Dungeons Online

Chapter 128: Is it how it feels to be a tycoon?

"Here, just like promised," Tom said, throwing the silvery coin to the female that saved the life of the scrawny archer. "Split it with those who helped you out in any way you believe to be fair," he added before turning his face to the guild master. 

"Let me guess," the woman spoke up before Tom could even say a word. "You want me to handle the procedure of turning them into slaves, right?" she said, looking at Tom with a peculiar look on her face. 

"Exactly," the young man replied. "I want them to be absolutely loyal to a single order I will give them while being unable to even say a word about the task to anyone else," he stated his wishes before turning around and scanning the entire room. 

'There they are,' Tom thought, ignoring the guild master and everyone else who had some part in the recent commotion. "Sorry for the delay, but I had to deal with it right away," he said as he approached Krater and the rest of his group. 

During the fight and the entire commotion surrounding it, they fell to the second plan in Tom's mind. After all, as they didn't pose any immediate threat, they could be dealt with once the situation in the guild would be secured. But now that all the burning matters were settled, Tom finally had the time to ask the very question that he wanted Krater to answer. 

"It's okay," the man replied, clearly unsure how he was supposed to deal with Tom. While there was the fact that Tom saved him and the rest of his party from certain doom in the dungeon, as he observed his exploits, it was clear that he wasn't sure whether helping him out was a good idea anymore. "I could see that you gave them more chances than I would. I'm just shocked how easily you could deal with the top party in the city!" he added, shaking his head and finally reaching some kind of conclusion. 

As a result, rather than adopting a reserved attitude, he made his words sound like praise. In the end, there was no point in putting a distance with such a powerhouse like Tom and Claudia only because they exercised their own power a little!

"Great," Tom's face relaxed a bit, "I was worried you would take this entire thing in the wrong way. What's more," he took a short pause to think how much he could reveal, "No, let me put it in a different way. You can rest assured that I'm not going to bully those people, even once they will become my slaves," he said, reaching out and patting Krater's shoulder. "I have something extremely important that I needed someone to take care of. Once they are done, I will likely release them back to freedom too," he added, taking a quick look deeper in the guild.

Following her own suggestion, the guild master already took care of the defeated trio. Even though they were not in bounds, it was clear that they had no thoughts of escape from the devastated looks on their faces. 

"Right, before I forget again," Tom said, turning his eyes back to Krater. "Would you mind recommending me some kind of a good place to rent a room for the night?" he asked. At the same time, all the tension finally left Tom's body. 

For the short moment now, he could stop thinking about all his schemes, all the stuff that he had to do, and everything that could be possibly happening back home. For a moment, he could just focus on dealing with stuff that everyone else would be troubled with. 

For a short while, he could act like yet another average adventurer. 

"Seeing how you like to overspend on everything you do..." Krater muttered, throwing a look at the same lady that healed the archer up, currently throwing a massive celebratory party at the bar-side of the room. "I don't think I know any place that could satisfy your expectations," he said, shaking his head. 

"Come on, man," Tom sighed. "I just need somewhere peaceful, where I won't be worried about anyone interrupting or attempting to rob me," he said, slamming his forehead into his palm. 

"With that..." Krater hesitated, only to finally let out a deep sigh and nod his head, "With that, I can help," he said before turning to his own group. "Feel free to return to your quarters, for now. I will guide our benefactor around the town for a short while," he said before grabbing Tom's arm and leading him out of the building. 

"What's the hurry?" Tom asked, surprised by the sudden haste of the man. "Did something happen?" he added another question, genuinely puzzled by the man's behavior. 

"You happened," Krater replied while rolling his eyes. "While I don't mind helping you out, I don't want everyone to associate me with you," he explained his problem.

"Huh?" Tom's eyes widened as he looked at the man in surprise. "Wouldn't that be great for you to have backers capable of mopping the floor with, how you called them yourself, the strongest party in the city?" he asked, unable to understand just what was going through Krater's head. 

"Take it as my guess, but I believe you won't stay here for long," Krater said with a conflicted smile. 

"Huh?" Tom shrugged, surprised by the man's words. "What makes you believe that?" he asked.

"You are already in cahoots with the guild master, but you went against the local powerhouse group," Krater said, listing out both achievements that Tom got in such a short amount of time. "While it's just a guess, but you are a conqueror. A conqueror that's left in a place with nothing to conquer," he added, revealing the reason behind his hesitation. 

"All that's left for me is to weep, then," Tom said, paraphrasing one of the famous quotes from his world. 'And then he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer,' he thought, recalling the famous quote. 'Am I really that kind of man, now?' Tom asked himself in this rare moment of self-reflection. 

"We are here," Krater said after a few moments of silence. Shaken out of his daze, Tom raised his face only to see an impressive-looking front of a relatively massive building.

For the standard of his world, this could be at most a privately owned hotel in a tourist location, yet for the level of this city, it was truly a magnificent place. 

From the front, a collumnade supported a huge terrace on which several tables awaited the customers. Yet, it was the insides that made the greatest impression on Tom. 

'To think that someone could understand that adding more gold and expensive arts often only destroys the balance of beauty,' he thought, staring at the toned insides of the building through its wide windows. 

"It doesn't look that great, I know," Krater said as he pulled Tom inside the building. 

"The fuck are you saying?" Tom shrugged, wrestling his arm free from the man's hold yet obediently following behind him anyway. "This place looks great, thanks," he said before getting ahead of the man and approaching what looked like a counter. 

"How can I help you, sir?" A young woman approached Tom from the side, taking him by surprise. 'Not from behind the counter?' he thought when his expectations of the reception were broken. 

"I would like to inquire about the price of your rooms," he said, putting a gentle smile on his face. 

"Sir, what kind of quality are you looking for?" the female smiled professionally, instantly moving on to the details. "How many beds would you like in the room?" 

"To be fair, I'm actually interested in renting the entire top floor of the building," Tom said, still keeping his small, humble smile on his lips. "As for how long, I think two days would suffice," he added in the same calm tone as before. 

"Sir, excuse me for asking, but are you sure?" the girl asked. But, what Tom could only praise as the heigh of the professionalism, her eyes twitched only for a tiny bit. "The cost of renting the entire floor..." she said before closing her eyes for a moment. "Sir, the cost could easily reach thirty dukets," she said, opening her eyes and looking at Tom. 

"That's fine," Tom smiled before pulling out yet another of the silvery coins offered to him by the guild. Even though this was the highest price that Tom discussed in this world so far, the professional face of the girl twitched at the sight of the silvery coin. "I will entrust this coin in your hands," Tom said as he placed the coin on the counter. "Also, rather than change, I would like one of the rooms to be outfitted with all sorts of delicacies and best drinks you can provide," he said, already planning for how he would placate Claudia for leaving her alone at the guild. 

"Sir, we will gladly take you up on your offer, but if we really were to go all out with the food and drink service..." the girl hesitated as her eyes glanced over to where Tom's coin reflected the light of the sun. 

"Don't worry," Tom quickly interjected, nodding his head with understanding. "It would be problematic for you if the cost were to rise above what I paid," he said before pulling another coin of the same grade and placing it down on the counter. "I hope this will be enough to ward off any worries of that kind," he added with a big smile as he stared down at the cute face of the girl. 

'Is this how it feels to be a tycoon?' Tom thought, perfectly aware of the intense looks the girl threw at his back as soon as he turned around and left the place, heading back to the guild.