"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Nico.
After the talk with Master Todd, he had directed the teens to a market district in the Capital. The market district was an area in the capital where items were sold.
Items like meditation techniques, battle techniques, weapons, rare cultivation pills were available in the market at different prices based on their quality.
It was a rowdy district filled with multiple shops, which employed different tactics to draw in customers.
"Yes, I have been here before with Uncle Todd," replied Gavin as he led the group.
Being a noble, this was not his first time in the Capital. One could say he had spent a quarter of his life in the Capital.
He had been taken by his uncle to the market district before. As a young boy, he would occasionally come to the district due to its liveliness. He was always attracted by the feeling of being unknown. Nobody would care about a young boy, sandwiched among the crowd.
In the district, you could be anything; a thief, a middleman, a seller.
Gavin walked the market streets confidently, feeling nostalgic, as he remembered his young self happily running down the street.
"About that, are you sure we can afford anything here?" shouted Lola, amidst the loud crowd.
She had seen some items in different market shops. They shined luxuriously, indicating their value. Looking at them, she couldn't help being intimidated by the high prices.
Gavin just smiled humbly, "Don't worry, the Elliot family is funding all or purchases in this district. We are all entitled to one purchase, and it must be something affordable."
Gavin's words earned the cheers of the teens. Previously, they had thought they were just here for sightseeing. They understood that they couldn't afford most items in the district. However, Gavin's words shed light on their sad circumstance.
"That is very noble of you, young master," praised Andrew.
"Nay, it's nothing much. After all, you are representing our city." Gavin's features became more pronounced as he said, "Also, don't call me young master, call me Gavin. We will be comrades henceforth."
Hearing that, countless eyes beamed at him. They looked at Gavin with moist eyes, showing an adorning gaze. To them, he was their idol.
Analyzing all he heard, Jake thought of something and asked, "Gavin, are we to assume we can buy any item we want, as long as it is just one?"
"That is our intention. However, it has to be an Earth-ranked technique or below it."
Jake thought, 'Earth-ranked technique, huh…..'
In this world, almost everything was ranked. So it came to no surprise that items were also ranked.
Aztec Kingdo-No, the cultivation world, ranked techniques into four main ranks. The first one called [Human rank], is accessible to mortals, being who do not cultivate. It is useless to cultivators, as even the weakest cultivators wouldn't be affected by items belonging to that rank. Jake reckoned that the metal Master Luca used to demonstrate his strength belonged to the [Human-rank].
The second rank, [Earth-rank], was the first rank of items that belonged to cultivators. Whether it be a technique or a weapon, they could affect cultivators in the first three realms of cultivation. That was the only rank of weapons available to the Aztec Kingdoms, and most likely, the other kingdoms.
The [Earth-rank] was further divided into three sub-stages; low, mid, and high. High, being the highest sub stage, was only available to the top of the pyramid, the royal and duke families.
The third rank is the [Sky-rank]. It is said to be able to affect cultivators on a large scale. [Sky-rank] techniques would be able to part seas, destroy mountains, paint skies. Their weapons would be so sharp that their looks would be able to pierce through one's skin. The [Sky-rank] was a certified rank that was not available to the Southern continent due to their low cultivators.
The fourth rank is known as the [Heaven-rank]. There's not much information about it. However, only cultivators with godly powers could wield items of that rank. Jake reckoned that every birth of an [Heaven-rank] item would cause bloodshed far beyond what a continent or planet could contain.
"Hmmm…..." derailed Jake's thoughts, as he nodded at Gavin.
Gavin realized that Jake's mind was elsewhere, "What is it?"
"Nothing, I'm just wondering what rank your family technique is," said Jake without thinking.
When he saw the technique in action, he memorized the destructive effects. Inwardly, he had wondered what rank it was. While logically, it should be a [mid-Earth-rank] technique, as the Elliot family was a Viscount-ranked family, and they couldn't have a [high Earth-rank], the technique didn't feel like a mid-rank, rather it felt higher.
