Rebirth: Rise of the Slave Master

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Bloody Auction

With the money he earned from the quest reward, Theo was able to afford a room in an inn for the slaves to rest in. It wouldn’t be wise to leave them wandering the streets at night in a city like Aleside. Since he was an adventurer, the guards by the main gate would let him in and out of the city at any hour, but he had no desire to make camp outside the walls when the Shapeshifter could still be prowling around. Although players didn’t need to rest, there were several benefits to logging out in an Inn or other resting place. There was a [Well Rested] buff that would last for a while depending on how long you stayed logged out, as well as a slight increase in the amount of experience you earned from killing monsters.

The nicer the inn, the better the buff, but the more you would have to pay. Since he had picked the most basic, cheapest room in the city, Theo wasn’t expecting much. Meatshield didn’t show any preference for staying inside as opposed to camping, and Gobthnora’s skin seemed to crawl at the idea of sleeping in a bed previously used by humans. Either way, at least they wouldn’t get into trouble this way. Thankfully, the pair had plenty of food left, and he wouldn’t have to pay for any extra meals.

“I’m going to rest now,” he told them, taking a seat in rickety wooden chair in the corner and logging out.

When Rick removed the Lucid Lock helmet, the first thing he noticed was the incredible stiffness in his joints. How many consecutive hours had he been logged into the game? He stretched briefly before taking care of his hygienic needs. The apartment was as still as ever, with a hint of light peeking out of the cracked bathroom door. It was a sobering feeling to return to this place after such an exciting series of events. Despite the lack of air conditioning, there was persistent chill in the air, and the occasional bump would sound from one of the other rooms in the complex. Rick ignored them.

He was sitting on the futon with his eyes barely closed, falling into a state of light sleep. After years of practice, it wasn’t difficult to take short naps this way and wake up whenever he needed. This was a vital skill to have during siege events, Field Boss fights, and arduous competitions. Some rest would always be required when these things dragged on, and it was impossible to log out for more than an hour or so. Contrary to feeling refreshed after his brief sleep, Rick was groggier than ever. He remedied this feeling with a cup of coffee and engaged his usual activity of strolling through the forums.

In the end, he almost spit his coffee all over the screen.

Slave Master Theo Strikes Again! The Bloody Auction takes hold of Oasis!

“Why does this keep happening to me?” Rick looked over the new top thread with a strained expression.

The Bloody Auction wasn’t an event planned by the developers, but one instigated by a specific player. Over a dozen valuable pieces of equipment entered the market all in the course of an afternoon, and all of them were posted by the top-level player, Theo.

With the sudden acquisition of funds by rich players, the addition of gear to purchase was like throwing chum in shark infested waters. Even those who weren’t around to bid on the gear sent representatives to do it for them! What kind of crazy bastards went nuts over low-level boss gear?

In short, Guilds.

Just because it wasn’t possible to establish a Guild until you reached a certain level and had a degree of reputation, there were all kinds of unofficial player alliances that met both in and outside of the game. Although the gear wasn’t that spectacular in the long run, the competition between these groups was fierce, even more so in a difficult game like Dream World Online. More than anything, it seemed they wanted to avoid letting the other Guilds take any kind of advantage away from them.

After a day of heated bidding on the various items and equipment, the Guilds finally showed up and threatened to take control of the auction by force. The end result was that several large scale battles exploded in the areas around Oasis. Recruitment efforts ramped up, and the degree of the conflict continued to rise as the final day approached.

The perpetrator of this bloodbath, Player Theo, was nowhere to be found! It seemed many people had the idea to have him take down the auctions and privately sell the equipment, but the Slave Master seemed intent to let the fighting continue! Some purposed he might have simply logged out, but the rise in his levels made it apparent that he was still very active in the game.

The consensus from the playerbase was clear, Theo had planned the entire ordeal to stir things up! Despite the fact that this kind of sentiment was nothing but wild speculation, the community ate it up. Theories about the mysterious top player were running wild with claims ranging from, he was hired by Emerald Axis to shake things up, all the way to him being an anti-Guild anarchist!

His ominous sounding class didn’t help in this regard, and there was only one word to properly describe his new status.

Infamous!

Rick had heard the early Auction House battles were fierce, but he hadn’t been around back then to actually witness any of it. He should have known that dropping such big bait would attract the biggest predators. All of this could have been avoided if he had just parceled out the auctions over the course of a week, but that damn Old Man Snake Eyes had forced him to rush and then flee the city. A huge mess had fallen right into his lap!

“You just wait, you withered old sack of skin and bones. I’ll make sure to pay you back for this!” Rick shamelessly shifted all of the blame onto the NPC he had antagonized in the first place, “as for these guys…”

The thought of logging in and leaving an explanation and apology for the misunderstanding crossed Rick’s mind. He actually got about halfway through a lengthy post before he realized that it went against his new place in life. That’s right, he had six years of advanced knowledge and more skill than anyone in the world! He was going to be the best, and wouldn’t be able to avoid the backlash that came from success.

“Might as well make things clear!” he resolved.

