Chapter 93 - The Bazaar
Chapter 93 - The Bazaar
The core members of Umbra became silent due to Riveting Night's words. In the back of their minds, they had realized that their purpose in The Bazaar was not so simple as purchasing some items.
However, her current words directly implied that they were not to be spectators here, they would be bidders. Since the only items on display currently were various species of slaves, it didn't require a genius to ascertain exactly what they would be buying.
Warm Spring and Sublime Notion shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The idea of purchasing fellow sapient beings like they were chattel rubbed them really wrongly, but it was their sister who was performing the act.
The reason for their hesitation was complex. On one hand, they wanted to directly rebuke this and chastise Riveting Night, but they also knew that whatever the case, this was a game.
Here, real world laws were irrelevant, only the laws the AI crafted into the world were upheld. As Riveting Night was clearly showing them, the things that were an absolute no-go in the world they knew was much more… acceptable… in this world.
Of course, it still stood against the side of morality and virtue, but unlike the real world, one would not be chased down and prosecuted. Of course, the caveat was that these transactions had to occur in the dark and had to exclude certain types of people.
Even though they knew this, it was hard for the two girls to come to terms with what they were about to do. Multiple times they opened their mouths to say something, but nothing came out.
In the end, they remained silent.
Rambunctious Buttlover leaned into his couch with a deep frown. He didn't like this either, but he wasn't going to say anything. He understood the need for pragmatism and that some dirty deeds had to be done in order to reach the top, but he didn't want to directly take part.
He just sat aside and watched quietly.
As for the Five Generals though, they were calm and unaffected.
What a joke!
They were middle-high ranking members of The Cartel, an organization which dealt with drugs, prostitution and human trafficking. They had seen worse things than this occur in the real world to real humans.
Watching this auction in a game world, featuring mostly non-human species, was wholly unable to move them.
Riveting Night brought out a Tradeskill book and learned it.
｢Slave Trading – Advanced Tradeskill
Effect: Learn how to assess and train sapient species to become slaves of different types.｣
This further proved that in Boundless, anything was possible.
Using the morals and laws of the real world in this game would only get you abused. This was what happened during the Great R.a.p.e of Update 5 after all.
On the stage, a man who was cloaked from head to toe in black pulled a chain of 15 various species of differing genders out, bringing them to the display of the crowd.
Similar to Riveting Night, all eyes were locked on these 15 as they assessed them based on objective criteria including strength, length of life, healthiness and general utility. Then each of these bidders further assessed them based on their own subjective criteria, whether attraction, gender or mentality.
Among the 15, 10 were humanoids and 5 were non-humanoids.
The 10 humanoids included two female High Elves, two male Forest Elves, Three male Orcs, one female Water Nymph and two female Goblins.
The 5 non-humanoids were one as.e.x.u.a.l plant like mass that was composed of vines - An Assassin Vine , one hermaphrodite species that looked like a mannequin without a face - A Homines, one blob of gooey substance that was greenish-blue - A Slime, one fiery mass of flame that shifted into multiple forms - A Flame Elemental and one mist of blackish energy that took no form - Unknown.
The man in the cloak spoke in a raspy voice that seemed to echo out in the whole area, reaching the ears of everyone present no matter how loud or uninterested they were.
"In this 543,269,732 lineup of chattel for The Bazaar, we have 15 specimens for your perusal. The first 10 are humanoids, with 5 males and 5 females. Apart from the High Elves, the others are of common breeds."
The cloaked man gestured to the 10 humanoids. After making sure his light description was received, he turned to the five non-humanoids.
"Here, there are five miscellaneous species that perform different functions and are of varying looks. Since the humanoid species are typical commodities, I do not need to waste your time with long winded explanations of their pros and cons."
"However, for these five, allow me to speak a bit about them."
The cloaked man pointed at the Assassin Vine with a dessicated and crooked finger.
"This first one is an Assassin Vine. Its main property is its endlessness. It can spawn an infinite amount of vines as long as there is soil with rich nutrients. It is a versatile species that can be used to attack or defend. If one uses it for attack, it could be a combat familiar that utilizes Worldly Energy provided by you to substitute the nutrient rich soil to maintain its endlessness. If one wanted to use it to defend a property… well it should be self-explanatory."
His dead-looking finger swiveled to the next one in line.
"This second one is a Homines. They are remnant species of a race that the God Ferax tried to craft but got bored halfway and dropped the matter. Hence, they have no facial features or proper definition. Their genders weren't separated so they can switch between both of them at any time. Their evolution and personalities weren't finalized, so they remain the same until they die, with no noticeable growth."
"They do no eat, they do not sleep, they do not think, they do not speak. They are whatever you want them to be at any point in time, the perfect servile race."
At this, the cloaked man folded his arms and seemed to lean forward a bit.
