Birth Of The Crafts-God

"Now you've made the announcement, what next?" Veggie enthusiastically stared at his Lucas, waiting to hear what he would say.

The Dawn-Spring Arrow Company's press conference was an event that had previously been scheduled, but Lucas' coincidental yet timely arrival to Baylands turned it into an opportunity for him to stage a comeback. However, that wasn't enough.

While Russell's backing and the fact that the news went unchallenged were both useful, it wasn't enough to clear public sentiments entirely. If anything, it could only create a clean slate for Lucas to work with. To get back at those who chased him away and caused him to lose so much, Lucas would have to go beyond just this.

"Only one option; we have to stun the crowd."

A man with a light blue hair said. The blue hair was one of the clearest indications of a Mertens bloodline in Baylands City, with the only exception being Vergil who ended up with black hair.

Present in this meeting held inside the Seven Sparks Forge store was Altimo, a trusted subordinate of Russell Mertens.

As the head of a top four family and chairman of a large conglomerate, Russell was a very busy man. Showing up the previous day was his method of letting Lucas know how serious he was about working together and making it up to Lucas. However, Russell could not continuously perform such acts as his absence could affect his company's performance. As such, he left the matter to be handled by both Altimo Mertens, a branch family member who was talented and trustworthy.

As for Vergil's presence, it was Russell's intention for the latter to get closer to Lucas while also understanding what it means to lead a faction and compete against enemies.

"It was smart of the family head to initiate the comeback during this period where everyone's focus is on the city lord's position. This made the news like a pebble tossed into a lake, so we are able to move with less caution. But However, this tactic has some major drawbacks." Altimo explained.

"For starters, everyone's attention is currently on the city lord issue, so not many are aware of the details although they would be soon. No one is bothered or interested in the store right now, which is bad. So like I said, we need to stun the crowd; make some noise and have more attention drawn towards us. Or at least, set the foundation for that within the week, since the entire city lord position decision should be over by then."

"Another issue we have to consider is the third party involvements." Lucas added.

Although he wasn't well versed in business like Russell or Altimo, Lucas still had an inkling and could figure things out based on his experience.

"Indeed. The third party." Altimo nodded.

While it was true that the timing of the announcement made it so that top factions like the other top four families were unable to interfere, this didn't exclude everyone else. Factions like the Oder family and so on, who couldn't be bothered about which family propped up the city lord, could instead focus on Lucas and the Seven Sparks Forge store.

"We need to not only keep an eye out for them, but also prepare contingencies. There's no way that they won't be making a move any time soon." Altimo said with a serious expression.

"So, popularity and a counterattack. These are our priorities now. Is there anything else?" Vergil glanced inquisitively at Altimo and Lucas.

"Resources and connections." Lucas relied.

Staring confusedly at Lucas, Vergil had question marks all over his face.

"Huh?"

Altimo sighed seeing the young master of his family not understanding right away. But after recalling that Vergil was barely 18, Altimo comforted himself.

After a second of doing so, Altimo broke it down for Vergil.

"One of the reasons the previous SS vestiges were able to do well was thanks to the support of the Novanio Tech company. Even though they created a subsidiary called Legacy Crafts dealership to handle the operation and alliance, they still backed the store. That backing was in the form of resources and networks.

"Take the Claudia 9 communicator for instance. It was one of the SS Forge's latest products. A wrist-type communicator with three models covering offensive, defensive and supportive capabilities respectively. However, one of the key components from what we know is a high quality stellar processor eventually modified by the SS Forge store. But the base model stellar processor was provided by Novanio Tech, which is known for its advanced stellar processor capabilities." [1]

"That's not all." Lucas said.

"Even the second vestige announced alongside the Claudia 9, the Adjudicator, utilised these chips together with special raw materials they helped obtained."

The Adjudicator was a Grade 3 large firepower vestige Lucas had designed in hopes of fending off desolate beast swarms easier. Unlike normal large barrel hot-weapon-type vestiges, the Adjudicator could be handled by one individual and the weight was offset by using intricate and complex stellar circuits —unique runes Lucas had used to stand out.

However, because Lucas was arrested shortly after the announcement, not many Adjudicators had been developed, numbering less than ten, so it wasn't popular.

"The Novanio Tech's connections also played an important part in making sales successful. Unlike us, they were familiar with the vestige industry. Although it was more of the consumer section, they had already been making preparations to enter the weapons market and would have done so even without the SS vestiges." Altimo added.

"So, if we really want the Seven Sparks Forge store to make a comeback, we need to cover these important factors."

"Seems like a lot to do." Vergil sighed.

"That's right, but they're connected. As long as we can sort out the resource supply problem, Lucas can guarantee adequate supply of high quality vestiges. That would be enough to boost popularity." Altimo said.

"We can only supply desolate beast parts. In the end, we'd still have to outsource minerals and metals. But getting those isn't a problem. Rather, it's the stellar processors." Vergil finally figured out the crux of the problem.

"Currently in Baylands City, only three companies deal in producing top standard stellar processors. Novanio Tech, the Versailles Group, and the Silverine Factory. We can source from dealers, but that would be more costlier, and we might not even be able to get high quality processors."

Altimo nodded, pleased that Vergil was finally stepping up. He then turned towards Lucas and said,

"Let's work with what we have for now. We can think about the more complex parts later. For now, let's discuss our counterattack."