OLD-WORLD EXTRA

53  Relics Emir nodded, understanding the implications.

This area was too high-profile for the UEF to raid without causing a massive uproar, and the Elite had the resources to cover up any illicit activities.

It was the perfect place for the black market to thrive, their playground.

"A grand welcome, Kiera," he chuckled.

Kiera grinned, "Yeah, these guys know how to treat their customers. Let's get going."

"Which do you think we should sell first, the weapons and augmented suits, or the relics?" She asked.

"The relics may take a while, so let's sell the weapons first, then the suits, and finally the relics."

Kiera nodded in agreement, and they began making their way through the bustling market.

She led him through the maze of stalls, her sharp eyes scanning each vendor's wares.

The sound of chatter and haggling filled the air, and the smell of various foods wafted through the alleys.

They passed by booths selling everything from enhancement drugs to rare hunter tech.

Right beside it was the shop she was looking for, and she presented Emir's weapons to the dealer.

The dealer was a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a large scar running down the side of his face.

"Kiera, my dear. What can I do for you today?"

"We have some goods to sell," Kiera replied, opening the carts to reveal the various weapons.

The dealer's eyes widened. "Impressive. Let's see what we can do."

He inspected each item carefully, running his hands over the metal and examining the product for any flaws or defects.

"31 weapons in total, 2 B-ranked items, 10 C-ranked items, and 19 D-ranked items—a good haul you got there."

"So how much for them?" Emir asked.

"I won't ask where you got them, but most of the D-rank weapons are slightly damaged and are in bad condition, so you won't get much from them, the rest are fine, however."

"3,950,000 UC would be a good price."

Kiera's eyes narrowed at the offer, and she spoke up, "That seems a bit low for the quality of these weapons. How about we settle for 5,500,000 UC?"

The dealer chuckled and said, "You drive a hard bargain, Kiera. Let me see what I can do."

After some back and forth, they eventually settled on a price of 5,000,000 UC.

"Do you want it to be cash or a transfer?"

"Transfer it," Emir replied, giving him his hunter ID.

He returned it moments later, saying, "Good doing business with you, please come again."

They left soon after, and Emir followed Kiera to their next shop.

"Good job with that, although I should've expected it." Emir patted her on the back.

"I've been doing this for a while, I know how to get the best deal." Kiera replied with a grin.

They made their way to the next shop, which specialized in buying and selling augmented suits.

The shop was dimly lit, and the walls were lined with various suits of armor and technology.

Kiera approached the counter and spoke to the dealer.

A tall, buff dark-skinned man with a fade haircut and a pair of mirrored sunglasses.

"We have some augmented suits to sell." Kiera said, opening the carts to reveal the suits.

The dealer nodded and said, "Let's take a look."

He examined each suit, running his hands over the metal and checking the various upgrades and enhancements.

After a few minutes, he turned to them, "11 augmented suits, 8 D-ranked items, 2 C-ranked items, and 1 B-ranked item—the best I can offer you is 17,000,000 UC for the lot."

Kiera frowned. "That's lower than we were hoping for. Can you do any better?"

The dealer raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid that's the best I can do. The market is flooded with suits right now, and demand is low."

Kiera hesitated for a moment, then turned to Emir.

"What do you think? Should we take the offer or keep looking?"

Emir considered it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons.

"I think we should take the offer. We don't want to spend too much time here and risk attracting unwanted attention."

Kiera nodded. "Alright then. We'll take the offer."

The dealer smiled, "Excellent. I'll transfer the funds to your ID card."

After the transaction was over, they left the shop and headed out to the market again.

"I tried not to act surprised by the amount, but that's a lot, you struck it rich, you know." She spoke, her voice sounding nervous.

"It isn't much compared to what I need, but it's a good start." Emir chuckled at her reaction.

"Heyyy, you can't blame me. I've been living in the slums ever since I became an adult, and I've never dealt with this much money before," she pouted.

"Well, you're in good luck, aren't you? You've got a connection to a hunter like me." He nudged her shoulder.

