“You, stop. Sell me your room, and I will pay twice for it,” he demanded with arrogance, clearly used to getting his way.

  Because Victor had intentionally concealed his mana fluctuation, there was no way for an acolyte like Wyne to recognize that he was facing an official Magus. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to act so brazenly in front of him.

  “I refuse. You can ask someone else to sell their room,” Victor said briskly, brushing past him and continuing to walk toward the exit.

  “Hey! I’m not finished talking!” Wyne snapped, stepping forward and placing a hand on Victor’s shoulder.

  In response, Victor came to a slow stop. He turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes. Then, with deliberate control, he unleashed a powerful wave of mana — dense and suffocating — straight toward Wyne. Immediately, his face went pale, and his hand snapped away from Victor’s shoulder as he instinctively took a step back, fear spreading across his features.

  “Y-You’re a…?” he stammered.

  Victor didn’t wait for him to finish and resumed walking toward the exit. The mana pressure alone was enough of an answer.

  Those nearby who had witnessed the brief exchange quickly averted their eyes, pretending they hadn’t seen anything. No one wanted to get involved — not with someone capable of releasing that kind of pressure. On the other hand, Wyne stood frozen in place, cold sweat beading at his temples with realization. However, there was a noticeable resentment building up, which must be because his pride was trampled in front of his crush.

  Victor didn’t spare him another look; he had far more important things to do than wasting time with arrogant fools. What mattered now was completing the task he had come here for: finding the Magus market. Without hesitation, he stepped into the flow of people and vanished into the crowd, cloaking himself with a light concealment spell.

  Unlike the public marketplace teeming with common traders, the Magus market was a place only known to select individuals. It was a very secret establishment, concealed beneath the city itself. It catered exclusively to those in pursuit of arcane truth — dealing in spell models, restricted research, extremely rare magic items, and exotic magical ingredients that couldn’t legally be traded aboveground.

  Although Victor had never visited the one in this particular city, he was familiar with the signs. He made his way toward a seemingly ordinary clock tower near the city center. To an outsider, it appeared to be nothing more than another piece of grand steampunk architecture, all brass piping and churning gears. But Victor knew better than to judge it by appearances.

  Passing through the iron doors, he strode toward a section where the gears of the clock mechanism whirred rhythmically. Victor placed a hand on the brass-paneled surface beside the gears, channeling a faint pulse of mana into a hidden rune etched subtly into the metal. In response, the rune shone, and with a barely audible click, a circular section of the floor began to shift.

  A descending platform or elevator was soon revealed, and Victor stepped onto it. The platform sank smoothly beneath him, transporting him into the depths of the city. Within moments, the elevator came to a gentle stop and opened its doors, revealing the sprawling underground structure of the Magus market — his true destination.

  As Victor gazed at the Magus market, he found himself momentarily perplexed by the sheer scale and structure of the place. The market was built into what appeared to be an enormous natural cavern, though it was clear it had been expanded and reinforced long ago through layers of powerful magic. The high, arched ceiling stretched far overhead, supported by towering brass columns inscribed with glowing runes that pulsed softly with mana.

  Tiered walkways spiraled up along the curved cavern walls, connected by floating staircases and hovering platforms that moved with quiet precision. Dozens of shops and stalls filled the space, each one advertising its wares with animated text and symbols only known to Magi. Strange artifacts floated behind reinforced glass displays, instilling curiosity in the passerby.

  Victor could see Magi clad in robes of various schools, battle-worn cloaks, or armor inscribed with runes. Some were deeply engaged in heated bartering, while others quietly inspected strange relics with focused gazes. Transactions happened not with coins, but with mana crystals, scrolls, and sometimes items that looked like nothing more than shards of star-metal or bottled flames.

  Glowing crystals were anchored to the ceiling, illuminating the market in a soft hue. Outside certain high-end establishments, exotic creatures and magical constructs stood guard, each one more bizarre than the last. As expected of a market for Magi.

  “So, this is the Magus market in this city…” Victor muttered. “It’s larger than the one I’ve been to in the past.”

  In truth, Victor had only ever visited one other Magus market — a much smaller, humbler one located near his family’s territory. There had also been another near the Arcane Radiance College, but he had never managed to visit that one. Back then, such a place was out of his reach. Even if he had found the entrance, he wouldn’t have had the mana crystals to buy anything worthwhile. Too poor to enter, too insignificant to be trusted.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Things were different now.

  Victor strode past the mages on the cobbled street with calm confidence. He passed shops boasting rare magic tools, refined alchemical reagents, ancient tomes bound in dragonhide, and even small, caged magical beasts that hissed as he walked by. A few stalls had private booths marked with runes — clearly reserved for secret transactions or appraisals of priceless artifacts.

  Victor didn’t stop at the flashy displays, as he was just browsing around for something different.

  “{Eyes of Space-Time}.” Victor cast, and a vision appeared before him, leading him toward a certain direction.

