Sol composed himself and headed towards a nearby teleportation pad. He selected the black market and was whizzed off to it. Not before throwing his mask over his face.

He stepped off from the pad, right as a caged monster passed him. A splash of saliva landed across his chest.

“Sorry, Unwanted, I’d stop but this thing is almost breaking out,” a muscular dwarf said.

“No worries,” Sol said. He himself had transported monsters before so he understood.

He walked out into the street and breathed in the air, it smelt of monster guts and ale- a fine combination. The black market wasn’t mysterious in the slightest as one would think, it was bustling with thousands of people from all around the world. No one knew where the black market was; just like the Unwanted headquarters.

Nobles, tradesmen, royalty, high ranking adventurers- the black market was filled with elite people from society. You could buy drugs from a stand in the street or captured souls from a shady man wearing a hood on a corner.

Anything considered wrong or illegal could be found here, it also doubled as a normal market where things could be sold for slightly more than the average since there was no tax and bought for slightly less.

It was run by powerful people scattered across Gaia, they themselves had huge stores here. The black market was an enormous cave that had large magical crystals that mimicked light and day.

Sol headed to a store that specializes in necromancy, he hadn’t been there before but heard rumours they bought anything undead. He had hundreds of bones and tonnes of rotten flesh.

It was on a traditional English street corner. As he walked in, a skeleton behind the counter greeted him. To a normal person they would have freaked out but it was a very normal thing in the black market.

Level 22 Skeleton

“Good afternoon man with a misted face, or do you prefer Unwanted?” the skeleton asked without moving its mouth.

“Unwanted is fine, how’s the joints today?” Sol asked.

The skeleton leaned back and laughed, “A comedian I see.”

Sol smiled under his mask and put his hand on the wooden counter,“I have a lot of bones and flesh to sell.”

“Brilliant!” the skeleton exclaimed. “Throw them out on the desk.”

“Oh, I have a lot.” Sol repeated.

“Will a large container do?” the skeleton asked.

Sol shrugged, “Depends how big the container is.”

“Please follow me.”

He was led into a backroom where a bunch of skeletons were moving crates, a group of them were smoking and playing cards to the side of the room. The skeleton stopped by a huge skip on top of a mechanical scale.

“Bone’s first please, Sir.”

Sol climbed on top of the edge of the skip and pointed his storage pouch downwards. He found the bones inside and let loose. What seemed like thousands of bones poured out onto the scale. They just kept coming out until the skip was full. He patted the storage pouch and a few more came out.

Sol hopped down and the skeleton checked the scales.

“913kg, the largest we’ve had this month,” The skeleton remarked.

“How much?” Sol asked.

“With an average level of 38, the price goes down every 100 kg so a total of 24 silvers and 13 coppers.”

“Seems fair,” Sol said. That was the equivalent of $2,413. It was a lot of money and he would often get double that for a mission. However, they got lucky with the dungeon too.

He repeated again with the rotten flesh and came out with another 8 silver. Rotten flesh wasn’t nearly as valuable as the bones.

Sol returned to the front desk and laid out the demon horns along with the uncommon bone rings.

The skeleton pulled out a magnifying glass and examined them, “Purplexing, I have not seen this type before.”

“Regular demons? I never realised they were more than one type.”

“The dimension they come from is much like ours,” the skeleton said, “tribes, races, cultures. A bit barbaric I must say but nevertheless- bones are bones.”

Sol raised an eyebrow, “You’re very knowledgeable,” he said.

“Are you flirting with me, Unwanted?” the skeleton questioned.

Now it was Sol’s turn to laugh.

The skeleton placed it’s magnifying glass down, “I can do you a few extra for the unknown demon horns, the commander one will be 5 silver in total.”

Sol nodded in agreement.

“May we have your Alias,” the skeleton said, “Our master likes to keep track of things.”

“Immortal.” Sol said.

The skeleton didn’t have eyebrows but definitely raised them. “Oh, really?” it questioned.

“Is there a problem?” Sol asked.

“Not at all, you’ve got a name round here. Not so common for someone to be immortal is it now.”

Sol walked away from the store with half a gold in his pocket. The currency was very simple in Gaia since the system handed them out for killing things. 100 copper was one silver and 100 silver was one gold. 1 copper was roughly $1 from Earth. A silver was $10o and one gold was $10,000.

It really paid well to be an adventurer, even better to be an Unwanted. Of course it was dangerous and many people died trying.

