"Do you have an appointment?" Asked the young receptionist with an extremely polite tone, and a bright smile.
The face of the group leader twisted in faint surprise. It was not common for a newly found low-level company to be already this prepared.
"We haven't scheduled an appointment, but trust me, your employer will want to hear what we have to say." Said the man with confidence.
The receptionist bowed politely while saying "I apologize sir, but as you might be aware of, our company was founded only recently. Would you mind telling me what is the reason for your visit, so that I can report it to the appropriate head department?"
Daniel and the rest, unlike the heads of some other starting companies, had made their research before setting up a business, causing them to start at a much higher level than others. If that wasn't enough, they already possessed enough people with experience in these kinds of things.
Despite the small size of the city within Daniel's pocket dimension, there were plenty of small companies, shops, and various sects, which were run and supported by various professional figures.
Furthermore, the entire city was ruled by a group of people which kept the city in place just like a proper company would. They were already a large step ahead any other newly founded company.
"We need to speak to the owner of the company, the chief of operations, and the chief of finances. We are here to propose an acquisition." Responded the purple-robed man with slight irritation.
"I am afraid that you won't be able to find the owner, as he is currently outside of the building.. But if you still want to talk to the rest of the administrative staff, please, take a seat and wait for a minute while I make them aware of your visit." Said the young receptionist with her usual bright smile. She then turned to look at the direction of a long corridor, but before walking away, she added "Sir, may I know which power you represent?"
"The Means of Mana."
-----
*Knock Knock*
"Come in.." Said Edmund while moving his eyes over different piles of documents.
After Edmund's invitation the door of his office opened, and behind it, the young receptionist appeared. "Mr. Saullet, there is another group that has come with a proposition to acquired the company."
"Another?.. What the hell.. It's the seventh group today. Who are they?" Responded Edmund with exasperation.
"They haven't given a name. They only said the name of the company they come from.. 'The Means of Mana'.." Responded the girl politely.
Edmund sighed deeply, then muttered "Must be another group that deals in essence spheres.." he then looked at the young girl, and said "Have them wait for us in the fourth conference room.. And call Heimart as well, please."
"Should I also call Mrs. Alis, since she is in charge of the finances?" The girl asked after hearing Edmund's orders.
"No, we won't be accepting their request either, so there is no need to bother her."
-----
Ten minutes later, Edmund and Heimart entered the conference room, and found the group of purple-robed cultivators waiting while drinking tea, and eating the refreshments they were offered.
The moment the two of them arrived, four of the six cultivators got up from their chairs, and approached Edmund and Heimart. The remaining two didn't get up, and instead, continued drinking their tea.
This, was the strategy they had decided to use in order to intimidate the two of them.
There were a few strategies that companies used to acquire a company they wanted to purchase.
At times, they would send important representatives just to make the higher ups of the company they were targeting feel special, or they would send gifts.. Some other times, they wouldn't even send people, and communicated through letters instead.
But of all of these tactics, the most aggressive was definitely the one that they had decided to use right now.
The representatives sent were of the upper level management, but not of the highest level of it. They had been instructed to behave as if their presence was enough of a gift, and to show the superiority of their company.
This method would usually work on starting companies, that feared the repercussions of a larger company way more than going bankrupt. Unfortunately, this was no common starting company, and their behaviour didn't leave either Edmund or Heimart impressed in the least.
When Edmund and Heimart noticed the two purple-robed people that stayed seated, they looked at the other four that had stood up, and Heimart said "I see that you are not ready yet. We'll leave for a few minutes, so that you can prepare for the meeting." They then turned around, and left the conference room directly.
One of the four purple-robed cultivators turned to look at the two seated men, and said "What the hell just happened?"
Outside of the conference room, Edmund looked at Heimart, and asked "How long?"
"They don't seem like important members of their company.. Two hour." Responded Heimart with a indifferent tone.
The two then split, and went back into their individual offices.
Two full hours later, the two of them met again outside of the conference room, and entered it.
The moment they entered, Heimart looked at the fully standing group, and said "Is this a good moment? We can give you a few more minutes if you have something to discuss amongst yourself."
"That won't be necessary." Said one of the two man that didn't get up, with an apologetic tone. He then took a seat at one of the chair around the refined table.
Alis had been in charge of decorating the entire building, and despite the difference in quality between the precious materials she was used to seeing during her youth, and the new kinds of materials that she had used to furnish the building, her taste was still amazing, and it culminated in the creation of an extremely well furnished base of operations.
Edmund and Heimart sat at one side of the table, while the two cultivators which were previously sitting when they greeted them, sat at the other side.
Behind them, the remaining four cultivators stood quietly. They were clearly employees of a lower level, and there was no need for them to participate in the discussion.
