"What the hell…"
The creature staring at me was a mythological creature that almost everyone would recognize at a single glance.
It was a Dragon.
Yes, what was behind those bars was a dragon with shiny yellowish-black scales. Its two wide wings were now tucked tightly against its body, and its torso, which was probably eight meters tall, was bowing down level with me.
It bowed to me not because it was submissive, but because it wanted to intimidate me by leveling its head with my body.
It clearly wanted to tear me apart if not for these iron bars.
'Why is there a dragon in this black market?' I stepped back bit by bit, but my legs began to feel weak due to the constant pressure of its Killing Intent until I finally fell into a sitting position.
"Hey kid! What are you doing there, get over here quickly!" The man's shout came from my right side.
Before I turned, the dragon looked at the man who called me first and immediately made his voice choke.
Then the dragon looked back at me, but now I no longer felt its Killing Intent. It seemed to have calmed down.
The dragon then stepped back into the darkness of its prison. Before the dragon disappeared into the darkness, I caught a glimpse of its eyes, which had been red, turning into a shiny sea blue.
At this moment, many questions about the dragon arose in my head. I mean—
"Hey, get over here quick! Why are you just standing there?" The man called me again.
Quickly picking up my hat, I immediately ran towards him.
After reaching safety, I leaned my body with my hands on my knees, then the breath I had been holding for so long finally came out in pants.
Being able to escape that dragon's Killing Intent felt truly relieving.
"Are you new here?" the man asked with an unreadable expression.
I straightened up after catching my breath, "Yes... I'm new," I said, still panting.
The man wore a long-sleeved white shirt and a messenger bag on his shoulder. He had brown hair—including his face, which was probably due to the sunlight. He was likely in his early thirties.
"Sigh, no wonder..." he rubbed his face lazily. Then continued, "What are you looking for right now, huh? I'll help you find it—I'm sick of seeing you circle around so many times—quick, tell me what you're looking for, I want to go home soon."
'Help me? Is he really going to help me?' Seeing his appearance and face, which looked like a delinquent, made me doubt.
"What are you looking at, huh? Don't worry, I just really want to help."
'I guess for now, what's the harm in accepting help? I've been here too long. They must be waiting for me at home.' I muttered to myself, then said:
"I'm looking for Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes." I tried to make my voice return to a flat tone even though I was still a bit out of breath.
The man nodded, then gave a hand gesture, "Follow me."
Then I followed behind at a safe distance.
"How old are you, kid?" the man said in a relaxed tone without turning around.
"21." I lied so I wouldn't be considered a child.
"You must be lying. Just from your face, you're clearly a kid who just hit puberty."
'A kid who just hit puberty, he says?! For your information, on Earth, I really am 21 years old!'
Well... he obviously already knew, so I didn't respond to his words.
"Hehe, you know? I've been in that position before—being stared at by that dragon because I accidentally passed its cage." He shook his head. "But at that time, I was alone because it was already midnight. Me and the dragon stared at each other, well, but suddenly after a while, it turned calm like you saw just now, right?"
It seems the reason this person told the story was because he felt the dragon didn't actually intend to be like that.
Hearing his story made me remember that moment.
Even though the pressure of the Killing Intent from the dragon made my Mana Core vibrate painfully, it wasn't something that stuck strongly in my brain compared to that dragon's transition from angry to calm.
I mean, why was that change so sudden and exactly when it had scanned my face?
Did it have the wrong person?
I guess so...
Besides, why is there a dragon in the Black Market?! In my novel, the dragon race lives on a large island formed by the collision of two tectonic plates called Neverland Island.
It's possible the dragon got lost and then caught by someone, and that person must be very strong to be able to catch a dragon that probably has A+ Rank strength.
Who was the person who caught it and why did they catch it?
'Uh, my head is really dizzy. I've thought about a lot of things today and now this is added? Hehe, I think my hair will fall out quickly if it keeps going like this.'
"We're here."
I snapped out of my daydream; overthinking made me walk automatically following him until, without realizing it, I had reached the place the man wanted to show me.
"Nick, come out, someone wants to buy something," said the man who brought me.
I observed this shop: It looked simple with its old wooden building, and it was adjacent to the cave wall, which made it secluded and invisible compared to other shops. But here, there was plenty of magic equipment, from swords, coats, staves, and runes hanging.