Theo (OP): Fighting over my scraps? Desperate people are always so unsightly. Maybe I’ll put something worthwhile up for sale next time, I only hope you can treat me to a better show.

He posted it with his official account and immediately logged off the forum. If they actually bought the fact that it was him, it would no doubt rile up the players even further. It was essentially the same as kicking over a beehive, but there was no harm in speeding up the process when it was inevitable in the first place. A top-level player who stayed completely unaligned would always have a target painted on his back.

“Hmm… it’s almost four. I should call the nerd to let him know I finished early,” Rick checked his clock.

To no real surprise, Bai didn’t pick up. The guy didn’t seem fond of using the phone to communicate, and preferred to talk in person if at all possible. Of course it was also past three in the morning, and you’d have to be a serious night owl to be up for a conversation at this hour. Although Rick was fairly sure Bai was awake, there didn’t seem to be any way to get a hold of him. Rick considered skipping out on the early gym trip due to to his exhaustion, but eventually decided it would be better to go.

Rick was panting and out of breath after his morning jog to the gym. The familiar store front greeted him with its usual shining windows, but at some point in the last few hours there must have been a storm of some sort. The ground outside was still damp and a few puddles had collected in the cracked streets. The neon sign on the front of the gym had one letter out and another was flickering. Rick cracked a smile as he sucked in the cold wet air.

“Rick?” a familiar voice called out to him from a few feet away.

Bai was standing there dressed in his usual baggy sweats, with a hoodie pulled up over his head. His face was a little red from the cold air, especially his small now-rosy nose, but his breathing didn’t seem labored at all. Bai really was in good shape, and Rick thought he looked a little Rocky-esque in his training ensemble.

“Oh! It’s Bai...” Rick’s greeting was as blunt as ever.

The man smiled and waved as he walked closer, “You were on a quest? Did you not slack, then?” Bai asked cheerfully.

Rick waved back, “Finished early, and it just happened to be the right time,” he said.

There was an elated, if smug look on the young man’s face, and he proudly stated, “Just on time! Was going to begin Rick’s training when you got back.”

“Great… just what I needed…” Rick bemoaned inwardly.

The pair entered the gym, and Bai took down his hood. Rick couldn’t help but look at his companion a little oddly when he noticed the short ponytail he was wearing. Bai’s hair was shoulder-length when Rick had first met him, but it grew quickly. Still, there was something a little off about the style that Rick couldn’t quite place. He might have thought on it further if the man hadn’t promptly dragged him off.

“Hahaha! You said that? Is a very Rick thing to do!” Bai chortled when Rick told him about the events on the forum.

It was hard to keep his guard up around Bai, and Rick enjoyed having someone with a bit of skill to share his experiences in the game with. Almost all of their conversations were about things which took place in Dream World Online. Because he had school and work on his schedule, Bai had less time to play than Rick, and had just recently reached level 9. It was time for him to start worrying about what class he would pick.

Bai didn’t keep up with the events on the forums, and he adamantly denounced the kinds of people who spent time gossiping instead of improving themselves. He wasn’t shocked in the slightest when Rick informed him that he was the infamous, highest level player in the game, though he left out the parts about being a Slave Master. Bai seemed to take the news as a given, even going so far as to claim it was only natural. He wouldn’t accept anyone other than the best as his ‘brother.’

“If you’re going to pick a class, I have a tip for you,” Rick said, stretching out his tired muscles after experiencing Bai’s hellish training, “White Wall has a hidden class called the Martial Artist.”

The Martial Artist was an interesting class, and it was strong if you knew how to use it. In Rick’s past life, one of the top players in the game had this class, and they had fought in international tournaments on more than one occasion. That old guy had apparently been a famous Martial Artist and instructor in the real world, and took full advantage of his skills in the game. Even in his prime, the War God had to acknowledge the Asura as a worthy rival. If he hadn’t been playing just to show off his skills and promote his school, he could have been as famous as Theo.

Unlike the Warrior, which focused heavily on Strength and high-damage weapon skills, the Martial Artist got bonuses from most of the attributes and prioritized massive combo chains. They were a little weaker in head to head combat, but learned how to channel MP into their basic attacks and had good survivability thanks to their high Agility and evasion. If the class had a single flaw, it was that it was very difficult to use, and required a high technical ability. They were also a little worse at fighting big monsters and the like, but would shine in combat against other humanoids.

Bai’s interest was immediately piqued.

Unfortunately, the class was very unpopular for one specific reason. The requirments to get it were just too difficult! Unlike the Slave Master, which needed a convoluted and lucky exchange with the devious and manipulative Old Man Snake Eyes, the Martial Artist class trainer was easy to locate. Master Fan had a dojo in White Wall that accepted all students, but only by completing the crazy old master’s absurd training and proving your skill in repeated fights, would he be willing to hand over the secrets of the class. Millions of players wanted to become a Martial Artist at first, but only a tiny portion of them were willing to put up with the dojo’s brutal and time-consuming teaching methods.

