Free Web NovelChapter 63: Planet Darknorth
On the horizon, Priam saw a tiny point of light far in the distance. The feeling was suffocating. The air smelled like a mixture of sulfur and blood. The climate was extremely cold and dry.
Immediately, he activated Ether within his body. The energy circulated through all his organs and muscles... before long, he took a deep breath. At that moment, everything returned to normal.
Fortunately, with the help of Ether, all planets with an atmosphere were breathable, and Mages could inhabit them regardless of race.
Humanoids were the most fragile, and only Mage Acolytes from the fifth level onward could survive on planets outside their homeworld. This was because their natural Ether recovery matched exactly the amount consumed to breathe and stay alive.
After a few seconds, Priam looked around.
He was standing in the center of another teleportation inscription. Outside the massive circle, countless figures were staring at him coldly.
They were demons. Some had horns, others had wings, and some looked human. Their skin tones ranged from red, black, and blue to even white, though it was a very different and strange kind of white compared to humans from Earth. Their sizes and appearances varied greatly as well.
Priam stared in amazement for a few seconds.
For someone who had lived on Earth surrounded only by humans, and then spent years locked away by alchemists, seeing so many different races was somewhat shocking.
"Move it already, brat!"
A loud, deep shout snapped Priam out of his daze. He quickly spotted a very irritated figure holding a colorful tablet. This was the person responsible for operating the inscription.
Without wasting time, Priam apologized and stepped away.
The language spoken was also the same across all races and in all universes of this world. Of course, there were different slang terms and ways of speaking depending on the place, but overall, everyone could understand one another.
Looking around, Priam saw a sea of buildings stretching toward the heavens. The sounds of voices, footsteps, and people moving in every direction filled the air.
This was the capital of planet Darknorth. The city covered a region ten kilometers wide and housed many famous demonic merchant clans, along with countless medium-sized and small merchant clans.
Priam walked forward, filled with admiration.
The architecture of the buildings was completely different from anything he had ever seen. The materials used emitted colorful glows and unique energies. Everything was magical and new to him.
It didn’t take long before he noticed figures on the streets that resembled humanoids.
However, the moment he focused on them, an oppressive and instinctive feeling overwhelmed his mind. They weren’t humanoids, and he had already learned that only the Beasts of Primordial Chaos caused him to feel this way.
They noticed him as well. A lone humanoid youth walking around these streets?
To them, he looked like a juicy piece of meat.
But none of them dared attack anyone on this planet.
Priam snorted and tried to walk as though those figures didn’t exist.
’Where am I supposed to go?’
He took out the black crystal Flaris had given him.
When he first received it, it had been nothing more than a lifeless black crystal. But now, the center of the crystal suddenly lit up, and a red mark appeared within it, resembling a symbol shaped like three horns.
Priam already knew what to do, so he focused slightly and felt a faint fluctuation coming from the crystal’s surface, pointing in a specific direction. It was like a compass.
His gaze immediately shifted forward as he began walking.
The flow of people throughout the city was immense. It was incredibly crowded no matter where he went. The entire city was like one enormous bazaar.
Priam wandered around carefree for several hours, continuing to follow the direction indicated by the crystal.
When his steps finally came to a stop at a certain location, the reaction from the black crystal disappeared completely.
Standing before Priam was an extremely tall building with a style that felt ancient to him. Within that city, it was definitely a monstrosity that drew attention.
This was precisely the great commercial building of the Alu-fiend clan. Several dozen entrances could be seen at a glance, and the flow of people entering and leaving was endless.
Priam didn’t hesitate to enter. He headed directly toward the innermost hall.
A beautiful young woman with a single horn above her head stood at the entrance, greeting every visitor with a smile.
"Welcome. Honored guest, please come in. If you need anything, feel free to tell us at any time," the Demoness said, bowing when she saw Priam approaching.
Priam didn’t respond. Instead, he stopped in front of the Demoness and silently showed her the black crystal.
When she saw the symbol in the center of the crystal, her expression changed slightly.
She bowed even deeper and spoke with greater respect.
"So it truly is an esteemed guest visiting us. Please, follow me." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Priam silently followed the Demoness. Obviously, the auction he wanted to attend was something hidden, a place where forbidden items were sold. Naturally, everything had to be handled with the utmost care and secrecy.
Along the way, Priam thought seriously.
He had five hundred million Black Diamonds, the local currency of the demons. It was an absolutely enormous amount of wealth, an astronomical figure, so he had been completely confident.
However, a Pristine Core was something directly prohibited by terrifying figures throughout the world. For this clan to accept the risk of selling one, they would certainly charge an absurd starting price and take a large percentage of the sale.
That was why Priam was beginning to feel somewhat less confident.
He followed the Demoness and walked a considerable distance. After going up and down many flights of stairs, the surroundings became completely silent, without a single sound to be heard.
The Demoness stopped in front of a tightly sealed door leading to a hall.
"Lord Mozarck, an esteemed guest has arrived," the Demoness said respectfully toward the hall door.
After a brief silence, the door slowly opened.
"Honored guest, please enter. Mr. Mozarck is waiting for you inside."
The Demoness gave a slight bow and turned to leave.
Priam didn’t hesitate as he strode inside. The moment he entered, the hall door slammed shut behind him.
The hall was quite spacious, and an old demon with a pair of black wings sat behind a wooden table. This old man was presumably the "Lord Mozarck" the Demoness had mentioned.
Upon seeing Priam, he stood up and greeted him with a smile.
"This esteemed guest seems somewhat unfamiliar to me. May I ask what you have come to seek from my clan?"
Priam snorted. frёewebηovel.cѳm
He was a humanoid with only moderate power and an aura that felt very young. To high-level Mages, eighteen years old was practically the age of a newborn baby. Naturally, this demon was wary.
"I want a Pristine Core. The purer, the better." Priam got straight to the point.
His words caused the smile on the old demon’s face to vanish.
It was replaced by a slightly irritated expression.
"What do you mean by that, esteemed guest? Hunting Pristine Wild-Spirits is an act that goes against the laws of the Sovereigns! My merchant clan has a history spanning hundreds of thousands of years and has never engaged in any dishonorable business. How could we possibly do something so disgusting? Esteemed guest, if you came here looking for Pristine Cores, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place."
Priam frowned.
The old demon’s anger didn’t seem fake at all. When the words "hunting Pristine Wild-Spirits" were spoken, Priam could clearly sense intense anger and moral outrage from him.
’Did I come to the wrong place?’
