Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 247 A Bustling Market

Richard lowered his flight altitude and slowly landed on a hillside some distance from the city of Pentos. After taking the two most important parchment scrolls and the magic stone, he planned to let the griffins go and hunt for themselves.

With the dominoes in hand, Richard could contact the hippogriff at any time and was not worried that the hippogriff would never return.

After a moment's thought, Richard put away the school's standard wizard robe and put on a black wizard robe without any markings, then headed straight for the city gate.

Strangely, whether it was ordinary civilians, coachmen, richly dressed noblemen, or even fully armed city gate guards, they all seemed to have no idea that Richard was there.

Richard calmly walked into the most prosperous city in the Kingdom of Heron—the imperial capital, Pantos.

Without using any witchcraft, Richard politely asked a few passersby for directions to the Marquis Knight's mansion.

but

Richard hesitated for a moment, then took out an ordinary map from his pocket. It showed the entire territory of the Kingdom of Heron, especially the Wizard Market.

In the imperial capital of Pentos, there was naturally a wizarding market.

Moreover, it was the most prosperous wizarding market in the entire kingdom, managed by the Bannings family, the royal family of the Kingdom of Heron.

Although Richard believed that with his first-level high-ranking strength, there were very few opponents in the entire capital who could match him, let alone a hereditary marquis family.

However, he still planned to go to the Wizarding Market first to learn about the Knight family before making a decision.

Information and clues related to supernatural powers are generally available for sale in the Wizard Market.

"Now that I'm already here, there's no need to rush. It's always best to plan things out before taking any action," Richard pondered.

After all, this was Richard's first time visiting the capital city of Pentos, so Pentos was still a relatively unfamiliar place for him.

Following the map's directions, Richard turned left and right, and soon arrived at a bustling street in the east of the city, where he began searching for a tavern called Sword and Rose.

Soon, Richard saw a shop's GG sign painted with a thick longsword and several lifelike roses.

This is exactly the place I've been looking for.

Before going in, Richard drank another bottle of fluctuation suppression potion to hide his true mental energy fluctuations. After all, a high-level first-level wizard would be too shocking to go anywhere.

Even without drinking the fluctuation-suppressing potion, a group of ordinary people and apprentices could not discern Richard's true strength.

However, as the most prosperous wizard market in the entire Kingdom of Herun, it's impossible for it to be without legitimate wizards, so it's better to keep a low profile.

After drinking the potion, Richard appeared to outsiders as a first-level wizard.

As Richard, wearing a hood, entered the tavern, he immediately felt the lively atmosphere inside.

The tavern was filled with all sorts of people, almost all of them chatting and boasting, making it as noisy as a market. Judging from their attire, most of them were mercenaries wearing leather armor and carrying swords or axes.

Richard glanced around and noticed that several wizard apprentices were also quietly drinking at the bar.

Instantly, Richard knew he had come to the right place.

Moreover, Richard speculated that this tavern was likely just one of the entrances to the market.

Setting the entrance in a bustling tavern is quite clever; the large flow of people in the tavern conveniently conceals the wizard market located underground.

Richard walked slowly toward the entrance to the basement, where he saw an iron door.

There was a square window in the iron gate, through which the indifferent face of a middle-aged man could be seen.

As Richard approached, the middle-aged man coldly asked, "Who are you?"

Richard could clearly sense that the man behind the door was merely a mid-level knight, presumably someone who would deal with ordinary drunkards who wandered into the place by mistake.

However, behind the door and out of sight, there were two third-level wizard apprentices guarding him.

This is the true guardian.

Richard didn't speak, but merely released a trace of his formal wizard-level aura.

Immediately, someone behind the door spoke up: "Lawrence, open the door and let the adults outside in."

Lawrence was momentarily stunned. His indifferent face immediately turned warm, and he quickly opened the iron gate. His expression, which had changed instantly, suddenly became a little reserved.

Lawrence understood that, obviously, only a powerful individual at the level of a formal wizard could be addressed as "Master" by the adult beside him.

Richard nodded slightly and walked in slowly. As he approached, a gray-robed, hooded man respectfully handed Richard an item that resembled an invitation.