"However, using them for physical labor would be a waste of their true utility."
He paused for a bit for the audience to feel the suspense. Although many were dissatisfied, they only mumbled under their breath as the felt their curiosity grow endlessly.
"They possess no same-species reproductive abilities. Yet they have genitals. Why is that?"
"I shall explain why. It is because they can only breed organisms that are not part of their race! Why is this beneficial?"
"Because that means that whether you are a male or a female who wants to continue your line but keep your bloodline pure, a Homines is the perfect tool to achieve this!"
That revelation got the crowd fired up as many stood up from their seats. Even Riveting Night shuddered slightly, her expression changing rapidly under her cowl.
The core members of Umbra felt that this was amazing, but they had no huge reactions towards it. Such a species sounded like it was perfect for enabling endangered species to continue on, like a natural incubator.
However, Riveting Night and the various NPC powerhouses felt their minds quiver as they considered the implications of the existence of such a race. Of course, The Bazaar need not fear anything, but the buyer better be able to protect such a gem.
The cloaked man allowed the crowd to vent their desire and greed for a bit before snapping his fingers lightly. The sound it made echoed out like his voice, entering the ears of everyone no matter where they were.
The auction became quiet again.
"The third one is a slime monster, which is a little less uncommon compared to its predecessor. I won't waste time with this one, its main use is as an attack familiar due to its formlessness and acidic properties."
"The fourth one is a Flame Elemental that is still young. It hasn't grown enough to assume a humanoid form, but with proper nurturing, it would reach such a level easily. Its main utility is as an attack familiar as well, but its power and growth potential far outweighs any other specimen in this lineup."
Rina's eyes shone when she heard this. A Flame Elemental familiar would be extremely useful to her as a Pyromancer, giving her an edge over every other player who shared her class.
However, she definitely did not have the kind of money for it. Unlike the other core members who weren't part of the Five Generals, she knew that these kinds of…'items'… were not so easy to buy.
"The final one is… well."
The cloaked man sounded a little embarrassed here.
"We have no idea what it is. Our appraisers have probed it using a multiple of different means and methods, but we can only ascertain that this energy lifeform is of a dark affiliation. However, it presents an extreme level of difficulty when a darkness affiliated master tries to utilize it."
The crowd murmured loudly, some feeling skeptical and dissatisfied. Even Riveting Night could not help but frown at this.
"I shall now announce the base call for various items on display!"
With a loud shout, the cloaked man began to speak out the pricing.
"For the High Elves, 100 platinum per head!"
"For the Forest Elves, 70 gold per head!"
"For the Orcs, 50 gold per head!"
"For the Water Nymph, 3 platinum!"
"For the Goblins, 10 gold per head!"
"For the Assassin Vine, 300 platinum!"
"For the Homines, 10,000 platinum!"
"For the Slime, 40 gold!"
"For the Flame Elemental, 30 platinum!"
"For the Unknown lifeform, 3 gold!"
Before the crowd could respond to the varying prices, the cloaked man flung his sleeves and shouted out.
"Let the auction, begin!"
Without further ado, the bidding began.
"250 platinum for the High Elves!"
"5 platinum for the Water Nymph!"
"500 platinum for the Assassin Vine!"
"40 platinum for the Flame Elemental!"
Soon, bids were called out by various parties, each voice drowning out the last as they sought to suppress each other by financial prowess or through sheer presence.
It was hectic and chaotic and the quick rise of the bids showed that.
"1000 platinum for the Assassin Vine! Any who who dares to bid - Kill!"
"150 platinum for the Flame Elemental! Give me some f.u.c.k.i.n.g face!"
"800 platinum for the High Elves! Dare you to challenge me?"
"Your English is crap, 1000 platinum for the High Elves!"
Soon, tensions rose up as each bidder fought with their competitors. The core members of Umbra watched all of this with heavy expressions.
At the end of the day, what was the point of living if you could be sold like a common item? Why also, did people partake in such evil willingly? To what end?
"Sublime, give me a report on the finances of Umbra."
At this moment, Riveting Night's calm voice sounded out in the room.
Whether they noticed it or not, when she spoke, they relaxed a bit. After all, to them, their Lady Boss was omniscient and omnipotent. She seemed to know everything about this world and could effortlessly take down difficult adversaries. With her around, things should be okay.
"Well, this week's proceeds from the Rank 7 Shop were… 150,000 platinum. 50,000 of it is being used to stabilize the guild's currency for the mean time and the remainder is accessible in the guild menu as liquid funds."
Sublime Notion stated with a slightly strange expression.
Whether it was the core members of Umbra, the servants dancing in the room or Vafla herself, everyone froze.
150,000 platinum… in one week? Just what kind of money making machine was a Rank 7 Shop?
