Seeing the numerous people going to and fro between each stall, I couldn't help but feel my heart race at the extensive number of goods that shone brightly under the street lights.
Each one looked more tempting than the other.
Going through each stall one by one, I made a mental note of the things that seemed interesting.
This way, once I went through the majority of the stalls, I could decide which thing I needed to buy and which thing I didn't.
Since I was planning on venturing inside of a dungeon, I require several things.
Arriving at a stall, I went forward and picked up a slim necklace that had a purple stone imbued in it.
---
Name : Necklace of tranquility
Type : Artifact
Rank : G
Use : Allows wearer to have better sleep.
Description : Artifact created by an unknown blacksmith.
---
With the aid of the status window, I could see the detail of each artifact I touched, making it easier for me to look for what I wanted.
Looking at the necklace in my hand, I thought
'This could indeed be useful, as sleeping inside of a dungeon can be challenging'
Dungeons were essentially portals that connected earth to the demon world.
Their harsh environment means that only monsters or strong individuals could survive inside of them.
With its harsh conditions, one needs, alongside good equipment, to be in their best possible shape.
If one lacked sleep, then it became much harder for them to continue venturing inside of the dungeon as a sleep-deprived person's reaction time becomes slower.
Thus, this necklace could definitely be of good use inside of dungeons.
"Excuse me"
"Yes, how may I help you?"
Calling out the stall owner, who wore a black hood to hide his features.
I pointed at the necklace in my hand and asked
"How much is this?"
Carefully inspecting the necklace in my hands, the stall owner paused for a second before saying
"That necklace? 3000 U"
Placing the necklace down, I went to the next stall.
Sleeping was for the weak.
Slower reaction time? Heh, I say to hell with that!
3000 U?
My word.
Talk about daylight robbery.
Although the effect was good, there's no way a G rank artifact was worth that much!
Trying my best to forget about this accident, I ventured deeper into the market.
As I was walking, I remembered the number of certain stalls that had some interesting items up for sale.
Because of my limited budget, I needed to be careful when buying stuff.
Right now, more than anything else, I needed a sword.
Because for obvious reasons I couldn't bring the school's katana with me. I had no choice but to look for a new sword.
Moreover, I also needed to buy some sort of dimensional storage that could help me store the corpses of the monsters that I killed.
If not, how was I supposed to bring back the corpses of all the monsters I killed?
Unlike the MC who has a system that comes with an enormous storage space, I didn't have such privilege.
Fortunately for me, the black market was filled with such items.
Plus, if I was lucky enough, I might get some good deals.
Well, not so much for dimensional storages as their price was fairly inflexible.
The bigger the storage provided the more expensive the artifact would become.
And since I was short on money, I probably couldn't afford to buy myself a high-end storage device.
In fact, even purchasing a low-end one was challenging for me with my current budget.
If I couldn't purchase one, I would have to literally walk back to the entrance of the dungeon and drop the monster bodies in front of the gate.
That would be total hell.
Plus, since I would most likely not be the only one entering the dungeon, I risked the possibility of getting my spoils stolen.
In short, dimensional storage was a must.
Arriving before a weapon stall that I had previously passed by, I quietly looked through their sword section.
Various swords were neatly displayed in the stall, allowing me to get a clearer view of how they looked like.
Each sword and weapon had a different brand imprinted on the sheath or body of the weapon. This was because different weapons were forged by different blacksmiths. The weapons created by famous blacksmiths could be considered the blacksmith's brand, and branded goods… were naturally expensive. The price was also not something normal people could afford, especially for someone as poor as me.
...But I still decided to test my luck. Maybe, just maybe I could find a sword that perfectly fit my style and didn't cost much.
"Excuse me"
Calling out the shop owner, I pointed at a slim sword that looked both robust and light at the same time.
Although it wasn't a katana, the [Keiki style] wasn't a sword art that could only explicitly be practiced by a katana.
All it required was a slim and firm sword that could move at incredible speeds without breaking.
"Sure"
Nodding his head, the stall owner went to the back and picked up the sword.
Handing it to me, I quietly admired the sword.
A slim straight blade with black aesthetic patterns deeply etched on the main body of the blade, quietly rested on the palm of my hands.
