Do You Want Them or Not?

The Projection Spell was mainly used to test for traps and conduct dangerous experiments, but it couldn't be used recklessly. A projection was linked to the caster's mental power, so if it was destroyed, the caster would suffer the consequences.

The caster might escape physical injury, but their mind would still be harmed. Sometimes that damage was worse than a bodily wound. Using the Projection Spell to create something like multiple shadow clones—assuming it was even possible—would be asking for death!

A projection was weaker than the original to begin with. If someone made that many and an enemy wiped them all out at once, the original would suffer devastating harm. They might even end up in a vegetative state or die.

"You don't have class this afternoon?"

"Classes are usually held in the morning. In the afternoon, students can do whatever they want," Petty explained. Learning magic wasn't like ordinary school. They didn't need to spend the whole day in class; what they learned from their teachers was mostly the benefit of their experience.

After leaving the school, she looked around and entered an alley. There, she summoned the Half-Rabbit named Didi. Zheng Yichen watched the process intently. Unlike Projection Summoning, this was a physical summoning.

The Magic Array Pattern was still three-dimensional, but Zheng Yichen could clearly sense the difference.

An exchange teleportation? he wondered as the Half-Rabbit appeared before him. Didi held a small bag containing perhaps a tenth of the valuables from before.

"Can you send Didi back after summoning them like this?"

"Yes." Petty nodded. She gave the Half-Rabbit the snacks she had prepared and took the small bag Didi offered her. Then she ended the summoning. No Magic Array Pattern appeared this time. A glow of magic simply covered Didi, and when it faded, the Half-Rabbit was gone.

"Where are you planning to sell those? A jewelry store?"

"They'd offer far too little. We're going somewhere else," Petty said with a soft sigh. There were places in the city that bought jewelry, but getting a fair price required proof that it had been acquired legitimately. Without that, they would offer less than half its value.

"Somewhere shady, I take it?"

He had already noticed that Petty had come out prepared for trouble. She had no wand, but she had brought a dagger for protection. And she was a Summoner...

The Black Market... Before crossing over, Zheng Yichen had only heard of such places, never visited one. Now a girl who wasn't even twenty had brought him to one.

"How do you know about this place?" He shifted uncomfortably. Staying in her pocket all this time was hardly pleasant, and observing the outside world with detection magic wasn't as comfortable as seeing it with his own eyes.

"A senior student brought me here once," Petty said nervously. The Black Market was no nice place. Several hostile gazes had fixed on her as soon as she arrived.

Still, it had rules, at least on the surface. Anyone planning something underhanded had to keep it out of sight. An open attack would bring down the market's "guards." If the place couldn't even offer the appearance of safety, who would come here to trade?

Petty had noticed some of the attention herself. Zheng Yichen had spotted four groups watching her.

"Twenty gold coins. I'll take the lot," said a Black Market shopkeeper. He examined the quality of the jewelry Petty had brought, his tone casual.

"This jewelry is worth at least eighty gold coins at market price." Petty glared at him.

"Heh, little girl, this is the Black Market." The shopkeeper gave her a malicious grin. "You'd better take the money and leave. Otherwise, you might end up getting sold too."

"Seventy gold coins."

"Twenty-five, at most." The shopkeeper waved a hand, and two thugs blocked the doorway. As a Black Market shopkeeper, he had a good eye. Without one, he wouldn't have lasted here. Sooner or later, he might offend someone he couldn't afford to cross and pay for it with his life.

The girl before him wasn't among those he needed to fear. The moment she entered, he had taken in everything he could see about her. Her clothes and bearing weren't worth worrying about. As for her apparent composure, it was an act. Convincing at a glance, perhaps, but he could see right through it!

Her strength was even less of a concern. He had a magic item specifically for gauging a target's power. It couldn't assess someone too powerful, but it was more than adequate here.

As for the jewelry, there was no need to ask where it came from. Anyone choosing to trade in the Black Market was bound to be selling goods of dubious origin. Better yet, none of these pieces bore any identifying marks, which would make them much easier to handle afterward.

Jewelry with marks had to be cleaned up first, and that wasn't easy. One careless move could damage a piece and drive down its price. That was all part of the cost!

"Either take the money and leave, or stay here yourself." The shopkeeper toyed with a ring as he spoke, his tone as flat as if he were stating a fact.

Petty said nothing. She scooped up the jewelry she had meant to sell and stuffed it into her pocket, snatching the ring back from the shopkeeper along the way. He could only stare, stunned. He hadn't expected her to dare do that when the odds were so clearly against her.

Did I misjudge her?

Then he noticed the tension buried deep in Petty's eyes and gave a derisive snort. He dismissed the thought and signaled the two thugs at the door. The Black Market had rules on the surface, but robbing someone in a shop with no witnesses was another matter. As long as nobody saw it happen, there would be no problem. The rules here weren't that strict.

"Hmm, Mass Fear Spell... No, single-target will do." Zheng Yichen flipped through the little spellbook in his hands, comparing the two Fear Spells he had picked out. The mass version did exactly what its name suggested: everyone within a certain range except the caster would be affected, allies included.

Unless he cast a fear-immunity spell on his allies beforehand... And spells like that could generally only be obtained from the church.

Looking at the Magic Array Pattern he had traced, Zheng Yichen had an idea. He tried feeding in a little more magic and split the threads of magic in two.

Hoh, so this is double casting? He laughed inwardly and sent two single-target Fear Spells at the thugs advancing on Petty. Their vicious expressions instantly crumpled into terror. One clutched his head and screamed, knocking over his companion as he bolted out of the shop.

He had no idea why he was afraid, but an uncontrollable dread of this place filled him. All he wanted was to get away as fast as he could!

That used enough mental power for almost two and a half Fear Spells... It cost more magic too. Hmm, casting two spells at the same instant seems to add some overhead, but the effect is definitely good.

"You!?" The shopkeeper stared at Petty in shock. The instant the two thugs were hit, the magic item he carried to assess strength had grown hot.

A reaction that strong meant it had detected a powerful presence, and it was coming from Petty! It wasn't a magic item, either. That would have produced a different response.

"Eighty gold coins. Do you want them or not?" Petty glanced back at the shopkeeper. Once Zheng Yichen had acted, the nervousness in her eyes had vanished completely. Come to think of it, she had no reason to be nervous at all...

"Yes..." The shopkeeper nodded blankly, burying his schemes for good. Perhaps Petty hadn't been the one to act, but that only meant someone powerful stood behind her!

That person might even be someone who had advanced to a higher rank. Otherwise, his detection item would never have reacted so strongly!