In every corner of the empire, hidden sides lurk behind the grandeur.
The slums are one such place.
And so is this entertainment district.
“Oh my, big brother, you look sexy today~”
“Don’t just stare, come in and see for yourself.”
“Oh wow, you’ve brought a lot of friends? I’ll give you plenty of service.”
This place, brimming with entertainment, is an entertainment district tucked away in the corner of Heroin.
At night, it becomes lively and bustling, a place where people come to indulge in entertainment for various reasons.
‘I’m not in a particularly good mood.’
The largest portion of the entertainment district, unsurprisingly, was the brothels.
People selling their bodies to make a living for a pittance.
Of course, most didn’t willingly choose this line of work.
It was usually because they were driven to the edge of a cliff.
Debts piled up to the point where they couldn’t be repaid through ordinary means.
Or having no other options and being forced to sell their bodies.
“Hehe, young lads over there. Come here, big sisters will take good care of you~!”
“Ah, unnie, hitting on kids that young?”
“Well, the younger ones are always better, you know.”
There were even some who flirted with me and Gray, but given the circumstances, we didn’t spare them a glance.
“Oh my, how cold.”
“I like boys like that. Cold outside, but in bed…”
Watching us, they continued making explicit jokes.
“Ah, but older brothers are better, after all~”
“Look at those muscles, oh my, oh my.”
When new customers appeared, they immediately changed their tone and flashed fox-like smiles.
‘… Impressive.’
The way they could spout such smooth talk without pause was genuinely remarkable.
.
.
.
.
“This way, please.”
Following Madame Bichen’s guidance, we ventured deep into the entertainment district.
After weaving through narrow alleys, we arrived at the entrance to the black market.
Knock, knock.
The place looked like an ordinary house, but when she knocked, a small slit opened at the top of the door.
Without hesitation, she recited the passphrase.
“We’ve come to see the banquet of stars embroidered across the night sky.”
Clack.
The slit closed, and shortly after, the door opened.
“Confirmed. Please, come in.”
Thanks to Madame Bichen’s guarantee, we gained entry into the black market without any trouble.
‘This is larger than I expected.’
The black market was unexpectedly vast.
To exaggerate slightly, it felt like it was half the size of Arcane.
Well, it made sense, considering they needed space for auctions and the display of various goods.
‘But how am I supposed to find anything here.?
The item I’m looking for and Delar Hyde, who plans to engage in slave trading.
Finding everything within this vast space in just a few hours felt daunting.
“Theonar, start by looking for that.”
“… Alright. Be careful; you never know what might happen.”
“Let’s meet at the central hall in two hours.”
With that, Madame Bichen and Gray went off to search for Delar Hyde.
I, meanwhile, headed toward the section displaying various goods to look for the item I originally came for.
‘In the original work, it was mentioned to be tucked away in a corner.’
I meticulously examined the transparent glass cases, searching for the item I needed.
‘Not this one… That one looks a bit different…’
The object I sought was a type of artifact that extracts magic power.
It simply draws out the user’s magic power, so no one paid it much attention.
But for someone like me, with magical imbalance, it was an incredibly important item.
While it’s widely known that extracted magic power dissipates, using a special method, it can be turned into orb form.
This means the magic can be stored, essentially becoming a reusable magic potion.
Moreover, since it extracts the essence of magic, once it’s drawn out, it doesn’t replenish.
So, by extracting the magic and using the gap to grow physically and expand the vessel,
I’d no longer be living on borrowed time.
Additionally, since magic has a unique pattern for each individual,
If someone else consumes the magic orbs, it causes side effects.
‘That’s why it’s useless to anyone else.’
Because of my magical imbalance, I’d always been cautious about even using a little magic.
But with this, I wouldn’t need to worry anymore.
‘I wouldn’t have to be constrained by time either.’
* * *
After 30 minutes of searching intently,
I finally found what I was looking for.
‘I can’t believe such a rare artifact only costs 20,000 rupees.’
It was cheap enough to be considered the most affordable item in the black market.
As soon as I spotted it, I called over an employee standing nearby with a catalog.
I purchased the artifact on the spot with cash.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll bring the appraisal certificate.”
The employee, after confirming the amount was accurate, left to fetch the certificate.
Though I wanted to reach into the glass case and grab the item immediately,
I couldn’t, as there was a procedure to follow.
As I waited for the employee and idly passed the time,
… Why is he looking at me like that?’
I noticed an old man standing at a slight distance, watching me.
