Upon entering the mines, which were now very spacious thanks to the golems working non-stop. With two golems working on the mines it proved to be a great investment for Will. Looking at all the ores they collected, Will was satisfied. If he were to do this by hand, it'd take him much longer even if there were three of him.
"Oh! Nice, we have enough to make another gold golem!" Will saw that the golems had found 11 low-tier mana ores already. He thought it would take another day to gather over 10 low-tier mana ores, they must have been lucky.
Now he had 12 low-mana ores, counting the extra one he had last time.
Why doesn't he use the low-tier mana ores on something else? Because Will knew that the more golems he had, the quicker he'll get mana ores. Besides he is really curious to see what's the difference between a mid-tier golem core and a low-tier golem core, and also see what more exclusive crafts he'd unlock once he gets a high-tier mana ore.
Not wasting time, he grabbed his blueprint which is inside his inventory, grabbed some gold, made a crappy golem instantly and inserted a golem gore inside.
"Master."
"Hold still. From now on you're number 3." Will carved number 3 on the golem's right shoulder to tell them apart. Gold was a soft metal, so it was easy to carve numbers or letters on it. It's also why he made gold golems instead of something like steel, because it was easier to make golems out of it by hand.
Someday he'd replace the gold golems with something stronger like steel. But for now gold is a good choice.
Will wasn't afraid of running out of materials thanks to the various max enchantments his pickaxes have. In minecraft the mining enchantment that multiplies your ore doesn't include gold ore and iron ore, but it does in this world which is amazing.
Will showed the new golem what he needed to do, which was annoying since he figured he'd probably need to do that for every single golem he creates.
"Okay… now that that's over I can finally move on to something I've been meaning to use, dragon scale armor." Will took out 2 dragons, one was a dragon from the third layer which is considered the most common, weakest, and tiniest dragons, but any dragon is to be feared by common people. The second one is a dead dragon from the second layer, it's not the strongest but definitely not the weakest.
An Apex dragon is the strongest of them all, something that Will doesn't have right now.
Using a gold enchant knife, he cut off the scales without damaging them.
"Ugh, the smell is soooo bad." How Will wished for an item that could block off his sense of smell. Any corpse just smells bad when you're cutting it open, like dissecting an animal in science class.
Dragon's are large in size, so it took many, many hours to cut out all the scales from a single dragon. Now he moved on to the second layer dragon.
Will wanted to see if every dragon's scales and bones could provide him with different bonus sets.
For example his first dragon-bone set, he got a set ability that can let him shout like a dragon but not like the Dragonborn in Skyrim which was sad. And now his exotic wooden armor gave him an awesome set bonus of super strength, speed, and defense only. Not as great as a hero's body but it was still something.
But not all armor sets give set bonuses.
Will didn't know how many hours it took to carve the scales, meat, and bones of the second layered dragon, but it was tougher and longer compared to a third layered dragon.
"Jeez, how long have I been here?" Will stretched his limbs. The reason he didn't let his golems do this is because they're dumb so he doesn't trust his golems on something so important. And besides their one purpose is to mine and mine only, and perhaps something else that they can be used for.
A dragon's scales on the second layer was tough to cut, so Will had to use an enchanted steel pickaxe, some crowbars to yank the scales out. He couldn't imagine cutting out the scales of an Apex dragon, he'd need powerful machines to make any progress at all, at least that's what he thinks.
Finally, he accomplished making new set armors. He placed them neatly on an armor rack.
Will only calculated the total defense of the armor, including masks, and also wrote down their bonuses for each different set.
{Small Dragon scales (third layer)}
{Defense total: 99}
{Set bonus: Immune to penetrating attacks}
{Small Dragon-bone armor(third layer)}
{Defense total: 90}
{Set bonus: Dragon shout}
{Mid-Dragon scales(Second layer)}
{Total defense: 300}
{Set bonus: Sprout dragon wings and fly}
{Mid-dragon-bone armor}
{Total defense 277}
{Set bonus: Fire breath}
Will had already worn and used the small dragon-bone set before. But the stats between the small and middle dragon were vast. Will believed that almost no weapon could hurt him when wearing mid-dragon scale armor.
