The Ore market was the most lucrative in Valiant Heart. If one thought about it, this wasn't too surprising. What else would one expect to find in a world of such mountainous regions if not and endless number of Ores? Valiant Heart was especially known for its rich Urbe Ore reserves.
One might imagine, then, for a mere white belt to claim such a large portion of this market, he definitely couldn't be a normal man.
No one knew exactly what the King of Ores' secret was, but what they did know was that he was a vicious man not many dare to cross.
All this said, the Ore Market of Valiant City wasn't what one would expect. The youths of Valiant Heart had no need for buying raw Ores. Aside from some Crafter factions within their organization, sales rarely, if ever, ended up in the hands of the students of Valiant Heart.
Rather, the Ore Market was a hotspot for traders coming from outside Valiant Heart.
The youths usually took missions that could range in anything from finding the sources of new Ore Veins to excavating already existing mines. Usually, these youths would be under the wing of factions who laid claim to these Ores for themselves.
These Ore Factions designated youths with unique abilities to find new Ore sources while deploying their stronger members toward guarding the veins they claimed. The lowest ranking members were tasked with minding and bringing these Ores back.
These Ores would then be brought to the market and sold, mostly in bulk, to various trading companies.
Valiant Heart Mountain was content to allow their students to battle it out over these resources, taking a kickback from the taxes. This way, they could both accumulate resources and funds while training the next generation all at once.
Due to these reasons, the Ore Market was simultaneously a place of profit and a battlefield of commerce.
…
At that moment, within one of the many pitched tents of the Ore Market, a palm slammed down on a large wooden table, rattling all the scales and measuring devices on it.
This tent was among the largest the Ore Market had to offer and a line that extended for hundreds of meters could be found outside its flaps.
The tent alone was over five meters tall and had an almost twenty meter diameter. The inside placed a large, thick wooden table at the front. But, to the back, rather than being one large room like most tents, there seemed to be several divided lots. It was hard to tell if these were storage spaces, or if they were offices.
Either way, neither the people within the tent, nor outside of it, were worrying about this at the moment. They were entirely focused on the scuffle that was about to ensue.
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down Kaela, you'll destroy our precious map if you hit any harder."
A young man sitting behind the large wooden desk chuckled, gently patting the beast-skin map sprawled out over the table. Then, just as calmly, he picked up the measuring devices that had fallen over.
Kaela, a young woman who stood over the desk fuming, only became more infuriated when she heard these words.
"Why is the price so high?! It's 50% up from just half a year ago! How are you expecting us to afford it?!"
Kaela was quite the looker, especially when her chest was heaving like that. She wore spectacles that couldn't hide her vibrant green eyes and had a curvaceous figure. She was definitely the subject of admiration for many male students.
Unfortunately, she spent much of her time locked away in a lab. Even if one wanted to court her, it was near impossible. Even now, she wore what looked like a lab coat over her uniform, partially hiding what was definitely a sight that would be even more enticing.
The young man picked at his ears.
"We set the price, you buy. If you don't want to buy, then don't."
Kaela grit her teeth, her rage palpable. If it wasn't for the special gloves she seemed to be wearing, her nails might have already drawn blood from her palms.
"Does Sarrieth think that just because he promoted to blue belt that he can do whatever he wants now?!"
The young man smiled slyly. Yet, despite the fact he didn't give a verbal response, his entire demeanor seemed to scream: 'Yea? And what are you going to do about it?'
"I'll remember this well, Nigmir. Your King of Ores faction can forget about buying any Crafts from my Polished Glass faction!"
The young man was stunned for a moment before he began to laugh uproariously. He laughed so hard that one would have thought that he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
He wheezed, only managing to calm himself after taking a large gulp of water.
Almost immediately afterward, in striking contrast, his expression became bitingly cold.
"Do you see how many people are outside waiting to trade with us?" Nigmir all but growled these words out. "Your pitiful faction only comes here twice a year so you have no idea that the prices have been like this for over a week already. Yet, do you see any of them running away from it?
"You think you can use your weak trash of a Crafting faction to pressure us? What is the best weapon you can even provide at your best? Tier 4?
"If I trade enough Ores, I can lay hands on enough Tier 7 treasures to outfit every Captain of the King of Ores faction. Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Kaela glared back, matching Nigmir's gaze. At that moment, a hair scrunchy that kept her hair in a pony tail seemed to come alive, dancing with flames. But in the end, she chose not to attack.
She turned away, fury lighting her gaze.
"Oh, and… Since you seem to like pressuring people, how about this? You can forget about buying Ores from Ore Market, period. Anyone who trades with you will now be an enemy of King of Ores faction!"
Nigmir's voice boomed, spreading across the whole Ore Market, drifting to the ears of everyone.
Kaela's fists gripped tighter, her shoulders trembling slightly. But, she didn't turn back as she continued to walk away.
It was at that moment that a sudden commotion sounded from the outside of the tent.
"Stop! Can't you see there's a line here?! Scram before I help you roll out of here!"
The only response was a muffled groan and a figure flying into the fragile fabric of the large tent, ripping another large hole open aside from its entrance.
The entirety of the Ore Market fell into chaos.