“Really? Why?” Alta said and glared at the man, who simply refused to answer. “Fine. You probably won’t talk anytime soon.”

“Glad to have you on the team. Two more will come. Then, we can discuss terms.”

Caesar and Alta both refused to touch their meals. She tapped her feet in impatience while he remained stoic and kept his eyes impassively ahead. The other three stared at them, then at each other, before they stopped eating.

Two of them were women. One placed a short stick glimmering with light in her lap, hands caressing it, perhaps ready to attack at any moment with the wand. The other ate with her left hand and kept her right on the pommel of her sword. The third member of the group, an elf, slung a bow over his back but carried a dagger for self-protection.

A few minutes later, somebody knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a pair of men. As the one in the front walked in, the other stooped low to follow, his height brushing the top of the doorway. Muscles bulged from his body, and he wore heavy armor from below his neck. He cradled an iron helmet between his arms, grinning at the ones seated.

“Greetings,” the smaller man said. This man appeared swift and dexterous, wielding a thin blade at his side, and his belt contained three different vials of unmoving liquid. They resembled Magnus’ potion explosives, only without obsidian casing. He bowed deeply to the patron, before taking their seats.

Both gorged down their meals and the conversation began.

“Call me Elias. With help from my merchant friend, I called the seven of you here to do something important for me.”

“Sounds dangerous,” the archer said. “It’d better pay well.”

“You will be satisfied. All of you have heard of the auction, yes?” The seven of them perked up in response. Clearly, they were very interested now. “I offer a pass to guarantee access, which includes various benefits if you present them to the auction heads.”

“So what’s the job?”

“There is an item of great importance. I want it delivered to me.” The man brought out a map and a picture from the insides of his suit. Caesar glanced at it. The white flower had seven petals, and blue beads sprang from the insides of the flower’s center, then thinned out before leaking down each petal like tears. Must be a Rare material. Could it grant a talent?

The swordsman hummed in interest. “Who gets the reward?”

“Rest assured. The auction pass is available for anyone who participates. The one who brings it back to me, though, will get something extra from my personal collection. I am fully aware you might try to kill each other afterward, but please, do so once you’ve secured the item.”

Interesting. Looks like there might be a fight.

Although the first three people looked even more paranoid of the others, the other four’s expressions remained unchanging, listening intently to the plan.

“This map shows where you’ll likely find the item. A black market event – you should hide your identity. The area will be well guarded. Three years!” he cursed. “He thought I wouldn’t find him. Bring me his head and receive another reward.”

“Wait. Give us more details.”

“The Midnight Covenant will preside over the event. They’re a fairly new faction. However, it is said their leader is at least level 25, along with over half his followers.” Their patron looked grim. “That makes at least four. They often disappear for months, but when they reappear, it is to trade special items and information. None know what their clothes are made of, but they must have access to a dungeon. That makes them a faction greater than the rest of the rabble.”

“Interesting. So will we have to kill them?”

“Perhaps, depending on how you choose to do it. Your target will be a part of the crowd.”

Two more men walked inside the room, weapons in hand to prevent anybody from leaving. They looked like soldiers, wearing full plate armor enchanted with lightness and durability. If anyone had fled, they’d likely chase, and could even outrun many.

“My partner should have his halberd before the operation.” Alta stated.

“Of course. I shall have my men collect it at the designated time. Can’t take any risks, you see.”

Caesar pulled out the rank one Stormheart Acorn and offered it to the two men. One left to persuade the smith to work faster, and afterwards, the ten of them then stayed in the room until nightfall.

----

Elias clapped his hands to wake everyone up. Bags appeared under the eyes of the paranoid trio, but Alta remained as impassive as ever, ignoring the effects of fatigue, hunger, and thirst. Caesar’s eyes fluttered open while the swordsman shook his burly friend awake.

“Are you all ready? Need a Potion of Sleeplessness?” Their patron shook a small bottle in his hands and glanced at everyone’s condition.

Nobody took it. A soldier walked back inside, carrying the Horrific Halberd in his hands. Caesar took it back and caressed it before wiping it down from handle to blade.

“Good. Take these permits – they’ll get you inside the black market. Figure out your own plans because I will not be coming with you. Meet me back here once the job is completed.” Their patron left with his two men, uncaring if they failed. Perhaps, he had some way to track the item he wanted or a spy working inside the black market. Caesar knew he had to be careful not to expose too much during the attack.

The groups separated to handle their own affairs. Although the trio from earlier wanted to follow them, Alta brushed them off. Darkness wreathed their profiles like cloaks and shrouded them in safety as they strolled deeper into the city. He slipped inside a dark room and hid while she left to purchase masks. Although they already had a disguise, it'd look suspicious if they didn't wear them.

Caesar put a perk point into Essence Crown.

(Essence Crown): Steal the essence of enemies slain to power the crown. Mark enemies up to your rank to bind their essence cores and summon them after slain. Store up to eight cores at a time and summon a maximum of three. Hold up to two marks. Replenish marks with essence or time.

[Perk Option 1 – Fast Summon]: Summon a core near instantaneously, once per day.

This option brought down his summoning speed from three seconds to nearly zero, a great boon for almost any fight. An instant shield or instant attack would give him so many options to use, and that was just the tip of abilities available currently. Although his range of summoning was fairly short – about two paces away – it was enough for him to backstab his enemy given time. And he’d always be safe, with a summon at hand even when trying to stay hidden. It even removed the need to worry about distractions interrupting the summoning.