"Sir, the rules of the Pentos Wizarding Market are the same as other markets: combat magic is not allowed within the market grounds. Otherwise, it will be considered a provocation against the Bannings family. If this is your first time here, please accept this market guide."

Richard nodded, opened it, and saw that apart from the first part which listed the rules, such as fighting being strictly prohibited in the market, the other parts described the names, locations, and main products of different shops to facilitate transactions for new wizards or wizard apprentices who came to the market.

Moreover, as mentioned above, even ordinary wizard apprentices, including third-level wizard apprentices, must pay an entrance fee of one magic stone to enter the market.

But it's different for formal wizards; they don't need to pay any fees at all.

This can be seen as a form of respect for the strong.

Following the direction pointed out by the gray-robed man at the entrance, Richard walked down a circular stone staircase for a while, descending about ten meters underground, before reaching the end of the passage.

Looking at the circular archway at the end, Richard could hear a lot of noise coming from it.

Stepping through the archway, the view suddenly opened up, and Richard finally arrived inside the market.

The market was located inside a huge man-made underground cave. The reason why it was clear that it was man-made and not naturally formed was...

That's because the top is made up of a combination of multiple small arches.

Each small archway was painted with exquisite murals, and Richard could sense that multiple earth-based magic arrays were solidified on them.

At the same time, the bustling atmosphere and number of shops in the market were much better than the Black Forest market that Richard had visited before. Not only were there more shops, but there were also more people.

Richard briefly sensed the people dressed in robes of various colors.

Most of them are at the level of second or third-level wizard apprentices, while a few have the strength of a first-level formal wizard.

A striking difference from the Black Forest market was that here, Richard glanced around and spotted several formal wizards dressed in white robes.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of the most prosperous wizard market in the Kingdom of Herun."

Richard now understands the meaning behind the colors of wizard robes much better than before.

Grey robes are generally the color of clothing for wizard apprentices, whether they are black wizards or white wizards.

Black robes are generally worn by wizards who specialize in negative energy particle systems, such as those of the Shadow or Necromancer factions. Conversely, wizards who specialize in positive energy particle systems primarily wear white robes.

However, this is not absolute. What Richard sees now are several formal wizards dressed in light blue wizard robes.

There were also those dressed even more strangely.

Richard witnessed a wizard wearing a bird-beak hood walking into a potion shop; the wizard's clothes were also woven from various colorful feathers.

Richard didn't intend to wander around. Instead, he took out the invitation, opened it again, and checked the location of the fortune-telling shop.

High-level intelligence trading among wizards usually takes place in divination shops.

Of course, if it's general intelligence, you can get a general idea by spending some time in the market tavern.

But Richard didn't want to waste too much time on these conflicting reports, and since he wasn't short of money, he figured he might as well just spend some magic stones to get accurate information.

If a fortune-telling shop is powerful enough, it will usually have a wizard specializing in divination in charge, which is equivalent to having a built-in advantage of being well-informed.

This is why high-level intelligence trading among wizards is mostly done in divination shops.

As Richard entered the fortune-telling shop, which was shrouded in black curtains, a female wizarding apprentice immediately came forward and respectfully asked, "Sir, are you here for a fortune-telling?"

Richard nodded.

"My lord, please wait a moment. A guest is currently having his fortune told by Lady Iringo. He should be done soon. Please have a seat here for a moment," the girl gestured forward.

"Okay, so you only have one fortune teller?"

The girl smiled gently and said:

"My lord, we have several apprentice-level diviners, but we only have one formal wizard-level diviner, Lady Iringo. This shop is also owned by Lady Iringo."

"Given your exceptionally high status, it is impossible for you to have an apprentice-level fortune teller serve you."

It seems the girl had already noticed the subtle, unintentional hint of a formal wizard's aura that Richard had deliberately revealed.

Richard nodded.

That's true. There are already few wizards who specialize in divination. It's already quite good if a divination shop has a formal wizard-level diviner in charge.

I guess this is still thanks to the capital city's influence.

In a lounge, Richard leisurely sipped honey water.

After waiting for a few minutes, the girl came in again, smiling, and said:

"My lord, Lady Iringo is waiting for you in the divination room."

