Chapter 131

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Episode 30 - Black City [2]

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"Wow, so Black City is in the Infernal Plane."

Julian said as he looked at the sky where Black City was located.

While the Dark Plane was an empty place filled with darkness and moving shadows, the Infernal Plane was like the descriptions of hell found in books.

The Infernal Plane was divided into Nine Layers.

Each of them was known as: the First Red Sky, the Second Sea of Blood, the Third Forest of Lost Souls, the Fourth Throne of the Yellow King, the Fifth Meadows of Hell, the Sixth Crimson Depths, the Seventh Valley of Crossing, the Eighth Gates of Life and Death, and the Ninth Tomb of the Yellow King.

Black City was located somewhere within the Red Sky layer.

Julian and the others looked up at the sky.

A crimson red covered everything, accompanied by a moon made of blood. From it fell a red veil, similar to a liquid cascading downward.

The air was actually quite normal for a Plane outside of a world.

Alessia and Zoey, who were at the front, observed their surroundings.

They were standing outside a temple where masked people constantly entered and exited, most of them villains.

’Please avoid speaking loudly. Use the badge I gave you, and remember that this is a mission.’

Julian quickly covered his mouth after realizing he had made a mistake.

’Sorry, leader. It’s just that this is my first time inside one of the four planes.’

There were a total of four planes:

The Dark Plane, the Infernal Plane, the Astral Plane, and the Plane of the Nine Heavens.

’It’s fine. Anyway, during the second year at the Academy, students can accept missions, and although they are very rare, some of them take place inside one of the four planes.’

’Ugh, but I’ll have to wait until next year.’

Zoey, irritated by the pointless conversation, said:

’Stop talking nonsense. Leader, it’s time to move.’

’Ah, forgive me, my dear Zoey. Then let’s go.’

Black City was extremely large. From the temple, the club members could see a massive dome-shaped structure.

’Is that where the Auction will take place?’

Charlotte asked after seeing the dome in the center of the city.

Alessia nodded while also looking at the dome.

’Yes, and as you can probably tell, it’s not an easy place to enter. In fact, for us, it’s impossible.’

Their objective was to gather information, both about the Auction and about anything strange happening within Black City.

And, if possible, obtain information about the five villain organizations.

It was known that important members of those organizations were present in Black City.

Among them were even one or two leaders.

Naturally, gathering information would not be easy. They could very likely end up in danger, which was why they had brought several Relics given to them by Director Bernice.

And, of course, they were not the only ones infiltrated into Black City.

Director Bernice had also sent other teams, although with different objectives.

If the entire club ended up in danger, those teams would step in and search for a way to escape.

’By the way, leader, aside from the mission objective, we’re also going shopping, right? I saw that you brought a storage ring.’

No one besides Alessia was wearing a storage ring.

That was noticed by Julian, who always stayed close to Alessia.

Alessia affirmed her words.

’Yes, and we’ll do that right now before officially starting the mission.’

’Oh, really? And what are those items for?’ 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’For the end-of-semester exams. First- to third-year students are sent to different places to take the exam, and these items will be necessary.’

’Ah, now I understand.’

Alessia handed each member a list of items they needed to buy.

Zoey then gave them storage rings filled only with gold coins.

Finally, after arriving at the shopping district, Alessia said:

’You can split up or go in pairs. We’ll meet near the entrance to the Auction in two hours.’

’Ah, and avoid entering alleys, areas with few people, and stay away from any conflicts that don’t involve you. Remember that this place is full of villains with an average strength of Class 6.’

They had already gone over the rules about what they should not do before entering Black City.

Even so, worried about her club members, Alessia reminded them once again.

At first glance, Black City looked peaceful, with people walking from one place to another without causing trouble.

But that was only a facade.

In this place, any action or movement could provoke fights with deadly outcomes.

All the members silently accepted Alessia’s reminder.

’Alright, then we’ll split up here.’

***

Rinna and Diana left together, just like Julian and Charlotte. They were the only pairs who decided to stay together.

