As people gathered, a plump man in a set of black suspenders with a flat topped round hat took center stage, looking at the gathering crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen! There are a great deal of people today, and our stock is low this week due to the swarm. Please bear with me as we get the selections ready to go.”
He then stepped off to the side as men in armor with small steel rods resting on their hips started to shepard the slaves from the room I was in earlier up onto the stage. They had various expressions on their faces, often some form of fear, anger, or despair, until the guards spoke in their ears. They were forced to smile and stand still. The only one who hadn’t needed talking to was the small boy with a total level of 97. They seemed to ignore him, short of getting him into position. Interesting…
I looked around at the people in the crowd, trying to figure out what they were thinking. Most of them had taken a more business like expression, considering those on stage like a crafter looks at a new tool. Not quite a person, but something to be invested in and used. A few were giving some of those on stage lewd gazes that made me feel uncomfortable, I couldn’t imagine how the ones on stage felt.
The man came back onto the stage. “Because of the low amount of stock, we shall not be sealing those that do not sell for industrial use at this time. I have already been in touch with my suppliers…” He raised his hands as there was a murmur of irritation that ran through the crowd. “Calm down!” He raised his voice.
When the crowd settled again, he let out an annoyed sigh, “As I was saying, I have been in touch with my suppliers, and we will be getting another shipment of industrial stock soon. This will be followed by another shipment the week after of higher quality goods. There’s even talk of a new batch of elven stock that I know many of you have been looking for.” He said, pointing at a few people in the crowd as he said that.
I tried to unclench my jaw as I listened to the man talk. I wonder how he’s getting in touch with them.
“Since we’re all ready, let’s get started! First up, we’ve got a human male, mid 20s…” He brought a man forward and read out a mini breakdown of his stats, including giving values for physical, mental, and magic. I started to zone out as skills were brought up, the only one I was even remotely interested in was a Sprinting skill of Tier 3.
There was a small bidding war, but the man was eventually sold for 6,250 Crystals, which gave me a little hope that I wasn’t drastically out of my league. I did want to get that white haired boy out of there, if only to ask questions… Where did he go?
The white haired kid was missing. I had watched him getting put into position, and now he wasn’t even on the stage. There weren’t a lot of places he could have gone, since the rest of the stage was an open area, and it was set up in the center of a large room.
It took four more people being sold before I managed to find a trace of him, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. The space he’d been occupying was still empty, but as I examined it, I saw a faint shadow on the ground. I wouldn’t have even noticed it if I hadn’t been looking right at the spot and feeling like something was off. Even having caught it, I wasn’t sure if I was imagining things, or if they had somehow turned themselves invisible.
Back to the people being auctioned, I noticed that nobody was bidding. It was a scrawny man with a scar running from his forehead down to the collar of his cheap shirt. His fingers weren’t in the best shape either from a quick observation. I scanned him.
I went through my class menu and checked out the class. It was unlocked because I had access to Mana, apparently.
Class: Enchanter
With a basic knowledge of spellcraft and a passion for improving everyday life, you have developed the ability to imbue magic into objects. Using a bit of mana, this class can use spells they know to enhance the properties of any item they touch. Results may vary based upon spells known and skill with manipulating mana.
+3 to Mana Control per Level
+2 to Mana per level
Max Level: 50
Enchantment menu unlocked
Spell Enhancement acquired
Still no bids on the man, so I raised my paddle. The auctioneer called out, “Ah! In the back! 43 with a bid of 500 Crystals!” There were a few murmurs, but nobody contested it. “Sold! To 43!”
A person came by and I pulled out a few green crystals from my pocket and handed them off to them. I was given a slip of paper and told to take it to the front when the auction finished. The next person was then brought forward.
The whole thing took over an hour, and when the time came for the boy’s turn, nobody could find them. I couldn’t help but smile at the panic as everyone started looking for them. My smile faded when there was a sharp cry of pain from over by the wall. The boy had reappeared and was clutching at his neck. I could see sparks coming off of the collar.
Stolen story; please report.
“It seems we’ve got a spirited one.” The auctioneer laughed, members of the crowd mimicking the laughter. “It happens from time to time with the strong willed, but part of the fun is breaking a new one in, right?”
There was a general agreement as the man read off the stats. It was a different name and different stats than what little I’d been able to see. And he was absolutely not a Street Rat. His unusual appearance and the attempted escape had apparently ignited people’s interest though. It had sparked a small frenzy of bids, driving the price up.
The brothel owner offered 5,000 after a couple minutes. The other bidders paused until I raised my paddle, “6,000.” I said loudly, making sure I was heard over the crowd.
“7,000!” The brothel owner shouted, turning a grin towards me. “At least now I know what type you like!”
I shuddered and raised the paddle again, “10,000.” I didn’t like what he was implying, but ultimately it wouldn’t matter. Even if I lost the bid, I had finished my goal. I had fifteen pending judgements and I was taking a small amount of joy at the thought of triggering any and all of them.
The brothel owner raised again, and I repeated the gesture. We went back and forth for a couple rounds before he gave up at 16,000. It was more than I wanted to spend, but with the swarm going on and everything else, I was fine with it.
I followed the man who came for the payment this time. We went to small, nondescript room where the two people I’d purchases waited quietly. There was another man, a merchant by the look of him, who was sitting at the table. I exchanged payments with him and with a series of verbal commands, their collars were transferred to me.
