Birth Of The Crafts-God

Thank you, mister. Thank you very much." Wally bowed his head as his eyes gushed out with years, but this time not of sadness, but gratefulness.

In his communicator was a document detailing a request for the wielder to have and use a vestige alongside a recommendation for the request to be passed.

That's right. What Lucas had asked Harry to get was an approved recommendation letter.

Harry was a freelancer and not just anyone, but one at the fifth level and even led a squad of his own. In other words, he was on the higher side of the rankings for freelancers. With his connections, prestige and power, providing a recommendation with his name wasn't difficult, but would merely take some time.

However, time was something both Lucas and Wally were lacking. So, Harry had to pull in a few of his strings and get a temporary permit to be used for the meanwhile. This wasn't illegal and was made to be issued quickly in scenarios where the duration for an official permit or the period for a recommendation to be approved was too long for the applicant to wait.

In such a case, they would be issued a temporary permit after twenty four hours; enough time to do a background check on the applicant of the permit or the sponsor/patron and the assignee for the approved recommendation.

However, temporary permits had short lifespans; usually less than a month, depending on the results of the twenty four hours investigation.

Lucas already had a plan in mind since he heard about Wally's practicals. This was the time to have his goods advertised to a part of his target market.

Although high schoolers couldn't normally own a vestige, they could bypass the rules by getting an approved recommendation like Wally. At the same time, there was a chance they would also know someone who could use a vestige.

As long as Wally's performance was amazing enough to draw attention to the vestige, people would ask questions which would lead them to his store.

To ensure this plan worked, Lucas had to find out all the requirements and any issues that would interfere with it. Luckily, he was on good terms with Harry, otherwise, getting a temporary permit, much less an approved recommendation, would have been impossible.

"Now that's settled, it's time to begin your training." Lucas said.

"My training?" Wally was confused.

"You don't think that having a vestige alone would turn you into some superhero or something, right? Well, it could if you can draw out the power of the vestige, but you're too weak for that. Hence the special training." Lucas said.

"Don't worry about it. You might bleed, cry, or even shit yourself, but it will definitely be worth it."

"Okay."

Wally nodded, unsure about what was to take place and a bit scared. But to score better results in this semester's practicals, he was willing to do anything. This was why he had ended up gambling his birthday money for a shot at winning a vestige. Luckily for him, Lady Luck had smiled his way then.

"Before you guys go do whatever it is, you owe me a favour, you know." Harry said as he smiled at Lucas.

For some reason, Lucas felt as if he was about to get scammed, so he didn't say a word right away. Instead, he stared at Harry without moving an inch.

"Don't try to play dumb with me." Harry then stretched out three fingers.

"Three custom-made vestiges, Grade 3."

"***king thief. I'd rather bleed to death!" Lucas fumed as he cursed with glaring eyes.

Despite being reputed for his calm and level-headed personality, Lucas couldn't resist cursing at that moment. It couldn't be helped; that price was insane and no different from highway robbery.

"Okay, okay. I'll take a step back. Two but still Grade 3 customs. Either that or three vestiges: two one custom and two standards, all Grade 3."

'System, is there a blacklist function?'

"Host is adviced to think carefully before doing so." The system didn't directly answer him.

Time went by as the duo continued their "negotiations" with Harry tossing out a ridiculous price while Lucas tried to resist the urge from putting him in the store's blacklist.

In the end, they settled for a 'fair' price. Lucas would make a Grade 3 vestige but Harry would have to provide all the materials and pay thirty percent of the bill. This couldn't be helped as the system refused Lucas to perform acts of service it termed as "free transactions".

Discounts could be given on certain conditions -in this case, Harry having to provide the materials- but there was no free item. Even the roulette spin wasn't exactly free but a discount.

Harry exited the store with a slightly disappointed look on his face, but once he was out of the Seven Sparks Forge building, his face broke out with a wide grin.

'Hehe, a kid is a kid. There's no way he could beat me in a game of negotiations.'

Satisfied with the deal he got, Harry departed.

It might seem much, especially since the price of custom-made vestiges in the store was twice that of other vestige stores, but Harry didn't see that as a problem.

Compared to other vestige stores, the Seven Sparks Forge's services and products were on another level. Just in terms of the purity of stellar energy in them was gaps ahead of the others. There was also the fact that the runes and matrices Lucas used were different yet more efficient than those used by other vestige-smiths.

This would end up becoming a selling point for him, and make Lucas' goods more valuable and popular in the future. In other words, once Lucas became more popular, this vestige Harry had got for a price that seemed to be expensive, would become even more valuable. The resale value alone might even surpass the cost price he got it at.

In the vestige-smith business, one's runes and stellar matrices were the lifeline of their business. It was a company secret which defined their brand. The size, shape and quality of a vestige could be replicated, but the runes couldn't unless one had studied them. This was why the famous vestige-smiths would always have customers and followers even though there were other good vestige-smiths.

"If that is to be a reality, I'll need to help advertise his business too. But I have to profit more before I do so." Harry smiled.

Having decided on what to do next, Harry immediately departed for the Wastelands base station. He had arrived from there and didn't carry any valuable items with him. At the same time, he also had to take a trip to the Wastelands and acquire more precious items and resources for his custom-made vestige.

Freelancers didn't usually replace their vestige often, so Harry wanted his to be as powerful as possible since it would end up being his long-term partner. Even though the Grade had already been decided upon, there were still differences between Grade 3 vestiges. His goal was to make sure that the materials used were top notch, so the result would be at the top amongst Grade 3 vestiges.