****
Amon walked out of the shop with a smile on his face.
His plan had successfully worked.
Now all he needed to do was get the materials for his weapon.
And fortunately, he knew exactly where to get them.
Having his purpose achieved, he started to head towards his next stop.
He started to walk further into the black market, and gradually the ratio of stalls decreased while the ratio of buildings increased accordingly.
After about 15 minutes of walking, he finally arrived at his next stop.
Unlike the blacksmith building, this one was quite well maintained from outside.
Though it still lacked luster and shine when compared to the other buildings around it.
It was a brokerage firm.
Actually, this whole street was full of brokerage firms.
The one that Amon looked at right now was pretty average if compared to every other firm in the street.
This was because they had just started out.
In the future, this place would quickly top every other firm in the street, going on to become the best.
It was also the point where Michael found out about it and became one of their customers.
Because of them becoming too big, he was charged a hefty price.
However, starting out right now as one of their first customers gave Amon a great advantage.
Cryptic Glories, that was their name.
Whatever this name meant or why they chose it, he didn't know.
Nodding at the signboard, he headed inside.
Just like last time, the furniture inside was surprisingly clean and organised.
However, there was no reception table or anything in the whole building, which was something one would expect when coming to a business building.
Not only that but the whole floor was devoid of life, just different kinds of furniture set up, like the floor was a hotel or bar.
But, Amon knew it was supposed to be like this.
Without a word, he walked to an empty chair in front of a round table and sat down.
Silently, he kept gazing outside of the building from the window with his hands on the cane.
After several minutes passed, he finally heard the sound of footsteps from the stairs behind him.
A hooded figure came to sit next to him.
"This is the [Cryptic Glories], what services do you require of us dear sir?"
Amon answered instantly.
"I'll take your premium package."
The man behind the hood looked taken aback for a few moments.
The black-haired boy behind the mask smiled.
He knew everything about Cryptic Glories.
Although they posed as a brokerage firm from the outside, they were much more from the inside.
Initially high-ranking information department officers in the Imperial Military, they retired after the war due to trauma.
After years of recovering, they decided to band together again and open their services in the Black Market.
Because of their high standing in the military, their connections and abilities were the best of the best, also explaining their sudden rise on this street.
Being their first customer here, Amon decided to purchase their highest-valued package.
It was also the package that would get him access to their other services, something that wasn't available in the normal package.
This would get him a special position among their customers in the future, also allowing him to form a good bond with them.
Recovering from his initial shock, the hooded figure spoke once more.
"W-which premium package would you like sir? There's 50k, 100k-"
"The highest you people have." Amon indifferently answered, making the man's eyes widen but he quickly recovered.
"T-that'll be 200k s-sir."
He nodded.
"I'll take it."
Reluctantly nodding, the man retrieved a black device, one that was different from the one he had seen in HOU.
This was because this device was designed to hide your personal information and make your transaction anonymous, a thing that was crucial in the Black Market.
Taking the device from the man's hands, Amon attached his watch to the device behind his cloak.
DING!
As soon as the sound of transaction success echoed in the space, he handed back the device to the figure, who quickly stood up.
"We highly appreciate your willingness to trust this firm and hope that we will be able to meet your demands. You can access our services and communicate with us on your watchband." The figure thanked him before pointing out.
Then he bowed.
"Now I shall leave, we hope to get your first request soon. Thank you once again. sir."
Then the figure turned and left the area, proceeding up the stairs.
Once left alone, Amon quickly headed out of the shop, ready to make his first request.
****
Proceeding up the stairs, the figures arrived in a room which was full of people just like him.
As he entered, all of them looked at him with glimmering eyes, expecting that he had returned with good news.
"I-I have some shocking news…" The figure said.
Another figure sitting nearby quickly asked, her voice feminine.
"What happened!? Tell us quickly."
The first figure gulped and nodded before looking at all their faces.
"That person….he just decided to purchase our highest premium package."
At his words, pure silence descended in the room for a few moments.
But then, all of them simultaneously blurted out with shock.
"WHAT!!??"
The first figure nodded and one of the figures sitting near to him quickly latched on to the device he was holding, starting to examine it.
After a few seconds, they shuddered with shock.
Looking up at them, he spoke, his voice deep and raspy.
"It's real guys, the man bought our highest package. I can't believe someone would trust us like this…"
Enveloped in shock for some seconds, a figure sitting in the middle of all of them quickly composed himself and ordered them.
"Quick, place the man as the highest priority in our orders, we need to be available for him whenever he wants. Also grant him the highest services and discoun possible. He's our first customer, and he trusted us with such a large amount. We can't fail this."
After listening to the words of the man, who was supposedly also their leader, all of them quickly got to work, fully ready to fulfill the first request of this mysterious man.
And fortunately, the first request didn't take long to arrive.
*****
<Anonymous User: Hello, I require your services.>
Amon messaged them through the band and the answer came instantly.
<Cryptic1: Welcome Sir, what kind of services do you require?>
Smiling at their fast response, Amon wrote back.
