Nick woke up the next morning frustrated and stiff from the injury to his shoulder. The agony from the night before was gone but his left arm was still sore from the deep puncture wounds in his shoulder. The morning sun exposed the extent of the wound and the amount of blood he'd lost.
He realized how unequipped and ignorant he truly was. It was time to sit down with his small team and stop acting like a child. If the world he was in was going to punch him in the mouth he wasn’t going to take it lying down. A small spark of something had ignited in him and he had no intention of letting it go out but would turn it into a bonfire. He was a leader, boss, and owner of his own company now and that meant he had to be prepared to deal with all the challenges that came with it.
Nick took a breath before stripping off his blood soaked clothing and tossing it to the side of the tunnel. The cold air hitting his bare chest stung but it did nothing to dampen the small fire that was burning in him. He grabbed his pack from the ground nearby and pulled on his spare set of clothes before stepping out of the tunnel to find his bodyguards for an overdue discussion.
—
The Nightfall sisters were thankful for their years of intensive training as part of their duties as bodyguards for the royal family after a sleepless night. Their ability to stay up for multiple days without affecting their awareness was a key part of their training. The demons had caught them unaware the night before and despite being severely outnumbered they had been able to eliminate them without injury, but their client wasn’t so lucky. It had been a continuous string of poor luck for the sisters.
They had been working as bodyguards for years with a flawless reputation but the last handful of contracts all ended with contract breaches or failure to protect their clients from unexpected threats. They had discussed looking for a different type of work entirely after their last reputation hit before suddenly finding themselves under contract with a low leveled merchant in a farming village with access to a station avatar of all things.
It had caught them by surprise and the situation was bizarre but after working with some eclectic nobles and wealthy scions it was easy enough to shrug off and focus on their job. The appearance of demons was not something they had been equipped to handle however. It added a complication that could turn much more dire if their client had a curse or carried a grudge with some of the high-leveled demons that commanded legions of troops.
They found Nick approaching them from the tunnel with a look of grim determination. His arm was no longer hanging uselessly and he wore a fresh set of clothes. It was a drastic contrast to the night before when he was pale from blood loss and struggling to get onto his bedroll to recover from his injury.
“It’s time for me to be a little more open with you both about my history. It might explain what I understand is an unusual encounter with demons in this part of the world.” Nick said with a voice that demanded attention.
The sisters glanced quickly at each other before turning back to Nick. Larissa spoke for them both. “That would be appreciated.”
“I am not from Proelium and recently found myself in your world. That may explain much of my obvious ignorance and low level. More than that though I was brought here as a champion of Hez. After some thought, it seems likely these demons were here at the direction of another champion or deity that is on unfriendly terms with her.”
“A champion. Ancestors spoke of such things and the favor they held with the gods and goddesses.” Larissa said in a hushed tone.
“Yes, I believe they have a more active hand than I initially believed. I am from a world without pantheons or magic. In fact classes are also a complete mystery to my world beyond stories of fantasy and magic. Hez indicated she will be able to provide more direct assistance if we can achieve greatness and I intend to do just that by making a company that is known across the world. I’m not going to roll over because of some putrid demons.” Nick declared passionately with an upturned nose at the pile of demon corpses nearby.
The sisters' eyes widened slightly at Nick’s declarations. The new information was troubling for a number of reasons but also opened opportunities they never dreamed of. The champion of a goddess would have unique advantages and his retainers would benefit greatly.
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Before the sister’s could reply, Nick pointed to the demon corpses and said, “Vander are those worth anything to the station?”
Vandar had been a few steps behind Nick as he approached and stepped forward. “Unfortunately, demons are sentient beings and will not be purchased directly by the station, but demons are unique in that there are many valuable parts that are harvested from them. May I suggest we list them for sale in the station market? While unusual for this area of the world there may be a crafter interested enough to purchase them and earn us some coins.”
“A wonderful idea Vander. Please open a station entrance for us and arrange a listing for an appropriate price based on the quality of the corpses.”
Vander nodded and a shimmering door appeared next to the pile of corpses. Nick wandered over and with only a slight hesitancy he grabbed the leg of the first corpse and tossed it through the doorway. The pile consisted of over a dozen dark skinned creatures that leaked foul smelling blood of dark red almost black in color.
There were two types of bodies in the pile but they were both the stuff of nightmares. One had fleshy wings and spindly long arms and legs with sharp talon-like nails. The others were slender bi-pedal creatures with hooves no taller than a meter and clothed in dirty rags. Nick spotted a mouth full of fangs and sharp teeth.
It was bloody work but the sisters stepped in to help and within a couple minutes the pile of corpses was through the doorway and all that remained was a pool of black grime and blood on the ground.
Nuri smirked and said, “I was going to suggest we burn the corpses but this is a much easier solution.’
Larissa simply nodded and appeared to be deep in thought.
“Yes, we will be taking advantage of being able to travel and access the station market to carve out a nice place for ourselves in the frontier, but first I need more protection. It is clear the company needs some changes to be more effective. As of this moment, I am promoting myself to President and Chief Executive Officer or CEO of Solis Trading Cooperative”
A station screen shimmered into existence showing an organization chart of the company helping explain Nick’s intended changes.
“Vandar is now the Chief Finance Officer or CFO.”
Vandar cleared his throat before commenting, “I must recommend against assigning me such a role. I am not equipped to meet the requirements of such a position.”
“Screw that. You are the best person I know to run the finances of the company and ensure we are profitable. If you aren’t equipped right now I will find a way to make it so you are in any way I can. You will be traveling with us more permanently moving forward. You will be included in any and all discussions about the company moving forward and unless it is infeasible I will be keeping you summoned at all times.”
“I will do my utmost to live up to your expectations.” Vandar said with a deep bow.
“Good to hear. You will do great.” Nick looked back toward the Nightfall sisters before continuing.
“I know that you are under contract with me as mercenaries at this time but I’d like for you to consider coming on as full-time employees with a monthly salary and benefits after your contract expires. I will find an appropriate salary for you both and we can figure out benefits in the future. Maybe some type of assurance of healing and survivor benefits.” Nick waved his hand in the air indicating it would be worked out soon.
“I will be setting up many more departments in the future but I’d like you to be in charge of my Executive Protection team. You will get a budget to hire and support a team that is responsible for protecting the physical health of all executives. Vander and I will be the first but as we find reliable folks that list will expand. Give it some thought and even if you don’t intend to take the job I’d like input on other options and budget for such a setup.”
The organizational chart updated to show a dotted line between the section for Executives and the Executive Protection team.
The sisters took in all the information and were at a loss for words. They understood some of the roles and looking at the chart gave some context but it was clearly a new concept to organize a mercenary company as Nick described.
After a long pause, Larissa responded, “I think we would be interested in at least exploring the opportunity. There are a lot of strange ideas in what you’ve described but perhaps that is why you were chosen as a champion.”
“Yes, I expect corporations aren’t quite as common here, but nonetheless if I’m a champion of Merchants and Trade, we are going to build a company based on the most profitable organizations I know. To that end, I believe it is time to hire some additional staff. The demon attack showed we are ill-equipped to handle what may come our way with only the four of us.”
“Vandar, I think it's time for us to find the company its first Chief Infantry Officer.” Nick said with a slight smile. His new approach was building his confidence quickly.