Not everyone was pleased with Akira's rise. Zara, humiliated by her earlier defeat, formed a coalition of rival merchants to sabotage his operations. They spread false rumors, undercut his prices, and even hired assassins to eliminate him.
Akira countered with the system's Trade Defense Module, which allowed him to identify and counteract their schemes. He also upgraded his crafting forge, creating powerful artifacts like the Starlight Barrier Talisman to protect himself.
The final confrontation came during the Celestial Auction, where Zara tried to outbid him for a rare item: the Chrono-Flux Compass, capable of bending time itself. Akira used the system's Auction Sniper feature to secure the item at the last second, cementing his dominance.