Chapter 174: A Call to Miranda
Chapter 174: A Call to Miranda
A few seconds after Professor Aldric left, a strange silence fell over the conference hall.
The seven selected students were still standing in their places, each lost in their own thoughts.
Special Area...
An unknown world about which even the federation did not have much information, this was no longer a normal mission, any wrong decision could cost them their lives.
On the other hand, there could be opportunities so great inside that it could lead to a huge advancement for all of them.
All of them were not far from reaching level 20 and their first evolution, and maybe this was the opportunity they needed to reach it.
Rindo was the first to break the silence, he turned his gaze among the group with his usual calmness and said.
"It seems our work here is done for now, the student council has a lot of coordination to do for this trip."
"From equipment to exit permits, the caravan, and hundreds of other things."
"I also need to prepare the list of required equipment for the group members, if we are missing something, there might not be a chance to make up for it in the middle of the mission." Seraphina also nodded calmly.
Marcus took a deep breath, locked his hands behind his back, and laughed.
"I’m going to buy food first, God knows what we’ll get in there."
Selina placed her hand on her sword’s hilt.
"I need to upgrade my sword, if we’re going to be outside the base for several weeks, I don’t want my equipment to fail in the middle of a fight."
"I also need to buy potions, light clothes, and a few other items, as well as new equipment for my summons." Liana also said.
"The last thing I want is to run out of supplies in the middle of the road."
Cassian also gave a short smile, he also needed to buy new equipment and a number of potions for this long journey.
Each of them definitely had needs that had to be taken care of, everyone knew how long this trip could be and they had to make a lot of preparations.
According to their world’s time, it could be a few weeks, but what if the time inside was different? What if they got stuck inside for months or years? They had to be prepared for such scenarios.
Gradually, everyone said goodbye to each other, and a few minutes later, the large conference hall was almost empty.
Lian also left the main building and headed toward the dormitory.
His mind was occupied with the upcoming journey, and after reaching the dormitory, Lian opened his room door.
"So? How was it?" Kain smiled lazily upon seeing his friend’s return.
Lian did not answer immediately, he stood in front of the window, then opened his storage space.
Before going to the border city, he still had bought some items, especially healing potions, but all those potions were used on Kain in the ruin.
And now, except for a few monster corpses, some of the items obtained from the ruin, and the Devourer egg, there was nothing else in his storage space.
He was almost out of everything, or had nothing at all.
If he was really going to stay inside the Special Area for several weeks, this amount of equipment was not even enough to start, he needed many other things, potions, and any items that could help him in emergencies.
Especially one-time or multi-use healing items, their group had no healer, and if something happened to him, he could only rely on himself for treatment.
A few moments later, he closed the system window and turned back to Kain.
"Let’s go shopping."
"Where?" Kain raised his head.
"The Black Market." Lian answered without a moment’s thought.
On the way out of the academy, Kain looked at him.
"There again? Don’t tell me you fell in love with that place?" They had been to the Black Market once, and he did not expect his friend to want to go there again.
It was not that it was bad, it was just illegal and extremely dangerous, it could actually be considered a crime and get them into trouble.
Why go there when there were plenty of other options?
"The official federation market is not bad, but for what we need, it’s not a suitable choice." Lian said calmly, without slowing his steps.
"Everything there is legal and controlled, prices are higher, buying and selling rules are stricter, and many items are simply not allowed to be sold."
A few moments later, he fixed his gaze on the busy street.
"But on the Black Market, if you have money, you can find almost anything, rare equipment, special potions, forbidden scrolls, information, monster parts."
"You’re explaining it like you grew up in the Black Market, don’t forget I was the one who took you there." Kain said with a laugh.
"Then stop complaining and let’s go."
Half an hour later... both entered one of the oldest neighborhoods of the lower city.
The modern towers of the capital had given way to worn-out buildings, cracked cement walls.
Rusted signs were hanging from the roofs of abandoned shops.
If someone looked from the outside, they would never believe that one of the country’s largest underground markets was hidden behind these forgotten streets.
At the end of the alley... the same abandoned building they had entered last time stood, with two guards at its entrance.
"The first time I came here... I thought my family was going to sell me, the entrance is really scary." Kain laughed upon seeing the building.
When he had first come here with his father, he was only fourteen years old, of course at that time, seeing such a scary place, he had thought that.
"Don’t worry, if they wanted to sell you, I would buy you myself." Lian couldn’t help but laugh.
"I guess thank you?"
The rusty door of the building opened with a harsh sound, a dark and narrow corridor appeared before them, a few steps ahead... a familiar rune was shining on the ground.
Lian and Kain stepped onto it at the same time, mana moved around them, space rippled, and a moment later... everything changed.
When they opened their eyes again, they were standing in the middle of one of the largest pocket dimension markets.
The Black Market.
Dozens of cobblestone streets extended in different directions, thousands of people were coming and going, no one cared about anyone else’s appearance.
Here, only money mattered.
On the right side, a crowd had gathered around a large platform.
"The auction begins!" the auctioneer shouted loudly.
Inside a massive cage, the carcass of a giant sea monster lay, its blue scales still gleaming.
A few streets away... the heart of a Fallen was on display inside a glass container, and several wealthy buyers were bidding for it.
A little further, a man in a black mask was quietly showing secret contracts to customers.
On the other side of the market, a massive shop filled with ancient Artifacts could be seen; swords, armors, rings, and crystals, each worth the price of a mansion.
"It seems even busier than last time." Kain let out a quiet whistle upon seeing the market’s crowd.
"It’s natural, the Ruined Realm appeared some time ago, and items and monster corpses have filled the market again."
While both were passing through the crowd, Kain looked around and then said with a smile.
"If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll see the Lady of the Market again." Of course, he was talking about Miranda, one of the most beautiful but also one of the most terrifying women who ruled the Black Market.
Lian looked at him in surprise.
"Why lucky? Can’t I call her?"
"...Huh?" Kain stopped right there.
Lian very casually took his phone out of his pocket.
"Actually, it’s better to let her know in advance, maybe she can prepare what we need."
Kain just stared at his phone for a few seconds and then asked in disbelief.
"You... have Miranda’s number?"
"Yeah, she gave it to me herself last time." Lian shrugged without making it seem important.
"She just gave you her number...?! Now I’m really jealous!..." Kain whispered under his breath, having that woman’s number was a great honor.
Even his father could not call her directly and had to contact one of her subordinates or deputies if he had business with her.
But this boy had randomly obtained that scary woman’s number.
Lian dialed the number and after a few rings... a familiar woman’s voice was heard from the other end.
"It’s been a while since I heard from you, Mr. Vorhelm."
"Hello, I missed your voice, hearing it made my day, but I need your help." A very small smile settled on Lian’s lips.
Miranda, with a voice that seemed pleased by the compliment, answered without even a moment’s pause.
"Of course, just tell me what you’re looking for."
Lian answered calmly.
"I’m preparing for a long journey, I need the best equipment possible."
A few seconds of silence passed, and then Miranda’s calm and beautiful voice was heard again.
"Then, come straight to the seventh floor of my tower, coincidentally, I have some things that might be suitable for you."
The call ended, and Kain was still staring at Lian with that surprised look, this boy sometimes acts as if he has no feelings at all.
’I didn’t know he had this side too... can he really talk to girls like that?’
Lian put his phone in his pocket and without giving any more explanation, together with Kain, they went to the deeper layer of the market, they had been announced to the guards and were allowed to pass.
A black tower with seven floors, standing tall in the lower layer of the market center.
And an elevator that only a very few people were allowed to use, quietly opened its doors to the two of them.