The darkness of his room felt heavy, and the air was stale. He needed to get out, even for a moment.
He stood up, stretching his body, and decided to take a walk.
The academy was quiet at this hour, a welcome change from the usual taunts and curses.
As he walked, he found himself drawn toward the bright lights of the city.
He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off the fact that he only had a week left to find a slave.
…
Before he knew it, he had wandered into the slave market. The area was bustling, even at night, with merchants calling out prices and potential buyers haggling over slaves.
He knew this was a place he had no business being in, not with his pockets practically empty, but he couldn't help but look.
Everything here was legal and authorized, a normal part of life in this world.
His eyes landed on a beastman, a bull-faced beast with horns on a human-like body.
The man selling him shouted, "A powerful warrior slave, only for 300 Gon! He's a Level 2 and a young beastman. Come fast, you won't get this deal again!"
Robin was tempted, but he chose to ignore it. Why? Because he only had 70 Gon, so he couldn't even think about buying the beast.
He saw many buyers were bidding for the beastman but he decided moved on.
He then entered an area where a sea-woman, a mermaid, was being sold for 450 Gon, even higher than the bull beastman.
The reason was simple as she was a rare creature, and female slaves in this world usually sold for more than males unless they are high level slaves.
He ignored her too, with a wry smile. He cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.
He moved forward and ended up at the part of the market where defective, weak, and useless slaves were kept. Just as he was looking at them, with no thought of buying them, someone called out to him.
"Loser brother of mine! What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're thinking of buying these defective slaves?"
A mocking, proud chuckle rose, and Robin turned to see his brother, Raul, with his two slaves beside him.
One was a male beastman, a wild dog in human form with beastly features. The other was a female, a bunny woman with black ears.
She was once given to Robin when he first awakened the slave seal, but when he failed to make a contract with her, Raul asked if he could have her.
The family didn't deny him, and so the bunny woman ended up with Raul.
"Can't speak a word? Don't tell me I was right about it?" Raul taunted.
"What I do or what I not, it's none of your concern," Robin answered, his gaze fixed on the bunny woman slave.
In the past, he would have just taken the taunts, but he wasn't the same person anymore.
Raul's surprised expression quickly turned into a laugh.
"Oh, you must be pissed off because you're going to be expelled from the academy, right?" He had hit on Robin's exact fear.
"Still, that's none of your business," Robin shot back, deciding it was best to leave.
But before he could move, the wild dog slave stepped forward, blocking his path.
Robin sneered. "Keep your dog on a leash, big brother."
The slave didn't move, instead, he grinned at the frustration on Robin's face. 'This shit is also looking down on me!' Robin thought, his blood boiling at the slave's smug smile.
…
Just then, a shout from the crowd caught their attention. "See what we have here, a female warrior from another dimension!
I know her condition isn't well, but you see," the man licked his lips, "you can still use her in many ways, you know what I mean. All I'm asking for is 150 Gon."
Robin looked at the woman chained in an iron cage. Her face was disfigured; her ears and hands were cut off.
Only her body and legs were left, with a small part of her private area on display but no one bid on her.
The man was selling her as a sex slave, but even then, no one wanted a slave with her hands cut off and a face so disfigured it was hard to look at.
"Shit! I should have covered her face," the man muttered, then lowered the price. "I'm thinking of giving a discount. How about 140 Gon?"
Still, no one even glanced at her, except for a few who were just curious to see if any fool would buy such a waste.
"Seeing little brother so interested in that woman, are you thinking of buying her?" Raul mocked, then added, "If you are short on money, let me know. I can throw in a few dozen Gon for my brother's sake."
Robin felt his blood run cold. Raul wasn't just mocking him; he was rubbing his face in the dirt.
He was right. Robin couldn't even afford the trash of the slave market. The humiliation was a sharp, biting pain in his chest.
Raul's laughter echoed in the night air, a smug, satisfied sound. "What's wrong, little brother? The academy's little 'loser' doesn't have the cash?
I told you, if you need some help, just ask. I'd be happy to spare a few coins for a pity purchase."
Robin's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white.
He wanted to wipe that grin off his brother's face, to punch him and his stupid dogs. But his focus was on the woman.
The taunts of his brother weren't as important as the woman he just saw in the cage. Suddenly, he decided to take a gamble.
"Now that I think about it," Robin thought, "if I use the Resurrection Pill on the woman, the chances of her returning to her previous self will be higher—unless the pill is useless."
He didn't know if any of this would work.
He had used the system only four times, and he hadn't used any of the items from the Gacha pull till today, so he didn't know if they actually worked.
Still, he decided to take a gamble and moved toward the woman in the cage.