World Online

"Walk with me. I am not done with our little discussion." Nolan smiled as he got up.

"Indeed. I was wondering what the whole discussion would be, but so far, we haven\'t talked about anything at all." Jake chuckled.

Nolan got up with some effort, veins on his arms bulging as he strained them trying to stand.

"How could someone be so weak even in the game? Looks like this man is much weaker in real life. Or else, he would easily have enough will power to just stand up and walk." Jake thought to himself.

Nolan tidied up the suit that he dorned as he nodded at Jake. But instead of walking toward the door that Jake had come through, he turned around to look at the bookshelves behind him.

"I hear that you also have a secret compartment. I mean, I don\'t dare say that this is as good as yours. I just put a few bookshelves here to hide this entrance, unlike you, who actually paid for this feature." Nolan chuckled as he tapped one of the bookshelves.

Suddenly, the bookshelf started moving slightly. It started moving toward Nolan, who had to move aside to let the bookshelf come into ninety degree position with the one adjacent to it.

"So that is where the space went. I was wondering why the office wasn\'t as wide as the hall outside. Looks like he put in a lot of money covering up the secret operation that he is running here." Jake finally realized as he walked past the desk, keeping up with a moving Nolan.

Nolan was limping forward. Even though he did not have a cane, he looked like he needed one. The way that he looked, and this current situation, for a second there, Jake felt like he was not in the virtual world, but rather the real one.

With an old man who seemed so close to death that he couldn\'t even walk? That was most old men in the real world. At that age, they needed a cane to walk. But in the virtual world, that was unheard of. As long as your mind was strong enough, it could easily support the thought of you walking around.

And the secret door that led to a long hall inside? This was no secret room. It was a secret building in and of itself. And looking at it, Jake felt like he was in those drug rings that old movies from the century before showed him. Where the hero was supposed to go into this secret place, and there were enemies waiting for him.

"I wonder what you have in there, chairman. For such secrecy. And to think that you would show me this even though it looks like your guild members are unaware of this space. I am truly honored." Jake bowed slightly, his right arm on his heart.

"Good gesture, that. Don\'t waste it on useless things. You and I are equals now. Nay, you forced yourself a superior to me. No need for the false pretenses then. Now that you are the leader of the alliance that my guild is a part of, maybe I should show you my guild\'s true strength." Nolan smiled.

They were walking into this giant hall of its own. It was very similar to the hall outside, and yet it was not. The hall itself was an indentical one. It looked like Horace bought more land that Jake expected. This was a good investment by them indeed, right when land prices were low.

And in this hall, rows of players were just striking wooden dolls. Training dummies, to be precise. And why the players were striking dummies would probably elude many. But it didn\'t elude Jake\'s experienced eyes.

"It looks like Horace really knows its stuff. To think that you are getting your people to start grinding skill points even before they became relevant! You are a genius! No wonde- I mean, there is no doubt that you are going to be one of the biggest guilds in the game soon enough." Jake smiled.

"Ah! So you know of this technique as well. I thought that for once, we had something over you. For some reason, it feels like you are Nova\'s prodigal son, just here to taunt us, and see how we are doing." Nolan shook his head and sighed.

"If I was from Nova, and I had some power in the company, trust me. I would not be walking around trying to beg people to join my side. The representative of Aries would be sacked for daring to be rude to me, and the entire world would know that Bright Horizon was untouchable. If Nova actually entered the market, then all of this would not be a dream. It would be reality. And that is why the countries all made sure that Nova would be a bystander. They would not touch the game once it was complete." Jake said.

"So they are not even allowed to play the game? What a wonderful life they must live. They are excused from this game." Nolan sighed as they kept walking through the corridor, walking past many more players.

"Indeed. I am also interested in seeing what life Nova employees and higher ups lead. I don\'t think that I have ever seen one before. A Nova employee, or even someone related to the company." Jake said.

"They ARE the most mysterious corporation in the world." Nolan nodded.

"That is true. But still, just how mysterious can a company get? They shot up to fame in a few years, and suddenly dominated every market. Well, if I have to sit here and ramble on and on about the grievances that I have with the company, then the day will pass and we will not get anything done. Now then. There has to be something else that you want to show me. These are just your normal guild members. I mean, the normal ones among your trusted core. Where are your elites?" Jake asked.

"You are a sharp one." Nolan\'s mouth widened.

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