"How do they know Mr. Rick?"
Sophia and Polina found it utterly unbelievable.
The senior manager knew neither Roland's group nor the women's relationship with them, so he answered casually, "They may be representatives sent by Lord Ovesto. Look, there's an insignia on that mage's robe."
Sophia and Polina exchanged a glance, still somewhat bewildered.
The Hilt Consortium was a vast consortium that operated across planes. The so-called Hilt Company was actually the Hilt Planar Colonization Company in full, bringing together the interests of several archmages and even Legendary mages.
Even Archmage Ovesto was merely one of its major clients and shareholders. The backing of such an organization was easy to imagine.
As a director and major shareholder of the consortium, Rick held a position no lower than that of any high-ranking mage or High Arcanist. The wealth and power he actually controlled far exceeded theirs.
Had it been Ovesto himself, or someone close to Ovesto, such enthusiasm might indeed have been warranted.
But even a student officially acknowledged by Lord Ovesto hardly deserved this much attention!
And what did he mean by representatives?
Had Lord Ovesto recently entered into another partnership with this company?
They had left the Orvisto Wizard Tower two or three years ago and had paid little attention to developments in the Arcana community since.
"Miss Polina, Miss Sophia, forgive me for being late."
Rick spotted them as well. With a delighted expression, he walked over and extended a hand. "Please allow me to formally introduce the gentleman standing before you: Mr. Roland, Lord Ovesto's accomplished student."
A trace of surprise appeared on Sophia's and Polina's faces, and their estimation of Roland immediately rose.
He really did have a connection to Lord Ovesto.
As Sophia marveled at this, she suddenly began to understand where Froya and Roland's group had found their earlier confidence.
Still, it would have been far too naive to think that this alone meant much.
Archmage Ovesto had acknowledged dozens of students, if not a hundred. Ask him whether he knew a particular person, and he might well draw a blank.
As people said, a distinguished mind never recorded useless trivia. Anyone who left a lasting impression would at least have to be a future high-ranking mage, if not a future archmage.
As they puzzled over this, Rick continued.
"The Oracle Magicalization Technology that our forthcoming Oracle Spell Scroll Company will use comes from Mr. Roland's patent.
Through a series of papers, he created an entirely new script from scratch and successfully magicalized it.
Its first practical application was the improvement of spell scrolls, particularly those for the level-zero spell Light.
Thanks to Lord Ovesto's introduction, our consortium has secured exclusive agency rights for the related intellectual property. The spell scroll manufacturer we jointly established with Lord Ovesto will also launch its products at the earliest opportunity.
As everyone knows, the relevant rights in Atrelin operate under an open licensing model. Any publicly published technology can be used for a fee, meaning investors of any kind can enter the market.
But as the first authorized partner, we have already obtained a long-term preferential license from Mr. Roland. No other manufacturer will be able to compete with us on costs. This business is certain to grow rapidly in both scale and strength..."
Publicly published technology could only be licensed for a fee. This was intended to prevent monopolies.
But it also meant that other manufacturers might find themselves at the mercy of the licensing agent, forced to bear the maximum royalty rate of 30%.
For certain high-margin, Higher Tier items, there might still be room to compete. But for low-margin products as sensitive to costs as level-zero spell scrolls, this was practically a lethal blow. Only factors such as transportation and local protectionism still worked in the local workshops' favor.
They could even manufacture these goods directly on the front lines of planar wars, then sell them on the spot to adventurers, independent mages, and Atrelin's mage legions!
Hearing this, Sophia and Polina were genuinely moved.
A business like this would undoubtedly rake in money.
No wonder they were so generous, spending more than ten thousand gold coins in one go to film a promotional advertisement.
They wanted to make a name for themselves immediately and establish their brand.
Wait!
There seemed to be far more to this than the Oracle scrolls themselves!
Sophia had once spent years struggling her way through the Arcana community, and she quickly grasped the crucial point.
Other runes had also been converted from natural languages by Atrelin's mages using the principles of magicalized construction.
Elvish Script, Dragon Script, Abyssal Script, and so on were natural languages in their original forms, and no one could charge for them. But once converted into runes and inscribed on spell scrolls, the rights belonged to the state, and royalties still had to be paid, often at the maximum rate of 30%.
These patent licensing fees had effectively replaced most commercial taxes and also formed the basis for a whole system of profit distribution.
If everyone felt that 30% was too expensive, they would try negotiating with the Hilt Company for a lower rate.
Meanwhile, the state would not rashly lower the levies on Ultra-Magic languages such as Elvish Script and enter the market to compete with him.
In other words, this Roland standing before them might very well become fabulously wealthy in an extremely short time, joining the ranks of the newly rich with true financial freedom!
Moreover, if he could produce such an arcane achievement at so young an age, becoming a Mid Arcanist or even a High Arcanist was only a matter of time.
No wonder Mr. Rick, a director and major shareholder of such a vast consortium, treated him so warmly. He was not merely investing in Oracle, but in Roland's future as well!
This time, Sophia and Polina were truly stunned.
When they looked at Roland again, his unremarkable demeanor suddenly seemed unfathomable. The Dragonkind Shapeshifting Ring on his left middle finger no longer looked like an ordinary gold accessory; it almost seemed to be radiating magic. Even his clothes and shoes now looked as though they might be rare, expensive equipment.
"Mr. Roland, this is Miss Polina, the dance star we invited to film an advertisement for the Oracle scrolls, and this is her agent, Miss Sophia."
"We know each other," Roland said, a slightly peculiar expression on his face.
"Yes, we do," Sophia and Polina echoed, looking a little embarrassed.
"Really? That's wonderful."
Rick was somewhat surprised, but did not dwell on it. He simply asked for the names of Froya and the others, taking care to greet each of them in turn.
Finally, he told the group, "My office is on the sixteenth floor, but if you would like a tour of this building, please come with me, and we can start with the other floors. I would be delighted to introduce our company to you and your friends."
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