The sudden appearance of unique products only found in the Kings region like the famous Grassweed Herb or the Phrenic Stone completely changed the market landscape of this town.
The Reborn company became all the rage within its citizens, buying their products and venturing out to the Golden Road to reach the First Settlement in just a few hours!
The mayor of this town immediately accepted Michael's offer to establish their own infrastructure in the territory, much to the dismay of the twin brothers.
Barcus and Bulren only found out a couple of days later that their business in these territories almost came to a complete stop.
"WHAT?! How are they creating these roads so damn fast?!" Bulren screamed out. "And how are they transferring these Kings region products so cheaply?! The transport and shipping costs of these items should far exceed what they're selling it at. I just don't understand it!"
Bulren became so bothered at the current situation that he ended up entasking a few of his employees to become troublemakers for the Reborn company.
"Scare them just enough so that they'll be hesitant to step a foot further into the Grafted Cluster," he said to his employees. "Threaten their merchants and show them your knives! You don't have to hurt them, just make sure they get scared!"
This would have been a great plan if not for the Reborn company's tremendous defensive capabilities.
First of all, Bulren never knew that there were Shadow Orcs planted all over his mansion and even under his very feet. They listened and watched for his every move, so Michael and the Rebornians were quickly given notice of what was about to happen.
And second of all, those merchants weren't just ordinary people. They were Rebornians with an almost impenetrable defense as well.
So when the troublemakers sneaked into the Reborn camping site near the town, they didn't know what they were getting into.
They entered into the tents of the Rebornian merchants and pulled a knife near their throats.
"Leave this place now or else we'll come back to finish the job!"
However, as soon as the knives were about to reach their throats, an invisible prismatic shield appeared around the Rebornians and repelled the knives away from their hands.
"What?!"
The troublemakers cried out as they saw their knives land in the ground.
They stumbled forwards trying to catch it, but when they did, they suddenly realized that they were kneeling in front of a giant pair of feet that emanated a black fire.
The troublemakers looked up and saw these humongous Orcs looking down at them with red glinting eyes.
And as soon as they made eye-contact with the Orcs, these troublemakers fell into illusions that showed them their deepest and worst nightmares.
"AAGHH!" they screamed, holding their heads in terror. "Get me out of here!"
These troublemakers ran away, never to be seen again. Bulren tried to get a hold of them a couple of days later, but quickly found out that they disappeared without a single trace.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Bulren's twin brother was experiencing a very similar meltdown upon realizing the power of the Reborn company.
"I guess the rumors are true about those metal carriages," Barcus muttered, biting his nails nervously. "And I thought this…concrete…thing was just a parlor trick. But I was wrong. It's the only reason as to how they're building the roads so damn fast."
Barcus, unlike his twin brother, chose not to get heavy-handed in his attempt to oppose the Reborn company.
Instead, he chose a different route. He now wished to study the Reborn company's methods of success to try to implement it into his own company!
He could no longer treat this 'unknown' company as a fraud that only bought their way up the rankings. After all, the results were as clear as day. In a matter of a week or so, the Reborn company was able to turn a quarter of the Grafted Cluster under their influence.
The people of this territory hate venturing out of their homes. However, the Reborn company was able to push them out of their comfort zones and influence them to travel through the 'Golden Road' and out into the other territories.
He wanted to know how they did that.
"Hmph…they must be using some kind of magic spell or illusion," Barcus said to himself. "Some kind of love potion perhaps?"
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After a few days worth of travel, Barcus arrived in the First Settlement where the Reborn company established their territory.
Barcus thought he was prepared for it, but the complete change in the settlement brought him into a complete standstill. The houses made out of wood and thatch were still there, but by its side were these large and towering 'stone' buildings under construction.
He was not the first 'tourist' that came into this place. After all, the other Golden Road branches all lead to this place before going over to Angora City.
So, there were already Rebornians ready to accommodate all his questions and needs.
"Hello sir, welcome to the First Settlement, a new colony of the Nation of Reborn," said a perky young catwoman.
"Hi," Barcus whispered. "Is there a place here that everyone loves to visit?"
"Yes," replied the catwoman. "Our newly constructed bathhouse is a must-try for all tourists."
In Barcus' mind, that place must be where the Reborn company brainwashed their customers. There must have been something in the water to completely turn normal citizens into fanatics of Reborn.
"I'm going to detect magic on the water," Barcus whispered to himself as the catwoman escorted him to the bathhouse.
"Enjoy!" she said.
Barcus entered the steamy room and saw these large stones arranged to make it look like a natural hot spring in the woods. He concentrated on the water, making him look like an awkward man staring at other naked men wearing only a towel.
He chose a shallow part of the bath and used the 4-star spell called [Detect Water] to see if it had been tampered with just as he guessed. Surprisingly, the spell told him that it was just pure, clean water.
Confused, Barcus decided to copy what the other men in the bath house were doing and completely soaked himself in the steaming pool.
As soon as he did, his body felt a relaxing heat that seemed to massage all his tense muscles.
"Ahh…"
All his plans of investigating the hot springs went out the window the moment he submerged his body onto the therapeutic bathhouse.
Barcus didn't know it, but he unknowingly spent a full hour in the bathhouse! By the time he dried himself outside, he saw the sun had already set in the horizon.
"What the hell do they put in that water?!" he asked himself.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" asked the catomwan from earlier.
"Uhh….not that much," Barcus flusteredly replied, with his cheeks still red from the bath.
"Would you like to join our communal game sessions?"
Barcus was visibly confused.
"We Rebornians have introduced fun board games for everyone to enjoy. Chutes and ladders, scrabble, and Uno are widely popular for beginners, but we also have some card games that are popular for experienced gamers."
Barcus was led into the newly constructed building into an open space where both Rebornian and local tourists alike gathered in small groups playing different kinds of board games.
Although he was invited to play, these things looked childish to him so he refused to play.
But then, he noticed one group playing cards while drinking some kind of frothy yellow water.
"Ummm, what's that?" Barcus asked.
"Come join us my friend. This is Beer and Poker!"