The Rise of the Black Plain

After leaving the Cohen family property, Minos and Abby headed to the downtown area, where they could find the local guilds, shops, and spiritual profession associations.

They had taken Tedd's advice about where they should not try to attract people to the Black Plain under any circumstances, as well as where they would have the best chance.

Although each profession had only one guild or association in Wilburg, there were still many independent shops and schools, like the blacksmith Minos had dealt with in Athela.

That person had his forge, and all the smiths in that place were basically his indirect or direct disciples.

And such organizations were widespread throughout the Spiritual World. After all, not everyone wanted to be part of prominent organizations or be at the disposal of noble powers. Some people liked having the freedom to choose who to work with, even if it meant lesser earnings.

That is because, in organizations like guilds, even if someone was not affiliated with the powers behind such organizations, that person could be required to perform certain services. Otherwise, he could simply lose the right to use these locations...

And in smaller organizations, such as the blacksmith who had produced Minos' new sword, apprentices would generally work and learn until they reached a certain rank. After that, each professional would have the freedom to leave these places and create their stores, or even continue working together with their teachers.

Anyway, Minos was aware of all this, and soon he and Abby came forward to the first place where they would begin to probe their targets.

This place looked like a big square, wholly wrap with special glass, the kind you can see from one side but not the other.

Other than that, nothing else stood out on the outside of this building, which Minos and Abby were currently climbing the stairs to the main entrance.

"Array Masters Association." Minos read the name on a plaque at the entrance to that place when he and his companion finally reached the entry hall.

In that place, there was a large reception, as expected. Several indications on a map in the middle of that place, being projected by an array, in a structure that seemed to represent this building.

And seeing this, the couple soon understood where they had to go.

This time they didn't need to ask questions, as they had already received the necessary tips from Todd. They had to head towards the place where the array masters of this association sold their items.

In that place, according to Todd, there would always be a few individuals willing to talk about business like what Minos wanted to do. After all, even though many of these people were affiliated with the organizations behind these locations, some weren't.

Some individuals started in a profession as apprentices, people who had to devote a certain number of jobs or hours per week to pay for learned techniques, classes, training, etc.

And in their spare time, they sold their items to get the resources needed to cultivate and survive. But some of them couldn't afford to open their stores, as in the case of the alchemist Devis, who had gone from Portland to the Dry City.

Thus, several of these people used these spaces offered by guilds, paying some fees just for using sales locations.

That was the reality of many professionals, people who generally took several years to pay for their 'studies' and finally have their businesses, like the alchemist from the old Yellow City.

As for having their store, in general, this wouldn't be cheap, unless that place was located in a small town, as in the case of the old Yellow City. Otherwise, if they were in larger cities like Portland, or Wilburg itself, it could cost tens of thousands of low-grade crystals.

And in this case, many people needed to work for many years to achieve such a thing...

But even if conditions were harsh in big cities, it was still worth it for professionals to focus on places like these. That is because the demand for services in large urban centers was naturally greater due to a more significant amount of resources and people.

So, even though it was more expensive to get your own space, it was still worth it for a professional to stay in a place like this, where growth would be expected.

In places like the old Yellow City, in addition to having very little demand, the very lack of resources in the vicinity made it challenging to develop various professions. Because the resources required took longer to arrive, were more expensive, and sometimes of lower quality.

Consequently, prices went up, and those able to pay for such services went down even more...

Another problem was that professionals from small towns were unlikely to continue advancing in their specialization. After all, such locations would not have the necessary techniques and equipment for training.

Anyway, apart from the few people who didn't worry about all these factors, the majority valued it very much, that's why they preferred the big urban centers to live and work.

As much as there were problems and difficulties in these places, there were also opportunities for ascension!

...

Finally, Minos and Abby arrived on the 3rd floor of the building they were in, a part that looked like a big square with many sales locations.

Some spots looked like shops typically found on city streets. In contrast, other sites only had small tables where the array masters displayed their items.

Advertising boards signaled the items being sold at each of these locations, along with the prices charged. In addition to that, now the place already had a good movement of customers, with several people coming and going.

And quickly, the couple approached a man who was selling his high-level grade-1 items, someone Minos had felt was already on the peak of level 39. In other words, someone who could soon become a low-level grade-2 array master!

And considering the location and structure of the place where that man was selling his items, Minos had guessed that he probably didn't receive support from the powers behind this place. Otherwise, he would not have obtained just a tiny table in a barely visible corner of that area!

"Good morning. Is the couple interested in my arrays?" He asked, looking at Minos and Abby for a moment and smiling at both of them.

This man couldn't feel the cultivation of the couple in front of him, but he knew they could probably buy the arrays he sold due to their elegance.

'I'm sure they're of the nobility!' So, he thought to himself as he waited for one of them to respond.

And hearing the man's question, Minos nodded in agreement and said. "We are truly interested in your arrays, but not in the way you think."

"What do you mean?" He asked doubtfully.

Abby then smiled and answered for Minos. "We want to bring people like you to our city, array masters close to reaching grade-2, or even those who have already reached it."

"Oh? So, that's the kind of interest you have in my arrays…" He muttered disinterestedly. After all, people who usually made these offers tended not to have many resources, nor were they sovereigns of large regions.

In general, people like Minos and Abby were part of emerging powers, which could not guarantee half of what they promised...

Seeing the man's expression change, Minos chuckled inwardly until he finally heard the guy's question.

"I don't mind hearing your offer. Where are you from? Why do you think it would be interesting for me to join your city?" He asked, still a little uninterested.

In this man's opinion, the best way to end the persecution of people like Minos and Abby was to just listen to their offers without refusing them right away.

Consequently, after expressing their project, these people usually didn't return to test his patience, causing him to get stressed with the futile insistence.

He simply preferred to listen to these offers and state his reason for not being interested so that these people would understand at once that their conditions were not that good.

'No power with good options would come after an average array master like me.... If they have good options, then they would simply hire the best professionals in each specialization!' So, he thought for a moment before starting to listen to Minos' offer.