“I can’t believe that worked.”

Karl looked down at the contract in his hand. He thought the only way to negotiate other than using violence and intimidation was to figure out his opponent’s desire and exploit that; like how they did it in that old-school movie about England’s mafia. It worked once. He got the fox to test him. This time, it worked again. He even got a contract between the Information Guild and his idol agency.

“Thank you, Mr. Tobias.” Karl put the contract in his coat and went to the academy’s dormitory.

The best part about this deal was that he got to ask Mrs. Duskveil to access her information network for market research, and information about a certain theatre troupe leader. Karl’s eyes raged with bloodlust for a second. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, it was gone.

All he needed to do was wait, for just a bit, until everything fell into place.

Four days later, a day earlier than promised, the mansion and the stage were finished.

Karl went with Aria, Eldrin, and Nanok for an inspection. He wanted to see how they prepared the stage and what needed to be changed to fit their Idol Gears setup.

“As you requested, a raised platform and a small rail to show where the viewing zone is. A small tent and table to the side, both protected from stealing by formations.” The builder’s leader said.

It was an elevated wooden stage supported by steel beams that crossed each other. The stage floor was at the same height as Karl’s chest, it was high enough to let the audience see the idols while not high enough to force them to tilt their heads up. The stage had a background that could be changed like the average theatre stage. Since the agency didn’t have the items to make a freely switchable hologram background, this was the best they could do. For now.

“These things are all well-crafted. High quality at that.” Eldrin commented as he viewed the stage and tent.

“High quality is the worst thing you can find in our guild.” The leader humped his chest.

“Well said, very well said.” Eldrin nodded as the two old dudes laughed.

“Is there anything you need specifically to set up Idol Gears on this stage, Aria, Nanok?”

“We need a big, dark cloth to hide both sides of the stage. We can’t let the audience see the formations' light as we use them.” Aria said as she looked up on the stage.

“Young Master, we need three small holes at the bottom of the background to connect the image recorder with the projector in the front stage. The crystals are not stabilized enough for us to rely only on mana in the air to make stable connections.” Nanok said from the backstage.

“Done and done,” Karl noted it down. “Eldrin, suggestion?”

“Ya bet I have one. If things go to yaur plan, then a lot of people will gather here. With how ya plans to make them go excited, it would be trouble for the Gears.”

“Explain it as if I’m five, please and thank you.”

“Too many people. Mana in the air won't be stable. The hologram will get blurry and ugly. Got it, youngster?”

“Any suggestions?”

“We can set up a stabilizing formation around the stage,” Aria said. “But such formation will need another person to control it. And we don’t know enough people.”

“How about the blue-haired lady we met before?” Nanok suggested.

“No,” Karl shook his head. “I’ll invite her as one of the audience. I want to show her what she’s missing out on and recruit her as an idol, not a backstage worker like us. Do any of you know anyone else? Is Fixa available?”

“If Fixa works on the formation, who's going to introduce and sell the bracelet?” Eldrin asked.

“Aria, do you know anyone who can help us?” Karl turned toward Aria.

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. But not a word escaped her mouth.

“No way,” Karl exclaimed. “You’re a loner. Like me.”

“I have many connections and people I can count on for social events related to our standing. They simply are not in NorthStar and are not students of the academy.”

Karl tapped her shoulder and nodded his head.

“Young Master Karl, you are being very rude to a lady,” Aria said with a frown.

“Lady? What lady?” Karl said as he looked around. “WAIT, hold on, I was just joking.” He raised his palms at Aria when coins started to float around her. Both Eldrin and Nanok watched over them with soft smiles.

“Back to the matter at hand, we need to test the stage and the hologram, and we need someone to control the mana stabilizing formation. Eldrin, Nanok, any ideas?”

The two craftsmen shook their heads.

“I think I need to make a call.” Karl took out his communication clock and called Bulka.

“Karl, my friend. What can I do for you?”

“Senior Bulk, do you know anyone who can operate a mana-stabilizing formation?”

“Mana stabilizing formation? Diana and Xil’pul can do that.”

“Great, I’ll ask for their help. Thanks, senior.”

“No problem, Karl. And go have a drink with me sometime.” The Dwarf invited Karl despite seeing how he puked after a single night of drinking. Considering his personality, it most likely wasn’t out of malice or perverse tendency. Maybe.

Karl called Diana, but she said she couldn’t help. She had things to do.

While Xil'pul said, “I can come. I’m not doing anything anyway.”

“Great, thanks, senior.”

“No problem.”

Turned out, it was that easy. Knowing a lot of competent mages sure was handy. Karl turned toward his people and announced.

“I will get Sera here tomorrow, then we can start practicing. For now, let’s set up everything first. The guy who is going to be in charge of mana stabilizing formation will be available tomorrow. So we are going to do what we can right now first.”

Karl looked at the time. “Eldrin, let’s check the inventory one last time before the show.”

“My poor old body, getting ordered around by a youngster like this.”

“A poor old body wouldn’t chuck beer down like water.”

“What do ya know? Beer is water.”

Returning to the store. Eldrin and Karl check the number of bracelets and the crates that carry them one last time before locking the crates with magic-enhanced locks. Eldrin called for his workers in the production lines and delivered the creations. The workers stored the creations in the mansion’s storage house.

With that done, Karl needed to go to the Information Guild to write his ad.

Unlike the last time he visited, he didn’t have to wait in line or set up an appointment again.

