As tempting as it was to take the whole day off to spend my money and pretend I didn't live crystal to crystal, I had a new way of earning money and that was a priority.

  “Where is Kitch?” I threw my knives into the air and they fell in a straight line with all the blades on one side. Now I was not the best with directions but that was definitely not the way to the guild. The labyrinth could be situated elsewhere in the city though and now I regretted wasting my mana on the divination.

  “Where can I buy vials resistant to magic poison?” Another line. I frowned. “Where can I buy vials resistant to magic poison and won't be robbed of Medea at?” And with that, I was off shopping.

  The first shop my skill eventually led me to was a fancy glassware store that I just knew was way beyond my budget. The second was a dingy one all the way in the Upper Gerankir bazaar. When I realized where I was going, I returned to my apartment and changed to a shabby brown tunic and baggy jacket that hid my features and then threw a makeshift cloak over that. Even then I was almost robbed four times on the way before I actually reached the shop I was looking for.

  The Upper Gerankir Residential Area was basically an overgrown slum consisting of layers of dense buildings on top of one another like the hive of an insect. It was also completely lawless. And while Upper Gerankir was also a dense and vertical area, it was not completely messed up. That was why I was not dealing with classers who had gained their power from murdering people harassing me. That and that having [MASS MURDERER]

  The bazaar was loud and it was tired like a cake. Multiple storefronts built on top of one another with air bridges, stairs and ladders everywhere. People bustled up and down as vendors loudly peddled their wares. Some didn't even have buildings and instead stood at the edge of roads on makeshift stalls or just sat on rugs with their goods spread out around them. Menacing looking thugs patrolled the bazaar and I spotted the five jackals logo that Vim sported. Stairwells dotted the bazaar that led to the lower levels of Upper Gerankir and eventually to Lower Gerankir. And above it all was a man made ceiling with a network of straight lines of artificial mana lights. The Gerankir district was dug down into the city to avoid the all choking smog that was so dense on this side of the city, out of sight and out of mind for the Illustris Council, the guilds and the traders making landfall. Above Gerankir, the throat burning smog lingered heavily even in the day. And of course, even higher and to the North, far above it all, was the really important part of the city that simply didn't have to worry about it at all.

  Gerankir didn't escape towards the sky, it looked downwards. For downwards was the only way Gerankir’s denizens were expected and allowed to go. And it showed, if I thought the city was hostile before, Upper Gerankir made those same streets look like the New Delport Regency. It was only classer nonsense that prevented the entire district from collapsing on itself and crushing its residents. The lights and the crowd didn't lessen here during the night either, Gerankir never slept, even when compared to the rest of the aggressively insomniac city of New Delport.

  My actual destination didn't instill any further confidence in me. It was a ramshackle wooden establishment with plain looking glass vessels on a window. Or maybe it was crystal? I knew crystal was used for glasses and things like that but I'd never heard of it being used for chemistry. It was only because of the way they shone that I suspected it was something other than regular glass.

  An pruned old man with more wrinkles than skin sat inside the dim building and he glared at me through the window when I approached. Gah, I mean, I looked suspicious. A cloaked figure with a giant spider-scorpion trailing behind her. Still I continued but I did flinch when something or the other shattered right when I pushed the door open, shards almost grazing my cheeks if not for my skills-granted reflexes. The shards then hardened in a spiralling cage full of spikes, barbs and needles around me. I stopped. Slowly raising my hands, I to appear non threatening. I was certainly regretting coming here but I didn't trust the shopkeeper to not slice open my jugular if I tried to run now. A fast twitchy movement could easily be mistaken for aggression, speaking from experience.

  “Hood down.” The man spoke softly and I obliged. He squinted at my face.

  “You are not one of Sevan’s.” He observed and relaxed. The cage melted around me.

  “I have no idea who this Sevan is.” I might have seriously considered calling him a crazy and paranoid old man but I didn't. I was still in the crazy old man's shop. In any case, lesson learned, looking shady does deter thieves but also makes you look shady.

  “Sorry about that kid. When you came in all dressed up like that, I assumed you were here on the behalf of a very annoying man. I'm Devan. What do you want?”

  “No problem, Devan. I'm Anya. I need something to keep extracted venom in. Venom from my pet.” I pointed to Medea. The man rose up and before I could even blink, he held up an apparatus made of what looked like multiple magnifying glasses up to Medea's stinger. He was a lot shorter than I actually expected, and hunched over in a way that I hadn't seen anyone in this world be.

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  “Interesting. What is the second purple sac for?” I saw no reason to lie.

  “Mana venom. My pet produces two types of venom but they can be combined into any proportion.”

  “I see. For long term storage or just enough to keep it for a day or two?”

  “The latter. I just need it so that I can sell the venom.” The poison shops should have facilities for extracting venom but I didn't trust them to charge me for those. I figured if I deliver it to them myself by paying for vials up front.

