Chương 33: C33: Illegal Market
After the meeting with the headmaster, I decided to get permission and travel to a small town nearby.
The town's name was Exorcist Town, yeah the author didn't put a lot of thought into it.
Though in this world since it was now a reality, the town had the name Exorcist Town for a reason. That was due to the high number of exorcists it has.
The roads were paved with clean stone, the houses were made of stone and looked orderly, also every street had a market stall and people sold everything from live fish to demon eyes. This world's markets were a bit weird, it wasn't uncommon to encounter dangerous items if one was inattentive.
Walking along the stalls I kept an eye out for anything interesting. But there wasn't anything special except a couple of the demon eyes they were selling looked kind of fake and were probably animal eyes. In this world, (fake) potions were kind of widespread knowledge amongst sham alchemists. Though talismans were kind of mainstream.
Most people didn't know about Ord. Though the average person knew about talismans and that's how they assumed we dealt with demons.
Finally, at the end of the stalls selling weird stuff, I found a cake shop. The prices were a bit steep, but I'm now from a rich Exorcist Clan.
It was during times like these I was glad I wasn't the main character. I had a loving and rich family.
After entering the shop, a pretty girl greeted me from behind the register. "Welcome sir, what can I get you?"
The sweet smell of pastry was something familiar from my last world and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Will all that happened at the camp, with people dying I wanted a bit of time to unwind.
Sure, I had saved a lot of students so my presence here hadn't been a bad thing. But there were still kids that died in front of me.
I had been prepared to see people die. But there was a difference between preparing to handle such a thing and actually handling it. At least I had grown somewhat used to death. Either that or I was still in shock and didn't know it.
In the future, I will see even more horrific things. Especially when humanity will almost get wiped out and we will have to move back to an unknown part of the world.
Stopping that event would save hundreds of millions of lives. But how the hell would I stop something even the strong exorcists and the main character couldn't?
If only I had more power. Though with how strong the current exorcists are, even if I had the power of today's Saint. It wouldn't be anywhere near enough to handle the upcoming catastrophe.
"Can I get some ice cream cake?" I asked, using a smile to hide what was going on in my head.
Well, for now, I will take a short break to unwind and then I will get back to the grind.
…
Two hours went by, and I tried the cake, fruit juice, and even some weird octopus thing that grew in the rivers. The latter had a bitter taste, but it was a local delicacy that people came to try.
Sometimes expensive restaurants don't just offer a good meal, but also an experience. Though the experience might be kind of shitty.
After enjoying myself, and feeling bloated. I walked around the streets, trying to find the black market in this town.
The whole place had a weird medieval combination of future technology. There were samurai walking around, there were utility poles, and cotton candy, and everyone had a TV.
This town was so close to the exorcist academy, there were a lot of things that students would come here for. There was also another black market in the school, but in there you couldn't buy some of the more exclusive things.
As for the market here, it was a top-secret thing that not even over twenty students knew about it. Someone would have to recommend you for you to know where it even was. Of course, I was an exception to this.
I went and bought a cloak on one of the stalls and a porcelain mask with only two holes to see through and no other features.
..
It took me some time to remember the scene in the manga where Agon and his future two teammates would find the black market.
In a dark alley, where despite it being midday, almost no light could get through. Everyone in the alley wore masks and stared at anyone who came in. There were kids running and playing around, but they also wore masks.
Despite being an alley that was in an area that could be considered the slums of the town. The place was as clean as it could be.
In the original story, Agon and his friends had come in without a mask. The one who had told them about the dark market was someone who wanted them dead. It was for a cliche reason.
I walked up to one of the doors in the alley. It looked like a normal house from the outside. But if one looked closer they could see a small dark eye that looked almost alive at the top of the door.
"Trader or eater?" Someone asked from behind. Startling me.
I thought they would open the door without asking questions. Have they noticed anything strange about me?
"Trader," I answered. There was no use trying to run away now. I was in it too deep. I didn't even turn to look at the man. My cloak and mask should hide how nervous I was feeling about this whole thing.
A thin arm that seemed almost skin and bone extended from behind, past my shoulder. Pushing open the door in front of me. "Welcome to the dark market. Make sure to buy something."
Yeah, you don't need to tell me that twice. I smelled the porcelain on the mask, and cold sweat stung my eyes.
The inside of the normal-looking house was also standard. If not a bit dusty. Everything was dark, there wasn't even a speck of light.
Even then, I could see the outline of things by directing Ord to my eyes.
Walking to one of the house's bedrooms, I pushed the shelf aside. Causing some dust to rain down on me. I shook it off. Behind the shelf was a staircase that led to pure darkness. Even with my eyes imbued with Ord I couldn't see anything.
The shelf started sliding back into place, creating a creaking sound. I got in and walked down the dilapidated staircase.
Once down there, I opened another door and then it seemed like I had entered a whole new world.
Rays of light hit me in the eyes. The sun was bright.
There were thousands of people bustling through the markets. The whole place was like a maze of trading stalls. I didn't know which route to pick.
Behind me was a row of identical houses, except for the number on top of each door. My house's number was eight, and I had to remember that.
It was never explained how the teleportation occurred in the manga. Probably some kind of special ability. The creator of that ability was strong too. Though he might be dead by now, his obsession with the black market could have lingered.
If it weren't for everyone wearing masks, this would have seemed like a lovely welcoming place. Also, the faces behind those masks might belong to some notorious exorcists.
Another person came out from the door next to me, and that was my cue to start walking.
There were a lot of stall owners who had what I needed, and what I needed wasn't that expensive. I didn't care about the price.
Walking along the stalls, I couldn't help but think about my future. As someone with the Beast Master affinity, I had to find a demon to handle.
There were three choices I had in mind—each of them with the potential to become Ultimate Class Demons.
The first was Qilin, a horse-like mythical beast with antlers. It's a horse demon evolved to its absolute max. Not much was known about the creatures. But a Qilin had the ability of Precognition and could see glimpses of the future.
Even before it evolves into a Qilin, having a horse demon would be convenient for transportation. Also, I think it had control over storms or something, but I'm not 100% sure about that part.
The second was a Nekoshu, a cat demon. It was on the weaker side of Ultimate Class Demons. What benefits did this have? Well… cat girls…
Also, Nekoshu was the only demon I'm sure could evolve from an average cat. That happened in the manga.
In contrast, the Qilin and the other were just speculations on my part and the manga's fanbase.
Last but definitely not least was the Dragon. Now, this would probably be the hardest evolution to get. Benefits? A hell of a lot of power. Most attacks couldn't even scratch their scales.
I had to make a choice that would affect me for the rest of my life. A choice that I wouldn't be able to change.
Strangely, I didn't feel nervous. It reminded me of the times in my last world when I had to choose my starter Pokemon in those old games.
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