Arnor's expression shifted subtly. A flash of wariness crossed his eyes before calm returned.
As a prince raised amid court intrigue, he instantly read the real aning behind Robb's words.
"You want to access the black market?" Arnor's voice dropped. "That's not a wise choice, especially given the current climate."
Robb didn't respond directly, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Arnor sighed. "If it's purely for potioneering research, I can offer so guidance."
He walked to the window, confird no suspicious energy fluctuations nearby, then continued.
"Underground trade in the Black Mist Order happens in three main locations. The safest is the 'Sunset Tavern' special exchange, guards there ensure transaction privacy. Next is 'Lizard Alley', no extra protections, but the variety of goods far exceeds the Sunset Tavern. Last is 'Blackwater Bay', the most dangerous place. Supposedly even Morning Star Mages occasionally shop there for things that interest them."
Robb carefully morized this information, noting Arnor's familiarity with these locations. Clearly this wasn't secondhand knowledge.
"A few critical rules when trading." Arnor continued, his tone carrying the weight of experience. "First, never reveal your true identity. Second, bring enough Mana Crystal Fragnts, but don't carry them all on you. Third, find a trustworthy interdiary for introductions, the first transaction is always the most dangerous."
He paused, his tone turning exceptionally grave. "Most importantly. don't get greedy. Buy only what you truly need, then leave imdiately."
Robb nodded. "Sounds like you know these places well."
Arnor offered a complicated smile. "In the Black Mist Order, survival sotis requires... unconventional channels."
He didn't elaborate, but Robb understood.
In this cruel world, everyone had their own way of surviving, even a prince of royal blood.
"Thanks for the advice." Robb said sincerely. "I'll be careful."
They chatted about recent developnts a while longer before Arnor took his leave.
Alone again, Robb began organizing everything he'd seen and heard.
Oliver's surprise visit, the evolving black market drugs, Marcus's malice-filled parting glare, everything seed to point toward an ominous premonition.
But he was no longer the frail Initiate of before.
The qualitative shift in spirit power gave him the ability to contend with Elentary Apprentices, and the infinite class system within was his most powerful hidden card.
"Whatever Oliver is scheming..." Robb clenched his fist, feeling little fear. "Just give ti to grow, and everything will sort itself out."
The black market channels Arnor had described brought sothing else to mind.
Robb spread open a recent copy of the faction's quarterly bulletin he'd stumbled upon. It recorded the past three months of significant events.
Turning to the ntor Review Council section, he found so intriguing content.
ntors evaluated faction apprentices each quarter, and those who excelled typically received additional resource allocation and ntoring opportunities.
But puzzlingly, the following page listed apprentices recently punished for rule violations.
Several had been executed or sent to laboratories after mutations caused by banned substances.
"Locke, Emily, Dagon..." Robb's gaze lingered on these familiar nas, suspicion stirring.
If the ntors truly valued promising Initiates so highly, why were banned substances allowed to circulate so freely? Why did Initiates keep taking desperate gambles?
He flipped to earlier bulletins and found this was far from unusual, nearly every quarter had similar cases. The flow of banned substances seed to be an integral part of the Black Mist Order.
"Is there so logic here I'm not seeing?" Robb furrowed his brow, thinking hard.
If the powerful Morning Star Mages truly wanted to eradicate the banned substance trade, their authority and capability would make it entirely possible.
Yet these drugs not only persisted, to so degree, they appeared to be tolerated.
Robb recalled Arnor ntioning that even Morning Star Mages frequented Blackwater Bay.
"Could it be..." A bold thought ford. "Could the circulation of these banned substances be sothing the Morning Star Mages tacitly permit, or even encourage?"
The idea was wild, yet it explained so many phenona.
Perhaps in the ntors' eyes, this was a selection chanism. Truly talented, disciplined apprentices would choose steady growth paths, while the ungifted and impatient would be lured by banned substances and ultimately self-destruct.
"It's like a ga..." Robb concluded silently. "A 'promotion-elimination ga' with rules set by the ntors."