Rick didn’t think Bai was going to fail in getting this class, since he was already a trained fighter with his own harsh training regimen, but he delighted at the idea of the suffering the man would have to go through in the near future. He gleefully passed over the location of Master Fan to the unsuspecting nerd before they finished up for the morning.

“Ah, Rick! I will have something to talk about tomorrow. Don’t be late!” Bai added cryptically as they left the gym.

While Rick had to jog to the discount-priced gym out of necessity, it seemed that Bai lived just around the corner from this place. The run he took every morning was something he did for his own benefit, and he circled the neighborhood numerous times in the process. Rick found it amazing that Bai always had the energy to work out after something like that.

Rick returned to his apartment, shedding his sweat-stained clothing and taking a quick shower. When he was finished, he was still tired and sore but admittedly refreshed. It was a gratifying feeling when he took a look at himself in the mirror and discovered the faint outline of muscle on his skinny body. He’d been a regular at the gym for nearly three weeks now, so it wasn’t strange to see a little bit of progress, not that he ever planned to escape the confines of his slim figure. Bai was also pretty slender, so Rick didn’t think the extra training would result in the development of any unnecessary mass.

“First things first,” Rick worked up his enthusiasm, “Let’s check out the bank once it opens. If this Bloody Auction thing lives up to its name, I’m sure to have made a hefty sum. Maybe even as much as a hundred gold?”

Currency in Dream World Online was divided into the standard Copper, Silver, and Gold coins. Ten copper coins was equal to one silver coin, and ten silver was worth one gold. At this early time in the game, the exchange rate for one gold coin should be around $2.50. This number would fall as the economy gradually inflated, but right now it was enough if he could pay his rent. After grinding for another week around the player-barren Aleside, he should be able to make it.

For reference, the amount he got from completing the D-rank escort mission was 5 gold coins, enough to afford the 1 silver inn fee fifty times!

Just the thought of making $250 in the first month of the game was already enough to get Rick’s blood pumping, and he sprawled out on the futon and logged into the game without any further delay.

The sun was just beginning to rise over Aleside, and rays of soft orange light trickled in through the dust covered slats of the inn’s wooden windows. Theo scanned the room and quickly located his two slaves. Gobthnora was sprawled out on the floor, snoring with a high-pitched squeal. Meatshield was seated on the end of the bed, staring at the spot where he had logged in from with those big, grey and white-flecked eyes. She wasn’t blinking. It was a bit unnerving when she did that, but he had gotten used to it… a little.

She was wearing the clothes that had been given to her by the kindly merchant’s wife, Lydia. It was a simple outfit made for simple people, with a white blouse and brown plaid skirt that reached the girl’s knees. Her shoes were on the floor, and plain stockings covered her lightly rocking legs. One of Meatshield’s odd personality quirks was that she didn’t enjoy wearing shoes. Whether this was programmed into her from the beginning, or was something she had picked up by going barefoot for so long, Theo wasn’t able to tell.

“Wake her up,” he said shortly, gesturing towards the sleeping Goblin, “Then get ready to go hunting for the day, I have a few errands to attend to first.”

Meatshield nodded, but when Theo walked towards the door, she quickly followed after. As usual, she didn’t want to be very far from him.

“I meant now!” he snapped.

“Soon... I can figure this girl out as soon as we’re out of harm’s way,” Theo comforted himself.

In truth, he didn’t know what he would have done if he had to deal with Meatshield’s personality and she wasn’t an asset in combat. He was worried that releasing a slave might damage the rate at which his [Slave Master’s Brand] leveled up, and that wasn’t something he was willing to do right now.

After a quick hello with the innkeeper at the front desk, Theo went ahead and paid for another night. He didn’t know if NPCs or slaves got the bonus experience from being well rested, but it was worth a shot to try, since they had to stay somewhere at night and he had more than enough money to afford this place. Despite the low price it wasn’t too shabby, though far from what he had been used to as a God-tier player with his own custom-made Guild home.

The bank didn’t open until roughly 7:00am, so Theo took the time to acquaint himself with the layout of the city. There was a chance the Shapeshifter had already infiltrated Aleside, and it would pay to have an escape route mapped out. She wouldn’t be so stupid as to engage him in a fair fight without proper equipment again. In the meantime, he could check to make sure nobody was following him.

Theo also took the opportunity to bind his respawn location to this city, just in case. He did so at the statue of Aleside’s founder near the town hall. Most every settlement in the game had a landmark like this for just such a purpose. In Oasis, it had been the Eternal Fountain in the market square.

“I’d like to make a transfer and a withdrawal, please,” Theo said when the bank finally unlocked its door and he was sure the coast was clear.

The bank teller was a tired looking man with dusky brown hair and sunken eyes, who responded to Theo’s request with a plodding dialogue. It was quite different from the adorable counter girls who staffed the Oasis branch, but that was just how it was out here in the boonies.

“Your current balance, sir,” the man said slowly.

Theo’s heart almost leapt out of his mouth when finally saw the number listed in the corner of the bank window.

“This… is real?” he could hardly form the words.

Copper: 8

Silver: 4

Gold: 597