Chapter 63 - Upper Town Market
A completely new face stood in front of Kadyn! He looked around twenty-one, fair countenance, short black hair, and strong built. All in all, he was a handsome man.
Khrom also realised that something was amiss, spotting Kadyn's reaction, and touched his face. He sighed and said. "This is my real face. To hide my identity, I had to disguise myself. Otherwise, I would have died a long time ago."
Kadyn just smiled at that, he looked at him and said. "We'll hear your story later, but it's ok if you don't want to tell. Though, right now, we have an important matter to do. Go take a bath, then we'll set off."
Khrom took a deep breath and nodded before looking at his miserable condition. He looked worse than the worst beggar outside the Radiant Brook Temple, covered in dirt and blood, wearing ragged and tattered clothes. Though his handsome face produced a strange contrast with his condition.
"Alright," he nodded and went to take a bath.
"I wonder, what's the story behind this guy," Elora murmured.
Kadyn stared at Khrom's back and nodded. Who had this guy offended? After all, he was the 10-star Elementary mage. Therefore his enemy can't be weaker than him. After his previous display, Kadyn realised that his foe was far stronger than him, to the point of making him hopeless. Otherwise, he would not have come here, to beg, to sell himself in order to destroy his enemy. He was desperate for revenge.
Kadyn shook his head, not thinking much into this issue. Khrom was already his employee, and no one can touch his people. Though he forgot that he was just a puny Elementary Mage himself.
Twenty minutes later, Khrom walked out of the bathroom. He had once more resumed his previous appearance. It wasn't a good thing for him to wander with his original face. That could bring lots of trouble. Kadyn saw this but didn't say anything. It was wise to act cautiously.
Kadyn smiled at him and said. "Let's go. The auction will start soon."
"Auction?" Khrom tilted his head, looking at Kadyn and said. "Are we going to the auction that is in Upper Town?"
"You're well informed." Kadyn smiled and put his bicycle away. Previously, they were just two people and could fit on a single cycle, but now, one person has increased. Can't sit on a single broken two-wheeler, can they? Therefore the trio set off on their feet.
After walking for fifteen minutes, they arrived in front of a vast gate. There stood guards, peering at the passing folks with their beady eyes, whistling whenever a woman passed, commenting and chuckling.
As Kadyn's group arrived in front of the gate. They started to size them, their eyes lit up, spotting Elora behind Kadyn. Though she was just a teenager, she was indeed beautiful.
However, before any one of them could comment or jeer, Khrom released a powerful pressure. All of them turned pale when they felt terrible oppression coming from him. They were just ordinary guards, 5-star elementary mages. How could they compare with someone like Khrom? None of them dared to speak anything and opened the passage for Kadyn's group.
Kadyn was surprised at how overbearing Khrom was at that moment. Furthermore, he seemed pretty experienced with this kind of situation. Khrom spotted his gaze and smiled. "Give 'em a finger and they will take a hand. You need to show a strength that is far higher than 'em. Otherwise, they won't stop being a nuisance."
Kadyn nodded. It seemed he had much to learn. He was just a newbie after all.
As they crossed the gate, Kadyn sighed when he saw his surroundings—wide roads, clean sewer, beautiful green trees, swinging beside the road. Houses were taller as compared to the houses of the Lower Town, beautiful engravings could be seen over the walls and doors of those buildings. They were made of different kinds of stones—slate, limestone, laterite, marble.
Their group walked and Khrom led them towards the Slave Market. Kadyn and Elora had no idea where the place for the auction was; they intended to inquire previously. However, Khrom seemed to know every nook and cranny of this place. So they depended on him to lead them to their destination.
Ten minutes later, a bustling place appeared in their sight. This was the market of the Upper Town. In a single glance, Kadyn could tell the difference between Upper Town Market and Lower Town Market. This place was huge, the streets weren't as narrow as the Lower Town. Shops looked taller and majestic.
"This is a Cloth Market. We need to cross the Accessory Market before reaching the Slave Market." Khrom explained as they walked.
Kadyn glanced at the shops around him and spotted all kinds of cloth—cotton, silk, linen, wool, velvet, nylon, etcetera etcetera—every kind was present at this place. Kadyn saw Elora peering at the shops with shining eyes, and looking from one place to another. It was evident to see that she was interested in buying a few things. However, she didn't say anything. They weren't here to shop.
Kadyn smiled and said. "Don't worry, we'll come back later. You can buy anything you like, but not now, alright?"
Elora turned red when she found that Kadyn could see through her intentions and nodded. "Hmm."
When they crossed the Cloth Market, a dazzling Accessory Market greeted them.
"Wow!" Elora exclaimed when she spotted shining pieces of jewellery all around her. Kadyn smiled at her reaction. He couldn't blame her; there were really all kinds of pretty jewellery that could be seen here, rings, earrings, necklaces were the most common.
There was a shop that sold eleven pieces of jewellery. Kadyn found that all the jewellery was made of precious gemstones. Tree leaves and flowers could be seen, etched elegantly on them. He spotted many other kinds of accessories as well but he could not pinpoint their origin.
He couldn't help but sigh at this. The difference between Lower Town and Upper Town was too vast. He would never see these things in Lower Town Market.
"We are here," Khrom, who was leading them, said. Kadyn lifted his head and eyed ahead of him.