Birth Of The Crafts-God

The venue of the location was at the new store located in the Eastern Crown district. The store was actually a skyscraper which served as the corporate headquarters for the new vestige dealership business. The first up to the third floors made up the actual store, while the floors above were either warehouses or the administrative offices.

"They invested a lot into this." Kelvin couldn't help but say.

He was dressed in a classy two-piece navy-blue dinner suit with a luxury watch on his wrist. It was an item his father had gifted him back when their business was still doing well. Despite being 'old', it was classified as a vintage accessory and was still of significant value.

Half a step in front of him was the sibling duo, Lucas and Melissa. The little girl wore an elegant flowery gown, which Kelvin had argued wasn't appropriate for the event, but Lucas didn't care about that. Since she liked it and wanted to wear it, he decided that she could

Lucas, on the other hand, was dressed more lackadaisical than his little sister. He wore a grey sweatshirt with a black pair of trousers. When it came to formal outfits, Lucas wasn't a fan of those and usually only wore them back on Earth after the harassment of his personal assistant. With no one to play the role, he felt liberated as he could finally dress pleased.

Kelvin had a headache with the sibling duo, but as he was of the lowest rank amongst the trio, he could do nothing about them.

With a confused expression, Lucas questioned Kelvin.

"Why do you say so?"

Although a skyscraper might seem impressive back on Earth, it wasn't anything special here. Pretty much any company, as long as they weren't tiny, could afford one. This was because both the cost and duration of building a skyscraper was greatly shortened when compared to Earth, so it wasn't out of the reach of many companies. Regardless, many still opted for smaller businesses unless there was a need for so much space.

"The location of this building isn't ordinary. The Eastern Crown district might not be able to compete with the Central Prefecture district, but due to its nature as the most populated region, the cost of land in economical areas here is very high." Kelvin explained.

Lucas was surprised by this. To be able to be compared to the Central Prefecture district, the cost of land here was definitely not ordinary.

"For a land this big, it would probably cost at least the price of at least one Grade 4 vestige." Kelvin added.

Looking at the massive space Novanio Tech had bought, Lucas couldn't help but swallow a cold breath of air. A Grade 4 vestige had a starting price of fifty thousand (50000) federal coins. In a city where the minimum salary was at five hundred (500) federal coins, one hundred times below the price of the above vestige, one could imagine how costly this plot of land was.

Most individuals couldn't even fathom such amounts as their daily expenses were all carried out using federal pences, of which one hundred of those was equal to a single federal coin.

"Welcome, Mr. Lucas."

A young man dressed in a uniform greeted Lucas at the front door once he saw the group arrive.

"You know me?" Lucas was surprised.

"I've been charged with serving as your guide and assistant for today's event, so it is only natural for me to know who you are."

The young man responded. He was somewhat surprised seeing how the group dressed. Only one of them was accoutred in a fit that was duly appropriate for the event. The little girl was dressed in a floral spring gown when it was autumn and nighttime. As for the VIP, he appeared even more ridiculous, but it wasn't the guide's place to make a comment on that.

"That's nice."

Lucas couldn't help but add a few more points to his mental image of Novanio Tech. Unlike other companies, they valued him the most despite his nature as a human. It goes to show how they were able to survive in the electronics and vestige-smith industry as stellar processor distributors.

Under the guide of the aide, the trio walked into the building where the event was to begin. The entire flat had been rearranged to host the party wtih some pedestals fitted with pricey vestiges stationed in strategic locations. There are also a couple of guests present already, who were either appreciating the view or chatting with each other. It looked just like what one would think of a formal dinner event.

As they walked across the hall, Lucas couldn't help but glance at the vestiges and mentally judge them.

'The quality is alright for this world's standards, but it's still a bit tacky. It can't really compare with the top vestige-smiths or companies. Are they planning to compete for the middle market?' Lucas wondered.

Usually, whenever a big or renowned company was moving into another industry, they would try to position themselves as a premium option, boasting better quality than the market standards. But from what Lucas could see here, it seemed like Novanio Tech was planning to do so. They were instead targeting the middle level of the weapons market, which was mostly Grade 2 vestiges and the weaker Grade 3s.

This strategy seemed to be reasonable as this market was the one with the largest sales. However, it was hotly contested by the top companies and middle-level businesses. It would be very difficult for Novanio Tech to interfere in the market.

'Actually, it would be difficult irrespective of which level of the market they aim for. But the middle level is better since no one really holds a monopoly here.' Lucas thought.

"This way." The guide directed them until they arrived at the other end of the hall.

At this end, there was a door that led to another hall. Passing through it, the group arrived at a location filled with a different group of individuals. Compared to those in the previous hall, the crowd present here were of a different class. Just from how they carried themselves —their gestures, gait, and body language— along with their attire, Lucas surmised that they were the true upper-class of the city. Everyone of them probably had assets in the hundreds of thousands or even millions.

"Mr Lucas, welcome. I've been waiting for you." Lucy walked over with a smile.

Lucy was a senior staff of Novanio Tech who had helped bridged together Lucas and the company, playing a vital role in the partnership.

"Long time no see." Lucas smiled.

Since it was a joyful event, there was no reason to be walking around with the usual cold face he carried around in the store.
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"You never cease to surprise me." Lucy said as she glanced at his 'unique' dressing.

"I'm glad to be of some use." Lucas joked.

"It's nothing serious. Anyways, I'd like to introduce you to a few people. They might be of help to you." Lucy said with a mysterious smile.

The guide was permitted to leave while Lucy took over. She led the group to an area in the hall where Lucas saw a few familiar faces. One of them was the manager who had met up with him to finalise the deals for the negotiation. The other two Lucas was slightly familiar with were a white-haired man and a man with a red beard. He had met the two during his exceptional basis exam at the Eretrean Vestige-smith League headquarters in Baylands City. They were part of the prestigious group of eight individuals who had attended the exam to spectate the examinees.

After Lucas greeted the manager he was familiar with, the red beard man chuckled and extended his hands,

"We meet again."

To be honest, Lucas has no good feelings or opinions to any of the eight he met that day. When he was being pushed aside by the chief examiner and had called the results to question, none of them came to support him. Lucas didn't blame them for this as it was understandable since they were strangers and he was human. However, when Lucas tried to prove himself through a vestige duel and was forced out of the building after that, he was still ignored.

This might not be enough to generate hate, but it was enough for Lucas to not have any special positive feelings towards them.

"Sure." Lucas said as he shook hands with the man.

If he were on his own, Lucas would have ignored him. But if he did so right now, the one who would get caught in the crossfire would be his partner, Novanio Tech; to be specific, it would be Lucy who had brought him over. Lucas didn't want to put her in an uncomfortable position just because of himself; at least this wasn't worth it.

The white-haired man also greeted Lucas, but unlike the red beard, he was polite and even complimented him.

"I have to apologise for the previous event on that day. It seems like we underestimated you." The man said with a smile.

Lucas raised an eyebrow and asked, "I don't think so. All this is the work of my master and not myself. So, it's a bit too much to say that.*

"Don't be like that. The fact that an accomplished man such as your master had decided to choose you as a disciple says a lot about you. He probably sees something in you that we failed to see." The man replied.

Lucas couldn't help but feel surprised, but that was all he felt. He wasn't someone that would easily be swayed by sweet words.

"Since everyone's introduced themselves, let's move over to the main stage. It's about time to kick-start the event." The manager said.