Adam’s pov

My day was getting weirder with every passing moment , inside the cage facing me , a blonde girl with long pointy ears was looking back at me , her peculiar features really picked my interest , something told me that what I was looking at wasn’t normal.Yet again ,nothing seemed to be normal ever since I woke up.

Darom has left for a while , leaving us with the company of two of his guards who were near the girl’s cage, her condition was far worst than mine. Not that I really got it easy with those torturing sessions.

My waiting didn’t last for long as Darom came back with other people this time.

The first was a tall woman with white marble mask covering all of her face ,Her hair was mercury-red and it tumbled over her back , her flawless bronze muscled arms showing off from her sleeveless leather jacket along the confident steps of her well built body spoke more than enough that this woman is dangerous ,if that wasn’t enough , her overwhelming presence was more than enough to make any fool think thrice before making a mistake near her.Even Darom seemed to be warry of her ,and so was I . the eerie feeling I was getting from Darom paled in her presence , It was like gazing at a hungy beast ready to be unleashed , and for a slight moment , her golden eyes shifted towards my direction to confirm that.

shadowed by the woman’s pressure a tall muscled man walked behind her. A long loosen tunic covered most of his ebony skin that was traced with tribal white tattoos , I put him on the same level with Darom ,he was apparently the woman’s subordinate

I watched as the woman exchanged words with Darom for a while ,the latter seemed to struggle to hide his frowns while his demeanor was a stark contrast to what he usually used to be. this woman obviously held the upper hand here .

Moments later , they shifted their attention to me , the feeling of unease growing with each step she took towards me. Her golden eye seemed to inspect every inch of my body while Darom informing her about me , something about the ice I used and darkness made the woman frown for a split second before she ordered her subordinate to remove the collar around my neck .

What happened next was the most uncomfortable thing I ever experienced so far. an alien power invaded my body , it was as if I was inside a deep lake , but the water seemed to penetrate deep under my skin and even my flesh , it was followed by a feeling of vulnerability and expose , then I felt that water surrounds my empty Ethos core , I frowned back at the woman , only then that the power retreated back while the woman seemed lost in thoughts.

“100000 lesser crystals “ Darom spoke

“aren’t you greedy , we both know you wont reach half that price in the auction , how about 60 000 and I ll throw some good quality wine with it ? “ the woman replied

They were negotiating about my price , it was funny to witness.Darom used every means to increase the price even a little , while the woman who was named Lord Savina seemed to have another agenda.

“ you know that Rendal forces suffered quiet a blow against those mongrel tamers of the west , I need to recompense him , 80 000 “ Darom replied in a firm tone

“75000 , that’s as far as I can go“ Savina replied

“ … fine , accepted “ Darom finally gave up ,he didn’t want to push any longer. They shook their hands before Belial walked forward to give Darom a ring before everyone left the room, leaving me alone wih just one of Darom guards , the elven girl gave me one last glance before they took her to the stage

Later that night , I was shoved with several other slaves inside a carriage to take us to the land of our new owner. The atmosphere was gloomy inside the cage , probably everyone thinking about what their lives would be after tonight ,for me I appreciated that silence , the fact that I didn’t have any memories at all made it easier for me to accept anything that life threw at me .Now , I was given a chance to see the outside world and I wont waste it thinking about a future I had no control over yet. As our carriage steadily push forward the dirt road I let my eyes roam this city . Established in the middle of the flat barren land. The long river that cut through the city was the only source of green color in this empty desert.

Buildings made mostly of sandy colored bricks , illuminated by different light stones ,giant palm trees stretched high like umbrellas .Locals walking everywhere , merchants , blacksmiths , bars and brothels .Some fights broke here and there in the back alleys , I even noticed a corpse rotting in the garbage for who knows how long.

“enjoying the scenery ? “ the sudden male voice brought my attention back

“ you talking to me ?” I asked the bald bronze slave looking back at me with a smile

“who else I am talking to ? every other dimwit here is either half dead or looking like cattle being dragged to the slaughter , you on the other hands seems to enjoy the ride “ he replied with a toothy grin

“ I was just observing the city , is there a problem with that ? “

“ of course not! Not like there is much to see in this shit hole anyway , how about some introduction , my name is Rufin “ he replied while holding his chained hands for me to shake

“Adam” I replied while taking his offer

“always a pleasure. You know, Everybody here got their share of stories . I killed my whore wife for giving me a green hat with a local merchant and burned his ship , the greedy Ruler sold me as a slave instead of sending me to jail ,he didn’t want to miss any extra coin he can pouch “ he explained

“ I guess your mouth was part of the reason you are here too “ I replied

“ you caught me , well partially yes .Anyway , enough about me , what about you ? did you laid with some influential guy’s daughter ? with a handsome face like that I can say it was probably the case “ he snickered

“ did they pay you to interrogate me too ? “ I spoke with icy cold tone

“ well , forgive me brother , I meant no harm , just trying to get to know you since you are the only Ethos user here “ he stuttered as if he was caught off-guard

I kept my eyes focused on him , he was sweating ,giving him a more thorough observation , I noticed he wasn’t wearing a suppressive collar like me , none of the other slaves did .I can assume I was the only awakened .

