Right now, I am in my room. Taking Adrian's savings, then choosing clothes carefully.
Finally, I wore a plain white shirt layered with a smooth black coat that reached my thighs, leaving it unbuttoned so it stayed open. The pants I wore were formal black pants, and then I used a round hat as a finishing touch.
After looking at my appearance, I finally nodded.
"Alright, I guess this is suitable," I muttered once I was sure. The reason I paid so much attention to my appearance was because even though I already knew the location of the City that had the black market (A bonus from my search a week ago when I was looking for the location of my Protagonist's city), I still didn't know the location of its entrance.
So, I needed to ask the locals in that slum city. Therefore, I couldn't look like an easy kid to be robbed, but I also couldn't look too mysterious that I would be suspected of being a police officer, which would result in them not telling me the information.
'Appearance affects people's perception of you.' That was what I learned in my past life to survive. I had to build my image at first sight.
"Hmm, do I need to use a fake mustache too so my face doesn't look like a youngster?" I said softly with sarcasm. Honestly, I didn't really need a fake mustache because I already had a body height of 181 cm for my age of only 18 years old. That was enough.
I left my room and went down the stairs. Before I left, I took the time to feed my dog so it wouldn't follow me out, allowing me to lock it inside the house.
I stepped out of the house and locked the door with a sound—Click!
Fortunately for me, Alicia and Aunt Maya hadn't come home yet because there might be extra activities, so I didn't have to bother thinking of a logical reason to go out without making them suspicious.
However, since I might come home late – that would surely make them worry about me... So I sent them each a message saying that I would come home late due to some business and had already eaten.
When I finally came out of the Olstree District Housing Complex, I saw a Taxi parked in front which was probably the Taxi I had ordered.
I approached the driver's window, and the driver spoke before I did, "Adrian Hale?"
I nodded and showed my booking proof on my Smartphone. "Yes, that's me."
He motioned for me to get in, so I opened the back door, got in, and sat down.
The car started moving after I sat down. It seemed I didn't need to tell the driver twice that my destination was Gloomhaven City because I had already told him in the message.
Yep, the city I was heading to was named Gloomhaven. A slum city located on the outskirts of the wall, famous for its high crime rate.
It was true that going there was very risky, but if I was careful, I should be safe. I couldn't cancel my decision just because of this risk because my resources were extremely limited for items later on.
The journey to Gloomhaven would probably take an hour and a half. 'Alright, I guess that's enough time to rethink what I have to do there.'
Then an hour passed, and I arrived faster than I had expected. Then I stopped the driver a little far from the border of Gloomhaven and Marshilf cities; I would continue the journey on foot while asking the locals there.
"Here is the payment." I handed a 35 Crown banknote to the driver before he finally nodded and drove away.
I continued my journey on foot and finally entered Gloomhaven City.
Sigh…
Finally, I started walking around this slum city of Gloomhaven. Unlike Havient city, which had neatly arranged buildings or houses, the buildings here were completely chaotic and squeezed against each other, creating narrow paths between them. And this city was also located right next to the Wall, so the sun, which was now leaning to the west, was blocked by it, making this city look very gloomy.
Before entering an alley, I always considered for a moment whether it was safe. If it was too quiet, I didn't want to risk entering, so I took another path that I thought was relatively safe. Besides, I was not a Main Character with plot armor if something happened to me.
I had asked many people so far: a homeless person on the edge of the sidewalk, a group of old men playing cards and drinking, but none of them knew!
'Is there really a black market here?'
"Sorry to bother you, sir. May I ask you something?" I said in a flat tone to an old man reading a newspaper and sipping coffee in front of a building that looked like a combination of a house and a shop, but had nothing for sale.
"What is it, young man?" He looked at me with a blind right eye.
"I'm looking for where the black market is located, do you know the location?"
"How much can you pay?" he smiled.
Damn it… alright, I was already tired of walking around here.
"25 Crown."
He shook his head. This old man clearly felt victorious in this situation because he was the one who had the information!
