RETURN OF THE SHADOW - Chapter 151

Balthazar just lay resting in the pod for some time before Richard came to his room along with Robert and Lucius at half past ten. The three of them were already in combat suits and the gave one to Balthazar too along with Ellie’s promised inventions in his room and insisted that he gear up before leaving.

Balthazar was now sure that something had happened, and the others weren’t informing him. The mansion was considered to be very secure and they would only have such preparations if there was an incident which prompted them to up the security.

They made their way to the ship that was placed behind the mansion, he noticed that they were going to a battleship instead of a commercial one. He also noticed that a battleship was being stocked up with provisions silently. It was clear to him that something was afoot, and they didn’t want to let him know of it.

He messaged Winston quickly about it, but all he received was a reply that told him that the things that he way didn’t concern him and to concentrate on his own task and it was the best that he could do right now.

He was frustrated and was sure that it was related to Walter and most probably hints of the event would be common knowledge soon enough. Else, Winston would have told him that it wasn’t related to Walter. He felt that he was owed the information as he was responsible for realizing it in the first place.

As he was boarding the ship, Lucius laid a hand on him and pulled him aside. “Look kid. I know that you want to help. Winston sent me a message. Let me inform you. I and Richard are here to protect you from any human interventions in this trial,” said Lucius.

“So, something did happen? Can you tell me what it is? Is Walter safe?” asked Balthazar.

“You still don’t understand. I am considered one of the strongest among my generation and so is Richard. There are few things that Walter wouldn’t be telling me and I am sure that anything that Walter doesn’t want me to know wouldn’t be told to Winston either,” said Lucius. “He is safe, but he called for a meet with his predecessor.”

“Walter’s predecessor? The previous head of the table?” wondered Balthazar loudly. “What could be so important that he would need an old man?”

“I don’t know, and I still am not informed of anything. I was only tasked to keep you two safe in case something unexpected happens,” said Lucius. “It is just a precaution and I am sure it has nothing to do with Nirbaadh pirates. If it were them, I would have known about it all along and you would be probably informed.”

“Do you understand, why I am explaining this to you?” asked Lucius.

“Yes. I understand. It is best that I concentrate on the task at hand and not worry about it and I probably couldn’t do much if I were informed of it,” said Balthazar nodding his head.

“Yes, both Arthur and Winston had repeatedly told me to keep you safe at all costs. I will be trailing you at a certain distance. You are being monitored by us closely. It is unlike the previous trials. It is best if you could satisfy the minimum requirements of the trial and signal for a retrieval,” said Lucius.

“If it was Winston who told me, I wouldn’t have cared. But Arthur was the one who warned me. He is currently the acting head of the table in absence of Walter,” said Lucius stressing on each word so that he would understand the significance of it.

It clearly meant that there was a high chance of him being in danger and it is best if he were aware of the surroundings. “I will be on lookout for anything odd,” said Balthazar.

“That isn’t the main thing you need to do,” said Lucius shaking his head. “You are to take care of Robert and keep him safe. You are both going through the trial together and will be dropped together. You will be monitored by Salazar too. We are already telling the trial judges that you have a death threat and we are here to trap any attackers,” said Lucius. “Arthur had already told them that you are qualified by him to be capable and this entire thing is just a trap set by us.”

“What? Is he serious?” asked Balthazar shocked to hear his words.

“I don’t think anyone is actually after you. Else, Winston and Walter wouldn’t have let you out. But this is the best way to keep a close eye on you during the trial,” said Lucius. “If you are tensed, go play that gave for a while. Don’t forget. You need to keep Robert safe. It is not a big issue if you fail, there is still a good chance for Robert to become an elder. If he fails, your entire plan goes down the drain. Considering the fact that Arthur vouched for you, this entire trial is not necessary, and you can still continue to participate in the competition for elders even if you fail the trial.”

“I will keep it in mind,” said Balthazar and both of them made their way to their room. The room was quite spacious and had a couple of beds, tables, chairs, drinks and was attached to the cooking room. It was like a luxury cruiser. Balthazar didn’t expect them to be travelling in such a fashion and was quite surprised to see this.

“Surprised? Right? We were supposed to go on a newly made battleship outfitted with new tech that could hasten our travel. But we had a sudden visitor who requested for it. So, we got this instead,” said Richard as he pointed to a sofa to have a seat.

“Hmm. That is unexpected,” said Balthazar with a smile and head nod indicating that he is aware of the situation. He saw Robert already wearing the somnium headgear and laid down on a bed.

“What is he doing?” asked Balthazar tilting his head towards Robert.

“Your proposal to Elias made him value you and Robert. He offered Robert an automated reality where he can practice his skills. He had been trying it out most of the time these days. He isn’t even concentrating on his job at the hospital much and applied for a managerial post. We suggested that a long time ago, but he refused it before as he wanted to work on the patients and on his research. I guess, a brush with death changed his priorities,” explained Richard.

“Do you also want to try it out?” asked Richard.

“Not now, but I surely will try it out,” said Balthazar. “I thought that they would contact me also for when they develop a decent framework for training people. It is best if I could get a lower level training for the guild too,” thought Balthazar.

“OK, I was also asked by Leon and Elias for you to contact them before the trial. He seemed to have thought of something that would be mutually beneficial to both of you. They had something in plan and wanted you to have a look at it. Elias told that he had been working on something that would be useful to you. Something that would help you with the game and improve your guild strength or something like that. He left a mail for you,” said Richard.

