Asher's car arrived in front of a huge building, and many people could be seen coming in and out of it.
"Boss, here's your mask," Tom said as he brought out a black mask.
It was a tradition in the Black Market that deals would happen with total anonymity. Most stolen artifacts and illegal trading would occur in the Black Market, but only a few knew how to enter it.
The Black Market was led by an independent group of high-ranking hunters not part of the elite families. As it was a simple place for trading goods, even the World Association ignored them. Most clients who used the Black Market were from prominent families.
Asher took the mask and wore it; it was a special mask that modulated the voice and changed eye colors. This was one of the man-made artifacts, just like the nano armor. Wearing the mask and formal clothing, Asher looked like a typical 20-year-old due to his height.
Garreth and Tom wore similar masks, but their clothing differed from Asher's, depicting the hierarchy between them.
Asher entered the building, and they ignored everyone and stepped into one of the lifts.
"I will enter the code," Garreth stepped forward and started pressing the floor numbers in a specific order.
"5-15-4-3-8," Garreth muttered as he carefully pressed each number.
Soon, the lift closed and started moving downwards.
The lift opened as they stepped in front of the big room, which had multiple portals leading to various sections of the Black Market.
"Which portal would you like to take?" A man wearing a white mask stepped up and asked them with a respectful voice.
Everyone who could enter the Black Market was influential, so they treated everyone with respect without judging them due to their ranks.
"VIP Section - Black Chamber," Asher said, and the man was slightly surprised.
Every elite family member who used the black market usually had a place where they would do all the dealings, and for the three elite families from Somaria, the area was called the 'Black Chamber'. But some special people like the Seymour family, who got access to use the Black Chamber from the Greville family, could also go in there.
There were a total of 5 such chambers representing the 5 continents of this world.
"As you wish," The man became even more respectful, thinking they were connected to one of the three elite families of Somaria.
Asher's eyes followed the movement of the man wearing the white mask.
The man walked up, removed his gloves, and touched a part of the white wall, and suddenly a runic engraving was revealed, which opened a path.
"You may enter from here," The man respectfully pointed at the path that appeared in the wall.
"Let's go," Asher said as Garreth and Tom followed him.
They arrived at a particular place blocked by a metallic door, and Asher brought out a black card with golden engravings used to access the portal leading to the Black Chamber.
'What a place,' Tom looked around, assessing everything around him.
Apart from Abyss Corporation, he had never seen such complex security. His brain was already working on bypassing the protection of the Black Market.
Asher noticed it and smirked. This was one of the reasons he appointed Tom so early. No matter how earnest and honest Tom wanted to become, his true self differed. This was proof because Tom was one of the people in his previous life who never questioned Asher's actions and only acted as he was ordered.
<Identity Confirmed a?' VIP Access Granted>
In front of them were portals that led to the Black Chamber, and all of them led to different sections of the Black Chamber. They wanted to go to the meeting area where the deal was supposed to happen.
As they stepped in, the scenery changed, and a lavish room with multiple sofas and machinery could be seen.
A man wearing a black suit and white mask at the center table could be seen.
'So they are the dealers,' Milson, wearing a white mask, saw three men walking towards him.
"I welcome our esteemed guests," Milson respectfully said as Asher sat, and Garreth and Tom stood behind him.
'Should I check their rank?' Milson tried to increase his mana sense.
"I would advise against it," Asher said with a strange voice as a thick killing intent overtook Milson, who stopped immediately.
"I apologize. I didn't mean to do that," Milson immediately apologized, realizing that the one sitting before him was a high ranker.
Such killing intent was only found in experienced hunters, so he gave up on finding their identities.
But Garreth was shocked when he felt Asher's killing intent. He didn't know that Asher could exude this much bloodlust at such a young age.
"It seems that the Black Market has forgotten their values," Asher's voice made Milson nervous.
"I don't think we can make a deal in such a scenario," Asher said as he unfolded his legs and tried to stand up.
