245 Test of Strength (17)

Around midday, Kyro's office once again welcomed two familiar people - Frank and Sheila were back. Kyro wondered if they agreed to meet up at his place or fate was working on their side.

"I have a plan," Frank said without preamble, "but I'll need three times the usual budget."

"Three times?" That wasn't a small amount of money. "What exactly are you planning?"

"I've successfully delayed the product's release, saying we came up with some special extra features, but it won't last for long. And those features actually have to be implemented too."

In other words, he was saying that the development department would need extra resources as well. On a normal day, Kyro wouldn't have thought much about it, just accepting it if the idea was good enough, but Dioscuri wasn't as it was before. He couldn't just spend their last savings on something that might trip over its own feet.

"We have enough employees to spare for it," Sheila chimed in. She beamed at Kyro, certain that he would agree.

It was a confidence in the project he didn't share. "What's so special about it?"

Frank came closer, the excitement on his face evident. "I want to do a campaign all of the world. We'd partner with Quagmire's creators and share our new product with all those who achieved the highest rank in each of the game's regions.

"I know the season is ending, and those people would certainly love to do a more substantial reward for winners instead of just sending them some character dyes."

Kyro had little knowledge of Quagmire. It was a super popular moba game with tens of millions of monthly players all over the globe, but he had never played it himself. "And you think those players will appreciate our reward? How can you know that they'll appreciate the new mouse?"

It wasn't that Kyro didn't believe in his company's product, but that he knew how easily everything could go wrong. If there were some defects, the highest level players could create so much noise Dioscuri would have to clean up the mess for years after. Even the product being called decent would result in failure for them.

The danger with such ventures was extremely great. One wrong step would end with their faces in the mud. Only with absolute confidence in their product could they go through with it, and even then they might fall. It wasn't uncommon for people to overestimate themselves and think they had a diamond when it was nothing more than an ordinary crystal.

"Because it's amazing! We tested it with a lot of gamers with various interests: moba, fps, mmorpg, and even some casuals. All were extremely excited about it! If I wasn't certain it would work, I wouldn't have come to you. Besides, I want to bring all those people here."

Kyro's heart skipped a beat. Airplane tickets weren't that cheap, especially if they were going to be bringing people from all over the world. "Have you went mad?"

And it wasn't like that would be the end. They'd probably be expected to house and feed them, maybe even bring to various attractions. To say that all of that would cost a fortune would be an understatement.

"You have till tomorrow to come up with something actually plausible," he said, shaking his head. He wasn't that far gone to jump on such a crazy idea.

"Mr. Hemming, we've really thought this through," Sheila said, not accepting his refusal. She placed a stack of documents on his table, filled with various solutions on how to lower the costs. "The main expense will be the plane tickets. Besides that, we can use Summer Snowflake guesthouse which is mostly empty this time of year to house them all. The rooms and staff there are owned by us, so it won't make much of a difference if we house someone there.

"As for food, we'll have the game company provide it. They have to do something as well."

"What concerns traveling expenses around the city and other entertainment, I have a few choices. Worst case scenario, I can just do it myself, or ask other employees. With a translator of course. It won't be as bad as you imagine," Frank assured.

Their passion for it was swaying Kyro. He knew they might be blinded by their ideas, but he skimmed over their calculations and it wasn't too bad. They would use up marketing department's budget for the whole year, but if it worked, it'd be more than worth it.

But would it work? The money was one thing, but there was also the players. Would they really like their product? And what about all the traveling? The players would have to be given plenty of entertainment if they're to gain a good opinion about a company whose reputation was in shambles.

"What makes you think it's the best choice?" Kyro asked.

He wasn't sold on their idea yet, but he could see its good points. If they did that, their reputation would raise. Although some people would call it a cheap trick, no one would be stupid enough not to not know how much it would've cost. And the players would certainly be delighted, if everything went well, uncaring if it was a publicity game or not.

Frank and Sheila launched into their pitch, finally remembering it. For the next hour they did their best to get Kyro aboard their ship, and by the end he allowed them to approach Quagmire's creators officially. They had exchanged ideas privately, both sides knowing they weren't promising anything, just discussing possibilities, but now they were free to create actual plans.

Whatever was decided on in the end would still need Kyro's approval, but it was highly likely that he would agree unless they came up with something even more crazy midway through.

Once the two excited people left, Kyro leaned over his table while gazing at the papers strewn over his table. It was a gamble, but one that had a high chance of success. If it failed though, Dioscuri would be near finished; an event to which he wasn't looking forward.

While thinking about that, Kyro sighed. He was hoping to avoid it, but life wasn't that nice. It wasn't good to put all of one's eggs in a single basket.

He took out his phone and called from his private number. "Hey, Mark. Have time for lunch?"

"Kyro? Didn't you say Dioscuri was fine?" a voice Kyro had heard too recently answered.

"Oh, it's fine. I was just wondering if your Harrill Resources were just as fine?"

There was silence for a moment, then Mark said, "I'm listening."

"Horten Family Group is your closest competitor, so what do you think would happen if they acquired a giant like Dioscuri?" He gave the other man a moment to think about it. "I'd have full freedom even under their wing, already received some tempting offers, but I don't know if you'd get the same. I thought to give you a heads up for our old friendship."

"Three o'clock, Glory. Bring those offers for me to see," Mark said through gritted teeth, and Kyro smiled. The fish had been hooked.