[Perk Option 2 – Telepathy]: Connect to an active core with your mind, thrice per day for five seconds each. Understand each other perfectly with thoughts.

Telepathy would allow him to contact his summons across vast distances, possibly even his ant queen inside a dungeon. With it, he could give commands from afar or receive information updates to know when he should return. This would be essential when he began to deploy the swarm to explore unknown territory, as they could notify him about dungeons to explore, loot to retrieve, or how to interact with other people they discovered. And he could save them whenever they were too far away, and needed to let him know when they needed to be unsummoned.

[Perk Option 3 – Mark of Disintegration]: Mark enemies with a doubled duration and disintegrate unimportant parts upon death.

Marks had a duration, though he didn’t know how long exactly. Apparently, his marks were also a target for sublimation. That narrowed down his choice of catalysts, because an incorrect trio might end up giving him something mediocre. I really was lucky with that Domain dungeon.

Unimportant parts was a really vague way to describe it, but he suspected it included things from a creature that simply weren’t up to par with the rest of its body. For example, a Water Elemental’s fluids remained after death, but people only used the Water Core most of the time. How this applied to monsters – like the Manticore with its skin and claws or the Fog Hydra's body – required further experimentation. Perhaps too much. Although this perk seemed inconsistent, at least it enabled quicker looting and reduced the necessity of learning how to butcher monsters.

These are all good, but the third option appears noticeably riskier.

One assured his safety. The second assured him convenience. The third improved his looting speed, which seemed interesting, but he might regret it later if it disintegrated useful things like most of the hydra's body.

He much preferred the first option. It comforted his mind in dangerous situations like this one.

His Doppelganger returned with two masks, resembling animals and adorned with gems. One looked like a rabbit, and the other a hawk. He placed the rabbit mask onto his face then used Masquerade to shift his profile to look smaller. This would hide them from their fellow mercenaries.

“How safe are we, Alta?”

“I saw, heard, and smelled nothing suspicious.”

With his perk distribution complete, Caesar thought about his oak tree’s role in his party and the next fight. If I am to invade the black market, I should turn the Stormheart Oak into something that can devastate an entire area of enemies. I do need that type of summon. He distributed its stats for now. Scouting the competition first would give him a better sense of what perk to choose.

Stormheart Oak

Free Stat Points: 50 -> 10 -> 0

Mana: 100 -> 250 -> 350

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 7

Vitality: 17 -> 25

Magic: 17 -> 25 -> 35

Willpower: 13 -> 23

Spirit: 11 -> 25

They arrived at the black market almost an hour later. As they drew closer, the presence of guards disappeared over time. A few rats scurried around silent alleys and dead buildings, and Alta glimpsed a few faces peek out over wooden openings. Nobody wanted to live here, but many had to.

An abyssal cloak shrouded the meeting spot in darkness, blotting out all light from exiting. Darker than even the night itself, it reminded him of Starry Forest, and the horrors that lay within. With no designated meeting time, the guards at the entrance allowed them inside without suspicion once they saw their permits.

Another guard ushered them inside the pavilion, where dozens of unknown people sat on makeshift stools, awaiting a speaker on a raised platform. All remained silent. He glanced around and recognized his “teammates” positioned in various places. The trio had separated and lingered on the outskirts of the camp, while the other duo sat near the midst of the entire group.

They made no sound as they sat down in the outer area, closer than the trio but farther than the duo. Others glanced at them then turned back to the front without caring much about their identities. Alta’s eyes shifted around the area and narrowed. She seemed to detect something yet couldn’t risk voicing it to Caesar.

Minutes passed. Then, an hour. He heard the shuffling of footsteps outside the cloak of shadows, as if somebody was rushing through. It continued for almost a minute before the sounds quieted down. Another hour went by, before the footsteps returned, albeit quieter. They seemed almost like patrols.

It was about midnight when somebody important finally walked into the pavilion. A faceless mask covered the man’s face and black robes wreathed his profile with a similar darkness comparable to that which shrouded the area. Although a lesser effect, he nonetheless appeared imposing. Six more people followed, wearing similar apparel. Each blended in with one another, and nothing could differentiate them as they scattered around the area.

“Welcome, all.” The leader walked up onto the platform, hands behind his back, and began speaking to the crowd. “We are the Midnight Covenant. Now, I won’t ask how you came across us, but you should know the rules: items for information.” He stepped back and eyed the crowd. “You can begin.”

It seemed this event served as a way for these people to gather and exploit knowledge for the upcoming auction. One member of the group stood up onto the platform and announced that he knew about a dungeon in the vicinity of another city deeper into Obsandalur, taking another month to travel. Somebody offered three rank two materials to hear more. Shadows converged into existence around the two, and they met under the shade to discuss. It dissipated within moments, revealing their satisfaction as one of the men pocketed a piece of paper.

Interesting. Asking about the Pax Society might bring fascinating results, but also attract attention to him from a rival organization. Perhaps even the Order of the Fox participated in this event.

Another stood, holding an enchanted sword. He swung it at empty air, and an energy wave soared into the distance. The black shroud swallowed it whole.

“I want information on some of the merchant guilds.” Three people stood in response, then gave vague answers hinting at good knowledge. The man pointed at his best choice to discuss more.

Sounds like this will take some time. Caesar began to think quickly about what he wanted from his tree's perk point.