Chapter 7. Bounty Hunter

One great man once said that there is no problem that cannot be solved with the help of money. If it exists, then you simply need more dead presidents!

And as sad as it may sound, the capitalist system has penetrated even into the magical world. Are you a useless mage who couldn't advance past the 3rd circle? It's simple - pay up and receive a magic scroll with a spell from almost any higher circle. Is your magic too weak? It's simple - pay up, and you'll get your faithful companion - a magic amplifier. Not enough magical power? We've been through this already - pay up, and you'll acquire mana crystals.

And it's not that I'm a Marxist, but I don't like being a cog in the production process in a capitalist society.

"To put it simply: I don't like being used."

However, the new feature of Gluttony to increase the owner's magical power by absorbing items with built-in magical power leaves me no choice but to adapt to "modern" trends.

So here I am, Ryan Romano, strolling through the magical market in search of a living.

The modern magical world has grown so much that there are "underground" markets for magical goods in almost all major cities in the world. Among mages, this great network has been dubbed the "Silk Road," which is quite authentic, as it was originally a trading platform that connected magical communities in Asia and Europe. Of course, over time, the Silk Road appeared on all other continents.

But let's get back to business - I need to find a cheap and, most importantly, accessible source of magical items. And I just happen to have such a source in mind - the "Black Traders." As they say, where there is light, there will be darkness... In the case of the Silk Road, this very darkness will be a real underground magical world. Drug trafficking, contract killings, trading in banned magical reagents and scrolls, slave trading, and just plain smuggling - all this is the base, so to speak.

"Of course, I'm not going to delve too deep into this quagmire. It's enough that I'll contact the Black Trader."

If it were up to me, I wouldn't even deal with the Black Traders, but time is running out, and I have to get my strength from somewhere... Besides, I happen to have information about one Black Trader.

So, strolling through the magical market, I watched the surroundings with interest. Any magical market was large enough to occupy the space of a whole district. I would even say that it was a small magical city inside a large ordinary one. And like in any other city, the outskirts were inhabited by those who preferred to remain in the shadows - beggars, thieves, and other unsavory characters. But the closer you got to the center of the market, the more respectable the people became. Here you could meet rich mages and merchants who came here to buy and sell rare and powerful magical items.

Tall buildings gradually gave way to low-rise buildings, and clean roads turned into dusty paths. Nevertheless, I felt nostalgia as I contemplated this scene.

"Almost nothing has changed here."

The outskirts differed from the central streets, which always changed and transformed. Most of the signs and plaques became difficult to read, covered with rust from the rain and worn out by the wind. Some signs were torn or burned so badly that they completely lost their informational meaning.

Passing by dark alleys, I saw beggars sleeping right under the walls of houses, hucksters and loafers who were sorting out their Shakespearean relationships, and sometimes you could notice shadows that defied the laws of nature.

Despite the three-year hiatus, the local decorations remained the same, which plunged me into memories.

"Three years..."

Three years ago, I had just started my second year. In those days, a student named Ryan Romano was not yet cynical and remote from other people. The first year of study was focused more on theory than practice, so I received the best grades among all the other students.

I was considered a genius who would stand at the forefront of the magical front. Even some blue-blooded children wanted to be friends with me... damn noble magical families.

I knew that the Black Trader was in this area because I had once visited him with my friend.

"Haha, what kind of friend was that?"

I laughed. As soon as my inadequacy was revealed, everyone turned their back on me.

That's what it means to be a symbol, not a human being. No one was interested in Ryan Romano until the truth about my so-called "talent" was revealed, and then all my "comrades" turned away from me.

How disappointed I was when their duplicity was revealed... I still feel the disgust I felt back then.

Reflecting on this now, I realize that I made the right decision, following the logic: if life turns its back on you, you need to give it a good kick in the butt... Although I didn't manage to kick it directly, but it was a useful life lesson.

Remembering the old days, I walked further, immersing myself in the shadow of the magical world. I remembered these places well. My memory did not fail me, and when I reached my destination, I stopped.

"This place... it's like it's frozen in amber."

It was a shabby one-story building that showed no signs of habitation. The windows were dirty, the brick walls were cracked and covered with moss. However, I understood the logic of the black market dealer who chose this place for his shop, so I had no doubts... especially since there was a sign on the door that read "OPEN", and such things never deceive.

With an unpleasant creak, the rickety door opened, revealing the interior of the shop. In short, it was a typical flea market. Various items were displayed on shelves, and determining their purpose was quite difficult. The only difference from a regular shop was that there were no price tags on the items.

One of the peculiarities of buying something from the Black Trader was that prices were set during the bargaining process. "Therefore, any foolish or naive buyer can easily be deceived... Black Traders are still ordinary traders, albeit very talented at extracting money from their customers' pockets."

Mentally reminding myself of the peculiarities of the dark side of the Silk Road, I approached the vendor's counter.

"If you're not a client, we're closed!"

