Chapter 112 Black Market (Part 1) Outside, Statue, Rick
“Neil, your brother has to go out tonight. He will ask Cousin Lamb to come and keep you company.”
"Okay, brother, come back soon."
"Um."
After breakfast, Neil went to school with his backpack, while Lai tidied up the house. In the afternoon, Timur arrived at Lai's house on time, carrying a sturdy animal skin bag on his back.
Lei invited Timuch into his home and poured him a glass of warm water.
“Ray, I remember you’re a mage.”
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"You need to pretend; not everyone there is a good person."
Ray immediately understood what he meant.
"Okay, do we need to find a mask to cover our faces?"
"No need. Do you have a mage's robe? The wide hood of a mage's robe can cover your face. After all, your face is too obvious and easily attracts attention."
Temuqi made a rare little joke.
Ray returned to the room and opened a locked wooden box.
The steel knife and the little skull figurine were neatly arranged inside.
He pulled out the old mage's robe at the bottom and the wooden plaque the Magic Association had given him.
I don't know if it will be useful, but I'll carry it with me just in case.
Ray put it in his pocket and then picked up the steel knife that had been locked in the box for a long time.
It hasn't been maintained for so long, yet it still shines.
The steel knife was very heavy; Ray could lift it with one hand, but it was still somewhat difficult to swing it.
Mr. Victor, who could use it as a weapon, must be a formidable person.
Lei thought to himself.
He felt a cold wind blow past him, a chill ran down his spine, and he had a feeling that something was watching him.
Ray glanced at the window, noticed it was open, and ignored the cold wind. He put the knife back in its place, locked the wooden box, and went to the living room wearing his old mage robe.
"Is this one okay?"
Ray put on the mage's robe and pulled up the hood.
To be honest, this robe is a bit too small, but it's the only mage robe Ray has ever owned. It's the one Vivian returned to him; it was Ray's school uniform from his student days.
"Okay. Put them on once you leave the village."
"good."
Lai and Timur set off on foot. The sun was shining brightly, and Neil had not yet returned. By the time they reached town, it would probably be getting dark.
Once they left the village, the two began to chat casually, mostly about the gadgets that Lai had researched and some of Timur's recent inventions.
"It's a hassle to take the energy stone off every day, but leaving it on all the time is too expensive."
Timur found the dwarf's small size extremely tedious, so he simply kept the glass lamp on all day, which greatly depleted his energy stones. His purpose in coming out was to sell the trinkets he had and then buy some more energy stones to take back.
"Perhaps you could try adding a switch to it."
"switch?"
"right."
"The idea is to prevent the energy stone from directly contacting the glass lamp. Only when the 'switch' is turned on can it collide and transfer energy to change the lamp's speed. When it's not needed, the switch is turned off, and they can no longer directly contact each other."
Lei explained. His words made Temuji's eyes light up, and he couldn't wait to rush home to study this "switch".
"Oh my God, you are a genius!"
There are no geniuses; this is just the wisdom of modern humans.
In his heart, Lai thanked the person who invented the switch, not daring to attribute the credit to the knowledge in books.
Temujin was an extremely meticulous person, as could be seen from their previous discussions about the blueprints. If he were to get serious and ask Lai which book it was from, it would be really difficult to explain.
Temuji was lost in his own thoughts, muttering words that Lai couldn't understand for the rest of the journey. It wasn't until they reached the city gate that Lai finally broke free from the slightly awkward atmosphere.
"arrive."
Lei reminded Timuch that the two paid the fee and entered the city.
Next came Temuji's time. Lai followed him through the streets and alleys, walking a long way, until they finally arrived at the other side of the city.
This place is no different from other parts of the town; the people coming and going are all ordinary people.
It wasn't completely dark yet, and the shops along the street were lit with candles, showing no signs of the legendary black market.
Lei looked at something strange.
Could it be that you pass through a seemingly ordinary door and find a hidden paradise inside? No, no, no, "the truly wise hide in the city, the lesser wise hide in the wilderness," perhaps this is just a disguise.
Ray tried to use his imagination, but there were neither stalls displaying various magical items nor buyers who looked like ordinary people.
No, those two are the real oddballs. One is a bearded dwarf, the other a strange man in a mage's robe.
Lei thought to himself, amusing himself.
He followed Temuqi into a narrow alley, climbed the steps, passed through a dilapidated stone gate, and arrived at a small square. In the center of the square stood a stone statue whose carvings were indistinguishable, surrounded by dilapidated low buildings.
There was an old man with gray hair selling barbecue, and several other food stalls that didn't look very hygienic.
Ray turned to look at the stone statue and immediately sensed that many probing eyes were fixed on them.
It's strange, there are only a few people, so why do I feel so strongly that I'm being watched?
He began to have doubts.
"arrive."
"arrive?"
Lai followed Temuqi to the stone statue. He really couldn't see anything special about it; it was just an ordinary stone statue. The only unusual thing was its nearly two-meter-high base...
Lei took back what he had just said.
Temuji's hand had somehow slipped into the base of the statue, and then half of his body was inside.
"Use your mage token, or simply touch the pattern in the middle with magic."
