Dang Gyu-young immediately began leading me somewhere.
As we were following the flow of people in the downtown area, I asked a question.
“Where are we going, senior-nim?”
“You made a prohibited item list for me, remember?”
“Something just came up. We’re heading to Exchange E because they’re waiting for us there.”
“Oh.” Latest content publıshed on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
The item that the thieves’ club promised to secure for me had just been listed for sale.
Since I had narrowed down the countless prohibited skills to a few that met my criteria, I had considered the possibility that they might not appear in this black market at all.
As we neared the exchange, we subtly changed direction towards a nearby meeting point.
A soft-serve ice cream cart.
A familiar member of the thieves’ club greeted us with a familiar sly smile.
“What flavor? Half and half again?”
When Dang Gyu-young and I chose half chocolate and half vanilla, the member skillfully scooped the ice cream into the cone.
“Half and half it is.”
During my preliminary field trip in the black market, the presentation had been so bad that Dang Gyu-young had said something about it, but it seems they had practiced quite a bit since then, as it was now nearly perfect.
“I’ll have the same.”
“Here you go. Enjoy.”
The member wrapped two ice cream cones in napkins and handed them over to us.
The napkins were the main thing here. They served as our black market tickets and guides.
The arrow patterns on the napkins pointed us to our next destination, the Exchange E.
After taking a few small licks of her ice cream, Dang Gyu-young asked me,
“Don’t you think you can manage without it?”
“It’s nice to take it easy.”
If I were to use my stagnant water senses, I could navigate the maze-like path without a guide or a marker.
But since there was no bet riding on it this time, why go through the extra trouble?
Following the markers for an easy journey seemed like the best plan.
As Dang Gyu-young and I leisurely ate our ice cream, we arrived at the Exchange E area.
The exterior of Exchange E looked like a store selling various daily necessities, and since it was open for business, students were milling about inside.
We went inside and pretended to look around calmly, but we were actually following the direction indicated by the napkins deeper inside.
We pushed through a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only” without hesitation, and the students passing by didn’t seem to find our actions strange.
There’s a barrier in place.
The formations that the graduates have installed throughout the store were very cleverly distorting the view.
Therefore, everything appeared perfectly normal to those without napkins.
They probably didn’t even notice that we disappeared.
The napkins’ arrows pointed to a half-sized room used for storing cleaning supplies.
We squeezed inside, and as soon as we stepped towards the seemingly empty wall, the [Throughwalk] was automatically activated and we moved to the next room.
It was decorated like an office.
We continued to move through walls. We emerged into corridors, climbed stairs, and crossed more walls.
After an indeterminate number of such rooms, we entered another office-like space where someone was already waiting.
A man was sitting calmly in a chair and greeted us.
“You’ve arrived? What brings President Dang here in person?”
And Dang Gyu-young respectfully bowed her head.
A graduate mentor senior.
Judging by the sword and martial arts uniform he had beside him, he exuded a strong martial artist vibe.
He then took out an old faded martial arts manual from his clothing. It was inscribed in rough handwriting:
“Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger”
“I heard you were looking for this.”
“That is the skill book.”
The man’s gaze briefly left Dang Gyu-young and lingered on me.
Then he quickly showed a glint of realization as if he just understood something.
That I was a first-year student, and it was I, not Dang Gyu-young, who was purchasing and using the skill book.
If not, there would be no reason to bring me all the way here.
He seemed quite curious that a first-year student would acquire and learn such a demonic martial arts manual,
But in the trade of prohibited items, the fewer questions asked, the better.
He knew this too, so he quickly withdrew his gaze from me.
Thanks to the fact that I passed the graduates’ test without a napkin during the preliminary field trip, the price would be covered by them.
The transaction was completed very calmly and swiftly, and the man rose from his seat.
He looked at both of us at the same time and gave a mysterious smile.
“Use it well. I wish you success in the black market.”
“Thank you. Take care.”
After watching the man disappear through the wall, Dang Gyu-young handed me the martial arts manual.
[Skill Book – Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger]
“Here it is. But what kind of skill is this? I can tell it’s a demonic technique just from the name.”
“It’s faster to show you than to explain.”
Without hesitation, I used the skill book.
The old book turned into a beam of light and was absorbed into my body, and a notification message appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Used ‘Skill Book – Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger’.]
[You have learned ‘Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger ©’.]
Just like with Inferno Fist, it was a C-rank skill as soon as I learned it.
Its performance was equally powerful and unmatched.
I clenched my fist and extended my index finger as if pointing at something.
When I focused and drew up my mana,
My index finger froze solid from the tip.
It emitted a brilliant blue light, like a statue made of jade, and the cold was so intense that white mist rose like dry ice.
