Ethan, transformed into the blur that was XLR8, clutched Seraphina and Marcus tightly, one under each arm, and sped with frantic urgency towards the distant silhouette of New Veridia. He didn't dare to pause, not even for a moment, the imagined shouts of bandits still echoing in his mind.
Marcus, his voice slightly breathless from the sheer velocity, yelled over the rushing wind, "Ethan, man, do you even know those people who tried to stop us back there?"
XLR8's voice, a high-pitched whir, replied, "Nope, never seen them before in my life! But their tone sounded incredibly unfriendly, and my finely-honed intuition (based on successfully navigating the plots of countless webnovels I've read, thank you very much) told me they definitely came with ill intent. So, I figured the best course of action was to quickly get us the heck out of there!"
Seraphina, though also a bit shaken, added, "He absolutely did the right thing. When I was researching Beast Hunter guides before our trip, I saw a stark warning article mentioning that some rogue psionicist factions and bandit groups specifically make a living by robbing other people's hard-earned gains in the wild. They are often even more ruthless than the beasts themselves and will kill without hesitation. Because there are effectively no legal constraints or consistent patrols in the deep wilderness, even if someone dies out there, others often won't be able to find their remains. And even if a body is found, it's nearly impossible to find concrete evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice in the city."
Marcus gritted his teeth, his face grim. "The overall security situation is so tense right now, with the constant threat from monstrous beasts, yet these scumbags aren't thinking about uniting against external threats but are actually targeting our own people! It's disgusting!"
Seraphina sighed, a touch of weariness in her voice. "There's no helping it, Marcus; human greed is often limitless, a beast in itself. Such things, unfortunately, can't be completely stopped. We can only ensure we don't stoop to such levels ourselves and try our absolute best to avoid encountering such dangerous situations. What happened today should serve as a serious wake-up call for all of us. We must not casually talk to strangers or lower our guard when we're out in the wild in the future."
"We've arrived, I think," Ethan announced, his XLR8 form skidding to a halt just outside the visual perimeter of the first military defense base. He quickly transformed back, taking a deep breath of relatively safer air. "Those people didn't follow us, right?" At this moment, the imposing structure of the first military base was right before their eyes, a reassuring symbol of order.
There were indeed quite a few other teams and individuals on the side of the wide, dusty road leading to the base. Some were resting in small groups, their gear scattered around them; others were walking with grim determination, likely returning from their own expeditions. Some were even openly wearing their psionic armor, their weapons prominently displayed, but they just glanced briefly in their direction and paid no further attention, accustomed to the comings and goings of adventurers.
Marcus let out a whoop of relief. "Wuhu! Finally back in relatively safe territory! Feels like home already."
Seraphina stretched, a tired but satisfied smile on her face. "We actually returned much earlier than I expected. It's only about four in the afternoon now. We still have plenty of time to… 'divide the spoils,' as they say. The elaborate excuse we prepared for our parents before leaving can be saved for our next little adventure."
Ethan looked intrigued. "So, where are we going to sell this incredibly rare Aura Core? Are we heading to one of those specialized psionic material stores in the city?"
Seraphina shook her head decisively. "Of course not. Although those kinds of official places offer certain guarantees and legitimacy, they primarily give you money in exchange for goods. And as we discussed, many truly valuable Aura channeling resources can't easily be bought with just money, especially not by families like ours trying to compete with the top tier. So, we have to go to other, more… unconventional places."
Marcus's eyes lit up with a knowing glint. "Ah, are you talking about that place, Seraphina?"
Seraphina nodded, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. "That's right, Marcus. That's exactly the place I have in mind."
Ethan looked from one to the other, completely lost. "Wait, where are you guys talking about? What place?"
Marcus and Seraphina exchanged a look, then said in unison, a hint of dramatic flair in their voices, "It's... that place!"