Temuqi stepped out of the stone statue and watched as Laiyi affixed the wooden plaque to the base. A flash of light appeared, and Laiyi felt a suction force before sinking into it.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, feeling slightly dizzy. Temuqi was standing behind him.
"How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort?"
"fine."
"Let's go, don't linger at the entrance."
Lei continued to follow behind Temuqi, his expression impassive, but the shock he felt was beyond words.
This was one of the most surprising things to him after arriving in the magical world, besides learning that he possessed magic.
His imagination was still too limited, or rather, he had never even thought of it this way. The so-called black market was actually hidden inside a statue. Was it a spatial distortion, or an alternate dimension? Such a place was hidden in the small town of Rosen.
It seems his understanding of this place is still too superficial.
This place is not big, only a few hundred meters long, and you can see the end of it at a glance.
Once you exit the entrance, you're on a crowded street. It's crowded because of all sorts of stalls lining both sides of the road, and people coming and going everywhere. Or rather, people of all races.
Wearing a hood, Ray blended in seamlessly into the crowd, where strange and unusual clothes were everywhere.
The road is lined with narrow shops one after another, making one marvel at how so many shops can be squeezed into such a small space.
The shops, each with its own unique style, emit colorful lights, illuminating the street, while the sky above is gray and devoid of any light.
Fortunately, you can feel the wind here, which proves that there is still airflow here, not stagnant, but "alive".
I don't know how these people found this place.
Temuqi took Laiyi to the most conspicuous shop on the street—the one with the brightest lights, making it the most eye-catching.
He pushed open the door, and the sound of a copper bell jingling came from the entrance. The two of them walked in.
The shop is fifty square meters in size, filled with wooden shelves piled haphazardly with all sorts of strange and unusual items. A brand-new glass lamp hangs from the ceiling, clashing with the surrounding "primitive" style of the furnishings.
The counter wasn't very high, but you could only see the store manager's head from there.
"A vermin in the mud, that damned counter! I shouldn't have trusted that despicable merchant!"
Rick, you still have such a temper.
"Oh, look, look! Isn't this my old friend Temujin?"
Temuqi greeted the shop manager warmly.
Rick seemed to have something under his feet, allowing half of his body to lean over the counter. He was at least twenty centimeters shorter than Timur.
“My friend, who is this guest who came with you? I’ve never seen him before.”
Rick stared at Ray with eyes hidden beneath his thick eyebrows, a mixture of inquiry and slight hostility in them.
"Rick, remember that hot pot base I brought last time? That's what he made."
"Oh, my friend, your hot pot broth is so delicious that I can't forget it. I wonder if you could sell me some?"
Upon hearing Timur's answer, Rick's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.
"It can only be made in winter."
"I don't want to reveal too much," Ray said in a low voice.
"That's such a shame. But if you're making any more this winter, please bring me a copy. I'll definitely give you a satisfactory price."
Rick winked at Ray.
"Rick, put away those gold-coin-glued eyes of yours. My friend is a bit shy. The bag contains the things you ordered from me last time. Take a look and see what you think."
"No need, no need. With your skills, these little gadgets will be no problem at all!"
Before he could finish speaking, Temuqi laid out the items one by one on the counter for him to inspect.
"By the way, Rick, I need some energy stones. Do you have any here?"
"Yes, I'll pack a few pieces for you to take back later."
Rick fiddled with the small dagger made from the bones of a magical beast on the table, as well as the sleeve dart with its ingenious mechanism, his face full of satisfaction.
"Oh, my friend, this new gadget, the glass lamp, is so incredibly useful! All the cunning guys on the street are scrambling to order it from me. Things have really changed. Even energy stones, which used to be so cheap that nobody would pick them up if they were just thrown on the street, are now several times more expensive, and they're still going up."
"Listen to me, let's stock up while it's cheap, brothers. We'll definitely make a killing."
Rick's eyes began to sparkle again.
Ray thought Rick's idea was indeed good if they had the financial resources and a way to sell it. But Timur seemed to disagree; he changed the subject, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter further.
Rick shrugged helplessly.
There aren't many dwarfs in Rosen Town, and Timur is the only one he completely trusts. However, Timur is the kind of person who prefers to stay at home and doesn't like taking risks; otherwise, Timur would definitely be a great partner.
The fact that he couldn't find a suitable person to share the cost of purchasing a large number of energy stones was a real headache for him.
Gold coins, those are huge amounts of gold coins! Glass lamps will definitely be all the rage across the continent, and then the uses of energy stones will be far more than just these.
"By the way, I actually came here for another reason, I was wondering if you have this here."
Timur interrupted Rick, who was daydreaming and plotting something.
"What? Do you have any? My friend, I will do everything I can to help you if you need it, no matter how rare the materials are."
Rick blinked.
"In fact, it's what I need."
"I said apologetically."
"It's alright, my friend. Temujin's friend is also my friend. Just tell me what you need, and I will do my best to help you."
Rick generously said that Rye had finally revealed the purpose of his trip.
"Then I'll be blunt and just say it directly."
"Please speak."
"I want to buy a water elemental stone."
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-01-24 22:16:21 and 2024-01-28 21:10:29!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: sechs792346 (10 bottles); Mr. Green (3 bottles); and Luoning (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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