Amber faced Adam's confidence and nodded. "Luna, would you mind?"
Luna stepped forward and reached over the table to pick up a shiny golden apple. Taking the apple, she held it out to Amber, at the same time pulling out an extremely thin book with an identical image of the apple on the cover.
Adjusting her glasses and opening the book, she read, "Minor golden apple, provides a small amount of vitality and spirit for each serving of approximately 150 grams."
Closing the book, she turned to Amber. "In short, a low-quality fruit, but sufficient to be classified as a health food."
Amber listened to Luna talk about the fruit in her hand and brought it to her mouth. She chewed and enjoyed the apple with its slight vanilla aftertaste.
"It's really good, clearly the best apple I've ever eaten." She savored the last bite of the apple. "Go on, Luna, we have to test everything anyway."
...
A complete test later...
"To sum up, all of them improve vitality if you eat 150 grams or more, and each one improves a different part of the body: the heart, the blood, the brain, the eyes, etc., etc... Only the apple improves the mind, which is quite remarkable given the rarity of foods that influence this stat. In addition, they all have the word 'minor' in their name, indicating potential for future growth." Concluding her report on all of Adam's products, she slipped back into her original place behind Amber.
Adam, having followed the entire testing process for Luna and Amber, felt a little jealous. "Damn, her talent provides her with books that explain everything she touches or sees, not sure about the conditions for activating it."
Sighing, he allowed himself a not-so-discreet remark. "A talent that provides so much information about everything, it must be impossible to scam you. It's a really practical talent that would have helped me a lot all this time."
Ambre smiled calmly at Adam. "Indeed, it's in an unknown world full of mystery that we realize that having access to reliable information at any time is truly an immense privilege."
Hiding her smile and regaining a serious expression, she said, "You have some really satisfying products there, with diversity and quality. It's truly an admirable range. Anyone who consumes these products regularly could claim to be among the elite forces of the middle guilds, regardless of their talents."
Clasping her hands and leaning forward slightly, she continued, "The only question that bothers me is how long it takes to produce, because you see, these improved plants take a long, long time to grow, and one apple a month is far from enough."
"Ten days," Adam settled back in his chair, exuding pride and a touch of arrogance. "Ten days, Amber, to go from seed or flower to the finished product ready for consumption. Don't forget that this place is under the protection of a world tree and a fairy of life."
Reaffirming his voice, he added, "Fairies are very talkative, and thanks to her, I learned a thing or two, like that a world tree was really, really rare, and the ability to exploit one to its full potential was even rarer, and being able to cooperate with fairies on top of that. Then there must be less than 10 of us among all the participants in this game, and of those 10, how many are human?"
Allowing a few seconds of silence to allow everyone to fully understand the information, he finished setting the scene to put himself perfectly in the spotlight. "If I don't die before then, I can already say that I will control a large part of the enhanced food market in the surrounding region."
With a seriousness never before seen in Adam, he concluded, "Amber, let's create an unstoppable commercial giant. We could decide who can exceed the limits of the basic human body, and even more, a week for basic products leaves me a year, and I can create apples that bring the dead back to life."
A heavy silence followed Adam's tirade.
The reactions of the Golden Age trio were all different: Luna's face was somehow more closed than usual, Traal had a mixture of anger and confusion showing on his face, and Amber had a big smile on her face, her eyes shining like the most precious jewels.
Despite the huge smile on her face, Amber's voice remained somewhat serious. "Adam, if I understand correctly, you're asking me to leave Golden Age to create a guild with you?"
Clearing his throat and scratching his neck with slight embarrassment, Adam replied, "In a way, yes. Golden Age is certainly a giant, but from what I understand, Golden Age is made up of several factions, which means one thing: conflict of interest. And I'll turn the question back to you: does your voice represent Golden Age or the Cradle of Gems, a faction of Golden Age?"
Slightly surprised, Amber laughed, "HaHaHa! It's true, my voice can only represent the Cradle of Gems. Golden Age has the same problem as all companies with too many shareholders. Golden Age is dying from the inside, with everyone doing what they want and, above all, preventing others from becoming too powerful."
"Exactly, let's create a guild together, 50/50. You manage all external trade and development: purchasing rare resources, intelligence, advertising, recruitment. I'll create an indestructible base providing a perfect and unlimited workforce, a private army that follows orders without question, and high-level plant production controlling the plant market at all levels. With quality and quantity, we'll be unstoppable. A minimum number of humans, all perfectly trustworthy, preventing internal conflicts as much as possible." Adam finished his speech standing with one foot on the table, arms spread wide, staring at Amber with eyes full of fervor.
Amber closed her eyes for a moment. "I like the idea. You manage the inside, I manage the outside. It's a good balance, but not now."
She stood up, now at the same height as Adam. "Keep growing. More soldiers, more fields, more quality. On my side, I'll test the market and advertise to attract as many customers as possible. At the same time, I'll drain everything I can from Golden Age. By the time Golden Age figures out what's going on, it'll be too late. We'll have the market and resources that most people will never see in their new lives. Don't worry, everything you produce will be sold. Yeah, the plan has potential. Soon, a new guild will establish itself among the human superpowers."
Adam smiled as he held out his hand. "Ally?"
Amber, with her usual slight smile, shook his hand. "Ally."