The Black Market

The Black Market!

Even they had only heard rumors about it.

The Black Market existed in the dark and dangerous districts of large cities. It was a paradise for adventurers and a haven for criminals.

Thieves, criminals, and murderers who couldn't show their faces in polite society all gathered there.

If someone cast Detect Evil here, they would find that over 99.9 percent of the people were glowing red—and some even had a purplish hue.

Borne had warned them beforehand, so although they were full of questions, they held their tongues and followed behind him.

The Black Market was huge. The view grew dim just ten meters ahead, and Borne seemed unusually familiar with the place.

He led them through the winding streets, and they arrived at a small wooden door.

Several tall, burly men stood watch beside it, looking so vicious they might as well have had "I'm a bad guy" written on their faces.

When they saw the "little people" approaching, a burly man who appeared to be their leader came over.

Borne flicked his thumb, sending a coin along a perfect arc into the man's hand. The moment he saw the gold, the man's face broke into a smile, and he ushered them inside with great courtesy.

The burly man gave them a disgusting grin. Dalena quietly edged a couple of steps away.

The leader led them farther inside. Unlike the noisy Black Market outside, this place was all blood and passion!

Cheers and curses rang out without end!

After they passed through another door, a huge underground arena came into view.

Two barbarians were fighting for their lives in the arena, while the spectators clutched betting slips and shouted themselves hoarse.

The two fighters had completely lost themselves to bloodlust. They knew only one of them would leave alive today, and despite being covered in wounds, they kept hammering their fists into each other.

The members of the Arcane Society had never seen anything like this. Their comfortable lives had made them believe that most of the world was good. Now that the world had revealed a glimpse of its dark side, they were at a loss.

Watching the two men in the arena drenched in blood, Cook and the others looked pale.

"Wh-what kind of people are they? Why are they attacking each other like this? Aren't they afraid of dying?"

Dalena finally couldn't hold back. Her lips trembled as she asked.

"Do you know where you are? This is Dark Alley!"

Borne remained calm and said evenly, "They're called Street Brawlers. They're competing for the title of Overlord. The honor and fame of being a 'Street Brawler' can earn them status, as well as a large sum of money!"

"Now that you've seen enough, let's go. If you're captured in the wilderness, your chances of escape will be slim. So think about how to die quickly—that's what happens when you're taken prisoner!"

Borne turned and grinned. "Believe me, you don't want to know what happens to women who are captured!"

"..."

The members of the Arcane Society froze in place. For a moment, they all wanted to flee as fast as they could.

Seeing that he had "educated" them enough, Borne stopped scaring them and waved for them to follow. "Come on, let's find a guide!"

"A guide? You're going to hire one of these people?"

"Wouldn't a hunter from outside be better?"

When they heard Borne wanted to hire someone from here as their guide, they were all reluctant.

"Do you know what kind of people these Street Brawlers are?"

They looked at him in confusion.

"Most Street Brawlers are barbarians or Rangers. They're warriors and Rogues of the forest—in other words, they're experts in the wilderness!"

"They come from the wilds and use the combat techniques they learned out there to seek challenges in Dark Alley and test their strength. Many of them spend their lives struggling to survive in dangerous places. They never let down their guard, and they have the combat instincts to react quickly!"

"Don't underestimate them. Many high-ranking martial professionals have come from here, and some later became legends. Many professionals come here looking for a chance to break through!"

After explaining, Borne stopped paying attention to them. He wove through the crowd, searching for his "guide."

Watching Borne use fluent underworld slang to talk with all kinds of people, Cook and the others were both surprised and curious.

Their initial fear slowly gave way to excitement. They seemed to understand why Borne was so unconventional. After seeing this kind of "scenery," the things they did at the academy really did seem like "playing house."

After ruling out a few people, Borne found the person he wanted in a dim corner.

A Ranger who was afraid of dying and buried in debt.

Empty bottles littered the ground. A man who looked like a vagrant lay curled up on the floor. If not for the slight rise and fall of his body, they would have thought he was dead.

"Borne, is this guy really suitable? There are so many people here. Shouldn't we find someone else?" Lisper suggested, covering her nose.

"No need. He's the one. There aren't many people who know Hills Swamp well, and the most important thing is that he owes enough money!"

"What?"

"Someone who can owe this much money in the Black Market and still sleep so peacefully must have some ability."

As he spoke, Borne looked at the Ranger lying on the ground and taunted him.

"Hey, if you're awake, get up and talk. Who are you trying to fool by pretending to sleep?"

The awakened Ranger propped himself up with both hands and leaned against the wall.

"Kid, didn't your parents teach you—"

A pair of black eyes suddenly glinted with light, like a flash of lightning that vanished in an instant. The others might not have noticed, but the Ranger, who had met his gaze, immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

"All right. You mentioned Hills Swamp just now. Which part are you planning to go to?"

"That's right, just us. We still need a guide..."

Borne briefly explained the purpose of their trip. He kept the academy assignment secret and only said they were going to investigate.

The Ranger thought for a moment, then raised an index finger. "Fine. A thousand gold coins!"

"What?"

Dalena exploded on the spot. "Why don't you just rob us? You want that much just to show us the way?"

The president frowned beside her. A thousand gold coins was no small sum even for her. Her monthly funds went toward magical research, leaving her with barely anything to spare.