Sol’s pouch was feeling light. He still had the epic and rare item he received from the dungeon boss. He was about to head to the jewelry section when his phone buzzed.

‘Text from Tower.

Sharp sold all our combined weapons and loot left over, we split it and put the money into your account at base. I’ve also signed up the immortal heart at auction. 27th of july which is in 5 days. Mercy has put forward our advancement so fingers crossed. Do you have any idea who we should hire as our blacksmith if we get it?’

Sol had forgotten about Tower discussing the promotion to Raptor rank, a lot of things happened in the past day. When a group enters the Raptor rank, they are allowed to hire a blacksmite that will craft and repair their weapons for them. He was also excited for the auction.

‘Tower

I was thinking about Ozark actually. The crazy insectoid is not only a handy blacksmith but an inventor. And thanks for depositing the money.’

Sol put his phone back in his pocket and carried on towards the jewellery section. The streets were busy as always and he had to watch his step most of the time. Sol spotted a very fancy jewellery store and decided to go in but was promptly blocked by a hairy hand.

“No masks,” A huge kobold said.

Level 61 Kobold

Kobolds were humanoid but had the face of a wolf. They were born at a high level; they were naturally tall and this man stood at the same height as Tower. They were a very rare race and often used for body guarding. They excelled in strength and durability but lacked in intelligence and therefore mana control.

“Wow, showing your level. That takes some balls,” Sol said. “But I think I’ll take my business somewhere else.”

The door swung open fast and a female merfolk was breathing heavily. “I apologise, Sir, Gerald is new here and does not know about the Unwanted.”

The kobold looked scared, “I-I’m sorry. You’re an Unwanted?” he asked.

The man could probably kick Sol’s ass but he would have won eventually.

“No problem,” Sol said calmly, “The mist is the sign of an Unwanted. And it is best to not anger us.”

The merfolk looked worried.

“May I come in?” Sol asked.

“Y-yes of course, I apologise for the inconvenience.” she said.

Sol took his time walking into the store as he stared the kobold down.

The shop was luxurious; wood cabinets with expensive glass lined the walls and chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

“May I ask what you are looking for?” the female merfolk asked.

The Merfolk were a strange race, amphibious humanoids that had human faces but with wet green ears. They had gills that ran along their necks and rib cages. Their race was abundant in Gaia and often liked to live near an ocean.

“I’m looking for a bulwark,” Sol said.

“Of what kind?... Sir.”

“Protection and healing.” Sol replied.

It was Summer’s 16th birthday today and he wanted to get her something nice. Something that she could show off and want to wear out while still protecting her.

“Please follow me,” she said.

Sol did, “How did you get a kobold?” Sol asked.

“He was on sale,” she said honestly, “his family sold him. He still gets a good salary so please don’t worry.”

“I won't,” Sol said.

The merfolk bent down and unlocked a cabinet in the back, “He was born at level 49. He’s only 7 years old.”

“Damn unfair,” Sol said.

“More brawl than brain,” she added.

Sol nodded in agreement.

The merfolk had brought out ten beautiful necklaces on black cushions.

Bulwark Necklace of Earth Protection UNCOMMON

A necklace made from enhanced silver. It offers durability but keeps its shiny properties.

When the wearer’s health drops below 25%, earth will be summoned from the ground and clad the wearer. The armour will last for 20 seconds.

Defense Rating: 67

Durability: 126/126

Bulwark Charges: 1

Affinities: Protection, Earth

The item in itself was good but not enough to protect Summer. He would buy a cheap one for June but she hated wearing jewellery. Sol had been looking everywhere for something she could wear that offered protection.

The rest of the bulwark necklaces were uncommon and only offered protection or healing.

“Is this all you have?” Sol asked.

She paused for a moment, “I apologise Sir- deeply. We do in fact have them but I need to take your alias first. The owner is very scared of thieves.”

“Seems to be a recurring incident,” Sol stated.

“I apologise yet again,” she said.

Sol sighed, “My alias is Immortal,” he said while bringing out his badge.

“Really?” she asked.

“Do you not believe me?” Sol asked.

“I-I do Sir, you just don’t strike me as him.”

“What did you think I looked like?” Sol asked.

She looked down to the oversized shirt, tattered trousers and scuffed boots. Two daggers were hooked onto his waist.

“I’ve just come off a mission,” Sol said.

“I believe you,” she said. “I just thought he’d maybe be a little older,” she lied.

Sol rolled his eyes under the mist.

The merfolk turned around and unlocked a safe with her own magic. It swung open and she brought out three glowing necklaces.