It had no guard, and unlike the katana which lightly curves, this sword was straight.
Carefully tracing my fingers along the edge of the blade, I could feel incredible sharpness coming from the sword that made it seem like it could cut anything.
-ku!
Twitching my brows for a second, I quietly looked down at my finger which was now bleeding.
'This is a fine sword'
I thought, as I grabbed a napkin and wiped my finger.
Even after healing my wound with some light ointment, I could still feel a stinging sensation coming from the finger that got cut.
This sword was incredibly good.
Well compared to the academy's katana this was not as good, but that was simply because better materials were used when forging the weapon.
However, although the academy's weapons were good, they were in fact not artifacts.
They were specifically made for training, and therefore the academy deemed it unnecessary for the training equipment to be artifacts.
With regular weapons, the school could more or less keep the students in check, but as artifacts contained certain powers, the risk of injury during a duel would drastically increase.
Therefore, aside from their exceptional firmness and low density, the academy weapons did not have any special effects.
Although they were indeed top-of-the-line swords, they would still lose out against a similarly durable artifact.
Also, since the academy's weapons weren't artifacts, their stats were unknown.
---
Name : Silver edge
Type : Artifact
Rank : F
Use : An extremely sharp sword that can easily cut through the toughest metal.
Description : Artifact that was found inside of the demon world, and is a sword that had previously been used to slain several demons.
---
Surprisingly, the sword was not made by a famous blacksmith but was actually found inside of a dungeon.
Looking at its clean body, I instantly knew that this was a refurbished sword.
"May I try it?"
Turning my head towards the shop owner, I saw him shake his head at my question.
Well fair enough.
I was careless as well.
I asked without thinking, if by accident someone recognized the sword art I was using, a massive headache would be coming my way.
"Does it have a scabbard"
Feeling the blade in my hand, even though I couldn't try it, I could feel the sword being really compatible with the [Keiki style]
Not only was it light, but it was also extremely durable.
"Yes"
Nodding, the shop owner went to the back and took a black rectangular scabbard.
Placing the sword inside of the scabbard I nodded satisfactorily.
Because the sword did not have a guard, the sword neatly fitted the scabbard making it look like I had a long black stick.
It sort of looked futuristic.
'Low-key, just the way I like it'
"How much is this?"
"5,999 U"
"..."
Looking at the sword that rested on the side of my hip, I hesitated for a second before handing him my black card.
"Thank you for your purchase"
"Yeah, yeah"
Leaving the store with a new sword and 6,000 U down, I couldn't help but grumble at the price.
I just used 75% of my budget on a sword.
This means that I only had 2,001 U left within my card.
Now I had to be especially careful about what I purchased next, as my budget has become even more constricted.
Stopping for a moment, I thought for a while and decided to go to a stall which I had previously passed.
The stall I was going to was a stall that only sold dimensional storage-type tools, which was essential for me alongside my sword.
The selling of Dimensional storage-type tools was actually illegal.
That was because, when dimensional storages were first introduced a lot of copycats tried to imitate their technology.
This resulted in disastrous events where out of nowhere the tool would break, due to their poor quality, and as a result of this, a lot of people got injured or even died.
It had to be noted that dimensional storages dealt with the laws of space and time, meaning that the consequences of them breaking was disastrous.
At a certain point, it became so bad that the central government illegalized the production of dimensional storages and only allowed certain licensed individuals to produce them.
Because of this, the prices for dimensional storage inflated and became much higher than their production cost.
But fortunately for me as I was in the black market, the prices were far lower than for what I could get them outside.
It didn't take long for me to arrive at my destination.
Looking at the stall that sold things like storage rings, storage bags, storage pouch, etc..., I first looked at the prices.
Since prices were based on the storage space dimension, with only 2,000 U remaining, I could only afford 25 cubic meters worth of space.
Storage dimensions started at 5 cubic meters for 300U and increased a further 300U for every additional 5 cubic meters added.
In my case, since I wanted to purchase a 25 cubic meter storage device, the total price was around 1,500U.
It came out at a total of 1,800U though, as I decided to purchase the storage device in the form of a bracelet.
---
Name : Storage bracelet (25 cubic meters)
Type : Artifact
Rank : G
Use : A device that stores items inside of dimensional space.
