The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

"I forgot."

"real or fake?"

Of course it's fake.

The footage shows two of Tilissa's disciples being detained and imprisoned within a single day.

Wiener recorded at least one year.

Chapter 273 The Blind Box Effect

The afterglow of the setting sun lazily spilled onto the quiet street.

As closing time approached, the number of pedestrians on the street dwindled, and the area outside the shops was completely deserted.

Students who want to achieve better results in the ranking competition have already selected suitable equipment over the weekend and are now burying themselves in practicing and familiarizing themselves with the equipment.

This gave the shopkeeper a brief respite from her classes.

After Anna finished taking stock of the store's inventory, she returned to the counter out of boredom, her wandering gaze unconsciously falling on the dartboard in the corner.

A thought quietly arose in her mind.

Anna removed all the darts from the dartboard to make room, and then walked towards the other wall.

When the wall was only a step away from her, Anna stopped and then swiftly spun around.

"Whoosh!"

A crisp sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

A throwing knife leaped from Anna's fingertips, hitting the bullseye precisely.

But this is only the prologue.

Anna's hands lightly touched the hem of her skirt, and it was impossible to see where she pulled them out. One throwing knife after another shot out of the air, and in no time all the throwing knives were gone.

All twelve throwing knives struck the dartboard without missing their mark.

As the last glint of silver light pierced the bullseye, the already overburdened dartboard shattered into pieces with a "crack".

"...Looks like I need to get a new dartboard."

Anna walked over with a sense of helplessness, first picking up the thrown knife that had fallen to the ground and placing it on the table, then taking a broom to sweep.

After the pieces of the dartboard were cleaned up, Anna stepped onto a stool and lifted her skirt.

Hidden beneath the skirt was a white legging.

Located near the base of the thigh, about 20 centimeters wide, each leg ring has six slots for storing throwing knives.

Anna specially commissioned a tailor from the Chamber of Commerce to design this; there are seven different styles, each corresponding to one of the seven days of the week.

The sharpness and precision of Little Li's flying daggers allow her to throw them at will, but she must be careful and cautious when retrieving them.

Just then, the wind chimes on the lintel swayed gently, making a tinkling sound.

"What are you doing?"

As Vina pushed open the door and entered, she saw Anna looking self-admiring and finally couldn't help but ask.

"Does it look good?"

The slight panic caused by the sudden ringing of the wind chimes completely dissipated the moment it was confirmed that the visitor was Vena.

A smile played on her lips as she gracefully lifted her skirt, spinning lightly in front of Venus like a swan dancing on a stage.

Her skirt fluttered, stirring up a gentle breeze, and a faint fragrance seemed to fill the air.

Making such a bold move under the gaze of men her own age, even with Anna's strong mentality, couldn't help but cause a blush to rise on her cheeks.

Are you asking about the throwing knife or the leg ring?

Wiener rested his chin on his hand, seemingly deep in thought.

In reality, it's just an evasion of the problem.

"Honestly, aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to?"

Anna complained casually, but still put her skirt down in the end.

"Why did my friend Venus, who never visits unless she has a reason, suddenly have time to come here today?"

Anna clapped her hands, the girlish shyness on her face instantly fading, replaced by a businesslike tone.

"I have something I'd like to consign with you."

Wiener pulled an axe wrapped in black cloth from behind him and placed it on the table.

"Please provide the item name, description, price, and requirements. A 30% commission will be charged upon sale."

"Why have the transaction fees increased?"

"It's peak sales season before the Griffin War, so what's so strange about raising prices before offering discounts? Considering our friendship, I've already waived part of the cost for you."

"Which part?"

"Discounted items."

"...So it's really a grand slam of acquaintances?" Vena couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, that’s right,” Anna admitted matter-of-factly. “You only come to the store when you need something from me.”

"Besides constantly buying materials from me at cost price, how long has it been since you've helped me earn a single penny?"

“You let Felix come to me with a list. Do you know how much hair I lost trying to collect all that stuff?”

“I’ve been too busy lately and haven’t had time to come to the shop, so I’m not aware of these situations. I’ll bring you a batch of sample pieces to put in the shop for sale later,” Viner said apologetically.

Recently, in order to hone his skills and find inspiration, Wiener has created many pieces of equipment that have not been awakened, which are piled up like a small mountain in the workshop.

"A trial piece? Is this just a gimmick?" Anna asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it enough to fool people? Even a prototype is better than most of the equipment on that wall," Vena said, pointing to the gaudy wall.

"Those pieces of equipment may be of average quality, but they can still fetch a high price. Can yours do the same?"

“That’s simple, we just need to change our marketing approach,” Viner said confidently.

"If you still think you can rely on Felix's endorsement to build brand influence, I advise you to stop dreaming," Anna poured cold water on your enthusiasm. "School's been in session for so long now, there aren't any fools left to be fooled."

