The night was late, and Ian stepped out of the Duke’s Mansion.
He wore a long black robe that left only his eyes visible.
His face was covered by a specially made mask, and his voice had been magically altered.
In this outfit, it was unlikely that even the servants who saw him every day in the Duke’s Mansion would be able to guess his true identity.
The Black Market was a place where many eyes watched, so he naturally had to be cautious.
Of course, not everyone was as careful as Ian; some people did not bother to specifically alter their voices.
However, Ian was far too famous in Far East City — though not for anything good.
To avoid being recognized, he had no choice but to modify his voice as well.
‘The alley ahead should lead to the Black Market.’
Ian relied on his memories of the game map to roughly calculate the location of the Black Market.
‘I wonder if this Black Market has the herbs I need for my alchemy.’
Ian muttered to himself as he walked.
Although the Black Market was the place with the most abundant resources in all of Far East City, one of the herbs needed for the potion to treat Lilith was extremely rare.
He feared that even the Black Market might not have it.
However, Ian knew of a certain spot in the Magic Beast Forest outside Far East City that grew those herbs.
The problem was that the location was outside the city, and leaving required clearance documents from the Duke’s Mansion.
After what had happened recently, it was naturally impossible for Ian to obtain those documents.
Moreover, Ian did not want to leave the city unless it was absolutely necessary.
Leaving the city was dangerous, after all.
With his current strength, he could probably only barely manage to protect himself.
But if he could not find it in the Black Market, leaving the city to search would be his only option left.
After walking for a while, Ian ducked into an alleyway.
There was a secret door inside, and behind that door lay the largest Black Market in Far East City.
Only those who frequented the Black Market year-round knew of this secret door.
If a commoner passed by, they would simply assume it was a dead end.
Who would have thought that the largest Black Market in the entire Far East City was hidden behind an alley?
Pushing open the secret door, a scene of flickering lights and shadows greeted his eyes.
The paths branched out in all directions, lined everywhere with shops selling various goods.
One could say this was the largest trading center in Far East City, not at all inferior to the Pharoah Chamber of Commerce in the Royal Capital.
Ian did not linger and began walking toward a particular shop.
In his memory, that was a herb shop with the most complete selection of herbs, even within this Black Market.
If it could not be found there, it was even less likely to be anywhere else.
However, just as he was about to leave, he spotted an unexpected person.
‘Veronica? What is she doing here?’
Ian observed a figure up ahead.
Although Veronica was wrapped in a black robe and wore a special mask from the Black Market, Ian recognized her at a glance.
Even without seeing her appearance, her silhouette and stature were a perfect match for Veronica.
Beyond that, the most important thing was that Ian saw something unique to Veronica — the ring on her hand.
That was no ordinary ring; it was a Magic Tool with the ability to detect treasures.
It was also one of Veronica’s Golden Fingers in the early stages of the story.
‘It seems Veronica must have sensed the aura of that weapon.’
Ian briefly recalled the game’s plot and calculated the timing.
He already had his answer.
If one were to ask what Veronica’s greatest Golden Finger in the entire book was, it was not her talent or that treasure-hunting ring, but the treasure she was looking for today — the Sword of Courage.
It was a weapon that carried divinity, what the world called a Divine Artifact.
It was Veronica’s greatest reliance for defeating the Demon God in the final chapter.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Ian. Ian had no intention of stealing Veronica’s sword.
After all, only Veronica could use that sword; it would be useless to him.
Furthermore, he was counting on Veronica to defeat the Demon God.
He would not do anything that worked against his own interests.
As Ian watched Veronica and fell into thought, she turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him, as if sensing his gaze.
Feeling Veronica’s eyes on him, Ian lowered his head and fled like someone with a guilty conscience.
He could not let Veronica discover his presence.
He felt that if complications arose, something bad would surely happen.
Watching Ian’s fleeing figure, Veronica frowned.
‘That figure looks a bit familiar. Is it someone I know?’
‘But among the people I know, no one should be coming to a place like the Black Market.’
Aetherinra was a Noble.
Although she knew of this place, she would never step foot here easily.
And Elise had been a commoner before coming to the Duke’s Mansion; she wouldn’t know the Black Market existed.
