Before the morning of the first day was over, Dexten owned one hundred slaves.

  Previously, Urgot had used his ability to view my inventory, check my money, and force me to pay as much as I had.

  So, instead, I went in with a handful of copper rings. That was enough to buy a slave.

  Then, Dexten came in with a stupid amount of money, watching our transaction, and then used that price to buy every other slave in the bestiary.

  Or, almost every slave, anyway.

  Urgot wouldn’t sell Madeliad, and once we started describing Sern and Axel, he clammed up, refusing to let us see his mysterious ‘third special grade.’

  On the plus side, he became suddenly more lenient with his deals.

  By the end of it all, we managed to save Sern, Axel, Junior, Rose, and ninety something other slaves with just two gold rings.

  “I feel weird,” he muttered. “They’re all looking at me.”

  The kids had lined up in a military fashion, all outside Dexten’s little hut at the edge of town.

  I nudged Dexten in the side. “You told Mall about all this, right?”

  “Tell who about what?” Mall asked, opening the door. “Dexten? Tell who about—” Her voice cut off in a scream as she dove back into the house.

  Dexten blinked. “I…didn’t think she’d have that kind of reaction. Should I talk to her?”

  “Probably.”

  Cierin yawned, resting one arm on his sword. “Why are we doing this again? You know buying slaves just makes more spawn in, don’t you.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Unless they weren’t purchased legally, in which the slave is to be recovered.”

  “They were, weren’t they?” Cierin scoffed. “I saw you two give Urgot the money.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And Dexten got the slaves.”

  “Yep.”

  “And he signed a contract. That was all legal. So why are you smiling like that?”

  “I might have found the receipt function,” I chuckled.

  Cierin and Dexten glanced at each other.

  “You know that he got paid. And I know that he got paid. But the game? The game doesn’t know anything.”

  I pulled a frozen screen out from under my shirt.

  {Transaction complete}

  [2 [Gold] [Rings] paid to Slave Lord Urgot]

  [102 slaves purchased and ownership has been given to player : Dexten]

  Cierin moved toward, before stopping himself. “Why was that in your shirt?”

  “I’m not quite sure how to keep it in my inventory,” I admitted.

  Dexten poked at it. “So, what?”

  “All sorts of screens poke up if you call them out. Say ‘log transaction’ before you buy anything. You’ll see it.” I said.

  Once I’d gotten a feel for the game’s interface, it was a simple matter of testing different words until I started getting results.

  I’d only tested this screen a little, but the results were already promising.

  Dexten was nodding along. “And with this, no more slaves will spawn at Urgot’s?”

  “Hopefully,” I said. “The game should think they’re still there. Tomorrow, Urgot’s probably going to be upset. He’ll ask around and you just hand him the contract and let him see the slaves. He’ll see that they’re not causing anything, and he’ll see the contract, so things should be fine. As long as he can’t prove you did anything, he won’t take action.”

  I started smiling. “Without a steady supply of new slaves, he will go out of business. And without a legitimate claim to the ‘missing slaves’ he wouldn't be able to organize bounty parties to hunt the children down. Worst case scenario, we unfreeze the receipt and he’ll leave us alone.”

  Dexten scratched his head. “I hope you realize this makes absolutely no sense to the rest of us, but alright.” He fished the pouch of gold rings from his pocket. “We won’t be needing the rest of this so you can— ”

  “Keep it,” I said. “Buy stats and get stronger. You have the list of dungeons?”

  “Maybe?” He glanced at Cierin, who shrugged.

  “I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Cierin muttered. “We’ll be fine. I’m just worried how we’ll feed all of these kids.”

  “Urgot buys small monsters and has the children eat them,” I stated. “It’s all insects and animals, from what I’ve heard. First, buy a bunch so the children get strong. Once they won’t be at risk of death, take them through the special dungeons I’ve marked, like the doll and the poison. Those are pretty easy. Oh! Don’t make them fight if they don’t want to—”

  “I know I know,” Dexten nodded. “With all the children fighting we’ll clear plenty of dungeons, which means stats and exp that keeps everybody good and strong. You’ve told us this a million times. Now get going before it’s sunset, or Mall is going to have a fit.”

