Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 47.1: The Vampire's Prince (1)

Aygorzi, Merriheim.

11:10 a.m. 18th Banem 1092

Absalon traveled through Aygorzi's streets on horseback and marveled at the ongoing construction all over the city. The development speed of new buildings reminded the magician that this was indeed a gaming world. There was no way these feats would be possible in real life.

In regards to construction, the dwarfs had chosen to incrementally develop the city as it was far too large to create all at once. Hence, about three-quarters of the entire outer region was temporarily walled off, while numerous residential and commercial buildings populated the remaining sector.

A structure suddenly blocked out the afternoon sunlight. Absalon looked up and let out a wry smile as he admired the overhead pass. He could not see it from his position, but there were tracks on that pass for trains which the dwarfs intended on fully releasing in a week or two. Interestingly, however, most of the train tracks were laid underground.

Absalon turned his sight from the overhead pass when he passed by it, and his attention was instead caught by a large building which hundreds of people were busily rushing in and out of. If Kashi were here, he would have recognized the dome-like structure to be a replica of the Emporium in Meilfour. It turns out Miote had not been satisfied with having an Emporium at Meilfour and decided to make it a franchise located in every major city.

The Emporium, which acted as this world's version of a mall, housed stores from several dozen artisans and artists. One could find almost anything they wanted, be it food, jewelry, clothing or armor. Within these shops, the most popular were those who had the Maggot logo affixed to them, as these were the products which were usually made with the highest quality materials and enhanced with the best runes. The Maggots, armed with Kashi's runes and the recently acquired daebens' runic proficiency, had shot light years ahead of the competition.

Miote, that crafty cat, had seen the opportunity to expand following the battle and quickly paid the dwarfs a significant sum to have the Emporium built. The effect of having this structure in the newly developing city soon reared its head. Everyone in Aygorzi, be they dwarfs or immigrants soon identified themselves with the building as they could find almost everything they needed in one place.

As for how profitable this business was for the Maggots? The building's construction cost about 25 million Syros, an exorbitant sum only made possible because of the firm business foundations laid down by Miote and Leila. The guild's daily income from its several businesses and the 5% contribution tax on its members all summed up to over 1.5 million Syros a day. However, after paying several workers and soldiers (A.K.A Absalon's army), the actual profit was about 500,000 Syros.

This was without adding the cheat code that was Lunette Falsetto. This young woman's concerts were always sold out, drawing in about 300,000 Syros from a steady crowd of about 60,000 adoring fans.

To put it in simple terms, 25 million Syros might be a mighty, unreasonable sum for most guilds, but under Miote's leadership, 25 million could quickly be recouped in a few months. However, Miote had never been one to wait that long to make a profit. Most of the shops in the new Emporium were affiliated with the Maggots. The Maggots taught the artisans how to use unique runes to improve their crafts as well as new, trendy designs. These artisans would then give 10% of their total income to the guild.

Alternatively, there were those artisans who asked the Maggots to not only teach them but also provide the materials for their crafts. Miote naturally used his connections with Joanna Frye, leader of the mercenary guild, Fang & Blade to transport the items farmed by the Maggots to the artisans. Unlike the previous set, these artisans had a 70-30% split in favor of the Maggots.