Chapter 71:

Ace finished up the last touches, and stepped back to admire the drawing. He was done, it had taken him many hours, but he could now forget about it. He would have them come pick it up and make it ready for his grandmother's birthday in a few days. As he finished it, he felt a weight get off his chest, he had no bouts he would finish in time, but regardless, it had been a stressful time nonetheless.

Now that he had finished he could focus on something other than the drawing. Namely, what game to play, he had seen a new game that was about to come out, that he thought seemed super cool. It was kind of a 'fun' project, but Ace thought it had a lot of potential. The name was still undecided, but it had a kind of 'survival' vibe, and an ultra-realistic shooting concept. It was a bit different from other games that he had played in that knowing the different zones and different items were just as important if not more so than being a good shot.

Regardless, he had read that they needed some more funding to be able to grow their studio, Ace wanted to meet with them, but if he found them to be har-working and skilled, he might fund them off his own money - anonymously of course. If it could expedite the process of creating a great game, then he was all about using some of his ever-growing fortune. His grandmother had introduced him to a few investors, and they controlled about 20% of his monetary assets. They were free to do as they wished as long as there were tangible returns. This meant that he had a growing lump of money he had no real idea on what to do with.

Because of this, he believed that he could benefit the community, and help fund a few games with the need for money - as long as he believed them to be fun to play of course. It was in this way that he had come across this project, and he thought that it would be a super cool one. He had then contacted the studio and informed them that he had plans to fund the game, they then told him that if he wished, they could do a video-call, in which they would be able to inform him exactly what game they were hoping to create, and what their business plans were for the future.

Ace agreed, throughout the process, they had been kind and polite, which only made him want to support them more. Ace would prefer to be anonymous, but understood that it would be quite hard, unless he sent someone in his place, and that was just not his style. They would recognise him, but he would have them sign an NDA before anything happened, so it should be fine, since only a few people would be aware. He planned to use one of the non-affiliated shell corporations to fund the game, which should keep him safe from prying eyes. It's not like anyone would care too much anyway.

He booted up the PC, and loaded the game, while starting his broadcasting software. He wanted to stream today, as a reward for finishing his gift for his grandmother. He wanted to play some with Harris and Abby, and maybe with a few streamers later on if the opportunity came. His growing number of viewers had not stagnated, but probably would soon. At the end of the day, Rainbow was still a new game, and many people already had favourite streamers they would rather tune in to. For now, however, he had a respectable audience of between 3 and 5k, depending on the day. And it nearly doubled when he played music. His social media accounts were also booming, having over 1.5 million in I-Gram. He had expected that, since his fanbase in I-Gram was totally different than anything else. He had also made plans with Veronica to speak to the people of the brand, Strike, that wanted him to model. He was unsure yet on whether to take up on the offer, but it was looking better and better. They had already informed him that 30% of the proceeds would go to charity. It could be a bit of a stretch for them since it was still a growing brand, but they understood that people would probably buy their products, and it would help them get recognition.

Ace still had to go over some of the clothes, but he would probably do it, since from what he had seen on the website, they were cool enough, he would not mind wearing them to go out with friends, or to any other ludic activity.

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Ace hang up the phone, he would meet the brand owner tomorrow in the studio where they designed the clothes, and had the videocall with the game studio that same afternoon. It meant he would get rid of all the things he had to do in one day, so it should be productive. That night, John informed him that he and his family would be in town for about a week, so they made plans to go out. John wanted to go to a skateboard park, Ace had no idea on how to skateboard, but he might as well learn, it should be fun, and it was a pretty useful mode of transport. He would have never surfed if it was not for John, who he already considered his 'crazy' friend.

They would most likely end up jumping off a plane at some point or another, so Ace might as well build up to that, since he would be roped into the activity for sure. Surfing had been fun anyways, and trying new stuff was his thing anyway, so it should at least be educating.

