Skylight’s POV

Skylight was preparing to board the ship to head back home when a voice hollered out to her.

“Skylight!”

The voice belonged to Mary. Her dark hair was rough looking as she had a rough couple of days.

“Mary, right? What do you want?”

“Ah, well, we’ve just received word that the games have been cancelled. The voice also stated that we would be unable to return home, and must stay on this planet for a while.”

‘Those idiots… they are too busy trying to recover their reputation they’ve lost from having a player stolen midgame to even bother with the survivors.’

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I was hoping that you could take us with you. I’m not sure where you’re going, but we have nowhere to go, and living here would be difficult. We will do whatever we can to pull our weight.”

Skylight noticed the litter of survivors behind her. They were all too nervous to speak. Skylight was generally disinterested with things that didn’t affect her. ‘If I was interested in getting involved with other humans, I would have recruited that Dark user, not you.’ Upon further thought, she made another observation.

‘At least this one has some spine…’ She considered her offer more deeply. ‘Come to think of it, the Commander has been looking for some workforce… and perhaps this Mary will be of some use.’

“Fine. I will have someone explain your duties in the near future. For now, I need to hurry back, so board the ship and we will be off.”

The group of people showed great relief, and Mary was momentarily happy. However, in the back of her mind, she wondered what her future would entail. For some reason, she felt as if this was the beginning of a long and hard journey. Boarding the ship while being thanked by the others- Ort, Flash, Dom, and Ariel- she began to relax for the first time in what felt like forever.

Skylight returned to her room as the ship turned into a beam that shot into the sky. Laying on her bed, she pulled out a worn-down book and begun to flip through the contents. With a sad and regretful look across her face, she repeated the same thought that she had had many times before over the past couple years…

‘I swear I’ll find you… Rain.’

Announcer/ Slave Auctioneer’s POV

‘This boy is a goldmine. The crowd loves him, and he’s a rare Dark type. To top it off, his Cosmic Ability is flashy. The perfect recipe for a big sale. I wonder if I’ll be able to get 20,000 tokens? Maybe, if I’m really lucky, I’ll even get 30,000. Well, only one way to find out.’

“You four have seen this boy’s worth. I will now open the bidding for-”

“50,000 tokens.”

“Eh?”

‘What did I just hear?! 50,000 tokens! I’m going to be rich after this! 40,000 tokens is the largest sale we’ve ever made!’ Looking at the person that called out such a large amount right off the bat, the man began to understand.

‘So, she’s going to buy him, huh?’

“55,000 tokens.”

The man that looked like a ghost offered an even higher amount than the woman. Angered by this act, the woman understood his goal. He had no intention to actually purchase the boy- he just wanted to make her pay more money for him. After all, if he ended up spending the money that he was offering, he wouldn’t be able to afford any other gladiators. Understanding his tactics, she decided that she had to spend the money that she had come with.

“65,000 tokens. This is all the money I brought today, Cornelius, so raising it any higher will result in you having to pay.”

The man named Cornelius rubbed his chin in thought. ‘She’s probably bluffing… After all, she comes from such a large house… but still… risking such a large amount of money for a possible bluff just isn’t work the risk.’

“Understood, Tammy-pie.”

“Do I need to cut your tongue off?”

The man laughed. He didn’t actually despise the woman, but enjoyed making his rivals suffer heavy losses. It was also a strategy for getting a better haul of people compared to opponents. As his gladiators had always placed above hers in the Tournament, he felt that it ultimately didn’t matter. Her house is large, but they have no true Champions like Cornelius’s… I don’t need to worry.

“65,000 tokens. Sold to Mrs. Tamilius Fortner.”

’65,000 tokens… I’m rich…’

Jensen’s POV

Jensen was bought by the woman the auctioneer called Tamilius Fortner. He was led out of the pit by a pair of armed wolf-man guards. The voice announced the nest prospect as he exited through the gate. He willingly went towards a room with a nameplate of ‘Fortner’ on it. The guards opened the door and shoved him in. Jensen stumbled into the small room and heard the door shut behind him. He instantly noticed 3 people sitting on the floor, completely silent. These people were waiting for Fortner to come and pick them up, as they were the slaves bought before Jensen’s display. One of the slaves, that appeared to be some sort of black lizard, looked up and spoke with a slithery voice.

“You look pretty beat up. Did they have you fight an Enhancer as well?”

“No. I killed an orc.”

“Orc, huh? That has its own difficulties. I see you barely won.”

“It was closer than it should have been due to my negligence.”

“Well, at least you survived. That can’t be said for everyone. Anyway, it looks like you won over the crowd as well. You even got a nickname.”

“It seems that way.”

“By the way, how much did you sell for?”

“65,000 tokens.”

The other slaves lifted their heads to stare in awe at Jensen. The lizard man stared blankly.

“Is that a lot? I’m not familiar with the currency.”

“I would say that’s a rather large sum, yes.”

“How much did you sell for?”

The lizardman rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and averted his eyes before answering.

“5,000 tokens.”

Jensen looked at the lizard man’s head, that would be blushing if not for the black, scaly hide that was his face, with an amused gaze.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! Sicillon over there sold for 3,000, and Sadey only went for 2,000!” It appeared that the price that they sold for was the previous conversation before Jensen arrived.

“That reminds me. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m called Blackfoot.”

“Jensen.”

The two conversed for a few more moments, talking about their homes. Blackfoot was from a renowned tribe to the South. He was a strong warrior from a war tribe, but due to the lack of advanced technology, they were unable to defend themselves from the invaders of more advanced planets. His tribe was split up, with some being killed and others taken into slavery. As Blackfoot had learned later, this was an incredibly common occurrence for underdeveloped planets in overpopulated galaxies.

Jensen listened to his story with interest. Several minutes passed with the slaves listening to Blackfoot’s tales. Suddenly, the door opened and the Fortner entered. Now that Jensen was closer and got a better look at her appearance, he realized that her attire was extremely gaudy and expensive. She was followed by personal bodyguards.

“I’m Tamilius Fortner. I have purchased your lives for the purpose of participating in the upcoming Gladiator Tournament. I will bring you to my House, where you will live and train in the Barracks. We will not have any problems as long as you work hard and know that your lives belong to the Fortner House. Any questions?”

The atmosphere turned cold and dangerous the moment she entered the room. Jensen could tell that she was a formidable opponent, and assuming that there are many more like her in the House, escape would be impossible. His only option was to obediently follow any directions given to him.

He begun to feel slightly nervous while being led with the others to a somewhat large spacecraft. On the side of the body read, ‘House of Fortner’. Boarding the ship with Blackfoot and the two others, they were brought to a room with bunkbeds. One of the guards told them that the trip would last roughly two days. Jensen laid his exhausted body down on the bed overtop Blackfoot. Telling more stories and bragging about his battles, Blackfoot continued to happily blabber into the night. Jensen closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, pondering on his future at the House of Fortner.