Birth Of The Crafts-God

"I'm sorry, but my master strictly mentioned that I do not provide any of his personal details. But I can facilitate any deal on his behalf, so no need to hesitate." Lucas answered the group.

Creating a false persona to wield the identity of the vestige-smith was a much safer option than being honest. It would also shift some attention away from Lucas as people would take him to be an errand boy. But with Lucas being the only point of contact to the vestige-smith, this would ensure that he wasn't mistreated by anyone.

"No problem. Why don't we continue this conversation inside?" The man suggested.

The reason he said this was to see the other vestiges made by the vestige-smith and decide whether he would only purchase the dagger or not.

"Sure." Lucas nodded and turned around.

. . .

[[ Mission Description: Receive one hundred customers before the month is over.

Status: Completed.

Accept rewards: Y/N

]]

"Finally." Lucas smiled as he glanced at the notifications.

The awareness brought about by the previous vestige duel was very beneficial towards completing the mission. Previously, Lucas had already achieved forty three visits out of the required one hundred, but he didn't have much hope of completing the requirement if he kept at it with his previous pace. And so, Lucas had decided to attend the Silver Fig Trade Convention.

The exposure from the Greendale Highschool incident added together with that from the vestige duel made it easier for Lucas to close a few deals. Some of them were maintenance-related as the agents who came over wanted to know more about the vestige-smith's capabilities.

The name, Seven Sparks Forge, was now beginning to stand out in the vestige community.

"Accept."

Lucas gave the command and a new Bronze grade card appeared in his inventory. Ever since he had spent the previous one, Lucas had been a bit desperate to get a new one as it made him feel safer. With that now successful, he could let out a sigh of relief.

. . .

A new day began with the rising of the Kellan solar system's orange sun, Lomarus. The fourth day of the five-days Silver Fig Trade Convention officially began. Different from the other days, there were more people in attendance today. The reason was for none other than the fact that today would be the first day top vestige-smiths and vestige-smith companies would finally display their masterpieces.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The incident with the Gold Rain Factory was uncommon. On one hand, usually, no one would challenge such a company so early. On another hand, the Gold Rain Factory couldn't truly be deemed as a top vestige-smith company just yet. The top companies included those who were members of the Silver Fig Consortium, and some others in the industry.

They usually waited until the fourth or fifth day before they unveiled their masterpieces.

With today being the fourth day, it was the first day of masterpiece revelations, and many agents of vestige companies, reporters, and freelancers from top guilds in West Wing district would be in attendance.

"Are we going to check out the usual stalls this time or work around a bit?" Juán said as the team walked into the public square.

"It's been a while since we've explored so no need to stick to routines. You can go around and see if you can find something useful for us. I have a feeling that this year's event wouldn't be the same as usual." Crimson Fang glanced around the public square.

The group of seven who just walked into the Silver Fig Trade Convention were the main force for the famous freelancer guild based in West Wing district, the Autumn's Gate guild.

Autumn's Gate guild was a pretty popular guild in the West Wing district and the Wastelands base station. This was due to the fact that the guild leader and founder was at the sixth level of the Apertures Opening stage, while the two vice guild leaders were at the fifth level. The other four were pretty strong as well, being between the third and fourth levels.

Even the weakest was armed with enough power vestiges to enable them to take on an average fourth level Apertures Opening stage desolate beast at least for a while.

While their strength and status were impressive, what mattered to vestige-smiths was transaction size. The Autumn's Gate guild didn't only consist of the seven, as there were a few dozen more members. For such a big and famous guild, they were an important customer to any vestige-smith or vestige-smith company.

"Why do you say so?" A purple haired young man who stood slightly behind Crimson Fang asked.

The young man had purple eyes as well, which were alluring, and with his hair that would easily stand out on Earth, he had an attractive face and could be termed as both a beauty and a handsome talent. There was no doubt that if he was born on Earth, he would be a feast for the eyes especially for the ladies, married or not; a natural homewrecker.

The young man, apart from being the second vice captain for the Autumn's Gate guild, was also the scion of a rich family. His father operated a vestige business[1] that had chains in the other minor districts of Baylands city-state. Those areas lacked a vestige-smith as they were concentrated in the city, so they mostly relied on vestige businesses to supply them.

Young, handsome, strong, and rich, this was the perfect recipe for a lady-killer.

Crimson Fang smiled at him and replied, "You guys didn't do your research? There's been a small upheaval recently. It started around two days back. It's giving me a feeling that we might soon see more surprises this year."

The group was surprised by this and a bit of anticipation welled up in some of them. They couldn't wait to explore, and who knows, if their luck was great, they might spot an unknown vestige-smith with a masterpiece collection in their hands. Bidding for a masterpiece was difficult and costly, but with unknown vestige-smiths, they would have no competition.

Only the purple haired young man and Lisa were calm. For the young man, he was from a wealthy background and has seen a few masterpiece vestiges growing up. There was even one in his father's collection, so these vestiges didn't really draw much interest from him.

"We'll move in groups. Juán and Anna will form one group. Lisa and Scout, Nathan and Leno would form another group. I'll move alone." Crimson Fang said.

"If you find anything impressive, do make sure to note it down and let us all know."

Nathan von Klaus, the purple haired young man, had a slight frown on his face because of the pairing. He glanced at Lisa, who was to move with Scout, and then towards Crimson Fang, but he didn't say a word.

Right away, the team split and departed in different directions.

The Autumn's Gate guild wasn't the only freelancer guild present today, neither were they the only reputable faction in attendance. Lots of guilds, associations, agents of vestige businesses, and reporters of vestige and freelancer magazines showed up. But at the same time, some parastatals were in attendance. For instance, the Red Fangs.

"Ugh, another Silver Fig event. Yeah..." The brown-haired Barry sarcastically celebrated.

"Behave. We are here to get a new deal for a batch of vestiges, so don't be dramatic." Lieutenant Lily Mayer chastised.

"Yes, ma'am." Barry saluted, but then he smiled slyly. "But wait, if I recall correctly, doesn't that human fellow run a vestige-smith store?"

"Oh, really? A human? Well, what about it? I don't think he can make it to such an event, or am I wrong?" A Red Fang member who accompanied them asked.

Nafir was busy with work, so someone else tagged along. However, this new face wasn't as familiar with Lucas as Nafir.

"Oh, you might be. Who knows? But from a certain investigative report, I found out that his store has been closed for the last three days. This is something only common for small-time vestige-smiths who are participating in the convention." Barry smiled.

"Oh? That's impressive then. But what does it have to do with us? Don't tell me you want us to source our vestiges from a human?" The man laughed.

"I wouldn't say that close to, ehem, if I were you." Barry whispered as he glanced briefly at Lily.

Lily ignored his statement and kept leading the way.

Seeing he got no reaction, Barry smiled and felt emboldened.

"My point was, while we are here to find a new batch supplier, we could go see how he's doing. It shouldn't be so much of a hassle right?"

The Red Fang member was confused as to why Barry spoke so much about this human. But at the same time, this confusion brought about interest in this mysterious figure.

"Lieutenant Mayer, what do you say?" The man asked.

He was of a similar rank as Lily, so he still had to ask for her input.

"That's fine." Lily said after a bit of thought.