Chapter 37: Buying Slaves Part 2
"You haven't mentioned their price yet!" Lawrence raised his hand. So far, Edward has only talked about the traits of those beastmen, never mentioning their prices.
"Oh, about that." Edward nearly forgot. He has been so used to not having any customers every day that he forgot about the prices of his products. "Since you're considered my first customers, I'll just give you a thirty-percent discount."
"Thirty?" Lawrence was extremely surprised.
"I already told you, don't be fooled." Kael patted Lawrence's shoulder and shook his head.
"What do you mean? He is giving us thirty percent!" Lawrence protested.
"He hasn't even given us the exact price yet, and you're already celebrating getting a thirty percent discount." Kael sighs.
"That doesn't matter, a thirty percent discount is still a considerable amount!" Lawrence crossed his arms. "Anyway, so you still haven't told us their prices yet,"
"Sure, sure!" Edward felt slightly embarrassed. "The first one is twenty gold coins. After the discount, it's fourteen gold coins. The second is twenty-five gold coins, seventeen gold coins and five silver coins after the discount... "
"That…" Lawrence was slightly dumbfounded.
"What's the use of having a discount if we can't even afford it?" Jayem felt like their situation was just too ridiculous for them. He can't believe he just went through all that trouble, and they couldn't even buy any of this man's slaves.
"Counting what we have, we only have nine gold coins left after buying all those materials and food." Lawrence wanted to cry.
"Can you just show us your cheapest stock?" Kael muttered while raising his hand.
"Cheapest?" Edward's lips started twitching. "I know this is offensive, but I still have to ask, how much did you bring with you?"
"Only nine gold coins." Kael didn't hesitate to respond.
"So, you're poor?" Edward was dumbfounded.
"Not quite, but you could think of it that way for now." Kael didn't bother to reject since they were indeed considered poor in the standard of Avalon. Well, even in Noverra, they're barely at the level of an average household. "So, do you have any product that can fit our budget? We need more or less two to three slaves."
"Well," Edward started scratching his head. And here he was, having prepared the best of the products he had. Turns out he doesn't need it for this customer. "We do,"
Waving his hand, Edward signaled his men at the back to bring out his worst stock.
In the next moment, three small male beastmen that belonged to the mouse race got up on the podium.
"These are my cheapest stocks that you could afford!" Edward proudly presented.
"No need to say anymore, we'll take them!" Kael stood up from his seat and approached the podium.
"What?!" Lawrence's mouth opened in shock.
"Kael, are you sure about this?" Jayem called out.
"It's fine, I already know what they can do." Kael was more or less aware of every single beastman race in existence in Avalon.
The reason why the mouse race is considered the cheapest is that they're weak, small, and barely have any strength. The only good trait that they're famous for is that they have a good smell and can track food and materials faster than normal people, which is a trait that other stronger races also possess, making them less desirable.
However, what the majority of people in Avalon barely know about yet is that the mouse race is actually considered one of the smartest races in Avalon. The problem is, their race is being squeezed dry with everything that they have right now, which prevents them from growing and developing to reach their potential.
If his memory still serves him correctly, it was only after Nexus started bringing in out-of-this-world items from Noverra to compete against the items of Avalon that the mouse race became well-known, as they were able to stand on the same level as the dwarven race of the Drakhelm Kingdom in producing efficient and valuable weapons to compete.
Since the mouse race could also easily reproduce and grow, they became one of the most accessible and desirable races for developing an army of craftsmen.
This was beneficial for them right now since what they need the most are craftsmen, not well-abled-bodied slaves. They already have enough at this moment with him, Lawrence, and Jayem in their group.
"Since you also went through a lot of trouble just to get to me, I'll give you this beatsman for free!" Edward pushed the beastman from the cat race, along with the three from the mouse race.
"You're not kidding, right? That's the most expensive of the five you brought just now!" Lawrence wanted to confirm. That cat race was priced at forty gold coins. So, he's doubting Edward's kindness, especially after deciding to take Kael's advice seriously from now on.
"You'd be needing him from here on out," Edward kindly advised. After offending his competitors, they'll likely start targeting this young man's group from now on. And based on what he could see, this group's future seems bright, so he'd only stand to benefit by giving them a freebie today.
"Does he come with a weapon?" Kael smiled in appreciation.
"You mean an extra claw?" Edward chuckled. The most popular and favorite weapon used by members of the cat race is a claw, a metal weapon that they equipped on their hands to increase their offensive ability. "Of course!"
"That's great!"
"You need to first show me your ID Card and pay, though."
"Here!" Kael handed all nine gold coins they had left to Edward and also showed his updated ID Card.
"Thank you!" Edward gratefully accepted the gold coins before checking the young man's ID Card. After confirming it was okay, he motioned his hand for his men to give the slaves to the young man in front of him. "So, your name is Kael Falsheart, ha,"
"Yes!"
"Are you familiar with the procedure of owning a slave?" Edward was curious if this young man knew about the way to prevent slaves from betraying their masters.
"You mean the Mana Bind?" Kael was familiar with the process of binding one's own mana to a slave's heart or brain so that when they try to betray their masters, they could simply trigger that mana to kill them immediately.
"That's great! It seems like I don't have to explain anymore!" Edward felt relieved. He has been talking for a while now, and he only got nine gold coins for it. If he could have one wish, he would want to finish this transaction as soon as possible. Not that he dislikes Kael or earning profit, but the longer this group stays with him, the more danger he'll be bringing to their group.
"If I may, you may proceed with the procedure," Edward motioned his hand for Kael to begin the mana binding.
"Alright!" Kael gladly complied.
Everyone in this world has mana, not because they're naturally gifted with it, but simply because they are surrounded by mana. Even if one doesn't have any mana inside their body, they could simply use the mana from their surroundings to compensate.
In the case of Kael, he still doesn't have any mana inside his body at this moment. But he knows plenty of techniques to gather mana from his surroundings.
Closing his eyes and crossing his legs together in a meditating posture, Kael started feeling his surroundings, trying his best to sense the mana around him with his body that had yet to fully adapt to the mana of Avalon.
Sweat started pouring out from his forehead and slowly spread out from his body as he tried his best to connect himself with the mana around him.
If he had lived and grown up in Avalon, controlling mana would have been very easy for him. But in his case right now, he'd have to remember how he used to control mana when he was still in his twenty-year-old self.
"I think it was like this…" Kael muttered as his consciousness drifted away from his physical body. It was like letting go of oneself and emptying one's mind of any mental and emotional shackles. This was the only way to connect to one's own soul.
Since he was already very familiar with such a technique, Kael was soon able to separate his soul from his body. Not spiritually or in a means of dying. His soul was still inside his body, but he was now able to control it like having an extension of his physical form.
This physical form was inside his heart, a zone where mana gathers together to form a mana circle.
At this moment, he still doesn't have that mana circle yet, but mana could still be absorbed inside his body through the process of breathing.
Just like what he mentioned in the past, mana is everywhere around Avalon.
From the air one breathes.
The water they drink.
The food a person eats.
Even the feeling that they sense every moment they are alive.
All of that contains mana.
As long as they're in the world of Avalon, they'll always be surrounded by mana.