Dang Gyu-young looked at it with curious eyes and asked,
“Wow, it’s beautiful. Can I touch it?”
“Just touch it lightly. Very lightly.”
Dang Gyu-young carefully brought her fingertip to my index finger, but she quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned.
Even though she withdrew her hand immediately, frost formed from the tip and the cold spread rapidly.
Dang Gyu-young immediately drew up her mana to push back the cold and shook her hand.
“That’s why it has ‘Mysterious Yin’ in its name.”
Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger.
It’s a finger martial art technique that inflicts damage by stabbing with the finger.
Then why does it have “Demon” in its name?
It’s because of the terrifying effect of this finger technique.
The Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger targets the opponent’s acupuncture points, specifically the mana circuits, and freezes and disrupts the flow of mana.
If you get hit by the finger once, it would be like having a skill half sealed or your power drastically reduced.
In addition, the intense cold penetrates the circuits which greatly impairs movement and ultimately leads to death.
After hearing the explanation, Dang Gyu-young shivered slightly as if she felt a chill run down her spine.
“It really is a demonic technique. So, what’s the penalty?”
And the fact that this skill was designated as a prohibited skill wasn’t just due to its lethal effects but also because of the penalties incurred when using it.
“You need to control the cold, and as to be expected of a demonic skill, there’s a presence of demonic energy.”
Even though I said this, the cold wasn’t a major problem.
Because I had my S-rank [Elemental Resistance].
I could cast it without facing significant elemental penalties up to B-rank. Just like with Inferno Fist.
The real issue was the demonic energy.
When compiling the list of prohibited items, I deliberately chose demonic skills with minimal demonic energy but a demonic skill is still a demonic skill.
The more I used it, the more demonic energy would accumulate and it would have a negative effect on me. So I had to use it sparingly and only in crucial moments.
Though, considering how powerful this skill was, it was hard to imagine a situation where I would overuse it.
“You always learn such dangerous things. Who are you planning to take down this time?”
“If they hinder world peace, they need to be eliminated.”
Wouldn’t peace be achieved if all the annoying ones were taken down?
Dang Gyu-young shook her head.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Let’s get out of here now.”
Just like when we entered, the napkin’s markings guided us to the exit.
We climbed over a few walls, went down the stairs, climbed over a few more walls, opened the door in front of us, and found ourselves at the back of the Exchange E building.
When I looked down at the napkin, the intricate markings that had been engraved on it gradually faded and eventually disappeared as if they had evaporated.
It had served its purpose, and it was a device installed in advance to leave no evidence.
I threw the napkin which had reverted to being just a napkin into the trash can, circled the building, and entered the downtown area again.
I walked along the crowd and asked Dang Gyu-young.
“How far along is the black market now?”
“It’s just starting.”
In the morning, only the A and B Exchanges had been opened. They were testing the waters by receiving customers gradually and increasing the number of open exchanges one by one.
And now, in the evening, with the final Exchange F activated, the black market has officially begun.
“So, what’s our role?”
“Right now, not much. We just hang around near the exchanges, kill time, and go immediately when Da-bin contacts us.”
Chae Da-bin was acting as the control tower.
She constantly monitored the downtown area through the crystal balls installed around the exchanges.
If any issues arose, she would promptly notify the nearby team members to respond.
And so far, no significant issues have occurred.
“In the end, we’re just reserve forces, huh?”
“Then, wouldn’t it be the same whether I stick with that slacker senior or with you, senior-nim?”
“Nope, it’s very different.”
When I asked with my eyes what was so different, Dang Gyu-young answered confidently.
“If you leave, I’ll get bored.”
“Ah, honestly, you feel the same, don’t you? Do you really want to go over there?”
“Honestly, it’s more comfortable to be with you, senior-nim.”
Dang Gyu-young laughed happily.
So, while Chae Da-bin and the other members of the thieves’ club diligently managed the black market, we wandered around the busy streets and killed time.
“How about some bead ice cream?”
“We just had ice cream.”
“Have more. If there’s too much, we can share.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
For some reason, Dang Gyu-young was obsessed with bead ice cream so we shared it.
“Have you been to the game center?”
“Hey, go with me too.”
I diverted Dang Gyu-young’s interest away from the game center.
If we played mini-games, we wouldn’t be able to move right away if Chae Da-bin contacted us.
As we diligently killed time, a familiar voice came from behind.
Dang Gyu-young and I turned our heads at the same time, and Kwak Seung-jae bowed his head.
Next to him were Han So-mi who was waving her hand brightly, and Song Cheon-hye who was looking at us with curious eyes.
It seemed they had been patrolling the downtown area and stopped when they saw us.
Dang Gyu-young quickly understood the situation and casually greeted them.
“Seung-jae, how are you doing?”