[The Abyssal Academy - The Grand Courtyard]
The morning air over the jagged mountains was pierced by a deafening, mechanical roar.
Victor Thorne stood on the balcony of the Principal's Office, his midnight-blue suit perfectly cutting through the freezing wind. Beside him, Seraphina held her silver clipboard, her violet eyes widened in rare shock.
Less than a mile away, on the adjacent mountain peak, a massive, golden fortress had literally dropped out of the sky. It was completely wrapped in glowing, obnoxious neon signs that dwarfed the Abyssal Academy's modest obsidian architecture.
The largest sign flashed in the morning light: THE GOLDEN GATES: 100% FREE ADMISSION! ALL HEROES WELCOME!
A gray spatial tear ripped open on Victor's balcony. Agent Vane of the ARS stepped out, adjusting his sterile gray suit. He wasn't alone. Standing next to him was a tall, excessively tanned man wearing a white suit woven from pure starlight, smoking a cigar made of burning mana.
"Principal Thorne," Vane's monotone voice vibrated. "Since you have claimed tax-exempt status, the Astral Revenue Service has decided to stimulate the local economy. We have granted a multi-dimensional zoning permit to a competitor."
The man in the white suit chuckled, puffing a cloud of blue smoke. "Balthazar Greed. CEO of Omni-Dungeon Corp. Nice little sweatshop you've got here, Victor. But your monopoly is over."
"A competitor," Victor said flatly, pulling his gold pocket watch from his vest.
"I run a Freemium model," Balthazar grinned, pointing his cigar at the massive golden fortress. "No admission fees. Free healing potions at the door. I subsidize the cost of the dungeon to capture one hundred percent of the market share. By next week, every adventurer on this continent will be grinding in my labyrinth, and your toll booths will be rusting."
Princess Ignis drew her broadsword, stepping in front of Victor. "I'll burn his cheap golden castle to the ground right now."
"You can't," Balthazar laughed. "My dungeon is registered under the ARS Anti-Monopoly Protection Act. Any physical aggression against my property will result in the immediate cosmic liquidation of your entire realm."
Balthazar leaned over the balcony, looking down at the empty Abyssal Courtyard.
"Welcome to a Price War, Thorne. Let's see how long your non-profit survives with zero foot traffic."
Balthazar and Agent Vane dissolved into gray static, leaving the smell of cheap mana smoke on the balcony.
"He's right, Principal Thorne," Seraphina said, rapidly tapping her pen against her clipboard. "Adventurers are extremely price-sensitive. If they can raid a dungeon for free, they will completely boycott our 500 Gold entry fee. We will bleed capital."
Victor didn't blink. He snapped his pocket watch shut. "A free product is simply a business model that hasn't found its hidden fees yet. Let him open his doors."