Ashton was waiting at the entrance of the black market about an hour ago than the mentioned time. Maybe he was anxious to know some answers or maybe he had nothing better to do. His eyes were scanning everyone going in and out of the place.
However, Ashton wasn't being subtle about it, and soon the mercenaries employed as guards for the market had him surrounded.
"State your purpose of visit."
Ashton turned his gaze towards the man in front of him. Standing at 6'9", the dark-skinned man was very hard to get a read on. He had mastered the art of not allowing his expression to reflect what he was thinking.
His waist-long black and white hairs were braided into several ropes, just like his awfully long beard. Despite not showing any emotion, Ashton knew the man have had his fair share of battles. The plethora of scars on the man's face was proof of that.
But the most surprising thing was the slave brand etched across his neck. Meaning, that the man in front of Ashton was once human, just like he was.
"Just waiting for a friend," Ashton replied nonchalantly, "they should be here at any moment now."
"Those eyes of yours doesn't look like they are waiting for a 'friend'." The man mumbled before placing his muscular arm on Ashton's shoulders, "I'll ask you for the last time... what are you doing here?"
Ten level 20 mercenaries, and one level 25. Was it smart for Ashton to try and take them all down? Of course not. The mercenaries in front of him weren't the only security personnel the market had to offer.
Throughout his countless visits, he had seen more than a hundred mercenaries patrolling the streets. One could only imagine how many of them would be hiding in the shadows.
If Ashton still decided to fight them, not only would he get his ass handed to him by the mercenaries, he would forever ruin his relationship with the owners of the market. Meaning... bye-bye free weapons and exp.
"I'm not scared of you. Not one bit." Ashton pushed the man's hand off of his shoulder, "But I didn't lie before. I am waiting for someone whom I would like to think of as a friend. If you still want to cause an issue, then I guess your employers don't wish to peacefully continue doing their... business."
Ashton's words took the soldiers by surprise. Usually, when they surrounded someone and threaten them like that, they would almost piss their pants and beg to get away. But this kid was openly challenging them? What kind of substance was the kid smoking?
However, the look on the man's face remained unchanged. A kid disrespected him, and yet he was silent. But all that changed a moment later.
"Haha! You're just like I was informed." The man laughed and patted Ashton's shoulders, "A white-haired boy who doesn't know the difference between bravery and stupidity."
"Eh?"
"Don't look so surprised Ashton Bismark. The owners were expecting your attendance, but I was told to confirm your identity before letting you in."
"The owners? Wait, they were the ones to-"
"Not here." The man stopped Ashton in a hushed tone, "There are too many ears here. Follow me and you'll know what you want to."
Ashton was sceptical about it, but if the mercs wanted him to follow them, there wasn't much he could have done. Also, Ashton immediately used [Heartbeat sense] to check whether the man was lying or not and it didn't seem like he was.
So he followed them into the restricted area. It was the central part of the market and was surrounded by more guards than any other place. No one was allowed to even get close to this place, let alone walk into the building.
Once inside, a bracelet was placed on his wrist. Similar to the one he was forced to wear during the entrance examination. It would restrict Ashton from accessing his inventory, and by default, his weapons.
"Don't worry, it's a routine procedure. And so is this..." The man reassured Ashton before covering his eyes using a blindfold.
It wasn't a normal blindfold either. It constantly emitted high-intensity light, which meant, Ashton's sensitive sight was pretty much done for if he even tried to open his eyes. The man next to him then grabbed his elbow and guided him inside.
"That'll be all Ian, you can leave Mr Bismark here."
A moment later, the blindfold was lifted off his eyes. Ashton opened and closed his eyes a few times in quick succession to adjust his vision.
"Apologies for the forced welcome. A lady in her prime has to be careful, you know. Predators all around... preying on the weak. Waiting for a chance to catch them off-guard." The lady in front of him stated politely.
Standing 5' 3" tall, this bronze-skinned woman had a mysterious feel about her. Just the way she spoke, made Ashton take a better look at her.
However, as he did that, his discomfort shot up even higher when he saw her wearing a nearly unbuttoned white shirt on top of her raven latex pants, which were complemented by her knee-high boots.
Ashton thought Mera was used to dressing provocatively, but this woman took it to a whole another level. But he couldn't blame her for not buttoning her shirt up. If she even tried to do so, the thin fabric of the shirt wouldn't be able to hold her forthcoming 'personality' inside.
"I don't mind people staring at the two beauties of mine, but can you at least try to be subtle about it?" The lady shook her head, but as she did that, something else shook quite violently as well.
"My apologies," Ashton quickly averted his gaze away from her 'beauties' and looked at her face.
Oddly enough, Ashton hadn't noticed the eye patch she was wearing. That coupled with her fiery hair, made it seem like she was some sort of a pirate. As for her levels... she was the strongest person present in the room as she was at level 30. The highest possible level one could attain without evolving.
"Not to sound rude, but I think we have some business to discuss..." Ashton reminded the lady of the reason why he was there, "If you have any information regarding the director then-"
"If you want to know about someone, it's better to ask them first, don't you think?" The lady then turned towards one of her guards and nodded her head, "Bring her in."