The collars were weird devices that were supposedly cheap to produce. The ones on the two people I’d bought were some kind of iron from the look of it, but I couldn’t see anything special about them. But supposedly, they’d make anyone wearing them follow their owner’s orders to the best of their abilities.
I ordered my new slaves to follow me and headed out the front door. I didn’t see Kojo, but hadn’t expected to. I wandered along the street, heading slowly in the direction of the main gate. I had the receipts for both stored in my Spatial Closet and considered how I wanted to handle this. I hadn’t planned any of this, and I was starting to think that I may have gotten over my head.
“So, big guy. I didn’t catch your name. What is it?” I asked the enchanter.
“Bosco.” He said, his voice rough like he hadn’t used it in a while.
“Bosco, how’d you break your fingers?” We stopped in an alley a few blocks from the warehouse.
There was hesitation, but it wasn’t about resisting the collar, more like he just wasn’t sure how much to reveal. “I… owed money to some people. I worked with their competitors to pay them off… They didn’t like it.”
I shook my head, sighing, “They who gave you the scar too?”
Bosco shook his head, “No, I got that being stupid as a child. Tried to befriend a strider.”
I blinked and shrugged. Looking at the collar, I asked, “If I took that off, what would you do first? Answer honestly.”
“Run.” Bosco said, looking panicked, “I’d run and never look back.”
I reached up and took it off of him. I nodded in the direction of the alley, “Ask the guard at the gate about a Quintius shelter. There should be one nearby.”
The large man was gone before I’d finished talking. I sighed and twirled the collar on my finger before taking a look at the inside. There were a number of angular lines engraved into the thing and writing so tiny I’d probably need tools to read it. Most of the work was near where the back of the collar was supposed to be situated.
“These are pretty complicated. How much do you think they’re worth, Adelhard?” I asked, shoving the offensive object into my Spatial Closet.
“How would I know?” The boy said in a monotone.
“How about we try another question? What’s your actual class?” I asked, looking down at the boy. Not by much, he was only a head shorter, but it made me feel better, for some reason.
“Street Rat.” He said in that same monotone.
“Tell the truth.” I ordered, abusing the collar.
I got to see the limitations of the collars firsthand with that question. His jaw clenched and he glared up at me with defiance. The collar began to spark, forcing the boy to the ground and screaming in pain. On his knees, he started gripping the collar tightly. Panting hard, his eyes wild, he refused to answer, instead tugging at the thing wrapped around his neck.
The sparks began to increase in intensity, and I shouted, “Stop. You don’t have to answer!”
Everything suddenly quieted, and the boy was left panting as he still gripped the metal around his neck. I wiped my face with my hand and looked around, waiting for some guard to come storming down the alleyway.
Sighing after a few minutes without anyone investigating, I rubbed at my temples with both hands. “Alright, how about this: Are you really a child?”
The collar sparked again and I groaned, “Never mind.”
I lit one of the cigarettes that Zeratus had given me and took a puff, trying to think of what to ask. “What will you tell me?”
The boy stared at me. “Whatever you want.”
I rolled my eyes, “Fine, answer truthfully: if I let you go, are you going to be a problem for me later?”
His eyes narrowed at me. “What do you mean?”
“I know for a fact you aren’t a Street Rat. I know for a fact you aren’t human, despite appearances. The only thing you seem unable to hide is the hair color, which means I don’t even know if you’re actually a boy or a girl… and I don’t plan to check.” I said, grumpy that this wasn’t going as smoothly as it had with Bosco.
They remained silent.
“Are you some kind of illusionist, or something more sinister?” I asked, more to myself as I started looking through the class screen. There were a few things that fit and could maybe be gotten to with 97 levels. If they didn’t cap each class, there were even more options. “If you’re the first, I wouldn’t mind offering you a job to teach me a little magic. If it’s the later… I could probably learn something there too.”
“Are you… asking if I’ll teach you?” The boy asked, incredulous. “After buying me?”
I shrugged, “I’m offering a job.” I looked at the sky and sighed. It was fully dark out, the streetlights hard at work fighting back the dark. “I’m gonna get chewed out so we’ll cut this short. If you want to take me up on the offer, find the Rosecrest manor and ask for Dani.”
I reached over and undid the collar around his neck. He didn’t move as I tossed it into my Spatial Storage. We stood there as I continued smoking.
“Why?” He asked, looking at me, nose scrunched as he was looking me over.
“I was curious about you, and slavery is a gross practice.” I gave him a rather vicious smile, “And I don’t think they’re going to enjoy the crystals as long as they hoped.”
The boy rubbed at his neck, looking in the direction Bosco had run. Then he looked in the direction of the warehouse. “Sooner than you think. Soon as I find a knife, that fat fuck is dead.”
I flicked the cigarette off to the side and shrugged, “Not my problem anymore. Just don’t get caught, yea?”
I was curious about the ‘kid’ but not enough to force the issue. Not enough to keep him locked up. So, with a bunch of crystals wasted, and fully prepared to get yelled at when I got home, I headed out the alley and started towards the gate.
I did pause at the end of the alley and toss a dagger to ground in Adelhard’s general direction. Just because he wasn’t my problem, didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make him someone else’s.
When would be a good time to release a chapter? (Times are in UTC -6)