27: Chapter 27 Driven by Life's Necessities

"Creak— Clank—"

Just then, a heavy sound rang out.

In the next instant, the entire platform plummeted downward, and a powerful sensation of weightlessness swept through the crowd.

Yet, even in the face of this powerful weightlessness, everyone present remained completely motionless. The platform remained dead silent, as if the physical forces had absolutely no effect on them.

Byron, who was experiencing this for the first time, had already gathered information beforehand. Prepared, he also stood quietly on the platform, showing no signs of abnormality.

The platform descended rapidly.

Within just a few seconds, it came to a halt, landing atop a hill.

The moment the platform came to a complete stop, most of the people on it dashed out instantly, rushing down the hill and vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Only a few strolled out unhurriedly, seemingly possessing absolute confidence in their own strength and completely unfazed by any prying eyes.

As for Byron, he was naturally among those who had dashed out.

The reason Byron and the others acted this way was because once they reached the bottom, they would no longer be bound by the Academy's rules; life or death would depend entirely on their own abilities.

This was also why Byron chose to pay magic stones to descend via the lift platform built by the Academy, rather than floating down on his own.

Although floating down alone would save him two magic stones, the danger would increase significantly.

Doing so would make him an easy target for Wild Wizards or Extraordinary Creatures, leaving him vulnerable to their attacks.

After all, anyone seeing a slow-moving lump of meat floating in the sky wouldn't be able to resist taking a bite.

Riding the lift platform, however, spared him from such troubles. The Academy had set up a Magic Array and numerous Crystal Golems within a thirty-mile radius.

Any outsider who entered would face certain death. Of course, this Magic Array only defended against external threats and did not protect those inside; fights to the death among students were none of its concern.

After leaving the hill, Byron did not stop. Continuing to hide in the darkness, he headed toward the unwalled city in the center of the Basin.

Soon, Byron arrived at the outskirts of the city.

There were no tall, orderly buildings here; there were only haphazardly built blackstone shacks, worn-out tents, and temporary wooden stalls.

As for the orderly castles Byron and the others had seen when they first arrived, those were located at the very center of the Basin—the most luxurious and clean area.

That area was occupied by those wizard Families and powerful Wizard Apprentices, not these struggling commoners or apprentices who had just embarked on the wizarding path.

However, Byron's goal was not the central area, but a Market on the outskirts of the city.

Yet, even before stepping into the city, Byron could smell a mixture of rotting herbs, cheap incense, blood, and damp earth.

Smelling this odor, Byron's expression remained calm and unchanged, as if it did not exist at all.

Just as he was about to step into the city, he suddenly heard miserable cries for help coming from the darkness.

At the same time, a scantily clad young woman ran out of the darkness.

Her exposed, fair, and delicate skin carried a unique allure, like a ripe apple, making one instinctively feel the urge to pluck it.

Upon seeing Byron, the young woman reacted as if a drowning person had caught a life-saving straw.

She ran desperately toward Byron, crying out for help, her fair breasts bouncing wildly as she ran.

Seeing this, Byron calmly withdrew his gaze.

Showing no signs of stopping, he continued walking toward the Market, acting as if he hadn't seen or heard the young woman's cries.

Seeing this, the young woman was left utterly at a loss, freezing in place.

But seeing that Byron was about to enter the Market, she snapped out of it and subconsciously cried out, "You can't leave! I..."

Hearing this, Byron suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, his tone icy. "Are you calling me?"

At this moment, although the young woman could not see Byron's face shrouded in the darkness,

she could feel his freezing tone and gaze. Trembling all over in fear, her body suddenly went weak.

Byron ignored the young woman and looked past her into the deep darkness behind her.

"I only came here to trade and don't want any trouble. But if you insist on persisting, I am not afraid of trouble either."

Having said that, Byron paid no more attention to the young woman and continued walking into the city.

Only when Byron's figure had completely vanished from sight did the young woman finally lose her strength. Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the ground, her delicate body soaked by the filthy mud.

At the same time, three burly men carrying weapons emerged from the darkness.

One of the men looked at the leading burly man. "Big Brother, that... that person..."

The leading burly man shook his head with a strange expression. "Second Brother, say no more. That person is not someone you and I can afford to provoke. We are lucky enough to have avoided a conflict."

The other two men also understood the leader's words, and fear gripped their hearts.

They realized they had just hovered on the brink of life and death.

Afterward, once they had calmed down, they stepped forward in silence to help the collapsed young woman up.

On the other side, Byron, who had walked into the Market, had no idea how much of a psychological shadow he had just cast over those people.

But even if he knew, he wouldn't care; it was merely a minor interlude.

Besides, he was in no mood to learn about their affairs. Right now, Byron only wanted to quickly trade his potions for magic stones and head back.

He really didn't want to stay down here any longer; it felt far too unsafe.

If he hadn't been forced by circumstances, he wouldn't have come down at all.

Now, walking into the outer Market, Byron could feel that this place and the Market in the Academy were like heaven and earth.

This Market was practically like a massive, makeshift, spontaneously formed gathering.

Shops on both sides of the road were scattered and sparse. Most of the sellers were Rogue Wizards crouching by the roadside, wearing somewhat old or tattered wizard robes.

Their hoods were pulled extremely low as they muttered to hawk damaged runes of unknown origin or low-quality potions.

Or there were burly, shrewd-looking men dressed in tight-fitting mercenary attire, peddling items dug up from who knew which ruins or trash heaps.

Still, truth be told, the foot traffic here was much heavier than that of the Academy's Market, with people constantly coming and going.

Byron didn't linger in place for long before entering the Market and blending into the crowd.

Following the flow of people, Byron listened to the conversations around him for useful information while browsing the various goods displayed on the ground stalls.

There were dried limbs of Extraordinary Creatures, murky finished potions, cracked laboratory glassware, and books recording who-knew-what.

Byron even saw a ghost imprisoned in a glass jar.

It could be said that as long as something still held value, it would be put up for sale on a ground stall, waiting for some gullible fool to be swindled.