The alley was winding and dark. On both sides of the alley were either walls or houses without any candlelight. Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, this place was as quiet as a graveyard …
He looked up at the sky and noticed that most of the houses on both sides of the alley were two-storey buildings made of wood and stone. The eaves of the houses protruded so much that there was only a half-meter-wide gap in the sky above the alley. That was why the moonlight didn't bring much light to the alley.
He couldn't see the ground clearly, but he could still make out the alley with the help of the faint moonlight.
There was no one in the alley, and the muddy ground was littered with countless puddles and tracks left by wheels rolling through the mud.
It had not rained during this period of time, and the muddy ground in this alley could only mean one thing. There was no sewage pipe in this place, so the residents could only pour their discarded domestic water onto the road outside …
Claude felt that the alley was rather long. He estimated that he had been walking for more than ten minutes, but he still hadn't found a single lit house.
It was dark on both sides of the alley. Even though he could roughly make out the facades of the buildings, he couldn't be sure which was the underground magic market he was looking for.
Perhaps I should have come during the day … Claude shook his head with a bitter smile and listened carefully to make sure no one was following him.
Public security in the slums was chaotic, and it was necessary to be vigilant in such a dark alley.
Otherwise, if a shadow came out of nowhere and stabbed you just to rob you of a few copper coins, you wouldn't be able to die in peace …
Fortunately, Claude's hearing was extremely sharp. If someone was lying in ambush in the dark alley, he would definitely be able to hear their breathing and heartbeat from ten meters away.
However, it seemed that Claude had worried for nothing. There wasn't even a shadow to be found in the dark alley.
After another four to five minutes, Claude noticed that the alley made a big right turn. He could vaguely hear the sound of people and the light of candles ahead.
Claude perked up and turned the corner. When he saw the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. He seemed to have been here before, but he couldn't quite remember where.
In front of him was the intersection of four lanes, like the intersection of a cross-street, where the four lanes met to form a small clearing. There was an old mulberry tree, under which was a large canopy made of old planks.
There were two fish skin lanterns hanging under the canopy, and there was a supper stall under the lanterns.
That was where the voices he heard came from. Five silhouettes were seated around a table and talking loudly.
There was an oil lamp on the table, and the fire under the stove of the supper stall was bright red. The smell of the sea and rye wine wafted in the air …
Claude walked towards the empty space at the crossroads. As he walked, he tried to recall what he saw. This place does look familiar. When did I come here before?
As he approached, the chatter in the canopy quieted down. Soon, no one made a sound. The only sound that could be heard was the sizzling of the fire under the stove and the occasional flash of a spark.
Claude could feel the gazes of the people in the supper stall on him. Their gazes were filled with caution and wariness.
It couldn't be helped. He was wearing a black robe and a gray linen scarf, making it impossible to see his face or figure clearly.
Anyone who saw such a mysterious person suddenly appearing in a dark alley would be on high alert.
Who knew if the masked man would pull out a knife and rob the supper stall or something? It wasn't rare to see something like that happen here.
Perhaps someone hired the masked man to make a move on someone …
Claude ignored the gazes of the people in the supper stall. When he reached the crossroads, he looked at the canopy and the mulberry tree and suddenly remembered where he was.
Eriksson had brought him here before. He didn't come from the stone alley that led from the old street, but from another alley.
There was nothing under the mulberry tree during the day, but there was a supper stall at night. Claude didn't recognize it at first.
Eriksson didn't bring him here to stroll around the alley, but to buy his favorite maltose.
Oh, right, this is the chubby shopkeeper who opened a grocery store after returning from the royal capital. What's his name again?
Hurian?
I think that's his name, right?
He's really good at making maltose.
Eriksson said that after he went to the royal capital, he wouldn't be able to buy any maltose in Whitestag anymore. Fortunately, the old man returned to his roots.
So, this is the stall opened by the old maltose maker, Hurian?
Claude turned his head to the right and remembered that the old man's stall was right opposite the mulberry tree. He had come there alone once to buy maltose for his siblings, but it was in the afternoon and there were many people walking around the alley. He didn't pay much attention to anything else and left after buying the maltose.
As expected, he saw the familiar stall. However, the door was still open. Even though there weren't any candles in the room, there was a lantern made of fish skin hanging under the eaves. The pale light from the lantern illuminated a line of white words on the wooden wall behind the lantern.
Claude focused his gaze and saw that it was number 17 of Flower Stone Alley.
As it turned out, the underground magic market was set up in Whitestag. That was where the stall was located.
Eriksson said that the old man, Hurian, had only returned to town last year to open his stall. Maria also said that the stall in town had only been open for a year or so. Everything made sense. Claude didn't think that the old man would be a magus too.
