Kkkwwwoookkk!!
Emery could hear creatures shrieking all around, even from the sky. From the sound of something flapping across the air, he could guess they were probably the kind of creature that had wings.
Aeon, who was more knowledgeable on the matter, knew exactly what kind of creatures they were, "That's the bioraptors. They are very nasty creatures. Not only they can fly, they are also very hard to kill. Luckily, their weakness is light as they are very sensitive to it."
"Hence, we will be fine as long as we are inside this light."
"Aeon, how do you know this place?!"
"Being a Magus Guild attendant, I get to hear lots of weird stuff from people. So yeah... If you ask me how do I know... I guess, being a nice guy?" Replied Aeon with a smile.
Emery followed the two of them for a few minutes. From the ground he stepped on, he could tell the planet's terrain was similar to an arid desert. This guess was further enhanced by the dryness he could feel from the air in this place.
They continued to walk until Aeon finally led them to a door of a unique contrast. From a distance, it looked like a huge tube that was standing in the middle of nowhere.
When Aeon touched the door, it quickly opened and its inside were immediately lit by a light source, allowing the trio to see the interior. It was a spacious empty room that could easily fill a dozen people.
Emery revealed an interested expression as they walked past the door and the entirety of the room was bared open to him. The door, then, swiftly closed and he could feel the tube started shaking. From the sensation he felt, which was familiar to when he rode that rectangular machine at the Apothecary Institute, Emery guessed the tube was going down.
Before he could ask what was the thing they were in, Aeon beat him, "The surface of the Furia Planet is swarmed by monsters. Hence, everything going on in this planet happens underground. And this is one of the many entry points spread across the planet."
"Entry? Entry to what?" asked Emery.
Alas, before Aeon could explain more, just a few seconds after the tube began to go down, Emery's attention was suddenly caught by something. Through the glass, he could see a massive cave filled with rows of buildings. A city that was getting closer and closer.
Emery was so shocked to see a city built underground that his mouth went wide open.
"Welcome to the Underground City of Furia."
Emery was mesmerized by the sight of the city until he suddenly realized something odd. If the city was built beneath the ground, where did the light come from? He looked around and noticed something that could be the answer.
The massive cave was still somehow dark, which obstructed the visibility a little bit, however, Emery could see that there was some kind of glowing rock embedded in the walls and ceiling of the cave, making the place light up.
Before the tube they were in reached the ground, Aeon opened his storage ring and gave the other two a mask.
"Why a mask?" Emery asked subconsciously.
Without explaining, Aeon beckoned the doubtful Emery to wear it. Meanwhile, Cedric already wore his. "Yes. Just wear it and you will see."
When the tube hit the ground and the door once again opened, Emery was welcomed by the sight of hundreds of people, all wearing different masks. But then, he noticed there were some people who did not wear one.
Those people were the one wearing black armor, with no hair seen on their heads. Moreover, Emery realized all of those people were bald, no matter if they were male or female. From their gait, they seemed to be the guards of this place.
"Let's go. This way," Looking at how decisive Aeon was, it looked like he knew the way around this place.
They walked through the crowd of people, towards a dome-like building. The trio was blocked by the guard-like people Emery saw earlier. Aeon then showed some kind of identity certificate to the black-armored guard before he let the three of them inside.
Inside, Emery could see it was similar to the Hub, a large circular room with many counter tables. Currently, the place was filled with many people, all wearing masks.
Emery found the spectacle to be quite strange, but he did not comment further on this. When he casted his gaze over to the counter tables, he could see the attendants were women with colorful skin, such as purple, pink, green and so on. Exotic, that was the thought that appeared in his mind.
"My bronze tag can only allow me to get to this first level. But here should be enough for your business, Emery."
The trio then approached one of the available counters, with a blue-skinned attendant.
"Visitor, what can I do for you today?"
Aeon explained that everything in here was very similar to that of Magus Hub. It had its own taskmaster and shop, but the difference was located at its job range. This place gave some of the weirdest and shadiest jobs in the universe.
[Taskmaster - Bronze Job]
Recruiting guards for a delivery to Planet #19643 - 10.000 credits
Burglar was needed for Dragon Cave of Vinar - 20.000 credits
Exterminating Troll Camps seen in the area Entrance #367 - 15.000 credits
"Credits are the same as spirit stones, they are something that is used to be exchanged here."
The reason why this place was the favorite for those who were trying to earn some items was its complete anonymity. The black market of Furia never asked and never required its customer's identity. However, the rate of the job would normally be 30 percent more expensive than the price at the Universal Market.
When Emery heard this, he finally realized why everyone wore a mask. They wanted to hide their identity.
Next, Emery quickly opened up the [Shop], which quickly showed a panel similar to the Hub.
"Can I help you with anything, sir? We have special items that you might be interested in." said the female attendant, pouring out recommendation after recommendation while Emery was browsing.
Upon hearing that, Emery was interested, as he asked the attendant to show him the list.
[Basilisk Egg - 25.000 credits]
[Intrepid-Class Spaceship - 150.000]
…
All those items were fascinating and alluring, but Emery only had one that he wanted in mind. He kept scrolling through the list until he found it.
[Void Crystal - 90.000 credits]
Below it, there was a brief introduction of the item.
[Crystal containing the primordial power of space]
"Dammit! It's so expensive!" Emery cursed inwardly. He could only cry in silence as he looked at the exaggerating amount of credits he would need to buy this crystal. If this crystal was included, Emery would need close to 200.000 spirit stones to bring everything he wanted back to Earth.
Emery, Cedric and Aeon continued to browse around for a while. However, as Emery had almost zero spirit stones in his pocket, seeing the rows of big numbers and comparing them to what he currently had, he just got depressed.
But Emery quickly picked himself up. Even though he currently did not have the capital to buy the Void Crystal, at least he now knew where to find it.
While Emery was going through his roller coaster of emotions, Cedric was excited to browse through the list of apothecary ingredients that were rare to find outside.
When they were all done, Aeon brought the two back to the surface and the group then returned to Golden City.
Emery first thought about continuing his practice in the stone origin room. But with such a low gain of spirit force and his dire need of spirit stones, he decided to return to the Apothecary Institute.
He recalled that Master Grom said there would be remuneration if he helped at the Institute as an assistant.
As he walked back together with Cedric, Emery asked the amount he would get.
"On average, working in the institute can get you 200 to 500 spirit stones per day. But what Master Grom said before is not wrong. If you can create a good, original product, you will definitely get a lot of money."
Listening to that, Emery was fired up. As a result, he spent his next two days assisting in the apothecary institutes.
It was a very good experience for him, it's the first time Emery ever learned the 'right' way to prepare and concoct potions. He also used this time to search for a good recipe that could help him for his third exam.
At the end of the second day, he still had no clue of what recipe to work on, but at least he got his two days' remuneration. He received 700 spirit stones and now he has a total of 1065 spirit stones in his pocket.
"Just 199.000 spirit stones to go.. how hard can it be? Haha," Emery smiled wryly trying to cheer himself up.
At the end of the second day, Emery received a message from his master Xion
[Emery come to see me first thing tomorrow, I need you to see someone]
Emery was supposed to meet Bob the frog tomorrow, but surely his master was his main priority