The Black Market

Rebecca, who was slightly shorter than Raymond, lowered her head. Raymond could see her slender neck. The thin gold necklace matched her fair, soft skin, giving Raymond a stunning feeling. Suddenly, he felt dry-mouthed.

He could feel Rebecca's soft little hand on his palm, which she had grabbed. But soon, a ripple of energy appeared between the two. "I left a spell for you. That's why I came to find you!"

After speaking, Rebecca, whose neck had turned red, didn't lift her head. She hopped down the steps and quickly disappeared into the light red mist.

Left behind was the dumbfounded Raymond, standing alone at the gate.

After a long time, Raymond came to his senses. The soft feeling on his palm seemed to have not disappeared, but soon a ripple of energy appeared on his fingernails.

Surprised, Raymond snapped his fingers. The spell that appeared instantly in front of him conveyed the excited voice of the adventurer Alvin. "Raymond, I heard there will be important news at today's black market. Come over right away if you have time!"

The abruptly cut-off message left Raymond somewhat confused.

Frowning, Raymond hesitated for a moment but went straight to the location of the black market.

Located in the southeast corner of the Wizard Academy, the black market was not uninhabited, but the weeds scattered all over the ground showed that few people came here.

Remaining vigilant, Raymond contacted Alvin through the spell as soon as he arrived here. Unexpectedly, Alvin did not emerge from the dilapidated building but ran out of a broken wall.

"I didn't expect you to come so quickly. Come in quickly. This opportunity is extremely rare. I heard the news leaked from the upper levels of the academy!" Alvin explained excitedly with an excited expression.

It turned out that this black market had information about many newly discovered resource sites near the Scarlet Marsh. Some were in low-risk areas suitable for apprentices below level three to practice in.

But because the resource distribution in these areas was too scattered, they were not meaningful for large-scale development. So the academy's higher-ups spread some of the maps.

Since neutral or benevolent races lived around the Scarlet Marsh, even if the wizards from the Wizard Academy explored the areas, according to the agreement between the Wizard Academy and these races, they still needed to be allocated.

Therefore, to allow internal students to enter these areas in advance, the academy sold maps of these areas with little development value through the black market.

Understanding the reason, Raymond was also excited. But after passing through the dilapidated stone wall following Alvin, Raymond found that a narrow alley that only allowed one person to pass through was between two stone walls. Not far along the dilapidated wall, the passage gradually extended underground.

There were faint ripples of energy on the walls, and some dim lanterns at each corner served as directional guides.

"I found out! The areas suitable for level two and three apprentices this time are only four! Whoever gets the maps first can set off immediately!" Alvin's hoarse voice was excited. He passed through the intricate alleys with familiarity. "Brand new hunting spots! It represents a lot of magic stones! Maybe there will be good things to improve strength!"

Alvin's trembling voice made Raymond feel his extreme excitement. A few minutes later, the two walked down the narrow passage into the depths underground.

All the way down, Raymond noticed that thick moss grew on the walls of the passage, and some ferns hid in the cracks, but there were no insects here, and the radiation intensity of the surrounding environment was much higher than on the ground.

Soon the end of the narrow passage appeared a spacious hall. Here Alvin stopped and advised Raymond. "Remember to leave immediately after getting the map!"

After speaking, Alvin rummaged in his pocket and quickly took out more than ten low-level magic stones and stuffed them into Raymond's hands.

Somewhat dumbfounded looking at the magic stones stuffed into his hands, Alvin explained embarrassingly that the places suitable for level two apprentices required thirty magic stones. So Alvin wanted Raymond to buy the map first with magic stones, and then he would be responsible for summoning people to replenish the magic stones for Raymond.

"According to the academy's regulations, at least a team of five or more is required. After getting the map, I will take care of the personnel!" Patting his chest to explain, Alvin then pointed to the man in the corner of the hall and said, "He's responsible for selling maps, but don't ask for his name, and don't look at his face!"

Squinting, Raymond understood that Alvin meant for him to go out and buy to avoid the magic stones passing through his hands and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

Without hesitation, Raymond walked into the passage quickly with Alvin's magic stones. The hall underground was very humid, but it could be vaguely seen that it used to be very glorious.

Colorful murals, exquisite oil lamps with exotic shapes on the four walls, especially the floor under the feet, after years of baptism, it could still be seen that it was paved with precious stones.

Going straight to the man, Raymond squinted, although according to Alvin's requirements, he tried his best not to look at the man's face. But in fact, the man standing in the underground hall was wearing a black, loose robe with a drooping hood that already covered his head, making it difficult to see his face.

But before Raymond could speak, the man hidden in the dark corner opened his mouth directly. "Map suitable for level two apprentices, thirty low-level magic stones, level three is one hundred!"

"Are there any areas suitable for level one wizards to go to?" Raymond was curious.

"Even if there are, you can't go! Make a quick decision." There was a hint of impatience in the cold voice, and the man became impatient.

Hesitating for a moment, Raymond continued to ask, "Are there any areas close by that are suitable for both level two and three apprentices?"

"Yes, but two such maps cost one hundred and five!"

The man's unnegotiable tone surprised Raymond slightly, but Raymond immediately took out the exact number of magic stones from his waist bag and paid the fee to get two maps from the seller that could be pieced together.

Just as Raymond took the maps, he found that the man in the one-piece robe, even his hands, wore a pair of exquisite leather gloves, and he could not feel any energy fluctuations from his body.