Chapter 6: Liquor and Slaves (2)

Stout is a bright city.

The vibrant people (NPCs) are one thing, and the design, or rather, the city's color palette itself, is bright and colorful.

However, where there is light, there is always darkness.

As the second-largest city on the continent, gathering the most people after the largest city, ‘Tiaria’, it meant that it wasn't just ‘bright people’ who gathered here.

However, such people couldn't openly do dark deeds in the middle of a bright city like this, which was why they turned their eyes outside the city, like now.

For instance, a brewery in the suburbs.

From the outside, this place was a brewery with a pastoral landscape built on a low hill, with a vibrant color palette similar to the nearby city where the light reflected off the lake glittered, but…

“This product is a descendant of a wind spirit, directly imported from Dian.”

When night fell like this, it became a slave market where slaves bound in chains were bought and sold under the name of ‘special alcohol’.

Naturally, there was no trace of a bright atmosphere or vibrant colors.

Only a swarm of dreary and dirty human figures.

“Then we will start at 100 gold.”

In short, even though it belonged to Stout, the so-called beginner area, the atmosphere was completely different.

In other words, it was a dangerous place.

Swarming with dangerous guys you wouldn't normally encounter in this area.

A kind of hidden dungeon, you could say.

And I was──

“──!?”

A level 1 aspiring robber (?) who had stormed into such a place with a sack with holes in it over my head.

“What, what the fuck.”

The gatekeeper, who flinched in surprise upon seeing me, still had a look of disbelief even after I promptly presented the official invitation I had received.

“A, a robber…?!”

He was probably suspecting I had stolen it from somewhere, judging by my appearance.

However, “Don't worry. I look like this due to circumstances, but I am just an ordinary merchant.”

--

[Deception]

Difficulty 20

⚅ / ⚄

Great Success

--

“Is… that so?”

Before my charm, which couldn't be hidden even with a sack over my head, everything was ultimately meaningless.

“That is correct.”

“…My apologies. Please come in.”

The air inside, which I entered like that… was filthy.

No other words came to mind.

It was a place that reeked of a foul odor.

This wasn't about the slaves who couldn't maintain their cleanliness.

It was the stench coming from the rotten humans who locked them in cages and treated them truly like products.

“2500 gold. We have 2500 gold. Any more?”

I felt relieved that I was wearing the sack.

It meant I didn't have to force myself to hide my nauseated expression.

And, it was also good for robbing the place.

Until now, it had been a misunderstanding, but this time was different.

Because I came here not just to look the part, but to actually steal.

“2500 gold! Sold!”

However, what I was going to steal wasn't the money or jewels piled up in this place.

It was a ‘comrade’.

A level 20 Archmage was here.

Although she had now lost her memories and abilities, and was being treated as a product by those who couldn't recognize her worth in the slightest.

“Now, the next product is──”

Not anymore.

***

This place, the (Hidden Slave Auction), was where you ended up if you took the ‘Slave Route’ after failing to escape the prologue.

There, you get one last chance to escape before being completely sold off as a slave, and if you succeed in escaping, you can continue the game as is.

But if you miss that last chance and fail to escape, it ultimately results in a complete game over.

That's why most players who came here for the first time usually focused solely on escaping somehow, so they would often pass by without even knowing of the existence of the ‘level 20 Archmage’.

In the first place, it doesn't even give any hints.

Not just simply not telling you, but to the extent of trying to hide her very existence.

The only chance to find her and make her a comrade in this game is just for this one day, the very first day the player arrives in Stout.

This meant that after today, she would be sold off as a slave, and you wouldn't be able to see her for the rest of the game.

Therefore, unless you intentionally don't escape to take the Slave Route or force your way here right away, you can't even meet her, so first-time players with no information would have no way of knowing.

In other words, just as this place itself is treated as a hidden dungeon, she too is a ‘hidden character’, so to speak.

Of course, for balance reasons, they couldn't give you a max-level character from the start, so she begins at level 1 with the setting that she has lost her abilities, but instead, she has all sorts of good traits and special abilities, making her more than worthy of being called a so-called OP character.

So, no matter what, I had to save her and make her my comrade.

The problem was, just because I had the information didn't mean I could easily make her a comrade.

When arriving in Stout through the normal route, the player's level could usually only be around 1, or 2 at most.

And this place was swarming with level 4-5 mercenaries you'd rarely encounter near Stout.

