MYSTERY MARKET

Sparrow Night felt an unusual sense of anticipation as he followed his sister and aunt into the underground Mystery Market. He had expected a boisterous clash of voices and the chaotic barter that characterized a traditional marketplace. 

Instead, he was met with an orderly arrangement, a small mall with bright lights where each store offered its own peculiar treasure, laid out clearly without any fuss or haggling.

Beside him, Canary buzzed with enthusiasm, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her characteristic cheerfulness was actually contagious.

"Look at those things sold here. This is amazing. Isn't that so, Birdbro?" Canary chirped, her green eyes glimmering with excitement as she skipped beside him, her braided hair flowing like a dark river behind her. She looked tiny next to the bodybuilder-like Sparrow, but she had the confidence of a mighty warrior.

"Indeed," Sparrow responded in agreement. 

In front of them, their aunt led them to the first store. As they approached, Sparrow glanced at the store sign, reading 'Basic Mystery Agent Armory'. He couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the name and the profound utilities it harbored within. The name was a paradox; nothing sold inside looked basic at all.

"Come on, get your gears," Autumn urged, her vigorous spirit evident in her authoritative stride. She possessed a confident air that made her seem as comfortable within the chaos of battle as she was in an office meeting. 

Inside the store, the siblings were greeted by shelves lined with state-of-the-art gadgets and weaponry that looked straight out of a science fiction novel. Sparrow's heart raced; the polished surfaces of each item reflected not just light, but possibilities.

"Here," Autumn suggested, holding up a sleek, black, skin-tight fabric tagged with the name: Special Combat Undersuit. It seemed to gleam in its dark elastic splendor. "This is a standard protective equipment for mystery agents. It will keep you safe in a pinch. Bulletproof yet light. It's not exactly invincible, but provide enough protection." 

Sparrow took the suit from her hands, feeling the weight of it—both physical and metaphorical. Her aunt handled the same suit to Canary.

"What do you think, Ree?" Autumn asked as she picked up the special combat undersuit. 

"I love it," Canary exclaimed, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "It's like something out of a superhero movie! We'd look awesome in this, Li'l Aunt!"

Autumn facepalmed. "It's... undersuit. It's not supposed to be visible. You've got to wear other clothes to cover it."

Sparrow chuckled. "It's functional and necessary." He could already imagine the potential circumstances where this suit could save their lives.

Their aunt had helped them make the right choices. The undersuits fit like a second skin, providing an unrestrictive layer of defense. 

Afterward, the storekeeper, an older woman with an enigmatic smile, recommended Agent Tactical Knives, for them. It was a short, easily hidden tools that possessed much more convenient functions, not merely just for weapons.

Autumn agreed with that recommendation. "Mystery Agents often have to go to inconvenient places. Those knives can really help a lot," she commented. "You'd better purchase knife holster while at it. Placing it in your bag or pocket is not a good idea in emergency situation... speaking from experience."

Sparrow and Canary looked at her curiously, eager to know what 'experience' she was talking about. However, Autumn just grimaced, not willing to explain further.

Instead, she turned to the storekeeper lady and asked, "Can you show them the real deal here?"

The storekeeper smiled more widely and opened the door to the back room. "Sure. Please come in!" 

As Sparrow followed his sister and aunt, entering the back room and seeing what was inside, he couldn't help but open his mouth in shock. 

The air in the back room hung thick with the metallic tang of gun oil and something else, something acrid and unsettling, like burnt ozone and desperation. Fluorescent tubes on the ceiling, buzzing with a nervous energy, cast a harsh, unflattering light across the room's concrete floor.

Racks of weapons lined the walls, each meticulously organized and gleaming even in the grimy environment. Handguns, a kaleidoscope of black and steel, filled one section. Revolvers sat beside Semi-automatic Handguns, the most common models nestled against more exotic models, each available with a disturbing array of aftermarket modifications – laser sights, silencers, extended magazines.