They wanted promising newcors to erge, but not in an environnt so comfortable that apprentices lost their sense of urgency.
asured danger and competition actually stimulated stronger survival instincts and drive for improvent.
Robb had previously oversimplified it as the strong oppressing the weak. Now it appeared far more complex.
If so, his risk of being seized as test material might be lower than he'd imagined, particularly as long as he demonstrated sufficient potential and discipline.
The mages would rather see him grow into a future colleague than beco a mindless experintal specin.
Taking out Dagon's notebook, Robb prepared to review the sonic spell concept.
Since Oliver had shown interest, this spell could beco a critical asset in any future confrontation.
Undistracted research continued for hours. The sky had gradually darkened.
Robb rubbed his eyes, stood, and decided to visit the herb shop.
Partly to inform Lady Elena of his early release, partly to consult the experienced old potioneer on so questions, especially regarding Oliver and higher-tier ditation thods.
A faintly reddish sunset cast an eerie halo over the Black Mist Order. The market crowds had thinned considerably.
When Robb reached the herb shop, the door was shut tight. The animated vines on the door had twisted into the words. "Shop Closed."
Robb found this odd, Lady Elena's shop shouldn't be closing this early.
He was about to turn and leave when he froze mid-step.
His Elentary Apprentice perception clearly detected abnormally active magical energy behind the door.
Not dangerous, but definitely not the calm one would expect from a closed shop.
After a mont's hesitation, Robb knocked gently.
"Who is it?" A weary, aged voice ca from within, unmistakably Lady Elena.
"It's , Robb." He answered quietly.
A brief silence behind the door, then a nearly inaudible sigh.
"I'm busy right now. Co back tomorrow morning."
Robb could hear irritation carefully hidden beneath Lady Elena's words. As soone with basic emotional intelligence, he had no desire to impose.
"Understood. I'll return tomorrow morning." Robb said tactfully, already turning to leave.
"Wait..." Lady Elena suddenly changed her mind, a note of hesitation in her voice. "Co in after all. Since you're already here."
With a scrape of tal, the sealed door opened on its own.
Robb stepped cautiously inside. The familiar herbal fragrance greeted him, but mingled with a scent he'd never encountered before, sothing like night-blooming jasmine, yet richer and more cloyingly sweet.
The lighting was dimr than usual, with only a few faint Mana Crystal lamps flickering, lending the space a hazy atmosphere.
The mont Robb entered, his gaze was drawn to a figure behind the counter, a young woman organizing a ledger.
She had stunning, long pink-violet curls cascading like a waterfall, shimring with a dreamlike luster under the lamplight.
Her profile was exquisitely beautiful. Porcelain-white skin glowed with a healthy radiance, and her large, bright eyes sparkled like jewels.
Most striking was her high, straight nose, carrying an arc of proud elegance that combined with her other features to create sothing almost impossibly perfect.
"You are...?" Robb asked with uncertainty, scanning the shop for Lady Elena.
The woman wore only a loose silk nightgown, its collar and sleeves slipping to reveal expanses of fair skin and a breathtaking figure.
That casual, unselfconscious poise was more devastating than deliberate seduction, utterly at odds with the wrinkled, hook-nosed, hunched old crone in Robb's mory.
"What's the matter, boy? Don't recognize ?" The woman half-turned her face and spoke in a hauntingly familiar cadence.
Those faintly green-glowing eyes, unmistakably Lady Elena's.
"Lady Elena?!" Robb could hardly trust his own judgnt, but those eyes were impossible to mistake.
She let out a soft laugh, exactly Lady Elena's slightly hoarse, aged chuckle.
But hearing it from soone who appeared no older than eighteen or nineteen created a profoundly disconcerting effect.
"It seems my transformation has given you quite the shock." She set down the ledger and leaned forward on the counter, propping herself up with both hands, an unconscious movent that loosened the nightgown's neckline further.
Author's note: The inspiration for Lady Elena's character cos from Genkai from the ani Yu Yu Hakusho. I wonder how many veteran readers still rember her. Also, this story likely won't have a female lead in the strict sense. Mages are essentially immortal beings, there's really no need to get hung up on that sort of thing.
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