Illusion Magic Crystal Stones were even more convenient than projectors. Not only could they store images, but they could also project them directly for playback, without even needing a fixed medium.
As more and more Yo-Yo tutorial videos were produced, Illusion Magic Crystal Stones—which had not been in common use—were bought up until they were completely out of stock. There was a severe shortage of Illusionists.
To produce more Illusion Magic Crystal Stones, Zog had Elsa go to campus recruitment events to poach as many underclassmen as she could.
However, there were only one or two Illusionists in each graduating class, and some had even switched majors and fled. Out of necessity, they had to turn their attention to the overflowing Spellcasting and Plastic Energy Schools. Making Illusion Magic Crystal Stones wasn't difficult; a little training was all it took.
These two Schools produced over a thousand graduates from a single academy. Many of them had chosen their major thinking it would lead to good job prospects. It was only after graduating that they discovered that while there were many specialized positions, there simply weren't enough to go around, forcing them to look elsewhere.
This just went to show that job market trends have a lag. Chasing whatever subject is hot while you're in school can leave you at a disadvantage.
Of course, there were also Schools that were permanently in the gutter, like the Necromancy School. It was useful, but not well-regarded. Perhaps most of the students in that School were unlucky souls who had been transferred in.
Although they had poached people from other Schools, training still took time. During a lull in production caused by the material shortage, an unexpected person provided help.
Young Master Craig.
To ensure the wide circulation of the "Cregg's Magical Storm" tutorial video starring him, he provided a large batch of Illusion Magic Crystal Stones.
This foiled the Craig Clan's plan to corner the market.
Zog affectionately called this behavior "a grandson selling off the family fields without a second thought."
However, he wasn't seen for many days after that. 'He was probably grounded. I wish him well; the economy needs rich fools like him for circulation.'
Of course, Zog wasn't satisfied with just short videos. The camera's optimization was progressing quickly and was about to reach a commercial-grade level, but he still hadn't figured out what kind of feature-length film to shoot.
He decided to read a proper newspaper to see if he could piggyback on any trending news.
"Pope Saintino Claims to Have Received a Divine Revelation."
"First Railway Completed and Opened to Traffic Today. Travel from Twin Tower City to the Holy Mountain Now Takes as Little as 25 Hours."
"Loman Empire and Villain Kingdom to Hold Joint Military Exercises..."
'The headlines are all too proper. My verdict: their journalism professor did a terrible job.'
The store had recently returned to the lively state it was in during the early days of the blind box craze. This was for two reasons. First, an awning had been set up outside the shop, playing Yo-Yo tutorial videos on a loop, and many children who couldn't afford Illusion Magic Crystal Stones would gather there.
Second, the puzzle-solving bounty for the educational toys attracted many curious onlookers. After all, a prize of One Gold Coin was very tempting, and it gave the "grown-up friends" an excuse to come play with toys: "I'm not slacking off, I'm here to earn money!"
"Success! 9 minutes and 59 seconds! Quick, write it down! The first person to solve the Magic Cube is the Guardian of Twin Tower City, the King of Defense Magic, the Red Dra—"
"Have some shame," Elsa mercilessly cut off the cheering Soron. "You're a prominent figure, more or less. Do you really need to cast six layers of Acceleration Technique on yourself just to solve a Magic Cube?"
"What's wrong with that? Isn't the Acceleration Technique my own skill?"
Elsa rolled her eyes. 'Doesn't a Legendary Mage like him have anything better to do all day?'
Another clamor arose from outside the store.
"My Yo-Yo isn't a fake! WAAAH! You're all bullying me! I'm going to go tell my teacher!"
"Pfft, you phony. All you know is how to tattle to the grown-ups. Even with a Yo-Yo, nobody wants to play with you."
"I'm not a phony! AHHH!"
Useless life tip: if you're ever really curious what a banshee's shriek sounds like, just find a prepubescent kid on the street and bully them a little. You'll find out.
More kids were arguing. Elsa hurried over to check on the situation. 'They absolutely can't start fighting. It'll be a huge hassle once their parents arrive.'
