The horse moved, with Hastora on its back. He rode it towards the hidden places within the capital.
Hastora scoured every narrow alley, seeking information about the black market and illegal establishments.
He examined each alley he entered in detail, looking for clues like illegal goods.
With the presence of illegal goods from the black market and other secret places, he could easily find information about them.
How?
Hastora could bring those goods to the adventurer's guild or people in the alleys and ask them about them.
Usually, the adventurer's guild and people in the alleys knew about the brands of illegal goods sold by the black market and other secret places.
While exploring the alley, Hastora saw an item lying next to a wooden box.
Whether it was a coincidence or planned, Hastora stopped, dismounted his horse, and walked towards the item.
Hastora furrowed his brow.
"What is this?"
It was a potion. Hastora picked it up. The potion was an experimental potion, a concoction with unstable effects—giving someone immense strength after drinking it with a side effect of madness.
"Someone must have dropped this," Hastora said softly.
Items like this couldn't be sold openly in shops. They were illegal, and they would be caught if they were found selling illegal goods like this.
There was only one place. A place where people sold illegal goods freely without being noticed by the Imperial Watch. That place was...
The Black Market.
Hastora stored the potion in his shadow—then rode his horse towards the adventurer's guild.
Upon arriving there, he tied up his horse—then stepped inside. The adventurer's guild was enormous, its lamps made of crystal, its walls made of Alabaster, a white stone as smooth as marble but softer.
Hastora approached one of the workers in the adventurer's guild.
"Excuse me... May I see the guild master?" Hastora asked.
Hearing the voice, the worker turned. The worker was a brown-haired girl, she looked like she was tidying up the glasses.
The girl raised her eyebrows, her face flushed—captivated by Hastora's handsomeness.
"Excuse me... Who are you?" she asked, a little embarrassed.
"There's something I want to discuss with the guild master. So, please take me to the guild master's place for a moment," he replied, his voice calm.
The girl didn't respond, she was lost in her thoughts with a flushed face. But she came back to her senses, her face turned serious.
"Sorry sir, I know you're handsome. But, I can't allow you to see the guild master," the girl replied firmly.
Hastora sighed, "It seems there's no other choice."
Hastora approached the girl, his hand slammed against the wall beside her head—don!—a loud sound echoed.
He leaned down slightly, cornering her against the wall, their faces only inches apart.
His blood-red gaze pierced, burning the air between them.
The girl gasped, her heart pounding wildly. She could feel the heat from Hastora's body, hear his steady, deep heartbeat.
"Please take me to the guild master's place," Hastora murmured softly, his fingers tapping lightly against the wall, creating an impatient rhythm.
The girl bit her lip, trying to avoid that burning gaze, but the kabedon trapped her completely—there was nowhere to run.
"B—But..." the girl stammered nervously.
"Hurry," Hastora replied, his voice flat and cold.
The girl had no other choice, she could faint at any moment from embarrassment.
"O—Okay... B—But, please let me go," she replied, her heart pounding.
Hastora released the girl, then followed her from behind, walking towards the guild master's room. Upon arriving there, the girl told Hastora to wait a moment.
Not long after, the girl came out again and allowed Hastora to enter the guild master's room.
Hastora entered. Inside, a green-haired man was sitting at his desk, sipping a cup of tea.
Hastora approached him, then sat in a chair in front of the desk. The guild master smiled thinly...
"What brings you here?" he asked.
"I want to ask something," Hastora replied.
Hastora took out the experimental potion he had stored in his shadow, then placed it on the guild master's desk.
The guild master raised his eyebrows.
"What is this?"
"Are you blind? Of course, it's a potion."
Hastora added, "Do you know the origin of this item?"
"Of course, this is an item from the black market," the guild master replied.
Hastora snapped his fingers, "Exactly. So, which black market did this item come from?" he asked.
The guild master examined the potion, he saw a logo of a black cat silhouette with its tail curled into a key symbol.
"Black Cat's Pledge... It came from there," he replied.
"Where is it?"
"Sunken Warrens... a sunken underground city, now a den of black transactions."
The guild master added, "The way to Sunken Warrens is in Whispered Odds. A secret gambling arena, access is only through a password. It's a few meters from here, you can go straight ahead."
"What's the password?" Hastora asked.
"Please serve the odds tonight, stirred, not shaken."
Hastora closed his eyes, then rose from his chair. He took the potion on the desk and stepped out of the room.
"Hastora Vallois... That's my name, I owe you one," Hastora said before closing the door.
"I'll collect it sometime," the guild master replied.
Hastora stepped out of the building, then rode his horse towards Whispered Odds, Hastora went straight from the guild.
After riding for 12 minutes, Hastora arrived at Whispered Odds. This time, he didn't tie up his horse, but put it in his shadow.
