Chapter 0059: Setting Up a Stall

The Sorcerers’ Association of the Scattered Towers had only placed a modest sorcerers’ tower in the Gloomy Caverns. The aboveground portion rose seven stories, while two more levels lay beneath the surface, making a total of nine floors. The layout of the tower was quite similar to the Marsh High Tower where Grim had once stayed.

The first to third floors above ground formed the public areas, accessible to apprentice sorcerers as their primary activity spaces. The open facilities there encompassed nearly every domain an apprentice might want to explore. The fourth to seventh floors were reserved for full-fledged sorcerers, serving as their residences and laboratories. Any apprentice who entered these upper levels without explicit permission would be ruthlessly attacked by the tower’s defense mechanisms.

At this moment, Grim wandered silently through the public hall on the tower’s first floor.

Unlike the Marsh High Tower, the Gloomy Caverns were an open territory, allowing apprentice sorcerers to organize their own teams to venture into various regions in search of materials and resources. As a result, resources here were far more plentiful than in the Marsh High Tower.

Aside from its eerie, terrifying underground realm, the Gloomy Caverns were also bordered by the resource-rich Crela Mountains above ground. Amidst the rugged peaks and deep valleys, countless rare plants flourished, and powerful magical creatures lurked in abundance.

Truthfully, the area surrounding the Gloomy Caverns was an ideal place for apprentice sorcerers to grow and hone their abilities.

Junior apprentices could band together to forage for resources in the hills and forests near the tower, using ordinary jungle beasts to practice their sorcery. Intermediate apprentices could venture further, into the heart of the mountains for individual trials. Advanced apprentices, in turn, could begin to probe the shallow layers of the Gloomy Caverns, engaging in deadly battles with ratfolk, claw terrors, undead, and other dark creatures.

Through this progressive method, apprentice sorcerers forged here were far more ruthless and formidable than those produced by the Marsh High Tower, who relied on slow meditation and the passage of time. By comparison, Grim was like a student from a third-rate academy, while his peers were battle-hardened warriors, forged in real combat—the two were not even remotely comparable.

Early in the morning, the public hall was already crowded with apprentice sorcerers seeking teammates. Most were juniors and intermediates, with the occasional advanced apprentice among them. Others had spread out black cloths in the corners, displaying various odd items for sale, sitting beside their wares with books in hand. Only when approached by a customer did they lazily engage in conversation; the rest of the time they read in silence.

This way of life, so different from the Marsh High Tower, filled Grim with envy, though he was helpless to change his circumstances.

Before entering the Marsh High Tower, every apprentice had signed a magical contract with Sorcerer Anderson, binding them as lifelong contract apprentices to the tower. To gain freedom, there were only two paths: obtain Anderson’s permission, or advance to become a full sorcerer.

If a contract apprentice abandoned their designated tower, they would lose their status and become a betrayer, hunted by all. Many of the fallen sorcerers deep within the Gloomy Caverns were such betrayers who had advanced, but their status was not recognized by the Sorcerers’ Association of the Scattered Towers. They had no choice but to live in exile, nameless and wandering.

So, for all his longing for the lifestyle here, Grim could only shake his head and sigh, resigned to his fate.

Mingling among the apprentices, Grim browsed the stalls, quietly observing the sorcerers affiliated with the Gloomy Caverns’ High Tower.

He noticed that even the junior apprentices seeking teams in the center of the hall were equipped with impressive magical gear and items: wands for instant casting, pouches stuffed with scrolls and potions, and a dazzling array of trinkets. Each was a walking armory, and though their own power might not be formidable, the sheer number of auxiliary items allowed them to unleash a flood of sorcery in moments.

To Grim, they seemed like ambulatory piles of gold coins—from head to toe, inside and out, every inch radiated the scent of wealth. Comparing them to himself, Grim couldn’t help but feel inferior, his recent pride at a small victory evaporating entirely.

The only apprentices who could match Grim’s poverty were those junior ones selling goods while reading—a clear sign they’d only just become apprentices and lacked the qualifications to venture into the jungles; mere novices.

After circling the public hall and absorbing all the information he needed, Grim selected a lively stall owner to approach for conversation.

