Chapter 71: No, I'm not going to serve you. (III)
I couldn't help but wonder where we were. Was it natural to have a hidden door like this in the building? We blew past the clerk and made our way without showing ID as even the clerk didn't stop us. It was strange.
Adrien pushed open a metal door, and before us was an ample free space with well-spaced stalls. People from different countries were walking around in regular everyday clothes. Some were in medieval-like clothes that made them look like they came out of a fantasy book as they visited stalls-to-stalls. It was quite magical as I never knew that there was something on Earth. It just wasn't real. I had to wonder if there was someone who would pop up and say that I was punked in a reality T.V show.
"Are we in an underground market?" I asked, hoping I didn't see things.
"You can say something like that."
"I never knew such a place like this existed." I breathlessly spoke, my eyes darting around everywhere, looking at the strange but fantastical contraptions and items that were sold in place. Everything looked like it would sparkle, giving it a surreal experience.
"Not a lot of people do. Only the people who seek out magic can."
I walked over to a small booth to the right. They were a bunch of little trinkets that were hand made set up to be sold. Looking down at a price I noticed that the prices were in gold, silver, or copper.
"In gold?" I couldn't help but ask Adriel. Wondering why it didn't follow the current currency of the world.
"Gold has always been a fixed price. You can not buy things without gold here."
I walked towards the next booth looking at the charms, and different cultural items and magical herbs that I have never seen before. One of the stalls had a very ominous feel to it. They were small shrunken heads with voodoo dolls hanging on the side of the stalls. Animal skulls and human skulls decorated the exterior of the stalls, the whole scene seemed like a perfect horror movie scene that gave me shivers.
"Is that normal?" I pointed towards the scary looking stall.
"Yes. This is an underground society for selling magical ingredients and items. You can literally find anything here that you would never find on the internet. Sometimes you would find actual items on the web being sold. Normal people don't know what they usually buy. Most of them are cursed items."
"Cursed?!"
"99% of the things sold online are cursed items, and there are rare exceptions where it's an actual ancient artifact or items for piratical use. Foolish people think that these cursed items are power items and get their whole life turned upside down." Adriel seemed pleased. "Usually, only the caster knows what was placed on the item itself, and the rest gets cursed."
"I'm glad that I didn't buy anything online. I did see a couple of those cursed items or power items without realizing what it was."
"Well, quite a bit of them are phonies, so it's hard not to get pulled in by the concept of gaining power. Humanity is sometimes a stupid creature in believing that such things can improve one's life." Adriel scoffed; he wasn't so thrilled in humanity.
"I was wondering if you sell magic stones here," I asked, hoping if I could buy up the magical stones in this world. My mind was already tinkering with the possibility this could mean if there was.
"Magic Stones? You mean the stones that you have given me?" Adriel quizzically asked, wondering what I had in mind.
"Yes."
"They do, but there aren't that many of them."
"Still, I would like to see them."
Adriel stood there for a moment, he then motioned me. "Follow me."
We continued to walk through the stalls. People turned around to take a peek towards us. It made me kind of uncomfortable at the large number of eyes staring. But most of the time, those gazes weren't directed at me, but at Adriel.
I could see the fear in their eyes as they knew what and who Adriel was.
Adriel took us to the last stall in a dark alleyway. I swear any further, and I fear that someone will come out from the dark and mug us. But luckily, no one did, and we were safe.
Opening a door, Adriel entered first into a small, dinky shop. This shop was different from every small stalls out in the market. It was not dark or spooky, but it did have a rank smell that made me wonder what the store owner was cooking up in the back. At times it would smell like chicken, then move on to something flowery like lavender, and take a sharp turn into a foul egg order.
"What is this wretched smell?" Phil covered his nose.
Even I had my hands over my face trying to block out the smell. The sensory overload was making my eyes water.
"Salvey's special concoction. Her herbal skill is considered the top-notch out there to this day." Adriel replied. He was not covering his nose as he just kept walking as if nothing was wrong.