There was even a level 6 one.

But as I said before, I could only find her today, so I couldn't go somewhere else to raise my level and then come back.

Therefore, it was best to avoid clashing with them as much as possible.

In short, it meant I had to tackle this in a non-combat situation.

“Uh… a, are you a buyer?”

And Bards are specialists in non-combat situations by nature.

“Yes.”

On top of that, I'm not just any Bard.

“Ah… uh, you cannot enter this area. It's where the products are stored.”

“I know. That's why I came.”

“…Pardon?”

“Because I wanted to check their condition in person beforehand.”

At my words, the merchant, who had been treating the guy in a sack who suddenly appeared with a degree of courtesy, his expression completely hardened, “I'm sorry, but that is not possible before the auction. Please leave now.”

He flatly dismissed me with a cold tone, as if dealing with a nuisance.

“Exceptions always exist.”

“No, not here. When I'm asking nicely, go back──”

“──No. There is.”

At that, I too cut him off and asserted.

“If you knew the amount I intend to spend at this auction, you would surely think so too.”

“……”

In that moment, the merchant's gaze, which had turned away from me in annoyance, turned back towards me.

Then he gestured to the burly guys nearby who seemed ready to throw me out at a moment's notice.

“…For example?”

His interest was piqued.

To his cautious probing, I grinned (though he couldn't see it anyway) and answered confidently.

“100,000 gold.”

“……!”

Of course, it was a lie.

Right now, I didn't even have 10 gold, let alone 100,000.

‘As if I would have it.’

However, the employee was clearly wavering.

It was such a large sum that he naturally looked at me with disbelief… but he seemed hesitant, unable to completely rule out the possibility that it might be real.

Then, eventually, “…By any chance, can you prove it right now?”

He asked cautiously again.

“If you were in my shoes, would you carry 100,000 gold around with you?”

“Ah…?”

In truth, it was an answer close to sophistry that anyone could see through.

It was basically saying, I can't prove it, so just believe me.

If he thought about it even a little rationally, the merchant would surely notice it was a ridiculous assertion.

However,

--

[Persuasion]

Difficulty 20

⚁ / ⚂

Result 28

Success

--

“That… does make sense.”

My ‘Charisma’ didn't give the guy time to regain his senses.

“…Very well. A simple check shouldn't be a big problem.”

No matter what bullshit I spout, if I have ‘Charisma (CHA)’, it's bound to sound plausible.

“I'll make an exception just this once.”

As the finally convinced merchant said this and gestured again, the guards who had been carefully observing the situation could be seen withdrawing to their posts.

“Is there a particular product you are looking for?”

“I heard that you recently found an elf in the eastern forest.”

“Ah, as expected.”

As soon as he heard my words, the merchant showed a grin as if he knew it.

“I thought that someone as serious about this business as you, sir, would surely recognize the true value of that product.”

Then, his guarded demeanor from just moments ago vanished, and he began to guide me with a friendly expression.

Anyone could see that he was completely excited by the sum of 100,000 gold.

“This way, please.”

In truth, if these bastards really knew her true value, they would have told me to get lost even if I brought a million gold on a cart right now, let alone 100,000.

In the basement I entered following the merchant, there were five or six slaves who had not yet been brought to the auction.

Bound in chains and trapped in narrow iron-barred cages, no trace of will could be found in them.

The sparsely hung lanterns on the walls somehow managed to push back the darkness looming here, but they couldn't erase the deep resignation that permeated the entire space.

“That's her.”

She was quietly squatting in a corner of the iron cage, hugging her knees, where even the faint light couldn't reach well.

The clothes she wore were tattered rags, and her appearance was shabby, as if she hadn't washed in a long time.

Despite having the typical appearance of a slave, the reason she felt as if she wasn't of this world was surely because she alone possessed a different color.

“As you can see, she is a northern elf, rarely seen in the southern part of the continent like this.”

She… was different at a glance.

From all the others present, including the other slaves trapped with her.

“I can confidently say that she is by far the finest among the products we have handled so far.”

Perhaps because of that, the merchant's voice was overflowing with confidence.

As if to say, there's no way you won't buy her.

“Is there anything wrong with her health, by any chance?”

“Pardon? Ah, of course. There are no problems whatsoever.”

“Really?”

As I watched the scene here, a sharp tone came out of me without realizing it.

