Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

"Wassup, suckers! Say 'welcome' to Daddy?" D'andre greeted from atop the Super Nut Breaker 999.

Both Dragun and Vishirk couldn't help but gasp for breath when they heard his greeting.

'Is he aware of the might of Wishiro's 7th School of Magic?' Vishirk couldn't help but wonder.

Even Dragun questioned why any sane human being would greet a large gathering of people in such an impolite manner. He couldn't help but wonder how the people below would retaliate.

But he was surprised by their reactions.

"Look, it's the White-haired Tiger!"

"The White-haired Tiger has come to grace our recruitment exercise with his presence. I am honored!"

"Look how cool his flying artifact is! I heard he personally handed over the blueprint for the artifact's creation!"

"Wow! Look how gorgeous he is!"

The people reacted positively, contradicting the expectations of Dragun and Vishirk.

'The White-haired Tiger?' Vishirk's eyes widened.

'I've heard that name before! He's one of the strongest and richest sponsors of the seven different Wishiro's Schools of Magic. There are even rumors that he and the Lord of the Castle of Might are best of friends!'

Vishirk recalled all the rumors he had heard about the White-haired Tiger and became extremely surprised.

'I can't believe I flew and spoke with one of the legends of Wishiro and didn't even realize it!'

On the other hand, Dragun was quite surprised, not because of the title but because of the people's reaction.

Even the senior mages carrying out the recruitment stood up from their chairs and stared at D'andre with respect and admiration in their eyes.

D'andre waved at the people as he landed his Super Nut Breaker 999 on the ground.

The people quickly surrounded him like ants around sugar.

"I believe both of you can leave from here," D'andre whispered to Dragun, to which Dragun nodded.

"I have some business to take care of in this city. Good luck and goodbye." D'andre bade them farewell before mixing with the crowd, which quickly dragged him away.

Dragun and Vishirk stood and watched the scene for a few seconds before turning their backs and leaving the location.

"You are from Wishiro's School of Magic? How come you didn't recognize someone so influential in your school?" Dragun asked as they strolled toward their destination.

"Only senior students and instructors have been able to set their eyes on the White-haired Tiger; hence, I failed to recognize him," Vishirk explained.

He also expressed how cool it would've been if he could share this story with his schoolmates—that he actually rode with one of the school's legends.

Dragun didn't pay too much attention to Vishirk's words, even though his story was kind of interesting.

At this moment, he recalled the incident the last time they were in Yellow River City.

'I wonder if Alister has any tricks up his sleeves this time,' he thought.

'Well, we have this mask on that alters our identity. I hope it helps to hide me from that bastard! If it doesn't, who knows what that bastard might do to me?' His mind continued wandering.

With the new identity granted by the mask, Dragun planned to go around and acquire as much information as he could about the last school killings and the culprit.

If possible, Dragun would also like to gather as much information as he could about the movement of the Cult of Ember Justice in Yellow River City.

With all these plans in mind, Dragun urged Vishirk and hastened his footsteps.

Both of them found and paid for an inn to rest and wait for midnight. The black market is only opened from that time onwards.

At the inn, they ensured to keep their mana reserves full by renting the mana pool as usual.

However, while Vishirk stayed in the pool to recuperate his mana reserve, Dragun went to meet the Inn Manager.

"Dear customer, how can I help you?" the Inn Manager, a middle-aged man with messy beards and potbelly, asked with a smile.

Dragun didn't waste time and began his inquiries.

The Inn Manager responded to the questions about Wishiro's School of Magic incident and the culprit without requesting any sort of settlement.

He told Dragun how the reputation of the school had been declining, which equally affected the economy of Yellow River City.

He also told him how the school suddenly announced that the culprit had been dealt with.

"They didn't execute the culprit in public as promised?" Dragun asked with a frown.

"Yes, my friend, those sly people hid the culprit away from the raging masses for three days before revealing to the public that they had executed him secretly. The people even requested his corpse as proof that he was really dealt with, but the school failed to provide it. This made a lot of people question the integrity of the school. There are even rumors that the school might have used the innocent students as sacrifice to some evil magic god..." the Innkeeper revealed.

Hearing his narration, the frown on Dragun's face deepened.

He was just as suspicious as the people, especially since he knew who was behind everything.

Dragun found it hard to believe that the instructors would really execute the culprit in secret after promising the people.

Considering that their reputation was already down for losing their students, they would've tried to keep their promise to show the people that they are still capable.

Killing him in secret would only reduce their already declining reputation.

'The school can't be so dumb to make such a silly mistake,' Dragun commented inwardly.

'If the culprit is really dead, then his death is definitely the handiwork of Alister,' he concluded.

The Inn Manager observed the changes in Dragun's expression and became pretty curious.

"What's bothering you?" he asked.

Dragun woke up from his wandering thoughts, gave a smile, waved his hand, and answered, "Nothing."

Afterwards, he proceeded to inquire about the cult.

The Inn Manager's eyes immediately shot open.

He stood up from his seat and looked around to see if anyone was nearby.

"Don't mention that name so openly! Do you have a death wish?!" he reprimanded with a frown.

His reaction made Dragun happy inwardly.

"So you know about them."

"Of course, everyone with a bit of connection to the underworld knows about the Cult of Ember Justice!" he replied.

"If you need information about them, I can recommend a good source, but it's pretty expensive and you have to be careful."

Dragun nodded. "I'll be very grateful for that."

The Inn Manager nodded; he then pleaded with him not to mention the name of the cult inside the inn.

"They are the vilest group to ever exist. Please mind the way you call their name; I don't want to lose my life and my inn."

"No worries."

After he finished speaking with the Inn Manager, Dragun went to join Vishirk in the pool.

Two hours passed, and midnight arrived.

Dragun and Vishirk had already left the inn and arrived at Yellow River City Market, which was bustling with activities as usual.

"Come and get your shadow cloak for one thousand gold!"

"Magic weapons available!"

The cries of the sellers announcing their wares spread across the market as usual. Some of them even approached both of them to advertise their wares.

Dragun was pretty confused about the market as a whole.

He had visited several black markets himself, and each of them had a different secret method of accessing them. He wondered what that of Yellow River City was.

Since Vishirk knew more about the black market, he was the one walking in front.

A beautiful seller approached him to advertise her magic items.

Vishirk and Dragun followed her to her stall. There, they inquired about the black market.

At first, she refused to divulge the information.

Dragun and Vishirk had to purchase some wares from her without bargaining the price before she finally gave them the information they wanted.

"Yellow River City black market is in its river?" Dragun was pretty surprised.

"I am surprised as well. I have been living in this city since I was an infant, and I never even imagined that the black market would be located in the river!" Vishirk replied.

"The secrecy of it must be top-notch," Dragun remarked.

Both of them made their way to the river.

It was dark at night, and there were few people sitting on the rocks and grass by the river.

The sound of water flowing filled the air with eerie calmness.

No matter how one looked at this place, they would never imagine that a place as vast and busy as the black market was located in it. Dragun even tried sensing any strange magical presence, but there were none available.

Thankfully, they got the secret magic phrase of entrance from the lady at the market.

According to her, the phrases were only handed to agents of the black market. The phrase changes every single market day to prevent intruders.

Both of them found the spot she described, and when they got there, they stepped into the water.

Since it was dark, the others at the river wouldn't be able to see them.

Dragun gave Vishirk a nod, and they began reciting the phrase together.

"Mali... Liva..."

As they began reciting it, it was as though the shallow water they were standing on suddenly became deep. It started sucking them down.

They continued reciting, and in a matter of seconds, they disappeared.