BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114: Servolk Market
As a candidate priest of the Golden Lion Tribe, Freya was well-versed in the conditions of the barren mountain area. If such a magnificent city existed, she would certainly know about it.
The two intended to ask Gary, but he had already entered the city.
Enzo said, "Let\'s go in too."
Upon entering, Enzo and Freya also understood why a city could be called a marketplace. Within this city, there were stalls and shops selling goods everywhere. The merchandise was diverse, but a significant portion consisted of raw materials such as seeds and fruits from the forest, hides of wild beasts, bones, and more...
Finished goods like pottery were rare.
As for ironware, it was even rarer.
Enzo and Freya wandered around the city and discovered that the Servolk market did not use currency for transactions. Instead, they adhered to the ancient rule of bartering goods. However, prices for different items were clearly posted on a notice board that everyone in the Servolk market had to follow, ensuring a fair trade to some extent.
Just then, a strange shout caught Enzo and Freya\'s attention.
"Get the mysterious Scroll from the Coull ruins, only requiring one essence of a supernatural being for exchange! The price is absolutely fair!"
Scroll?
Enzo and Freya exchanged surprised glances, seeing it reflected in each other\'s eyes.
Together, they walked towards the stall selling the Scroll and found a crowd had already gathered. These people emitted stronger auras than ordinary folks, clearly having delved into the supernatural.
It seemed this Servolk market was not as simple as it appeared.
Enzo thought to himself as he squeezed through the onlookers to get a better view of the so-called Scroll.
The Scroll didn\'t exude any supernatural aura.It looked more like a worn-out piece of animal hide with intricate patterns, seemingly lacking any other discernible value.
However, the onlookers couldn\'t help but start discussing amongst themselves.
Someone asked, "Hermes, is this Scroll really from the Coull ruins as you claim?"
The stallholder named Hermes immediately responded with a hint of irritation, "The Servolk market strictly prohibits deception. Don\'t you know this? I paid a significant price to obtain this supernatural Scroll!"
Hearing Hermes\' words, many people seemed intrigued.
This struck Enzo as peculiar.
The Scroll had completely lost its power, essentially becoming just an ordinary piece of animal hide or even trash due to its worn-out condition.
Yet, these people were genuinely interested in it.
Surely, there must be some hidden secrets within.
Enzo and Freya didn\'t intervene.They simply observed from the sidelines.
Of course, one important reason was that neither of them had anything valuable to trade, especially since the Scroll required an essence of a supernatural being, which was considered quite expensive. Eventually, a frail middle-aged man in a long robe bought it.
As the Scroll was sold, the other spectators dispersed from Hermes\' stall.
At that moment, Enzo and Freya approached.
Before they could speak, Hermes preemptively asked, "Are you two outsiders?"
Enzo didn\'t deny it and replied, "We ended up here due to some unforeseen circumstances."
"Unforeseen?" Hermes scrutinized Enzo and Freya, squinting slightly as he smiled and said, "Everyone who comes here arrives due to unforeseen circumstances."
"But you\'re fortunate."
"Although your strength is weak, you have already stepped onto the path of the supernatural. That qualifies you to be exempt from mundane labor. Of course, if you wish to improve your life, I suggest joining one of the Ruins Exploration Squads. If you haven\'t decided which team to join, you can join mine."
Hermes\' words left Enzo and Freya bewildered.
Everyone here arrived due to unforeseen circumstances, Ruins Exploration Squads... What did all this mean?
Seeing Enzo\'s confusion, Hermes explained further, "The Servolk market also has another name: the Servolk Prison."
"Why?" Enzo asked.
"Many have asked that." Hermes chuckled, sighing as he replied, "Because no one can leave here. Even standing on the high mountains outside the market, you can see distant landscapes, but if you try to leave and walk in any direction, you\'ll unknowingly return to the Servolk market."
"The ruins outside the market are the only place where there might be a way out."
"Of course, the ruins are dangerous, so it\'s best to explore them in teams."