"75 Crown. Not a bit more. If you don't give it, I will leave," I answered seriously, trying to pressure him.
I saw the old man's smile shrink. He chuckled and said, "Hehe, fine, I'll give it to you. Don't worry, I really know that place because I often go there. It's on Oakridge Street…" He explained its location and what I had to do there.
Finally, I arrived at the place the old man had told me. In front of me now was a door leading underground, which should be the entrance just as he had said.
But there were no guards at all. It was empty.
I stepped forward and arrived in front of the door. When I took a single step inside, a deep voice stopped me.
"Stop right there. What do you want?"
I took a step back, raised my hands, and said, "Please check. I have nothing, I just want to buy some magic equipment." I did exactly what the old man had told me.
Now, there were four large men in thug-like clothing surrounding me. Yep, they were the guards of this door; they didn't guard the door directly because that would make this place seem conspicuous and attract police attention. So, they preferred to hide in the corners and only stop people when they wanted to enter like this.
'They are really smart. Maybe if I were a cop, I would have been stabbed right here. Good thing I really just want to buy magic equipment. I have to stay calm just like the old man said.'
"Search him," said one of them. Then the other three started moving and searched me from head to toe, even running through my hair. Maybe they were trying to find a hidden camera? They then took my wallet and Smartphone to check them, which made me anxious that they might take them away!
"Clean." They started backing away from me after the check was done. Then the man who had taken my wallet and phone gave them back by placing them on top of my hat.
I received them and put both of my belongings into my pocket.
"Sorry, we were just following protocol." The man then patted my shoulder with a friendly smile that contrasted with his previous face. It changed my perspective of them.
I placed my hat against my chest, bowed slightly, and replied with a faint smile.
"Please go ahead," said the man after making way.
With a slight nod, I started walking inside calmly.
'Sigh… Finally, I passed!' Honestly, my heart had been pounding since earlier!
The journey down turned out to be quite long and dark, but when I reached the intersection, there began to be many illuminating lights, and I also saw many people walking up, who seemed to be heading out. There were so many paths to choose from here, which probably offered different things. If it weren't for the signs pointing to the 'Center', I would definitely have gotten lost.
After three minutes of non-stop walking, I finally saw the light!
Upon arriving there, my eyes narrowed, trying to adapt to this sudden light.
Then my jaw dropped when I saw what was here. This was completely beyond my expectations. All this time, I thought the black market would be filled with a gloomy and terrifying Aura.
It turned out I was wrong.
This was not just a black market, but also a massive casino shaped like a birdcage with large spiraling pillars, luxurious crystal chandeliers hanging in the middle, and walls that should have been dirt or stone were now being transformed into red-painted walls, leaving only a little bit more before everything was completely covered in red paint.
'Truly beyond my expectations. Even gambling places keep up with the times.'
Throughout my journey looking for the market in the crowd, which seemed mostly filled with rich people, my ears were constantly pierced by the sounds of spinning slot machines, drunk gamblers, and entertainers singing songs on stage.
'Hmm, it's impossible for this place not to have financial backers, right? I wonder who is the extremely wealthy person who built this place?'
After two minutes of searching for my destination, I finally saw a large sign reading 'Market' above a cave that was just as large as this place but had much less light.
Then I entered the cave, and instantly the sounds of slots and singing were muffled as my steps took me deeper inside.
Unlike the casino earlier, which was deliberately made as attractive as possible to draw in visitors, this place felt more functional and intentionally left natural with dirt walls, an irregular cave structure, and minimal lighting—yet enough to see.
Then I saw a magic equipment shop that had just opened near the entrance of this cave. I immediately approached it, and the skinny but still healthy-looking seller looked at me and said:
"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"
"I want to buy Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes. Do you have them?" I answered flatly.
"Wait a moment, I will check inside." The seller stepped back and disappeared behind a green curtain; I could see his shadow searching through goods against the light.
While waiting for him, I looked around trying to find other equipment, but since I didn't find any useful tools, I stopped my intention.