Riveting Night also froze for a bit before breathing out lightly. In truth, she came here for the more common species for the purpose of their establishments and their settlement.
Seeing the Homines and the Flame Elemental got her interested, so she wanted to see how much she had available.
However, neither she nor Draco had a single clue as to how much a Rank 7 shop could make. The best they had back in the old timeline was a Rank 4 one, which earned 2000-3000 platinum per week.
This also seemed like a lot, but by that time, they had become Divine-tier guilds. Their expenditure could not be fathomed and very little of this weekly income was left to be spent freely. Almost of it was swallowed by operational costs.
For the various players, even 30 gold had managed to make them lose their minds with greed, so what did such an amount of platinum represent?
For the various NPCs, it buttressed to them exactly how monstrous this Immortal Adventurer guild was. Fresh from the World of the Gods and already so potent.
At this time, Riveting Night spoke. Her voice was light and neutral, but it also seemed to echoed around the area and drown out all other sounds, but in a much clearer manner than the cloaked man.
"25,000 platinum for everything."
This rendered the whole auction silent as they turned to face the VIP room numbered 2. A lot of them were secretly startled, as they had no idea some VIPs were in the area this time.
Everyone here was a powerhouse, so to be able to sit in a VIP area when there were powerhouses around showed that you were a powerhouse among powerhouses.
This bid directly suppressed the whole auction, stifling these untamed powerhouses from bidding further.
The difference between the Divine Auction and The Bazaar was that VIPs in the former were fearsome because they were entities that could carry the human race in the times of the Great War.
The VIPs of the latter though, were less honorable, and would probably directly kill opposing parties.
This was the dark side, where laws meant dogshit and honor was used as toilet roll.
When VIPs bid, only other VIPs could contest with them. As such, the bidders waited from an opposing bid from one of the other VIPs but…
Nothing.
The auction was conspicuously silent for long enough that the gaffe of The Bazaar was obvious. They should've long called out the sale, but it was clear that the cloaked man was unwilling.
He didn't bother to reach out the powerhouses seated in the normal seating area, as they wouldn't dare to bid. He contacted the assistants and inquired whether there were other VIPs here.
The reply made him feel gloomy.
It turned out that… Umbra were the only VIPs here at this moment in time!
Factoring in the situation at the Divine Auction, which had been similar, something seemed strange…
"Call out the bid, Auctioneer. Or would you like me to do it for you?"
Riveting Night's sleek and attractive voice echoed out in a slow drawl.
Everyone heard it and understood the underlying meaning in her words. If the auctioneer dared to waste more time on the matter, he might not be able to stand there and make such calls ever again!
This was a direct slap to the face, but it could be said that he deserved it. He had hoped to earn more from this sale so that his commission would be higher, and because there was no one to pick up the bid, this action fell flat.
"I'm only doing business as I see fit, VIP need not interfere. I shall call out the bid."
"All specimens on display for 25,000 platinum going once! Going twice! Sold!"
With a wave of his sleeves, the various living beings were taken away by some aides towards the back, for…'packaging'.
"The auction goes on! Lineup 543,269,733 is being brought forward!"
Just like that, a new batch of 15 were brought out, with different ratios of gender, species and pricing. Like the cloaked man said, the auction went on.
No matter how despairing or dark it was, no matter how unfair and inhumane, The Bazaar would continue on for as long as it could. It had successfully completed 543,269,732 sales of various individuals who had their freedom stripped away, and it was about to complete another.
The core members of Umbra were struck with this truth so suddenly. The words Riveting Night spoke earlier resounded in their minds.
"I might be able to show you the true nature of this game."
Now, they understood.
Whatever they felt about the matter was dogshit. No one asked and no one cared, assuming as it was not aligned with their interests. If they wanted to end such evils, they needed to become people who could sunder the earth and trample the heavens!
Riveting Night waited for the new 'items' to be introduced and the prices to be called before she started bidding again, this time a lot more normally since there were no outrageous prices involved.
It continued like this for a few more rounds before she paid and led the core members of Umbra out of The Bazaar. Even as they left, they heard the cloaked man repeat his earlier words.
"The auction goes on!"
And it would keep going on for eternity…
......…..
Back in Vita settlement, Riveting Night walked ahead of the core members of Umbra, as well as almost two hundred slaves of different species.
She led them to the mayor's Hall but didn't go inside, rather standing in the courtyard, turning around to face them.
"Now, I shall train you all in the ways of servitude. Your every thought, action and desire would be to serve the purpose of Umbra, Draco's guild."
An aura of pure malice and killing intent suddenly erupted out of her, shocking everyone and causing them to either fall back or blanch.
"I will not tolerate uselessness, laziness or failure! You will be perfect, or you will die!"
"Now separate into five groups! I will decide your roles from there!"