The man's smug smile lasted for less than two seconds before Bete stepped forward.
Using his height advantage, the werewolf looked down at the thug and growled, "Give me a damn discount."
His tone was thick with pure threat.
"Um... is it really okay to act like this?" Noah asked, feeling a little nervous.
The werewolf replied bluntly, "Hmph. How are you going to survive as an adventurer acting so soft? This is just how things work down here. You had better remember it."
Noah glanced over at Tione and Tiona.
He saw that their expressions were completely calm, they did not care about threatening the man at all.
'I see.'
"I understand," Noah nodded.
He walked over to the thug. A red light suddenly glowed from the silver bracelet on his wrist.
"Annihilator, release," the boy whispered.
In the very next second, the massive white sniper formed in his hands.
He casually lifted the heavy sniper rifle and aimed it at a small dirt hill sitting just outside the edge of town.
"Bombard."
A blinding crimson beam shot from the barrel.
"BOOM"
In the blink of an eye, the beam struck the tall dirt mound and set off a violent, deafening explosion.
The massive boom echoed throughout the entire town of Rivira.
Watching the seemingly harmless boy unleash such a terrifying attack, the thug was scared stupid.
He stared at the dirt hill just outside of town.
It had been blasted completely flat.
In fact, it should probably be called a dirt crater now.
The man trembled, cursing in his head: 'What the hell is that thing?!'
After firing the single shot, Noah put on a fake look of surprise and stared off into the distance.
"My, the Dungeon truly is an amazing place. To think meteorites can just fall from the sky down here! How dangerous. One almost landed right in front of the town gate."
As he spoke, he smoothly turned the Annihilator and pressed the massive smoking barrel right against the thug's forehead.
The leftover heat from the gun barrel was hot enough to singe the man's hair, but the thug's body went completely stiff.
He did not dare to move a single inch, terrified of angering the monster standing in front of him.
"It would be terrible if one of those meteorites landed inside the town and accidentally hit someone. After all, if you get hit by an explosion like that, there will not even be a body left to bury. The investigation would be a real pain for everyone. Do you agree, mister?"
Noah gently rested his finger on the trigger.
The man, who had just watched the hill get erased from existence, nearly pissed his pants in terror.
"Sir! Please allow me to serve you with all my heart! Hehehe..."
Seeing the man fully surrender, Noah gave a faint smile and turned the Annihilator back into a bracelet.
The man was just about to breathe a heavy sigh of relief when he noticed something.
Even though the strange weapon was gone, the boy's fingers were now shaped like a gun, pointing right at his head.
It was just a small prank.
But the man had completely lost all his courage to haggle. He obediently turned around and started to lead the way.
Even Bete was a little stunned by the display.
The werewolf might be fierce, but he still played by the rules of being an adventurer.
This kid, however, was completely unreasonable.
He had threatened the guy with a deadly weapon right off the bat!
Completely hiding behind his harmless, friendly appearance, the boy was actually a devil in disguise!
"Sirs, what kind of items are you looking to buy from the black market? I know all the secret connections around here. Whatever you want, I can get it. Status Thief? Status Update Potions? Cursed items?"
'Well now.'
'So this is the true black market.'
The guide immediately rattled off a list of highly illegal goods. Just getting caught with one of those items was enough to land a person in jail for years.
Among them, Status Thief and Update Potions were the worst, because they required the blood of a god to make.
In Orario, using an item to secretly look at another adventurer's hidden stats was considered a massive crime.
It was basically an invasion of privacy.
Update Potions were even crazier.
They were illegal items that let an adventurer update their own stats without needing their patron god to do it for them.
"I need a Grimoire," Noah said quietly.
The man's eyes instantly bugged out. "What?! A Grimoire?!"
Even though a Grimoire was not technically an illegal item, it was still one of the most expensive things ever sold on the black market.
The price was always at least one hundred million valis.
'This kid is way too rich.... and terrifyingly strong!'
'Just where did this little monster come from?'
"Sir, Grimoires are incredibly rare," the man warned. "Even on the black market, they only show up once in a blue moon. Whenever one does appear, it usually causes a bloodbath. Even if you have the money to win the bid, you might get murdered before you can walk away with it."
Noah glanced at the four Level 4 bodyguards standing behind him and smiled confidently.
"You do not need to worry about that. You just need to help me find a place or a person that might be selling one."
The man thought carefully for a moment. "If you are asking who might have a Grimoire to sell, I think there is only one person in this whole town who could pull that off."
"Just lead the way."
"Alright, I understand, sir."
After winding their way through half the town, the group finally arrived at their destination.
Following the guide, Noah noticed that the secret items on display in this area were much higher quality than the junk near the entrance.
Just as the man pointed to a shop up ahead, Noah's sharp ears picked up a very familiar voice.