Since I was wearing a mask, he couldn’t have recognized me.
I thought perhaps he was looking at the items nearby, so I ignored him.
However.
“Hoho, what a waste, such a waste. To think you’d try to use something like that.”
“Tsk, why are kids these days always looking for shortcuts?”
“Sigh… how pitiful.”
Hearing those cryptic words muttered repeatedly while their gaze remained fixed, I realized they were talking about me.
‘What’s with that person?’
Everyone in the black market was wearing masks.
That old man was no exception.
Even though his face was hidden by a tiger mask, his hunched posture and use of a cane made him seem like an ordinary old man.
‘I don’t even feel any magic power from him.’
Thinking he was just some strange person, I ignored him and took the item before heading into the restroom located in a corner of the black market.
‘This is Alakir’s Bracelet, an artifact that extracts magic power.’
The design, with a blue gem engraved in the center, looked beautiful even to someone like me, who was ignorant of art.
The faint magic flow I felt as soon as I wore it proved that it was indeed an artifact.
‘Honestly, this was even harder to obtain than Alakir’s Bracelet.’
I pulled out a transparent glass vial containing a liquid.
This was something I had prepared beforehand through Gray.
It was a special solution created with magitech, said to have properties that condense magic power.
‘He explained it in detail, but I didn’t get it.’
Being a humanities major, I couldn’t understand a single part of the long-winded theories they tried to explain.
‘Apparently, it condenses the leaking magic into bead-like forms to maintain its shape or something.’
Although I didn’t fully understand the mechanism, seeing the magic, which had been dispersing like smoke, form into beads upon contact with the liquid, reminded me of molecular gastronomy I had seen in YouTube videos or TV programs in my previous world.
‘Who cares about the principles? As long as it works, that’s enough.’
Wearing the bracelet, I submerged my wrist into the liquid in the glass vial.
The moment I willed it to activate—
Spark!
The blue gem engraved in the bracelet emitted a light, and it began extracting the magic power stored in my body.
Though it felt bizarre, as if my soul was being drawn out,
I could feel the chills and muscle pain that had been plaguing me starting to disappear.
As the unstable magic left my body, my creaking physique began to return to normal, and the dull headache that had been hammering at my skull slowly faded away.
“Hoo…”
The pain caused by my magic imbalance vanished in an instant, leaving me with an indescribable sense of relief that washed over my entire body.
‘Good. I’ve achieved my goal for now.’
I pulled my hand out of the vial.
Inside were beads glowing with a blue hue, filling it completely.
To prevent them from escaping, I sealed the vial tightly and tucked it into my pocket.
* * *
Since quite some time had passed after using the artifact,
I made my way to the meeting place with Gray and Madame Bichen.
The location was in the central area of the black market, a place bustling with people, making it easy to detect any commotion.
‘They’re not here yet.’
Even though the two hours we had agreed upon had already passed, there was no sign of them anywhere.
‘Maybe it’s taking longer than expected.’
Our original goal was to find evidence of slave trading and hand it over to the imperial guards.
That way, the perpetrators would be caught before they could escape from Heroin.
So, I wasn’t too worried.
BOOM!
But I never expected those lunatics to attempt self-destruction.
“Kyaaah!”
“Run, run!”
“Where are the guards?! Why are there demonic beasts here…?! Aaargh!”
A massive explosion erupted from inside the auction area, and at the same time, countless people started pouring out in a panic.
‘What the…?’
Demonic beasts appeared throughout the black market, revealing their savage fangs and mercilessly slaughtering people.
Those who could fight banded together in an effort to subdue them, but the chaos caused a stampede, with some people being crushed to death in the panic.
In the midst of all this, I began searching for Gray and Madame Bichen.
‘Could it be… those maniacs…?’
I had a hunch.
Slave traders often used demonic beast sales as a front for their operations.
This meant there would be plenty of demonic beasts kept as decoys.
Judging by the remnants of restraints on their necks, it seemed someone had deliberately unleashed the tamed demonic beasts.
‘This is bad. I don’t even have a weapon.’
While the black market allowed entry only to verified individuals regardless of status, it still enforced basic security checks to avoid unnecessary trouble.
As a result, weapons were typically confiscated upon entry.
In hindsight, I should have smuggled one in, no matter the risk.
‘Who could’ve expected something like this to happen…?’
Regardless, my priority was finding Gray and Madame Bichen.
I pushed aside unnecessary thoughts and dove straight into the swarm of rampaging demonic beasts.