Came a rough voice from deep within the store. A few seconds later, the owner of that voice came out to meet me. The trader had changed. He used to be a middle-aged balding man, but now he was a tall man wearing a shirt with rolled-up sleeves that revealed his muscular arms, and his snake-like gaze didn't miss any detail of the surrounding environment.

"You can consider me a customer, in a way," I replied, inspecting the contents of the shelves behind the trader.

"Well, in that case, look around here. Our shop is not friendly enough to provide information about the goods, so you'll have to figure it out yourself."

The service was clearly not up to par, but that was the rule of the Black Traders. They didn't explain anything about the goods they sold. If they started talking about defective products, they would lose the opportunity to sell them. In addition, the cost of removing curses from artifacts exceeded the cost of selling them.

Sometimes people were willing to pay someone to identify goods, but it was not very common. If everyone came to the store with an expert, Black Traders would have disappeared long ago. It was much easier to find fools who wanted to buy something good and cheap.

"Okay, thank you."

I approached the nearest shelf. The first thing I needed to do was to check if there were any hidden abilities "absorbed" in these goods. Carefully taking a strange-looking wooden bark, I whispered quietly, "Appraisal." With a slight smacking sound, Gluttony's tongue came out and wrapped around the dagger.

[Northern Rowan Bark (type: catalyst).]

[The bark of a rowan tree that grew on the territory of the Scandinavian temples.]

[The bark itself is devoid of magical properties, but Scandinavian Runes are carved on it.] [Unfortunately, most of the Rune's power has been lost due to the raging flow of time.]

[When used with a fire spell, the magic will be slightly enhanced.]

[Item class: ordinary.]

[By absorbing the item, you will gain a small amount of magical power.]

[After absorbing the item, your understanding of the "Runes of Muspelheim" spell will increase.]

[Digestion time: 5 minutes, 11 seconds.]

Not bad, a couple hundred of these catalysts, and I'll become a full-fledged mage of the third circle. The result was surprisingly pleasant. Not only did I uncover the effect hidden in the bark, but in addition to magical power, I could obtain [Runes of Muspelheim].

Scandinavian Runes... Access to this magic can only be obtained by joining the association and becoming a mage. This hidden function will be incredibly useful in studying difficult and forbidden magic. I pondered, as I started to search through the shelves.

Magic sliding shoes - junk... Magic that returns damage on gloves - junk... Magic of impotence engraved on bullets? What the hell did someone need that for?! There were many useless items. But in reality, it didn't matter how good their effects were. I picked up everything that would increase my magical power after absorption. The rest of the effects were practically useless. This store, filled with all sorts of unnecessary junk, was a real gold mine for me.

After 20 minutes, I headed to the counter with a basket full of items.

"O-ho-ho!" The Black Trader looked at the things I had chosen with interest. "It seems like you've made a whole month's worth of purchases from my little shop. Even with a discount, it'll cost you at least $12,000."

"Really? I don't think so," I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his empty talk.

"Easy there, young mage. Don't you know that you'll make a real fortune if you come across genuine goods? Who knows what's defective and what's not? Anything can happen," the trader began his bravado, putting on a fake smile.

"Well, usually it's just the opposite."

"What do you mean by opposite? Honestly, I don't understand what you're talking about, young mage," the merchant replied, pretending to be foolish, with the same fake smile.

Instead of answering, I pointed to one of the objects. It was a necklace that was about to fall apart. Moreover, it could not be used as an accessory.

"This necklace is worn around the neck, but the material is so cheap that it will simply fall apart. How can I pay so much money for such junk?"

"...What?"

"And this fan is even worse. You can hardly even pick it up because it has a spell engraved on it [Grease]."

The merchant continued to listen to the information I was pouring out with empty eyes. However, after a while, he clearly understood what it all meant.

"Of course, I could lie. But you won't miss any opportunity to earn money, so you'll take this risk."

"Young mage, are you an appraiser?"

An appraiser...

The magic of [Appraisal] itself was very widespread among mages, but only the "version" that analyzed the structure of non-magical items. In addition, true [Appraisal] was difficult to study, and a mage could not use appraisal on an item in which magic above their level was inscribed. Therefore, if you ever needed to appraise something, you could use the services of an appraiser. Of course, it was not cheap, but you would not be appraising items every day.

"In combination, this has led to the fact that the difficulty of this magic does not pay off."

"Well, you could say that," I answered carelessly.

"...How interesting. It's been a while since I've dealt with someone like you."

The Black Trader stood up and changed the sign to "CLOSED." It was a clear sign that he was interested in my "offer."

"Now all that's left is not to become food for rats in some ditch."

"I apologize for my rudeness. I didn't expect an appraiser to ever come to a simple Black Trader," his gaze became more interested, but at the same time more cautious.

"I didn't expect it myself."

So, the first rule when pretending to be someone else - you have to wait until your counterpart starts the conversation first. After all, it is much easier to make a person believe in their own words than in your lies.

And now the curious merchant swallowed the bait.

"So, young appraiser. What brought you to this humble place?"

This guy is on my hook, just a little more to go... As much as I may not like capitalism, the feeling of hunting for prey is pleasant. Call me a Bounty Hunter.