The Flying Emporium

“That is…?” was a question asked by several customers, all who had entered the store the moment it opened for business that day and who had been eager to be amongst the first to use the new class-orb extraction service.

“The future!” Severin announced as he stepped forward with a sweeping gesture.

“The future!” repeated the [Receiver], startling even Severin himself with its volume.

Annoyed, but maintaining his smile, Severin reached up to his ear and touched the protruding crystal.

A few motions later, the [Receiver] fell silent, and the projected images changed; the actual sight was still largely the same, but the perspective had shifted to the side and upward.

Ahem, he cleared his throat. His customer’s reaction hadn’t quite been what he had hoped for. Instead of amazement, or at least some sense of curiosity, there were only blank stares.

Still, he didn’t let himself be discouraged and took it upon himself to advertise his latest product with his enthusiasm returning the more he talked about its various features. Special emphasis was put on its ability to livestream, as he called it, one’s surroundings to a dedicated [Receiver] such as the one hovering behind him, showing the even still unimpressed faces of the people in front of him.

Again, not the reaction he had hoped for.

But the one he had expected. Last night’s conversation had prepared him for this.

Mylana and Bandur both had let him known in no uncertain terms that this sort of product would not speak to the vast majority of adventurers.

Yet, Severin decided, and the fact that at least Emily could be excited by his explanation that this tool, amongst other things, would have allowed her to spectate The Games back then, gave him at least some hope.

When framed like that, even the other two had to admit there might be some application to this [Communication Set], but probably more for the military than for their main clientele.

He would have to prove them wrong.

And to this end he came up with an idea, one he hadn’t discussed with any of the others beforehand as he already knew what their reactions would be.

And so, right after his explanation, he made one more announcement.

“Sometime in the near future, I plan to hold a contest.”

No reaction from the customers, only Mylana, who suddenly turned to face him and gave him a penetrating look.

“Everyone who bought at least one [Transmitter crystal] and one [Receiver], is eligible to enter.”

Still no reaction other than the burning stare from the side.

“The winner will receive a V.I.P. membership,” he further explained.

And alas, this was finally enough to get them excited; though not all of them in a positive way, as Mylana was the first to flare up.

“What?!” she shouted. But any complaints she might have had were immediately drowned out before she could even voice them; just like the day before, a small riot broke out.

“For real?

“So its true? That’s really a thing?” This was a sentiment shared by many; to most, the existence of certain matte black cards which granted their owner special privileges and prices in the Emporium had been little more than rumors. Some especially absurd ones even claimed that the Slaughter King himself was one of those cardholders.

Suddenly, those stories sounded a lot more plausible. Everyone wanted this card and not even one minute after Severin’s announcement, it became clear the contest would be a success.

Much to Severin’s relief, as the price he had to pay for this, namely the fifth and last of his cards, wasn’t a cheap one to pay.

“But what exactly do we have to do?” someone asked the important question.

“Does it even matter? I’ll do whatever!”

“Shut up, idiot! I can’t hear.”

Ahem, Severin cleared his throat again. This time, not out of embarrassment.

“Further details such as an actual schedule and concrete rules will be revealed at a later date. That said, there will be no specific theme you have to follow. Let your creativity run free. Record and share whatever you think will interest or entertain people.

Just be aware that the contest will be held publicly and that the winner will be chosen by a majority vote of the audience,” Severin said without giving it much thought; to him, it wouldn’t matter who would win this contest, as long as it garnered some traction and could shape the way people thought about this new medium.

What followed this announcement was yet another uproar and another flood of question.

Questions, which, to a large degree, he simply ignored.

The ones asking for guidance he didn’t want to answer.

The ones regarding the organization of the event he could not yet answer. Too little thought had he given the whole thing himself.

Nonetheless, the seed had been planted, and the news about the upcoming contest and an irresistible prize soon spread to every corner of his mountaintop and beyond. Even without Severin having to create another sign.

Incidentally, the sales of [Transmitter crystals] and [Receiver] soared. But even though the sheer number of sales was impressive, in terms of profit they didn’t even come close to make up for the lack of class-orb extractions carried out this day which had largely been caused by the Society’s warning; if a class change couldn’t be as easily reverted as first assumed, then, for most people, it would take more than just a single day of consideration before committing.

This, in turn, however, meant that Mylana, who had originally been assigned to oversee the extraction process and to perform the mandatory questioning, could spend more time helping out in the back. If occasionally someone wanted to make use of the service still, then Krill could simply notify her using his very own [Transmitter crystal].

Unlike the day before, both the main store and the cafe were open for business. Also, the most popular item this day did not have to be handcrafted and the overall workload, therefore, remained largely the same as on any regular day. If anything, it slightly decreased as Sabina could now conveniently relay any new orders to Bandur remotely, saving her multiple hundreds if not thousands of steps.

And so, despite a healthy bustle all over the mountaintop, all those things combined allowed Severin a rare opportunity to take some time off from work and to take care of some other matter.

Multiple crystals in hand, all paired with a certain [Receiver] that was located in the back of his store next to Em’s, his own, and now also Mylana’s, workspace.

A few hours later, he was finally done setting those crystals up, with the last batch of them installed in such a way that they covered different parts and angles of the training ground.

But just as Severin was ready to head back to the store and check if everything was set up to his satisfaction, someone called out to him.

“Severin! There you are. I’ve been looking for you!”

“Hey there. Take this,” he spontaneously materialized another of the crystals in his hand and tried to hand it over to a woman whose smile seemed much more sincere on this day than on the one before.

“I already got one.” Magda pointed at her ear as she declined his gift. She then hesitated for a moment before taking it out and handing it over to Severin to have him pair their two devices.

He obliged, but continued the conversation.

“If you’re coming from the store, then you should already know that I complied with your request. The sign is there, successfully scaring of my customers. I also put Mylana in charge to make sure nothing fishy is going on.”

“Yes, I did. And yes, I know. It also seems like you are planning something big,” she probed. But continued when Severin wasn’t biting. “Well, anyway. This is about something else. Severin. Have you placed any commissions on any of the other branches?”

If she really didn’t know the answer to this question before, then she did now, as the strange, chubby man became visibly uncomfortable. She did not insist on an answer.

“Well, I got a notice. Someone claims they got what you are looking for. But they want to meet you first. In person.”