Will did not fully understand how the 'defense' function worked. But he guessed it depended on how much a weapon deals damage, enchantments, magical properties, and the skill and strength behind the one using a weapon.
For example: if you have a hero and a regular person use the same sword to slash on the mid dragon scale armor, it's pretty clear who would do more damage. However if the regular person instead used a powerful magical sword, the outcome will be vastly different.
"Woah… I think I'm in love." Will's eyes shone on the mid dragon scale armor and bones. Somehow the armor was more refined, shinier, better looking in every way possibly compared to the small dragon armor.
Will made a mental note to take this armor with him whenever he explored outside. Now he is confident to take on a dragon on the third layer.
"AH! Adaline, you scared the crap out of me."
Adaline came up behind Will to check up on him. She wasn't even trying to be quiet, but Will was so focused on the armor he didn't hear her until she nudged him on the back.
"Hmm… I wish I could make armor for you." Will's greatest regret was not being able to make armor for Adaline.
The only animal armor he could craft was for horses, and wolves too for some reason. Will thinks that this system either has something against animals, or it just wants to make his life an even bigger living hell by making him have to make armor for Adaline by hand.
After spending all this time with his system, the latter seemed more likely. How this system has screwed him around for so long.
"Nah, this system is racist against animals… no, wait, that doesn't sound right. Is there even a word for it?" Will went the rest of the day thinking of a word that defines people that hate animals. And he is sure that 'racism' isn't the word.
Meanwhile…
Josh Jones, along with his 2 followers/harem members, arrived at a deserted place. There was only stone everywhere, and no sign of greenery anywhere. It looked rather plain but they were nowhere near the deserted lands.
"Here we are." Felicia said while holding on to a map.
"I don't see anything." Josh said, looking everywhere in a confused and annoyed manner.
Few days ago, they somehow came across this man who was the son of the man who owned the 'black market' . Josh thought it was his MC plot armor that caused them to meet, as it happens to many MC's in many mangas, anime, or lightnovels.
Even some idiots get lucky from time-to-time.
The man after confirming that Josh is a hero, gave Josh a map, a note, a special golden badge with some strange markings carved on it, and left. It was a great opportunity to make connections to a hero like Josh.
"According to the notes that man gave us, the first thing we need to do is… raise our hands?" Felicia didn't understand why.
"Raise our… oh, like a spirit bomb." Josh immediately raised his hands upwards.
Felicia and Naveah shrugged and also raised their arms.
Minutes later, nothing happened.
"Are you sure we didn't just get trolled by some troll? No, I am the MC, no way that MC's face trolls in their travels… do they?" Josh hated trolls the most, they are the most annoying kind of people.
"Um… if raising your hands does not work, simply yell. This note is terrible at explaining stuff."
"Give me that!" Naveah yanked the note out of Felicia's hands. It was obvious that she didn't read the entire thing before, and therefore are just wasting their time.
"Well, if those are the instructions. HEY!!!" Josh's yell echoed throughout the area.
No sooner than a second later, a door appeared from the ground beneath them. It looked more like a garage door in size, was made entirely out of wood and was kept in pristine condition. It didn't have a handle or glass, it looked a lot like a wall.
"Woah." Josh backed up a bit along with his harem.
"A magical item that can turn things invisible and visible at will." Naveah pointed out.
The door opened by itself with the help of machines, like how castles raise their gates using levers and chains. A cloaked man came out of the door. He placed his left arm over his chest and slightly bowed to the people in front of him.
"Sorry about that, dear customers. I failed to notice you." Under his cloak his eyes were red, heavy and there were dark rings under his eyes. It's clear that this man was sleeping not too long ago.
"It's all good." Josh said like he didn't mind, but he did. As long as he gets an elf slave he doesn't care.
"May I see your invitation?"
"Invitation? Oh, this." Josh took out a gold badge with some strange marking on it. Those same markings on the badge could be seen on the cloaked man's chest.
Even if one had the money, without a proper invitation they were not allowed in. It's why the black market is exclusive, you have to know someone from the black market and be invited, and you might be allowed to enter. Unless you were a hero, very rich, or of someone of great importance, you almost have no chance of ever seeing the black market.
"Ah! V.I.P. please, this way. And also be sure to wear your invitation at all times. It's an important rule to follow here." The man led them to the inside of the door. The door led to stairs into darkness. They couldn't see anything further than the light of the sun could let them.