  I looked over the children.

  Less than a day ago, they’d all been dead.

  Now they were…fine.

  Rose and Junior stood in a corner, away from the bulk of the group. They clung to each other, keeping their eyes straight ahead and hoping nobody bothered them.

  That brought a stabbing pain to my heart.

  We’d spent so long together…I’d forgotten what they used to live like.

  Sern slept on Dexten’s shoe, curled up in a precious little bundle. After I'd killed Dena, Asiel started asking me questions, and I managed to convince her into getting Sern’s collar off. The other shackles and chains were easily removed, either by the keys Urgot provided, or, in some cases, through the brute force of my willpower.

  Sern would be safe here. And happy, too.

  And then, sooner or later, I’d get strong enough to complete her quest.

  Sern grunted, biting into a mat of her hair for no apparent reason.

  “Oh Sern, what are we going to do with you?” I whispered.

  It took a little longer to say goodbye.

  And then, I was gone.

  Beginning my third voyage into the second area.

  The journey itself was as I remembered.

  A stroll through the plains and desert, then a jump into the storm.

  Once on the other side, I remembered to feel through my mental channels, pushing out across my whole body.

  As I had purchased no Exp for myself, my maximum stats were ten. That’d been intentional, actually. There was something I wanted to try. Something that worked better in weakened stats.

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  After several long minutes of focus, I got a notification.

  {Notice}

  [Your aura has been weaponized]

  If I looked for it, there was a slight shimmer around my hands, distorting the light. When translated into stats, I felt somewhere between one hundred ten and one hundred twelve for both Hp and Strength.

  With that power, I easily crossed through the storm, into the endless desert.

  I again found a booth in the middle of nowhere, selecting the Capital, and riding through tunnels.

  The beetle chirped at me until I sat down. And then it was off blasting through tunnels at a speed unlike anything I remembered.

  Evidently, some Centirides are faster than others.

  But even a fast ride moved too slowly.

  Within the Centiride, I was hopelessly and utterly alone.

  The room itself was bare. No gold lining. No furniture. Just a blank space, outfitted with cushioning panels, more to cover internal organs than as intended seating.

  I didn’t mind.

  Though the ride was quiet, and boring, for once in my life I had no worries.

  Nothing could hurt me now.

  Once I staggered out of the beetle and into the station, the Union officials asked me some basic questions, before setting up temporary housing.

  So I sat in bed, waiting for an instructor to bring me to the union headquarters.

  Any minute, and they would enter.

  Any minute at all.

  Any minute now.

  Any minute.

  Aaaaannnnnyyyyy mmmiiinnuuutttteee…

  “Clock,” I said, and the notification appeared.

  {Clock}

  [12:03 AM]

  Huh.

  Interesting to think that in a whole new society within a video game they still used American units.

  Interesting. Very interesting.

  Of course, if all the players came from America, that would make sense. But so far, there’s been a vaguely central European area and a desert area like the Sahara. Perhaps each area also represents a continent?

  But then again, everyone speaks perfectly fluent English, so, is this perhaps an American perspective on the rest of the world?

  Very interesting.

  I looked back at the clock.

  {Clock}

  [12:03 AM]

  I screamed into a nearby pillow, collapsing on the floor in an indignant heap.

  “I’m bored out of my mind,” I groaned, clawing at my face.

  Junior. Rose. Even Sern and Axel kept things lively.

  If I didn’t have someone to talk to, I’d lose my mind.

  Worse, I was cooped up in a tiny room with ten times the energy my body could normally handle.

  I glanced through my window, into the black of night.

  Union officials still sleep, don’t they?

  Was I seriously going to wait until tomorrow!?

  “I should go for a walk,” I grunted.

  Unfortunately, I’d forgotten the Capital’s ‘nightly activities.’

  “Four Qualms a dozen!”

  “Goblins and Giants, help in all sizes!”

  “Buy one family, get one half off!” A merchant shouted, standing ontop a metal cage.

  Inside, reptiles held each other, clicking and hissing. One screamed, reaching for another as a man came in, dragging the first from the cage.

