Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Monopoly Operations

In an antique courtyard, the head of the Taylor family, Sly, had just woken up from a nap and made himself a cup of coffee.

A man in armor hurried up to him, "Mr. Sly, I just found out—David is selling materials at low prices in the central square. Someone reportedly bought a third-tier ferocious beast's skeleton for just 5 silver coins!"

"Spit—" Sly sprayed his coffee, staining the documents on his table a brownish-yellow, incredulous at what he had heard, he asked his subordinate to repeat, "A third-tier ferocious beast's skeleton, for how much?"

After confirming there was no mistake in the information, a brief blank filled Sly's mind.

Last month, to hunt down a third-tier ferocious beast [falco albicilla], they had sacrificed six ferocious beast hunters, including one second-level Beast Master, at a great cost.

All for something now being sold for 5 silver coins?

For a moment, Sly felt as though his intelligence was being insulted, but he quickly snapped back to reality, sensing that a new ferocious beast trader was engaging in malicious price undercutting.

"Boss, there's something odd about that third-tier mystical beast being sold at David's expo. It's a [falco albicilla] too, and it looks just like the one we caught last month..." his subordinate voiced his concerns.

"You suspect that someone stole our stock and is now reselling it?" Sly paused, then quickly dismissed the idea, smiling at the man, "How could that be possible? Our vault is at the very bottom of Lsengard Bank's vault, protected by a three-meter-thick mystic iron steel plate. Who could get in without the code?"

"Besides, with Lsengard Bank's security team patrolling 24/7, even if someone could get in, how could they possibly transport so much right under their noses?"

The man scratched his head, also finding it unlikely, and chuckled, "You're right, Mr. Sly. That place is more fortified than Lsengard's city walls. Not even a fly could get in there!"

Sly waved his hand, signaling the man to leave.

However, he remained cautious and had already sent someone to Lsengard Bank to check his inventory.

The more he thought about the Smith family suddenly starting to sell large quantities of ferocious beast materials at low prices, the more suspicious Sly became...

...

At the temporary expo center set up in Lsengard Square, the crowd of people looking to purchase equipment and materials was growing. Many had even sold their houses, hoping to change their destinies.

Amid the increasingly crowded surroundings, Charles felt a mix of irritation and excitement. Each vibration from his phone was a notification of money being deposited into his account, which made him hope for even more visitors to the expo.

Sitting in a corner of the expo center, Charles fanned himself from the heat and quietly waited for the day's event to end.

"Celestine, you'll be going to the inner court of Cyber Academy next year, right? I heard it's beyond the Abyssal Depths. Does that mean I won't see you at all next year?" Listening to the slightly melancholic conversation of the Stokes sisters, Charles couldn't help but think of Ezra, a curious person to have as an admissions tutor at such a unique school.

Long before he attended Lsengard's enrollment ceremony, he had already thoroughly researched the three major academies in the imperial capital online. Among them, the most mysterious was the so-called 'Monster Academy,' Cyber Academy.

Cyber Academy has branches spread throughout the Ethereal Grove, embodying a unique educational philosophy of differentiated training, gathering 'monsters' from across the entire Ethereal Grove.

The admissions criteria for Cyber Academy are exceedingly stringent, requiring candidates to reach 'third-level Beast Master' before the age of 20, effectively filtering out 99.99% of applicants.

Thanks to these harsh admissions standards, those who successfully graduate from Cyber Academy are invariably top-tier Beast Masters who command respect wherever they go. After gaining prominence, these individuals often show gratitude for the training they received at the academy, providing various advantages to fellow Cyber Academy graduates.

Graduating from Cyber Academy essentially means gaining access to the most powerful network in the Ethereal Grove.

The inner court of Cyber Academy is shrouded in even greater mystery, with the exact location of the inner court still a secret. It is rumored that only the most exceptional graduates earn the privilege to continue their studies there, where they can access cutting-edge theoretical research and the most potent resources.

For many young Beast Masters in the Ethereal Grove, entering the inner court of Cyber Academy represents the ultimate dream.

However, after such stringent selection processes, for most Beast Masters, this remains but a dream.

...

"You must be joking again. Although my Beast Mastery talent is considerably stronger than 'some people's,' I'm still quite far from qualifying for the inner court," Celestine said, deliberately giving Charles a pointed look, her provocation clear.