"Welcome to the Golden Karma, what can we help you with?" Asked Heimart with a polite smile.
Unsure to whom they were supposed to be talking to, one of the two sitting cultivators turned to look at Heimart, and said "We have heard about your company. Its name started to resound in the city after only a couple of days.. It is truly a great achievement."
"Thank you very much." Responded Heimart politely.
"Of course, we have also heard about the great limitations that your company is facing.. Obtaining a license to operate in a continental or planetary level will likely take centuries, I'm afraid." Said the second man that sat at the table, before making a slight pause, and continuing by saying "We hate to see such a promising company not being able to operate to its full capacity.. That's why we have been sent here. We would like to lend a helping hand."
"That's very selfless of you. How were you planning to help?" Asked Edmund plainly. Like always, he had no expression but one of indifference. Even during this kind of meeting, his mind trailed off to his study of spatial essence.
"An acquisition." Responded one of the two men while carefully observing the reaction in the faces of Heimart and Edmund.
Unfortunately, they didn't saw the reaction they were hoping for.
Usually, a newly found company would be ecstatic about the prospect of being bought out, but the same wasn't for them. Instead, they showed a complete lack of reaction.
"I am afraid that we are not interested in going under the employment of another company at the moment. Our earnings are more than enough to support the entirety of our working force, and we would not be able to operate in a larger scale even if we could." Said Edmund after sighing faintly.
Slightly surprised by Edmund's words, one of the two men said "Even if you were to end up being part of our company, your workload would not increase. Instead, we would allow you to reach a wider area.. And be able to bargain better prices for your items."
"It truly is a good offer.. One that hardly comes by twice." Added the second purple-robed man with a reassuring tone.
'Is that so.. Then why are we having this annoying conversation for the seventh time today..' muttered Heimart in his own mind. He then said out loud "We will take it under consideration the very moment we will decide to expand our business."
After having to face a rejection, the two purple-robed cultivators got up from their chair, and along with the remaining four, they bid farewell, and left the room.
"What is going on today?.. Why are all of these companies trying to buy us out? There is no way it's simply because we have had a couple of good days in the market." Said Heimart with an exasperated tone.
"I bet anything you want that Daniel has something to do with it." Responded Edmund.
-----
Daniel opened his eyes a day and a half later. In his mind, a system window was still floating quietly.
____________________________
Dan Hiel - Karmic system's wielder.
Age - 21
Power level
-Late fourth stage of immortal cultivation
Battle Prowess
-Peak fourth stage of immortal cultivation
Karma - 10,111,532
____________________________
Weapons Masteries (Details)
Martial Arts (Details)
Skills (Details)
Spells (Details)
____________________________
Reap What You've Sown
Time Is Precious Lv.26
Reduced Cost Lv.20
Bonus Points Lv.20
Second Chance (Upgrades 3/3) Lv.20
Karma X Luck
Karma Debt
Karmic Retribution (Upgrades 1/1)
Devil's Advocate
Regulator's Will
System Upgrades (Details)
____________________________
"It sure has gotten harder to cultivate.." Muttered Daniel to himself.
Despite his extremely high speed in cultivation, he had only managed to take a step forward in a day and a half, and that, was while using mid crystals, which could compared to chief level meat.
After putting the matter to the back of his head, he made the sweaty clothes that covered his body disappear, leaving him completely naked. A stream of clear water appeared out of nowhere, and started to form a whirlpool around him, cleaning his body completely.
Once done, it disappeared while leaving its place a clean set of clothes.
Once dressed, Daniel left his room.
Sitting at the table within their room, was Serf. He was eating a sumptuous dinner, of which Daniel could not recognize the any of the vegetables or meats used to make it.
"Hey Serf." Said Daniel while waving his hand lightly. "I was going to visit my company.. Want to come with?"
"Hey Dan.. uhm.. Not thanks, I'll finish dinner and go to bed." Responded Serf after cleaning his mouth with an extremely dirty napkin. Daniel could see that he had been going at it for a while.
"Are you sure?.. I'm not from this planet.. There are plenty of restaurants that cook different recipes in my company building.." Added Daniel with an alluring tone.
When Serf heard about the possibility of eating foreign dishes, something clicked in his head. He got up from his chair, cleaned his hands and mouth once again, and said "It's not polite to refuse an invitation. Let's go."
Daniel couldn't help but smile. Then, after a few moments, both him and Serf disappeared from where they were standing.
When they reappeared, they were in the company building, right within one of the teleportation platforms..
The place was extremely packed, and the people came and left in the thousands.
Daniel turned to look at Serf, and immediately noticed that he wasn't impressed by the sight.
"Let's go, there is some people I have to talk to." Said Daniel, but before he could pick a direction and start moving..
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*