It's just that he's worried I'll take the good stuff and run, so he wants to take it slow and keep me hooked.
"Uncle, there's no need to hide anymore. Just tell me what you want in exchange," Victor said without beating around the bush.
"Okay, I don't want to waste time either," the cloaked wizard nodded, then said, "Every year, you come back here and report your skill upgrades to me. I'll give you rewards based on how much you've improved."
He paused, then asked, "What do you think?"
Victor thought for a moment. That plan actually sounded pretty good. Coming back to Darkwood Park once a year wasn't that big of a deal.
There were big teleportation devices in many parts of the Federation. Getting back to Darkwood Park was easy.
"Okay, I agree," Victor nodded. Then he asked, "But Uncle, are you sure you can stay here without getting caught?"
The cloaked wizard scoffed, "What can they do if they find me? Who's going to catch me?"
He paused, then added, "Don't worry. Even if something goes wrong, I'll still find you, no matter where you are."
Victor nodded. His eyes then went to the shiny armor next to him.
At this point, he was almost sure that the armor the cloaked wizard had given him was tampered with.
"Uncle, you're very strong. May I ask for your name?" Victor asked respectfully, looking at the wizard.
The cloaked wizard laughed lightly and waved his hand. "There's no need to hide a name. I'm Dark Sorcerer Ryan."
"Ryan?" Victor repeated the name. He didn't recognize it at all.
"Don't bother looking me up. You won't find anything," Ryan said with a bitter smile, his tone a bit helpless.
"Okay, Uncle, I'll be going then." Victor put the armor into his storage ring and bowed politely to Ryan.
"Okay, don't lie to me," Ryan said, his voice serious.
Victor nodded. As he turned to leave, he heard Ryan's voice, soft and eerie: "Never underestimate a Dark Sorcerer's ability to find someone."
"Madman!" Victor cursed under his breath and ran away without looking back.
This mission was a mixed bag.
On one hand, he got this level 14 armor. He wouldn't wear it himself, but it was still worth a good price when he sold it.
On the other hand, getting involved with a Dark Sorcerer could cause some trouble in the future.
Victor returned to the outpost square in Darkwood Park. He saw Kane sitting on a bench, smoking.
"Hey kid!" Kane noticed Victor and waved him over.
Victor had no choice but to obey. He walked over obediently.
"How was it in Darkwood Park?" Kane took a puff of his cigarette and asked with a smile.
"Um, okay," Victor said, forcing a smile. He was being honest.
"That's right," Kane nodded. "The Serpent Demonfish you met was just a rare case. Actually, Darkwood Park is pretty safe."
"Sure... hah." Victor heard Kane's words and felt like he was about to say something bad.
He had met a level 18 Serpent Demonfish and even a top Dark Sorcerer on his first trip to Darkwood Park.
Now Kane was telling him that Darkwood Park was actually safe?
"Alright kid, go home and rest," Kane waved his hand, telling Victor to leave.
"Goodbye, Kane Captain," Victor said respectfully.
As Victor walked away, Kane narrowed his eyes and muttered, "There's something strange about this kid."
After taking the Sky Ladder back to the underground city, Victor's first move was to go home, take a shower, and then fall asleep.
Those two days in Darkwood Park had been a real mental test for him.
The next day, Victor woke up in the sunlight and got ready to go to the Free Trade Market.
The Free Trade Market was set up by the Federation, and it was a marketplace formed by awakened people themselves.
It was where they exchanged and sold items they found during surface exploration. Victor planned to sell his armor there.
The trade market was a tall and beautiful building. This was Victor's first time here.
As he entered the first floor, he immediately felt how crowded it was.
The whole first floor was filled with awakened people selling their items and treasures. The sounds of people shouting their prices never stopped.
Victor looked around with curiosity. He found that most of the items for sale were low-quality treasures or basic gear.
"Hello, I want to sell a level 14 armor. Where should I go?" Victor found a staff member on the first floor and asked.
"Level 14 armor... how high?" The beautiful female staff member was about to wave him off, but then she suddenly realized and looked shocked.
"Fourteen levels," Victor didn't understand why she looked like that.
"Fourteen-level armor? You're not joking, are you?" The female staff member looked at Victor, clearly not believing him.
How could a low-level Knight have an armor like that?
After all, in their Free Trade Market, items above level 10 were rare.
Because 934 Underground City was a D-class city, and the overall level of awakened people here wasn't high.
So a level 14 item was already very rare here.
"Uh, can we find a more hidden place?" Victor didn't want to show off the armor in front of everyone. He said to the staff member.
"Sure, I'll go get our appraiser." The staff member knew this was a big deal, and she quickly walked away.
A while later, she brought in a middle-aged man in a suit. He was polite and well-mannered.
The man was tall, with blonde hair and a smiling face.
"Is it you who wants to sell a level 14 armor?" The man smiled at Victor and asked.
Before Victor could answer, the man suddenly patted his head and said apologetically, "Sorry, I got excited. I didn't introduce myself yet."
He coughed lightly and said seriously, "I'm Richard. I'm the appraiser here at the Underground City Free Trade Market."
"I'm Victor. I'm a low-level Knight," Victor introduced himself.
"Knight. A good profession. Please come with me to the appraisal room," Richard said without any look of disrespect. He held out his hand and told Victor to follow.
Victor nodded and followed Richard into a nice-looking room.
The room was fancy, with a circle of leather sofas and nice crystal coffee tables. There were the most expensive spices on the tables.
"Please sit," Richard told Victor to sit down. Then he handed him a cup of tea.
"Thank you," Victor smiled and nodded. His calm and confident attitude made Richard look at him a little higher.
"Only the two of us are here. You can take it out safely," Richard said as he put on a pair of gloves with golden thread.
"Okay," Victor nodded. He took the armor out of his storage ring.
Earlier, Victor had already checked the stats of the armor.
[Name: Spirit-Linked Moonlight Armor]
[Quality: Gold]
[Level: Level 14]
[Stats: Grants 140 defense points.]
[Special Effect: When there's a moon, it can absorb moonlight to restore mana.]
The quality of weapons and armor determined their maximum level and how good their effects were. They were usually divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Sparkling.
Richard took the Spirit-Linked Moonlight Armor and used a small magnifying glass-like tool to look it over carefully.
After about ten minutes, he finally looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said seriously, "Mr. Victor, the appraisal is done. Can you tell me how you got this armor?"
He seemed worried Victor might misunderstand, so he quickly explained, "Don't think too much. I just need to confirm where the armor came from."
Victor nodded and pulled out the words he had already prepared: "I found it by accident in a cave in Darkwood Park. It was just lucky, I guess."
"Okay," Richard nodded with a deep meaning, but said nothing more.
He knew Victor's story didn't make sense, but he didn't care.
"This armor is of high quality. If you sell it, you can get a good price," Richard gave a positive evaluation.
"I'd like to trade it for a Clear Sky Stone. Is that possible?" Victor asked.
He didn't need Federation coins right now. Clear Sky Stone was the most important thing.
After all, he had already seen how powerful the Illusion Eye skill was.