  Men, women, and children from all ages and races at every corner of the market.

  In the alley, someone was being beaten.

  I turned, recognizing her in an instant. A lifetime ago, I had promised to save the woman. I had planned to win some sort of a tournament to do it.

  She never wanted my help.

  I can’t afford to act like a child anymore. I can’t be impulsive.

  Think long term.

  I now have the knowledge and technique to bankrupt a slaver, more or less. I just need the money. To get that money, I need to hunt monsters. To do that, I need power. To get power, I need to study. To study, I need the union. To get into the union, I need to play by their rules. And that means not getting arrested. Besides, the slavers here could probably all kill me without a second thought.

  I stuffed my hands in my pockets, walking the other way with a heavy heart.

  That night was good for me.

  It was…centering.

  I understood what needed to be done.

  So, rather than sleep, I stayed up in my room, practising.

  Over.

  And over.

  And over.

  …

  The next day, a guide finally escorted me to the nearest union recruitment center, where I was assessed.

  That went about as expected.

  This center had a set of weights to lift. I managed to move up to a hundred pounds, before the hundred and fifty dumbbells were too heavy.

  “You need more Exp,” my guide grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. “You…you are a Dirt though, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, you’re stronger than you look,” she grumbled. “But not by much.”

  “How do I get Exp?”

  “Buy it.”

  “Which requires a job?”

  She gave me the kind of look you give a particularly stupid child. “Yeah.”

  She snorted. “It’ll take maybe a month before you have enough exp to join the union. In fact, you ought to keep that job for a while, until you start going out on dungeon raids.”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  When was the last time I had one of those?

  Too long.

  I’ve grown fond of my past raids.

  They’re not emotionally charged. They’re not messy, or complicated.

  It’s just fighting.

  Got a problem? Beat it up until it dies.

  Did you get killed?

  Try again. Get stronger.

  Since the monsters are all…well…dumb as rocks, or evil beyond all reckoning, there’s no need to question morality.

  “Why do you look so happy?” The guide muttered. She snapped her fingers in my face. “Pay attention when I’m talking. You’ve still got the mental exam…not that you seem like much of a mind wizard.”

  I pursed my lips. “Does the union have scholarships?”

  That made her laugh. “Sort of. Not for Dirts, I’m afraid.”

  We moved over to a large sphere, tethered to the gourd by a metal rod.

  “This is a psyche orb,” my guide said. “They’re rare magical artifacts that read the mind.”

  “I wish you all early graves,” the orb growled, like whistling chains.

  “...and they can talk,” my guide finished. “We’ve been trying to replace them with conventional machinery. They’re insufferable to find these days. Having a rookie like you touch one is ridiculous but at least they’ll give an accurate estimate of your ability and that’s what staff wants so, and we’re getting rid of these anyway, so, who cares?”

  When I moved closer, the rippling pattern of color swiveled toward me.

  “This mortal’s weakest thing I’ve ever seen,” the orb laughed, twinkling brightly.

  “Hey,” I said, resting a hand on the glass. “What are you?”

  “I’m a fairy!” The orb cackled. “And I have mind power! And then some guys stuck me inside a gemstone! And now I can’t feel my body!” There was a moment of silence. “I don’t even have a body!” The fairy started laughing harder..

  I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the guide. “There are fairies here?”

  “And unicorns and gargoyles and dragons.” She grumbled. “You don’t wanna meet a dragon. Anyway, start putting out mental energy, and the orb will read it.”

  “My name is Sharon!” The orb chuckled. “What’s yours!”

  “I cannot stress how annoying it is to use these things,” my guide groaned. “They get a little loopy without a physical form, which just makes them all the more cranky when they do get one, and that’s bad enough as is.”

  I adjusted my hold on the orb. “He won’t get hurt by this, right?”

  Sharon spun toward me. “Go on. Try it.”

  “One pulse of mental power at the greatest intensity you can,” my guide said. “Go already!”

  So I did.

  After several hours, union staff managed to find the remaining shards of the crystal ball, as well as what they could assume to be the vaporized remains of a fairy.

  // {Notice} //

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