<Anonymous User: I require a broker, the best one you can give,>
<Cryptic1: Understood, the broker shall be here with you shortly,>
In just a couple of seconds, a new user popped into the chat.
<Crpytic2: Understood, before we continue I would like to make clear that the broker fee will be separate. Is that alright?>
<Anonymous User: Sure.>
<Cryptic2: Thank you, our commission will be 5% of all profits and 10% of the investment.>
<Anonymous User: I understand.>
This time the answer was delayed.
The person behind the screen was probably surprised how he had agreed so quickly to their conditions.
And honestly, though they were ridiculously high, Amon had no problem with it because of how good their abilities were.
<Crpytic2: Where would you like to invest in?>
He smiled behind the mask.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
<Anonymous User: I'll bet 200k on rise of stocks of House of Olympus to first place and the downfall of Locke Market in the field of Mana cores.>
The person behind Cryptic2 suddenly went silent.
The silence in the chat was longer than when he had agreed to their terms.
And their reaction right now was understandable.
Mana cores.
They were basically tennis ball sized objects sometimes found in the heart position of mana beasts.
These small objects were composed of condensed mana and energy.
All the world's advanced technology in this medieval era was powered by mana cores and their harmless energy.
And in the field of mana cores, Locke Market was the top stockholder.
There was no business right now that even held a candle to them in terms of mana cores.
And in terms of mana cores, House of Olympus was in third place, its stocks being leagues behind Locke Market.
Yet, Amon was just betting 200k on the nonexistent probability that House of Olympus would top Locke Market in the field of mana cores.
It was stupid and idiotic.
However, it was not like they could question his decision of doing this.
Their client might just be a top class villain with connections to the highest ranked people in the world.
But, they couldn't care less about the clients identity.
For them, their duty was only to fulfill their demands and don't question who they were.
And finally after minutes of wait, the answer came.
<Cryptic2: Understood, you can pay the amount using a terminal on the backside of the building. We hope to see you again sir.>
And the chat closed.
Nodding outside of the building, Amon quickly maneuvered to its backside, finding a black terminal there which was similar to the device he had used inside.
In the black market, where villains roamed like normal citizens of the society, the method of physical payment never existed.
Or it would be more accurate to say that it could be done but it was never preferred.
In this world where using the help of mana, a man's identity could be exposed with even the tiniest of mistake.
This was why the method of payment was always digital payment, a method where one transferred amount to another party using mana core as a medium.
Arriving before the terminal, Amon attached his watchband to the terminal and quickly heard a transaction sound ring.
DING!
He quickly checked the Exlor Balance he had left for himself.
[Exlor Balance: 350,000]
Done with his second task, he now moved to the final task of the day.
If he was correct, it was soon going to be sunset in the outside world.
He didn't want to worry Katherine so he would cease his activities here for today after his final task.
Tapping his cane on the ground, Amon quickly traversed through the streets.
After minutes of walking, he finally arrived in front of a large luxurious building.
Its size was so large, that it easily dwarfed each and every building and stall in the black market.
The structure of the building was also very well maintained and sturdy.
He looked up at the large glowing signboard, fully cleaned and without a sign of rust.
Dungeon Dreams.
The main reason that people came to the black market even was for this building.
In a world where the Imperiac and the Dukedoms ruled and monopolized everything, dungeons was one of those things.
Dungeons were rifts or portals that connected to dimensions that were unknown to mankind.
The cause of their appearance was still not clear, even with Athena's help in trying to understand the spatial mechanics of them.
Once inside, there was no way to leave the dungeon until it was fully cleared.
A dungeon was divided into 5 places, and at each place the challenger would encounter a phase of ghoul beast that they had to defeat and move on to the next area.
With each phase, the number and ranks of ghoul beasts would gradually increase.
At the 5th phase, the challenger would face a boss that upon defeating would finally end the dungeon and grant various rewards.
All in all, dungeons were a great boost to humanities strength, also allowing them to learn better on how to fight ghoul beasts.
The problem here was that most of the dungeons were already claimed by noble families or Dukedoms, making an unknown party unable to enter dungeons.
The Clovist Association, an association that worked under the Imperiac was responsible for maintaining clovists all across the continent.
They were also responsible in maintaining dungeons accessible for the general public.
However, even then, some ratio of the public was unhappy with the restrictions that CA placed on dungeons and how a certain share of profit would be allocated to them.
This was especially true for villains, who wouldn't even be allowed into dungeons at all because of their record.
But this was where Dungeon Dreams came into play.
It was an autonomous organization operating within the black market and it allowed access to dungeons for anyone who wished to enter.
Your role in the society didnt play any part in booking a dungeon here.
It even allowed people to enter a dungeon solo as long as they payed a certain fee and matched the strength level to enter.
All in all, Dungeon Dreams was a place that the black market could never let go of because of how much they earned from it.
Nodding at the board, Amon finally headed inside, ready to attempt the dungeon he had in mind.
_______________________
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