At that, the merchant flinched for a moment, then finally answered in a confessing tone.

“…W-well, it's not a health problem, but she hasn't spoken a word so far.”

Then he hastily waved his hands and added.

“It's not that there's a problem with communication. She can follow instructions obediently. She probably understands our language but can't speak it, or something like that. …Or well, maybe she just can't speak.”

The merchant muttered quickly in a small voice as if to hide a flaw, but he was wrong.

She wasn't unable to speak, she just wasn't speaking.

“Other than that, there's really nothing else wrong. Her health is good too.”

It wasn't just about her speech, but because she had closed her heart.

“Besides, they say she might even be able to use magic.”

And to open that firmly closed heart, first, “An amount like 100,000 gold will certainly not be a waste──”

This man had to die.

(You disgusting slave-trading piece of trash.)

“──!?”

The moment I strode up to the guy, placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered (Vicious Mockery) into his ear.

--

The ‘Slave Trader’s’ mentality has collapsed!

--

“H-how could you say such… harsh words……”

With those last words, he foamed at the mouth and collapsed right on the spot.

“……?”

So the guard, who witnessed the scene from a distance, must have been bewildered.

“…H-hey?”

Because without being openly attacked or openly spewing blood, he had simply been walking and then suddenly collapsed.

You could tell by how he, who hadn't moved a single step from the front of the stairs since following us down to the basement, approached hesitantly, completely flustered.

He prodded the limp merchant, but when there was no response, he soon grabbed his arm and checked for a pulse.

“D-dead…”

Then he quickly turned his head towards me.

In the meantime, I took off the sack, revealing my bare face.

“…!”

The cooldown for (Vicious Mockery) was already up.

I stared into his ‘Charmed’ eyes and slowly opened my mouth.

(That's your future, you X-bastard.)

“Keoheok!”

--

Critical Hit!

The ‘Slave Auction Guard’s’ mentality has collapsed!

--

Thud!

And, just like the merchant, the guard, with his eyes rolled back, collapsed right on top of the corpse.

It was an instant kill this time too.

Excluding the non-combat NPC slave traders, the minimum level of the mercenaries here was 4.

This guy was no different.

Therefore, he had a health pool that a level 1's normal attack couldn't even dream of taking down, but the story changes if you land a critical hit (2x) with (Vicious Mockery) boosted by a Charisma stat of 30.

Considering that the average health of level 4 humanoid NPCs is around 40 to 50, against (Vicious Mockery) which guarantees a minimum of 60 damage on a critical hit, it's just one shot for this one, one shot for that one.

Well, anyway.

The point is that I took down a guy who was tough to beat at my current level.

And that means,

--

Level Up!

Lv. 1 → 2

--

It meant I could get a reward that was hard to obtain at my current level.

But I decided to postpone stat distribution and skill acquisition for a moment, as there was something else I had to do first.

First, I hurriedly put the sack I had taken off back on, “Did you happen to see?”

I asked the others who were staring blankly at the corpses.

“My face.”

Everyone looked bewildered, as if they hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.

“Lest you misunderstand, I'm not threatening you to pretend you didn't see. Answer honestly.”

When I pressed them, they seemed to look at each other once, and then finally, one man, as a representative, slowly shook his head.

It seemed that it was dark, and their attention had been focused on the merchant who had suddenly collapsed.

There was no one who looked particularly ‘Charmed’ either, so it probably wasn't a lie.

“That's a relief.”

I then searched the merchant's pockets and found a bunch of keys.

From the gazes of those around me watching my actions, I could feel bewilderment, and along with it, strong suspicion.

However, even amidst all that, she alone remained in the same state as before.

To be precise, she wasn't looking this way, nor did she show any signs of paying attention at all.

As if she were stranded on a deserted island, blocking out all surrounding noises.

Even at the moment I jingled the bunch of keys I had just taken and opened the cage door.

To the point where I wondered if time had stopped, she just remained blankly huddled in the corner.

“…Hello.”

I slowly approached her and offered a greeting, but as expected, nothing changed.

The girl shows no reaction to your call.

It seems as if she has cut herself off from the world.

It wasn't just this iron cage that was imprisoning her.

It was something more fundamental.

It doesn't seem like she will respond just by being called.

To converse with the girl, it seems you should try another method.

But it didn't matter.

“I know you can hear my voice.”

Because I, “I'll get you out soon.”

I came here to shatter it.