Description : Common artifact which was crafted by a low-rank blacksmith.
---
Since storage devices have many forms, such as bags, pouches, rings and etc... the smaller the medium was the more expensive the price was.
In my case, since I choose to go with a bracelet instead of a bag, I paid an extra 300U totaling the price at 1800U
Looking at the black leather bracelet that rested on my wrist, I nodded satisfactorily.
If one didn't look carefully they would think this was just a regular bracelet.
It was best to disguise dimensional storages as it could potentially be a target for thieves or people looking to make easy cash by robbing someone.
Since no one knew what went inside of dungeons, as there were no cameras, nobody could verify if someone had been robbed or killed inside of a dungeon.
Dungeons were basically 'lawless' zones, where be it human or monster, they could all be your enemy.
It was always best to keep a low profile.
Fortunately, they were password protected meaning that apart from me, no one could access them. Sort of served as a deterrent against thieves.
Since I only had 200 U left on my card, I decided to spend the rest of my money on some potions such as the [stamina recovery potion] and [Mana recovery potion].
Then when I felt like I had enough potions I proceeded to spend the rest of my money on some ointments which I would need in case of flesh wounds.
Because they were relatively low-quality potions, I managed to buy everything I needed with my 200 U remaining.
Satisfied with what I got, I decided to head towards {Dungeon seekers}.
The place where I could get access to dungeons. An organisation that was worth over a trillion U, and was one of the main forces operating in the black market.
It could be said that the main reason people entered the black market was not because of the illegal goods and services that were being sold, but because of {Dungeon seekers}.
Because guilds tend to monopolize dungeons, not allowing external parties into them, people who seek to become stronger or strike it rich and were not part of a guild have no choice but to come here.
Since {Dungeon seekers} allowed access to anyone, whether they were heroes or villains, people from all over the world came here.
Moreover, the entrance fee and commission proposed by {Dungeon seekers} were not outrageous, which in turn made this place even more popular amongst the general population.
It could be said that without {Dungeon seekers} the black market wouldn't have been as popular as it was now.
Arriving in front of another metal door that seemed more secure and robust than the one that led to the black market, I knocked once.
-Bam!
On the right side of the door, a small compartment opened up to which I placed my black card.
-Voom!
As soon as I placed my card, green light emerged from the bottom of the compartment enveloping my card.
-Diiii
A couple of seconds after the green light disappeared, I heard the sound of a ring coming from the compartment indicating to me that the scan was complete.
Taking my card back, the metal door started rumbling before slowly opening up.
-Vam!
Entering the building, I was instantly stunned.
A luxuriously decorated hall, where at the front stood a stunning reception counter made of a mixture of wood and marble. Various receptionists tended the guest from behind the counter, and a faint citrusy smell lingered in the air.
Because Kevin had never been here in the novel, it was also my first time knowing how this place looked like.
Words couldn't even come close to describe how a place actually looked like in real life, as things such as the smell, the sounds, and the atmosphere always tended to be hard to conceptualize in words. You could get a general idea of how a place looked like, but it would never be the same as in real life. Every time I came to a new place, I became speechless on how different the place was compared to what I had written.
In this case, even though I had no idea how this place would look like, I was still momentarily overwhelmed by this place's grandeur.
It resembled a palace created for the king of an empire.
Clean white marble floor, silky red carpets, gold-coated lamps, neatly sculpted desks, this place had everything.
This was what true luxury looked like.
Arriving at the front desk of the reception, I went towards a clerk on the right side of the reception desk.
"Welcome to {Dungeon seekers} how may we help you?"
"I'm looking to enter a dungeon"
Smiling at my reply, the receptionist took a small tablet out and presented it to me.
"These are all the available dungeons that we have at the moment"
Scrolling through the tablet I could see a large list of dungeons.
Each dungeon had a red and green circle around them, indicating whether they were available or not.
Each dungeon had a limit on how many people could enter, and if the limit was not respected the dungeon would destabilize resulting in a potential desync.
A desync was essentially a phenomenon where a dungeon would lose its connection to the human world.
Once a dungeon lost its connection to the human world, it essentially returned to being a part of the demon world.
