"To build an business empire, first thing you need is....luck!"
- Theodore 'Ted' Moore
Ted Moore liked to say that he had seen highest if highs and lowest of lows. It sounded like bragging but it was true though. If he said he was second most unluckiest b*stard, no one would stand to say he was first. In twenty three years of his long life he had endured all sorts of sh*t. Take any tear jerking saga and point at one heart breaking thing, Ted would have suffered from it already.
He was a poster child for being unlucky. Fake parentage, girlfriend dumping him, best friends betraying him, family members becoming I'll and needing loads of money just to hold on to a single breath....you name it, he had experienced it.
His dark hair hung limply, covering most of an attractive face, if it had not been so gaunt. Dark circles under his eyes seemed to have developed dark circles. Last time he had slept deeply was a week back when he had gone to see his family in the hospital.
"Don't worry, Dad! Just rest and get well soon. Max is still studying in the boarding school. His entrance exams will start soon enough. He is preparing for it. Or else I am sure he would have come to meet you too...." He had babbled loads of nonsense, building castles in the air, knowing very well that the person sleeping on the bed might not even have heard him. And while talking, he had just doozed and slept the whole night off. That was the last time he slept deeply because that dozing had costed him two days of extra work.
Ted was working on multiple jobs. He was one of the gold farming team members in "Dominion" game and one of the cannon goddess in another game, "Sword peak". His residence - a battered second hand gaming pod which had to be repaired every other week, giving extra love and care.
It can't be helped though. He had no experience in other jobs but he knew games and eSports. So, that what he did. For past two years, he was working on two online jobs and doing some side gigs, like compiling guides, walk throughs.
Then the unlucky streak hit him again!
He was fired! From both jobs.
The reason? The teams and workshop he was working with got merged into a bigger workshop (two seperate workshops) and the new boss was cost cutting and trimming miscellaneous. As a fairly new person in the group, he got axed.
Great! It never rains, just pours!!! Why was he fired in both jobs back to back? He was a good player, always finishing gold farming quota of the week or dying after damaging the opposite team. Still... This happened!
Fingering few loose credits, Ted decided to have a decent meal before searching for the job and walked out of the dormitory complex. He just had to do all out of the complex to reach the food Street, full of food stalls. Majority of people in the dormitory complex people had enough credits to grab a bit if bite in these stalls before rushing to their jobs. So, the food Street was actually thriving.
After having tongue buring food and partly full tummy, he walked a long way back to complex, window shopping through few shopping complexes on the way. That did not cost a penny after all.
Then....it happened! A cosmic change! Just kidding. He, along with hundreds of game enthusiastic young talents, watched 3D trailer of the new VR game soon to be launched - Boundless. The augmented technology was not cheap though. The monthly subscription for the game was quite hefty yet Ted had seen many rushing to buy the game.
Ted sighed. With his experience in such games, even he could tell this was true gold. But he did not have enough money to shell out for subscription. Here to holing that new workshops would accept him as gold farmer or cannon fodder and give him the game.
Right then, the shops advertising came through - "Tell us your expectations and wishes for the game Boundless and win a chance to get to play the game free*.
*Conditions apply"
With nothing to lose, Ted rushed into the store. He was practically pulled through by the stampede, to be more precise. And he wasted nearly half an hour to write an heart touching essay.
What if...he got the chance? What if he could be allowed to play the game for free for two months? What if he earned enough to pay for further subscription based on what he earned in the game?
If wishes were horses, even beggars would ride. Still...what if?
Ted got the answer in two days. Miracles did happen. Even if it was promotion wrapped up as gift. He had ticked off most boxes for the PR - too poor, not young enough to be in college, desperate, had some experience in gaming, was ready to invest time in the game and swallow the pride to be paraded for the promotion.
Ted wore his cleanest set of clothes, a faded oversize grey shirt and threadbare jeans but none were patched up, so it was definitely dressing up for him. He even combed back his hair, though he wished that his eyes were nearly covered by his hair. He was gushing while he thanked the store and the game developers, like a pro. He indeed had experience in bullsh*ting and praising unrelated people on stage.
Thus Ted became one of millions of people worldwide to enter the game on launch date.
The launch was still a week away though. So he started combing through game forums, social media to glean as much as possible about the game.
Boundless was special in many ways. The avatars were not similar to the player at all, to save the anonymity of the players. But it still gave option to retain their own face for a certain fee. The names for these avatars could be reserved and restricted too, for a price.
Many of the famous personalities, in gaming or otherwise had reserved their old IGN (in game name) and their faces already.
The guilds had banners set up and the promotion was at the peak right now. The first few days in the game, the guilds would rush like madmen to hog all the firsts and announcements to spread their dominance.
Ted just sighed. These people must be feeling the pinch due to bleeding wallet. The glamour of guild was built on silent support of thousands and millions of players. Boundless game was not cheap at all. If you wanted these grassroot workers to function, you needed to pay for their games too. No wonder the workshops were hellbent on cost cutting measures.
Just then, a new post became trending. " Famous eSports player, Dito says goodbye to professional gaming and enters Heavenly Titans guild as core member."
Underneath it, lots of people with nothing to do, started chattering.
"Wow! Oh, wow! This means I have a chance to meet the God Dito within the game."
"Peerless Dito, I am your staunchest fan! Pull me into your guild and I'll work very hard."
"Get lost, upper floor poster. HT guild is already at the limit of players. Even its subguilds are filled to brim. What makes you think that you will be part of mighty Heavenly Titans?"
"As someone who had undergone rounds of interview for HT guild and its sub guilds, I assure you that the poster above mentioned was being truthful. HT is one of the top 5 guilds and it did not become so with accepting anyone. But if you are strong enough and lucky enough to join, you are fixed for life. They pay in credits for all the members who fulfill their quota. It's enough to give up your regular job and play full time. How I envy those b*starts who joined earlier than me. Each new recruitment sets the bar higher. Sigh!!!"
From then on, most of the comments were about HT guild. It could be seen that someone was guiding the people, to focus more and more on guild and increasing its prestige. Just once in a while, a die hard fan of Dito would leave a comment.
The entertainment section had a blast of this news though. Dito was twenty six year old, still prime of his life with a lovely girlfriend, Selene Winston. Selene was in entertainment business, which meant she acted in few serials, livestreamed once a while, modelled in few fashion shows. Why her portfolio was varied because she just chose whatever fancied her. Ms Winston was a heiress outright and was in entertainment circle as a hobby. So, Dito was considered lucky in work and live. The entertainment section lapped up their love story and pulled them to the front news again.
The share values of HT guild, their owner- Life Changer Corps and even the Winston group of industries increased a bit with the release of the news. The money they had spent to poach Dito into the guild was recouped within two days, with such careful advertising and promotions.