Ace relaxed after a dinner of ramen, he was reading a book, about to go to bed, when he got a call from his grandmother, "Hello?"

"Hello, the airspace had been obtained, and the planning and preparation of the environment have been finished, so the construction of the Tower should begin soon. Get ready, because we are going to become very relevant, very fast."

"More than we already are? Is that even possible?"

"Oh you don't even know half of it, by the time this is done, we should be just as important as the average country."

"Well, I suppose a congratulations is in order then."

'Yes it is, now good night, I still have some work to get through before calling it a day."

"Have a good night then, bye."

And just like that, Ace's life began to spiral out of control.

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"Well, we are not a big brand by any means, but we ensure that we have the best quality and designs we can make. We do not have investors since it is a family-owned business. This meant that it was a slow process at first, but now that we are gaining some more fame, some bigger brands wish to buy us up. We have of course said no, since all they would want was an increase in price and reduction in quality, but this means that it is becoming harder and harder for us to not get overcome by the market."

"I understand, and I respect your ideals, I have seen your designs, and I have to say that I find them to be really good. I think we can come to an agreement, and this is what I am proposing. I will do the modelling for free, I will also post some pictures on my I-Gram with a link to your shop and brand account. You will announce that 30% of the proceeds will go to charity. However, I wish to be a member of your brand's team. My name will also be on it. For this, I can offer you the following: I will fund your efforts, as long as it is within reasonable bounds, I have no interest in controlling quality, as long as it is kept to such high standard, all will be fine. I will also model for you when needed, as long as it does not impede too much on my own schedule, and will tag any clothes from your brand I wear. I will also create some designs fro a collaboration between Ace and Strike, this could be my first official merch, which means a lot of people will buy it. I will create the designs, but you are free to comment and change anything, as long as I give permission. I think that these terms are more than agreeable, my lawyer has drafted a mock contract, and you can look at it as you wish. And again I will reiterate, I have no interest in any of your company's shares, I simply think Strike has a lot of promise.", after the spiel, and leaving an awestruck owner, he placed the contract on the table and left. It would now be up to them, he had done what he could.

Ace went back home, where he ate and got ready for the meeting with the game studio, he had informed them who he was, and the fact that he wished for anonymity, so there should hopefully not be any surprises or problems since they had already signed the NDA, if they breached it, he would sue them to the ground, and take control of the game they were developing, this meant that they would probably not break it.

"Good afternoon Mr Goldsign, if I may."

"Ace is fine, do not worry."

"Ok, then… Ace, I am Miles, the owner of the studio and lead developer, I understand you wish to fund the game?"

"Yes, I saw some videos on it, and I think it would be a very good experience, if done well, it could be a groundbreaking game for its genre."

"That is our hope as well. If you wish, we can give you the outlook to our business plan, then present you what we have of the game, and what our ideas are for sustainability and so on."

"Sounds great, let's begin."

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It was a fruitful meeting, ad they had already made a deal. Ace had promised to talk about the game on stream, and if it actually ended up being good, he would play it as well. He, of course, would fund all things that were needed, as long as no one else got involved. This would make sure that the studio could create their dream game, while not having to worry about investors breathing down their neck. Both ended the call happily, with Miles telling him that he would send him videos of how the development was going, to which Ace asked if he could react to them on stream. Miles thought it was a great idea, so whenever he sent one, Ace would react to it live on stream, this should boost the hype on the game, which should hopefully then give a better financial return.

Ace was not doing this for money, but he had no plans on just investing without return, the main focus was quality, but he would not refuse to make money, just because it could make a few people angry. Of course, as a gamer, there would be some lines he could not allow himself to cross - namely, pay to win. But being able to buy cosmetics was not something he was against. Especially if they could also be obtained through playing, even if it was harder to do so.

Overall, it had been a day that was more productive than he could have hoped for. He had just made a few deals that should hopefully gain him a good relationship with a few brands. It had been a good day, and as Ace went to bed, he had a smile on his face.