"Here we are, sir! Please don't forget to leave a review if you liked my services!" the Driver enthusiastically exclaimed as he discharged his quarry, Ambrose generously paying for the trip as Damon had yet to own a single iota of an Essence Coin.
The two got down and faced a rather large building that pierced into the very sky of this VR world, going through the clouds themselves. It was styled in a combination of a skyscraper and a spire tower from a fantasy setting, but with the hum of advanced technology enhancing it as various blue lines crisscrossed its form.
At the large courtyard area existed a foundation surrounded by seven statues in various postures of various alien creatures that looked extremely majestic.
The first one was a Cthulhu-like creature with a face full of tentacles forming what was a beard below its surprisingly human-like mouth part, a round scalp with tentacles that formed rasta-like dreads that flowed behind it as well as a body covered with elegant robes.
The second one was a cold-faced elven woman with pointy ears, a gem-embedded wreath across her temples and flower-adorned robes that spread out around her knees to form a wide hem. Her hands were clasped together elegantly, and she seemed very unapproachable just by this.
The third one was a burly humanoid male with rocky skin that formed an even pattern that almost looked like scales, his bald head gleaming in the sun even as a statue. However, one could almost feel his intense cornea-less eyes boring into them since his head was angled downwards, glancing at everyone passing through the courtyard with his arms folded behind his back.
The fourth one was a humanoid insectoid creature that looked like a hunched-over fly. Its age was apparent even in its stature, its large compound eyes filled with vicissitudes that even a human could see perfectly, represented in the craftsmanship of the statue.
The fifth one was a tall dragon man with a rather thin stature, wearing the most resplendent robes so far with countless gems inlaid within and a ring on each finger studded with jewels. Damon could not tell much about dragon-man physiology, but this fellow gave him a very arrogant feeling.
The sixth one was a tiny female fairy with big pupil-less eyes, a witch-like robe over her body and shoes akin to high-heels. By human standards, she was someone cute, but Damon couldn't help but feel a chill looking at those alien eyes.
The seventh and final statue was that of a goblin man with a wide grin, his lip-less mouth showing sharp teeth. He wore a set of clothes akin to a caricature of a nerd, white shirt, black suspenders, and brown khaki shorts that reached above his knees.
Ambrose came to stand by Damon and looked up at the statues with a hint of casual reverence. "Ah, the Seven Lords of Business. Each of them is the lifetime CEO of the top seven major corporations in the galaxy that are completely and fundamentally linked to our entire economy."
Damon raised an eyebrow. "So they are the wealthiest in the universe? If so, they must have specialties."
Ambrose sneered. "It's not just about wealth, any amount of wealth can be seized by those with power. What makes them possess those titles and be recognized as timeless is that even if one of them were to stop operating for any reason for a single day, the entire universe's economy would enter a terrible recession."
Damon's eyes narrowed. "So they are crucial to universal survival and basically untouchable?"
"More than that. Were it not for the Universe Will, the laws of the IUAS would not even be able to hold them down, being nothing more than paper. These companies are not backed by just economic power, but martial power, linked to one or more of the top 50 races."
Ambrose flicked a finger to the first statue. "That is Carzan, a member of the 24th ranked Jorge Species. He is the current CEO of Itinerati Corp, the company that deals with all matters related to the exchange of goods excavated from various Essence Instances."
Then he pointed to the second. "That is Talia Vritu, Councilor Kiisuo's partner. She is in charge of Vritu Enterprises, a supply-oriented business owned by the Elven Race. They handle the exchange of all basic goods in the universe, so she will handle the valuation of your planet's resources and buy them from you."
Then to the third. "Garton of the 43rd ranked Golem race. He is the CEO of Unylis Group, the number one company that deals with and handles Ability Hires. He and his company are probably the ones most hoping to drink your blood and eat your flesh right now."
Damon's heart sank slightly but Ambrose continued without a care. "Sinokin, one of the lords of the Insect Race, ranked 7th in the universe. He is the CEO of Hiveshare, the premier company for livestreaming within the universe, relying on the unique hive mind power of the insect race to surpass technology."
"As for the dragon fellow, you should be able to guess his origin. That is the humanoid form of Bertrand, one of the sons of Alexander, who is the CEO of Draco Conglomerate, a business backed by the number 1 race. Their form of business is dealing with Chaos Essence and purchasing it at a premium to hand over to the Universe Will."
Ambrose glanced at Damon. "Just know that it's literally law that you CANNOT sell Chaos Essence to anyone else but them and you definitely are not allowed to give it directly to the Universe Will behind their back."
"What? Why?" Damon asked with genuine confusion.
"Favor. They are the number one race and their providence is maxed out with the Universe Will because all Chaos Essence is presented to it through them. The Universe Will is like an infantile child, so guess who a child's favorite person would be apart from its own parents?" Ambrose answered while giving a glance askance.
The person who gave the child the most sweets probably.
Damon instantly understood the operation of the Dragon race and could only marvel. He did not ask a stupid question like how the dragon race could achieve this because their power alone was enough to twist the arm of the IUAS.
"There is dear Feena, the CEO of Wish Network, and they deal with special goods sourced from the Chaos Realm aside from Chaos Essence. You should know, not every item produced in the Chaos Realm follows the common sense and rules of our universe, much like the world there." Ambrose continued as he nodded to the sixth statue.
Then he glanced at the seventh with a hint of barely concealed disdain. "And there is the most recent one to rise through the ranks, CEO of Trust and Trades, Godin. He is also incidentally the founder of that company, which deals with the trades of the accumulated Worldly Essence of VR characters to real persons."
Ambrose chuckled. "That's right, I know you guessed it. He is the very one who discovered the loophole that allowed the trade and has been rewarded by the Universe Will, also given the right over this business sector."
Damon inspected the seven statues once more, engraving their features into his heart. Ambrose clapped his hands and gestured for them to head inside and get this over with, because he naturally had other things to do than continue to juggle with this hot potato of a species.
The duo entered the bustling building that had countless formally dressed beings coming and going from it just that apart from Damon who wore a tuxedo, most wore robes of different kinds while others adopted bizarre styles that no human could have thought of.
There was an aide terminal where one would input various details and be guided on what they wanted from bookings, to the layout of the center and even to sign-ins. Ambrose gestured to the terminal and Damon input his special code as the Prime Representative of the Human Race, which was like humanity's ID number.
"Hello, Prime Representative Damon Arnan, your scheduled meeting for the valuation of the human race and other miscellaneous contracts will be held in meeting room #1. Please proceed to the elevator marked on the display." An AI-generated voice of a human female spoke in a clear and realistic tone, as if Damon were listening to a typical service receptionist on earth.
Ambrose whistled audibly with raised eyebrows. "Meeting room one! These fellows really put your race on a pedestal, that room is reserved for only the most crucial business deals that could affect the fate of the universe but have to be done publicly!"
Damon was silent as he memorized the map and walked with Ambrose towards the elevator in question, which was the same as any other one, only that the two were the only users within.
The young man closed his eyes and visualized the battle to come, but his mind couldn't help but drift to the past…