Kiera laughed, saying, "Yeah, I guess I am lucky. It's been great working with you so far."

Emir smiled, "Likewise, Kiera. You've been a great help. Now, let's go sell those relics."

They continued walking through the market, taking in the sights and sounds around them.

As they made their way deeper into the maze of stalls, Emir felt an increase in tension.

This is a dangerous place, full of shady characters and illicit dealings.

But at the same time, it was also exciting.

There was a thrill to being in the heart of the black market, surrounded by all these forbidden treasures.

After a while, Kiera stopped in front of a merchant selling various relics.

The merchant was an old man with a long white beard and a deep, rumbling voice.

"Welcome, welcome. What can I do for you today?" He asked, eyeing them up and down.

"We have some relics to sell," Kiera said, opening the carts to reveal the various items inside.

The vendor nodded and said, "Let's take a look."

He carefully examined each item, muttering to himself as he checked the various markings and symbols etched into the metal.

"These are quite impressive," he said after a few minutes.

"We would need to appraise these further to identify their true worth, and you would have to pay the appraisal fee, of course."

"How much would it cost?" Emir asked.

"If you're interested in an appraisal, we offer two types: a cursory one and an in-depth one. Of course, the cost of the quick appraisal would be less than the detailed one. However, opting for the latter could result in a higher profit for these relics."

"I understand the question you may have in mind. The reason for the higher price is because we would sell these relics to other merchants who have a clientele for specific types of relics. Additionally, we could also sell them to companies or even one of the big corporations for research purposes. With a detailed appraisal, we can determine whether these relics contain needed old-world technology and if they can be extracted for their benefits, all this results in them having an increased price."

"So, I must risk the potential loss of money or just play it safe, huh."

"That's right," replied the dealer.

"It's ultimately up to you to decide what type of appraisal you want. A quick appraisal will cost less but may result in less money earned, while a detailed appraisal could lead to a higher payout but also has a higher risk. It all depends on your priorities and how much you're willing to gamble. Keep in mind though, that a detailed appraisal could also reveal hidden treasures within the relics that you wouldn't have known about otherwise."

'A hunter's life is all about risk, so let's do it.' Emir thought.

"I'll go for the in-depth appraisal, so how much would it cost me?"

"Each relic will cost you 500,000 UC. However, we don't have an appraiser with the required expertise, so we will have to outsource the appraisal, which may take a day or two."

Emir nodded, slightly surprised at the amount.

[Lyra, which relic out of the lot would you think is best for that type of appraisal?]

[Based on their condition and markings, I think the amulet and the intricately detailed box would be worth a more detailed appraisal. As for the book and the toy, a quick appraisal would be sufficient.]

Picking up the relics that Lyra mentioned, Emir said, "Alright, these two will do with a quick appraisal. However, for the other two, I would like you to appraise them in depth, while the rest can be examined with standard procedures."

He took the relics from his hands and said, "Understood, the cost would be subtracted from the total price of the relics."

"Alright, how long would it take for you to finish?"

"In a couple hours at most, I will contact Miss Kiera after it is done."

"Okay then, we'll come back soon." Emir said while walking out of the shop.

As they walked away from the relic merchant, Kiera turned to Emir with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to spend so much money on appraisals? What if they turn out to be worthless?"

"I understand your concern, Kiera, but it's a risk I'm willing to take, they could be worth a lot more than what we paid for appraising them, I got them from relics thieves after all, there must be a reason they kept them in a vault."

Kiera nodded slowly, still looking unsure, and they continued walking through the market as she called someone from the gang over to send the carts back to base.

While walking around, Emir thought, 'I always imagined how black markets would operate in fantasy novels, but I never imagined this...'

'Oh and speaking of novels... I remember that there was an auction house in this area, it was mentioned that the Born in Ruins protagonist went there at some point.'

'With the earnings from today, it wouldn't hurt to check it out, who knows, I might even stumble upon something useful.'

Some info about relics.

Creation is hard, cheer me up with some tickets!

GoldenStache