However, he didn't know whether he was registered or not.
Claude walked to the stall and knocked on the open wooden door with a hoarse voice. "Is anyone there?"
There was no one inside, but a reply came from behind him. "Hey, hey, what's up?"
A chubby figure popped out from under the canopy. It turned out that Hurian had been drinking there too.
Based on Claude's memories, Hurian was a good-tempered man who always had a smile on his face. Claude came here once with Eriksson and another time on his own. All he saw was a bunch of kids surrounding the old man, listening to him tell stories about the royal capital.
The last time he bought the maltose, he even saw the old man give the leftovers to the gluttonous kids around him.
However, Hurian looked at Claude warily. "What do you want?"
"I heard you have some special materials for sale here?"
At that moment, he regretted not asking Maria about how he was supposed to communicate with her. Why didn't he have a secret code or something to make it clear that he was only there to buy magic materials and not maltose candies?
Hurian, the fat old man, did not reply. He walked into the house and lit an oil lamp with a flint. He then turned the oil lamp on and said, "Come in."
Claude entered the stall.
Hurian looked at Claude and asked, "What do you want to buy?"
Claude looked at the shelves in the stall and shook his head. He wasn't here to buy those random things. "Something special, like magic crystals."
Hurian snickered. "Magic crystals? Do you think a stall like mine would have them?
Why don't you cast a spell for me first? "
Claude was taken aback. "Here?"
"Then where else do you want to buy it?" Hurian mocked.
Cast a spell … What kind of spell should I cast?
He didn't think that he would have to cast a spell to prove his identity as a magus. He couldn't cast the seven basic spells he knew. He could cast the eight spells Maria taught him, but he didn't need to cast Detect and Underwater Breathing. Others wouldn't be able to tell even if he did.
Luminous Pearl wouldn't work either. It would cause too much of a commotion. If he cast a Luminous Pearl, the entire place would be lit up and all the residents would come out to see God.
Air Barrier wouldn't work either. That thing would be very obvious under the light of the lamp. There were a few people sitting under the canopy outside staring at him.
If she saw such a shield appearing on her body, she would probably scream out in surprise.
Ice Condensation required water. Claude looked at the counter and didn't see any cups on it.
Water Condensation wouldn't work either. That spell used up a lot of mana.
He had to conserve his mana in case something unexpected happened.
For example, the old man in front of him was hiding a dagger behind his smile … Pfft, I'm not a scammer …
Oh, that works.
Claude stretched out his right hand and placed it beside the oil lamp. With a snap of his fingers, a small flame appeared on his index finger and burned brightly beside the oil lamp. His index finger didn't change at all.
Fortunately, he had the magic tome with him. All he had to do was infuse his mana into the rune parchment to cast the spell.
Most magi who didn't know about the existence of the tome wouldn't be able to tell if it was a basic spell.
Claude thought gleefully.
The old man looked at the small flame on Claude's finger and waved his hand. The flame disappeared, leaving only his index finger beside the oil lamp.
"Come with me."
The fat old man turned around and walked inside. With a click, he opened a small door that led inside. "Go in."
It's so dark inside … Claude wondered why the old man didn't bring a lamp with him.
However, he could only raise his guard and wait and see what would happen.
After entering the room, he couldn't even see his fingers in front of him. Just as he was about to ask, he heard the door close with a click. Even the few strands of light from the oil lamp that seeped in from the outside were gone.
However, the room was soon filled with white light.
Claude blinked his eyes to familiarize himself with the white light.
The old man behind him actually released a Luminous Pearl without any warning. In terms of brightness, the old man's Luminous Pearl was even brighter than Maria's.
Claude's eyes quickly got used to the brightness. Only then did he realize that the room he was in was made of stone. There weren't any windows except for the small door he came in through.
The roof was arched and made of large pieces of stone. There was a fist-sized hole at the top of the four walls that seemed to be used as ventilation holes.
The room was very empty. There was only a thick, black wooden shelf placed on the three sides of the wall. The wooden shelf looked very familiar.
Claude looked at them carefully. Heh, aren't those the wooden shelves from Wakri's shop?
It seemed that Wakri was telling the truth when he said he was going to sell the items to Hurian. Even the three wooden shelves were included.
The junk placed on the wooden shelves was no longer the useless trash like Wakri.
Claude cast Appraisal Eye. After following Maria for some time, he knew that using Appraisal was more reliable than using mental power to identify magical items.
One of Claude's basic spells was Appraisal Eye, an evolved version of Appraisal Eye. It could be used to check the items on the shelves without missing anything.
In an instant, the three wooden shelves shone with a myriad of colors, almost blinding Claude's eyes. They were all magical items that glowed with the unique glow of magic.