Chapter 117: Shareholder

“We have returned!” Kaina jumped and hugged Kouki. “We won! We defeated a medium dungeon!”

While the lovebirds were celebrating, James noticed four soldiers talking over their walkie-talkies in the distance. Two soldiers came over and saluted, only to be pulled into a hug by Sanders.

The sun shone on the horizon, casting a familiar orange glow. James had already missed this sight. This natural sun was the best. The never-ending daylight inside that dungeon had worn him out.

“Maybe I’ll take it easy for a while,” James thought. The dungeon work had been pushing him to the limit.

Moments later, three jeeps picked up the group and brought them to the office, where Silas, other guild officials, and even UN representatives were waiting. James also noticed several people in lab coats preparing to depart for the nuclear complex. They were the nuclear physicists tasked with maintaining the reactor after James had cleared the dungeon.

When they arrived at the office, expensive dishes were laid out before them. James had expected a boring debriefing, full of questions about what the dungeon had been like. But no—it was a party.

“Congratulations! James, Andrew, and everyone! You have conquered a medium dungeon! At this pace, an advanced dungeon is within your reach!”

“Congratulations!” Other officials, UNH members, and even the provincial mayor congratulated them, shaking hands and thanking them for saving the world. Pride, a feeling James had never experienced when he was a salaryman, rose from his heart. He and Andrew had prevented a nuclear meltdown.

Then, rows of reporters entered. James’s eyebrows twitched, thinking he had been set up for long interviews. But no—all they did was talking to their cameraman from afar. Silas, showing some tact, had instructed the reporters that they could film the heroes but not interview them. His reasoning was simple: they had just finished a dungeon and were exhausted. So, the reporters simply flocked in, covering the successful raid with zero casualties, before moving out to aim their questions at the nuclear physicists next.

“Please rest. We have reserved the best room for you. We shall pick you up in the morning for a debriefing.”

James and the group were brought to a five-star hotel, where they spent the night.

After a bath, James lunged onto the bed. His belongings had already been conveniently placed in the room by guild staff. Rummaging through them, he picked up his phone and called Ryan.

“Ryan, How’s the store?”

“James! I just read the news! Congratulations! The store’s fine! I just signed up with a local toy maker to make a figurine based on you and your weapon. There are over a thousand preorders already. I expect this to be our main merchandise.”

“Toys? Based on me?”

“Yeah! Check your phone. I sent you a picture.”

James swapped his phone with his right hand. If there was one good thing about his hand turning human again, it was that using a smartphone had become easier. On the screen, a furry monster wreathed in flame stood menacingly on a white counter. At first, James didn’t recognize it—but the metallic arms made it clear. It was him, not some random monster.

“I look like a villain, or some mob monster you’d find in a AAA game!” That much was tolerable; James knew he looked like that now. But his eyes popped when he saw the price tag at the bottom. “What the fuck—700 dollars for this figurine? How big is it?”

“The usual 1/8 figurine size,” Ryan replied.

“Don’t you think that’s too expensive?” James groaned, still thinking like a normal salaryman. He had owned some figurines before, but they cost at most $50 to $70—a tenth of this ridiculous price.

“This figurine comes with a poseable hand. Then we also have your weapons. The standard set includes your axe, sword, and crossbow. Later we can sell add-ons—your black bow, swords, guns, and grenades. Ah, I heard you’ve got new weapons too. Can we inspect them? This will be good business.” Ryan continued his sales pitch.

“If you want to reach out to other fans, we can arrange something. Maybe a lower-quality figurine? The usual figurines are priced at around 100 dollars. I’ll have that made somewhere in the coming month.”

“Whatever. I’ll be coming there in a week. You can look at those weapons later.” James rolled his eyes. It wasn’t his problem. If people wanted to buy them, then so be it. He was still amazed Ryan had found a thousand people who wanted to buy this.

“Wonderful! A fan meeting, then. I was thinking about hiring people in suits, but if you greet them yourself, I’m sure people will flock and buy these figurines once they know they can shake hands with their hero.”

“Alright.” James thought he didn’t like crowds, but he wanted a change of pace. The dungeon life had taken its toll on him. A fan meeting seemed like a good way to waste some time.

“Moving on, Mister James. Regarding our guild—I’ve assembled over twenty willing volunteers to aid you in your coming raid. Do you have any particular dungeons you’d like to free?”