The Undercurrent Market
Ethan touched the simple, featureless black mask covering the lower half of his face and adjusted the hood of the anonymous black robe he now wore. He looked around at the large, milling crowd surrounding him, most of whom were similarly dressed in concealing attire, many also setting up makeshift stalls or Browse others. The air was thick with hushed negotiations and the faint, unidentifiable scents of various exotic materials. "So," he whispered, awestruck, "this is the legendary black market of New Veridia?"
Seraphina, also cloaked and masked, nodded beside him. "That's right, Ethan. Welcome to the underbelly of the resource trade. Here, perhaps surprisingly, money is almost the most useless thing you can offer for high-end goods. Only those desperate individuals who treat every single adventure as their absolute last, gambling their lives for a quick payout, or those truly, urgently in need of liquid cash for some emergency, will trade the precious things they've risked their lives to obtain purely for money. But those who truly aspire to the path of the strong, those who are serious about Aura channeling, will almost always use bartering – exchanging the valuable resources in their hands directly for what they need, item for item."
Marcus, his voice slightly muffled by his own mask, added, "For example, take our Innate Talent Skill Aura Core. If we were to take it to one of those specialized, officially sanctioned stores in the city, even though its inherent value is enough to theoretically exchange for at least three ordinary F-rank Aura Cores, they would most likely only give you enough money to buy one, or at best, two such ordinary cores. This is because the supply channels for these truly precious items are largely monopolized by the big, first-tier families. Normally, if you want to buy such items from official vendors, you have to pay a significant premium, assuming they even have them available for sale to lesser families. But here, in the black market, you have a good chance of directly exchanging it for three, or even more, ordinary Aura Cores, especially if you find someone who desperately needs that specific skill."
Ethan frowned. "But if that's the case, wouldn't it be bad if people from those big, powerful families just came here to buy up everything valuable at lower prices, or to manipulate the market?"
Seraphina shook her head. "Every place, even a black market, has its own rules and its own power structures. Take our New Veridia, for example. Those prominent psionic families, like the Thornes, collectively count as one major power bloc. However, this particular black market is primarily managed and overseen by another, equally major power within the city, in tacit cooperation with certain elements of the official city government. The strength of that power, the one backing this market, is rumored to be no less than that of the Thorne family itself, ensuring a degree of neutrality and order."
Ethan's eyes widened under his hood. "There's official government involvement in something like this too! Seriously?"
Seraphina nodded. "Of course. A black market of this size and importance, catering to the needs of so many psionicists, can't possibly be completely eradicated, even if some officials wanted to. So, since it can't be eradicated, the pragmatic approach is to manage it, to control it to some extent. It's established and maintained by the city government in conjunction with several major independent city forces and guilds. Look," she gestured discreetly, "over there, by that main thoroughfare, you can see patrol guards from the city guard, in their official uniforms, maintaining order and ensuring rules are followed." Ethan looked in the direction she indicated and indeed saw a team of uniformed officers calmly patrolling the bustling, shadowy marketplace.
"Holy moly," Ethan muttered. "This is completely, utterly different from what I imagined a 'black market' would be like. It's almost… legitimate, in a weird way."
Marcus chuckled. "So, Ethan, under these somewhat unique conditions, everyone here has to follow the established rules. There are only two primary, unbreakable rules in this black market: first, absolutely no fighting or overt acts of aggression are allowed within its designated boundaries; second, both parties involved in any transaction must be willing participants – no coercion, no theft. This is partly because everyone here, buyers and sellers alike, hides their identity behind masks and robes, and many even use voice changers to further conceal who they are. Even those powerful big families, if they send agents here, have to honestly use items of equivalent value to exchange for what they want. After all, this is still a black market, so while there are fewer outright counterfeit goods than one might expect due to the reputation of the organizers, once a transaction is completed, you generally can't go back on it. If you really do get cheated with counterfeit goods, well, you can only blame yourself for not being careful enough during the inspection."
