[The Abyssal Academy - The Grand Auditorium]
The Grand Auditorium of the Abyssal Academy was packed to its absolute capacity. But this time, it wasn't filled with indebted villain students.
Sitting in the plush velvet seats were the most powerful elites of the multiverse. High Elven Kings, Demonic Warlords, and minor cosmic deities had all received golden invitations. They murmured amongst themselves, their auras clashing defensively.
Victor Thorne stepped onto the obsidian stage. His midnight-blue suit absorbed the magical spotlights. Seraphina stood at a sleek terminal to his right, her silver clipboard glowing with analytics.
"Welcome, investors," Victor's voice resonated through the crystal acoustics, silencing the ancient monarchs. "For the past year, the Pantheon Group has monopolized dungeon extortion, established multiversal supply chains, and successfully replaced physical gold with Pantheon Tokens. We hold zero debt. We possess absolute market dominance."
Victor tapped his gold-nibbed pen against the Tycoon's Ledger. A massive holographic ticker tape appeared above the stage.
"Today, I am officially taking the Pantheon Group public," Victor announced, his Tycoon's Aura flaring with pure capitalist ambition. "We are launching our Initial Public Offering. One billion shares of Pantheon stock ($PANTH) are now available for purchase. You have the opportunity to buy equity in the universe itself."
A massive, four-armed Titan King stood up in the third row, his skin made of enchanted granite.
"This is an illusion!" the Titan King roared, pointing a massive stone finger at Victor. "You ask us to trade our valuable Pantheon Tokens for digital 'shares' that have no physical weight! It is a trick to rob us of our liquidity! I will not buy your invisible paper!"
"Equity is not an illusion, Titan," Victor checked his gold pocket watch. "It is leverage. But since you lack the vision to see the ROI, you are officially excluded from the IPO."
Victor slashed his pen across the Ledger.
"Furthermore," Victor's eyes turned cold. "As a publicly traded company, the Pantheon Group has a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value. Therefore, I am immediately placing a three hundred percent tariff on all portals, healing potions, and weapons exported to the Titan Realm."
The Titan King froze as his magical comms crystal began screaming. His generals were reporting that the cost of their ongoing wars had just quadrupled in ten seconds.
"My economy!" the Titan gasped, watching his sovereign wealth plummet in real-time. "You can't do this!"
"I can," Victor smiled a ruthless, calculating smile. He looked out at the terrified audience of gods and kings. "When you buy my stock, you are buying immunity from my monopolies. You are buying a fraction of my leverage. The opening price is ten thousand Tokens per share. The order book is open."
Terrified of being economically isolated like the Titan, the multiversal elites frantically lunged for their terminals.
"Principal Thorne," Seraphina pushed her glasses up her nose, her violet eyes wide. "The IPO is oversubscribed by four thousand percent. We just raised ten quadrillion Tokens in three minutes."