The stall owner was a slightly chubby young man; the apprentice robe issued by the tower was clearly ill-fitting, giving him a comical appearance. His facial features danced with every word he spoke, making his stall the liveliest spot in the hall.

“Hello, I’m Grim,” Grim introduced himself.

“Uh… hi, I’m Sam,” the chubby youth replied, his tone light and humorous. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Hello, Sam. I wanted to ask, do you need any special paperwork to set up a stall here?”

“Uh…” Sam looked Grim up and down, puzzled. “Are you a new junior apprentice?”

“Yes, I arrived here as a junior apprentice just two days ago,” Grim replied vaguely, unwilling to explain how he had ended up undertaking the dangerous Gloomy Caverns mission as a junior.

“Poor soul! Anyone can see you’re a newcomer abandoned by your mentor. But don’t worry, follow your brother Sam and you’ll soon be decked out in magical gear just like the others…” Sam was unexpectedly warm-hearted, instantly switching to the role of a passionate older brother.

But Grim glanced at Sam, then at the detection data projected in his mind, speechless.

This self-proclaimed big brother Sam was a pure, fresh junior apprentice with only six points of mental strength, which left Grim mentally unsettled.

“Uh… Sam, I was wondering… could I set up a stall here to sell a few things?”

“No problem, no problem! Sam always looks out for newcomers. Here, I’ve got some space left; you can set up right beside me!” Sam replied.

With Sam’s approval, Grim quickly spread a tray-sized black cloth, and from his pouch he laid out five items: an earring capable of self-healing through plants, a verdant wand shaft, boots granting free movement through the forest, a croaking frog for sorcery materials, and a sorcery notebook taken from an enemy.

The boots were here for a particularly infuriating reason: Mary had rejected them because the magical patterns weren’t refined enough, tossing them to Grim early that morning and telling him to handle their disposal.

Grim found such reasoning incomprehensible, and thus ranked Mary among the most mysterious creatures in existence.

Watching Grim solemnly lay out his stall, Sam, seated next door, couldn’t help but laugh uproariously. He slapped Grim’s shoulder and enthusiastically explained, “Brother, don’t blame me for not warning you, but it’ll be hard to sell anything this way!”

“Look at me—my stall is big, yours is tiny; how will you attract attention? And my stall’s packed with goods, yours is… hey, what’s this?”

Even with his weak mental strength, Sam quickly sensed the clear magical aura from Grim’s items. Good heavens, he’d put out five items, four of which were obviously magical. Judging by the engraved runes and style, they bore distinctive underground motifs.

Sam curiously picked up the magical earrings, examined them closely, and suddenly exclaimed, “Revival Earrings! These are Revival Earrings!”

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it quickly drew the attention of passing apprentice sorcerers. They paused, turning to see the chubby youth cradling the earrings.

“Hey, Fatty, what are you shouting about? You got your hands on Revival Earrings? Are you just bluffing?”

“Yeah, Sam, you must be dreaming about Revival Earrings! You, a lousy merchant, could never get them—ha!”

Amid the jeers, Sam’s round face flushed deep red, but he clung tightly to the earrings, refusing to let go.

From the crowd, a pretty apprentice girl with a sweet smile stepped up to the stall.

“Sam, may I see those earrings?”

“Uh…” The muscles on Sam’s face twitched, as if he wished he could slap himself. At last, he reluctantly opened his hand, presenting the exquisite earrings to the girl.

The girl, possessing the power of an intermediate apprentice, picked up the magical earrings and sensed them with her fingertips. Her face instantly lit with delight. Under her manipulation, the previously unremarkable earrings glowed with emerald light, and a faint fragrance of grass and wood wafted through the air.

A chorus of gasps rippled through the crowd.

“They really are Revival Earrings!”

“My god, someone’s selling a level-three magical item in the hall…”

“No way, I have to tell Lina—she’s been wanting a pair of Revival Earrings!”

“Yeah, I need to notify the boss…”

People began pulling out all sorts of odd magical communication devices from their pockets. Suddenly, the hall was filled with croaking, chirping, whistling, and howling—an uproar of bizarre calls echoing everywhere.