The voice of the man in black wearing an iron mask was not as cold as his attire suggested; he spoke in a perfectly normal tone: "Well, let the meeting officially begin."
Furen glanced at his friends. Erich and Karl remained silent, but even Quevedo was mute. Seeing Furen looking at him, he smiled and gestured for him to observe the proceedings of the meeting.
A waiter, standing near the host, handed him the first sheet of paper. The host glanced at it and said, "The first transaction of the day is a request for an 'Apprentice' potion recipe."
Yet, in this assembly of beyonders, only two or three people spoke in low voices; silence reigned in the room.
The host, clearly used to this, waited about twelve seconds and, seeing no response, moved on to the next transaction, then continued: "Let's begin the second transaction: 20 milliliters of lava octopus blood."
This time, someone replied: "I have lava octopus blood, but only 5 milliliters."
The host paused, waiting for the person who had made the request to come forward and inquire about the price. Sure enough, a masked man, wearing a hooded raincoat, stood up and asked in a deliberately hoarse voice, "How much?"
The man who had initiated the transaction took the initiative and asked: "This blood is worth 100 pounds of gold, but if you are willing to reveal to me the recipe for the potion containing the Beyonder ingredients you need, I will give you not only this blood, but also 140 pounds."
Upon learning that the man wanted the recipe for his potion, the prudent merchant refused to give it to him, declaring: "No need, 100 pounds is quite enough."
Shaking his head in regret, the man who had been looking for a potion recipe quickly handed the waiter a test tube containing lava octopus blood, while the one who had initiated the transaction also gave him the necessary money and the amount to be paid to the host.
The host examined the two objects before him, took out a gold ring, and, in a flash of golden light, calmly declared, "The transaction is complete."
Thus, a transaction in the world of mysteries was concluded.
As the number of transactions increased, the whispers below intensified. Quevedo, no longer able to suppress his urge to speak, smiled at his companions and said, "Well? This Beyonders meeting is rather pleasant, isn't it?"
Furen nodded and said, "Yes, that matches my impression of Beyonder gatherings: mysterious and full of unusual things."
Karl remained silent.
His hand unconsciously brushed against the bag containing the Beyonder ingredients. Seeing Karl's expression, Erich said, "Don't worry, the recipe and ingredients are perfect. I'll accompany you home and help you prepare the potion."
He nodded his head in gratitude.
Seeing that his friends did not wish to talk, Quevedo, not wanting the atmosphere to remain gloomy, said: "Let's settle these points. By the way, Furen, Erich, don't you want to buy some materials or mystical objects?"
With that, Quevedo signaled to his friends to look at the exchanged items.
The host had just finished his sentence when he declared: "...This mystical object is equivalent to Sequence 8, but it will only last six months. Its price is 300 pounds, which is the recipe for a potion from Sequence 9, no matter what."
Furen, who had not been listening attentively to the details of the transaction, asked with interest, "What is this mystical object? I didn't hear about it."
Quevedo gestured with his hand, mimicking a sword: "It's a knight's sword. Its power is to breathe fire, but it's not very powerful, equivalent to Sequence 8."
Furen felt a vague unease, but couldn't define it precisely; so he simply smiled and said, "It's an exceptional and high-quality item, but unfortunately, not only do I not need it, but my fortune doesn't allow it either."
Quevedo, anticipating this, laughed: "That's true. I wasn't expecting such an extraordinary gathering today; I simply wanted to take you to the Beyonders."
While Furen and Quevedo were discussing, the bidding for this mystical object became fierce, with three or four people sharing it.
As the bidding continued, many gave up, until a burly man with a menacing face finally won the auction for this mystical object for the sum of 500 pounds.
Karl, seeing this burly man so brazenly reveal his face, asked curiously: "Don't people who are here to trade hide their true intentions? How can they be so careless and blatant?"
Seeing his friend's perplexed expression, Quevedo smiled and said, "Although we have become extraordinary beings, in the end, we Sequence 9s, or even Sequence 8s, are just humans, hardly better than ordinary people. In fact, some extraordinary beings are even incapable of defeating ordinary people skilled in combat."
"And that guy," Quevedo said, pointing to the burly man, leaning forward and lowering his voice, "he's a mercenary, a local. A lot of people know him; they call him 'the Bald One.' He'd be a Sequence 9, but a Beyonder ready for a fight. Even three of us might not stand a chance."
Furen suddenly remembered that he needed to work on his physique, if only to gain speed. So he asked Quevedo, "Quevedo, do you know of any places where I could train so I don't get beaten easily?" Quevedo wasn't surprised.
Furen had this idea in mind; after all, he had made him somewhat uncomfortable. He shook his head and said, "I know places like that, but honestly, even if you train a lot, you..." "They're opponents of extraordinary individuals like 'The Bald One'."
Furen wasn't surprised. After all, those who followed the path of the "Warrior" or the "Hunter" focused all their extraordinary power on physical strength and combat skills. A frail apprentice like him couldn't compete. But Furen wasn't ready to give up: "I don't want to confront them head-on. I only hope I can escape these extraordinary individuals. After all, even if I can't defeat them, I must be able to flee."
Seeing that Furen was determined to improve his physical condition, Quevedo thought it was a good thing and told him: "Very well, you can go to the villa located at 37 Golden Phoenix Street, in the Heinck district. Tell him that Quevedo introduced you to him. If you pay the full price, you can undergo physical training there."
Seeing Furen's organization, Karl initially wanted to go as well, but Erich said, "We 'readers' don't have the ability to improve our physical skills, so it's better to focus on developing our abilities first. Physical fitness isn't our priority. Hmm, Furen, I'm not going to try to convince you."
Quevedo, who was standing nearby, instinctively opened his mouth, but said nothing more.
(End of chapter)