Rifles reigned supreme in another section. Assault rifles were the bread and butter, but discerning eyes could spot sniper rifles lurking in the shadows, their long and sleek form and high-powered scopes promising lethal accuracy at impossible distances. Nearby, shotguns, from pump-action classics to modern semi-automatics, offered brutal close-quarters solutions.

Beyond the firearms, a more archaic, yet equally deadly, selection filled another corner. Crossbows, both modern and recurve, hung from steel hooks, their bolts tipped with wickedly sharp broadheads. The modern versions, equipped with scopes and crank-powered cocking mechanisms, promised silent lethality.

Finally, in the back, almost hidden in the gloom, were the melee weapons. Knives of every size and design were displayed: combat knives with serrated edges, flick-knives that snapped open with unsettling speed, and even antique Bowie knives with a history etched into their blades.

Swords, too, hung on the wall – katanas with razor-sharp edges, longswords forged from high-carbon steel, and even a few brutal-looking machetes.

The whole scene was a disturbing juxtaposition of cutting-edge technology and ancient brutality.

As they browsed, Sparrow's attention was drawn to Semi-automatic Handguns displayed on a stand. Even though his combat class focused on hand-to-hand martial arts, he felt an undeniable impulse to acquire one. Shotguns and sniper rifles were attractive too, but they took too much space and were quite impractical for many encounter situation.

Canary, her green eyes glittering in unbridled enthusiasm, seemed to have the same idea. Being ambidextrous, she chose to purchase two expensive high-spec handguns, her bright determination shining through. Her combat class, Mystery Marksman, was meant for this kinds of weapons. 

Sparrow followed suit, acquiring a single one of the same type, storing it in the holster snug against his side. They stocked up on high quantity bullets of various types: rubber for practice, normal for typical encounters, and silver for the special occasions that might arise. Each selection felt like an acknowledgment of the dangers lurking close to their mundane lives.

As they wanted to browse more, Autumn quickly stopped them. "Enough, kids! I know you were rich. But seeing you splurge money like that was bad for my heart." She grumbled. "Don't you know how poor this aunt of yours is? Let's move on to the next place."

The next store the three of them visited was the 'MIST Cybertech'. Unlike the other stores, only one thing was sold here... mistlink, a communication gadget resembling modern cellphone from Sparrow's previous life, complete with internet connection capability, which they called 'mistworld' here. 

This fact actually puzzled him a lot. Mearth felt as though it was still in the middle of cable connection era and had not yet stepped into the internet age; yet here were devices hinting at deeper layers of technology. But, seeing that this technology was only accessible to the awakened, there might have been other reasons he hadn't realized yet that limited the widespread of this convenient tools.

"Each blank mistlink you purchased must first be activated with your mystery power." The storekeeper, a young man with thick glasses, explained. "Once you do so, the mistlink will be bound to you. You are the only one who can open and use it. This was important to make sure that no surreal creature can make use of it. So, would you like to purchase this?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course!" Canary chirped in catchy-melody voice, her green eyes glimmering with excitement as she took her bank card for payment.

"Each of you should have one," Autumn agreed. "It's a convenient tool for communication. But... you'd better not use it in public. Unless you want to have a headache of making excuse when others ask you where to get that."

Canary gave a mischievous grin. "Speaking from experience again, Li'l Aunt?"

"Nope. Just logical thinking this time." Autumn replied without batting an eyelid. "Just complete your payment quickly. We've got other things to do."

Canary and Sparrow had to complete the complex procedures of acquiring and activating mistlinks. They could only be ready to go to the next destination after about fifteen minutes.

Then, Autumn led them to their next destination, the 'Mystery Medicine' drug store. Inside, colorful potions and neatly organized shelves of bottled pills beckoned like treasures from a lost civilization. Sparrow observed as Canary scrutinized the various healing pills and energy recovery potions, her excitement barely contained.

