Chapter 36: Sponsorship

"Holy shit," Hugh gasped, his words echoed from Dex beside him. Of all the doctors in the world, he happened to come across the most pivotal type? "Did Luck just become my main stat?" he asked. "Do you have any idea how rich you're probably going to be?"

"What?" Frankie tilted his head in confusion, his tousled, salted hair falling across his brow with the movement. "How so?"

"Oh my God, Doc. This is a game made to imitate real life. With a bit of Tech and Magic, you'll be able to perform nose jobs and boob jobs within minutes. That kind of stuff will be your bread and butter, but who do you think is supposed to perform the operations to change gender or change race? Cosmetic surgeons. You're going to have tons of people beating down your doors so they change themselves in ways they could only dream about in the real world. The second most important will be dentists and those CDC people who deal with contagions. Dentists because you're going to have people wanting weird shit like tusks or fangs, and disease control people will be needed to deal with outbreaks once players start using Genesis to create their own plants and animals."

"I definitely want you to tell me more about all that, but I should probably have you do it while the Board is listening in. Does this mean you accept my proposal? If so, please lead me to wherever in this city private clinics are permitted to open. I'll nail down a space, then we can seek out the closest Net terminal to link in."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm not one to usually demand crap in writing, but if you want this to be a long-term sponsorship, we should get the terms down on paper. I wonder if we need a lawyer for that."

"That isn't necessary," Dex interjected. "You can use your Book. The page for Job Contracts should be unlocked for both of you and your verbal negotiation should be written out in plain terms. You both simply need to read through it and either confirm or reject the outlined conditions to make it official."

Hugh pulled out his Book and woke it up, making him grin at how impressed Frankie was over the simple task. The doctor watched as Hugh pressed the Table of Contents entry for 'Page 54... Job Contracts', then copied him exactly. Both of their Books opened to the requisite menu.

The contract draft waited at the top of the list. Hugh pressed it to open it, then read through the sub-menu contents. All of it seemed straight-forward and written out in simple bullet points even he could understand. There was no lawyer-speak present.

"You're Hubert?" Frankie asked.

Hugh winced. "I prefer Hugh. I plan to change it officially at some point, but it's not at the top of my to-do list. The contract looks mostly fine to me, by the way. The only thing I think we're missing is something about exclusivity and some definite details on how much you'll cover of my traveling expenses. It doesn't seem right to say you'll cover all of them. What if I have to spend a thousand Zettabits on an armor upgrade or it takes ten thousand to get entry to a special dungeon so I can get a Spell Scroll you can't even use? Not all of that should be on you. And working exclusively just makes sense if you want the most bang for your buck."

"I'm actually okay with not demanding exclusivity," he replied. "Some of the most miraculous advances in medicine were found by explorers in the real world who weren't looking for medicine at all. I will ask to be offered first choice of purchasing any medical items you find and wish to sell, but otherwise I'll be happy with regular reports and the occasional delivery. Information is what's most important. I can always hire a full team to retrieve whatever catches my interest if you aren't willing to bring it to me. I'd simply like you to be my scout. As for limitations, I'll say I can cover up to five thousand a month without me asking what it's for. I believe my clinic stipend will stretch that far. If you need more, just come and ask. We'll talk it over on a case-by-case basis. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect," he replied. "What about terms for ending the contract? If you feel like you're not getting your money's worth from me, I'd like a little advance warning before I'm cut off."

"How about either of us can break the contract at any time," he said. "You'll retain the house and everything in it, plus half a month's gaming expenses as severance."

"Now that sounds like a deal." He waited as the contract updated with the new terms, then hit confirm. A moment later, Frankie mirrored him. Both pages flashed gold and remained gold until they backed out of the contract terms sub-menu. Even then, the contract's title remained gold to show them it was active.

"Neat," Frankie said in amusement. "Well, then, shall we go?"

"One second, if you don't mind. I'd like to use some of the expenses you just gave me to double-down on a money making opportunity. It's the whole reason I skipped a bunch of gameplay and came straight to Nexus."

"As long as you don't mind me watching you work," Frankie replied easily.

Hugh nodded and scooted his chair closer to the doctor so he could see what Hugh was doing. He went first to his Profile page and checked his Bank accounts. A new one had been listed, entitled 'Contract 1A, Frank Jones.' The balance showed five thousand Zettabits in it.

Hugh transferred fourteen hundred into his own account, then got up and walked to the closest empty building. He purchased a week's rental, set up flyers in the window, then did the same with the neighboring building, giving him three buildings in total to flip—the maximum a freelance player could buy or rent.

"That should do it," he said. "It might take a few days for the other buildings to fill up and people to start making offers, but they won't have a choice eventually. They'll either buy me out or make do by time-sharing a different property with another restaurant."

If you need to extend the rentals, let me know," Frankie offered. "I'll be happy to provide further funds for a percentage of the profits."

"Naw," Hugh replied. "I'm not in the habit of throwing good money after bad. If these don't sell in a week, two weeks max, I'll cut my losses."

"A man after my own heart. I think you're going to be worth every penny I'm spending on you, Mr. Hugh."

Hugh laughed. "Let's hope so. I'd hate to lose my sponsor right after I found one."