"Good morning," Colin greeted her as he stood in the corridor.
"Good morning," Shelley nodded briskly and added, "Let's go."
As she looked at Colin, she thought for a moment and then said, "You had better disguise yourself."
Colin nodded slightly, and with a thought, the bones and skin of his face subtly shifted, instantly transforming him into an unremarkable, ordinary young man.
Shelley looked at him closely and suddenly asked, "What kind of witchcraft is this?"
Seeing the inquiry in her eyes, Colin explained simply.
Sometimes, in the Wizard World, such true physical changes are harder to detect and more useful than disguises made by witchcraft.
Shelley led him out through a small door, about one person tall, at the back of True Knowledge Society Castle.
The door opened onto a secluded alley, at this point they were both fully disguised.
About half an hour later, the two walked side by side to a common shopping street.
Turning in and winding their way through, they arrived at an old Magic Pharmacy located deep in a secluded alley.
Inside, the room was dimly lit, with a peculiar smell of potions lingering; on a recliner behind the peeling brown counter laid a shrunken old crone in a black robe.
Upon seeing Colin and his companion arrive, she made an effort to open her eyes for a glance, then slowly closed them again, gently swaying on the recliner.
Shelley, without saying much, skirted around the old crone and walked to a decrepit wall in the corner of the shop. She then took out a thorny black badge from her person.
Without much fanfare, accompanied by a nearly imperceptible clicking sound, the old grey wall in front of them suddenly opened up, revealing a deep stone staircase leading downward.
Seeing this, Colin instinctively lowered his breathing.
It wasn't until he got here that he finally felt a sense of excitement and tension about heading to the underground organization.
He subconsciously glanced at Shelley, suddenly puzzled as to why she had so readily told him about the existence of this underground market, and later, was willing to help him get a membership.
"Let's go, below is one of Darren's Commission's closest outposts to True Knowledge Society Castle," Shelley said in a low voice, breaking into his thoughts.
Looking up, Shelley had already started forward.
Colin didn't think much longer, following closely behind, both wearing black hoods and masks.
But Shelley's disguise was more than that; she had changed her entire appearance.
If previously she was like a beautifully delicate, indifferent doll, now she looked like a sharp young female scholar.
Her hair, a grey-brown color, eyes turned green beneath thick spectacles, and her skin, though not as smooth as before, still could be considered good quality.
Her features were also subtly adjusted, not as delicate as before, but with a bit of sharpness to them.
Descending the cold grey stairs step by step, Colin kept silent.
Perhaps due to the previous days' blizzard delays, the membership badge from Darren's Commission that was supposed to be quick to receive only came through yesterday.
The Commission's membership badge, protecting privacy, had no substantial binding with the Wizard's personal attributes, such as Magic Power or Spirit.
Hence one could choose to have the badge delivered directly to their doorstep.
Colin had originally planned to do just that and have the badge delivered to True Knowledge Society Castle.
But since Shelley was coming today to look for suitable quests, he changed his mind and chose to come to this outpost to personally retrieve his membership badge.
He also took the opportunity, under Shelley's guidance, to see what Darren's Commission was like, to facilitate coming on his own in the future.
After walking down the grey stone staircase for a few minutes, faint sounds started to reach them.
Then, the Bright Crystals embedded at regular intervals on both sides of the stairs suddenly became more frequent, illuminating the path ahead.
At the end of the grey staircase stood a black iron door, not particularly large, with no decorations. It looked as if a piece of iron was directly melted into a door shape and installed as such.
To the left of the door was a wrought iron thorn sculpture about half the height of a person, just as simplistic in style.
Shelley walked past it, familiar with the way, and pushed the door open without paying any attention to the thorn sculpture.
Colin, however, took a few more glances.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the placement of this wrought iron thorn sculpture likely served some other purpose.
Beyond the door lay a circular hall, not particularly large, its walls apparently solidified with witchcraft – smooth and exceedingly firm.
There were only a few Wizards inside, most of them wearing black robes and hoods, along with masks.
At the upper part of the hall's wall was a ring of light screens similar to those in the School's General Affairs Castle, only they were a light brown color and much smaller in size.
They too displayed many white characters that changed constantly, mostly advertising the sale and purchase of witchcraft. Among the purchases, some with black outlines were for commissioned witchcraft.
Feeling his excitement gradually waning, Colin took a careful look around, feeling that aside from being a bit quieter and more mysterious, this place didn't seem much different from the School's General Affairs Castle.
Continuing on after Shelley, he finally received his badge in an office tucked away in the back.
Not in a hurry to return, he and Shelley examined the quests in the mission hall.
About ten minutes later, Colin had looked over all the purchase and commissioned witchcraft requests in the hall.
Unfortunately, he didn't see any suitable for his own purchasing or commissioning of witchcraft.
Not rushing to leave, Colin then inquired about the general market prices for First Rank Witchcraft.