Black Market

A few days later, Aldrich entered a tavern, wearing a cloak, filled with warriors enjoying and spending their time drinking.

What would you like, sir? Asked a young maid wearing an orange dress.

He looked at the young maid before placing a "Plum Snake Beer" order.

"Our Bartender will lead you to a private room where you can enjoy it", the maid said before leaving to tend to other customers.

The Bartender looked curious at the cloaked figure before leading Aldrich inside a room.

The Bartender then locked the room, returning to the Bar, minding his business.

Inside the room, Aldrich noticed ruins at the corner of the room; he stood over the ruins and stomped the floor underneath him before it teleported him to a dark alley.

"Teleportation magic only to enter the Black Market. He always liked to show off", Memories of an old man flashed in his mind; he knew he had to befriend that man again in this life due to his extensive network of information and magical abilities.

The Black Market was home to the largest underground network in the kingdom. All kinds of Artifacts and equipment were put up for Auction, and the place was full of the biggest criminals from the kingdom. There were sales of illegal items, slaves, and customers could even put up bounty contracts on someone.

The emperor had a relationship with some people on the Black Market, so all this could exist in the open without any resistance.

Aldrich stood in front of the largest building in the Market, the Auction House.

It was the most famous building in the entire Market, as Warriors and Mages could find equipment smuggled or stolen by Criminals. If they were lucky, a piece of S-rank equipment could come, heavily boosting the warrior's strength. Guilds often participated, as they could buy items in bulk to nurture their new members.

Aldrich went to the counter and registered himself to participate in the Auction.

He had decided to utilize the money he earned from the F-rank Dungeon before heading off for further investigations.

The Visitors in the Auction House often wore masks to not reveal their identity. Aldrich took a black mask, suiting his red eyes and handsome face.

"This face stands out too much", Aldrich grunted, remembering that no one had given another look to his scarred face in a past life.

One of the Auction officials realized that Aldrich might be a noble before escorting him to a high-level room for the Auction.

Aldrich looked around to see that all the VIP rooms were already booked.

The Lights of the Auction turned to the stage as a beautiful woman entered the stage with a tall, bulky man.

"I welcome you all to the Auction, fellow Patrons."

"I shall speak the names of the items and their base price. The bidders are free to raise the bid, but inability to pay the bid shall lead to consequences. May it be a commoner or even king of the country", The lady licked her lips, looking at the VIP rooms, before continuing.

And so the Auction began.

It started with simple F-rank equipment, majorly bought by large guilds who wanted to nurture new talent.

More equipment and Artifacts were being circulated for the next few hours, none of which caught Aldrich's interest.

"And now our next item is a D-rank Necklace," the woman said as the bulky man bought a case inside a purple pendant.

Aldrich widened his eyes, "Why is it here".

He had seen the pendant before. It was worn by none other than his lover from his previous life, Aria.

"20000 Credits", a voice roared in the Auction, and people looked around to see it was from the VIP rooms.

***

It was a beautiful night with a starry sky. Killian was sitting next to Aria, looking at the sky together.

"How do you want to deal with Andre and his family," Killian asked, holding Aria's hand.

"I-I will have my revenge. They tortured me for years and took everything from me. My friends, my family." Aria clenched the necklace in her hands.

"This necklace is really special to you, hmm?"

Killian knew that the necklace helped Aria control and amplify her powers, but Aria had always been skeptical about sharing her past. Killian never forced her, as he didn't want her to relive her trauma.

"Yeah, it reminds me of the despicable acts Andre did. It is also the artefact that helped me enhance my powers. It's really precious to me."

***

"So that's how she gets it" Aldrich remembered Aria's past trauma, how it had scarred her for life. He knew the people behind it and how they had ruined Aria's life. He coldly looked at the Vip room before calling,

"25000 Credits",

"30000"

"35000".

The people were excited to see the fight in the VIP section.

"40000 Credits, Friend, this necklace is really important to me. I would appreciate if you will concede",

"50000 Credits", Aldrich spoke out, releasing his Aura into the auction room. He knew that Andre wouldn't dare to reveal his identity, as his family would come under heavy scrutiny for making deals with criminals.

"…", The other party stopped bidding.

"And so the Necklace belongs to the guest from room 21", The woman clapped before moving on to the next item.

The Auction continued, but none of the other items were of any interest to Aldrich. The auction ended, and the pendant was delivered to his room.

"I won't let your family torture Aria in this life, Andre", Aldrich coldly said before leaving the Auction house with the pendant.

Meanwhile, a furious young man could order his servants into the VIP room.

"Get me the pendant at any cost, and kill the guy if needed",

Aldrich knew he was being followed, but he knew that the followers couldn't attack him at the location he was heading towards. Aldrich walked around before stopping in front of a broken, shabby store. He entered the store to find only an old man seated at the billing counter.

"You got some friends waiting outside", The old man said before returning to his work,

"I know you will handle them", Aldrich said before stating why he had come here.

"I want information about every Orphan from Drew Orphanage",

"You can get any information as long as you pay the cost for it", the guy said.

"I will pay. I also want some information on mana attributes",

"Aldrich Drakewind, age 16, current winner of the inheritance trial of the Drakewind family and announced as the next successor. Tell me what information you want", The old man smirked, looking at Aldrich.