Birth Of The Crafts-God

The next day came around and the raffle draw winners were to be announced at 12 pm. Many people held their breaths in anticipation, while some said their prayers to the universe.

"How is the situation going?"

Right after exiting the workstation, Lucas glanced at Vergil who has arrived inside of the store a couple of minutes.

"It's still quite troublesome but we're handling it." Vergil tiredly waved. He was clearly exhausted by the activities of the day.

A day ago, Lucas was informed by Vergil that some of the business opponents of the Mertens family were targeting them. All the arms of the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company were busy fending off the assaults from different angles.

For instance, the Arkhen Corporation, a company invested both in vestige-smithing and the trade of materials and resources from the Wastelands, had begun a price war. They bought materials from freelancers at a price 5% higher than the Mertens' Koper Trading Services, and sold it at a price 7% cheaper than their opponents; it was sold at a 10% discount for bulk purchases.

Naturally, this decision shocked the market, but not many businesses could compete with them. After all, the Arkhen Corporation was a multi-million FeC (Federal Coin) [1] company. It also had an arm in the lucrative vestige-smith market, so they weren't afraid of a price war or dumping the price.

The Koper Trading Services could also compete with them as they had a steady foundation and also the support of the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company.

However, news came out that even medium-sized companies in the FCMG [2] market had also taken similar steps. Voedsel Industries was dragged into this mess as its major target was the FMCG market for hyumans. Even though they also sold processed and canned products to freelancers and pioneers, and also sold processed meat to restaurants, their biggest market was selling processed food to the people.

With the KTS and Voedsel Industries being 'under attack' at the same time, it was clear that something fishy was going on. As such, the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company didn't take any measures to support the companies yet, but instead investigated the situation first.

"Have you guys found any leads?" Lucas curiously asked.

Vergil sighed and nodded.

"A couple. It seems like someone doesn't like our recent activities."

Although Lucas knew that, he still didn't understand the relationship. Frankly speaking, he was of the opinion that his major opponents would be those in the vestige-smith industry, not the middleman or the food industries.

"Take a look at this."

Vergil slid over a thirty centimetres (11.81 inches) 'stick' that had the width of a thumb.

Lucas was familiar with the item, or to be exact, gadget. It was a fancy type of computer that also functioned as a communicator. It was quite pricey since the technology utilised on it was impressive, so not many people had one. Another reason was because the wrist-type communicators were much better and lighter for everyday basis usage. However, some people still liked this gadget as it had some unique features.

Clicking a button on it, a holographic screen extended from the right side of the stick until it reaches a length of twenty centimetres (7.87 inches), becoming a tablet. Despite being made of light particles, the screen reacted to external stimuli —touch— and functioned just like a tablet.

On the screen was displayed a couple of news articles, but what stood out the most was the fact that their headlines were all similar.

Basically, the message passed was that the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company was being sued by Prestige Star Ltd for unfair marketing advantage. This was quite an interesting lawsuit due to the nature of the involved parties.

The Prestige Star Ltd was a vestige-smith company, whereas the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company was more like a holding company that managed the companies under it. What's more notable was the fact that the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company didn't even control or have interest in a vestige-smith company.

It was confusing to many why this lawsuit existed in the first place, including to Lucas. However, after reading a few lines on the articles, he finally understood what was happening.

The Prestige Star Ltd raised awareness to the revival of the Seven Sparks Forge store and also reminded people of the excellent forging capabilities of the store. Although other companies had experienced and talented vestige-smiths, their skills weren't on the level of the craftsmanship and technology from the Seven Sparks Forge store. It wasn't an understatement to say that the Seven Sparks Forge store had created a new school of thought in vestige-smithing, and had a chokehold on the premium market.

While this seemed like a monopoly, it was difficult to argue it. Also, the store wasn't the same as before as it now has a recognised backing from Belfargos territory. However, Dawn-Spring Arrow Company was different. It was a local enterprise and a behemoth in the industry.

As stated in the lawsuit, if the DSAC was allowed to gain control of the works of the Seven Sparks Forge store through the new Seven Stars Spring Dealership, it would have a negative impact on the market. Together with Lucas' identity as being backed by a Tier 1 Grandmaster vestige-smith, the Prestige Star Ltd raised the notion that the Dawn-Spring Arrow Company's partnership with Lucas, to form the Seven Stars Springs Dealership, was a precursor to a monopoly in the market.

