“Ain. Isn’t this a black market?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there something you want to buy?”
“Not really. I’m just looking around.”
More precisely, it was something I couldn’t buy.
It wasn’t an item being sold by someone, but rather something that had been rotting away in a certain place for thousands of years.
And the path to that item existed here, in this black market.
“Really? Then let’s go, Ain.”
Ren took the lead without hesitation and stepped into the dark alley.
It was as if she had been here dozens of times. Her steps were confident and unreserved.
She likely visited black markets often during her time as an adventurer.
In fact, the black market here was a legal one.
Not all of them were, of course, but there were a few black markets in the Empire that operated with official permission and oversight.
This place too was one that operated under the approval of headmistress Lily.
…Though, to be honest, it was more neglect than approval.
Aside from the academy’s educational facilities, she rarely interfered with the outer districts.
Because of that, it was technically legal, but it still tiptoed over certain lines.
It was probably a bit different from the black markets Ren had visited before. It was different in a bad way.
I should try to stay away from those parts as much as possible.
I recalled the layout of this black market in my head.
If it were the same as in the game, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Following behind Ren, who walked ahead, we disappeared into the dark alleyway.
.
.
.
After we had walked down the dark path for quite a while, a faint glow appeared in the distance to greet us.
At last, a bright scene unfolded before our eyes.
“So this is what the black market looks like.”
“Looks like you’ve been here often?”
“Mhmm. There are lots of cheap and useful things in the black market.”
I casually agreed with the information I already knew.
I looked around at the familiar scenery of the black market.
It was exactly as I remembered it.
The entrance of the black market was bustling with noise.
It wasn’t much different from a typical market in the Empire.
Since it was close to the surface, there wasn’t anything particularly dangerous on display.
There are Ella Academy students here too.
I spotted a few students wearing the Academy uniform.
Even they frequented this place, which showed that the front area of the black market wasn’t much to worry about.
…Of course, if one ventured deeper, that statement would no longer apply.
“Ain. Let’s check that place out.”
“Hmm? …Ah, over there?”
The place Ren pointed to was selling a variety of random magical tools and weapons.
They were the kinds of things she had bought most often during her time as an adventurer.
She was probably no different now.
Ren approached the merchant and examined the items with a serious expression.
The merchant, in turn, casually pitched his goods to her.
Before long, she bought a few items, and both of them parted with satisfied looks on their faces.
“I just picked up a few everyday-use magical tools. I got something for Ron too. …Do you need anything, Ain? Want me to choose something for you?”
“No, I’m good.”
“Then at least take this.”
Ren handed me one of the items she had just bought.
What she gave me was a small, badge-shaped magical tool that fit in the palm of my hand.
“Hmm? This is…”
“It’s a communication magical tool. If you channel mana or aura into it, it connects you to the other person.”
As she explained, I noticed she had an identical badge to the one she gave me.
“From now on, even if we’re far apart, we can talk to each other anytime with this.”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“Mhmm.”
I didn’t mind it.
At the very least, if anything urgent or unexpected happened, she’d be the one to contact me first.
I probably wouldn’t be the one to reach out, but still….I pinned the badge to my chest.
Ren smiled bashfully at my actions. For some reason, I felt oddly restless.
After that, we continued looking around the black market.
Ren’s eyes sparkled as she kept glancing around.
Sensing the opportunity, I spoke to her.
“Looks like there’s still more you want to buy.”
“…Mhmm.”
“Then should we split up for a bit?”
“Split up? …I don’t like that.”
She made it very clear she didn’t want to be apart.
Anyone watching might’ve thought we were a couple.
“Where are you planning to go, Ain?”
“I was thinking of heading a bit further down to the lower floor.”
I tapped the badge pinned to my chest as I spoke.
“We’ve got these anyway, so even if we split up, it’s fine. Just contact me once you’re done looking around.”
“…Okay, got it, Ain.”
Ren hesitated for a moment, then agreed readily.
Judging by how she kept glancing to the side, there must’ve been quite a few things she wanted to buy.
I watched her head off in that direction, then moved to a different spot myself.
***
The black market on the Neutral Continent where Ella Academy was located.
It was a place I’d visited fairly often during the five years I played the game.
But I only became aware of that item’s existence here almost four years in.
That’s how cleverly and cruelly the game had hidden its choices.
Now I’m on the third floor.
I came down the stairs and took in the atmosphere of the third underground floor.
Compared to the first and second floors, it was definitely more deserted.
There was hardly any light in the area. It was dark, and there weren’t many people walking around.
Still, up to this point, it wasn’t all that different from the upper floors.
In most black markets, there was something of an unspoken rule.
A clear separation between the surface level and the deep level.
It was the division between the areas where ordinary people came and went, and where the “real” ones operated.
Illegal things usually happen in the deep level.
Things like slave trading, drugs banned by the Empire, or forbidden magical tools.
Some of it might just make you frown, while others were things anyone would find utterly repulsive.
