Chapter 39: To Have or Not To Have

The Projection Spell, primarily used for scouting dangers and conducting risky experiments, could not be used recklessly either. This was because the projection was connected to one’s own Spiritual Power. If it were destroyed, it would directly affect the Spellcaster.

Even if no physical injuries appeared, there would be mental damage. Sometimes, such damage was more severe than physical harm. Therefore, attempting to achieve an effect similar to multiple shadow clones using the Projection Spell—regardless of whether it was possible or not—was essentially asking for death!

Projections were inherently weaker than the main body. Creating so many only to have them all wiped out by the enemy in an instant would definitely deal a severe blow to the main body. It was even possible for the main body to end up in a vegetative state or die.

“You have no classes in the afternoon?”

“Classes are usually held in the morning. In the afternoon, students can do whatever they want.” Petty explained. Learning Magic was not like attending School; they didn’t have to attend classes all day. What they learned from their teachers was more about the teachers’ own experiences.

Leaving the School, she looked around and walked into a small alley. She summoned the Harefolk named Didi. Zheng Yichen watched the summoning process intently this time. Unlike with Projection summoning, this was a physical summoning.

The Magic Rune Array was still three-dimensional, but Zheng Yichen clearly sensed something different.

“An exchange teleportation?” He muttered to himself as he watched the Harefolk take shape before him. This Harefolk held a small bag, likely containing only about a tenth of the previous treasures.

“Can the summoned being be sent back like this?”

“Yes.” Petty nodded. After giving the prepared snacks to the Harefolk, she took the small bag it handed over and then dismissed the summoning. This time, no Magic Rune Array appeared. Instead, the Harefolk was covered in Mana light. As the light vanished, so did the Harefolk.

“Where do you plan to sell this stuff? A jewelry store?”

“The price would be heavily discounted there. Let’s go somewhere else.” Petty let out a soft sigh. There were places in the city that bought jewelry, but to sell it at a fair price, one needed proof of legitimate origin. Without it, the price would be cut by more than half.

“It’s not a good place, is it?”

He had noticed earlier that Petty was fully armed when she left, though she didn’t carry a Magic Wand. Instead, she brought a dagger for self-defense. A Summoner…

The Black Market—a place Zheng Yichen had only heard of before crossing over but never visited. After crossing over, he was actually taken there by a girl under twenty.

“How do you know about a place like this?” He shifted uncomfortably. Staying in the pocket wasn’t exactly comfortable, and using Detection Magic to observe the surroundings wasn’t as pleasant as seeing with his own eyes.

“A senior brought me here once before.” Petty said nervously. The Black Market was not a good place. The moment she arrived, she was targeted by several malicious gazes.

Though it wasn’t a good place, there were at least surface-level rules here. If you wanted to pull something shady, you had to do it discreetly. Openly causing trouble would still lead to punishment by the ‘guards’ here. If even surface-level safety couldn’t be guaranteed, who would come to such a place to trade?

Not to mention what Petty could detect on her own, Zheng Yichen alone spotted four groups of people eyeing her.

“Twenty gold coins. I’ll take it all.” A Black Market shop Boss examined the quality of the jewelry Petty brought and said indifferently.

“The market price of these pieces is at least eighty gold coins.” Petty stared at the Black Market Boss with dissatisfaction.

“Heh, little girl, this is the Black Market.” The shop Boss gave a malicious smile. “You’d better take the money and leave quickly. Otherwise, you might end up being sold yourself.”

“Seventy gold coins.”

“Twenty-five at most.” The shop Boss waved his hand. Two thugs at the entrance immediately blocked the door. As a shop Boss in the Black Market, he naturally had a keen eye. Otherwise, he wouldn’t survive here. One wrong move and he might offend someone he couldn’t afford to cross, ending up in deep trouble.

The girl before him, however, was not someone he couldn’t afford to offend. The moment she entered, he had gathered all the information he could see about her—her clothing and demeanor were nothing noteworthy. As for the calmness she displayed, it was clearly forced. It might look convincing, but he could see through it at a glance!

As for her strength, it was even more negligible. He had a Magic Artifact specifically for detecting a target’s strength. While it couldn’t detect beings of excessively high power, it was more than sufficient for this situation.

As for the jewelry, its origins didn’t need to be scrutinized. Anyone choosing to trade in the Black Market surely had goods of dubious origins. What was even rarer was that these pieces bore no markings, making them much easier to handle afterward.

Jewelry with markings had to have those markings removed first, which was not an easy process. The slightest mistake could damage the piece, lowering its value. All of that added to the cost!

“Either take the money and leave, or you stay here too.” The Black Market shop Boss twirled a Ring in his hand and said calmly, his tone as if stating a fact.

“…” Without a word, Petty grabbed the jewelry she had intended to sell and stuffed it back into her pocket. Throughout the process, she even snatched the Ring the shop Boss was playing with out of his hand. The shop Boss was left utterly bewildered. He hadn’t expected the girl to dare do such a thing under such unfavorable conditions.

Could he have misjudged her this time?

Noticing the deeply hidden nervousness in Petty’s eyes, the shop Boss snorted inwardly and dismissed the thought of a misjudgment. He immediately signaled the two thugs at the door to take action. While the Black Market had surface-level rules, pulling a shady deal in a shop with no outsiders around was fine as long as no one directly witnessed it. The rules here weren’t that strict.

“Hmm… Mass Fear Spell… Never mind, let’s go with a single-target one.” Zheng Yichen flipped through the small Magical Grimoire in his hand, comparing the two Fear Spells he had picked out. As the name suggested, the mass version affected everyone within a certain range except the caster, and even teammates couldn’t avoid it.

Unless a teammate was given an immunity to fear before casting—such Magic could usually only be obtained from The Church.

Looking at the Magic Rune Array he had drawn, Zheng Yichen suddenly had an idea. He tried injecting a bit more Mana, splitting the Mana Threads once.

Hoho, so this was dual-casting? He chuckled inwardly as he tossed two single-target Fear Spells at the two thugs with fierce expressions who were approaching Petty. Their menacing looks instantly turned into deep terror. One of them clutched his head, screamed in fear, knocked over his companion, and quickly ran out.

He didn’t know why he was afraid, but his heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread for this place. Under this fear, all he wanted was to get away as fast as possible!

The Mental Energy consumption allowed for nearly two and a half Fear Spells… The Mana consumption had also increased. Hmm, using two Spells at the same moment seemed to generate extra consumption. But the effect was indeed good.

“You!?” The shop Boss stared at Petty in shock. The moment the two thugs were affected, the Magic Artifact he carried for detecting strength grew intensely hot.

Such a strong reaction meant it had detected a high-energy presence, and the source was on Petty! Moreover, it wasn’t a Magic Artifact. If it were, the reaction would have felt different.

“Eighty gold coins. Do you still want them or not?” Petty glanced back at the shop Boss. After Zheng Yichen intervened, the nervousness in her eyes had completely faded. Thinking about it carefully, she really had no reason to be nervous at all…

“Yes…” The shop Boss nodded blankly, completely suppressing his earlier intentions. Perhaps the one who had just acted wasn’t Petty, but her current status was definitely not simple. Even if it wasn’t her, it could be someone standing behind her!

It might even be a Ranked Practitioner. Otherwise, the detection Magic Artifact wouldn’t have reacted so strongly!