  Soon, he stumbled upon a shop near the back. It was modest, lacking the grandiosity of its neighbors, but there was a peculiar charm to its unassuming facade. A weathered plaque hung above the door, etched with elegant letters that read “Devil’s Temptation,” causing Victor to raise an eyebrow.

  What kind of place is this? he wondered, as he pushed open the door.

  A soft chime rang, and the interior of the store greeted him. Shelves lined the walls, filled with curious magic trinkets, tools, and devices that shimmered with unnatural polish. Everything exuded strange, mystical energy that made Victor a bit antsy.

  From behind the counter, a figure emerged with theatrical flair.

  “Ahhh! A customer! And not just any Magus, no no no… but an observant one, I daresay,” crooned the shopkeeper.

  He was tall, with slicked-back crimson hair and a sharp smile that never quite reached his eyes. His red coat was embroidered with subtle infernal patterns, and a monocle glinted over one eye despite the lack of light. The man's very presence radiated charisma… and unnatural danger.

  [A powerful extraordinary life form has been detected!]

  [The life form is expected to have at least Nexus Temporal Magus combat capability.]

  A Nexus Temporal Magus?!

  Why would a Magus of such standing be in a shop like this?

  It was worth noting that a Magus market like this would normally have a Nexus Temporal Magus stationed as a guardian, an unseen overseer ensuring balance and order. But he was standing behind the counter, welcoming customers with a theatrical smile. Victor couldn’t detect a flicker of his mana… Had it not been for the System’s warning, he wouldn’t have known that the man standing before him was such a powerful figure.

  Could it be…

  “Welcome to Devil’s Temptation,” the Magus said with an amused voice. “Home to artifacts most delightful... Hmm? Why are you looking a bit anxious? Worry not, these magic trinkets are just a tad cursed. They only bite occasionally.”

  He spread his arms wide with a flourish, his teeth gleaming unnaturally white. “Tell me what you desire most… and I shall tempt you properly.”

  Victor’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

  The Magus rested his elbows on the counter like a cat preparing to pounce. “Names are such… slippery things. You may call me Mister Red, if it pleases you.”

  Truly, Magi were strange beings. Their personalities could be so different from one another — aloof, deranged, theatrical, or disturbingly calm — either because of the influence of magic or a failed experiment. Victor had seen enough to know not to judge a Magus by his manners. Encountering one like this no longer surprised him.

  Piqued, Victor asked, “What do you have here?”

  Mr. Red smiled and clapped. Then, a floating cabinet appeared out of thin air and opened itself like a blooming flower. Velvet-lined platforms emerged from hidden slots, each bearing strange items that radiated a quiet, ominous menace.

  “Now then,” Mister Red said, “let me introduce you to a few interesting items.”

  He gestured to a ring set with a gem that shimmered like still water under moonlight.

  “The Ring of Recollection. Grants perfect, flawless memory. Witness a spell once — and you’ll never forget it, down to the imperfection in the spell model.”

  Ooh, so it’s like the ability of the Shadowlink Mark… Just that it could record everything I see, so it’s even better. But Victor hesitated, recalling that the Magus had mentioned that everything here came with a cost — a curse. Not to mention that the shop’s name was “Devil’s Temptation.” Everything in this place had to be too good to be true.

  “Did you notice?” Mister Red’s grin widened unnaturally. “Of course, it also remembers everything else. Every pain. Every scream. Every mistake. Eventually, the memories begin playing on loop. Hard to distinguish the past from the present after a while.”

  Crap. That’s one hell of a cursed item. Victor creased his eyebrows.

  Next, a mechanical heart floated into view, suspended by invisible strings.

  “The Clockwork Heart. A mechanical heart implant that grants immunity to fear, pain, and hesitation. Your resolve becomes absolute. Perfect for combat. However, your emotions will begin to dull. First fear. Then love. Then empathy. Eventually, you may win every battle, but no longer will you remember why you fought.”

  Seeing that Victor was not in the least bit interested, Mr. Red let out a theatrical sigh and took out more and more items.

  “The Glasses of Insight… the Witchglass Mirror… the Glutton’s Coin… the Marionette’s Grimoire…” he said with glee. One by one, he explained almost everything in the shop in detail.

  After that, he locked his eyes with Victor, crimson gaze gleaming like a predator who had all the time in the world. “I’ll let you choose one of these items for free,” he offered with a bow. “Every treasure here solves a problem. But each comes with a price. Isn’t that fair?”

  Victor realized that any of these trinkets were beyond superior-grade magic tools and were bordering on the level of true magic artifacts… Only Nexus Temporal Magi and above would possess such treasures. So… Why would this man be giving one away for free?

  There was only one plausible answer: These magic tools were likely the result of his personal experiments — dangerous prototypes with twisted drawbacks. Still, one thing was certain — Victor dared not offend someone of this caliber. Whether trap or test, refusing might offend Mister Red more than accepting.

  What he did with it… would be a matter for later.

  Victor thus came to a decision and picked one of the items decisively. “All right. I will choose this one.”

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