Theoretically, given how long Ancient Dragons live, they shouldn’t be too concerned about things like being called old. But reality had other plans.

"Who are you calling old?!"

Furin, a Mage who had apparently learned Jujutsu from somewhere, executed a flying armbar. She tackled Zog to the ground, planting one thigh on his chest, pressing the other against his neck, and locking his Dragon Claws with her hands.

"But you are old!"

He might be pinned down, but he was still stubborn. Zog shot back without a hint of hesitation.

"I’m only a few months older than you!"

"I’m an old dragon to begin with!"

Elsa stared, dumbfounded, as two Ancient Dragons old enough to have lived in a previous epoch brawled like she and her brother used to when they fought over toys at age six. Of course, she hadn’t known how to do a flying armbar when she was six.

Perhaps Furin realized she was acting unbecomingly, because Elsa was suddenly dragged into an illusion.

"Hey! Why put *me* in an illusion? Who’s going to fill me in on the drama I’m missing out on?!" Elsa lodged her final protest.

A moment later, peace returned to the magazine office.

Furin wore an expression that screamed, ’If you don’t apologize, I’m going to be mad until at least tomorrow, and then I’ll *think* about forgiving you’.

After a brief standoff, Zog relented. "All right, that was a little childish."

"Ha! See? I knew it!"

"Which is why the belt should be able to summon a real Mechanical Armor."

"Huh?"

Half an hour later, Zog arrived at the toy store with sketches for the belt. He sought out the store’s current chief toy designer, Karaman Ackley, whom he had poached from the competition.

Karaman genuinely loved toys. Aside from managing Zog’s Toy Store, he spent nearly all his time designing new ones.

After launching an entire series of spinning tops, each with its own backstory, he had started researching building blocks and transforming toys. He was on the verge of coming up with something like LEGOs—a product with an appeal that spanned from age eight to eighty, capable of collaborating with any brand imaginable.

As for the transforming toys, he was hampered by a lack of vehicles to base them on, so Karaman had set his sights on various weapons. Unfortunately, the weapon shapes were too restrictive, and the results were underwhelming.

Zog suggested he design them all as spheres that transform into monsters, then follow the same model he’d used for the spinning tops and give each one a detailed backstory.

He was now busy designing the transformation mechanisms. Thanks to some minor Magic he’d learned in the past—little more than Tricks, really—he had taken it a step further. He created a voice-activated transformation triggered by shouting the monster’s name, all bundled with the now-familiar Illusion Technique package.

The effect was so good that the moment Zog saw it, he wanted to add stats, turn it into a tabletop game, and implement a pay-for-power model.

But before emptying the wallets of children and letting them experience the cruelty of PVP, he had to address something the adults wanted, too.

A transformation belt that could grant a real transformation.

"If we want the Mechanical Armor to deploy within an Illusion and fit itself onto a person, we first need to remove the Magic from the armor itself. Space Magic powerful enough to store Magic Power long-term is too high-level. Perhaps we could store the Magic Power in the belt instead. Each time it’s activated, it would inject Magic Power into the Mechanical Armor to complete the deployment."

Karaman analyzed with professional earnestness.

"Meaning, the cards or keys that activate the belt could be made into consumables for storing Magic Power. That way, as long as they want to play, they’ll have to keep buying them."

Zog had keenly and quickly spotted a new way to get people to pay.

"That’s not what I meant, but if that’s what you want to do, it’s possible."

"Then it’s settled."

"Also, to achieve automatic equipping, the mechanical structure inside each Mechanical Armor would likely need to be custom-designed for the wearer."

"Customization is perfect!" Zog clapped his hands. "Customization means we can charge an exorbitant price! We’ll treat it like a luxury good. The Ordinary belts will only show the Illusion, but the custom belts will let you actually wear the Mechanical Armor. Who could see that and resist an impulse buy?"

"Then there shouldn’t be any other problems. But... where do we get the Mechanical Armor from?"

Good question.

Zog was stumped. Mechanical Armor was available for purchase, but it was incredibly expensive, leaving little room for profit if they were just modifying it.

