The Underground Market and the Five of Clubs

"I think something unclean has its eye on me."

"Meow?" Lucky tilted her head at Lorne.

"Someone surrounded by mist, with a face I couldn't make out."

"Could it be? Could it be Slender Man?"

Does this world also have faceless figures like the ones in urban legends? Lorne lowered his head in thought.

Fate didn't warn me, so it should be fine, right?

Even so, the dream still left Lorne feeling uneasy.

"Looks like this box doesn't work every time!"

"Or is it because I didn't follow all the steps?"

Lorne looked at the Wish-Granting Box before him with a helpless, conflicted expression.

This time, he had followed the instructions on the box's slip of paper and gone to Iron Cross Street. Although some unusual things had indeed happened, he still hadn't found any trace of the notebook.

"Anyway, I should find a way to authenticate those formulas first, then sell them."

A Sequence 8 formula should be worth around 450 pounds, so a Sequence 7 one ought to fetch at least twice that. Lorne estimated the value of the formulas he had copied from the Notebook.

"Where can I sell them?"

Backlund had underground trading markets, so Tingen should have them too.

Besides, some so-called ritual magic and special forms of divination frequently required Spirituality Materials.

Even if the authorities could regulate the main ingredients in potion formulas, surely they couldn't do the same for the supplementary ingredients.

"Things like the golden mint and night-scented herb in the Seer Potion formula seem to be fairly ordinary materials." Lorne let his thoughts branch out.

In other words, ordinary materials naturally rich in spirituality could also be used in mystical rituals or potions.

"Looking at it that way, completely controlling Spirituality Materials is pretty much impossible. Some can even be grown at home."

Lorne reckoned that banning those materials entirely would require an unimaginable amount of money and resources. In theory, it should be impossible.

Following that line of reasoning, if he could find a surface-level market operating in a gray area and selling ordinary materials, he could gradually work his way deeper to a market trading Beyonder materials and potion formulas.

"But how do I find a surface-level market?"

"If I come up with the overall plan myself, then guide the Wish-Granting Box into giving me the specific steps, would that work?" Lorne looked back at the Wish-Granting Box.

Previously, asking the Wish-Granting Box complete questions directly had produced rather unsatisfactory steps.

Lorne intended to set out an overall framework himself, divide it into several steps, then use the Wish-Granting Box to fill in the details.

He only needed to ask small questions that could be solved in one or two steps. Since the Wish-Granting Box could only be used twice a day, this approach certainly wouldn't be very efficient.

But if it helped him figure out the correct way to use the box, it would be worth it.

"Still, I need to be careful. Even if the authorities don't control markets like that, they're probably monitoring them to some extent."

"How do I get to a market that sells Spirituality Materials?" Lorne asked a small question. This time, he didn't mention Beyonder materials directly, worried that the word "Beyonder" might cause the box to make a mistake.

Normally, a place that merely sold Spirituality Materials wasn't entirely illegal, so even if it was concealed, it shouldn't be too difficult to find. Such places, however, were sure to be natural surface-level markets.

What Lorne lacked now was an opening.

A few seconds later, a slip of paper appeared out of thin air inside the box. It read:

"Go to the Port District of Tingen City."

The Port District.

Looking at the bustling crowds, Lorne didn't know where to begin.

After a moment's thought, he activated Spirit Vision.

An underground trading market should contain large quantities of Spirituality Materials and items related to Beyonders. In that case, I just need to find somewhere with lots of abnormal spiritual fluctuations... Lorne formed a plan.

"Huh? What's that?"

As Lorne surveyed his surroundings with Spirit Vision, he suddenly noticed unusual spiritual fluctuations within his field of view.

They came from an elderly gentleman with graying hair.

Through Lorne's eyes, the spirituality surrounding the man seemed inexplicably conspicuous.

Could he be a Beyonder too? Seeing that the man didn't appear to be merely wandering around, Lorne had an idea.

Since the man was a Beyonder and had come to a neighborhood hiding an underground market, there was a good chance he was here to trade there. If Lorne followed him, he should be able to find the underground market he wanted to visit.

Having made up his mind, Lorne quickened his pace slightly and followed the elderly gentleman. He deactivated Spirit Vision and deliberately kept his distance.

With the man very likely being a Beyonder, there was a considerable chance he would notice Spirit Vision being used. Lorne even kept his footsteps light, afraid of being discovered.

"The Evil Dragon Bar." Lorne followed the man to a bar entrance and stared at the sign, momentarily dazed.

Why was it another bar?

Looking at it this way, bars really were remarkable places.

He pushed the door open and went inside, taking the Monocle he used for appraisal out of his coat and placing it over his right eye.

In a place where the surrounding spirituality was so chaotic, Spirit Vision was far less useful. Lorne therefore intended to borrow the Monocle's appraisal function to help confirm a few things.

But shortly after he put on the Monocle, a hand landed on his shoulder with a smack.

"To think there'd actually be one here..."

Lorne turned around and saw a man of about thirty looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Wait!" The man scrutinized Lorne.

"So you're not, after all." His voice held some disappointment, mixed with a little relief.

"Who are you?" Lorne brushed the hand off his shoulder, his tone hostile.

He knew he ought to act tough in a situation like this. When dealing with strange people like this, he couldn't back down. Backing down made it easy to show weakness, and showing weakness made it easy for trouble to follow.

"Sorry, my friend. I mistook you for someone else." The man smiled and apologized to Lorne.

Seeing his smiling face, Lorne's expression softened slightly. After all, as the saying went, you didn't strike someone who offered you a smile.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, goodbye." Lorne turned, intending to leave.

"Hey, wait." The man stopped

Lorne.

"I'm guessing this is your first time here?"

"If you want to buy or sell anything, you can tell me." He continued smiling at Lorne.

"Huh?" Lorne was a little surprised.

"These are all ordinary trading sessions. If you want something deeper, you can come with me." He waved for Lorne to follow.

"Don't worry. This place has its rules. If everyone could do whatever they wanted, this market would have shut down long ago."

That's true, and my Spirituality Intuition hasn't given me any warning... Lorne nodded, accepting his explanation, and followed him into a corridor.

"There's a special trading gathering today, hosted by me. I have a feeling you'll definitely be interested."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I wouldn't call it helping you. I get a cut of any transactions made at the gatherings I host, so I'm also finding customers for myself." He smiled as he explained to Lorne.

"Sir, what's your name?" Lorne asked, puzzled.

"Asking someone's name the first time you meet is very rude in our line of work!" The man gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Uh..." Lorne realized he had misspoken.

"You can call me the Five of Clubs."