It was a woman's voice.
"You bastard! I just want to buy a simple Status Thief! The price you are quoting me is more than three times the normal market rate! Do you take me for a fool?!"
The angry woman's roar echoed from the target shop.
Suddenly, Noah raised a hand to stop his four bodyguards.
He grabbed the guide by the collar and quickly dragged him into a dark, narrow alleyway.
"Hmph. That is the going rate right now. If you do not want to pay it, you can take your business somewhere else," a gruff man's voice replied from inside the shop.
"Tch! Bors, are you trying to piss me off?!"
Listening to the woman's voice, Noah's eyes turned cold.
He stayed completely silent.
The werewolf frowned and whispered, "Hey, what's wrong? We found the place, so why are we suddenly hiding?"
"Shh." Noah made a hushing gesture, his face dead serious.
The others quickly quieted down.
Listening to the argument and making sure he hadn't been spotted, the boy gave a dark, sinister smile.
"It was the voice of Asfi Al Andromeda just now."
"Who?" Tiona whispered.
"Wait, you mean 'Perseus'?" Tione asked in surprise.
"The captain of the Hermes Familia is buying an illegal item like Status Thief on the black market?" Bete muttered.
Noah's eyes narrowed.
The Hermes Familia was famous for gathering information and taking on secret missions, so it wasn't too strange for them to buy an Status Thief.
After all, they often ran into bizarre situations.
If they found a dead body or captured an enemy spy, forcing their stats open to see their skills was the easiest way to figure out who they were.
Noah used his Spell-Weaver skill to perfectly cancel out any noise his group made in the alley.
He did not silence the entire area, because that would be too suspicious.
In a noisy, restless town like Rivira, an alley that was dead silent would only draw attention.
"You greedy money slave!" Asfi yelled.
"Haha, that is right! I love money! What are you gonna do about it?" Bors laughed.
"Hah! What am I gonna do about it? I guess I will just have to cancel our deal for the Grimoire!"
Noah heard the sound of the woman snatching something heavy off a table.
But more importantly, he heard her words.
'A Grimoire! They are trading a Grimoire?!'
"Hey, wait! Andromeda! We had a deal! You cannot go back on your word!"
"No, I am going back on it right now, and I definitely will not change my mind again! Goodbye. Actually, no—farewell forever, Bors."
The woman with short aqua-blue hair stormed out of the shop and marched west, heading toward the town's inns.
Noah watched her walk away, lost in thought.
He patted the terrified guide on the shoulder. "You can go now."
"Huh?" The man was stunned for a second before his face lit up with joy. "Ah, yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I will be leaving right now!"
Noah and the four members of the Loki Familia finally stepped out of the alley.
Tiona looked curious. "Aren't we going into the shop to ask that Bors guy about the Grimoire?"
The bodyguards had heard the whole conversation, too.
However, they were not going to steal the book for him.
Even if Noah decided to rob Asfi, they would not help him do it—though they wouldn't stop him, either.
After all, they were just here as his bodyguards.
Even though they liked him, they were not going to help him attack the captain of another Familia.
Noah thought for a moment.
He looked at the four of them and said, "Let's head back to our inn and rest first. I have a score to settle with Hermes. A very personal one."
He clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with danger.
The four adventurers looked at each other but did not object.
Seeing the dark look on the boy's face, they understood one thing very clearly: Noah was not doing this out of greed.
He truly had a massive grudge against the Hermes Familia!
The look on his face just now had been genuinely frightening!
...
Night fell over the Dungeon.
Noah left his inn alone.
He quietly walked to the west side of town, using his Appraisal skill to scan the inn where Asfi was staying as he planned his next move.
Just then, a cautious figure slipped out of the inn's back door.
Noah stared at the person and used Appraisal.
[Lulune Louie]
Race: Cianthrope
Affiliation: Member of the Hermes Familia
Class: Adventurer / Thief
Level: Lv. 2
Current Task: Ordered by her captain, Asfi Al Andromeda, to deliver a Grimoire back to their patron god, Hermes. Currently searching the black market for a reasonably priced Status Thief.
Current Thoughts: Feeling troubled because she hasn't done anything amazing enough to achieve a Level Up.
The Cianthrope girl scanned the dark streets warily.
She moved with light, practiced steps, quickly slipping out of Rivira without making a single sound.
Judging by the direction she was running, she was not heading for the main tunnel back to the surface.
Was she heading toward the forest on the 18th Floor? She was probably going to meet up with the rest of her Familia out in the wild.
Hiding deep in the shadows, Noah used his spell-weaver to completely erase his own footsteps, his scent, and his presence.
He quietly began to tail her from a distance.
He truly, deeply wanted to see the look on that bastard god Hermes's face when he realized he had just lost a hundred million valis.
Surely, that would bring Noah immense pleasure!
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