After some moments I spoke again

“its fine ,whatever events threw me here, I had no recollection of , I woke up in the middle of the desert surrounded by these people,… then here I am “ I said while shifting my gaze back to the city.

we have already passed the gates and the carriage was halfway ascending a small hill. from up here , the structures of the city were much noticeable.

The silence was broken again by my new acquaintance as he seemed more motivated to speak than the others

“ I used to live in the Cereto Archipelago , its in the far north of here, I never really imagined that I would end up here one day “ he sighed

“do you know this place ?” I asked

Ruffin gave me a questioning look with a raised eyebrow as if I spoke something weird

“who doesn’t know about this damn place, it’s the famous exile for all pirates and criminal of the southern sea , because the land here is rich of minerals , they dump any convicted people they catch to do the hard labor for them“ his voice came with an angry tone

“You see those giant 3 buildings? 2 of them belong to the Crime lords here Silva and Colin , while that villa was built by Darom , the henchman of Notica island , His villa would send some of the nobility into fits of jealousy “

Rufin gave me a detailed explanation about this place , from what he said , this city was established in a barren desolated continent , nobody really lived in this place saved for the local folks who were pushed away when the authorities of Notica threw the prisoners here to make a city for themselves , with no access to essential goods , they were forced to submit to the Authorities and mine the precious ores from the nearby mountains to trade , they also had to fight the constant threats that was growing from the local tribes , in the midst of all of that an hierarchy was established , criminals ruling over criminals ,how ironic I thought.

Out of the 3 Crime lords of the city , we were apparently bought by the most vicious and strongest of them ,they called her Lord Savina , they said she is a 3rd Rank , as to her class , nobody lived long enough to tell the tale. A

As the owner of the battle Arena in the city , she aways gets to pick the new arrived awakened criminals to throw them there to fight till death .

By the time Rufin finished his explanation , the scenery around us changed as our carriage slowed down to a halt.

“Holds! “ a shout made me turn back to the front. All the other slaves seemed to look in the same direction too , the carriage stopped in front of a large gate with walls stretching from both sides.

“its me Vester..,I..I’ve brought the new slaves of Lord Savina “ the driver stuttered in fear

One of the Armed guards walked forward inspecting the cage , he stopped when he reached behind me before he walked back

“all clear, bring them in ,OPEN THE GATE! “ he ordered the men on the other side of the gate

Before the carriage started moving , the guards spoke again :” welcome to the devil’s den , try not to die too fast, ya runts ! “

the slaves shivered as the guards broke laughing.

‘interesting’

Savina POV

Tonight’s auction was a huge success , I grinned under the mask while lounging my body on the sofa inside my carriage , Belial and my new prize were facing me, just remembering how frustrated Colin and Silva’s when I raised the bid to an astronomical price was priceless ,it was worth every damn crystal. Even if it was considered a fortune that I’ve spent for acquiring this elven girl , for me it was just nothing ,emptying my stock of the worthless lesser Ethos crystal on this auction was the best thing ever , and soon Darom would Realize he is just sitting on a pile of dead stones that no one would want .

I shifted my gaze to the elven girl , the exhaustion and treatment she suffered took their toll on her , yet her beautiful feature were still their

“you don’t speak much , do you ? “ I decided to break some ice with her along the way to my villa

She shifted back to me with a frown on her face

“you despicable humans never stops to amaze us how low you can get “ she replied with a spiteful tone

“despicable ,that fits well .however , you should be grateful to me for saving you back then “

“ pff , grateful to you ? I’d rather die than being someone’s slave , let alone a human “ her eyes where throwing daggers at me ,

I repositioned my self , resting my elbows on my thighs and brought my face near hers , letting a little of my Aura towards her to just show her how deep the shit this green girl fell into.

“ listen sweetheart , you could have died yes , in multiple ways , but before that , some nasty pervert lowly pig would have his way with you dozens of times then he ll throw you to his men to take their turn on you until your second Rank healing abilities wouldn’t be enough to save you ,and that’s not even the worst part , after everyone got their share they ll throw your half dead corpse into the sewers for the ratlings to munch , I am sure they ll find elven meat quite a delicacy “

I watched how her the façade she made all this time broke with every word , as the reality hit her hard , she shifted her gaze to the outside and the silence returned to cabin

I sighed , now we aren’t getting anywhere

“how about you tell me your name ? “

I waited for few moments but no reply came ,as I went back to laying on the sofa , an almost inaudible mumble escaped her lips :” Letinia” she said

“ good girl” i said , while thinking back at the otherworlder waiting for me to uncover his secrets