It seemed like a regular liquor store with ambitious marketing tactics.
Ronan wasn't interested in the store, however. Just the landmark.
He walked towards the alleyway to the left of it. It was dark, with small wet puddles from a previous rain, perhaps.
Ronan spotted a door to the left of the alleyway. It didn't have a name, but he knew what it was.
He opened the door and was immediately met by another door with two men guarding it.
"Stop," one of them said simply. "Invitation."
Of course, Ronan didn't have one.
But he didn't need one.
"Hahhhh!?" He instantly sneered under his mask. "Do you even know who you're talking to?!"
Ronan's attitude seemed to startle the massive guards.
"Sir, I–"
"Do you know who I am, you damn oafs? I am a guest of Madam Butterfly herself, god damn it! And you dare ask me for something as petty as an invitation!?"
At the mention of Madam Butterfly, the two guards instantly paled.
"S-sir, we're sorry, we didn't know–"
"Huh!? And now you dare talk back?! Perhaps I should report this disrespect straight to Madam Butterfly and have you two executed!"
"S-sir, please–"
"But… perhaps we can make a deal. Hand me that in your hands, and let me in without any fuss."
He pointed to the drug in their hands. It was a powerful hallucinogen called halfling powder. It came from the halfling flower. When one infused mana into the halfling flower and crushed it into dust, it created halfling powder, a rare drug produced and monopolized in the criminal underworld by Madam Butterfly.
But the guard on the left narrowed his eyes and raised a hand.
"Stop. You claim you are a guest of Madam Butterfly?"
"Are you deaf or something? Isn't that what I just said?!"
However, the guard on the left didn't falter.
"If so, then tell me who Madam's second in command is. I'm sure a guest of the Madam would know something as simple as that."
That was a trick question.
Ronan sneered.
"You dare question my intelligence?! Madam Butterfly has no second in command!"
The left guard's brows furrowed at the correct answer.
"B-brother. I think we should just let him pass. He clearly knows what he is talking about."
The guard on the right stammered.
"You! I will remember you! Don't think Madam Butterfly will let this go!"
The guards gave in and handed Ronan the powder in their hands and allowed him entry.
But Ronan didn't miss the look of suspicion still present on the left guard's face.
He had to move fast.
Ronan instantly made haste.
Ronan wasn't sure if Madam Butterfly was here or not. There was a low chance she was present, but if she was, and she was informed that there was someone pretending to be a personal guest of hers, he'd be executed on the spot after being tortured for information.
His eyes darted around the club. People were dancing, their pupils dilated as if they weren't even present. Usually, to enter, one needed a referral from a trusted member, and they had to take a dose of the halfling powder.
Ronan had avoided that.
Green top hat, green top hat.
It wasn't a specific person he was looking for, but what that green top hat symbolized.
Then, finally, he saw it. A tall, scraggly man with a green top hat, sitting while sipping on some whiskey. He was sober.
Ronan walked up to him.
Before the man could speak, Ronan spoke a certain string of words.
"Does this house deal in unbound contracts?"
The man replied without missing a beat.
"The chain is only as strong as the–"
Ronan finished his sentence.
"–silence that binds it."
The man continued.
"Where is your banner?"
"I carry no banner."
The man smiled and removed a card from his back pocket.
"Then you may enter the unseen."
Ronan took the card in a hurry.
But it was too late.
"Stop him! Stop that man, he is impersonating a guest of Madam Butterfly."
Ronan glanced at the man in the green tophat – who didn't look like he was going to do anything – and quickly darted towards the exit.
Ronan didn't look back. His body twisted and weaved through the crowd, chairs falling and glasses shattering behind him.
"Stop him!"
"Block the exit!"
The guards were fast, likely tier one magicians with a specialization in body augmentation.
Ronan knew he couldn't outrun them. He had to use his head start and get to the exit first before looking for a way out.
Ronan raised his hand, and for the first time since he came to this world, he activated a skill.
Fireball, he willed in his mind.
A tiny sun materialized in Ronan's palm before it went flying towards one of the guards' faces.
It exploded right in the guard's face, causing the civilians nearby to cry out in pain from the heat.
But Ronan paid that no mind. He grabbed a lady who was dancing and kicked her towards the feet of the guard closer to him, causing him to stumble slightly while Ronan darted towards the door.
His heart raced as he hurriedly tried to open the door.
But the doorknob was rusty.
Fuck, Ronan cursed as he roughly turned the doorknob.
Both guards had regained their footing now, and they were running towards him at full speed.
"Fuck it!" Ronan yelled as he raised his hand toward the flimsy, rusted door.
"Fireball!"
The door exploded.
He had one more fireball in him, which he could have shot at the guards, but he saved it. He needed the mana for later.
Ronan instantly darted to the right and deeper into the alley. There were two turns. Ronan took the right.
"He went right! Chase him!"
They saw. That was fine.
Hiding behind a door that poked out of a corner, Ronan waited for the guards to get closer. He heard their footsteps getting louder and louder, and his breathing got more intense.
Not yet, he thought. Closer.
Closer...
"Where is he?!"
Now.
Ronan jumped out of the corner and threw the halfling powder he had obtained earlier from the two guards right at their faces.
"Shit! Don't breath it in!" One of the guards yelled as he instantly closed his eyes and staggered back.
The other guard got some in his eyes though, and he was temporarily blinded.
But that wouldn't be enough. Ronan raised his hand and summoned a fireball, sending hurling towards the guard who in better shape. He yelled as the fire impacted with his face, sending him back.
"F-fuck! Where is he?!" He yelled.
But Ronan was already long gone.
After a few random turns, Ronan finally took a moment to breathe. There was no way they would find him now. That was far closer than it had to be.