"I'm not sure her concoction will save someone. They'll probably die if they take a whiff of it.�� Phil joking stated.
"I heard that brat."
An old female's voice spoke out in the corner of the room. An elderly lady that reminded me of a Native American sat sitting on a rocking chair knitting. She had black hair nicely braided as her eyes were scrunched up, looking at her needlework. Her glasses slipped down for a moment as she pushed it back up. Goldish brown shawl wrapped around her thin body, giving her a more shaman-like feel.
"The smell is the finest quality for energy circulation and helping in opening one's chi." She stopped knitting as she looked up.
"Mrs. Salvey. I am pleased to see you here." Adriel came forward, giving her a graceful nod.
"It has been a while, Adriel. I am surprised that you are walking around in the underground black market so openly like this? Why aren't you with your black-suited bodyguards like I usually see you with?"
"Well, there have been some problems recently." He walked towards her and stopped.
"Are you talking about the Anti-Magic movement? There have been some strange rumors that they are on a magical creature hunt."
"Mrs. Salvey, you have quite the ear."
"So, it's true," Salvey spoke with distaste on her tongue at the thought of what Adriel had said. "This is not a good sign. At this rate, war will be upon us. They will pull in the people for their own benefit." She put her needles to the side as she got up from her rocking chair. ,
"Why should I care for the human race? They have no place on this Earth."
"Be careful what you say to Adriel. Even if you are one of the few Demon Lords that cull the race of humanity, you should be wary of their dedication." She waved her fingers in front of him.
"Demon Lord?" Phil asked questioningly. "Him?" Not really believing that Adriel was the actual Demon Lord that brought fear into the people's heart.
I nodded. Why should Phil be surprised? He's a sure-fire candidate for one as well.
"Madam. Salvey, you know me. I dare not. I always heed your warnings."
Madam Salvey examined Adriel with skepticism, taking a good look at him if he was lying. She snorted, shaking her head at him before she continued to speak. "You know something, don't you."
"As the Demon Lord of the Asian Region, you have an uncanny hunger for power. Someone like you has an unprecedented bleeding heart." Madam Salvey got off and walked around Adriel. She tapped a couple times around his arm.
"You got what you wanted." She looked at me. Slowly walking over. "So, it's you."
I squeaked. What the heck did she find out that quickly? My hands were rubbing against my arms, uncomfortably.
"She's too young. Just a pup. Her magic is not even mature yet," Madam Salvey spoke with a bit of frustration in her voice.
"How do you know I have magic?" I asked slowly, wondering what she really saw with those grey eyes that seem to bore into my very soul.
"What do you mean, how? Your body is giving off such a high purity of magical energy that I can feel it a mile away. There aren't that many people in this world that can sense your magical energy. I believe there are only a handful that can tell that you are not human." Madam Salvey clucked her tongues. "I have met many magical creatures in this world. From the elves, demon lords, a unicorn, wolverines, and many more that would make you shudder in your sleep. But something about you is completely different from the many magical creatures I have met. What are you?"
"Well..." I wasn't sure if it was even a good idea to tell everyone what I was. I was being hunted down. Right now, the best way to escape from this predicament was to go back to Torren and come back to Earth in another time when things actually settled down here.
I couldn't help it. I was a selfish person who wanted to live one more day. This whole journey of stinking close to Phil and reform him in a positive direction of not turning into a Demon Lord was because of my own selfish motives. I wasn't some saint that goes around saving people's lives.
"She's a dragon." Adriel just casually spoke, breaking the silence that was in the air.
"Are you out of your mind? I thought it wasn't wise to bluntly tell what I was." I almost shouted so loud that my voice cracked. I glared at him for giving away my secrets.
"You're fine."
"How am I fine." I stomped my feet, shaking my fist at him. "You just told someone what I am. Words travel fast, you know!"
"Madam Salvey is a magical creature herself."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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