Beside the door was a small room, with some food, a chair, desk, a pillow, a blanket, and some weapons. This was the spot where lookouts are placed to let in guests or keep out intruders.
The cloaked man let the trio down. He carried with him an oil lamp to illuminate the way.
Along the way, they saw several armed men with similar markings and clothes as the one in front of them. All of them carried weapons in order to protect the black market from any intruders.
"Will you not be wearing a mask?" Asked the cloaked man in a slow manner.
"Why?" Asked Josh. He placed the gold badge over his neck. It also worked as a necklace.
"It's not mandatory, but most of our guests wear masks in order to hide their identities."
"Sounds like something we should do. Do we have any masks or something? I left mine at home." Josh was referring to the masks he wore during COVID.
Felicia and Naveah shook both their heads.
"Heh, don't worry. Some guests tend to forget at times, so we happen to sell some fine looking masks. Oh, right, before I forget, you must pay the fee in order to enter." The man forgot about the fee so he raised his hand towards Josh.
"Aren't… V.I.P. 's like myself exempt from paying any sort of fees?" Josh did not like spending money after working so hard to get it. How he wished that before he didn't spend it all so quickly.
"No, you already paid your fee. I'm talking about the ones behind you/" The man pointed at the gold badge that was hanging over Josh's neck.
When people pay a fee, they are given a copper badge but never gold ones. It's proof that one has paid for their fee.
"They're my members of my group. Aren't they exempt from paying any fees?" Asked Josh.
"Sorry, no exceptions. It's a rule here. Even the king, and the Great Sage would have to pay if they brought their wives or other close family members. Not even my own mother is allowed here. She even disowned me as if it was my fault."
"Oh… how much is the fee?"
"It's 100 gold coins 'per' person I'm afraid."
Josh's heart sank. The more money he spends, the less chances he'll have to buy an elf slave. He just can't wait until the black market opens again.
"It's okay, hero. We'll wait outside." Naveah said. She gently pulled Felicia by her arm and brought her outside where they would be waiting for josh.
"Thanks." Josh smiled brightly. They just saved him from spending 200 gold coins.
"So, you're a hero." The man yawned, this news didn't faze him as much as other people would.
"You don't look ecstatic to see a hero."
"It's nothing new. The black market has always been a hotspot for heroes." The man continued leading Josh down the seemingly endless path of stairs.
"It is?" Josh found it hard to believe. Other heroes were here before him? Somehow he believed that he was the first one to find the black market. It never occurred to him that other heroes could also find the black market.
"Oh yeah. So far there have been over 200 heroes who have participated in our black markets. All of whose names are engraved on a wall made of pure gold."
"Wow." Josh was more focused on the 'wall of gold' Just how much gold does one need to make a wall made entirely of gold?
There have been over 300 heroes who have been summoned. The clear majority of them had indeed been members of the black market. The rest found it morally disgusting to be a part of something illegal, which went against their moral beliefs.
Or some just weren't invited for several reasons. Like being the only kid who was left out of school projects in your classroom.
"I know, right? Looks like your name will be added to the wall today, probably. Behold."
They reached the bottom. There was an iron door in front. The man knocked on the door several times.
A small window opened on the door. A tall, dark masked individual's eyes peeked through the window, staring at both of them with his green-bluish eyes, which were part of his mask.
"Password?"
The man leaned a bit closer to the door and whispered, "Password."
"..." Josh heard the password with his acute hearing. He expected something but not that.
The iron door opened revealing an extravagant large room.
"Wait, the password is just 'password' ?" Josh asked.
"Yeah. No one would expect it. Masks are in the gift shop if you want one. Ask the employees around for help." The man left Josh and ran up the stairs. He didn't tell Josh that they change the password once every 2-3 days for safety measures.
"Wait, gift shop?"
Josh entered the extravagant room which did not look anything like he expected. From fancy bars, tasty food, beautiful women in skimpy clothes, as well as wearing unique masks were serving drinks, snacks, and food to everyone.
There was even a pool on one side which was the fanciest looking pool Josh had ever seen. Even a 'gift shop' was there selling black market merch from t-shirts with the words "Black Market' engraved, as well as shoes, pants, hats, and some 'questionable' toys for those who buy slaves.