Ethan nodded slowly, absorbing all this new information. "Oh, so that's how it is. A controlled chaos. Oh, right, speaking of value, how much is our specific Aura Core worth, approximately? In terms of barter value?"
Seraphina pursed her lips thoughtfully. "An ordinary F-rank lower-grade Aura Core, one that just contains raw energy, is currently priced at around one million credits if you were to buy it officially, maybe a bit less in pure barter value here. For an Innate Talent Skill Aura Core like ours, the 'Blood Claw' skill from an F-rank Direwolf, its intrinsic value is significantly higher, probably around three to four million in equivalent resources. If it's for someone whose own psionic ability or fighting style is a perfect match for this specific skill, its individual value to them could even reach five million. Of course," she added, "finding that perfect buyer who is willing to pay top value often depends on luck and timing."
Ethan's jaw nearly dropped. "Holy crap! So expensive! That much for one core?"
Seraphina smirked. "What do you think, Ethan? An advanced-grade psionic potion, the kind that can significantly boost Aura channeling for higher-level Rank One psionicists, costs around 200,000 credits. A normal F-rank energy Aura Core, as I mentioned, can be processed to make approximately ten such potions. That alone is a potential two million in finished product value from a one-million core – a double profit for the alchemists and organizations that control potion production."
Ethan whistled. "So this whole psionic resource thingamajig makes that much money. It's a whole industry."
Seraphina nodded. "Of course. However, concocting psionic potions is a highly technical skill, requiring specialized knowledge, equipment, and rare ingredients beyond just the core. It's not something we can just do ourselves. We should just honestly aim to trade our skill core for a fair value in other useful resources. Alright, no more time to waste standing around. Let's hurry up and go hawk our wares, see what interest we can generate."
The three of them, cloaked and anonymous, began to walk towards the deeper, more crowded sections of the black market.
Ethan, still a little unsure, asked, "So, how exactly are we going to deal with this Aura Core? Do we set up a stall? Go to specific shops?"
Seraphina paused, then turned to them. "Let me ask you one more time, just to be absolutely sure: are you certain that neither of you wants or needs this 'Blood Claw' skill for yourselves?" Both Ethan and Marcus shook their heads decisively. Their current abilities didn't align well with it.
"Very good," Seraphina said with a nod. She cleared her throat, took a surprisingly deep breath, and then shouted loudly, her voice, though slightly altered by her mask's built-in modulator, still carrying clearly over the market din, "F-rank Innate Talent Skill Aura Core for sale or trade! Contains the Direwolf 'Blood Claw' skill! Trading for ordinary F-rank energy Aura Cores and high-grade psionic potions! Best offer takes it!"
Ethan stared at her, aghast. "This… is this thingamajig really this simple and crude? Just… shouting in the street?"
Marcus, more experienced with Seraphina's occasional surprising boldness, just grinned. "What did you think, Ethan, how complicated could it possibly be? Everyone in the black market who has a unique item to move quickly does it pretty much like this. It's efficient."
"But aren't there a lot of established shops and stalls around?" Ethan gestured to the numerous well-stocked booths they had passed.
Marcus shrugged. "There are indeed many shops, but they don't necessarily have exactly what we want in exchange, or they might try to lowball us. Going to each one individually to ask and haggle would be too much trouble and take forever. It's much better to just shout like this; if someone nearby genuinely wants it, they'll come to us."
Sure enough, as Seraphina's clear shout echoed through the section of the market they were in, a large crowd of cloaked figures immediately began to run and converge towards them, their interest clearly piqued.
"An Innate Talent Skill Aura Core? From an F-rank beast? This thingamajig is a genuinely rare find; you might not even see one of these all year round!" one figure muttered excitedly.
"This is the first time I've ever seen an Aura Core like this offered openly. Is it real? Can we see it?" another asked, pushing forward.
"This little group of people is really lucky! To find something like this on a hunt!" someone else exclaimed with envy.
