Black Market (2)
“The way to access the Black Market is usually through the messenger app called 'Dusk' on the Rhodes Net dark web—you buy a ticket there... But hold on, do you even have a terminal?”
“...No.”
I had no ID at all, so getting a phone was out of the question. Even back on modern Earth, living without a phone was damn near impossible. I was in a pretty vulnerable spot here.
This was one more reason I needed to get an identity sorted out ASAP.
“Hmm... Yeah, figures. No surprise there.”
“What should I do?”
“...I could just buy the ticket for you. I shelled out a million credits already, so the ticket's on the house.”
“...For real? Hey, works for me.”
“Truth is, I've got business at the Black Market myself. Need to ask a contact about something. If I grab the ticket, could you handle that for me?”
She had her own reasons for heading there, it seemed.
“...Sure. No problem.”
This was a win-win.
We wrapped up the negotiations and chatted idly for a bit.
I was curious about all the weapons scattered around the fourth floor. Barrett explained most of them were high-end artifacts either traded from 'divers' or farmed straight from dangerous dungeons herself.
“That's why I run this shop as a hobby. If it tanks, I just go pick up some more artifacts and sell 'em. The premium stuff here? Prices in the hundreds of millions.”
I wondered what the hell she did on the regular to amass this kind of high-end gear.
“Not that I'd ever do it, but what if I just stiffed you and bolted? We're strangers as of today... City's a brutal place, after all.”
I voiced my honest curiosity. Her generosity toward a total newbie was weird enough, and her whole vibe was way too chill.
Barrett's eyes sharpened at the question.
“Then what? Not much to say.”
She pointed at me with her hand cocked like a gun.
“Hunt you down. What else?”
“...”
Her voice was flat, no hint of distress—like she'd done this dance a dozen times before.
Yeah, she had some hidden depths, alright.
Anyway, after shooting the breeze, we called it.
“This was fun. Catch you next time.”
“You too. Watch your back out there. Come again soon—and once you get a phone, drop a five-star review.”
I headed to the first-floor auto-door and bumped into Kyle, who'd just finished eating.
“Whoa, leaving already?”
“Yeah, got a lot on my plate.”
“Aw, man... Guess that's that. See ya around.”
A quick goodbye with the part-timer Kyle, and I was strolling the F Block streets. Next stop: H Block Employment Office. One last errand before heading back to the village.
I laid out sixteen eyeballs from the sewer monster crayfish on the table.
These were the ones I'd grabbed to make some quick cash. Time to cash 'em in.
Five grand credits per pair eye—forty grand total in my pocket.
That'd tide me over till I locked down an ID.
Thud, thud.
While I waited, the Employment Office director showed up, flapping a rectangular paper envelope.
“Here's your bounty. Thanks for clearing out that sewer pest. Come back anytime.”
Luckily, they paid out these minor quests in cash on the spot. Explained why the place was always packed—folks lining up to exchange.
I pushed through the crowd and bailed.
Now it was really time to head back to the inn.
....
“You...! Everything alright? No word all day after you left—I was worried sick.”
Walter was puffing a pipe in the inn garden. He bolted over the second he sensed me.
“I'm good. Oh, and those cartel goons? Won't bother us anymore. Smashed 'em flat.”
“Really...!”
Technically, I'd taken some magic hits from Dross during the Mosaz Cartel takedown... But I'd regenerated my clothes with mana, so no visible damage.
Inside the inn, Sofia came barreling over from across the room.
“Sis! Feels like forever!”
“...Missed you too. You hold up okay yesterday and today?”
“Yeah!”
I ruffled her hair.
“Wanna hang out this weekend?”
Time for some R&R—and she was perfect for it. After days of slogging through sewer beasts and stinky thugs, I was starting to feel moldy. Nothing beat healing time with a cute girl.
That night.
Everyone asleep, the moon shrouded in inky clouds, silence blanketing the world.
I pulled the Grimoire from my bosom.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
【Illusion | Completion Materials】
[Essence of an Ugly Being]
[Discarded Shattered Mirror Shard]
[Ancient Memory]
[All materials fulfilled.]
[Synthesis of 【Illusion】 magic now possible.]
I peered at the elegant cursive memo in the Grimoire's margin.
[Illusion] magic.
An essential skill for hiding my identity and operating in the shadows.
Time to synthesize the spell formula.
I set the open Grimoire on the floor, took a deep breath, and channeled mana.
Purple lines etched a geometric magic circle into existence.
The Grimoire then levitated the materials into the air.
First: [Essence of an Ugly Being].
Like planets orbiting the sun's pull, seven essences traced a massive circular path in midair.
These would serve as the medium for the illusion—like a monitor on a computer. By inverting their twisted life force, they projected various phantoms.
Essential for manifesting Illusion magic.
Eyes closed, I chanted.
"[Mold the shell of perception.]"
Fwaaaah—
The Grimoire glowed softly.
Its power gathered the essences into one, forming a black sun-like orb that sank into the magic circle's center.
Second: [Ancient Memory].
Sourced from the dying solver's head chip during the sewer delve.
The echoes and emotions of countless others within would add vividness and depth to the illusions—like a graphics card.
Without it, Illusion magic was just cheap hologram-level crap.
"[Memories sharpen the mirage.]"
With my chant, the memory chip melted into the circle.
Third: [Shattered Mirror Shard].
From the sharp glass fragment broken in my fight with Mosaz Cartel boss Dross.
It positioned vertically at the circle's heart.
This shard would refract ambient light weirdly during casting, messing with the target's perception—using their own brain for the polish-up.
Even low-fi illusions got a boost.
I murmured the final chant.
"[Shattered truths shall weave.]"
Ku-gu-gu-gu—!
The magic circle fired a massive pillar of light skyward.
The materials devoured each other in chaotic frenzy, morphing into pitch-black amorphous darkness—like paints mixing to black.
Slurp, slurp...
The inky mass absorbed into the Grimoire.
It became ink, scrawling new knowledge onto the blank page.
[Illusion].
I lifted the Grimoire and devoured the details on my new spell.
[High-Performance Phantasm Magic]
Filter seven essences as medium: Deceives not just form, but touch, temperature, sound, smell—full 4D immersion, like neo-Vtuber tech in reality.
【Illusion】, or phantasm magic, punched way above thanks to my excess materials.
Seven filtered essences meant full sensory deception. Straight-up neo-Vtuber peel-off levels.
“...This shit's broken.”
I messed around with the spell a bit, but hit a snag bigger than expected.
“...Why's this so damn hard...?”
Yeah.
To fool people with top-tier disguises, I had to model every inch from head to toe.
Like hand-placing pixels for a photoreal person—insane difficulty! Complex math was baseline, plus it demanded art skills.
“Fuck, I'm screwed!!!”
I flailed and screamed, rolling on the floor in meltdown.
Math wasn't an issue—the Grimoire could handle it. Problem was my trash-tier drawing skills.
The only 'person' I could draw was a stick figure, and coloring? Kindergarten scribbles at best.
Zero artistic talent... Trying to 3D model with these hopeless hands? I was the kid who bombed high school art with all zeros.
Impossible.
Somehow, with Grimoire assists, I blew a full day just chiseling the Illusion model.
“Will it... work...?”
Finally, I nailed my first disguise.