Hastora stepped inside Whispered Odds. The building was large, there were many gambling tables and dining tables there.
Several people were seen gambling with large stakes. Hastora, without hesitation, immediately approached them.
"50 gold coins," Hastora placed 50 gold coins, he bet with a very high price.
"!!!"
They were all shocked, it was a big bet. 50 gold coins? The highest bet they had ever made was only 20 gold coins. They were a little curious about how rich Hastora was.
One of them whispered to his friend.
"Let's just accept it, he looks like a newbie. He must be underestimating us."
"Hehehe... You're right, let's teach him a lesson."
"Ekhmm... I accept your challenge," the man said.
"Alright, what are we going to play?" Hastora asked.
"Fogged Mirror. Players bet on the value of their cards without looking at their own cards, the cards are dealt face down and cannot be seen.
The man added, "You can only look once in one round, by paying "mirror money", it's an additional bet."
Hearing that, Hastora took out another 50 gold coins from inside his dark robe created through his magic,
They broke out in a cold sweat seeing that, Hastora's style looked like an expert—but his appearance didn't.
Those who felt underestimated, without hesitation, immediately accepted the challenge.
They placed their bets in the middle of the table.
Thin wisps of cigarette smoke filled the air, swirling beneath the slowly swaying golden chandelier.
At the round table made of black wood, four people stared at each other, their faces partially obscured by shadows.
In the middle of the table, a pile of gold coins and glittering gems—tonight's bet.
The dealer, a man in a dark robe with worn white gloves, shuffled the cards at a speed that was difficult for the eyes to follow.
The cards were dealt.
One by one, the cards landed face down in front of each player.
No one moved.
A burly man on the right furrowed his brow. He touched his coin purse, thinking hard.
The smell of sweat, cheap perfume, and tension mingled together.
"Mirror money," the man muttered, throwing two gold coins into the middle of the table.
The dealer nodded, pushing a small, worn mirror towards him.
The man peeked at his card through the faint reflection of the mirror.
Just a glimpse.
His face didn't change... but his fingers tapped the table—a sign of anxiety.
Across from him, a blonde woman giggled.
Without paying mirror money, she doubled her bet, "All in," she said, her voice teasing.
Tension crept in.
All eyes turned to the other player — Hastora.
He didn't say a word.
He just had a flat and cold expression, making him hard to read... and without looking at his card, he also put in all his bets.
The dealer knocked on the table twice, then opened the cards.
...
Hands were open.
Burly man: low number combination.
Blonde woman: almost won...
But Hastora — a perfect combination. The highest value.
"Winner," the dealer whispered.
A small cheer erupted in the corner of the room.
Hastora just collected the coins and gems in slow motion, as if mocking everyone who had just lost.
The blonde woman sighed... and smiled wryly.
At Whispered Odds, trusting the reflection of the mirror is as foolish as trusting the kindness of strangers.
After collecting everything, Hastora left them all... They couldn't continue the game, they lost big.
Hastora didn't expect it to be this easy, everything went smoothly. He went to the order desk.
""Please serve the odds tonight, stirred, not shaken." he said.
The person in charge of receiving orders nodded. "Alright, follow me."
Hastora followed the person, they both went to a door leading to Sunken Warrens.
"Please come in," said the person in charge.
Hastora stepped inside. There, many people were buying and selling illegal goods, they were paid dearly.
50 gold coins for one item.
Hastora looked for a shop to sell his horse. Hastora found one shop, but the shop didn't buy a horse—they only bought illegal goods.
Hastora took out the experimental potion he picked up in the alley. Then he gave it to the man in front of him.
The man took the experimental potion. He seemed to be evaluating it.
"10 gold coins," he said.
"I accept," Hastora replied.
The man gave Hastora ten gold coins. Hastora immediately left the place and immediately looked for another shop to sell his horse.
"I didn't think it would be this expensive," Hastora muttered.
20,000 years ago, experimental potions were sold for 1 gold coin. He was a little surprised when the experimental potion was bought for 10 gold coins.
Hastora sighed, "the world has changed a little."
Hastora visited all the shops there, but they all didn't buy horses—and only bought illegal goods.
Hastora seemed to have given up, but he didn't want to stop there. He needed money...
Hastora saw a very large building in front of him, without hesitation, he immediately entered the building.
Inside was very crowded, people used masks to hide their identities.
Hastora felt that he was different, but he didn't think too much about it—he entered the building deeper.
He saw a shop inside the building. The shop looked a little unique because it had a label that read "buying all valuable items."
Hastora ran to the shop.
Upon arriving there, an old man was seen carrying several boxes of illegal goods into his shop.
Hastora assumed that the old man was the owner of this shop and immediately approached him.
"Excuse me... Are you the owner of this shop?"
To be continued in the next chapter…