The so-called store manager was just a brick in the toy store, moved wherever they were needed.
Enduring the eardrum-piercing screams, Elsa found the group of small children generating the noise.
"What's going on here? Kids who bully others aren't good kids, you know."
"She's playing with a fake Yo-Yo! Confiscate her Yo-Yo and don't let her come to the toy store anymore!"
"Mine isn't fake!"
"It is too fake!"
"Yeah, it is!"
"No it's not! AHHH!"
Elsa felt that Zog owed her compensation for hearing damage.
"No more shouting! Whoever keeps shouting won't be taught how to play with the Yo-Yo by Teacher Toto."
Toto's name still worked wonders. Her status in the eyes of the city's children was now quite lofty.
With a moment of quiet at last, Elsa was able to take the Yo-Yo that had been accused of being a fake.
It was a Firepower Silver Lightning, a new model released just last week. It looked no different from the ones in the store.
To be safe, she strung it up and performed a "shoot the moon," one of the few tricks she knew. The Illusion that appeared was also correct.
It seemed to be a Yo-Yo sold from their store.
"Why do you say it's a fake?" Elsa asked the boy who had first raised the accusation.
"There's no way she can afford a Firepower Silver Lightning! If it's not a fake, then she must have stolen it!"
'He had a point.' This Yo-Yo was very expensive right now—not because of manufacturing costs, but due to an artificially high price set to ensure that ownership of what was currently the best Yo-Yo in the "storyline" remained low.
She began to carefully examine every detail of the Yo-Yo again.
The specifications were right, the material was right, and the design was right, too. 'So what's the problem?'
'Wait, this Rune?'
She stared at the Rune on the bearing for a long time. The structure was the one she had designed, that was correct, but the strokes of the engraving were subtly different from her usual style.
'Another Illusionist copied my Rune and made a new engraving template!'
In a way, aside from not being a product of Zog's Toy Store, this Firepower Silver Lightning was no different from the genuine article.
Elsa's first thought was Ackley's Toy Store, especially that guy named Hakan.
'But on second thought, that doesn't seem right. They're just across the street. If they were selling fakes, we would've found out long ago.'
She first consoled the two children. She told the little girl she hadn't bought a fake, just a defective product discarded by the store that someone had picked up to resell. If the girl told her where she bought it, the store would give her a new Yo-Yo.
Then she admonished the little boy, telling him that while it was good to stand up for the toy store, he couldn't be so mean to other kids. In the future, if something like this happened, he should just tell her. She also gave him a storage pouch printed with the Jianghai Team logo.
Ah, she was exhausted. 'Is taking care of kids ever easy?'
A short while later, the counterfeit Firepower Silver Lightning was delivered to Zog.
Zog, however, wasn't surprised. He had thought counterfeits would have appeared long ago.
For the past two months, more than half of the toys sold in all of Twin Tower City were Yo-Yos, and patents didn't protect toy designs.
It was just that previous knock-offs had only skirted the line, never directly piggybacking on the popularity of Firepower Young King. At most, they were just drinking the soup left behind by Zog's Toy Store. But this one... this one was trying to stick its chopsticks into the bowl and steal the meat.
He had to bring down the hammer.
At his command, the Zor squad fell into position.
Zog repeatedly instructed them, "Find out who made this Yo-Yo. Don't act rashly. I repeat, do not act rashly. We're legitimate businessmen now. No—you, put away the Hand Crossbow first. After you find the person, wait for my orders."
Night belonged to the Zor. By the next morning, a report was delivered into Zog's claws.
"Great Zog, we have locked onto the target, the target's parents, wife, three mistresses, and five children. Please give the order."
"I already told you we're legitimate businessmen. Why did you track down his entire family?"
Elsa watched, wide-eyed, as a Dragon told a squad of Zor that they were legitimate businessmen. 'This is insane,' she thought. 'Forget legitimate, they aren't even Human!'
Zog opened the report.
His eyes fell upon the image of a fat-headed, big-eared, middle-aged Human male. "Raghu Kurman, potion merchant."