As they phased through, the area was much different than Elleon. “What is this,” Jun said disgustingly.
Rather than being blooming with nature, it was dark. There was no sun, only the moon. There were flames creating light but otherwise no lights. There was water on the ground as if the area had been constantly poured upon. “Stick close,” Jun said to Julia. Then he got a notification. PVP-Zone. “Stay alert Yggsalad, this is a PVP zone. Any player could attack you.”
As they continued to walk instead of stalls they saw bars and what could only be described as nightclubs. Women players walked out smoking cigarettes in armours that could only be described as night dresses. “This is very different, '' Jun said.
As they passed the area, they noticed another area lit in fiery red lighting. “Is this supposed to be…”
“Come get your rocks knocked off!” One of the patrons yelled.
All the other players were yelling all sorts of obscenities but The group continued to walk. Suddenly Julia felt a tug on her arm. “Hey, you want to have some fun!” Julia screamed. In the bustling Night District, no one other than Jun could hear. As he turned around he saw a huge Half Minotaur player holding Julia by the arm.” “Let her go!” Jun yelled.
“Look what we have here! A Hero? Is this your boyfriend!” He grabbed her tighter and you could see Julia’s HP slowly go down by 1hp each second.
“What are you doing, unhand me at once! Creep!” Julia yelled.
“What are you going to do about it, pipsqueak?” The minotaur man yelled.
It was then that Jun thought of his options. He couldn't use his only trick, the Pack Mule skill to deal with this. He’d given his weapon to the guard and all he had left was his fist. He put his hands up and began to bounce.
“Oh, a pugilist we have here. Brave of ya,” The minotaur said and tossed Julia to the side taking half of her HP as damage.”
The minotaur man then put his hands up and began to bounce except his bounces were shaking the ground. Both began to send out a punch when Jun stopped his punch midway and sprinted towards Julia. He picked her up and ran away!
“You coward! Come back here and fight for your woman.”
The pair began running with Jun using the carry skill. It was similar to pack mules but it could be used for carrying large movable items such as crates. In this situation, he was carrying Julia like a crate. “Thanks, Yggsalad, that minotaur man was gross.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Jun agreed, but as he looked back he could see the Minotaur Man still chasing them. “You gotta' be kidding me!”
Just as they were running something grabbed a hold of Jun and pulled him into a house. The Minotaur-Man continued running past the house and they lost him.
Jun let Julia down and began panting. “Thanks…”
“The name is Baxter.” He led with his hand out and he and Jun shook hands. “Yggsalad, and this here is Julia.”
“Thank you,” Jun said gracefully.
“No worries” Baxter got up and brought two chairs for the pair. You can rest here for a while.”
He then pointed to a couple of beds.
Jun was still curious, and thankful. “If it wasn't for you, who knew what would happen to us? Why did you save us.”
“I could see something that didn't belong to the black market from miles away. Terrible-1 is the Minotaur Man who approached you earlier. He is frisky with female players and will PK with his bare hands.” Jun gulped. Baxter looked out the window and closed it. “The Black Market isn't a place for regular players to go nor anyone for no reason. Which means, are you looking for a class change down here? For Tradesman?” Jun looked surprised but nodded. “Well, I’ll just tell you now, no one has become a tradesman in a very long time because there is a monopoly on the class. Those players at the top control who becomes a Tradesman as if they are recruiting into a gang.”
Jun looked very surprised. Madder, who was covered by the chair, whispered to Jun. “I’m sorry you must have heard this but it's true. When you said you wanted to become a Tradesman I knew it was going to be a tough path because Quest Guides vet players. In terms of the Merchants, they are greedy and have made it a pyramid scheme. So those players outside are the lackeys of the higher-up players. Except…”
Just then a knock was heard on the door. “Let me go check that. Stay quiet. "Baxter opened the door. It was a guard. “We report to you that PayUp is waiting for their 10000g protection fee.”
Baxter looked back at the group and then back at the guard. “I don’t have it now but I will please give me a bit more time.”
“The guard punched the door but agreed. The door lost 2 damage from its 5 HP. He turned back and went to the next house.
“What is going on here,” Jun asked Baxter.
“I too, just like you, came here seeking to be a Tradesman.”
Jun was surprised. “And now I’m stuck here. I'm about to quit this game because I cannot leave. The players who won't run PayUp have people like Minotaur Man PK players before they get to the Portal to exit. Players that are inside must pay up or constantly be killed and respawn in the Black Market. He opened up his character menu. She pointed at his Infamy. “I have been turned into an outlaw. From being here for too long”
Jun couldn’t believe it. Madder bit her lip. Julia was finally able to get up as her HP and status regained a good status. “That means they keep players in by making them criminals due to the PK system and force them to pay up so they can leave but can never pay the debt.
“Isn't that Extortion? Isn’t that illegal in Asper? Jun yelled. “It is, but if no one can tell.” Baxter winced. Jun didn't understand but Madder did. “They are creating outlaws, so they can harvest guaranteed retrieval bounties. Then turning them in to become richer…” She thought. “And players that can't leave would end up quitting. So the Tradesmen class doesn't get overblown....”
Jun looked out the window. “When I entered Asper Online, I didn't think that this was possible, but when I think of our outside world, I can see how schemes like this came to be reflected like this. We will become tradesmen. I promise. First, we have to meet with these great Quest Guides!” He reached out for Baxter's shoulder. “Worry not! I will find a way. First let's rest, and come to.”
Unlike Taverns, personal beds like the ones Baxter had were able to be used without entering a personal room. So Madder 6 wouldn’t have to dispel her skill in the same way, but she didn't have to sleep. Because each bed held 2 people, Jun slept in one and told Julia to sleep in the other. Madder remained invisible for the time being.
When they awoke Baxter was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Jun and Julia were in a jail cell.