News of the Elemental Gun quickly spread across the US.
[Elemental Gun! The newest weapon that will save mankind?]
[A new era is coming! Goodbye melee weapons!]
[Non-awakener can now fight in the dungeon!]
[Artificial arcana has been invented!]
News programs on every television channel made exaggerated headlines. Elemental Gun became a trending topic on social media and the internet. Everyone was enthusiastic about this latest innovation, especially those non-awakeners.
Unfortunately, the news did not make everyone happy. Weapon industry players must develop innovations to survive in the market.
One of the people who didn't like this news was Vincent. The man was reading a news article in his office while holding a glass. The more he read the news article to the end, the stronger the hand squeeze became.
Creak.
The glass shattered and vodka-soaked his hand. Vincent kept squeezing until the shards became small grains. It didn't leave any scratches on his hand.
"I should have sent Zee to kill them all."
Morning Star had produced weapons and equipment for the awakeners for almost a decade. Years of research, vast resources, and millions of dollars had gone into creating the Caliburn X21.
Those efforts were wasted with the Elemental Gun's presence in the market. Besides, who would have thought that a company only formed a few months ago could create artificial arcana?
Apart from Vincent, the leads of the Five Pillars began to make their move.
In Columbus, Ohio, a woman in pajamas sat on the sofa in a minimalist-style apartment room with large windows overlooking the city. One hand held a cup of coffee, and the other had a holographic device.
"Artificial arcana. I didn't expect it so soon."
Turning off the holographic device, she picked up the smartphone and put it to her ear.
"Hello, David. Get information on Mors Industries. Tell them the Guild Master of Oathkeeper wants to meet with their CEO. Do it as soon as possible before the others make a move."
At the same time, 3000 miles from the Americas, a man was basking in the sun on a beach with white sand and blue sea. A group of flower-bedecked women danced to the melodious sound of the ukulele as the waves crashed.
While eating an orange, the man scrolled through his smartphone screen, reading a news article about Elemental Gun.
"I missed something important again."
The man got up and left the dancers.
The domino effect of the Golden Hammer Expo was beginning to show.
While the Five Pillars made a move, Klaus was still busy with his plans.
In a photo studio, the clicks and shouts of the photographers telling the models to change poses echoed throughout the room. Several crew members stood at the edge of the set next to the light stand, holding reflectors to direct the light onto the models.
A female makeup artist was styling Justin's hair in front of a mirror in the makeup room. Standing behind her were Klaus and a photographer. The two of them were discussing the photo concept for their first commercial. Sheila is also there with her boss.
The photographer told Justin to go to the set if he was ready before leaving the room. Not long after, the makeup artist finished styling Justin's hair. Klaus told the makeup lady to leave so he could talk to his subordinates.
"You've been pouting like a kindergartner who didn't get any candy. What's wrong with you?" Klaus asked.
Justin sighed. "It's nothing. I thought after you made me guild master, I'd be free from these things. Why don't you hire a model? I have to take care of the guild, raid dungeons, interview, and even model for advertisements. These should be separate deskjob. I even work more than 12 hours every day."
"When I have a former idol employee, why should I spend money to hire someone else? You're under a contract with Mors Industries anyway, remember? The contract says the first party will do whatever the company orders."
"That's when you urged me. I didn't read that part," Justin sighed in annoyance.
Klaus laughed. "Now, you're blaming me for your carelessness." He shook his head.
Sheila covered her mouth, silently giggling.
In the end, Justin fell silent. The man realized he had made a pact with the devil. Like it or not, he had to obey Klaus' every command. However, Justin was grateful for his new job.
When Justin was an idol, he felt undervalued. The agencies he worked for treated him as a product instead of a person. They didn't respect him at all.
Even though many women adored him, his social media often received hate messages and memes about him scattered across the internet. What he hated the most was that he had to look as the agency ordered, with the feminine good looks and flashy hair. He didn't like it, but women loved it. As a result, Justin couldn't express himself.
His image improved after working as a guild master at Rays of Hope. News channels and social media often reported positive things about him, and the number of haters gradually decreased.
"Hey, can I go home early after this photoshot?" Justin asked.
Klaus nodded. Getting the desired response, Justin smiled and left for the photo set in good spirits.
"Aren't you putting too much pressure on him, boss?" Sheila piped up.
"I'm not paying him 20 million dollars a year to relax. He has to work even harder."
Her secretary glared when she heard the amount Justin was paid. "Yeah, that's a fantastic salary."
"By the way, what about my money?" Klaus asked about the money from selling the stolen arcana from the dealer. He was still waiting for it until this moment, but he hadn't heard back. Klaus was starting to run out of patience.
"Ah, he said there was a little problem. I'll visit him tomorrow," Sheila replied. She was a little nervous as she said it. After all, Klaus entrusted her with dozens of arcana worth tens of millions of dollars.
"Make sure you get the exact answer. I'm tired of waiting. My hands are full right now."
Klaus had been busy with product promotion for the past few weeks. Thanks to Justin's prestige, Elemental Gun became a trending topic and gained popularity even faster. Although it initially attracted only women, it eventually attracted men as well.
In addition, Golden Hammer and House of Blacksmith did what Klaus asked. They built an outlet and branch office in South Houston. This area used to be more lively than it was, but Klaus believes that someday SoHo would come back to its old day.
It took a lot of effort and time.
Only Divine Ursine Alliance had yet to make a move. Jacob needed time to get permission from the New York Branch of the Awakener Association.
"What's our schedule for tomorrow? How many more shoots does Justin need."
Sheila checked her cell phone. "Nothing. But you have an important event on your schedule."
Klaus raised one eyebrow.
"Tomorrow is LR Enterprise's 43rd Anniversary," Sheila continued. "I've prepared the suit for tomorrow as you requested."
Patting his forehead, Klaus forgot about other troublesome things. He was too busy with his company and guild.
Steve reminded Klaus to come to the anniversary no matter what because it would be an event to gain the attention of the number one person in LR Enterprise, Robert Lee.