"Everyone knows how big the difference is between customized equipment and mass-produced equipment."

"Even if Felix wins the first-year championship with the weapon you forged, people will only recognize the strength of the weapon in his hand."

"Are you willing to put that weapon up for auction?"

“As long as the price is right, I’m not reluctant to spend the money, but I’m afraid Felix will kill me if he finds out,” Viner replied.

"Isn't that what it is?"

"So I suggest using another method."

"...you say."

"Blind box card system".

"What do you mean?"

Anna, who had never heard of this method before, looked at Venere blankly, waiting for an explanation.

"Let me give you an example. In this batch of prototypes, there are all kinds of weapons, including guns, swords, and axes, and the quality varies. The worst one is no worse than a C-rank weapon on the market."

Class C is already at the level of main combat weapons that most second- and third-year students are at.

"Then we put them in boxes of the same size and sold them at a price slightly higher than that of C-rank weapons."

"Before opening the box, no one knows whether the weapon inside is what they want."

“Some people want swords, some want guns. They could have just bought them directly, but now they have to rely on luck to get the weapon they want. Even with a one-in-four chance of getting the weapon they want, sales could double. That’s the blind box effect,” Wiener explained.

“Then why don’t they just buy the weapons they want directly from the people who offered them the weapons they didn’t want?” Anna saw through the flaw at a glance.

"No problem, I wasn't planning on making money off these people anyway."

"Because if you get a weapon you don't want, you can sell it again, then the psychological burden on students who are trying to buy blind boxes will be reduced, and they will have less trouble selling them."

"But they will eventually stop."

“But I can control when they stop,” Viner said with a meaningful smile. “If there’s a B-rank weapon that I personally crafted among these C-rank weapon blind boxes…”

"How many people do you think would be willing to endure the chance to turn an iron sword into a divine weapon?"

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Chapter 274 The Kingdom's Prize

Anna was captivated by the future prospects simply by imagining the scene described by Venere in her mind.

“Vina”.

"Praise me if you want, I can accept it."

Wiener was confident that no shrewd businessman would be able to resist such tactics.

"You're destined for hell for coming up with such a vicious method."

"Thank you for the compliment."

“But since you’ve let me hear all this, even if I really go to hell, I guess I have no choice but to go with you,” Anna sighed.

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. When it’s time to go to hell, just blame it all on me,” Venus immediately offered comfort.

"Only merchants who make money through dishonest means deserve to go to hell. I'm not going to fall for someone who uses you as a shield while I make money behind the scenes." Anna rolled her eyes at Vena.

"The ideas you provided still have a lot of room for improvement. I will put together a new plan after refining them."

"You'd better take advantage of my good mood now and tell me what exactly you've got up to this time."

“Hey, it’s not that complicated.” Seeing that Anna had relented, Viner immediately revealed his purpose: “I promised Baal that I would forge him an axe, but I’ve been putting it off for quite a while.”

"I've finished packing the stuff, but the timing isn't quite right. So I'm looking for a suitable way to deliver it to him without him having to say a word."

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Anna retorted.

"You have no idea how many people are eyeing this, wanting me to forge weapons for them."

"What does it matter? You can forge weapons for whomever you want."

"You make it sound so simple. They all came to me at the same time, and they're all classmates. It's not about scarcity but about inequality. I'll be the one whose reputation gets damaged in the end," Venus admitted frankly.

Jessica and Adele, who now possess custom weapons that leaked from Vina, are senior members of the academy and hold considerable positions.

Surely no one would be so ungrateful as to ask them where their weapons came from.

Using his usual identity, Mikazuki, they couldn't find him at all.

The micro-daggers, hairpins, and flying daggers in the hands of Lisette and Anna are unusual weapons, and normal people would not necessarily associate them with Vener.

As for Felix, everyone knows that the weapon he uses was made by Vener and that he and Vener have a close relationship.

Anyone who takes a piss and looks in the mirror would be too embarrassed to say they receive the same treatment as Felix.

In contrast, the relationship between Bar and Viner appears rather delicate.

Others wouldn't know that Baal had been possessed; they would only think, "If Baal could do it, why can't I?"

"You've come up with the idea of ​​selling weapons through blind boxes, and you still care about public opinion?" Anna's tone was full of surprise.

"Hey--"

Just as Viner was about to retort, Anna interrupted her.

"I have an idea."

“Miss Anna, please speak,” Venere said, her expression changing rapidly.

"Since you specially forged this axe, how does it compare to those prototypes?"

“Naturally, it is much stronger.”

Although it wasn't forged using the Enlightenment Technique, the improved Magnetic Shadow Hand Axe has reached the level of a B-rank weapon in all aspects.