Start: “The Underground Masquerade”
East District
150 meters underground
…
Since ancient times there has always been a belief that the deeper in the ground you dig, the closer you are to the lands of nether. However, this place was only 150 meters under the surface, not deep enough for hell, yet the atmosphere was thick and oppressive, like wading through mercury.
However, this dreary atmosphere did not stop people from living their lives. In the dark cave passages there were lights everywhere. Many people could be seen shuttling through at inhuman speeds, some because they were warriors and others because they were not even human in the first place.
“Ten, Ten…”
“Fifty, Fifty, Fifty, don’t miss out. You won’t find an offer like this anywhere else.”
Every 2 steps one would meet a hawker or a peddler advertising their wares and every 5 steps there was a stall set up.
Two men suddenly entered this chaotic space heading deeper into the darkness.
Both of them were dressed in dark robes and scarves that covered their faces. However, a closer look at their clothes revealed that they were more or less hand-woven, made out of bulky cotton thread rather than any smooth threads. While both their clothes appeared black in the poorly lit underground, a shine of the light showed that one of the men’s clothes was a deep dark red while the other’s was a dark green color but closer to black than green.
“What about Jaken Academy’s secret martial competition?” The man on the left who stood at 1.8 meters tall commented.
“Not worth it. The payment is good, prize money paid in Azure Fire Cowry Shells equivalent to 1000 gold, with additional earnings of 10 gold coins for each small win and 50 gold coins for the main fights. If it was only money I was looking for, I would have jumped on the opportunity. But here…”
The speaker was the shorter of the two men, around 1.7 meters tall. Clearly, whatever event was held in this underground venue was much more profitable to the man.
“They have more right? More than just money?” The man on the left asked to confirm and was met with a firm nod.
“I wouldn’t have known about this place if not for that old man.”
“Fill your stomachs, 10 silver a piece, fill your stomach, 10 silver a piece.” As the two men were walking, they heard the sound of another man trying to attract customers.
Naturally, they would just ignore it and walk by but before they could even see the man’s face or his stall, a heavenly smell had already wafted into their noses. Subconsciously, their feet could not help but quicken and even their bodies involuntarily turned towards the direction of the voice.
The smell that came from the food stall ended up eliciting some buried memories in one of the men. In that memory…
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“You can have anything on your hot potato.” A young man, probably in his 20s, said to a small boy that he was pulling along.
The scene was a bustling food market with all sorts of food, raw and cooked, for sale and ready to eat, laid out as far as the eye could see. Even though the sun was hotter than a stove and the ground was dry and brown, the young boy could not help but be excited as he followed his father to the hot potato stall.
“Our veges are unlimited,” The stall owner said as he prepared the filled hot potatoes for the father and son.
“I’d like more bacon please,” The boy added enthusiastically. Although he looked only 5 years old, he had already developed the heart of a foodie. Even the seller was mildly amused.
“Ah yes, bacon. My favorite vegetable.”
As the boy watched the food seller’s process of adding more ingredients, sauces, cheese, meats, veges, and etcetera, he could not help but breath heavily while salivating like a hungry wolf.
Years later, this memory was still etched in his mind both for the food and the experience with his now late father.
“Every time I thought it was perfect, he just kept going.” The young man commented as he pushed 10 coins into the food seller’s hands.
This time, both men were even more impressed by what they got for their pay.
“The most loaded potato I've seen in my life.”
“A potato filled with obesity and heart failure, just how I like it.”
Just like last time with his father, this was another enriching food experience that this young man would likely never forget. After the two men, finished their snacking, they walked further into the dark underground before coming to a wide open space filled with light, even more noise, and hundreds of people.
The two men meandered through the crowd before coming to a hall that looked like a row of stone offices. This was their destination. As for the identities of these two men and why they were here, these two were naturally Mwana and Waya.
It can be said that despite their almost 8-year age difference, these two fellows shared very similar personalities. If they were together, where one went, the other would follow. However, during this particular instance, both of them were wearing disguises to hide their identity. In fact Mwana’s disguise was so good that he had even grown an extra foot or two.
After all, this underground location where the betting matches were held was not 100% legal in Milele town.
“So noisy. Like a market.”
“Even though we are so deep down, I wouldn’t be surprised if this sound leaked all the way to the surface.”
“Maybe it’s the echo that’s making it all the much more louder.”
This was not the image of a “Black Market” that Mwana or Waya expected to see. Even though everyone hid their identity, the light in this cavern was very bright and the people peddled their items openly and loudly. The sellers here were even more extreme than the food sellers in the previous pathways.
However, despite all the commotion, Mwana was quick to intermingle with the peddlers in the market, as if he truly belonged. With a few pieces of silver, he had already collected two martial arts books into his “library.”
One was a sword technique called the “Illusionary Seven Ocean Splitting Swords” and the other was a fist technique with the simple name “Mountain and Sea-breaking Fist”. Well, the names were really loud, but in fact these two martial arts were just common goods on any street.
Although they were not terrible, they were not considered to be secret manuals or magic skills. As for why they were given such heaven-shaking names, of course, it was to increase the sales and ocassionally fool the ignorant. And it was not just these two techniques, out of the sellers’ mouths, one could hear names like:
“God Killing Spearmanship”
“True Dragon Claw of Destruction”
“Earth Splitter Technique”
“Void Shattering Fist”
“Sea Destroying Secret Manual”
“Heaven and Earth Obliteration Technique”
“Indestructible Titanium Body Skills”
“Lightspeed Sword”
“…”
All kinds of otherworldly and extraordinary names were thrown out. However, despite the crazy marketing, everything in this market was legitimate. For both the basic martial arts books and the mysterious magic skill manuals that were peddled in the black market, whether they were copies of techniques recorded manually or high quality original texts, there would ordinarily be no fakes allowed in this place. It was one of the unwritten rules of the trade.