Around 10 in the morning, Duke was still sleeping when Jerry came to wake him."Duke, get up quickly! Laila is here, she's calling you," Jerry said.
Duke, rubbing his eyes, said, "Yeah, tell her I'm coming." Jerry left.Duke got up, freshened up, and put into his pocket the things he had prepared the previous night. Then he stepped out of his family room and went downstairs, where Laila and Gia were waiting for him.
Laila: "Duke, I told you we have to leave early in the morning, and you were still sleeping!"
Duke: "You said early morning, but you never told me the time."
Laila: "Then why couldn't you be ready anyway? Whatever, now let's go quickly."
Soon, Gia and Duke reached Mirror Hall, where a girl about Laila's age was already standing. She was so beautiful that she could rival the queen, and she had royal grace.
Duke (looking at her): "Gia, who is this beautiful girl?"
Gia: "This is my friend Angela."
Duke: "She really looks like a princess from some kingdom."
Gia (ignoring him): "Angela, this is Duke, he will be coming with us."
Angela: "But I thought it was just the three of us going?"
Gia: "Laila added him at the last moment, I didn't know either."
Angela and Gia looked toward Laila
.Laila: "Don't worry, he'll stay with me. Now let's go, we're getting late."
The four of them told the Hall Keeper their destination — South Black Market. He pointed toward a mirror, and they all stepped through it to arrive at the South Black Market.
The South Black Market was built in a swampy area near the border. A magical protective layer had been placed over the swamp so people could live there. Beneath this layer lived dangerous monsters. This layer ran on life force — if someone's life force or energy stopped, the layer beneath their feet would vanish, and they would fall into the swamp and become prey for the monsters.
This high-level magic was made of five elements —
Fire (the lowest layer)
Thunder
Water
Earth
A hidden element — Soul
From above, the layer appeared invisible, showing the swamp below. As long as the Soul energy remained, vampires could safely stand on it.
Upon arriving at the market, they rented a room in a private cottage. As soon as they entered the room, Laila asked —
Laila: "Now tell me, why have we even come here?"
Gia: "Yes, Angela, I've been asking since yesterday."
Angela: "I've been given a mission to gather information about the East Side's White Commander's brother."
Gia: "But… hasn't he been missing for two years? Why now?"
Angela: "When the Commander's brother Willsan (Level 7 Wizard) disappeared, his guard Liam (1st Silver Rank) also vanished. Recently, Liam was spotted on the South side."
Gia: "Really? If he's alive, he's the only one who can tell us what happened to Willsan."
Angela: "Yes. In fact, a week ago, Liam was seen at the Information Hall of the Dark Market. We need to find out if that's true."
Gia: "That won't be easy. The Information House never reveals their client's identity."Angela: "I know. But one of their men agreed to give me the information — in exchange for Gold Blood."
Gia: "Are you sure?"
Angela: "Yes. We have to meet him at Madira House."
Gia: "When will that be?"
Angela: "In about an hour."
Duke: "It's a trap."
Angela (turning around): "What did you say?"
Duke: "I said — it's a trap. The Information House never betrays its client."
Gia: "We know that…"
Duke: "And yet you're still going to them."
Angela: "If it's a trap, then why did he give me the correct details about Liam?"
Duke: "Because someone planned to bring you here. A friend invites you to a safe place, an enemy calls you to a place like this."
The three girls went silent — Duke's words seemed right.
Laila: "Duke is right."
Angela (reluctantly agreeing): "But he gave me this Black Badge with the Information House logo, and I've verified it. If it were a trap, why would he give this?" She showed the badge.
Duke: "Do you know how the Information House works?
"Angela: "Yes, they only exchange information without revealing the client's identity."
Duke: "And do you know who their informers are?"
Angela: "Could be anyone, there's no restriction."
Duke: "Have you ever noticed any connection between Madira House and Information House?"
Angela: "Yes, they're always near each other in the Black Market.
"Duke: "That's because Madira House is actually a sub-branch, or you could say the brother, of the Information House. It's their main collection hub. People don't know this. In every city of this dark world, there's a Madira House, even in the smallest places, where all kinds of people — good and bad — come to drink. In every Madira House, there's a man sitting at the last table, face covered, recording everything every day. These reports go to the Mid Department, which is built at the back side of the Madira House. From there, the refined reports are sent to the Main Office, which we call the Information House.
The badge you have is from the Mid Department. The Main Office only uses Red Badges (supervisors of the hall who give verified information to White Badges) or White Badges (who pass that information to the client)."
Angela and Gia were shocked — even their families didn't know as much about the Black Market's Information House as Duke did.
Gia: "So what do we do now?"
Duke: "The badge looks real. If we want the truth, we'll have to go there."
Laila: "If we know it's a trap, why go? They could capture us."
Duke: "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen." He took out a Blue Badge from his pocket, similar to Angela's Black Badge
.Laila: "But you said there are only three badge colors — what is this?"
Duke: "Yes, officially only three exist. This was a gift from one of their men, in return for my help. It can only be used once, for anything."
Angela and Gia were once again shocked. Seeing their expressions,
Duke said, "Change your clothes and cover your faces. We'll leave for Madira House in an hour."
Holding the Black Badge, he touched its Soul Imprint and said softly —"It's been a long time since we met, Tom."
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