"No, I apologize for my mistake. I can promise you that such a thing will not happen again," Milson said nervously, finding himself in the wrong spot right from the start.
'I can't let this deal go,' Milson remembered his earlier conversation with a higher-up of the black market and how important this deal was to them.
Asher kept tapping his fingers on his legs, making Milson even more nervous.
'Who is this guy?' He had never remembered meeting anyone resembling the man sitting before him wearing a black mask.
"I heard you wanted to sell Mana Crystals," Milson regained his composure, but he had already put himself in a disadvantageous situation.
"Correct, and for the right amount," Asher said, looking straight into Milson's eyes.
Right now, his eyes were not red but black, and his voice was also altered to sound like a 25-year-old man.
"I can offer 5 Billion for 2 tons of mana crystals," Milson said as he put his right hand above his left and folded his legs.
"20 Billion for 1 ton, and it's a one-time trade," Asher offered.
"20 Billion is not possible. There are a lot of procedures we need to maintain to transfer mana crystals," Milson explained.
"I have given my offer. After that, it's up to you," Asher replied.
'I can't lose this deal,' Milson was strictly instructed to ensure this deal happened at all costs, but the price was too much.
If Asher had asked for 10 Billion, Milson would have offered him at least 8 Billion AUR or 10 Billion if they were establishing a constant supply of mana crystals. But 20 Billion was too much for him; this was not an amount he could give Asher for a one-time trade.
He tapped the bracelet on his wrist as he looked toward Asher.
"I can give you 6 Billion AUR for 1 ton, but 20 Billion is impossible," Milson said as he waited for a reply from his superior.
"Then it appears we've reached an impasse. I have named my price," Asher replied calmly.
Asher did not need to sell the mana crystals through the Black Market, as money wasn't his primary objective. Instead, his true goal was to uncover the identity of the individual orchestrating this order.
A sudden notification caught Milson's attention as his superior instructed him to push the limit to 15 Billion AUR, which was their upper limit.
"I can go 10 Billion AUR for the amount you have quoted," Milson replied to Asher, still trying to bargain.
If he had not made the initial mistake, he could have called prices more freely, but his small error made him approach Asher very cautiously.
"I have given you the offer," Asher said.
'No, he will reject it' Tom was losing his mind.
He had never heard of such large numbers being used for trades, and seeing that Asher was not decreasing the price made him anxious.
But what Tom didn't know was that in such trades, desperation and urgency were the factors that made people lose money. And Asher was neither desperate nor in any hurry to sell the mana crystals.
For the money, he could just sell the extra crystals being mined to Abyss Corporation and could have quickly made around 15 Billion AUR, which was the market price.
The Artisan's Association bought most of the mana crystals in the world. However, there were rare moments when an independent buyer would ask for a considerable amount of mana crystals.
"If you raise the quantity to 1.5 tons, we can do 15 Billion AUR," Milson gave his final price, and Asher smirked under his mask.
"15 Billion AUR, 1 Ton, and the infamous Shadow Card," Asher replied, but Milson stood up.
'Shadow Card, hmmm,' Milson started thinking for a second.
It was a special card that allowed anonymous transactions with a group without coming to the Black Market, and most of their holders were illegal organizations that worked like mercenaries.
"Let me ask my superior," Each Manager had one Shadow Card, which they could allot to somebody, and luckily Milson was one of the rare managers who had never given his Shadow Card.
After 2 minutes of waiting, Milson stood up and brought out a blank white card with no engravings, which looked like a regular white card. But before giving it to Asher, he took the black ring he was wearing and made an impression on the blank card.
In a second, the white card turned black, and the silver text saying 'M.S' was engraved on it. It was a special technique to apply unique mana imprints.
"We have a deal," Milson stood up to shake hands, and Asher did the same.
"I will send the mana crystals to the Black Chamber," Asher said as Tom stepped up to give Milson the account information.
"We will send the money when we receive the mana crystals," Milson replied as he looked at Asher.
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