Chương 78: Chapter 78: Black Market

Dean and Paul finished their meal as quickly as possible. They didn't want to have any trouble with Rick on that day. The guy would always get nervous and hurried in those days when he got the chance to sell something and earn money.

After several days, sometimes several weeks, in a rough trip through all sorts of places, their best leisure time came when they got into a refuge and could earn money to enjoy their pleasures. That is, Rick's group did it. The slaves would just be stuck at a stable or at the hotel when they finished selling their "Willpower".

Dean hated those days. It was the time where he most hated those guys. He felt as if he could smell their greed in the air.

After working so hard when trying to build his strength and raise the ranking of his "Willpower", he would have it all sold for some bucks and should wait three days more for it to recover completely.

It was a tough routine. Get his "Willpower" drained felt painful and exhaustive. Knowing that this cycle was never-ending made it even more unbearable.

Anyway, Paul didn't seem to get so annoyed by that issue as much as Dean did. After all, he wasn't even an Ascendant, so the "Willpower" inside him just served to prevent "Chaos" to infect his body and turn him into a Dread. Other than it, he didn't have any specific thing to do with this energy.

Despite the painful process, he wouldn't miss that energy as long as he had enough to keep "Chaos" away.

Dean walked alongside Paul to the exit of that bar. He was wary of his surroundings as if someone would attack him at any time.

As per usual, Paul remained quiet. He already talked too much when trying to wake Dean up, so that was the most he could do for a day.

They met Rick in front of the bar's facade. He was lonely finishing a beer and looking at the sun in the sky. It just had entered the middle of the ring of those crimson dense clouds that covered the sky almost entirely.

"I wonder how much sun will we get today... Winter is coming, so it will decrease bit by bit every day." Rick muttered, taking his last sip of beer.

Paul and Dean simply stood beside him, already wearing their capes, so no one would see their faces. Rick knew that they arrived, he just ignored it and enjoyed his time alone.

Soon, the others also came there. Hector, Clay, and Kevin arrived with a carriage and a single horse.

That would be their transport for the entire day while they sold everything.

The leader and the two slaves entered the carriage that was being controlled by Clay. The others remained inside there, even though it wasn't that spacious.

'I wonder where will be and how will be the black market this time. Usually, it is on a specific house or establishment of the refuge. Sometimes a whole zone is set for this. However, I have no clue about how it is here. I heard the group saying that the black market here wasn't secret and obscure as in other refuges.' Dean wondered.

He decided to distract himself with those questions instead of thinking about how much "Willpower" he would lose this time, and how much it would hurt. He was yet to get used to that painful experience, after all.

Nonetheless, Dean got flabbergasted once he realized what was actually happening there.

The black market wasn't in a specific place there. It was everywhere.

Once they saw Rick's carriage crossing the streets, some of the refugees began to approach and look what it had inside.

Rick left his usual tired and bored self behind and became a charming person, talking to people on the streets. He had an exceptional ability to draw someone's attention to his products and show why they needed to buy them.

And it wasn't just him, but also different other dealers who appeared and showed their products outdoors without any worries.

'T-The black market here... is everywhere!?' Dean thought in disbelief.

When a lot of clients gathered around the carriage, Rick approached Dean and Paul, taking a bottle off his backpack and showing it to them. A black and dense liquid was kept inside it.

"Time to be useful, scumbags." He smiled wryly.

Dean took that bottle against his will, taking a gulp of it and then feeling all his body trembling in pain.

The same thing happened with Paul afterward.

The two boys could feel that warm and comfortable energy inside them leave their hearts and get totally exposed.

Rick put his hand on Dean's and Paul's hearts and began to suck all that energy through the palm of his hand.

Then real business began at that point.

...

Dean was still seated on the carriage.

It had been almost five hours that they were riding that thing.

Rick had sold all the "Willpower" that Dean and Paul had to offer, also as some that he took and saved while on their trip.

The first two hours were the most excruciating for Dean. The liquid that he drunk made his body feel like a whole mountain fell on top of him and, in addition, he ran a marathon after that. He felt like puking at any time, and he was sure that he would faint soon.

That liquid was made out of the impurities that accumulated on petroleum-metal. Those impurities could be turned into toxins that were highly lethal for humans when ingested in high dosage.

However, when someone took just a bit, those toxins would release the "Willpower" from their hearts forcefully, making them lose control of it, so it could be absorbed by anyone who attempted to do it.

That was the master-key for "Willpower" dealers to run their business.

Nonetheless, due to the excruciating experience that one needed to pass in order to use it, most people resorted to taking seconds to do so, particularly slaves.

While resting as he could inside the carriage, something drew Dean's attention, waking up his body again.

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