Capricia CIty, Market Area
"Where is my money?"
"They are all here in the box. I gotta say, your 'Weed' powder works really well." Percy said with a grin. "Do you have more of that stuff? They were sold really fast, and they want more of them. I am looking to expand."
Zane smiled, don't worry about the supplies, " I got more of it here with me. How about the request I asked you about?"
"Yes. I found you a warehouse that you can use. However, your special request about a secluded place is a bit complicated. It was built underground, but it does have multiple secluded entrances and exits. They are a bit expensive but let me tell you that this is the best location if you are looking to disappear or do some..." Perry looked at him with a questioning look.
"Don't worry. I am not trying to disappear. Also, I won't do anything crazy. Who else knew about this location?"
"The best thing about this location is that only me and a sick old merchant know this location. His family built this location just in case something goes awry in Capricia. However, his family had already moved out. He knew my side job since I also sold some items to him. I got to befriend him through... well, drinks and women. So, I returned to him and asked him if he was looking to sell it. He said yes if we offered him a good price."
"Good. Money is not a problem. If I don't have enough, we can sell some more stuff. Also, an underground for me is preferable since I don't want any prying eyes."
Percy nodded.
"Zane, are you interested in checking out the Black Market?"
...
Deeper into the Market lies a concealed underground area that leads to the Black Marketer.
The Black Market was a place where one could find all kinds of stolen items, weapons, or illegal substances such as poison or hallucinogenics. It also provides other illicit services such as assassination, prostitution, and trafficking.
There is only one thing Zane was interested in in the Black Market: information.
'Ever since I came into this world, it was hard for me to really find out where the heck am I. At least I need to get a map. Furthermore, I need some more information about this world. Sadly, I have never seen anyone selling books at the regular market. Asking for it will just receive ridicule and contempt.'
Remembering Old Gramps' face and the others laughing, Zane couldn't help but curse silently.
He shook his head, 'When did someone have to use a Black Market to get books?'
...
Standing at one of the entrances of Black Market, he knocked five times. In response, he heard the door knocked back three times.
Zane then whispered, "The rising streams shall shatter the mountains that stood tall."
Suddenly the door opened wide. Zane entered the door and saw two guards guarding the place.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" Said the impatient guard.
Zane started to walk down the short tunnel. He increased his perception to his maximum, warry about any sudden attacks. He calmed down after he arrived at the end of the tunnel. He saw another bustling market.
Walking around the place, he found a store that sells all kinds of weapons. With his eyes, he found out that the weapons here were much better than the ones sold in the Market. However, it was mixed with all other weapons kinds of low-quality materials. If one was not versed with the knowledge of weapons, one could easily get ripped off by the seller.
After a while, he started looking at the other stores.
Suddenly he heard, "Come on, try your luck! It might be your lucky chance to get the Brute's Hawthorn."
"If you don't know what it is, it increases your strength by a large margin!"
Zane was curious and went directly to the store. He saw the man had boxes of red Hawthorn laid out on his stalls. Before he can ask the store owner, he heard a sound next to him saying, "Don't buy if I were you. They are all busted."
"Oh, really, how did you know?" Zane casually answered.
"It has already been three days, and none has gotten the Brute's Hawthorn. So, this guy is a fraud trying to make a quick buck," said the man with contempt.
Suddenly the store owner responded to him and started swatting him, "Get the shit out of here, you poor bloke. Stop pestering my customers. These are legit, and we got them from the traveling merchants from the west."
He then looks at the skinny Zane and is about to swat him too, "Oh, wait. I am here to test it out."
The store owner said to him, "Just want to tell you that these are destiny seeds. You can only eat two or three at most. After that, eating more can kill you. Also, don't bother asking for a refund if you fail."
In reality, even the store owner doesn't believe that there was any real Brute's Hawthorns in his boxes. They all look alike, and one can't distinguish them. Previously, he asked helped from an Awakened warrior, but the results were the same.
Zane looked at the thousands of Hawthorns laid out. With one look, he was delighted with what he saw. He found it under a pile of hawthorns.
Brute's Hawthorn
Effects: Increases Strength to 7 points. Note, this is a Destiny Fruit. One can only have two fruits of Brute's Hawthorn in a lifetime. Overconsumption can cause severe poisoning.
Zane's face looks like he was contemplating. However, internally, Zane was already jumping with joy.
'7 Points of strength? That is about two levels up! I don't even have to risk my life to kill monsters.'
'I NEED MORE!'
"Hey, buddy, are you okay there? When are you going to choose? They all look alike. Don't even bother trying to distinguish them. Don't also pray. That doesn't work here." said the store owner, thinking that Zane was praying to the gods for success.
"How much do they cost?"
The store owner was surprised by Zane's words, "They cost ten credit points each, but as I said, it is a destiny fruit; you can only eat it three times."
"Here are 100 points. I want 10 of them."
The store owner was happy when he saw Zane giving him 100 points. These were 100 points! He just earned it easily! In his mind, he laughed like a mad man, 'What a stupid ass rich guy!'
Zane then started picking one fruit at a time. Sometimes, he had to dig inside the box. When the owner saw this, he didn't mind at all. Zane already paid him quite a lot of money. Many tried the same way as him. Everyone was a bit different when it came to choosing.
On Zane's hand, he got seven pieces of Brute's Hawthorns. He double-checked the boxes, and he confirmed that there were no more. So he just randomly chose three more to complete his purchase.
Zane left the place with a grin on his face.