Chapter 86 (LXXXVI) The Black Market

Jackson and Megan stepped past the husky doorman, entered the door, and descended the long staircase. Torches lit the walls as the pair walked through an expansive hallway, extending further than either could see.

Doors lined each side, locked as Jackson recalled a striking resemblance of his surroundings to the mysterious bunker his grandmother disappeared inside. His heart began racing as he remembered the events from when he was eight years old.

Megan glanced over at him, noticing the difference in his demeanor as they walked in silence. Despite no words being said, she knew something was bothering him and confirmed it when they came to a sturdy wooden door.

His eyes widened as he gasped, grabbing the silver pendant hanging in front of his chest as he reached slowly for the cast iron handle. He grasped the cold metal, tugging the door open.

The door revealed a lavishly designed room with three branching paths and a large counter with three similarly dressed women in grey skirt suits sitting. The floors and walls seemed to bend as no molding separated the seamless wooden planks, creating a unique design.

Jackson hesitated as he entered, Megan a half-step behind him as she stared at him with concern. They approached the counter, approaching one of the women who ignored them as she continued organizing thousands of sheets of paper.

"Welcome to The Black Widow's Emporium! The path to your left leads to weapons and armor, the right path: raw materials and skillbooks, and the way behind me contains consumables and pets. When you're done shopping, you pay here." She explained, pointing down each path without looking away from her work.

"..." Jackson and Megan exchanged glances and stared at the other two women who similarly ignored them; he turned to leave, waving his hand as he headed toward the path to the right, "Come on, Megan."

She nodded as they headed toward the crimson red drape covering the path, walking through as they entered a massive warehouse with hundreds of stalls filled with hundreds of random materials gathered from hundreds of different beasts, components of various sizes and shapes from hollows, and thousands of skillbooks.

No one manned the stalls as various people walked amongst them, each minding their own business as the pair started navigating the twisting path of objects for sale.

"What are we looking for?" Megan asked, inspecting random supplies piled on the tables as she walked past various stalls.

"A few things actually..." Jackson replied, staring around the corners and ceiling as he noticed a dozen cameras watching the customer's each and every action, "Right now, we're looking for some suitable skillbooks."

"I see... So you two are going to be spending even more time together..?"

"No more than usual..." He replied, picking up the skillbooks and inspecting each name before returning it, "What do you think she'd be good with? With that mouth of hers, I was thinking maybe getting her a taunt skill."

"You're an idiot..." She sighed, shaking her head and approaching him as she grabbed the books in his stead, rapidly looking through them before finding one and handing it to him, "Here."

"Daggers, huh..?" Jackson muttered, flipping through the skillbook and nodding, "Yeah this is good, you two can utilize the same movement and core skillbooks."

Let's get this one then. Let's head over to the left path and find her some weapons." He said as the pair crossed through the central room and entered another large warehouse on the opposite end, looking around the similarly staged with thousands of weapons of all kinds. They spent roughly half an hour finding a decently forced pair of keris daggers with scabbards.

"Ready to head back?" She asked, handing him the leather straps connected to the sheathed daggers.

"Nah, we still have to get a few more things." He shook his head, taking the weapons as they dangled from his hand holding the skillbook.

"What are we looking for?" She asked, tilting her head as she followed him.

"You'll see!" He smiled, grabbing her hand and taking her into the final warehouse. Unlike the previous two rooms, Tamers were present to maintain the Spirit Beasts' composure, filled in hundreds of cages, while incubation machines containing unhatched eggs lined the walls.

In the center were dozens of refrigeration units, maintaining hundreds of dark brown pellets. Jackson ignored the cages and approached the fridges, grabbing the clipboards off the top as he read through the manifest listing each pill.

He looked through half of the units before finding what he was looking for, grabbing a small brown cloth sack, reaching in and grabbing two of them, and putting them in before he pulled the drawstring closed and closed the unit.

"All done!" He smiled, approaching her, "You wanna look at the Spirit Beasts or a Beast Egg?"

"No." She shook her head, "You're already going to be spending too much as it is! You don't need to get me anything!"

"Pssh!" He scoffed, shaking his head, "You're looking at it wrong, Meg. You should form a bond with one and develop that relationship. Everything I do is to help you grow stronger; it's not a one-way street, either. The stronger you are, the better you will be able to help me."

"..." Megan sighed, grabbing her chin as she stared at the grounding, thinking on his words for a moment of silence before nodding, "I understand... Let's take a look."

Jackson smiled and nodded, placing his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward one of the Tamers, greeting him, "Hi! She's about to become a Climber and is looking for a beginner-friendly partner and form a pact with."

"We have a great selection of Spirit Beasts as well as Beast Eggs that are perfect for a beginner!" He nodded at Jackson before turning and smiling warmly at Megan, "I see you use a bow; you'll want one that will be quick and fast and will best compliment your ranged fighting style!"

She forced a smile, recoiling inwardly as the long, thinning, silver-haired man grabbed her hands and shook them, "N-nice to meet you! T-that sounds great!"

He turned and started pointing at the various cages, drawing attention to specific animals as he walked, each with distinct characteristics, before turning back toward her, "So, what kind of animal are you looking for?"