The Student Market was a noisy, chaotic courtyard where students traded potion ingredients, monster parts, and secondhand spellbooks.

  Most students were selling raw materials to buy better wands. It was a primitive economy.

  Julian stood behind a small wooden table he had rented for 10 credits. Next to him, Amelia looked nervous, fidgeting with her grease-stained apron. On the table sat five sleek, copper-lined leather gloves.

  They were the Spark-Gloves (Model C). A downgraded, consumer-friendly version of Julian’s prototype.

  "Are you sure this is safe?" Amelia whispered. "The crystals in these are... unstable. They'll burn out after maybe twenty shots."

  "That is not a bug, Amelia," Julian corrected, arranging the display. "That is a feature. It's called 'Planned Obsolescence'."

  "Planned what?"

  "If we sell a wand that lasts forever, we sell it once," Julian explained, scanning the crowd for potential victims—customers. "If we sell a glove that needs new fuel cells every week, we have a customer for life."

  He spotted his target.

  A group of first-year students was walking by. They wore high-quality silk robes but looked anxious. Specifically, a chubby boy with a nervous tic was complaining loudly.

  "I'm going to fail the Dueling Exam," the boy whined. "My casting time is too slow. It takes me four seconds to form a Firebolt. Kaelen can do it in two."

  "Just practice more, Tibs," his friend sighed.

  "Practice?" Julian’s voice cut through the noise. It was smooth, confident, and projected perfectly. "Why waste time practicing when you can buy perfection?"

  Tibs stopped. He looked at the gray-robed student behind the table. "Who are you? The 'Outlier'?"

  "I am an engineer," Julian said. He picked up one of the Spark-Gloves. "And I heard you have a latency problem. Four seconds? In a real fight, you're dead three times over."

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  Tibs flushed red. "Shut up. I just have trouble visualizing the mana construct."

  "We all do," Julian lied. "The brain is slow. Metal is fast."

  He tossed the glove to Tibs. "Put it on."

  Tibs hesitated, then slid his hand into the leather gauntlet. It hummed slightly.

  "Point at that target dummy," Julian commanded. "Don't think about the spell. Don't chant. Just push your mana into the crystal and squeeze your fist."

  Tibs looked skeptical. He raised his hand. He pushed a tiny bit of mana.

  *SNAP.*

  A bolt of kinetic force shot out of the palm instantly, hitting the dummy with a sharp *thwack*.

  The casting time was 0.2 seconds.

  Tibs stared at his hand. His friends stared at him.

  "I... I didn't even say the incantation," Tibs stammered. "It just... happened."

  "The **Spark-Glove** handles the shaping for you," Julian said smoothly. "It turns you from a slow caster into a rapid-fire turret. Instant cast. No fizzle chance. 100% accuracy."

  Tibs looked at the glove like it was a holy relic. "How much?"

  "For the glove? 200 credits," Julian said.

  "That's cheap!" Tibs reached for his coin pouch. A decent wand cost 500.

  "But," Julian added, raising a finger. "The glove requires **Mana Cartridges**. The crystal included is a starter pack. It holds about 20 charges. After that, it burns out."

  "Oh," Tibs frowned. "Then what?"

  "Then you come back to me," Julian smiled, pulling a small crate from under the table. Inside were rows of glowing, low-grade crystals packed in neat little casings. "And you buy a replacement pack. 50 credits for a pack of five."

  Amelia watched in horror. The crystals cost them maybe 2 credits to scavenge from the trash. Julian was marking them up by 2500%.

  Tibs didn't do the math. He just did the duel calculus.

  "If I have this, I can beat anyone who isn't a noble," Tibs muttered. He looked at Julian. "I'll take the glove. And two packs of cartridges."

  " excellent choice," Julian said, accepting the credits. "Welcome to the future of warfare."

  As Tibs walked away, practically vibrating with excitement, his friends swarmed the table.

  "Does it come in other elements?""Can I use it for Ice Shards?""Do you have a bulk discount?"

  Within an hour, the table was empty.

  Julian stacked the pile of credit chips. 1,000 credits in revenue. Cost of materials: roughly 50 credits and some trash they found in a dumpster.

  Amelia stared at the money. "We just sold them garbage crystals wrapped in leather."

  "No," Julian corrected, handing her half the stack. "We sold them confidence. And now, they are dependent on our supply chain."

  He packed up the empty crate.

  "We're going to need more trash, Amelia. A lot more trash."

  Author's Note:

  Tibs is happy. Julian is rich. Amelia is morally conflicted but also rich.

  Everyone wins! (Except the people Tibs is about to duel).

  If you enjoyed the business lesson, don't forget to follow!

  Next up: Scaling up production & The cost of progress.