"I want this one!" Canary declared, holding up a vibrant orange vial. "It's a potion for quick energy recovery."

"Just stock up!" Autumn said, her voice exasperated but tinged with affection. "You two are rich enough to buy whatever you want anyway. I'll just freeload some when I'm running out of medicines later."

"That's a great idea, Li'l Aunt!" Canary responded happily. "Let's just stock up any useful ones, Birdbro. This time, you are paying for it."

Autumn immediately reminded her, "That's nice, Ree. Let your brother use his piled up money for things other than his car and motorcycle. Don't forget antidotes and holy water. They were often more important then other types of medicine for mystery agents like us."

Sparrow just grinned at hearing that. He did not mind spending money to stock up those life saving consumables, as these things gave a feeling of reassurance for their future adventures. He was not only protecting himself here, but also his sister. The thought of her falling into danger alone gripped his heart with a fierce protectiveness.

In normal situation, Sparrow would never let an underage girl like Canary to go on any dangerous activity like fighting against those surreal monsters, but he had long known that Canary was... different. 

Even before his {Eye of Truth} evolved to the {Eye of Wisdom}, he had observed that she was very similar to the monster hunter Leon Hunt they previously encountered, in a way. She also possessed the legendary blessing... the 'Protagonist Luck'. 

Sparrow knew exactly what it meant – the inexplicable tendency for her to find herself smack-dab in the middle of earth-shattering events, to attract danger like a moth to a flame, and to stumble, somehow, into the most improbable of opportunities... even when she tried to avoid it. It was a double-edged sword, a curse disguised as a gift. 

On one hand, it guaranteed a life of unparalleled adventure and the potential for extraordinary success. On the other hand, it also meant constant peril, brushes with death, and the unsettling feeling that the universe was actively conspiring to either elevate or obliterate her. 

He could not stop her from getting into danger, just like he could not stop the sun from rising and setting each day. Thus, the best way would be... preparing for the danger and accompanying her to face it. And he had already been equipped for it.

Through his [Greater Appraisal], Sparrow had discovered that he also possessed a type of blessing, a hidden enigmatic boon of the 'Otherworlder Mind', a peculiar gift that set him apart from the world's perceivable fate and granted him a unique form of protection. 

It gave him a tangible shield against the insidious forces that sought to manipulate the mind and twist the threads of destiny. It rendered him impervious to unnatural mental debuffs. No sorcerous charm, no psychic influence, no ethereal whisper could penetrate the defenses of his mind. 

He could still experience emotions from natural causes, but the unnatural ones designed to instill fear, plant suggestions, or erase memories simply glanced off him, leaving him untouched and unburdened.

---ooo---ooo---ooo---

After the medicine store, their exploration led them to 'Jade's Gemstones and Crystals'. Canary's eyes sparkled as she inspected the pile of crystal shards needed for her skill, [Elemental Shard]. 

Meanwhile, Sparrow's gaze rested on a shimmering amethyst that pulsed with ethereal energy. The label named it: Eldritch Amethyst. His [Greater Appraisal] informed him that using this as the main ingredient for his class advancement ritual would increase its chance of success to more than 98%.

He immediately turned to his aunt. "Can class advancement ritual failed, Li'l Aunt?" he asked out of the blue.

Autumn raised her eyebrows but still answered. "Yeah. That's why you need to prepare several sets of materials for it. Some types of advancement core materials, like fortune objects and eldritch objects, are notorious for their low chance of success. Why?"

Grinning, Sparrow pointed at his single eye and immediately reached out for the Eldritch Amethyst. A thrill surged through him as he sensed the powers bound within.

Autumn was lost for a moment before she widen her eyes in understanding.

"I'll find some for Canary too," Sparrow informed her before scanning the other objects in the store with his ocular skill.

Canary, meanwhile, did not seem to realize this as she was busy stocking up her crystal shards, despite still having plenty in her low-grade spatial bag.