Chapter 095

As they walked into the hall, they saw what appeared to be a private event for someone in the hall.

"They usually rent the upper portions of the floor to some wealthy merchants. It is ensured that some event is happening up here on the first, to avoid suspicion from people coming to an empty hall with no events" explained Hannah, as she led him to the side.

There was a narrow passage with two people standing near the entrance. The group walked straight past them, and they were not stopped.

Further in, there was a station with two people manning it. There was a weird metal frame that kind of looked like a metal detector that Alvin remembered.

"Hello Hannah! Rico! Donald! I see you have brought someone else!" said one of the persons manning the counter.

"Hello Kevin. This is Alvin, an informant attached to the unit. He will be joining us here every month" said Hannah.

"Of course. Please go in. And Alvin, you must have a drink with me later! I have an unopened bottle of one of the finest wines from the Rorsted Archipelago!" said the man enthusiastically.

Alvin returned his greeting, as they all walked past him, through the metal frame. When Alvin passed through it, it beeped harshly, but stopped after the other person behind the counter performed a hand gesture.

"This is something that was contributed by the Church of Steam and Machinery. It can detect the Astral Projection of those passing through, and identify them. If anyone not authorised tries to pass through, it will emit that beeping sound, and the whole passage will be locked down. But if you are authorised, the controller can confirm you have access, and you will not trigger an alert any subsequent times you pass through" said Hannah.

"So anyone can access the inside? Even if it's a defector who once had access? And can this thing be used to identify anyone undercover who may have accessed the market?" asked Alvin, wanting to probe information in case it could lead to his identification and future exposure. Well, the first issue is a risk we have to inevitably take. Any person who does not identify themselves will be scrutinised heavily inside though. And the metal frame and its detection capabilities are fixed here. So unless the person who needs to be identified is dragged here, that is not happening. And even then, it can just identify that the person has access here, and unable to distinguish between who is who" said Hannah.

"I know you have concerns in being identified, but there is no need to worry. Higher-ups from the military and the churches have scrutinised this device. And this device was originally created and built by Roselle. He had strange thoughts like how privacy was paramount, even when dealing with wild Beyonders. Be eventually gave up such thoughts, but the creations he made with such thoughts still function effectively" explained Hannah.

"Does Trier have such gatherings and such a device too?" asked Alvin curiously.

"Not really. While it is said Trier is comparable to Backlund in terms of prosperity, purely in terms of official Beyonder presence it is Backlund that is superior. This is because Pritz Harbour is quite close to Backlund, and has a water route connecting them. Thus, the rich resources from the sea are readily available here. Plus, with three churches plus the royal family, interpersonal relationships are complicated, and hence many wild Beyonder survive, loosely associating themselves to one force. Thus, for such a gathering of official Beyonders, Backlund is superior" explained Hannah.

"I see. And who is Kevin?" asked Alvin.

"Barring any hidden demigods, he is the strongest wild Beyonder in Backlund. He is an elite Sequence 5, with a complete set of mystical items and a fighting system. He has a wide range of friends, and close connections with the higher-ups of all four forces. As you could just see, be it an ordinary member of any of the organisation, or even an external member like you, he will commit their names to memory and casually establish a friendship with them. He is humble and likeable that way. He is also the unofficial host of the gathering. If you want some valuable or rare items, you can request him to procure them for you. He will do so for a premium" said Hannah.

"I see" said Alvin.

Soon, they reached a massive hall, with multiple cordoned off tents. There were stalls selling Beyonder items to stalls selling coffee and tea. There weren't many people present, but there were plenty of stalls set up.

"Let me give you a rough layout of the place. The stalls are for cheaper ingredients and consumable items like charms, boosters, and augmented weapons etc. You should bargain, because the sellers usually massively over quote the prices. The tents are where the real deal is. The 4 brightly coloured tents belong to the 3 churches and the military. They have many church exclusive items and services for sale. They buy and sell at fixed prices. The other two slightly dull tents are run by some recognised partners after receiving unanimous support from all the forces. They have consignment buying and selling, but the items they handle in this manner are less valuable. The white one is run by people of Kevin, although if you really want to get rid of the Sequence 6 main ingredient you have, I suggest you speak to Kevin directly. The other large tent is for free exchange, which anyone can enter and make a face to face transaction with a willing buyer" said Hannah.

Alvin nodded, as he looks around the large underground hall, with the hustle and bustle.

"I need to go and replenish some charms from our church's tent. Feel free to explore by yourself. The gathering runs till 9 in the evening. Food, water, and even resting areas are available here in the form of restaurants and inns here if you are willing to pay for it. I will leave shortly, since I really want to use my week off to visit my native place in East Tucker County, for which I have a 10 30 ticket already booked" said Hannah, as she waved and went forward. Donald and Rico had already gone on their way after they came here.

Alvin walked into one of the tents, hoping to spot a Black Hunting Spider's composite eye in there somewhere.