Chapter 22: Strange Encounter in the Black Market

[Third Person's PoV] 

Vanessa took a peek back at Stephen and saw him becoming a blushing mess. 'So cute~' she thought to herself before skipping happily ahead.

Stephen was pulled forward by his cloak and slapped across the face with its collar. "Sorry, sorry! I'll get my act together, but how can she be so shameless…" Stephen muttered as he walked ahead, causing the stone door to reconfigure itself back into a stone wall.

As he joined up with Vanessa and the others, she continued explaining, "As I was saying, this is the Black Market! It's a teensy bit dangerous, but they have really effective things here."

As they walked past some of the shops, some of the vendors called out to Vanessa by name, greeting her and offering their goods.

"Well, you sure are well known around here…" Stephen remarked, noticing Vanessa's popularity.

"I'm kind of a regular here, so people know me," Vanessa smiled, then looked towards Noelle's surprised expression. "Surprised? Royals and nobles won't come near a place like this due to their prejudice."

"You can't control your magic very well, right? You can only conjure magic that stays in one place."

"Yeah, what about it?" Noelle asked a bit nervously.

"Well, there should be magic items here that can repress your power. They should be able to help you if you're interested," Vanessa said, pointing to some shops selling different types of magic items.

Stephen was looking around as well, trying to see if anything caught his attention, but nothing so far.

Asta then noticed a rowdy section of the Black Market. "And what's that place?"

"Ah, that's the casino, but I would advise against going there since you are all still too young. Amateurs who go there always end up in ruins," Vanessa said, shaking her head.

Asta narrowed his eyes toward the casino and saw a familiar face. "Is that Magna?"

"I honestly can't say I'm surprised…" Stephen said with an awkward smile.

While Vanessa was showing Noelle a magic item to try, a guy appeared before them, leaning against the wall. "This isn't the place for lovely ladies such as yourselves," he said, trying to appear charming.

"Vanish, insect," Noelle said without an ounce of hesitation.

When Asta and Stephen came back from observing Magna, Asta and the guy pointed at each other.

"It's you!"

"HAR!"

"It's Sekke!"

Meanwhile, Stephen chose to ignore him completely.

"Who's he?" Noelle asked, noticing the interaction between Sekke and Asta.

"That was Asta's opponent during the exams," Stephen said, looking at the items Vanessa was showing Noelle.

"THIEF!" an old lady shouted, drawing all of their attention.

"My winnings stopped!" the old lady exclaimed, extending her arms toward a thief who conjured a cloud of wind underneath his feet and blasted away.

"Har! Leave it to me!" Sekke exclaimed as he conjured a bike with his Bronze Magic.

He looked at Noelle and Vanessa and winked at them. "I'll handle this, young ladies. Just wait for me."

"Lame!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"What a creep!" Noelle said, sounding a bit offended.

Sekke then blasted ahead, trying to catch the thief.

"Asta, be ready…" Stephen said, passing his arm by his waist. A sling ring appeared on his fingers.

Asta took out his sword. "Always."

Stephen conjured a portal in front of the thief and opened another behind him. As the thief appeared, Asta slashed away the thief's magic and hit him with the flat side of his blade.

The thief went flying, smashing against the stone wall and knocking himself unconscious, dropping the bag of money.

Asta picked it up while Stephen made a flicking motion with his hand, sending a whip forth that tied itself around the thief.

"Granny, you won all this just from gambling! You're super amazing!" Asta exclaimed, handing her the bag. "Just make sure you don't let anyone else take it away!"

"Ho, ho, ho! Thank you, Magic Knights!" the granny said with a smile.

Stephen looked at the granny slightly as the others waved goodbye to her.

"Stephen, you coming?" Noelle asked.

"You guys go ahead. I'll make sure this granny gets out of here without any more accidents."

"Alright, but be sure to catch up quickly," Vanessa said.

As Asta and the others let the granny go, she looked towards Stephen and smiled. "How did you find out?"

"Illusions don't really work on me… I'm more perceptive than others," Stephen shrugged.

"Fufufu, so I was right. You're pretty interesting, aren't you?"

"I take it you stayed behind because you had a question you wanted to ask me?" the granny asked with a smile.

Stephen nodded his head. "How do I get my doctrine?"

"Eh?" The granny was taken aback by the question. "That's seriously what you want to know?"

Stephen nodded with a serious expression. Nero then flew back from Noelle's possession, landing on Stephen's shoulder and looking at him in confusion.

"Your question doesn't revolve around magic or how to become the next Wizard King?"

"Well, for starters, I don't really care about the position of Wizard King. Although discussing the concept of magic sounds like something I would really enjoy doing with you, I'm more curious about how I can become a doctor in this kingdom. It's never really been made clear to me." 

Hearing the seriousness in Stephen's tone, the granny placed a hand on her chin. "Do you have the necessary knowledge and skills to become a doctor?" she asked curiously.

"Isn't that what the test is for? To see if I have the necessary knowledge and skills?" Stephen responded. "I'm mostly curious about where I can take such a test."

The granny nodded. "You do have a point…"

'From the intel I gathered, he was able to heal that old man in the village when he was on the verge of death, so possessing the necessary skills and abilities isn't far-fetched…' she thought to herself.

"If you don't mind me asking, can you perhaps tell me why you want to become a doctor?" she inquired.

'I can't tell her it's mostly for the title…' Stephen mused, amused by the thought.

He paused, closing his eyes and thinking deeply. He knew there was another reason, one beyond just the title.

"You see, I love magic. I believe magic is one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. I think it's beautiful because it helps people—it makes their lives easier. So, I believe if I become a doctor, I can combine the two. I'll be able to save even more people than I could by simply being a Magic Knight."

"I see…" the granny muttered with a smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a token, handing it to Stephen.

"Here. Come to the capital in two days, and I'll endorse you in your journey to becoming a doctor—if you're serious about it. Just give me two days to get everything sorted," she said warmly.

Stephen accepted the token and bowed. "Thank you for the opportunity and your faith."

"Ho ho ho, I just can't help but support such a bright young wizard in his journey."

"Sorcerer," Stephen corrected.

"Hm?"

"I'm a Sorcerer, not a Wizard…"

"What's the difference?"

"It sounds better."

"Hohohohoho!" the granny laughed in amusement. "Then I can't help but support such a bright young sorcerer."

After everything was settled, Stephen bowed once more and floated upwards before shooting off to rejoin the others.

The illusions around the granny began to fade, revealing a grown man with blonde hair and a star on his forehead. He smiled as he watched Stephen fly off. "This kingdom is filled with amazing youths…"

As Stephen caught up to Vanessa and the others, Nero pecked his cheek gently, looking at him with curiosity.

"Ah, you're curious about who that was?" Stephen smirked. "That, my little feathered friend, was the Wizard King."

Nero's eyes nearly bulged out of her bird face, staring at Stephen in disbelief. 

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