The black market was widely known, but only those who could find it were worthy to enter— and they were so damn hard to find.
That's why unregistered awakeners succumbed and registered to enter the official awakener markets!
Now, where's the black market? Usually in novels, black market was underground— but this one could change locations every day.
Did the market use an artefact, or is it an awakener's ability?
Spatial control? Pocket dimension?
[Skill effect duration: 10:00]
Lucien was so deep in thought that he inevitably slowed down, and then— a gust of wind blew from behind.
"Woof!"
Lucien's strong survival instinct immediately kicked in and his body subconsciously dodged to the left—
Swish!
A hound's bloody teeth clamped at thin air, just an inch away from biting down Lucien's b*tt.
...!!
Lucien's soul almost fainted on the spot.
Ahhh! Mad dog!!
Lucien stopped thinking about the black market's mystery and immediately bolted like a bullet, his mind spinning fast.
Does a dungeon landlord not have a land detection skill or something?
Maybe an appraisal skill— no, it should be a tracker or a searching skill!
Sensing Lucien's strong thoughts in the right direction, Doraemon— no, the system guide immediately rang.
DING! [Dungeon Landlord's estimated derivative skills: ]
[Radar/Tracker/Searcher skill:
A good landlord always has a way to find the land they desire!]
[Please learn the skill to acquire it!]
But being chased by rabid dogs and a group of soldiers, Lucien failed to think of any concrete picture until he finally stood above a trash bin, crouching low behind an alley's wall.
Outside, the hounds were sniffing around aggressively.
"Grrrrr..."
The smell of trash and other things concealed Lucien and Mumu's scent, giving him time to quickly learn the new skill.
A tracking or radar skill.
Let's imagine something like an invisible wavelength, like a modern radar used to detect something...
An invisible energy slowly spread from Lucien's body and gently swept over the entire 3-km street, but when it reached beyond 5-km radius, a piercing pain stabbed Lucien's head, his feet almost slipped down.
"Ugh!"
There's a limit!
5 KM is okay too.
Next step...
"Grrrrr..."
The hound's low growl sounded not far away and Lucien flinched.
He peeked down there and saw the hound slowly sniffing around the trash bins, one soldier poked the bins with their long gun.
Stab!
"Not here. Next."
The hound and the soldier were inching closer to Lucien's hiding place!
Lucien held his breath as he tried to change the wavelength into a visual image.
Shringggggg...
A 3D printer image of various places and buildings appeared in Lucien's head, forming a complicated map.
But as more and more images appeared, Lucien's head throbbed even harder and he broke into a cold sweat, a sweet taste rose in his throat.
Damn. So the more detailed the scanned map is, the more it drains energy?
Then just make a simple map for now!
Lucien gripped the trash bin under his feet until his knuckles turned white.
As he changed the image, this time, the pain in his head slowly disappeared.
DING! [You have successfully acquired a derivative skill!]
[Land Mapping (Rare)]
[Description: The landlord's mind swept through and nothing can escape his gaze.]
[Estimated skill usage recovery: 3 hours]
[Skill duration: 10 minutes]
Only 10 minutes??
That's really too short.
Lucien wished he could fly away immediately, but seeing the hound already two bins away from his bin, Lucien crawled down the bin and tip-toed towards the other end of the alley leading to a bigger street.
The hound's tentacles and ears suddenly twitched and immediately barked in Lucien's direction.
"Woof! Grrrrr!!"
The hound dashed, pulling the soldier with it and Lucien's back was already damp with sweat.
Ahhh! Let's blend with big crowds! Confuse the dog!
With trembling legs, Lucien swiftly entered a bigger street full of people and the pursuers temporarily lost sight and smell of him.
Hu...finally...a break...
But Lucien didn't forget that his radar skill was still counting down, so he swept over the street and then—
"Kyaaa~ young master~ kiss~ kiss~ "
"Muach. Muach— "
Oopps. Pleasure street. Wrong place!
[08:00]
"Ah! One more time! One more time! I still have money— "
"Someone, drag him out and feed him to the Four-eyed Hounds."
"Gyahhhh— "
Sh*t. A gambling street! Run— retreat! Retreat!
[05:00]
"A magic staff used by the Magic Tower's apprentice! Come and try it!"
...skip!
[03:00]
"I need to buy an organ."
"Heart? Liver? A new one just came in, it's fresh. Get a transplant at our place, we have a big discount."
Organ market?? Right in front of his salad— ah no, in the middle of the city?
What a lawless place!
Lucien ran through half of the city, even entering many shady streets and areas, but he didn't feel any place with a strange energy!
The black market couldn't really be underground, right?
If that's the case...
A manhole cover floated in the air and the invisible Lucien was about to jump into the sewer when a red dot suddenly blinked on his map.
Blink. Blink.
Huh?
Lucien felt a wave of strange energy, something familiar—
It felt like a dungeon.
Is there an instant dungeon opening here?
What bad luck. Not another gate break, right??
But what if it was the black market?
Lucien held onto this sliver of hope and cautiously came out of the sewer, following the blinking red dot on his virtual map.
Walk here, here—
Huh?
Lucien stopped in front of...a bling bling girly maid cafe.
...is there an error with the skill??
[02:00]
Lucien wanted to leave, but another group of soldiers and their dogs actually appeared at the street's junction just twenty meters away!
"Woof!"
"There! In front of that cafe!"
"Hahaha! That smuggler is mine!"
?? Just how much do you guys want to sell smugglers as slaves??
Left with no choice, Lucien immediately followed behind a young man, swiftly entering the maid cafe in his invisible state.
The moment Lucien entered the cafe, the strange energy he sensed before felt even stronger.
The direction—
The toilet.
...wow.
Lucien hugged Mumu's box and rushed over with a deadpan face.
[01:00]
Standing in front of a girly, pinkish heart heart washroom, Lucien suppressed his PTSD and racked his brain.
Is this the black market's entrance?
How to enter?
Do I need a password?
Ugh! Whatever! Let's try!
Lucien opened the door with a bang while shouting, "Open Sesame, black market!"
The word "black market" triggered something and the void behind the door instantly deformed.
"Here! Search the whole cafe!"
"Kyaaa! Robbery!"
The soldiers and their dogs poured into the cafe, startling the cute maids and the customers, but Lucien's figure had already disappeared into the void.
Shinggggg...
Lucien felt the familiar dizziness and his body was sucked into a brand new dimension.
This feeling—
Even Mumu in the box rolled his eyes and fainted.
Mumu hadn't experienced any dimensional transfer!!
Bang!
Lucien's body fell down but immediately steadied his body, his dizzy mind recovered faster than before.
Ha, ha, this place— it can't be like what he thought, right??
[00:30]
Lucien slowly opened his eyes and wriggling words dyed in red blood floated arrogantly in the air—
Grindhall Black Market.
The diligent system immediately sounded a crisp bell.
DING! [Dungeon Landlord's innate skills: ]
[Land Affinity (Legendary) (Passive Skill)]
[The land sensed your presence!]
[All living beings inside this dungeon will have their feelings towards you amplified by ten times.]
[Landlord, please be prepared!]
"...."
@-#&#-#-!!
Lucien screamed garbled noises without a sound as his soul banged his head on the wall.
Ahhhhh!!
The black market—
Is inside a dungeon??