As more and more people gathered, a buzzing circle forming around the trio, quite a few started to call out tentative prices and offers.
"I'll offer one ordinary F-rank beast Aura Core, plus one fully mature Aura Bloom stalk!" a raspy voice called out.
Marcus scoffed under his breath, though his voice changer made it sound like a mechanical hiss. "Tch, trying to trade that little bit of common stuff for such a treasure? I'll offer two ordinary F-rank cores, plus three beginner-grade psionic potions!" he shouted back, getting into the spirit of things.
"I'll add six intermediate-grade psionic potions on top of his offer!" another voice immediately countered, raising the stakes.
As the bids got progressively higher and higher, the corners of the trio's lips, hidden beneath their masks, curled up more and more. They were actually going to get rich from this one find! Or at least, resource-rich.
Finally, after a flurry of competitive offers, the highest bid stood at three ordinary F-rank beast Aura Cores plus ten advanced-grade psionic potions – a very handsome offer indeed. Just as they were about to nod and agree to this lucrative exchange, a gruff, powerful male voice suddenly cut through the crowd from the edge. "Five ordinary F-rank beast Aura Cores, and twenty advanced-grade psionic potions! The Skill Core is mine!"
Holy crap! The crowd collectively gasped. Everyone quickly looked in the direction of the commanding voice, wanting to see who would make such an incredibly lavish, almost reckless, bid for an F-rank skill core, even an innate talent one.
At the edge of the now parting crowd, a tall, imposing man, though also wearing a concealing black robe, still couldn't completely hide his broad, powerful physique. He walked over with several men who looked like disciplined underlings flanking him, and the surrounding people consciously, almost fearfully, made way for them.
The man stopped before Seraphina. "Can you let me inspect the goods?" His voice, even through a voice changer, carried an unmistakable aura of authority. Seraphina, though slightly intimidated, held her ground and took out the small, padded box containing the Aura Core, opening it to reveal the softly glowing white stone. There were already black market guards nearby, drawn by the commotion and the high value of the item being discussed; she wasn't overly afraid of the item being snatched. After all, openly buying and brazenly snatching were two entirely different concepts, and the rules of this market, backed by formidable power, strictly didn't allow for the latter.
He took out a small, sophisticated scanner from within his robes and passed it over the Aura Core. After a moment, he grunted, apparently satisfied that it was indeed genuine. "Hmm, not bad. It's good stuff, as advertised." Then, a simple, unadorned ring on his hand flashed with a faint spatial shimmer, and two sturdy, sealed boxes appeared out of thin air, placed gently on the ground before him.
"A Spatial Ring!" the crowd gasped again, this time with even more awe and a touch of fear. This was an extremely rare, almost legendary psionic item, each one worth an absolute fortune, a symbol of immense wealth and power. In the entire New Veridia, the number of known Spatial Rings was rumored to be no more than a mere handful. Only the most prominent, powerful figures were qualified, or wealthy enough, to possess one. Ethan, Marcus, and Seraphina were also very shocked. Currently, the publicly known Spatial Rings in New Veridia were only three: one was possessed by the Thorne family head, Victor Thorne; another by the reclusive New Veridia Mayor, Everett Thorne; and the third by the formidable New Veridia Military Commander, General Valerius. They hadn't expected to actually see one here, in the black market, on the hand of this mysterious, wealthy bidder. This made everyone present, including the trio, immediately begin to speculate wildly about the true identity of this powerful individual.
He gestured to the two boxes on the ground. "Your turn to inspect the goods. Five standard F-rank energy cores, twenty advanced psionic potions. All top quality."
Ethan and Marcus each carefully picked up a box and opened it. After a thorough inspection, confirming that the contents were indeed genuine and of the promised quantity and quality, they nodded silently at Seraphina. She, in turn, respectfully handed the Skill Aura Core in its box to the man. Who would have thought, however, that he wouldn't even bother to look at it himself, but instead directly passed the box to one of the stern-faced underlings standing beside him.
