real Winter?" The assistant asks, awkwardly standing in the hallway to the meeting room. "What are you even talking about?" He asks, walking up with a crew cut on his head. "Wow... I had no idea that someone could change this much," Mari looked up at him now. "Well, I'm meeting the board members. Would you rather I wore a tracksuit with slides?" Winter asks unamused. They made their way down the hallway, headed for the board meeting room. People were gathered, talking, and walking. Most were on their break at this point, but others were still on the job. "Oh, my god. Who is that guy?" A girl asks. "Wow, he's hot," one mumbled. "Isn't that Winter Greats? He must be going to a meeting," a guy asks, "Huh? Oh, hello," a girl bumped into him. "Hullo," he replied, glancing at them. "Wow, you're pretty popular," his assistant walked beside him. "I suppose so," Winter responded, chuckling softly. "Come to think of it, you don't have a girlfriend, right? So were you really out raiding late last night?" Mari asks smugly. "I've got a lot of connections, I could set you up with a cute girl in the office," She offered. "This is a place of business. Knock it off," he rolled his eyes. "A-alright," Mari shuts up quickly. He walked into the business room and sat down in what was his father's chair. He sighed and relaxed.