Charles, however, did not engage with her. He had a systemically planned optimal path, including evolutionary routes for mystical beasts and upgrade materials, requiring only a glance at system prompts when necessary. Searᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

For him, college was not an absolute necessity.

"Charles, which academy do you plan to attend? Aredale Academy, Nova Academy, or Cyber Academy? With your grades, you could easily choose any of the top three academies in the imperial capital," Aurora suddenly leaned in close to Charles, her envy apparent.

With an indifferent wave of his hand, Charles kept his eyes on a disturbance ahead in the crowd: "To me, they're all much of a muchness. I'll just pick whichever academy catches my eye when the time comes. Of course, if 'certain people' are the product of Cyber Academy, I guess it can't be that great, right?"

"Hmph, you're quite arrogant, aren't you? Don't think getting into Cyber Academy is such a big deal. People like you are a dime a dozen at the three major academies of the imperial capital. With your attitude, you might find university life quite challenging!" Celestine couldn't help but glare at him venomously upon hearing this.

The tension between them was rising, but suddenly, a wave of cursing from the crowd ahead interrupted their conversation.

Charles moved closer to hear better. It turned out that a scuffle had broken out over the hoarding of weapon blind boxes. From a distance, Charles heard one of the quarrelers shout, "I'll buy all the remaining weapon blind boxes for 10 silver coins each!"

The man's declaration instantly provoked a chorus of curses from the surrounding crowd. Although he didn't reveal his identity, nearly everyone guessed that he was sent by the Draven family.

Since the Draven family had monopolized the weapons trade in Lsengard, they had raised prices numerous times under various pretexts. Despite the essential nature of these goods and the public's frustration, there was little anyone could do about it.

This expo organized by the Smith family had become a competitor to the Draven family conglomerate, who now aimed to consolidate their monopoly by buying up all the weapons at the event.

Despite paying double now, the prices would surely double at resale—no merchant ever intends to make a loss.

The commotion soon caught the attention of the expo organizers.

David was very reluctant to sell the weapons to the Draven family's representative, but he still made a call to Charles.

The call went unanswered, but David soon received a message from Charles. If they were willing to pay double the price for the weapon blind boxes, then they might as well sell them all to them.

1500 weapon blind boxes were ultimately bought for the high price of 15 gold coins each. Though reluctant, David chose to proceed with the shipment.

...

By evening, the crowd in the square had gradually dispersed, leaving only the transport workers bustling about.

All the weapon and equipment blind boxes were packed and transported unchanged to the Draven family's equipment store inventory, then one by one unsealed.

- Silver dragon sword (white).

- Furious python spear (white).

- Iron darts (grey).

- ...

Watching as one blind box after another was opened, only to reveal junk, Kevin couldn't help his mouth twitching in annoyance.

Thomas looked on, equally baffled, "Dad, I feel like we've been duped. I reckon the total value of these over a thousand pieces of equipment wouldn't even exceed 5 gold coins! And we paid triple the price for them."

Kevin, trying to stabilize his emotions, patted Thomas on the shoulder, "Son, there's still a lot you need to learn. We have thousands of pieces of equipment in our warehouse. With this batch, we can completely monopolize the entire equipment market in Lsengard. When that time comes, we can charge whatever we want, can't we?"

The two and a few weapon shop appraisers began to inspect the equipment scattered on the floor. Minutes later, the smile on Kevin's face slowly stiffened.

Something felt off... Why did these weapons look so familiar?

Thomas, puzzled, remarked, "Dad, why do I feel like these weapons and equipment are from our own store?"

The smiths nearby voiced their doubts as well.

"Boss, the tempering technique used on this silver dragon sword is unique to our shop. How could this be a coincidence?"

"This furious python spear, I can guarantee 100% that I personally forged it. To save on materials, I made part of the handle hollow. You can cut it open and see for yourself!"

Amid the screeching noise of the cutting machine, the spear handle was gradually severed. When the hollow inside was revealed, Kevin felt a heavy weight on his chest and his face turned pale.

He had spent a total of 15,000 silver coins, 5,000 of which were from a high-interest loan.

And now, to discover that he had bought his own goods?

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