The underling looked surprised, then overcome with emotion. He stammered, somewhat uncertainly, "Big Brother… is this… is this really for me?"
The man clapped him on the shoulder. "Of course, Junior Zhao. Your awakened ability is a wolf-form beastification, isn't it? This 'Blood Claw' skill is most suitable for you. I promised to find a good skill core for you back then. Hurry up and put it away safely."
That underling, visibly trembling with emotion, accepted the box with both hands, bowing deeply. "Thank you, Big Brother! Thank you for your generosity!"
The man waved his hand dismissively, though a hint of warmth touched his voice. "No need for such excessive thanks between us. You're my little brother, one of my own. It's only right that I don't mistreat you or let your potential go to waste."
Hearing this exchange, and witnessing such casual generosity with an item of such immense value, the surrounding crowd of black market patrons erupted.
"Big Brother! Big Brother! Are you, by any chance, still looking for little brothers? I volunteer! I want to be your little brother too!"
"Esteemed Big Brother, can I perhaps be your humble apprentice? I'll follow you anywhere!" (Meaning, a loyal hanger-on or follower.)
"Junior Zhao, sir, are you perhaps short of someone to warm your bed? Or polish your boots? I can do it, really well!"
For a moment, everyone was clamoring, half-jokingly, half-seriously, to be this mysterious man's 'little brother' or favored subordinate.
However, he completely ignored these fawning people and just said directly to Ethan, Marcus, and Seraphina, "Looks like your luck in the wilds is pretty good to find such a thing. I still have to stay here in New Veridia for about two more months on business. If you happen to get any other good, rare stuff in the future, you can contact me directly. If you have anything good, call this number." He took out a simple, unadorned card, seemingly wrapped in plain paper to avoid any identifying marks; it probably had his private contact number written on it. Seraphina, sensing the importance of this connection, respectfully accepted the card.
"Alright, sir," she said. "We will keep that in mind. I hope our cooperation today was pleasant for you."
"Pleasant cooperation indeed," the man replied with a slight nod. With that, he turned and left with his underlings in tow, without looking back, the crowd parting respectfully before him once more.
Seraphina let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Alright, that was… intense. Let's go too, before anyone else gets any bright ideas." The three of them quickly headed towards one of the market's designated exits.
On the way, Ethan couldn't help but whisper, "Although I can't actively detect any overt surveillance on us, I have this nagging feeling, a prickle on my neck, that someone is definitely following us, or at least watching us very closely."
Marcus nodded, his hand instinctively drifting towards the hilt of his dagger. "That's probably normal, Ethan. After all, we just very publicly acquired a huge sum of resources. It's inevitable that some desperate or greedy people would be jealous and might consider trying something foolish."
Seraphina, however, seemed less concerned. "Relax, you two. The black market organizers do a surprisingly good job in this regard, ensuring sellers can leave safely. They have measures." The three of them soon arrived at a nondescript counter near an exit. Seraphina stepped up. "Hello, I want to use the machine detector and then the exit maze, please."
Behind the counter, a beautiful woman in a discreet but official-looking uniform smiled politely at them. "Certainly. The machine detector is 200 credits per use, and access to the secure exit maze is 1000 credits per group." Seraphina quickly paid the money, and a staff member silently led them to a nearby reinforced door. This door, Seraphina explained, was the entrance to the machine detector. It could be used to scan individuals to check if they had any active tracking devices or hidden eavesdropping equipment planted on their person or belongings. The three of them walked through the scanning archway, and a green light indicated that, indeed, no such hostile devices had been planted on them.