All of which had the words "Black Market" engraved. Like a famous company name branding all their merch.
Josh expected a dark, gloomy place to be the black market, like how many novels and mangas led him to believe. Instead of 'gift shops' they'd had monster parts on sale, or had illegal brawl fights. However this was unlike anything he expected.
Josh closed his eyes at the sudden realization.
"Right, it's now an exclusive club. Should have known."
Josh didn't buy a mask but rather explored the entire floor. There was a lot of security. And there are a whole lot of rooms and floors beyond what he expected. It was looking more like a casino by the second.
He noticed that a lot of people were looking at him. Not only was Josh one of the few that didn't wear a mask, but he also had a golden badge while everyone else had copper badges.
A sexy female employee who was carrying a tray of drinks walked by him but he stopped her.
"Excuse me!"
"Yes? How can I be of service?" The employee said in a respectful tone.
"Why is the black market like this?"
"Is… there something you find discomforting."
"Yes… Well, no. I just expected the place to be, you know, more darker, serious."
"Um, it was like that over 150 years ago, I think. But a lot has changed since then, to bring in more customers and give them more reasons to come here."
The black market did not start out this way. Many changes obviously were added to suit the people more, to let them have fun, to give them more reasons to spend their money, like a casino.
Before, customers only had one reason to come here, buying illegal slaves. Now they had everything from stores, to delicious food, excellent service, a variety of fun rooms like a pool, gambling rooms.
The owner who made these changes was ashamed that not all the heroes found the black market as a 'good place' to go to, so he made these changes mostly for the heroes. However as it turns out business has never been better.
"I thought that the black market is only open once every 3 months. Wouldn't it be better to have it opened all the time?" Josh asked.
Josh was afraid that he didn't have enough money to buy a slave. He hopes that the black market has changed its opening and closing schedule and has it opened 24/7. That way, he can come back and buy a slave any time he wants, instead of waiting every 3 months.
"No, you are poorly mistaken. Only the 'auctions' are held once every three months. The black market is open 24/7. It's been that way for over 2 decades now."
'Dammit' Josh cursed to himself. He was the MC, why isn't everything going his way?
"Can you tell me when the black market auctions will be held?" Josh asked in a depressed tone. This was not like he wanted.
"In 2 hours. Anything else I can help you with? A drink perhaps?"
"How much is it?"
"Complimentary. Customers get all the food and drinks they want, until their membership expires."
"I'll have some." Josh drank a cold drink that was oddly refreshing.
'Wine.' Josh missed the taste of wine. After working so hard this past week, he didn't have the chance to have a proper drink.
Back then he used to drink even when he underage when his 'friends' offered him. Of course his loving parents found out and attempted to help him dissuade him from drinking. He never took the help. But being busy for so long he had almost forgotten the taste of wine. It wasn't beer but it was something.
He took one, then another, then another.
"I… think you've had enough." The employee said with a nervous smile. She could try to yank the drinks from him, but that could cost her her job, especially when the one in front of her had a gold badge, obviously someone very important that she can't afford to offend.
And in such a desperate time for money, she needed this job more than ever.
"Vhat… nakes yuu, sai dat?" Josh asked in a drunken manner.
"Well, you're clearly drunk, and you just finished 7 of the 8 drinks I had on my tray."
"Nahhhhh."
Josh, after having one more drink, dropped down on the floor face first.
"Um…" The woman left Josh alone, and brought back some men with her. Those men carried Josh to an unoccupied fancy room, and gently placed him on the bed.
Lying in his bed drunk, unconscious, Josh slept through the day and completely missed the auctions, which is the only reason he came here.
Felicia and Naveah were patiently waiting for Josh just right outside the wall. Even when they were hungry, cold, and tired, they waited for him for hours and hours. What they thought was gonna be a 3 hour wait turned into an 8 hour wait.
Will woke up the next day, his eyes wide open upon realization.
"I've got it! The word is animal-ism… Gah! No that's not it. That sounded WAY better in my head. I don't think there even is a word for it. Yeah, whatever, this system is clearly animal-ism against other animals."
There was no response obviously. Will went on about his day.
(The correct word is "Speciesism")