Since {Dungeon seekers} knew this, they made sure that the limit was never broken by always leaving one slot open.
"We currently have three operating G rank dungeons, 6 F-rank dungeons, 18 D-rank dungeons, 11 C-rank dungeons, 13 B-rank dungeons, and lastly 4 A-rank dungeons"
Seeing the endless amount of dungeons available, I was left speechless
The number of dungeons they were hiding was enough to make people wonder how the government still hasn't done anything.
Actually considering their wealth and influence, even if the central government wanted to do something I doubt they'd be able to hurt {Dunegone seekers}. That was unless they wanted to start a full-blown war, which no one desired.
Taking the tablet, I quickly went through the list for F-rank dungeons.
========================================
- F-rank : [Kurus barracks]
Description; Directly spawns contractor inside of demon army barracks.
Price; 15% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
- F-rank : [Blood sea]
Description; Directly spawns contractor in an oceanic environment filled with bloodthirsty sea creatures.
Price; 15% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
- F-rank : [Red Desolation]
Description; Directly spawns contractors in desert-like terrain that is scarce in water and food sources.
Price; 11% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
- F-rank : [Miasma mountains]
Description; Directly spawns contractor on top of the high mountain range covered with highly toxic miasma.
Price; 8% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
- F-rank : [Forest of greed]
Description; Directly spawns contractors inside a forest that tempts preys by creating illusions of their innermost desire.
Price; 17% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
- F-rank : [Earth's wrath]
Description; Directly spawns contractor near a volcanic area, where temperatures can reach as high as 100 degrees celsius.
Price; 13% of contractor loot + Entrance fee of 500 U
--------------------------------------------------------------
========================================
Hmm...what should I choose
Seeing the list of F-ranked dungeons, I monetarily paused to think about which one to choose out of all of them.
[Blood sea] was out of the question as I didn't bring any waterproof equipment with me.
[Miasma mountains] was simply too dangerous, and I didn't have poison resistance potions with me.
[Forest of greed] had a 17% clause, where I would have to pay 17% of all profits gained from the dungeon. That was a tad bit too high for my standards.
So that was also out of the question.
This leaves me with [Earth's wrath], [Red desolation], and [Kurus Barracs]
Looking alternatively at the three options before me, after contemplating for a while I decided to go with [Red desolation].
It had the lowest contractor clause of 11% and the food and water shortage should pose no problem to me who has just bought a dimensional bracelet.
"I will go with [Red desolation]"
"Very well, here's a contract you will need to sign before we can finalize our deal"
Handing me a three-page long contract, I patiently looked through the contents.
In short.
Before entering a dungeon they will check the equipment that I will bring inside so that no misunderstandings can arise when I exit the dungeon and report my gains.
When exiting a dungeon the staff will do a strict check on the items and things I will bring out so that no false reports were made when paying the contractor clause.
A 500 U entrance fee was to be paid upfront, accompanied by a 1000 U deposit.
The maximum time a person could stay inside of a dungeon was 30 days.
If the person did not come out by the designated time, a specialized squad will directly enter the dungeon and forcefully drag you out.
Lastly, the contractor could, in case of emergencies, call for a support team that will come as soon as possible to aid them if they were in any danger.
The result of calling a support team resulted in the loss of the deposit.
Seeing the content, I nodded satisfactorily and signed it.
There was nothing that I was particularly against.
They were rules that tried to be as fair as possible.
"Thank you very much"
Smiling, the receptionist took the paper and we finalized the payment.
"Please follow me"
After I paid a total of 1500 U, deposit + entrance fee, I was escorted to a large waiting room.
[Guest 5077684 -- Gate 756]
Looking at the piece of paper that I had received once I completed the payment, I neatly folded it and placed it in my pocket.
This was my dungeon ticket, better not lose it.
Inside the room, there were several individuals, who just like me, were waiting to enter the dungeon.
Several waiters were walking and serving food and drinks to the people present inside of the waiting room.
Glancing around for a couple of seconds, I went towards a secluded area that had fewer people and sat down.
If I said I wasn't nervous, I'd be lying.
So far, my first week in this world has been smooth sailing.
Aside from a few ups and downs here and there in the academy, everything that I wanted to achieve I achieved.