Building it from scratch would take too long; they’d likely miss the initial wave of hype from the comic’s release. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

However, the toy version didn’t need the expensive enhancement Magic applied to combat-ready Mechanical Armor; it just needed a mobile chassis. This meant that defective units—ones that had failed the enhancement Enchantment process—would perfectly suit his needs.

So now the question became: where could he find a large batch of defective Mechanical Armor for a low price?

Zog paced around the toy store, deep in thought with his claws clasped behind him. As the designated mascot of the Zog Group, he attracted a crowd of children, causing a small traffic jam in the aisle.

"Excuse me, I want to order a custom Yo-Yo."

This declaration from the rich kid immediately drew gasps of amazement from the other children.

’A custom Yo-Yo? Of course!’ Zog suddenly had an idea. ’Our dear old friend, Young Master Craig... has his grounding ended yet?’

---

"I can finally be in *Firepower Young King*?!" Craig, finally seeing the light of day again, exclaimed excitedly inside Zog’s Toy Store.

Kids shoot up so fast. It had only been half a year since they’d last met, but Craig was already half a head taller. Fortunately, his intelligence appeared to have remained the same.

"Rest assured, when we film the *Shadow of Evil* movie for *Firepower Young King*, you’ll definitely have a cameo," Zog promised solemnly.

"Wow, you can talk! You guys are the best. Everyone in my family thinks I’m dumb."

Zog felt a flicker of guilt. For one second.

"Here’s the thing," Zog began. "We have a plan that will make your family see you in a whole new light."

"’See me in a new light?’ What does that mean?" Craig’s gaze was utterly clear and innocent.

"Uh... it means they won’t think you’re dumb anymore."

"Great, great! What’s the plan?"

"Your family must have a lot of Mechanical Armors that failed their Enchantment, right?"

"Yeah, they’re all piled up in a warehouse. Once it gets full, they destroy the whole lot. It’s not like anyone will buy them."

"I’ll buy them!" Zog slung an arm enthusiastically around Young Master Craig’s shoulders, as if they were the dearest of brothers. "Are you able to dispose of that stuff without asking the adults in your family?"

"I don’t have to!" Craig said with great confidence. "It’s junk nobody wants. If I manage to sell it, they’ll be falling all over themselves to praise me."

"In that case, you absolutely shouldn’t tell them. We’ll give them a big surprise."

"That makes sense!"

’What a good kid,’ Zog thought. ’Uncle Zog really can’t bear to see you get ripped off *too* badly.’

"I’ll buy it all from you by the pound, at the price of raw materials. When your family sees you making money off of stuff nobody wants, they’ll definitely..."

"...see me in a new light?"

"See you in a new light!"

The boy and the Dragon shared a knowing smile. Elsa, however, lacked their composure. Unable to hold back her laughter, she fled the scene using the excuse of needing the bathroom.

"Oh, right," Zog added. "Make sure you pull out the entire stock all at once. It’ll be easier for everyone that way. Don’t worry, I’ll buy however much you have."

He couldn’t buy it in batches. He was afraid someone else in the family would find out what price the Mechanical Armor was being resold for and make an exorbitant demand.

"Thank you so much! I can’t believe you’re being so considerate," Craig gushed. "Let me give you a good set of Mechanical Armor as a gift!"

"Oh no, that’s not necessary, really."

"I insist, I insist!"

"Well, in that case... do you happen to have any Mechanical Armor designed for a Dragon? Let’s just call it a testament to our friendship."

"Of course, of course!"

Craig was in a hurry to get back and start packing up the inventory, so he didn’t waste time with pleasantries and rushed straight home.

Zog waved goodbye to him with a smile.

"Is it kind of wrong for us to keep scamming the same person over and over?" Elsa asked, a little guiltily, having returned from her "bathroom escape."

"What’s wrong with robbing from the rich to give to the poor?"

"I think compared to you, Craig is the poor one."

"Nonsense. This is helping him learn about the harsh realities of the world. Can the business dealings of a business-dragon truly be called a scam?"

What followed was a series of hard-to-understand platitudes about how an Evil Dragon loves wealth but acquires it through righteous means. The air inside and outside the store was filled with cheerful laughter.