"Um."

Richard followed the girl to the door of the divination room.

"Sir, please come in."

Upon entering the divination room, Richard found the entire room to be very dark, with the only light source coming from a candle on the table in front of him.

The soft glow of the candlelight outlined the slender silhouette of a veiled female wizard at the table.

The witch sat upright at one side of the table, her eyes, brimming with life, seemed to see right through people's hearts in the candlelight.

"Please have a seat, guest." The voice had a slightly magnetic quality.

"I'd like to buy some information about a certain wizard in the capital," Richard said bluntly.

"Sure, but information about a legitimate wizard isn't cheap."

Richard nodded slightly and said:

"I'd like to know about Stephanie Knight of the Knight Marquisate, and how she is doing."

"A brief introduction costs fifty magic stones, while detailed information costs three hundred magic stones." The witch gave Richard a meaningful look.

Richard chuckled upon hearing this; there were even simplified and detailed versions.

That's interesting. You might want to take a look at the abbreviated version first.

"The simplified version," Richard said, handing the other party fifty magic stones.

After the witch took it, she immediately used a quill to write on a parchment scroll, and a few seconds later, she handed it to Richard.

There was only one sentence on it.

"Stephena Knight suddenly returned to the Knight family half a month ago, seemingly having reached the level of a formal wizard. She should still be in the Knight Marquis's mansion and has not gone out."

Richard was immediately dumbfounded. Fifty magic stones for this?

Earning magic stones is way too easy!

Seemingly a little embarrassed by Richard's direct gaze, the witch offered an unusually long explanation:

"If you want more detailed information, you'll have to pay extra. However, since the customer purchased the simplified version, they can simply pay the difference to purchase the detailed version."

Richard nodded. This was actually quite kind of him; otherwise, he would have thought he had stumbled upon a shady establishment.

So he handed the witch another two hundred and fifty magic stones.

The witch smiled with satisfaction, put the magic stone away, and then quickly began writing again on the parchment.

The parchment appears to have undergone special treatment; once written on, the notes disappear automatically after a short while, allowing for repeated use.

This time, the witch wrote much more, almost filling half a page.

"Stephena Knight is suspected of being imprisoned. Due to the extremely high concentration of Spider Woman bloodline she possesses, the Knight family elders have suggested that she contribute a portion of her bloodline essence to the family, thereby enhancing the strength of several other family members at the level of third-level wizard apprentices."

"Stephena agreed, but was suddenly imprisoned."

"The truth seems to be that the pillar of the Knight family, a mid-level first-class wizard named Siat Knight, is nearing the end of his life."

"And having Stephania contribute a portion of her bloodline essence to her people is also a pretext. It seems that Siat Knight wants to extract all of Stephania's Spider Woman bloodline to prolong her life."

"The ceremony is currently undergoing final preparations."

The message on the paper made Richard frown and instantly ignite his anger!

Clearly, Stephanie was tricked by her ancestor from who-knows-how-many generations ago.

Otherwise, given Stephania's innate magical talent, she would never have been imprisoned.

Is the news true?

"The information has been confirmed by people within the Knight family," the witch said earnestly.

"I'd like to acquire another piece of information: the overall strength of the Knight family, anything related to combat power."

"The simplified version costs 100 magic stones, the detailed version costs 500 magic stones," the witch said quickly.

Richard immediately placed five intermediate-level magic stones on the table.

The witch's eyes lit up. After receiving the intermediate magic stone, she immediately began writing again on the parchment scroll.

After she handed the parchment to Richard, he examined it carefully.

"Hyat Knight, a Level 1 beginner wizard, whose innate magic is Spider Swarm Storm."

"The wizard-level combatants recruited include: Edgar Burriggs, a first-level wizard with no innate wizardry, skilled in earth spike magic, and a wandering wizard."

"."

After Richard finished reading it, he calmed down. They were just a bunch of chickens and dogs.

Moreover, since Stephania's life is not in danger, he can take this opportunity to inquire about another person.

"I'll ask someone else," Richard said slowly.

"I need detailed information about Daenerys Bannings."

(End of this chapter)