  “Alright, come in.” He left Medea alone and strode into a door to the back of the shop. Shelves full of glassware greeted me alongside a few cluttered tables. A lone Aetherite light hung from the ceiling. Devan grabbed a few small vials and a couple of bottles and placed them on one of the tables. The glassware that was already on the table flew back to the shelves instantly.

  “Now, I want your pet to fill this with its strongest venom.” Devan pointed to one of the smaller vials. Medea dutifully placed the tip of its stinger at its mouthand drops of murky liquid began to flow from it.

  “No, stop. This is no good.” Devan muttered before it was even halfway filled. Medea stopped and Devan took it away. The vial flew and tilted until its mouth met that of another and then the liquid transferred itself to the new one as Devan kept muttering. His mutterings grew more and more agitated as he once again transferred the venom to another vessel. And then instead of repeating the process, he grabbed Medea's stinger for a closer look. The magnifier was back. I just stood and waited awkwardly from the sidelines after ordering Medea to not attack the crazy old man.

  Finally, he returned all the vials except one as well as all the bottles back to where he had taken them from. A new set of vials replaced them and the process began anew. This time the first vial was filled with that venom and Devan let out a satisfied laugh. He grabbed a set of three bottle only slightly larger than regular water bottles and placed them on the table and transferred the venom to the first of them.

  “These should work for your pet now and for the near future. 45 crystals each. And don't bother trying to bargain, that's the lowest I'll go.” 45? This was daylight robbery.

  “Isn't that a bit too pricey?”

  “No, your pet’s venom is potent and anything cheaper will not last long, especially if it grows stronger. And I doubt you want fragile artisan glass that will shatter on you randomly. You will make up the cost in no time. Take it or leave it. I'm not trying to fleece you here kid.” What Devan called “fragile artisan glass” was literally just regular glass without any classer stuff. Any stuff. Truly my genius astounds me.

  ’

  Crap. I was afraid of that. I would be 135 crystals poorer, and then combined with my rent and Vim’s protection racket meant that I would have barely any more crystals than what just killing slimes for two weeks would have netted me. But fine. So what if I can't buy any enchanted gear or exotic monsters for Medea to eat right now? I had time. Right?

  ‘

  And the worst part was that I knew that Medea was not even pretending, it genuinely couldn't understand the concept of preferring to be called something.

  Grumbling, I handed over the crystals and started stuffing the bottles into my backpack before pausing.

  “Hey Devan, can I wait here until a bottle is full?”

  “Go ahead kid,. Just don't spill venom all over my things. And don't touch anything. I'll know.” Sure. I could do that. Devan went back to the front of the shop.

  Five minutes later, my bag was noticeably heavier and I was trying to stop thinking about the fact that there was deadly mana disrupting acidic venom sloshing around behind me. Yeah sure, I had stoppered it well but it was still not something I was comfortable with. Devan nodded at me as I stepped out of the back of the shop before he called out.

  “Hey kid, listen. Before you go, do you have any idea where you will be selling the stuff?”

  “I'll look around, I guess?” I mean I was going to divine around but he didn't need to know that.

  “Listen kid, you go asking around like that and you will be scammed. Full offense, but it is obvious that you don't belong and don't know what you are doing.” Hey, I was not that oblivious. I told him so, just with less petulance. He snorted.

  “Yeah, like when you walked in here dressed like a bloody fugitive. You were lucky that you met me on a good day.” If this was him on a good day, a bad day for Devan was probably not something I cared to acquaint myself with.

  “Alright, point made. So what, you know a dealer who will give me a fair price and you get a finder’s fee?”

  “Hahaha no, nothing like that. I'll get you something much better, kid. Consider it an apology for almost killing ya. You ever heard of the Black Nettle Emporium?” He leaned in conspiratorially as if it was a big deal.

  “Err, should I know what that is?”

  “You will definitely get scammed out of everything you have and more if I let you go through your original plan. But yes, you should know what that is. It is place to buy and sell poison in New Delport. You'll just need to pay 3000 to gain entry.” I opened my mouth to protest but he continued on. “Or you can have a referral from an existing member.”

  “Oh, you can get me a referral?” I asked excitedly.

  “No.” Then what was the point of that?

  “But there is also another way to get a referral. It is not hidden or anything like that, it is technically public information but I doubt you'd get to know about it by yourself. Almost no one does this because by the time most people are capable of doing it, they are either rich enough or have a referral. And the Emporium doesn't advertise it because then idiots would keep getting themselves killed on their doorstep.” Oh, he was giving me information. That made sense. But the last but was worrying to say the least.

  “You just have to go to the Emporium and survive an injection of a very deadly venom from a Nightwing Amphisbaena. But for pet classes, as usual, them doing something instead of their master is accepted. And spider scorpions have absurd poison resistance if my memory serves me. It would be painful but your pet should survive just fine.”