Kyle, Nuna, and Sebastian stepped into Dragonvale's Outer Ring, crossing from polished marble into the city proper.
Sebastian and Nuna flanked Kyle on either side, walking a step behind. Sebastian suddenly spoke.
"If I may, young lord, I do not think that wise young lord, angering the duke like that."
Kyle responded calmly, without missing a beat, "I'm well aware, Sebastian, but the situation was bound to escalate; I would rather not act like a pushover."
Sebastian nodded, "I understand."
It was not his place to question the young lord; he had said his thoughts, and that was it. And, it was normal for Kyle to be prideful, as a young noble.
But Kyle was not like your usual noble; he had been acting out of character ever since that day, and he did not know what to make of it.
"And what would the young Lord like to do in the city? I would advise against lingering around here for longer than necessary."
Kyle looked at the butler, and the man lowered his head, not wanting to come off as being conceited.
Kyle, however, did not mind. He understood Sebastian's concerns, but since he probably would not be back to Dragonvale for a while, "There is something I want to find out before we go on our way, so until then, I am in your care, you two."
"Of course, I will protect you with my life, to the best of my abilities," Sebastian responded.
Nuna remained silent, for the most part.
They were now in the heart of the city's business district.
It was not long before Kyle noticed that their dressing attracted unwanted attention, but he let it be.
As long as the locals did nothing excessive, all would be good.
"First things first," He declared, scanning the surroundings. "We need information, and there's no better place to find it than a bustling market."
Sebastian nodded, adjusting the dagger at his belt. "I'll keep watch for any trouble."
But then, before they could walk any further, Kyle stopped in his tracks, pausing to look at a carriage by the side of the road.
There were very unconventional goods locked in a cage in the carriage, bound by thick chains.
"What's wrong, Kyle?" Nuna asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
Kyle's expression was twisted in discomfort.
He gestured ahead, where a small crowd was gathered around the carriage and a series of cages around it.
A slave market.
"I... I forgot about this," He murmured, the realization dawning on him. 'Slavery exists in this world.'
Nuna's jaw tightened, her hand instinctively clasping onto Kyle's own. "It's a dark reality, isn't it?"
Humans treated as commodities.
While their eyes lingered on 'merchandise', the trader took that as interest. The man emerged from the shadows near the slave market.
His appearance was gruff and unkempt, yet his eyes gleamed with an unnerving intensity as he approached them.
He eyed Kyle up and down before his gaze settled on the expensive clothing. A sly grin spread across his face.
"Ah, fine clothing such as yours must come at a price," he said, his voice dripping with deceit. "Are you looking for a loyal companion? Perhaps someone to serve your every need?"
Kyle realized he was the slave trader, and his intentions made his blood boil. He didn't outwardly show his disgust for such things, though, only politely declining.
"No, thank you," He replied firmly, turning away, hoping to end the conversation quickly.
The trader chuckled, unimpressed by my refusal. "You sure? This one," he gestured to a young girl caged nearby, her eyes vacant, "is a hard worker. She'll make your life much easier."
Sebastian stepped forward, his stance protective. "We're not interested in buying people. We're here to enjoy the city's offerings, not to own slaves."
The slave trader narrowed his eyes at Sebastian's words, clearly displeased but unwilling to let the opportunity go. He took another step closer, his voice lowering to a menacing growl.
"You have no idea what you are missing," he hissed, his yellowed teeth glinting in the sunlight. "This girl is valuable. Her strength and obedience are unmatched. She is at the early stage of the Qi condensation stage. You should take advantage of it while you can. You won't find a better combat slave, especially one as young as this one anywhere else."
The man pressed on, advertising his product.
"Oh, wait, maybe I am taking the wrong approach." His face took on a thoughtful look. "You are one of those, aren't yaa? Well, I have just the thing for you."
He moved over to another cage, holding a young lady. She looked relatively better taken care of, and pretty.
"This one over here is a very obedient sex slave. She will take care of all your needs." The man smiled brightly, very proud of his choice.
"And, unlike those graceful noble ladies, she will be your slave, you can have her serve you using all four holes, if you know what I mean..." He leaned forward, whispering the last part into Kyle's ear.
"I said..." Kyle was about to turn the man down, before Nuna, who had heard every word, stepped protectively in front of Kyle
"He said no..." She said flatly. The slave trader looked her up and down before responding.
"I have business with my young friend over there, would you care to move aside?"
The tension between them was palpable. Sparks flew. Nuna looked like she was ready to chop the man to pieces if given the chance.
"Let's move," Kyle said decisively, not wanting to give the trader any more time than necessary.
Without hesitation, he turned and began to walk away, ready to disappear into the crowd if needed.
Behind them, the sounds of scuffling feet and shouts grew louder as the slave trader called out for Kyle to return.
But he didn't look back.
'What an unsavoury character.' He sighed.
They had not walked far when Kyle heard the snippets of a conversation, "Have you heard, there is going to be a martial tournament, a month from now."
A middle-aged lady asked the man behind a stall of weaponry.
"Of course, everyone has heard of that already. I am already making plans to travel to the capital. If I can sell my wares there, I can earn a whole year's profits."
"Of course, the first thing you do is go into business mode. I am talking about the tournament itself. This year, they've changed the rules. Most people are not very pleased; they cannot participate, with the age restriction and all."
"Bahh, why should I care whether they are not happy or not? It should be obvious that the organizers finally realised what a waste of time it was to make the qualifiers open to all."
The man spoke.
"The big stage is not meant for everyone; only the truly talented can hope to make something out of martial tournaments."
"But still, the possibility of an old, experienced cultivator making it far was there, even with mediocre talent. Some over that age have even been recruited into big sects for their impressive skills."
"That is not my problem. If you are going to grumble, go do that somewhere else; you are at the wrong place. I'm here to make money, not debate with you."
"Oh come on, don't be like that, were you not pleased with my services last night?" the woman spoke, holding onto the man's arm, and nudging her breasts at him.
"Tch, damned vixen, I'm not going to give you any of my money today. You people at the brothel suck more pockets than you do cocks."
"I'll give you a discount today." She hugged his arm closer. "And, I will let you use the other hole as a bonus." She smiled seductively.
The man's eyes widened, brimming with lust, and he finally gave in. "Fine. But half price"
"Two-thirds," The woman countered.
"Deal."
Kyle shifted his attention elsewhere. Just like that, he had gotten the information he wanted.
This was why he was taking his sweet time in enemy territory.
The confirmation he had been waiting for, 'Finally, the Titans Martial tournament has been announced.'
He could have waited until he got back to the Ravensade's domain. But he had a feeling that the news would arrive later.
Ravenshade City was further away from the capital than Dragonvale City. So by the time common folk spread the news back home, at least a week would have passed.
They did not have access to the same means of transportation as Kyle, after all. A distance that took them two to three days would be equivalent to one or two weeks for other people.
Throw a flying treasure into the equation, and the difference only becomes greater. So the news was bound to be delayed.
That is, unless his father got an invite sent to him from the capital, which was highly unlikely, since, in anyone's eyes, their family did not have any suitable participants.
'I will ask Father to register me as a seeded participant. That would make things simpler for me.'
If the format was not going to change somehow, Kyle knew that the first round would be a free-for-all race in a hidden world.
Out of over tens of thousands of participants, only 2000 would be permitted to proceed to the next round.
Add on the fourty-eight seeded spots saved for each noble house and major sects, the second round would have a total of 2048 participants.
The first round was always a bloodbath.
With those plans thrown at the back of his mind, Kyle led them into his destination building, the Merchants guild.