As Veronica searched her mind, a certain figure surfaced.
‘No, there is one person who both knows about the Black Market and could easily enter.’
Looking at the departing figure, the silhouette in Veronica’s mind gradually overlapped with him.
‘Ian?’
‘What is he doing here?’
Normally, Veronica might have followed Ian to see if he was up to some evil scheme again.
However, looking at the golden light flashing from the ring on her hand, Veronica set the thought aside for a moment.
The ring was flashing very brightly, which meant there was definitely a treasure in this Black Market that would be extremely useful to her.
Although this was not the first time Veronica had seen the ring flash, it was the first time it had been this bright.
Seeing a level of brightness she had never witnessed before, Veronica couldn’t be bothered to care about Ian.
She followed the guidance of the ring and began wandering through the Black Market.
***
Meanwhile, Ian had already arrived at the center of the Black Market’s trading district.
Although there were many shops, no one was shouting to attract customers.
After all, those who could enter the Black Market had their own target shops and would not visit others randomly.
Furthermore, some shops in the Black Market had specific clients.
If an ordinary person tried to buy from them, they would not sell.
‘That was close. Luckily, I reacted quickly, or she might have recognized me.’
Ian was out of breath, mentally giving himself a thumbs-up for his performance.
‘Veronica should be able to obtain that sword quite easily. I hope nothing unexpected happens.’
After offering a small prayer for Veronica in his heart, Ian walked straight to a shop hidden in a corner.
This shop was the place with the most complete herb inventory in Far East City within the game.
If it wasn’t here, he would likely have to find it at the Pharoah Chamber of Commerce in the Royal Capital.
The shop owner was a middle-aged man.
Although he looked amiable on the surface, Ian knew very well that no one who opened a shop in the Black Market was a kind person.
“What do you need?”
The shop owner asked as he saw Ian approach.
“Do you have the herbs on this list?”
Without wasting words, Ian handed over a piece of paper filled with the names of the required herbs.
The owner took the paper, scanned it quickly, and then spoke to Ian.
“I have most of these herbs, but I don’t have that last one, the Dragon Breath Grass.”
The answer was exactly as Ian expected.
Even the largest herb vendor in Far East City did not have the final herb he needed.
‘Does this mean I have no choice but to go outside the city?’
Although he did not have the clearance documents issued by the Duke’s Mansion, if he used a little magic, he should be able to sneak out of the city easily.
But this matter absolutely could not be known by a second person.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain.
If someone asked why he sneaked out of the city, could he say it was to treat a member of the Demon Race?
He probably wouldn’t even make it to the Adelan Magic Academy’s test; he would be sentenced by Deere immediately.
However, before looking for the Dragon Breath Grass, he still needed to prepare the other herbs.
With that thought, Ian said to the owner, “Prepare ten portions each of the other herbs for now.”
“Ten portions? You aren’t mistaken, are you?”
The shop owner was shocked by Ian’s request.
He couldn’t even sell this many precious herbs in a whole year.
It was rare for an ordinary person to buy even one portion, yet this guy wanted ten?
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Ian could not guarantee he would succeed on the first try, so he had to buy more materials.
As for the Dragon Breath Grass, there was more than just one stalk at the location in Ian’s memory.
“No problem, no problem. How will you be paying?”
The owner hurried to the back of the shop and brought out a Magic Bag containing everything Ian wanted.
“Is this bag of gold coins enough?”
Ian took out a bag of gold coins and placed it on the table.
“It’s enough, it’s plenty.”
This was the first time the shop owner had seen so many gold coins at once.
One gold coin was enough for a three-person family to live on for one month.
There were at least dozens of coins in this bag.
After finishing his purchase, Ian instinctively wanted to leave the Black Market.
However, before he could depart, he heard a familiar voice.
“I saw this sword first. Why should I give it to you?”
“Treasures go to the highest bidder. I offered a higher price than you, so naturally, this sword should be sold to me.”
“You…!”
The person arguing was indeed Veronica, who had come looking for the treasure.
However, just as she found it, someone else had tried to snatch it away.
Watching this scene, Ian frowned.
‘Who is this person in black? Why are they fighting Veronica for the sword? The plot in the game didn’t happen like this!’