According to the Baylands City-state Act on Trade and Economy, monopolies were illegal, and so, the Prestige Star Ltd taken them to court in a bid to put a stop to this partnership.

Interestingly, neither the Seven Sparks Forge store nor the Seven Stars Spring dealership were dragged into this case despite being involved in it. It was clear that even the Oder family was unwilling to involve Lucas in thia matter, at least for now.

"This is quite funny." Lucas had an amusing look on his face. He might not be a business guru, but Lucas still knew a bit about business.

If Prestige Star Ltd was serious about the monopoly talk, it would only make sense to have the Seven Sparks Forge store and even the Seven Stars Spring Dealership added to the list of defendants.

What's more, how this even a valid monopoly? That the Seven Sparks Forge store could make better vestiges was simply attributed to the fact that Lucas was a better vestige-smith than the others. This was a difference in skill, not a business strategy or technology gap.

Although the threat of a monopoly was real, this was unavoidable and they didn't break any law. It was ludicrous to think that the Prestige Star Ltd could actually win this case.

"It definitely is, but Altimo and the other family executives in commerce believe that their intention isn't to win." Vergil appeared stressed.

Lucas frowned as moved his attention away from the screen to Vergil.

If their goal wasn't to win the case,

"Then why?"

"To affect our partnership." Vergil sighed.

"They intend to get a sort of restraining order that would prevent the dealership from operating until the case is concluded. If they succeed, their lawyers in court would try their best to drag out the case while we suffer losses operating a business that's not even generating income."

"So, they're acting now." Lucas gloomily replied.

One of the reasons why Lucas agreed to work with the Mertens family was because of their reach. Even though he had a bit of popularity himself, Lucas' store couldn't cover the needs of the city, much less the city-state. This wasn't because of production speed, but simply because he didn't have the right trade channels to do so. However, the Mertens family could help out in this regard.

At the same time, Russell had wanted to enter the vestige-smithing industry and this desire was manifested in the hearts of the family's elders and senior executives as well. While the three major arms of the DSAC was profitable, the vestige-smithing industry alone could easily trump their efforts. This was obvious from the fact that the Oder family had depended on the Prestige Star Ltd alone to be a top four family in the past. If it wasn't for the downfall of the family, it would have been difficult for the Mertens to overtake them.

Russell believed that as long as they could enter this industry, their profits would skyrocket. They might even be able to challenge the other top two families simply in terms of wealth.

However, entering this secluded market was easier said than done. If it was a small company, the giants of the industry wouldn't be bothered. But for the Mertens family that had an incredible amount of money, they would do their best to force them out. This was clear from the current situation.

Although the Prestige Star Ltd led the lawsuit, there were more names on the list of plaintiffs. There was also the fact that some other companies might be supporting them in secret as well.

"Yeah. This is why we didn't want to enter this market in the past." Vergil laid his back on the chair, exhausted by the situation.

After a short while, Lucas questioned,

"What are the odds of them achieving their goal?"

"50-50? 30-70? We can't be really sure. It depends on how many supporters they have for this ploy and whether those supporters can influence the court." Vergil answered him with his head facing the ceiling.

Lucas already knew that fairness and justice was an illusionary idea in this world, so he wasn't surprised by Vergil's response. However, it didn't mean he was calm.

Prior to the last cabinet session, everyone knew that the Bergs and Dufours attention was on the focus of the city lord position. But now that had been settled for the most part, they could now place their sights elsewhere.

"Its clear they're related to the pressure your companies are facing on the front line as well. This entire situation is more trickier than it looks." Lucas analysed the situation.

"Yeah. After our investigation, we found traces that the Oder family, the Arkhen Corporation, the Versailles Group, Demolition Knights and the tycoon, Rajhan Khan, might have teamed up together."

Even though Böjer had wanted to keep their alliance a secret, nothing could remain a secret forever. With the capabilities and influence of the Mertens family, it wasn't a problem to find some clues.

Lucas didn't know much about the parties Vergil mentioned but he kept them in mind. Later on, he would do some research on them. However, one name caught his attention —the Versailles Group.

Lucas recalled that there were only three stellar processor manufacturers in Baylands city-state: Novanio Tech, the Silverine Factory, and the Versailles Group. After the situation a couple of months ago, Lucas' relationship with Novanio Tech had gone stale, so there were only two options left for him. However, now that number had been reduced to one.