I am an Eldritch Entity

Eryndor first walked around the mall-like black market.

He familiarised himself with how things worked here.

Spirit coins are not very popular huh.

This was his first observation. Spirit coins weren't the first choice of the majority of the people who were shopping here.

Eryndor also felt out of place because he was the only one wearing a white robe, everyone else were in oversized black robes which hung loosely on their body.

There was also a hood attached to it, some chose to wear it, covering half to almost their entire face, while some didn't use it.

Can I buy this somewhere?

Seeing how everyone had the same robe, Eryndor figured that the black market must be selling it somewhere.

As expected, there was one not far away. A man in similar oversized black robes was standing, with a stall in front of him.

The items being sold in the stall included black robes, black masks, scents, and a few other miscellaneous items.

Eryndor could deduce that the common thing in all of these items was that they helped in disguising or protecting one's identity.

"How much for a robe?"

Eryndor asked.

The tall man replied after a second or two.

"Thirty spirit coins."

Holy shit, that's expensive as fuck.

It was an approximate price one would get when selling a beast in the Stable realm.

A robe was surely not as expensive or even as valuable as that?!

Eryndor looked at his shoes and his state before realizing.

Could it be because I came from the path of traps?

Eryndor held in his anger because he wasn't really sure why the price was so high. It could also be that they had monopoly over black robes, therefore they could be bullies with the prices.

He abruptly thought of something, then continued to ask the prices of various other items. Except the mask, which cost less than the robe, the rest were all more expensive than the robe.

With the man's permission, he even went ahead and touched the fabric of the black robe.

Oh? It's pretty thin.

Eryndor gave a deep look to the man before leaving the stall. He didn't buy the robe or anything.

He looked around, trying to find a secluded place.

After trying various narrow and dark hallways, and encountering deadblocks, he finally found a place with no one around.

Eryndor extended his Spatial Sight just a few meters around him into the walls and such to check for any recording devices, then quickly withdrew it.

With an experienced mind, he controlled the Sovereign's Cloak on his body to change its size and looks.

Yes, he intended to make it look like those black robes.

At the end, he even made the Sovereign's Cloak have small bumps in various places.

It was to show that his current black robe was worn over the 'Sovereign's Cloak', in case anyone had seen him previously.

He didn't want them to guess that his Sovereign's Cloak could change the shape and size.

He had also checked the material of the black robe when he asked the owner for permission to touch it. It was pretty thin.

It meant he could have been carrying it all along without any oddity on the surface of his clothes.

As for why he asked for the price of other items?

Well, it would be weird for a person without black robes to ask for one, but then he came out wearing one without buying.

However, it would be less weird if he asked for everything, and then came out wearing a black robe.

The latter could simply mean that he was here after a long time and was getting to know the current prices.

Eryndor felt a little more in place once he walked in his own version of oversized black robe like everyone else.

His shoes had also cleaned themselves by now, as he had already switched his footwear with the only treasure shoes he got from the loot belonging to those three disciples.

They had the function of self repair and self cleaning, just like his light armor.

Eryndor resumed walking around and soon made his second observation.

Since spirit coins aren't popular I thought there would be a different currency at play here but barter system seems to be prominent.

Even if there were other currencies being used like those of the surrounding regions, their value was even lower than the spirit coin.

The third observation was that all the stalls which were set up were those set up officially by the black market themselves.

All of these stalls only sold things which would reduce the friction between various groups and make it so that the chances of them fighting in here was lowered.

No one else could put up a stall, they could only book a proper shop.

The fourth observation was that the variety of items sold here was much much more than what the counter at the Training Camp offered.

Pills? Weapons? Array formation? Armors? Puppets? Poison? Medicine?

Just name it. They had a large variety in each type.

For example, if the Training Camp sold ten types of pills, then the black market sold twenty or even thirty.

Eryndor should've seen it coming, but he still felt a bit shocked and even unsettled when he found in one shop that they even sold slaves.

Right, the law of the jungle is more pronounced here as compared to the Earth which has just transitioned from a mortal phase to an era where nearly everyone could practice and gain powers.

The laws here would be different, mostly revolving around who has a bigger fist and background, which also technically depends on the fist size.

His expression was the same, indifferent, as he strolled in and out of the shop.

After a certain point, he finally found a shop which sold information.

As soon as he expressed his intention that he was here to really buy information and not just stroll around, he was led to a private room.

"What information do you need?"