Chapter 157: Contract Agreement

Kylie led Max to the Executive Partnership Hall, located on the 70th floor.

The hall was reserved for executive-level agreements involving strategic partners.

In the past, where Apocalypse Online had not deleted other games yet, they had established many contracted players from different platform, aiming not only to produce gaming pod but also to establish a gaming club.

All was spoiled by Apocalypse Online.

Due to the mystery shrouded the game, they appeared cautious and decided to put their whole attention to produce groundbreaking quality of gaming pod, while establishing contract with players to assist them in understanding the game.

At the moment, the best player they wanted to establish a contract with was Max.

They did not desire to form a team yet since the game itself appeared to not support a traditional game they had in the past.

This time, after Max and the Aethernova’s finalized the agreement, Max would be meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Aethernova for the final approval of the agreement.

Kylie led Max to a table with two seats where the CEO sat on the opposite side, while behind him was the head of different departments, including the CEO of the RMT Department.

Of course, Max could not recognize him.

All he knew was that the CEO of Aethernova himself would appear and personally represents Aethernova during the signing ceremony.

Far from the table were the media, thrilled to witness a historic scene in the esports industry.

At the same time, they finally saw the face of the first player, who swept the social media by storm ever since Apocalypse Online appeared.

Despite not hearing a news from him over two months, every player was aware that the first player remained to be the leading player due to his unending auction from Aethernova.

Although there were other players who began auctioning various equipments, the one auctioned by the first player remained to be high-quality.

In other words, for the past months, Max’s auctions remained to have a consistent sales.

As Max entered the hall and walked straight to the round white table, seeing a paper atop in front of a bulky senior with a wide smile on his face, he was almost blinded by the numerous camera light, striking towards him.

He was unbothered, simply narrowing his vision to prevent his eyes from drying out.

With Kylie behind him, he finally sat at the opposite seat and faced the CEO of Aethernova.

He pushed a stack of papers, noting that only his signature was missing.

He broke into smile and proceeded to read the contract agreement again, afraid that he might be betrayed due to his carelessness.

The first paper held the content of designating him as the Executive Player Ambassador of Aethernova.

Such status recognized him as the company’s highest-level competitive representative.

The following pages contained his compensation.

He would have a fixed annual salary of 15 million CAD, not including his performance bonuses, sponsored travel and accommodations, comprehensive medical coverage related to immersion equipment, and premium gaming hardware supplied by Aethernova.

What Max was more thrilled to receive was the equipments provided by Aethernova.

They were already on the process of producing the Eclipse Immersion Pod, calculating that the first successful Eclipse Immersion Pod would be released in four months.

It was exactly the time Max assumed Malveris’ full force invasion would occur, giving him an advantage of playing time against the players.

He would be the first to receive the Eclipse Immersion Pod, before Aethernova would slowly release them two weeks later.

Max specifically included in their negotiation to only publicly release the Eclipse Immersion Pod two weeks after he received it.

Aethernova immediately agreed.

In addition to the Eclipse Immersion Pod included in the equipment section, it also included lifetime technical support, hardware replacement when necessary, priority maintenance services, and early access to approved hardware upgrades.

In exchange, Max was not allowed to promote competing immersion pod manufacturers, endorse competing full-dive technologies, or participate in advertisements for direct competitors.

Although Aethernova remained a leading figure in gaming pod production, there were still other company who could pose a threat to them.

It was precisely why they badly wanted Max as their ambassador at all costs.

They also seek for Max to follow the professional conduct.

He must maintain professional behavior, avoid cheating, exploitation, or fraudulent activities, and preserve the company’s public reputation.

During the negotiation, the company asked Max to halt any attempt of offending the players, but after Max explained on his side, the exact reason why Julian and Jaden incessantly antagonized him, the company finally decided to clear Max’s background.

Still, after assuring Max to clear his character, they starkly reminded him not to offend other players, while Max simply shrugged.

He knew his worth. Despite some hating him, some were also admiring him and thanking him whenever they won an item he auctioned, attempting to establish a connection with him.

At the end of the day, absolute power still hold the people’s interest, no matter how negative it appeared.

Aethernova further demanded that Max participate in reasonable commercial advertisements, product launches, livestream events, press conferences, and community events, but they accepted Max’s request to consider his commitments to the game and personal availability.

Aethernova fully understood him, assuring Max they would not be completely strict, respecting his decision.

Nevertheless, Max still had to promote activities from Aethernova, giving him a headache already.

Aethernova valued confidentiality, so they demanded for Max not to disclose confidential information regarding his business with them, where Max shrugged, knowing he was not the type of person to reveal what should not be disclosed.

Aethernova also wanted Max to provide a structured feedback regarding the gaming pod’s experience and Aethernova.

What Aethernova wished to know for the full extent of Apocalypse Online’s connection to the gaming pod, such as neural synchronization, trading system from the game, and many more.

Max didn’t have a problem with their demand. On the contrary, he was thrilled to help them release high quality gaming pod as early as possible before the apocalypse descended.

After Max read the Health and Safety section, he learned that Aethernova shall provide regular medical examinations, neural synchronization assessments, immersion pod maintenance, technical support, and emergency medical assistance during official events to him, delighting him.

Aethernova then demanded approval to use official gameplay footage, promotional photographs, interviews, and occasional appearances for marketing and promotional purposes, subject to the terms of the agreement.

Max then read the last page—Contract Renewal Section.

Renewal shall be based upon: Competitive performance, Professional conduct, Mutual agreement, and Strategic value to the company.

Max smiled. The Contract Renewal Section allowed him to increase the benefits as long as he continued to prove his worth to Aethernova...

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