Enzo didn\'t fully believe Hermes\'s explanation.
However, it was easy to verify such claims by asking others; Hermes didn\'t need to fabricate lies to deceive them.
Thus, Enzo and Freya\'s expressions grew serious.
Enzo pressed on, "Has no one tried different methods?"
Hermes smiled and replied, "Oh, they have, many have tried, but all have failed. No matter which direction they choose to leave from, they end up back at the Servolk market. Even attempting to leave from the sky yields the same result. Under these circumstances, some speculate it has to do with the ruins outside the Servolk market. Many have formed Exploration Squads to enter the ruins and investigate, and indeed, they\'ve made quite a few discoveries."
"What kind of discoveries?" Freya asked curiously.
But this time, Hermes shook his head, saying, "Respected miss, the discoveries in the ruins are classified information. If you want to know more, you\'ll have to join the Exploration Squad I\'m part of."
Enzo and Freya declined Hermes\'s invitation.
Leaving the stall, the two wandered around, asking others in the market about their situation.
The answers they received were consistent with what Hermes had said.
Around the Servolk market, there were three sets of ruins: Coull ruins, Lundh ruins, and Servolk ruins. Occasionally, spatial channels would appear in these ruins, leading to unknown areas where powerful supernatural beings might reside or treasures could be found. However, it was also possible that these areas were devoid of anything valuable.
Within these unknown areas, finding specific items could activate a spatial channel to leave.
However, exiting from these unknown areas would still bring one back to the ruins
Over time, explorers had brought back items with unique patterns. By deconstructing the information from these patterns, people discovered clues on how to leave. Yet, due to significant gaps in the information, it was impossible to determine exactly how to achieve this, but it gave people hope.
As a result, more and more people ventured into the ruins to explore.
As people thrive and multiply here, the population increased, and different factions emerged.
However, more importantly, there was still an Exploration Squad composed of several individuals.
After digesting this information, Enzo sighed deeply and turned to Freya, asking, "Do you feel like the unknown area in the ruins is familiar? You need to enter through a spatial channel, find a specific item to activate the exit channel..."
Without hesitation, Freya replied, "The High Tower."
Enzo nodded. "Exactly. It resembles the trial space of the High Tower. Moreover, the High Tower has shattered before, and places like Servolk Market and those ruins could very well be fragments of the High Tower."
Freya agreed with Enzo\'s speculation.
Regardless of whether this was the truth, the challenge of leaving remained unsolved.
Enzo and Freya were at a loss.
For now, the only way forward was to explore the ruins.
However, a new problem arose—they hadn\'t fully recovered their strength. Rushing into the ruins could put them in danger.
As a precaution, they chose not to take the risk.
At that moment, Freya suggested, "There are plenty of materials in the market that can be used to brew Potions. Using Potions could accelerate our strength recovery."
Enzo\'s eyes lit up. "Brewing Potions sounds like a good idea. But how do we get those materials?"
Freya looked at Enzo and smiled. "That\'s where you come in."
Understanding Freya\'s meaning, Enzo could use his ability to hasten growth to produce a large quantity of plants for sale and trade with others.
It was indeed a viable solution, albeit the only one available.
So, Enzo and Freya left Servolk Market, found a forest, and began searching. Soon enough, they found some immature plants.
Enzo began to hasten their growth.
Meanwhile, events unfolded in the market while they were busy.
...
At Servolk Market.
After delivering his goods to the designated location, Gary instructed his associates to unload and document everything while he headed towards a quieter part of the city.
Most of the area was bustling with trade, but there were also residential pockets.
Gary arrived at the residential area of Servolk Market and approached a wooden house, knocking on the door.
It swung open to reveal a woman with light brown curls and long legs, her figure strikingly voluptuous.Her big breasts nearly burst the animal hide that covered her chest. Despite her appearance, her face bore a cold and aloof expression that kept others at bay.
Glancing at Gary suspiciously, she asked, "Gary, what brings you here?"