"Are there any dress requirements for going to Shadow Alley?"
On the eve of their trip to Shadow Alley, Jia Xiu asked their guide, Instructor Margaret.
Margaret was serving as their guide because she knew the place very well.
Her research required her to buy Sub-Dragons proficient in different Dragon Tongue spells, and the black market was more efficient than pet shops at meeting that need.
"No. There are no dress requirements, no passwords, and no doors that appear when you knock on the bricks."
Margaret was already tired of answering Jia Xiu's questions.
"Where do you get the idea that black markets have all these ridiculous rules? From adventurers bragging after one too many drinks at a tavern, or from bards' tales?"
"More or less."
Game novels and movies probably weren't all that different from a bard's work.
"Don't believe them. You'd be lucky if even half of what they say is true."
Bards were a very unusual profession.
Some were proper professionals who used music and magic to give their teams all kinds of boosts. And when they had to pick up a weapon and fight, they didn't hold back.
As for the others, well...
They were basically the equivalent of influencers.
Margaret explained, "A black market is simply a place that sells things that aren't convenient to sell openly. It's not as if there's no management. The owners behind them are usually from the same families as the owners of the legitimate markets. If there's a lord, it'll be one of his relatives. If there's a city council, it'll be someone the council chose."
Jia Xiu was a little disappointed. It sounded like the place was no different from a normal market, apart from the things it sold.
Still, he wasn't ready to give up. He asked