While I was looking at the items, suddenly from behind a green curtain appeared a tall man wearing a dull red shirt; his hair and beard were the same color, which was reddish-black. He was probably the same age as the person who brought me here.
"Jake? What is it? Want to buy something again?" asked Nick to the person who brought me, whose name turned out to be Jake.
"No, I've had enough with this Mana Repellent... I only came here to drop someone off." He touched my shoulder as if we were close.
"Haha Jake, did you bring a kid to this place?" Nick laughed when he saw me.
'Do I look like a kid in their eyes?!'
"Alright, what are you looking for, young man?" Nick asked after Jake explained about finding me.
"I want Stage 1 and 2 Shadow Runes," I replied.
"Only that?" he frowned.
"Yes, only that."
He then went behind the curtain and rummaged through something, then came back carrying the two Runes I had been looking for all this time!
He placed the two Runes on the table. What distinguished the Rune stages was the size and intensity of the light radiating inside them; the higher the stage, the brighter.
"Finally, these are sold," he nodded to himself, "I've kept them for two years because no one was interested in Shadow Runes."
He's right, most Hunters aren't interested in Shadow Runes. But not because the attributes are weak, but because shadow attributes are very difficult to extract.
"I'll take them all. How much?"
"Let me think for a second," he touched his chin to think, then decided, "180 Crowns for both, just take them rather than them not selling."
I took out 180 Crowns from my wallet and gave it to him. Then, I took both Runes and put them in my pocket.
Jake, who had been leaning against the wall while watching me curiously, finally said, "What are you buying those for? Aren't they hard to master?"
"Yeah, I just want to try them."
"You're just wasting your money." After saying that, Jake accidentally nudged a sword until it fell to the ground with a—Clang!
"Sorry Nick, I didn't mean to."
Seeing that sword made me think: why don't I buy a sword too? Besides, my magic currently can't be controlled properly; I must have an alternative for fighting.
"I also want to buy a sword," I said firmly, looking at Nick.
Nick nodded, then took three swords and placed them in front of me. "Please choose," he offered.
My hand touched the three cold blades one by one.
Actually, I didn't really know how a sword could be considered good. But I was interested in one sword.
I picked it up and looked closer at every side of the sword. The sword I was holding now was different from an ordinary sword; the blade was not curved but straight to the tip, and the metal was a dull gray with decorations like mana crystals from bottom to top until its sharp tip, and the crossguard was shaped like a cross.
"By the way, that sword you're holding has mana crystals on the blade that you can channel mana into," Nick said.
'Really?' I looked at him for a moment and then back to my sword.
Then, I channeled my Mana into the sword; the blue light produced from my mana began to crawl from bottom to top, following the path of the crystals until it finally reached the tip.
Just as I was in awe, suddenly the sword glowed very brightly, and then became hot.
By reflex, I threw it to the ground.
—Crash!
Nick bent down and picked up the sword, his eyes observing the sword carefully, "Is there something wrong with this sword—"
"No, no. That was my fault for putting in too much mana, I'll buy it." Yes, it really was my fault; my mana once again came out with a large output even though I didn't want it to. There was nothing wrong with the sword; in fact, the sword was very good—I could strengthen it with mana, and I could also use it to practice controlling my mana!
"Seriously?"
"Yes, I'll buy it. How much?" I was direct because it seemed to be getting dark outside.
"150 Crowns, I'll give you a discount," Nick said with a smile.
"Really?" I couldn't hold back a smirk. Reaching into my pocket, I immediately took 150 Crowns and gave them to Nick.
Nick put the sword into its scabbard, then wrapped it with cloth before finally handing it to me.
"Thank you, come again sometime. By the way, what's your name?" Nick said. Behind him, Jake raised his eyebrows and watched, seemingly curious about my name too.
"Adrian," I answered briefly with a thin smile.
"Alright, you've got what you wanted, I'm leaving." Jake stepped out, "Bye Nick."
"Thank you for telling me about this place," I said to Jake as he walked away; he ignored me and kept walking.
Before I also left, I gave a smile to Nick, then left him as he was arranging his merchandise. My path and Jake's turned out to be different, so I parted ways with him.