The man came out from behind the curtain with his hand carrying a black crystal stone. He placed it on the table in front of me and said, "It seems there are no Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes, sir. I only have Stage 3. You must be a Hunter, right? You should know that Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes only exist in Rank D and E Dungeons. But you know yourself that Monsters in those Dungeons rarely drop items."
'He's right… It's harder to find low-stage Runes than high-stage ones because of their drop rate.'
I looked at the Shadow Rune closely. The Shadow Rune was a black crystal with an aura-radiating purple carving depicting the grim reaper with a scythe on its shoulder, and a faint small tornado forming on its body.
'Should I take it?' I thought for a moment. 'If I take it, wouldn't it be a waste because I consumed the Shadow Rune in the previous stage?'
After considering it, I finally chose to buy it. I wouldn't consume it now; I would save it until I obtained the Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes.
"I'll buy it. How much is it?" I finally said.
The seller nodded and said. "190 Crown."
'190 Crown?! With that amount of money, I could eat for two months.' I sighed and then said, "Can it be lower?"
"No, this is even the cheapest price, sir. If you buy it at the Hunter Guild, the price might be around 250-280 Crown," he said confidently.
'I know that… but this can't be allowed. I've already lost 110 Crown even before getting here.' I then got an idea.
I decided to play a psychological game.
"Uh, my money is really tight, I can't buy it if the price is that much. Maybe I'll look for another cheaper shop, besides, what I'm looking for is Stage 1 and 2." After I said that, the confident look on the seller's face began to disappear.
The Shadow Rune is the most unsellable item in the market because most people who consume it cannot obtain its power. Naturally, because extracting a Shadow Rune requires knowledge of Shadow Essence.
Now this person must be hesitating whether to lower the price or maintain the price but lose the buyer of that unsellable item?
If that person refuses to lower the price? It's fine, I will go look for other shops to find my goal, then I will come back here after I'm done and buy it. After all, he just opened, it's impossible for him to close his shop when I return.
"Alright, I will lower the price. 175 Crown." He said.
"150 Crown, I'll take it," I said clearly and firmly.
The old seller sighed, "Alright, 150."
'Gotcha!'
I took out the money from my wallet and handed it to him.
He looked surprised to see that I was actually carrying a lot of money in my wallet.
'Well anyway, he had already lowered the price.'
"Thank you," I said while bowing slightly, then slipping the Shadow Rune into my pocket.
"Pleasure doing business with you," he said, with a slight look of disappointment in his smile.
I then left him to find other shops selling Stage 1 and 2.
'My money currently has 440 Crown left from the initial 700. Uh, I'm really being very wasteful.'
I put my wallet into my pocket and continued my steps to walk around.
After half an hour had passed, I had approached every shop I encountered, but in every single one of those shops, none sold Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes.
Along the way, I also realized something, that it turned out most of the people who came to this black market were Hunters; they were hunting for cheap items here together!
As I walked in the corner of this black market, I saw a very large iron prison on my right side.
Out of curiosity, I pretended to just be walking around there and then narrowed my eyes to see what was behind those iron bars.
But I saw nothing but darkness at the end, whether there really were no creatures inside or because they were obscured by the darkness.
I stopped there for a moment to rest. In front of me, there was now a new shop that hadn't been explored yet.
But before exploring it, I looked at the clock on my smartphone, which turned out to show five in the afternoon.
'I've been in here for too long, Aunt Maya and Alice must be worried. Damn, there's no signal here to notify them again... I have to find what I'm looking for immediately.'
Just as I took a step, suddenly–
A massive pressure of Killing Intent pierced me from behind, making my Rank-E Mana Core tremble violently.
"W-what is this?" Even taking a breath right now was a very difficult effort.
–Hoshh!
A huge, warm breath engulfed me, strong enough to knock my hat to the ground.
With curiosity, I turned my head slowly like a statue.
My eyes instantly widened when I saw a huge creature with two red eyes staring at me with full hatred.