Black Market

The **Black Market** is a place visited by both Villains and Heroes where one can find almost anything they want.

There were three ways for one to enter the black market.

1. Through a recommendation letter given by a higher-up in the Black Market.
2. Knowing the Secret Code.
3. A V.I.P card.

The **Secret Code** was split into three different segments. Where each new segment was a continuation of the previous one. In Ren's case, the first segment was *"What might you be here for?" .* For which the word *"volunteer"* was used to gain access to the next segment. This pattern repeats three times until the guards could confirm the authenticity of the guest who was trying to come in. By this way, the chances of inspectors infiltrating into the Black Market diminished by a large margin.

The **VIP Card** not only granted one access to the Black Market without the need to go through the hassle of remembering the password, but it also allowed one to get priority on all dungeons as well as the fact that he wouldn't need to pay a deposit in the case of emergencies.

## Description

Black Market is different from what one would expect as it looked exactly like a night market. One could find vendors selling their goods in their respective stalls that were neatly lined up in rows. The difference is that in the Black Market customers were masks to hide their identities. There is a huge opening on the ceiling that allows moonlight to penetrate the market alongside lights from the lamps that illuminated to roads.

## Currency

Money is not used directly in the Black Market. Instead they have something called **Black Card**. Black Market converts the cash (U) into a cryptocurrency specifically made only for the Black Market. That's because transactions through cash were generally safe but wasn't very efficient when dealing with transactions that dealt with large figures. By creating a cryptocurrency, the Black Market was able to swiftly deal with several problems at the same time.

1. The cryptocurrency was untraceable ensuring safe transactions.
2. It allowed the black market to act as an intermediary during the transactions.

With the black card system, it became much easier to trade and check if there was any fraud taking place in the transaction. Because they were using the black market cryptocurrency, fake money could not be used as the black market currency was only available here. This way, when doing transactions here people didn't need to be wary of potential scams. And if by any chance someone was indeed trying to commit a scam, the black market forces would swiftly deal with them.

## Information Brokers

They were essentially individuals or an organization which specialized in sharing information for a price. Their prices depend on the type of information you wanted.

One of the reasons the Government didn't oppose the Black Market is because it's the central hub for both Heroes and Villains, vital information could be gathered from Information Brokers which could help government agents pry into some of the villain's plans.

## Dungeon Seekers

An organisation that was worth over a trillion U, one of the main forces operating in the Black Market. They provide access to Dungeons own by the Black Marker with a fee and a percentage of the loot, The entrance fee and commission proposed by {Dungeon seekers} were not outrageous. They are one of the reasons Black Market more popular amongst the general population. They allowed access to anyone, whether they were heroes or villains.

Because Guilds tend to monopolize dungeons, not allowing external parties into them, people who seek to become stronger or strike it rich and were not part of a guild have no choice but to come here. They have enough wealth and influence to start a full-blown war. That's why Central Government doesn't do anything about the enormous number of dungeons they own.

Before one enters a Dungeon under Dungeon Seekers, they need to sign a contract with the following terms:

1. *Before entering a dungeon, Dungeon Seekers staff would check the equipment that one brings inside so that no misunderstandings can arise when he exits the dungeon and report his gains.*
2. *When exiting a dungeon the staff would do a strict check on the items and things one brings out so that no false reports were made when paying the contractor clause.*
3. *For a <F> ranked dungeon a 500U entrance fee was to be paid upfront, accompanied by a 1,000U deposit.*
4. *The maximum time a person could stay inside of a dungeon was 30 days.*
5. *If the person did not come out by the designated time, a specialized squad will directly enter the dungeon and forcefully drag you out.*
6. *The contractor could, in case of emergencies, call for a support team that will come as soon as possible to aid them if they were in any danger.*
7. *The result of calling a support team resulted in the loss of the deposit.*

After one paid the entrance fees they are given a Dungeon Ticket.

**Safe Box** was a device that is given to every member before they entered a dungeon owned by Dungeon Seekers. Activating it would send a distress signal to the nearest dungeon guardian. In response, dungeon guardians would report it to the dungeon operators, which would then swiftly send a rescue team to come to their aid. The consequence of pressing the button was ,of course, a loss in the deposit.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Author's POV - Chapter 21
2. ↑ The Author's POV - Chapter 34
3. ↑ The Author's POV - Chapter 22
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Author's POV - Chapter 23
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Author's POV - Chapter 24
6. ↑ The Author's POV - Chapter 28