Then they arrived at the entrance to the famed black market maze. It was called a maze, but it actually had a large number of clearly illuminated signs pointing in various directions. Seraphina explained, "This place has countless crisscrossing paths, with a vast number of potential exits. These exits lead to many different, anonymous areas of the black market's outer perimeter, and some even lead to disguised exits directly outside the market zone, into different parts of the city. We can just walk out of any one of them at random. Anyone trying to follow us from the main market area won't be able to find us easily. And the best part is, the active paths and open exits inside this maze change irregularly, on a random schedule, so even regular patrons can't easily follow someone by memorizing a specific route."
Ethan whistled under his breath. "The black market is quite thorough, almost professional, in this aspect of customer security."
Marcus nodded. "That's for sure. After all, as Seraphina said, this place was primarily established and is overseen by official city forces, at least in part. One of its underlying purposes is definitely to serve the broader psionic community, even those operating in the grey areas, by providing a relatively safe, if unregulated, space for trade."
The three of them followed the illuminated signs for about ten minutes, taking several random turns, and then conveniently exited the black market through a nondescript alleyway into a busy, well-lit commercial street in a different part of New Veridia, far from where they had entered. Once they were sure they weren't being followed and were in a safe public area, the question of how to divide their substantial spoils became the immediate problem.
Ethan looked at the boxes they were now discreetly carrying in their expandable backpacks. "Okay, so, five ordinary F-rank Aura Cores, and twenty advanced-grade psionic potions. That's a lot. How should the three of us divide them fairly?"
Seraphina, ever pragmatic, suggested immediately, "That's simple. You two boys, Ethan and Marcus, are our primary combatants. You should each take two of the ordinary Aura Cores, and I'll take the remaining one."
Marcus immediately protested, "How can that be, Seraphina? That would be too unfair to you! You found the skill core, and you did all the negotiating!"
Ethan nodded in agreement. "That's right, Seraphina. Those energy Aura Cores are incredibly valuable for Aura channeling, and using them directly allows one to achieve twice the result with half the effort compared to just potions. Giving you only one is definitely too unfair."
Seraphina, however, said nonchalantly, waving a dismissive hand, "The most important thing when we're out in the wild is self-preservation and mission success. You two have the primary combat-oriented abilities. When we go out on future expeditions, I'll definitely have to rely on you both to protect me, to be the vanguard. You'll be doing most of the heavy fighting then, taking the biggest risks."
Marcus countered, "But among us, Seraphina, you study the hardest and know the most about survival, psionic beasts, and valuable herbs. Most of the crucial common knowledge we needed for the wild today was taught to us by you. In that kind of dangerous place, it's not just about having strong combat ability; knowing how to identify resources, avoid unnecessary risks, and make smart tactical decisions is also incredibly important. This contribution of yours is indispensable to the team."
Seraphina smiled. "Relax, Marcus, I won't let myself be at a complete disadvantage. Of those twenty advanced psionic potions, I want ten for myself. The rest, you two can split."
Ethan started to say, "This..." but Seraphina cut him off.
"Alright, it's settled then," she said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. "We'll definitely be going out on more expeditions in the future; this is just the beginning. The stronger you two become, the farther and deeper we can venture into the wilds, and our potential gains will only increase exponentially. Do you really think I won't benefit immensely then, in the long run?"
Seeing her so insistent and her logic being sound, Ethan and Marcus couldn't really refuse further. They each gratefully took two ordinary F-rank Aura Cores, and then each person carefully divided five of the advanced psionic potions amongst themselves, with Seraphina taking the lion's share of the potions as she'd stipulated.
Seraphina, looking at their haul and then at her friends, her eyes shining with anticipation, said, "Alright then! Everyone go back and channel Aura properly with these new resources. After we've all used up this batch and our strength has increased by another large margin, we'll go out again. With what we've learned, and the resources we now have, we'll definitely be able to get even more next time!"
Ethan and Marcus, their earlier fatigue forgotten, their spirits soaring with the thrill of their success and the promise of future adventures, grinned in unison. "Let's do it!" / "Count me in!"
Shiny stones motivates me to throw CHAPTERS so throw them on these fic