The [Keiki style] the [Seed of limit], even the VR test was successful as I managed to complete the extra task.
Everything that I wanted to accomplish was completed flawlessly.
But that meant nothing.
'Don't let the achievements get to your head.'
I repeatedly told myself, as I was just about to enter the dungeon.
My small achievements shouldn't be something that I should take to heart.
I shouldn't become arrogant. Just because everything was going my way didn't mean that everything else was going to be smooth-sailing.
Facing the dungeon, which I had never been to before, I should never let my guard down.
No matter how well things were going for me, a slight mistake could cost me my life.
Arrogance was the best recipe for failure.
As I was self-reflecting, I tried adjusting my mindset.
When going inside of a dungeon, where there was a high mortality rate, one must not go in there thinking that everything would be alright and no danger would befall them.
That was not called confidence, it was called stupidity.
In the face of potential danger, one must humble themselves and make sure to give it their all so that one doesn't get caught off-guard.
"Guest 5077684 please step forward"
Hearing my number, I stood up and went towards the person who called for my name.
Wearing a nice black butler outfit, like most of the male employees working here, the man led me towards a large door.
-Di! Di! Di! Di! Di! Di!
-Shaaaa!
Just before we entered the door, the employee pressed 6 keycodes on the lock of the door and then proceeded to scan his eye.
-Klang!
After a brief pause, the door opened by itself allowing me to see what was behind it.
"!!"
I was instantly left speechless.
I was so overwhelmed by the scenery before me that no word escaped from my mouth.
An enormous hall, that extended so far that I couldn't even catch sight of the other side, was before me.
Keep in mind that my stats, compared to before were much better, which meant my vision drastically improved alongside my stat improvement, and yet I still couldn't see the ending of this place.
That was just how enormous this place was!
Moreover, that wasn't what left me flabbergasted.
It was the fact that in the hall there were warp gates everywhere!
A warp gate was a teleportation device that allowed a person to teleport to a given coordinate.
It was similar to a dungeon gate, but unlike dungeon gates, where the location was fixed, a warp gate coordinates could be changed.
Walking around, and seeing the towering warp gates that were as tall as a house, I felt like an ant.
Besides the gates, there were white-clothed individuals with masks that covered their whole faces. Their masks reminded me of the 'Black Panther' back in my previous world. But compared to his black mask theirs was white.
After walking for 10 minutes, I was finally able to see my designated gate.
<<Gate - 756>>
"Oh hey, Edward!"
Standing in front of the gate, a blonde middle-aged man who had a cigarette in his mouth waved towards the person escorting me.
His long hair which was tied in a ponytail, and his short untrimmed beard made him look like an unemployed adult who was in the middle of his mid-life crisis.
"Yes"
Giving a simple nod to the middle-aged man, the man who escorted me here, Edward, turned around and prepared to leave.
"As quiet as usual huh?"
Seeing Edward leave with no response, the middle-aged man gave up and looked at me.
"So you're the one who wants to enter the dungeon?"
"Yes"
"Sigh, just when I thought I had the day off"
-pchhhh
Throwing the cigarette on the ground, the middle-aged man stepped on it.
"Alright, follow me"
Walking with his hands in his pockets, the middle-aged man grumbled as he walked towards the gate.
"Timothy1, Timothy 2, I've got a guest here, so open the gate"
"..."
"..."
"Ah fine!"
Taking out a card from his pocket, the middle-aged man handed it to the two people in white clothes who were blocking the gate.
Taking out a small box, one of the white guards swiped the card, and when the box flashed green he stepped to the side.
"Bye Timothy1, Timorth2, don't miss me too much while I'm gone"
Waving at two white guards, the middle-aged man stepped into the gate and beckoned me to follow.
Stepping on the gate, the middle-aged man took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up.
Looking at me who was confused, the middle-aged man spoke with a grin.
"Don't worry they're always like this. They're just shy"
"uh, sure"
'I'm pretty sure they were not shy. They just didn't want to talk to you.'
I retorted in my head without showing it on my face.
Soon, as the warp gate lit up, I felt my body slowly lift up from the ground. Then I saw my body turn into particles and shortly after I started losing all my senses.
It first started with my vision, then my hearing, and slowly all my remaining senses.
-Vam!
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