One must know that an [High Earth-rank] technique was highly expensive. The lowest price would be at least 1000 golds, an astonishingly huge amount of money. So, Jake was confused at the true rank of the technique.
Upon hearing the question, Gavin smiled, pride flowed through his veins as he said, " High Earth-rank. It is one of the highest-ranked techniques in the Kingdom."
"Amazing! I can't wait to see it in action," beamed Andrew, joined by the other teens.
After the last burst of pride left him, Gavin grinned, "Okay, that's it. We should look for an item. I would advise you to pick a technique, as that is what you need right now. "
He instructed, "Remember, do not pick the most stylish, rather the one that is most suited for you."
He departed from the teens. He already had a technique, his family technique. He didn't need another one. His priorities right now were to train in the technique until he was able to achieve the same result as his uncle.
With the departure of Gavin, the twenty teenagers quickly got busy. They roamed shops like roaches, looking for the right technique for themselves.
As teenagers, they blinked with curiosity and tried to restrain themselves when they saw something they wanted.
.......
Jaya walked the streets looking for a technique. She entered shops as quickly as she left them. None of the items in the shops were good for her, Nico, or Lola.
"Where do you think we should go now?" asked Lola.
Having chosen bow and arrow as her main weapon, she wanted a technique that augmented her skills. However her weapon choice was rare, so it was hard for her to find a technique that worked on it.
"I don't know. Wait! Let's check that shop. It is getting a lot of customers," commented Nico, as he noticed a huge trail of customers entering a particular shop.
At the same time, Jake was about to check a shop, when he received a massive headache.
Kneeling on the ground, Jake held his head as he tried to endure the pain. The pain was like a hammer being hit on his head multiple times. Each strike added to the level of pain Jake was feeling.
It opened up some mental injuries in Jake's head as he remembered the feeling of being torn apart, and assembling back together.
"Ahhh!" screamed Jake, quietly as he tried no to draw attention.
He rolled on the ground, dirtying his attire as he tried to mitigate the headache.
Suddenly, the headache stopped, accompanied by a soothing voice that ringed at the back of Jake's head, "Come. Come. Come. Jake, come."
Jake's eyes froze as he stared widely, making a 360 turn, looking for the source of the voice, "Who are you?"
"Don't you want to know? Then, come, follow my voice. Come, Jake"
Finding his calm, Jake sneered, "As if. Why don't you come to me, instead?"
"Hehehe, I wasn't asking you. COME!" the mysterious voice turned eerie.
Jake felt a massive force hit him. It constricted his limbs, as he puppeteered Jake to an unknown location.
Jake struggled to get free, but it was like his body was hung up in strings, which were then used to move him. His body began to move without his control.
Struggling to move his muscles, Jake coldly asked, "What do you want from me?"
"Hehehe, where is your previous arrogance?" mocked the mysterious voice.
Jake ignored the mysterious voice, his body moved further away from the crowd into a quiet street in the district. Upon seeing this, Jake realized the situation was not looking good.
'This place is the ideal place to commit murders,' thought Jake as he desperately sought an escape, but there was no escaping when his body was not even in his control.
"Closer, Closer. Hehehee,...." the eerie voice became louder, indicating that it was nearby.
Jake asked a second time, "What do you want from me?"
"Finally talking, aren't you?" the mysterious voice made a sniffing noise, *sniff*, "I can smell it. Your scent is different from the rest."
Jake knitted his brows at the mysterious voice's words, "What scent?"
He thought, 'The voice said scent. That must mean it possesses a superhuman smell. It was able to differentiate me from the masses. However, what smell is he talking about? Could it be the smell of perfection?'
Jake smiled as he thought someone finally saw the perfection in him, 'As I expected.'
"Oh you don't know, It doesn't matter….."
Jake found himself at the doorstep of a black shop. Black gasses, escaped from the shop, as screams could be heard within it. Everything about the shop screamed danger.
Realizing he was in hot soup, Jake sighed, "Fuck me!"