That’s how deep and secretive the deep level was. It was hidden so well that even the Empire couldn’t fully grasp its scope.
Of course, it was illegal.
Lily had simply chosen to overlook this place.
Normally, if the Empire that permitted the surface black market discovered the location of a deep level, they would immediately shut the entire market down.
There were just too many disgusting aspects to ignore.
I had already wiped out quite a few of them myself.
Even so, black markets kept crawling back into existence like cockroaches.
The deep levels too.
Knowing who was behind creating and managing those places, I cursed under my breath.
…Good thing Ren didn’t follow me down here.
If Ren were to see the deep level, it was obvious how she’d react.
The deep level was connected to the edge of the surface level. This third underground floor.
Access to it was only known to a tiny number of people in the area.
I had spent months in the game just figuring out how to get in.
Let’s see… The brightest spot should be… over there?
This third floor was nearly deserted, with barely any light at all.
A lone streetlamp stood out of place in a spot like this.
Tucked deep within the alley, its presence was so random that it was hard to guess what the creator had in mind.
I walked up to the streetlamp and glanced around.
After confirming no one was nearby, I placed my hand on the lamp post.
Fumbling a bit, I tapped the back of the thin pole with my index finger a few times.
Eventually, my finger sank deeply into a certain spot.
Click.
With the sound, the light of the streetlamp went out.
Darkness settled fully into the alley.
There we go.
Even through the pitch-black, I could sense something in the surroundings had changed.
Whoever came up with this kind of gimmicky entrance had to be a pervert.
A teleportation spell that only activated in total darkness? Really?
I stepped away from the spot.
And the sight that greeted me wasn’t the third floor of the black market, but a completely different place.
…A corpse, right from the start.
The moment I stepped out of the alley, what welcomed me was a dead body.
It seemed to have been there for quite some time since the stench was already leaking out from it.
My brows furrowed instinctively.
I looked around.
Though I had left the alley, the area was still deserted.
As expected, should I call it a deep level? The murders and the bold way of handling corpses were no different from other places.
I’ll have to clean out this black market eventually. But first, I need to find the item.
With that resolution, I took my eyes off the corpse.
I exited the quiet, desolate path that was steeped in silence and finally stepped outside.
And there it was. A familiar sight.
Compared to the third floor where I had been earlier, this deep level was more crowded.
Not quite as crowded as the entrance area, but still, the scale was considerably larger than most deep-level black markets.
My eyes caught the various goods laid out for sale.
…Every single one of them is dangerous.
Illegal drugs, explosives, unlicensed magical tools, and more.
There was even a chimera locked inside a large cage.
Monster fusion experiments had been a well-known taboo for centuries.
I’m starting to get a rough sense of what kind of place this is.
Maybe it was a relief, in a way.
At least this black market wasn’t involved in slave trading.
If it had been, I would’ve overturned the place immediately….but at this level, it was more or less what I had expected.
Even if I shut this place down right now, it’s not like that would stop the trade entirely.
Even if I cleaned out this market, another would just pop up somewhere else.
Doing my best to ignore it all, I headed toward my destination.
.
.
.
Easter egg.
It had been a hidden feature in the game I used to play.
Of course, by the time it became reality, most people had come to realize it wasn’t just some developer’s prank.
But back then, that’s all I thought it was.
Just a hidden feature. Nothing more than a little joke from the developers.
And the tool hidden in this place had such bizarre conditions. It was easy to dismiss it as just that.
“Is anyone here?”
I stepped into the shop after opening the door.
It was filled with sweltering heat, and the clanging sound of metal striking metal echoed in a steady rhythm.
Clang!
Clang!
The building looked just like your typical blacksmith’s forge.
Someone was sitting in front of the furnace, hammering away at something.
Scattered around him were rusted swords of unknown origin and age.
So he really is here.
I approached him and confirmed his appearance.
I soon got a clear look at him from the front.
Muscular and well-built, with fiery red hair that stood out even from behind.
His eyes burned like live embers, as if they were aflame in real time.
But all of that intensity was focused solely on the sword in front of him as he struck it over and over.
Like a robot endlessly repeating a programmed motion.
“Excuse me.”
“…….”
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
“…….”
As expected, it looked like he couldn’t hear me.
Well, maybe that was only natural.
It’s a rare without a master. Of course the gatekeeper guarding it would be asleep too.
While I was thinking about what method to use,
I glanced around at the swords scattered nearby, and a simple idea came to mind.
“…Tsk. This is a pretty insane way to do it, though.”
Lifting one of the swords, I infused it with aura.
Then, without hesitation, I struck the man’s nape with full force.
.
.
.
Slice.
The man’s neck burst apart in an instant, like a dying flame snuffed out.
His body, now headless, went limp and stopped moving.
I looked down at him in silence and murmured softly,
“…Did I get him?”
At that moment, an explosion erupted from the stump of the man’s neck.
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