The rest went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Zoey walked through the streets crowded with villains.

She avoided drawing attention to herself as much as possible. Being too conspicuous, or being a famous figure and entering Black City, only guaranteed a certain death.

Normally, villains were insane, crazy, psychopathic, and bloodthirsty in general.

Of course, there were rational villains who preferred to remain neutral at best.

But some of them were even more dangerous.

Zoey had faced villains with strategic minds before, and from experience, she knew they were the hardest to deal with.

In any case, no one seemed to notice her. A faint dark cloak surrounded her body and, combined with the effect of her mask, she was practically invisible to the eyes of others.

Unless a Class 8 villain or higher happened to look at her by chance, she would not be discovered.

’This is my second time coming to this place.’

Her master had brought her here when she was nine years old.

She did not remember why, only that she had come here and that her master had explained many things about Black City to her.

Among them, there was a certain place where, according to her master, she could obtain anything she wanted.

’It was... the Wish Shop.’

The memory briefly resurfaced as she recalled the name of the shop where she was supposedly able to obtain what she desired.

’He only told me I could get whatever I wanted, but I’m not sure.’

In truth, Zoey did not trust her master.

He was a very mysterious person. She had never seen his face because he usually covered it with a mask.

And it was that same person who had given her a certain Relic, supposedly carried or created by the progenitor, the Primordial Witch.

It only had one effect: to conceal her true attribute and alter it so others would not notice it was not her original attribute.

’It’s not that I care about hiding it, but... my master said that, from experience, it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble.’

So she had followed his advice to this very day.

But, in a way, a certain cadet had caught her attention.

The Academy’s "only" cadet with the Dark attribute.

Zoey still remembered the answer Adel had given her after she asked why he did not leave the Academy.

’The truth is, I don’t understand.’

Eventually, without even realizing it, Zoey arrived at the Shop of Desires.

She did not hesitate to enter, and instantly noticed that it was a shop filled with dust, cobwebs, and, for the most part, complete disorder.

It was as if the owner of the place had been absent for a very long time and some children had thrown everything onto the floor, leaving the entire shop in chaos.

’Is this really the shop...?’

She narrowed her eyes as she observed her surroundings.

There truly was not a single clean or organized spot.

It looked more like an abandoned place, yet, unexpectedly, the items for sale were extremely clean.

In fact, it seemed as though they had been carefully polished for hours until they were almost like mirrors.

Zoey took a few steps forward while avoiding stepping on the items scattered across the floor.

Everything looked genuinely expensive despite the condition of the shop.

Zoey looked at a bell on top of the counter and pressed it with the palm of her hand.

Ting! Ting!

"...!"

There was no response.

Zoey carefully scanned the surroundings. She even used her Mana Sense, but there did not seem to be anyone there.

"Hello, is anyone here...?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.

"My dear, there’s no need to shout. Just ring it once and that’s enough. Didn’t you read the note?"

Zoey felt as if her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and her normally expressionless face faltered.

She turned around, and the first thing she noticed left her utterly bewildered.

The shop was impeccably clean and organized. All the dirt and disorder had somehow disappeared.

’W-what... how did this happen? I’m a 6-Star Awakened. I should have sensed something at the very least.’

She was not particularly skilled in Traits related to perception.

But she was still someone fairly powerful who had not long ago reached 6 Stars.

And the person standing before her was none other than a hunched old woman with wrinkled skin and simple clothing typical of an elderly person.

The old woman wore a gentle smile as she looked at Zoey.

"What are you looking for, dear? Or is there something you wish to know?"

Besides obtaining whatever she wanted, Zoey remembered that her master had also told her she could obtain any answer in this shop.

The reason she had come was very simple.

"I want an answer."

The old woman smiled kindly.

"Very well, dear. Then ask."

Zoey voiced her question and said:

"I want to know who my master was and what will become of my future."

She still remembered her master’s words.

’You will die in ten years, whether you believe it or not.’

Those words had been giving her nightmares ever since.