Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 185: Crafter’s Battleground (Part 2)

The man wasn’t spooked by the sudden voice speaking to him, as it was not the first time it had happened nor would it be the last. He gave a subtle nod and reached for a small metal box attached to the underside of the food stand, sending a small amount of mana into it. Seeing the man’s actions, Fabio continued past him, where a stairway appeared.

The stairs led him to a complicated maze of tunnels meant to confuse those who accidentally stumbled into them. But for Fabio, he simply followed the hidden signs that soon led him to a large open area underground.

Buildings of different sizes lined the street with lamp posts illuminating the underground area. The buildings served all sorts of purposes, from shops and warehouses to homes, gang hideouts, and certain entertainment businesses.

This was the black market of Crestal City. Located in the capital of the kingdom, the royal family and their forces were well aware of its existence but allowed it to operate with a few regulations. For one, it was the only black market that didn’t deal in slaves and had the least civilian-related deaths.

Fabio ignored everything around him and continued to his destination. On the way there, he recognized someone passing by him.

’Isn’t that the girl that follows Sol? Amber, was it?’

Though she was wearing a cloak to prevent others from identifying her, Fabio could easily see past it. Amber walked past him, unable to see through his hat’s effect. Though Fabio was curious as to why she was here, he wasn’t going to spy on his friend’s companions.

Soon he reached his destination, a stone brick building that emitted heat just by being near it. He walked inside past the guards and saw a forge with over ten blacksmiths hitting their metals with hammers or in another part of the forging process.

Fabio removed his hat, revealing himself to the smiths, and asked, "Where’s Taliya?"

Hearing a nickname she hadn’t heard in years, a smile grew on her face as she nodded, "It has, hasn’t it?"

The smiths who were overhearing their small exchange exchanged confused looks, as they had never seen this man before nor heard anyone call their master by such a silly nickname. One of the smiths found the name really funny and couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Heh. Little Miss Forge..."

FWOOM! BOOM!

Out of nowhere, a blue hammer and a fire blast flew past the head of the smith and created two dents in the wall behind him. He was barely able to process what just happened when two voices yelled out at him.

"Only I/he can call her/me that!" they both said simultaneously while menacingly glaring at the poor smith. Taliya had her open hand outstretched while Fabio had a hollow rod-like object attached to his forearm with a fire elemental cartridge inserted.

The smith’s legs became weak, causing him to fall on his rear. He was about to beg for forgiveness but realized the two had already turned their attention away from him.

"Should we continue this in my forge?" Taliya suggested.

Fabio nodded, "That would be preferable."

The two left to the back, leaving many confused smiths wondering who that man was, but they knew they would likely never find out. The one who was almost killed breathed a sigh of relief, thinking how lucky he was that the two he offended didn’t kill lightly. Those types of people were rare in this area. It wasn’t uncommon to die in the black market after accidentally offending a powerful person, so for them to only threaten his life, he would take that as a win.