This piece of news was something that he hadn’t expected at all. He had invested in a cyber cafe and had set up a workshop, but he didn’t think that Elias would also know about the guild. It was a welcome development that he never thought of. He was sure that anything related to guild that Elias could provide would be a training environment, but he didn’t understand how he came to know of it.

“I will definitely contact him. Thank you,” said Balthazar in surprise. He took his headgear and plugged it into an internet port as he sat down on a sofa. As he got online, he opened up his mail and followed up the link sent to him by Elias.

He ended up in the workshop that he had previously met with Elias and his team. Elias was immediately notified when Balthazar entered his workshop. He turned around and came to meet Balthazar.

“Hi kid, I am glad that you came to the place quickly. You on the plane?” asked Elias.

“Yes, I am. Richard just informed me that you wanted to meet,” answered Balthazar.

“Good. It is about the proposal that you came up with. I got a better method to get funds for this project,” said Elias. “I came up with it after I heard about your guild and activities in the new game.”

“How did you get to know about that?” asked Balthazar in surprise.

“It was Ellie. She had tried out the game and told that your guild is doing well. It seems that you are quite famous in the game. Shadow Tyrant, right? How is it going?” asked Elias.

“Oh! She must have heard that Shadow Tyrant owned Crimson Realm and made the connection. In this way, anyone in the family would be able to make the connection,” thought Balthazar.

“She started playing the game as well? I hoped that she would contact have contacted me,” said Balthazar.

“I will suggest that, but she isn’t one who likes to play the game a lot,” said Elias. “She did ask me to call her once you visited and would probably be coming right now. It was actually her suggestion that allowed me to think of this. She says that the game is a good source of income and there are many who would put a lot of money into games. I have never been much into those things.”

“She is not wrong. The game is quite addictive and apart from just the experience of the game, we already have plans to participate in competitions and the like and a real-life experience in fights is quite useful in the game due to the nature of somnium tech. That is the reason for my fame,” said Balthazar.

“It is not just the gamer folk but a lot of people in different walks of like can make a living out here. It is quite a good source of income,” continued Balthazar.

“I am glad to hear that. Honestly speaking, I am not really sure about the amount you would earn and I know that you wouldn’t be able to give me proper figures in these early days. I want to know that if we create a decent framework for the practice of your members, how much funds are you willing to appropriate to us?” asked Elias.

“That is a hard question to answer, right now,” said Balthazar nodding his head.

“Ellie seems to think that you would have sufficient funds without much issue. I had informed her of your proposal hoping that we could get her help temporarily, but she suggested that it is best to talk to you for this. She seems to think that you wouldn’t have much issue with it,” said Elias.

“Well, she seems to be much more confident than me,” said Balthazar. Though he had an idea of the amount that was spent by super guilds in developing a proper training in virtual, he hadn’t the slightest clue of the amount that would be required to support his own proposal.

“It is not that I am not willing to do it, but I actually have no idea how much you would need for this. I have a decent amount saved up,” said Balthazar.

“Hahaha. You are a colonel of the military. I can guess how much you have saved up. It surely isn’t enough. I need ten professionals and they would take at least a million credits as their salary per month. I doubt that your savings would even pay for that. At the very least, I need at least five to start up with the proposal or the warframes before the competition,” said Elias waving his hand.

He didn’t have much confidence to begin with. He had already asked Richard who told him that Roberts assets received from his parents and Walter was already vested in quite a few projects and he wouldn’t be able to provide much in the short time that they had. But he was informed later that Robert was willing to put in his own savings that he made as a surgeon to support this, but it still wouldn’t be enough.

“Don’t worry. I just hoped that we could have a head start on this. I have already informed of your proposal to the elders council. It is just that some a few idiots are delaying the process because the suggestion came from you. They are using you and your past of leaving the family as an excuse. They won’t be able to delay it for long. We will surely be able to simulate the other things that you asked like shooting,” he continued.

Balthazar quickly put his hand on Elias shoulder before the guy continued his talk which he found both undermining and irritating. “I can do that. What else do you need?” he asked.

“You can provide ten million?” asked Elias in surprise. “We also need equipment. People willing to test it and they would need hazard pay and all that. The total would at least be an amount of 50 million for the first month to start it up,” said Elias.

“Fine. I hope you can start it up soon enough. I will transfer you the amount immediately,” said Balthazar. He suddenly had a doubt. The guy only talked of things that would be required for the security proposal and nothing about training environment for the game. He had an amount of 70 million left from the amount he won in the challenge with Max. He thought of using it for this for training of guild members or at least start it up and would later have to provide funds from his earnings in the game.

“The 50 million would allow for creation of the training environment, too right?” asked Balthazar as the doubt popped up in his mind.

“Oh! I can’t really give you a definite answer on that. All the things I mentioned was for your proposal and creating the warframes instances in samsara framework. It would be beneficial for the elder selection and the fact that you provided your own funds would also be advantageous to you. The fact that the proposal came from you along with the funds to develop it would limit the rights to your creation to you, Robert and myself. Even if the elder council wants to deploy it, they would have to consult us. Isn’t it great? Even after Robert becomes an elder, he needs leverage to make effective use of that position,” said Elias with a cunning smile.

“Oh! You plan to use it as leverage for funds, right?” asked Balthazar immediately understanding Elias intentions. He had called for Balthazar mainly for this purpose. Funds are something that a researcher always required. Without them, he would stagnate and not able to progress much.

“You understand me well, young master, Balthazar,” replied Elias with a nod. “As for the other thing, I don’t know much about games to promise you such a thing, but I am sure Ellie would be able to help you. She is supposed to have been here by now.”