Early in the morning, the citizens of Angora City woke up to the sight of a huge stone building erected in the middle of the street. This was definitely not here before because they would have remembered the sophisticated architecture of the structure.
"Reborn company? You mean the people who conquered the tomb?"
"I only knew them for chocolates…"
"Didn't you hear about yesterday? They defeated someone from the HammerStone group!"
Eventually a crowd had gathered in the front, bringing in more curious citizens looking to find some answers.
Suddenly, the revolved around itself to reveal a pleasant-looking woman wearing a dress. She looked at the crowd in front of her and bowed to them in deference.
"Welcome to the Reborn Department Store, dear valued customers. You are now free to enter," she said.
The curious onlookers broke out in hushed whispers, hesitant in taking the woman's words for the truth. They had never heard of a 'Department Store' before.
"Please come in and take a look at our wares."
She walked back to the revolving door, with some people bravely following her in.
And when they saw what was inside, they were completely stunned and bewildered.
Everywhere they could see, there were shelves upon shelves containing a variety of metal equipment and armors of all kinds. Everything shone even in the dim light, exhibiting its high quality from even far away.
Each shelf had a specific equipment stored. On the very left side were for arm braces and gauntlets only, while the one next to it were meant for chestplates and shoulder armors.
People began to walk through the shelves until they reached the very end, where a counter was located. There were several demi-human employees behind the desk who bowed politely at the potential customers.
"Welome sirs, madames. Would you like to try our new chocolate desserts?"
Beside the desk were crates and boxes full of chocolate goodies. There were visual depictions of a man and woman eating chocolates with a satisfied smile on their faces, which stimulated the appetite of anyone looking at them.
One of their very first customers approached the desk shyly.
"Umm…I would like to buy a bar of chocolates," he said.
The attendants on the other side smiled at the customer. "Of course. Would you like to buy our new leather shirt that is both stylish and protective? If you buy one now, you can avail an entire box of chocolates for yourself for only 100 gold altogether!"
The man immediately nodded and pushed a sack of gold to the counter, receiving his new shirt and box of chocolate.
The other people who heard this couldn't help themselves and bought one for themselves as well. It was too good of a deal!
…
…
…
Michael looked down the balcony overlooking the entire Department Store.
It had been a couple of hours since they opened up their new Headquarters to the public and already, the entire floor was being swarmed by adventurers and civilians alike.
As soon as the first satisfied customer left the building, the news spread like wildfire. People began visiting this obscure part of the City just to take a look at the Reborn Department store that seemingly got constructed overnight. It was an unbelievable story to most of them, which was quickly proven true once they visited the actual building.
Curiosity was what pushed people to enter the building. Quality products were what forced them to stay and buy one for themselves.
"Look! This Uncommon Mankey Armor Set looks durable while being easy to move through," said one of the adventurers pouring through the armor on display.
"This one looks like that Dragonborn we saw yesterday in the arena. It even has the same fiery red color!" said one of his friends, pointing at the armor set inspired by Zion which was currently displayed in a glass.
"I know. I want to buy that Rare Dragonborn Chestplate but it's too expensive for me!"
The incredible display that Zion put yesterday increased the reputation of Reborn products in the City. Almost everyone heard about it by now, and timely enough, they could now purchase their own Reborn armor here!
Zion's weapon and armor triumphed against HammerStone equipment. That was enough assurance for people to believe that Reborn's quality was top notch, leading them to buy it in droves.
Even civilians who had not held a single weapon in their hands ended up purchasing leather armors and decorative weapons just for their pleasure.
"Congratulations, this Uncommon Rebornian Steel Sword comes with ten free chocolate bars. Enjoy!" said one of the cashiers as they handed out the customer's sword in a grand wooden box with the symbol 'R' carved on it.
"Sweet!"
Zion's consumption of chocolate during the fight also helped increase the popularity of chocolates, with others believing that they could also become super strong like him upon consumption.
All in all, the first day of business in Angora City turned out to be extremely good.
"Business is doing well, Lord Michael," Sheina approached Michael with a bunch of papers in her hands.
"It sure is."
"I have heard from the Shadow Orcs that a lot of the companies in the City expressed their surprise at our new Department Store," she said, looking at her papers.
"It's only natural," he replied. "I'm sure they are trying to find out how we were able to accomplish such a big construction job in just under a day."
"Should I instruct the Shadow Orcs to create illusions and mislead their investigations?"
Michael shook his head. "No. Let them find out about concrete."
Sheina's eyes lit up once she understood Michael's intentions. "I see. Once they find out about concrete, they will inevitably contact you to purchase their own supply."
"Yup," he replied, smiling. "The more this rumor spreads, the less we have to do to advertise our products."
The female Dragonborn respectfully bowed at Michael, once again surprised at his genius. "Well then, I shall make sure that they 'accidentally' find concrete in our inventory."
Sheina left, leaving Michael all alone with just his shadow.
"Narito, Sasuki. What did you find out about the Stone-Cold 6? Maybe I should call them Stone-Cold 5 now since they're down one member."
The two Shadow Orcs emerged from his shadow, kneeling.
"Just like the other companies, they are surprised that we were able to create such a big project. They are even more surprised that it has garnered a lot of customers on the very first day of our opening, which has directly caused theirs to plummet," said Narito.
"What did they say about Five?"
"They are shocked at his loss, but attribute it to nothing more than the failure of Five, and not the strength of Zion. They still don't consider the appearance of Mithril Artifacts as real, and they just think that Zion used some kind of special weapons and armors," said Sasuki, completing the report.
Michael thanked the two Shadow Orcs, who had been stationed this whole time in the HammerStone company to survey their surroundings.
"Continue surveillance," he said to them, and the two descended back into the shadows.
With his preparations done, Michael set his sights onto the tallest spire in the entire City, the Angora City Magic Tower.