Trade

Green looked at the dense forest, tied his horse to one side, and walked straight in with his case. The deeper he went, the thicker the trees grew, until a vast thicket of thorns blocked his path.

Green pulled a black robe over himself and put on a mask. He looked at the thorns ahead, then stepped into them without hesitation.

The silence vanished, replaced by the clamor of traders. A huge market appeared before Green. Fluorescent Stones cast enough light to make the entire place as bright as day.

Green glanced at the people trading there. They were dressed much like him, cloaked in gray robes and masked to keep their identities hidden.

Some made no attempt to conceal themselves, instead sending out waves of Mental Power to show they were not to be trifled with. Others moved in groups of three or five, clearly Wizards belonging to organized factions.

There were a few other races among the humans: members of the Sea Clan covered head to toe in scales, centaurs with human upper bodies and horse lower bodies. The human Wizards came in strange shapes too; some had claws like crabs.

Scanning them with the Chip, Green sensed the auras of Second-Class or Third-Class Apprentices from the vast majority of Wizards. First-Class Apprentices were rare. He also caught a heavy reek of blood on them.

Wandering Wizards are different from the apprentices. Most have no structured training and learn whatever they can, so things can easily go wrong. But they're used to fighting, and their combat experience must be extensive. The Academy's apprentices might not have the upper hand against them! Green silently assessed the scene before him.

Green was not worried, though. He carried a huge supply of Combat Potions, had the enormous reserve of power granted