Chain of Traps

Pete found an inconspicuous corner and quietly observed the people coming and going in the black market.

Aside from the Bloodfang Gang members with blood-red fang tattoos on their bodies, everyone else wore long robes and hoods, concealing their true identities.

At most, their builds gave a rough indication of whether they were human or another race.

Black market transactions were highly confidential. Neither buyers nor sellers could learn the other party's true identity. That was why all manner of contraband unavailable elsewhere circulated there.

Pete sensed the arcane energy around him and once again called out to the Weave, establishing a channel through which to draw upon it!

Two intricate spell patterns gradually took shape under Pete's control. A second-tier spell was far more difficult to cast than a first-tier one, so Pete put in extra effort to ensure a sufficient chance of success.

Pete focused his mind on a nearby stall selling weapons and equipment.

A robed man was examining and selecting from the various weapons on display.

The spell took form. Release!

"Mmph... invoke the true name! Mmph... your... name... is—Brandon Robert!"

As Pete cast [True Name Knowledge], Rena worked with him seamlessly, stuffing a cloth into his mouth to muffle his voice as much as possible and keep others from hearing him.

[True Name Knowledge] was a spell Noven had obtained in response to Pete's prayers and bestowed upon him. It allowed the caster to accurately speak someone's true name through loud chanting.

It was worth mentioning that Pete had later searched through the library of Caron Academy's School of Arcana, only to find no record of this second-tier spell called [True Name Knowledge].

In other words, it was an entirely new spell that had at least not been catalogued—or perhaps even discovered—by Caron Academy.

This spell had an unavoidable flaw: once the magic was completed, the caster would uncontrollably open their mouth and loudly speak the target's true name.

During that time, the caster would be left rigid and unable to cancel the spell themselves.

The longer the target's true name, the longer the rigidity lasted.

Without a doubt, this was not a combat spell. Casting it was practically the same as hard-crowd-controlling yourself.

Other than learning the target's true name, it had no other use. At first glance, it seemed utterly useless.

But Pete had found a special use for it!

After using [True Name Knowledge] to learn the target's name and confirming that his chanting had not drawn anyone's attention, Pete took out paper and a pen from an inner pocket of his robe.

There was already some content written on the paper in advance. He simply scribbled the name he had obtained at the beginning.

Once that was done, Pete folded the paper and handed it to Rena.

Rena calmed herself, and even her gray robe gradually blurred until she successfully melded into the surrounding environment.

[Stealth] activated successfully!

Before heading to the black market, Rena had practiced [Stealth] several more times, eventually pushing its progress to 100% and fully mastering the [Stealth] combat technique.

She could now freely enter and leave her disguised state under safe conditions, gaining an invisibility effect that others could not detect at the cost of reduced movement speed.

This meant Rena could now be considered a first-tier rogue.

Focusing hard on maintaining her [Stealth] disguise, Rena quietly crept toward the man named Brandon Robert.

While he was not paying attention, Rena slipped the folded paper into his robe pocket without him noticing a thing!

After completing that step, Rena carefully avoided the surrounding people and returned to Pete's little corner before dispelling [Stealth].

With their first cooperation complete, Pete barely rested before quickly finding the next target.

The same procedure.

First, he used [True Name Knowledge]. With Rena's help, the originally loud chant was physically transformed into a quiet mumble, ensuring it would not draw the attention of anyone else in the black market;

Then, he wrote the target's name onto a prepared note.

Rena would then slip the note into the target's robe without them noticing.

At first, the two were still somewhat unpracticed.

The main issue was that Rena had never tried using [Stealth] to put something into someone else's pocket. If the timing was wrong, she had to withdraw and try again, wasting quite a bit of time.

But as they grew more proficient, their coordination became increasingly seamless and their efficiency steadily improved.

Seven or eight notes bearing their corresponding true names were slipped one by one into their targets' pockets. When Pete felt dizzy and his remaining mental strength was no longer enough to support another casting of [True Name Knowledge], the two quietly left the black market.

Rena carefully supported Pete, who had once again expended a great deal of mental strength, and asked, "Sir, what do we do next?"

"Next, we wait!"

Pete was brimming with confidence.

"Someone will come to us of their own accord!"

When Brandon Robert left the black market and returned to his residence, the hand he slipped into his robe pocket brushed against something.

Brandon froze.

His pocket clearly contained only a small coin pouch holding several dozen silver and copper coins. He had not brought anything else.

He reached in and pulled out a neatly folded piece of parchment.

He cautiously unfolded it, and neat, elegant cursive writing came into view:

"Dear—Brandon Robert."

"Do you wish to become a respected professional?"

"Do you wish to truly take control of your own destiny?"

"You possess the potential to become a powerful professional."

"You merely lack an opportunity to prove yourself."

"Next Fireday, midnight, Lower District, Moni Brothers Tavern."

"We await your arrival."

Brandon's first reaction was terror.

"What the fuck?!"

"Who? Who gave this to me?!"

He had just left that chaotic black market, and his memory was clear. Aside from browsing stalls that sold weapons and armor, he had not spoken to anyone or accepted anything from anyone!

Yet this note had appeared in his pocket out of nowhere, as though it were haunted!

Even more frighteningly—it had written his name with perfect accuracy!

Brandon was certain that he had disguised himself flawlessly. His oversized robe and hood were enough that even his own mother would not recognize him standing right in front of her. In a place like the black market, there was no way anyone could identify him.

Yet this note had exposed his identity in an instant.

Greenport was still in the sweltering summer, but Brandon nearly broke out in a cold sweat!

After finally regaining a little courage, a thought struck Brandon, and he suddenly realized something.

Frowning, he reread the contents of the note.

"Hm? Wait, wait, wait..."

"It says... I have the potential to become a powerful professional?"

Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly passes, thanks~