“Not really? Ah, but they need to be novice dungeons, alright. I need people who have at least conquered four novice dungeons before we raid medium ones. I also need more dungeon cores from novice dungeons.”

“Of course. I see. So you need dungeon cores from novice dungeons before moving on to medium dungeons. I’ll keep that in mind. On an unrelated note, our company—now named Dungeon Slayer—has finally become a legitimate corporation. Many lawyers I knew either died or moved abroad, so it took some time. Now that you’ve returned, I invite you to our shareholder meeting.”

Corporation? James tilted his head. He didn’t quite understand. Whose corporation? His? Did that mean he had become the infamous shareholder—someone even CEOs feared? Did that mean he was now a top dog, even on Earth?

“What should I do? Wait… how much is my share?”

“You currently hold 90% of the shares. But once the company goes IPO, I expect it will go down to 40%.”

“Wait—you sold my shares?”

“No. It is called dilution. We issue new shares. So, our company was valued at 10 million dollars before. My shares were worth a million. After the IPO, we will have another 10 million dollars. So the company will be valued at 20 million dollars.”

“I see. I wonder if I can raise the value more. If you need 10 million dollars, you could just say so. I just got paid by clearing this dungeon,” James muttered.

“Of course. The IPO hasn’t happened yet, so you could put in more money. In that case, you would have 19 million, and the public would have 10 million. With my own shares, the company would be valued at 30 million dollars. That means you would hold over 60% of the shares. But James, are you sure you want to invest that much money?” Ryan asked. Surprisingly, Ryan advised James against putting more money into the company.

“Hm? What do you mean? It’s good, right?”

“Well, I shall be honest then. It would be wonderful, but please keep what I am about to tell you a secret. Other investors already know about this, but you are new to the stock exchange, right? So, I should advise you as a friend and my lifesaver. Our company currently has no unique product. This company’s value mostly relies on you, James, and the tools you brought from dungeons. Unless we can train survivors to raid and clear dungeons on their own, this company’s value will be hard to raise. You have a limit to what you can bring, right?”

“Ah, I see. If I got lost in a dungeon, this company wouldn’t survive and my stock would drop, huh?” James nodded. This company basically hinged on him right now.

“Yes. The stock wouldn’t just drop, it would crash to the ground. This company would go bankrupt in an instant. Moreover, we couldn’t possibly sell all of your weapons. If you returned empty-handed or lost your equipment, we would be in the red. Until we can diversify our income and make it more stable, what you are doing is risky, James.”

“Will it help you?”

“Yes, it would speed up the process greatly, James.”

“Then do it. I trust you. Good luck,” James said. Even after spending 10 million dollars, he still had a million left in his bank account—enough to last him a lifetime. James didn’t have a girlfriend, and he wasn’t a spendthrift. The guild had paid him 10 million for freeing that nuclear reactor. James didn’t know how he would ever spend that kind of money. He barely even spent on food now, since he often ate inside the dungeon from monsters.

So, he decided to put his money into his company instead of letting it rot in the bank. If he conquered more dungeons, his company would gain more credibility. A dream began to emerge from within. He wanted to create a company where his employees had a work-life balance. An impossible dream, he knew. But who knew? Maybe it was possible.

“Thank you, James. I shall change the IPO immediately. I shall work my hardest for this company!” Ryan said.

“Good luck. Don’t push yourself too hard.” After saying his goodbye, James hung up the phone and went to sleep.

Morning began with a knock on his hotel door from a staff member. Thanks to his ears, he had heard the staff long before they reached the door. Andrew and the others greeted him as they ate breakfast together. Then, they drove back to the office, where Silas and a nuclear physicist, Martha, waited.

“Greetings, everyone. Martha here has given us grave news. The nuclear reactor shows clear deterioration. Some damage has appeared at several critical facilities, and the computer did nothing to stop it. Thankfully, this reactor can still be saved. After pushing the scram button and doing a little maintenance work, the reactor has been put under control.”

“So, what’s the danger?” Kouki asked.

“It was doubtful that there was any damage to the previous nuclear reactor—the one in the novice dungeon Kouki conquered with James. Even if there had been damage, we assumed the automated computer would handle everything.”

“Is that no longer the case?” Andrew asked.

“No. The nuclear reactor in the medium dungeon is in a considerably worse state. The problem is that the pool where water is sourced has almost dried up. Without it, a meltdown is imminent.”

Tension rose as Silas broke the news. Everyone in the room gasped.