Suddenly Hiro felt a wave of Mana nudge him by the shoulder, in reflex he crushed it with his hand. Upon noticing he once again got lost in reverie he, as he looked around the San-Baka were around him.
"See, I told you this is way safer. You would have to be a complete Idiot to touch the master when he is in the zone."
"I agree."
"Yeah, his grip hurts, didn't you see my hand pop out like a doll's the last time?"
Knowing that this isn't the first time he got lost in his thoughts, Hiro closed his eyes to reorient himself. After a minute the voice of Aurum gave him an update.
"Master, It is time, the normal auction has concluded. The black market auction is about to begin. Everything is ready and we only wait for your command."
Thinking that he needed to give a warning, Hiro then started to speak his mind. "I will be slaughtering a large group of people before the sun rises. Race, creed, religion, gender, or affiliation be damned. All because they dare coveted what belongs to me.
"While I did say, I will consider you my men after this. Know that the path I will travel is not for the faint at heart. There will be death and bloodshed. And we will either know victory or death. You are no longer slaves, so if you wish to turn back now is the time."
Geo started to chuckle and soon the rest followed him in expressing their amusement. Puzzled Hiro failed to find anything funny on what he just said. The one to clear up the matter naturally fell on the leader of the San-Baka.
"Master, we are not laughing at you. We just find your concern for our benefit hilarious. If you asked a couple of days ago we might have turned back. But now that point is moot."
After hearing what Aurum had to say Hiro faced the three and wondered what he meant. Lars then added.
"Master, the concerns you mention are for humans. There are no longer any people in this room. Only monsters. We crave strength. To us. Nothing else matters."
Geo then gestured towards the door. "Shall we go then, Master? The young lady awaits. Be it battle or bloodshed we will follow. We follow not because we are loyal, but because we crave strength."
Hiro then smiled and remembered what he told them.
(I care not of your circumstances nor would I ask. I can promise you one thing. I will give you power in the shortest time possible. However, you need to give it your all or you will die. If you do not wish for such a life tell me now and I will pick another slave.)
'Right, these guys are just as desperate as me. They are not loyal to me but to my strength. Selfish people are the easiest to predict. They will act in their own self-interest.'
"Very well, Let's go."
Before they exited the hotel they stayed at Alan and Hach were near the entrance to the lobby. It became evident they were quite tense, probably because they know what is to come.
When Hiro's group walked up to them, Alan made a quick bow and held out both hands with a scroll. "Musashi-sama here are the coordinates for the safe house I prepared. I will go on first to Partisan, by the time you arrive, everything would be ready for your meeting with the Prince."
The reincarnator found it odd, here lies a merchant who had a lot to lose but gambled everything on his affairs. If Hiro suddenly didn't continue with his plans. Alan would be left at a loss. While the San-Baka had reason to believe him the man before him did not.
On a whim, Hiro decided to ask. "Why do you trust so much in anything I say? I could just as easily turn away and run. The amount of money you sank into tonight is quite a lot."
Alan then smiled while answering. "Because you are not human. Humans are capable of deception and lies. You my dear butcher are a monster through and through. Faithful to your instincts. That may change in the future but for now. I know you show no falsehood."
"And such a thing allows you to gamble it all on my affairs?"
"Indeed. As a man who grew up with nothing but liars and con men to see one so pure is rare. You are like a sword my dear butcher. You never pretended to be anything else."
Amazed at the analogies Alan used, Hiro held out his hand for a handshake. "If that is how you see me then so be it. Thank you for all you have done for me. May we meet again."
- Alert: Alan Srayver has been given the [Mark of Protection] -
Unaware of the hidden boon he got, Alan shook Hiro's hand in glee as he returned the farewell. "Our time together could be considered short but extremely meaningful. Happy hunting, I will be waiting in Partisan."
After saying farewell to the merchant and his guard. Hiro and his party went to the secret entrance of the Anvil auction house. As per noble customs, the San-Baka circled Hiro allowing others to know who called the shots in their group. With Aurum taking point.
When they arrived at the checkpoint a couple of guards blocked their way. "This is private property so unless you have an invitation, I will be asking you to leave."
Aurum pulled out four black market auction passes that were black cards with golden letters. Upon receiving them, the guards used a barcode scanner-like magic item to verify their authenticity.
After a couple of beeps, the guards gave the clear and handed out four black masquerade masks. "The auction is officially declared as a masquerade ball, please keep these on for its entire duration."
After the four men slipped on the masks, they entered the auction hall and got led by an attendant through an underground stairway. Unlike the official auction held in the grand hall, Hiro's party eventually arrived at a wide underground room the size of a football field.
In terms of both grandeur and lavishness, this underground auction hall did not lose to the main hall. Arguably it could be said to even exceed it. Chandeliers that lit up the hall shone like thousands of tiny stars in the sky.
Despite being underground, the illumination mimicked the ambiance of an evening party set outdoors. While there were thousands of people, none interacted with each other as small tents were laid out by the dozens. An elevated platform existed in the middle which would be the main podium.
Behind the podium lay a wide stage with curtains similar to a theater. Beautiful men and women in skimpy outfits went tent to tent offering either wine or their bodies as part of the amenities.
Hiro noticed that everyone from the guards to the servants all belonged to the battle harem [Hand of Shadows]. He also noticed that while there were high leveled system users, they didn't even detect his probing.
When he inspected the entire hall, barring a few people, their stats were in the mid 300-400s. Each of the people in the tents had battle harems to their name with over hundreds of members.
'Their stats balloon above what their levels are supposed to be because of the battle harems hm… Interesting.' While they could be considered high for system users. To a monster like Hiro, they still looked like sheep.
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