The Ranger looked completely unconcerned. He slowly stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes. "If you're going to investigate, you should know there weren't any Lizardfolk in Hills Swamp before. They only occupied the swampland in the past year or two, and the whole region has become very dangerous. I won't go for less than a thousand gold coins."

"Fine, deal!"

Borne smiled.

The Ranger hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. He immediately said, "I need half upfront as a deposit!"

Damn...

That was going too far. He wanted half the money before he'd even done any work!

The others hadn't even had time to protest before Borne agreed again.

He took out a bag of gold coins and tossed it over.

The Ranger caught it with both hands. Judging by the sound and weight, he immediately knew how much was inside, and his attitude improved considerably.

"When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible."

"Hmm... all right. Give me an hour."

"Fine. We'll meet you at the West Gate in an hour."

"By the way, I don't know your name yet."

"Hubwick!"

The Ranger extended his right hand, and Borne clasped it.

"Borne. Borne Ioulaum!"

Borne could feel the Ranger's hand tighten noticeably when he gave his full name.

Borne smiled. "See you later."

Hubwick's expression turned a little awkward. "Y-yeah. See you later..."

With that, Hubwick turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Hey, Borne, aren't you worried he'll take the money and run?"

Cook watched the Ranger's vanishing figure and asked with some concern.

Borne smiled slightly. "Don't worry, he won't. Most of the people here are desperate outlaws, and the little bit of credibility they have left is all they've got. If he swindles us, the underground world will leave him nowhere to go."

Afterward, they returned to the surface. Seeing the familiar, bustling streets again, they felt different, and the tension they had been holding finally eased.

Spellcasters had powerful minds, which gave them exceptionally keen instincts.

The legendary Black Market truly lived up to its reputation. They could feel danger everywhere inside. Even the occasional glance from an ordinary-looking passerby made their blood run cold!

Most of those people might not have been very strong, but when it came to a fight to the death, she wasn't confident she could win.

She vaguely understood why the academy had begun assigning missions outside its walls.

Just one trip through the Black Market seemed to have reshaped the Arcane Society members' entire worldview. Dalena and the others' opinion of Borne also improved dramatically.

Before long, they met the Ranger, Hubwick, at the West Gate.

Compared to how he'd looked earlier, he seemed like a completely different person. He wore light armor, carried a large pack and a bow on his back, and had a dagger and throwing knives hanging at his waist. He'd gone from looking like a vagrant to an adventurer.

They quickly exchanged a few words. They had to leave Seventon before nightfall.

After spending their first night in the wilderness, the others had changed as well, much to Hubwick's quiet surprise.

When he'd met them yesterday, it had been obvious they were inexperienced "rookies." He hadn't expected them to get into the swing of things after just one day. When adventurers took rookies along, it often took a week or even longer for them to find their feet.

Once they'd found their feet, things got easier. With an experienced expert guiding them, they picked things up quickly.

And Hubwick proved worth the thousand gold coins. He really was a master of wilderness survival, with a wealth of experience.

"This is Red Phosphorus Grass. If you see any, stay away from it. This kind of grass usually grows near Red Phosphorus Vipers."

"Red Phosphorus Vipers are venomous. If one bites you, find some Red Phosphorus Grass right away. Crush the roots and apply them to the wound, then swallow some to neutralize the poison."

"When these berries turn red, the bushes secrete a neurotoxin into them. One or two can leave an ordinary person numb and poisoned, and eating too many can kill you! Pick them while they're still green, then leave them for a few days until they soften before eating them."

Hubwick knew all the flowers and plants along the way, as well as every precaution they needed to take.

These were lessons drawn from experience in the wilderness, things they couldn't learn at the academy.

Before long, they all felt the thousand gold coins had been well spent.

Hubwick, on the other hand, felt like he'd been played. He'd planned to show these noble scions a thing or two, but they'd ended up clinging to him instead.

The otherwise tedious journey had turned into a traveling lesson. That alone wouldn't have been a problem—his thirty-odd years of experience were no joke—but these people were learning way too fast.

The only real problem was that kid. He was downright uncanny. Hubwick could swear the kid had been a "beginner" too before they left the city!

Although Borne had received guidance from a few "craftsmen," knowing the theory and actually knowing how to do something were two different things.

But once they left the city, the kid seemed to have a sudden revelation.

The others understood after he explained things. Borne understood without an explanation—and after Hubwick explained, Borne understood even more, sometimes drawing further conclusions from it.

Was that even humanly possible?

Even when he didn't get the answers he wanted, Borne wasn't discouraged.

At night,

they found a sheltered spot and set up a temporary camp.

They'd made another kill today when a Terror Beast charged into them. Its meat was too tough, but it was still better than gnawing on dry rations.

Fortunately, the Terror Beast was large, and they'd found enough tender cuts to go around.

"Ding! The 239,557th simulation of the 4th-circle spell has ended. Current progress: 71.8321%. Rune conflicts: 352. Abnormal nodes: 2,152..."

A notification sounded as a new round of simulations came to an end.

Borne rubbed his chin and thought, If my guess is right, I might be able to cast it once it's more than halfway complete. It's over seventy percent now, so I should be able to reach the Weave!

Borne raised an eyebrow, feeling ready to give it a try!