The moment he stepped foot into the guild, a clerk walked up and led him into a room where he could sit down and write about what he wanted. The hologram in front of him showed his writing while the crystal on the table was laid out like a keyboard. All he had to do was type.

But they forgot something. He walked out of the room and asked a clerk.

“Excuse me, how can I apply an image to my writing?”

Some were snickering behind his back. Karl guessed it was something basic that everyone in the guild knew how to do. Everyone except an outsider like him.

The clerk kept her smile and walked into the room with him.

“Please scan the object you want to add an image by placing it on this tray. If you already have the image in your communication clock, you can open the image first and then connect it to this spot. That way, the image will be copied into your writing.”

“Ok, thank you for showing me.”

“It’s just part of our job.”

She left the room after a slight bow. Once alone in the room, Karl took out a Mana Smoothing Bracelet and put it on the copy machine-looking thing made of stone with a flat, reflective surface that looked more like a mirror than anything. After the green light shot up from the flat surface, a hologram of the bracelet was added to the article.

“Sweet,” Karl nodded. “Now, for the ad’s content.” Times to get wild and write something the people have never seen before.

After five drafts and two edits, Karl’s one-page ad was like this.

---

MANA BLOCKAGE SUCK.

It sucks for you. It sucks for me. It sucks for everybody.

But you don’t have to worry about something like that anymore. Forever.

With the Mana Smoothing Bracelet, mana blockage is a thing of the past. Just put the bracelet on your wrist and you’re done. If you don’t believe me. I can assure you. It is that simple.

A long problem for generations

For people below Purple Core like us, Mana blockage is a nightmare. We can’t train mana, we can’t use mana, we can’t do anything until the blockage settles down. Day after day, we stare at people using their Mana freely, hoping that this blockage will go away soon so that we can get back to our lives.

We feel so hopeless during those times that we thought it would last forever. Seconds feel like hours, days feel like years. It was agonizing.

We tried everything to remove this blockage from our lives. We tried all kinds of items that should have helped us. But nothing works. Everything we tried was temporary, the blockage just won't go away. We paid thousands, tens of thousands of Tal to get rid of this blockage.

But it didn’t work. Nothing worked.

A new solution.

Now, with this Mana Smoothing Bracelet, you will never struggle with mana blockage again.

But why is the bracelet so effective? Simple. Because for the first time in our history has anyone been able to pinpoint what the actual problem is? And it’s not a problem with your Mana Pathways.

To know why that is, let me tell you a story.

A story of how the creator of this bracelet came up with the idea.

Two years ago, a young man dreamt of crafting items to his heart's content. But whenever he tried to do so for a long time, mana blockage reeled its head and stopped him from doing so. Not being able to do what he loved pained his heart.

That was why he decided to research an item that would get rid of this problem once and for all. Thus, the Mana Smoothing Bracelet was born. Once he got the bracelet, he could do what he loved to his heart's content, all day, every day, without being forced to rest and not use Mana. He could use Mana when he wanted, how he wanted. There was no blockage to stop him from crafting or using any skills. Ever again.

It was all thanks to him finding out how to disperse the remnants of Mana in his wrist thanks to combining the effect of Magic Engineering with Alchemy.

That is correct. You did not read that wrong.

The Mana Smoothing Bracelet is the first item in history to ever succeed in combining Magic Engineering with Alchemy.

Impossible, you say. My friend, nothing is impossible. There is always a way. The creator of this bracelet just happened to stumble upon such a way. And besides, do you think the problem of Mana blockage lies in our Mana Pathways?

That isn’t the case.

The problem lies with how the redundance Mana stays in your wrist without dispersing and returning to nature. You forced yourself to use more and more Mana without letting the redundance Mana scatter, making it stacked up and creating blocks in our Mana flows.

That is exactly the problem that the Mana Smoothing Bracelet deals with. With the bracelet, no matter what you do, there will never be any more Mana redundancy as it will be scattered without effort.

Powered by Magic Engineering Technology, the bracelet can operate on its own with a single special Mana Crystal as its power source.

Not only can you use this bracelet for yourself, but when you reach Purple Core, you also give it to your spouse, to your children, to your grandchildren. A single bracelet can serve your family for generations. It isn't a one-time purchase. This is an investment that will last for as long as mana blockage still haunts your life.

Normally, something like this could be sold for thousands, even tens of thousands of Tal.

But for one night only.

Our store will sell it to you at the absurdly low price of FREE.

You didn’t read that wrong. For one night only, the bracelet is FREE.

Of course, as you can see, there is a catch here. Nothing so great could be given for free without a catch.

The catch here is that only a hundred bracelets are given for free. Not only that, but since the bracelet needs a special magic crystal to work, you will need to buy the crystal from us once every fifteen days.

But with just one bracelet, you never have to worry about mana blockage. Ever again.

Five days from now, at Brightstar Mansion at the edge of the trading district, there will be a singing play. The first one hundred people to come and watch the play will receive a free Mana Smoothing Bracelet.

If you have any questions about the bracelet, you can ask our clerk then.

If your bracelet is broken, just come to our store and we will replace it for free. No questions asked.

Remember, to get rid of your mana blockage problem forever, come to the Brightstar Mansion five days from now to watch the play. Be one of the first hundred to get a bracelet for free.

You can follow these coordinates to get to the mansion. I'll see you there.

---

Nodding his head at the ad he wrote. Karl walked out of the room and told the clerk he was finished.

The day after, when the ad is on, they refuse to sell any more bracelets and force people to attend the Sera’s show to get one. It might backfire on them and cause a lot of resentment.

But he was readied.