But he had to focus. This was just the first step.
Ronan started walking out of the alley and took a look at his card.
The card had a symbol of an eye between five different animals.
His card had a chicken, a horse, an owl, a dog, and a cat.
It symbolized which slave market he was allowed to enter.
Ronan didn't waste any time as he walked down the red light district.
All types of women seductively called out to him, but he paid them no mind as he continued down the path.
Ronan's eyes scanned the streets carefully.
Left, right, counting turns.
He didn't hesitate; he trusted his knowledge.
Then…
He stopped.
In front of a narrow building wedged between two larger ones, Ronan stood.
Unlike every other building in this place, this one had no sign. No lights. No indication it was even open.
Ronan stepped forward and creaked the door open.
Inside was an empty room. It looked abandoned and unremarkable. However, Ronan knew better.
He took out the card from his back pocket and placed it on the table gently.
Without warning, a light shone from the table, and a magic circle appeared under him.
An ominous eye flashed.
And he disappeared.
Ronan's vision stabilized.
He was standing in front of a massive cave.
And inside it was an entire ecosystem of trade. Hundreds of people were walking down the streets of the market, all wearing similar masks.
Ronan touched his face.
He was wearing the same mask everyone else was. It had attached itself to him when the teleportation was activated.
Ronan stepped into the market.
The low hum of voices, footsteps, and quiet transactions filled Ronan's ears as he walked down the busy marketway.
And when he glanced at the others, he noticed the way their faces blurred, voices altered.
This was the work of the masks everyone in the market wore, which were embedded with illusion magic.
However, Ronan didn't pay much attention to his surroundings.
There wasn't infinite time, and he had to find the slave market.
And it didn't take long. After only around 10 minutes of walking, Ronan saw the scene he was looking for.
Inside each cage were people, chained.
Men, women, children.
Some were standing, some were sitting, some were sleeping through the noise of the chatter. However, if needed, they were instantly woken up and forced to interact with their buyers.
Ronan heard the mummers in the air.
"This one has decent muscle density…"
"Look at her tits… they're massive hehehe."
"Check the mana core for me. I don't want broken goods."
The different men and women in masks analyzed the goods. They all had masks on their faces.
The masks didn't cover much, but there was something off about them. When Ronan tried to glance at their faces, there was an unnatural blur.
Illusion magic. His mask was the same.
"Oh? Is it another buyer? We don't usually get buyers as young as you. May I show you around?"
Ronan was approached by a tall man in a green mask. He had a smile on his face, and unlike the others, there was no blur when Ronan looked at him.
Ronan nodded.
"Take me to the back."
The man didn't question, nor did he waste any time.
"Right this way, sir."
He turned, already walking down the corridor before Ronan could respond, clearly expecting him to follow.
Ronan did.
Their footsteps echoed softly against the chamber floor. The further the two walked, the quieter the chatter of the buyers became.
And the inventory changed.
The few slaves here glared at Ronan with pure hate in their eyes. The bit at the cages and trashed violently.
They were unstable.
That is where he would find her.
Aura.
Aura was a character introduced far later into the story.
There was an attack on Luminara Academy, which led to a lot of student deaths. Luca blamed himself for not being able to save everyone, and along with his friends, he infiltrated the black market.
That was where he had found Aura.
A slave that no one wanted.
Not because she wasn't valuable.
She was just too much trouble.
Ronan's gaze shifted to the guide as he introduced him to the different slaves present.
In the original story, Aura had been placed far away from the other slaves. Not because she was weak, but because she refused to submit.
She would attack the buyers, reject the handlers, and she made herself far more trouble than she was worth.
So they put mana cuffs on her and put her in the far back.
She was a defective product.
But Ronan knew better.
"She should be here…" Ronan muttered.
"Pardon?" The guide asked.
"It's nothing. I don't think I will find what I want here. Take me even further back."
The man hesitated.
"Sir, are you sure?"
"Yes."
The tall man nodded and brought Ronan even further back. The number of cages has been reduced drastically.
They turned a corner.
Ronan saw them. Two guards in front of a metal door.
"He is a buyer," the guide said.
The guards hesitated, but only for a second, before they nodded and stepped aside.
The air instantly felt heavier as Ronan passed through.
➜➜➜➜➜
This area was quieter.
There was no shouting, no sales pitches.
Only the occasional sound of chains clanking could be heard.
Ronan's eyes swept across the cages.
3 of them.
A young boy with a snarl on his face and two older ones who were sleeping.
Not who he was looking for.
And then Ronan felt it.
A presence.
It was subtle, suppressed – very suppressed – but Ronan felt it.
Ronan stopped walking.
The guide in the green mask stepped forward.
"Something catch your eye, sir?"
Ronan didn't answer. Instead, his gaze darted around the room – searching.
Then he found what he was looking for.
In the far corner of the room, almost not visible, was a single cage. It was separated from the rest deliberately.
Ronan walked closer.
And there he saw it.
A girl sat in the corner of the cage.
Black hair was draped over her face, and she sat there, hugging her knees.
She sat still, unmoving. If someone told Ronan she was a statue, he would have believed it.
Ronan's lips curved.
He pointed.
"There."
The guide frowned.
"Ah, that one? Not a popular choice, sir."
Ronan stepped closer and took a closer look at the girl, who hadn't reacted to anything that was happening.
The guide kicked the cage violently.
"Wake up!"
The faint sound of chains shifting could be heard.
For the first time, the black-haired girl lifted her head and looked at the two men.
Her eyes locked onto Ronan's.
There was no fear in there.
No confusion.
No obedience.
Only pure, unadulterated hostility.
If her appearance didn't confirm it, this did.
He had found her.
Aura.