Adam, wearing Nilrem’s face, made his way into Amberfall’s market district, and the scale of it beca apparent almost instantly.
Stalls packed every street and alley, layered several rows deep. rchants shouted prices, their voices echoing far and wide.
Exotic spices, precious trinkets, rare tals, books containing seemingly forbidden knowledge, monster parts, and herbalism regents were displayed openly. There were materials put for sale that would catch even a spellcaster’s eyes.
If soone wanted sothing and had enough coin, there was always soone willing to sell it.
Adam watched the atmosphere of the bazaar with fascination. He had never seen a marketplace so lively.
Amberfall was truly a city built for comrce. Every aspect of it revolved around trade. Goods, information, influence, and alliances flowed through its markets and guilds.
rchant houses held imnse power, rivaling even noble families. And their wealth fueled the city’s defenses, infrastructure, and political leverage.
Makes one wonder, Adam thought as he weaved through the crowd, curling his mustache.
Who truly holds power in Amberfall? Is it noble houses? Or is it the rchant houses?
Or perhaps, the king has all of them under his control?
The political landscape of Amberfall is... interesting.
The city held a critical position within the Sovereign Union. Its trade routes connected multiple mber states, its coffers funded wars and diplomacy alike, and its markets ensured a steady flow of resources the Union depended on.
Although Adam hadn’t spent much ti in the city, he already knew that it held a special place in the Union.
But from what I know, Anna’s father is only a Mana Vortex Magus. And there are several Mana Core Magi within the Union, Adam thought to himself.
So then, how is it that he managed to hold the reins of this powerful city?
Maximillian Fireborne’s authority didn’t co from overwhelming strength, but from wisdom.
He was known throughout the Union as a ruler with exceptional diplomatic skills. He was asured, perceptive, and unfailingly pragmatic.
Even Mana Core Magi, despite their superior power, treated him with respect. Not because they feared him, but because they trusted his judgnt.
Under his rule, the Ignisra Kingdom had flourished. Trade expanded, internal conflicts were resolved before they escalated, and relations with neighboring powers were carefully maintained.
The king understood how to balance competing interests, offering concessions where necessary and standing firm when it mattered most.
In the Sovereign Union, where arcane power often dictated authority, he proved that stability, prosperity, and mutual benefit could command just as much respect.
I can’t wait to et him, Adam thought, his lips curling into an expectant smile.
The more he observed the city’s atmosphere, its system, and how thoroughly it thrived on comrce, the more he beca convinced that the one who ruled this place had to be one hell of a man.
He ventured deeper into the heart of the market district, scribbling words on parchnt and playing the role of a travel writer.
And the further he went, the less regulated the market beca...
Hidden corridors branched off from the main streets, guarded by hired muscles and discreet Magi. These passages led into the black market, where transactions were conducted quietly and efficiently.
There were no signs, no announcents. Only knowing looks and coded phrases. Here, illegal contrabands, cursed items, stolen artifacts, forbidden relics, and even spellbooks were traded without restraint.
Adam was slightly taken aback by this change of scene. He had visited black markets in the Southern Federation and the Acadian Empire, but those ones paled in comparison to the one he was in now.
It was here that Adam found the slave market.
The operation was not concealed at all. After all, the section of the market district designated as the black market was situated underground amid the maze of sewer tunnels. It was like a secret settlent of its own.
Cages were lined against the curved walls, guarded by ard n and spellcasters. Slaves of various races — mostly humans — were displayed with tags listing price, origin, and... uses.
Buyers inspected them openly, negotiating without sha. The trade was thriving, regulated not by law, but by coin and force.
Adam observed it all in silence.
He ca from a place where slavery had long since been abolished. This was due to the Acadian Empire’s foundational principle of freedom for all races, whether they were mortals or Magi.
However, he wasn’t stupid enough to think that slavery was actually abolished. After all, despite the ban, it still persisted in the shadows. But the fear of persecution caused the slave trade to be extrely minimal.
However, in Amberfall, the slave trade was booming. Moreover, it was extrely profitable. This was a city of rchants, and it did not pretend to be righteous.
Its markets reflected the truth clearly: a city where anything could be bought, provided one was willing to pay the price.
As he watched the emaciated n and won confined within the cages, Adam couldn’t help but let out a helpless sigh.
Though he shared a deep bond with Anna, that alone didn’t grant him the right to interfere in the city’s governance.
Adam didn’t think of himself as a hero who would charge in, shatter the cages, and plunge the city into chaos in the na of righteousness.
Doing so would not save the slaves. It would only replace one kind of suffering with another.
In his hot-blooded youth, he might have acted differently...
But life had tempered him.
Experience had taught him that the world consisted of fragile systems and that tearing one apart rarely led to justice.
Now, he chose restraint. He maintained a stance of true neutrality, one that leaned slightly towards law and order. He observed rather than interfered, weighed outcos rather than emotions.
He believed that if change ca, then it had to co without collapsing the structure that held countless lives together.
This wasn’t indifference.
No. It was discipline.
"My good sir!" A slave trader approached him, a shady smile on his face. "Are you interested in these things?"
Adam snapped out of his daze and turned to the man standing beside him. "Things?" He frowned.
"Yes, yes. These products, I an," said the man, pointing at the slaves. "I noticed you’ve been staring at them for a while now. Perhaps you’re interested in these girls? They’re virgins, I assure you!"
Adam felt utterly disgusted by that remark. He perford a simple hand seal as he placed his hand on the man’s shoulder.
His lips parted, and he coldly spat:
"Fuck off."
With that said, he turned around and disappeared amid the crowd.
anwhile, the slave trader remained standing in his spot, his pupils dilated to the extres. It would take a few minutes before he erged from his stupor.
And when he did, he would not be the sa man.
After all, Adam had just cast an illusion that forced him to live an entire lifeti as a slave, enduring misery, helplessness, and despair from beginning to end.
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