With This Treasure, I Summon Primordial Weapons
Chapter 37: Black Market

Chapter 37: Black Market

The Black Market was buzzing with life.

Despite its ominous name, it was no longer the shadowy den of illegal trade it had once been. With the rise of summoners and the massive boom in supernatural commerce, the market had evolved into a fully legitimate, maybe a little ruthless, business tailored entirely to the needs of summoners.

Right now, the one-mile strip was packed to the brim.

The air was thick with the scent of cheap street food, iron, and sweat, making it nearly impossible to take three steps without hitting someone’s shoulder. Godric was already beginning to regret choosing the busiest hour of the day to make his run.

Vendors barked out outrageous promotions while desperate buyers haggled over every penny, creating a deafening chorus of noise.

Godric ignored most of the stands around him. He had neither the time nor the luxury for window shopping.

Instead, he wove through the thick crowd, navigating straight toward the center of the market where the Core Fragment dealers lined the paved street.

Slowing his pace, his eyes scanned the neon signs glowing above the stalls.

Core Fragments: Buying @ 9,000 / Selling @ 10,000

Core Fragments: Buying @ 9,200 / Selling @ 9,950

Core Fragments: Buying @ 9,150 / Selling @ 10,230

He quickly compared the margins, narrowing his eyes as he picked out the stall offering the best buying price.

The moment Godric stepped up to the counter, a bald old man with a thick, weathered grey beard looked up from a ledger, scanning him with an unimpressed glare.

"What do you want, kid?" he asked.

"I wish to sell Core Fragments," Godric said calmly. "Thirty-five of them."

The old man barely blinked. "9250. Best rate on the market."

Godric’s brows pulled together into a slight frown. Core Fragments were the blood of the economy. Their standard market value almost always hovered comfortably around ten thousand.

"Ten grand," Godric replied.

"Listen to me, kid," the old man grunted, leaning his calloused hands on the counter. "Do you have any idea how many fragments I’ve bought since yesterday? The market’s flooded with them! It’s like the damn things are growing on trees lately! 9300, and I’m barely making any profits."

Godric almost sneered at the offer.

Even at their worst, there was no way the man would sell these for less than 9900, that gave him almost 600 credit profit on a single fragment.

"I guess I’ll go see Jim," Godric murmured, turning on his heel without missing a beat.

He hadn’t picked the stall blindly. Before stepping up, Godric had lingered in the crowd long enough to hear a rival buyer down the lane arguing with a notoriously stingy dealer named Jim.

Visible disgust flashed across the old man’s face at the name. "Jim? You know that damn thief?!" He spat onto the wooden floorboards. "9500, kid. And it’s my final offer. Anything more and you’re gonna have to explain to my wife why we can’t pay rent."

Godric turned around to face the man again, letting a look of mild indifference settle over his features.

"Nine-nine-hundred," Godric countered smoothly. "Plus, a guarantee that whenever I come across anything truly rare... I bring it to your counter first."

The old man stared at Godric in unbroken silence, his eyes narrowing into two sharp slits. For three long seconds, his expression was so dark it looked like he was about to jump the counter and snap at Godric’s neck.

Then, a low chuckle rattled out of the old man’s chest.

"You greedy little bastard..." The old vendor sneered, though there was a hint of begrudging respect in his eyes. "I like you, kid. 9900 it is. But you find any relics you come to me."

"You have my word," Godric said, shaking the man’s hand.

After his trade at the market was complete, Godric stepped out of the Black Market, drew in a breath of fresh air and looked down at his bank card.

On it, there was a small display that, upon scanning his fingerprint, displayed his balance.

346500.

The number wasn’t random. As much as he would’ve liked to keep all the fragments to himself, the needs of his family came first. His mother’s medical expenses were 300k, while the rest would allow him and Mina to move out somewhere more comfortable.

Even though their house in the outskirts was one of the better ones, Godric found it unbecoming for a lady of House Blackstar to live in such conditions.

Slowly accepting the loss of 35 core fragments at once, Godric took the bus straight to Elyune City Hospital, where his mother stayed.

He went straight to the reception, where he requested to make a payment for her experimental treatment.

He didn’t wait at the sleek reception desk longer than necessary.

Within ten minutes, he authorised the transfer, watched the clerk’s eyes widen slightly at the lump-sum payment clearing without a hitch, and signed off on his mother’s advance care schedule. No words needed to be exchanged with the doctors. With the payment made his mother’s treatment could finally begin.

With that, Godric finally made his way back home, looking forward to bringing the good news to Mina.

The second he stepped out of the dome shielding the inner city and stepped into the outskirts, he was met with the usual rainy weather.

In that moment, however, he didn’t mind it.

Being able to pay for his mother’s treatment lifted an invisible weight off his shoulders.

Of course it was only experimental and a lot of things would have to go right for her to get better, but it was a good start.

He reached his neighbourhood fast, cutting through familiar alleyways. But as he turned the final corner onto his street, keys already resting between his fingers, he froze mid-step.

The front door to his house hung sideways, completely torn off its upper hinge, the frame splintered inward as if hit by a truck.

Godric’s fatigue vanished in an instant. He dashed inside, surging through the ruined threshold without making a sound.

The small living room was a wreckage of torn upholstery, shattered glass, and pulled-out drawers. Furniture had been kicked aside, clothes flung across the floorboards in a violent, frantic search.

"Mina?!"

His voice cut sharp through the silence. He didn’t wait for an answer, rounding the corner into the kitchen with his weight low, ready to face anything or anyone.

In the middle of the ruined room, surrounded by overturned chairs and broken ceramic, Mina was on her knees. Her hands were pressed tightly against her face, trembling uncontrollably as tears cut tracks through the dust on her cheeks.

Her face hesitantly turned toward his footsteps.

"Godric?"