"..."
Verc stood in front of a slave shop.
It wasn’t hard to identify the place at all. The sign hanging outside of the building was large and made of polished wood, clearly stating the nature of the business in bold letters. It didn’t try to hide behind a fancy name or a vague description.
It was exactly what it looked like—a place where people were bought and sold like commodities.
For a shop like this, someone from Verc’s old world might think it was an illegal, underground operation hidden in some dark alleyway. But contrary to that, shops like this were actually all over the empire.
It was a completely legal business, regulated by the government and used by nobles and wealthy merchants alike. It was just another part of the daily life in this world, as common as a bakery or a blacksmith shop.
Verc stood there for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the entrance. He didn’t know what to say.
The sight of it made a bitter taste rise in the back of his throat. Back on Earth, the very idea of slavery was considered one of the greatest evils in history. Yet here, it was out in the open, bathed in the morning sunlight of a busy city.
Inside his mind, he felt it was kind of iconic. The demonic races were constantly being shooed away and hunted down because of their supposed "evil" acts.
’But they’re doing things like this and they’re no better.’
He thought, his brow furrowing a bit. He saw the irony in it all.
The people who claimed to be the "good guys" were the ones keeping others in cages for profit.
Anyway, just then—
"Hello, are you looking for something?"
A man, dressed properly in a suit made of fine fabric, came out of the slave shop and asked that to Verc.
"Hmm?"
Verc looked at him.
The man looked to be in his mid-30s. He was fair-looking, with neatly combed hair and a professional smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. From the looks of it, he was a very wealthy merchant. He had the air of someone who was used to dealing with large sums of money and high-status clients.
Behind him stood two bald men. They were dressed in heavy metallic armor that shone in the sun, and they stood with their arms crossed, looking like living statues. Looking at them for a moment, Verc could feel a certain level of power radiating off them. He could tell that they were fairly strong.
In human standards, of course.
To Verc, they were nothing more than a minor annoyance if a fight were to break out, but for the average person, they were formidable guards.
Anyway—
"Ah, yes."
Verc answered with that, his voice coming out flat and neutral. He didn’t want to show any of the disgust he was feeling. He had a goal to complete, and he needed to play the part of a customer.
"Do you have other races inside?"
Then he asked that.
He needed workers and warriors who could survive the harsh conditions of the [Cursed Forest], and he knew that demi-humans or monster races would be much more suited for the task.
"Oh, of course."
The guy, who seemed to be the owner of the shop, said that with a smile on his face. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with the prospect of a big sale.
Then without further ado—
"Why don’t we go inside to take a look?"
He invited Verc inside, gesturing toward the open door with a flourish of his hand.
Verc just nodded and followed the guy without saying anything. Onyx followed at his heels, the little puppy’s tail tucked slightly as if he could also sense the negative energy coming from the building.
*****
"..."
Upon entering the facility, Verc’s eyes twitched momentarily. The transition from the bright street to the interior of the shop was jarring.
He had already expected that the inside wouldn’t be too good. He had prepared himself for something unpleasant, but after seeing it himself, he realized that the reality was much worse.
He realized that the slaves that were being sold—were living here like cattle.
The first floor was a large, open room filled with the sound of clinking metal and soft, miserable moans. The air was heavy with the smell of sweat, unwashed bodies, and the sharp tang of rusted iron. Rows of cages lined the walls, each one packed with people who looked like they had forgotten what it felt like to be human.
They were in cages, with heavy chains wrapped around their legs. The chains were connected to heavy iron weights to prevent them from running, making every movement a struggle.
They also had these weird restriction collars around their necks. Verc could see the faint glow of magic on the metal, suggesting that the collars were designed to suppress their strength or cause pain if they disobeyed.
The slaves were all dirty. Their clothes were nothing more than rags, and their skin was covered in a layer of grime and old bruises. They didn’t look healthy at all. Most of them were thin, their ribs visible through their skin, and their eyes were hollow, filled with a deep, crushing hopelessness.
They were also cramped in small barred rooms that looked more like animal pens than living quarters. The floors were just cold concrete with some scattered hay, which was probably the only thing they had to sleep on.
It was uncomfortable just to look at.
Verc immediately wore his poker face. He kept his expression blank and his eyes focused on the back of the merchant’s head.
He didn’t want to give away any of his true feelings to the people around him. But deep inside, he was disgusted in being in such a place. Every fiber of his being wanted to tear the cages open and burn the building to the ground.
But he knew he couldn’t. Not yet, at least.
Tap- Tap- Tap-
As he followed the owner of the place, the man kept on talking. He seemed to love the sound of his own voice, acting as if he were giving a tour of a prestigious gallery rather than a warehouse of human suffering.
"Welcome, welcome. I am Moyap Droda, the owner of the Hive Company. We pride ourselves on having the highest quality inventory in the city. Whether you need a maid for your estate or a laborer for your mines, we have exactly what you’re looking for."
Moyap introduced himself with a proud chest. He glanced back at Verc, trying to gauge his interest.
"And what about you, sir? May I ask your name and profession? It helps me tailor my recommendations."
Verc didn’t hesitate. He had his story ready.
"I am a traveling knight. I move from place to place, taking on contracts."
Verc said, his voice muffled by the cloth mask.
"A traveling knight! How noble. Well, you’ve come to the right place. We have many who are trained in basic combat and service."
Moyap said, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
Verc continued looking around as they walked.
There were a lot of armed guards all over the place. They stood at every corner and near every exit, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. Including the two following behind them, the security was extremely tight. It was clear that the Hive Company took no chances when it came to their "inventory" escaping.
They walked past the human cages and headed toward the back of the building.
... ... ...
And after a little more while of walking—the air grew cooler and the light became dimmer as they approached a heavy iron door.
FWISH~
Moyap pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked it, revealing a set of stone stairs leading down.
"We’re here."
Moyap said that as he stopped walking.
They were in a different part of the shop now, a bit underground. The walls were made of damp, moss-covered stone, and the only light came from a few flickering torches mounted on the walls.
"...?"
Verc stopped as well. The place was a bit dark, and the shadows seemed to stretch and twist in the corners.
A normal person would have struggled to see more than a few feet ahead, but with his special eyes, Verc could see just fine. His vision pierced through the darkness, revealing the horrors hidden in the basement.
"..."
And what he saw made him speechless.
He saw a bunch of mixed and different races. There were demi-humans with ears and tails, large humanoids with gray skin, and even some creatures that looked more monster than human.
And to his surprise... their condition was even worse than those humans above.
While the humans on the first floor were treated like cattle, the beings down here were treated like dangerous beasts.
Their cages were smaller and made of thicker iron bars. The chains around their limbs were doubled, and the collars on their necks were glowing with a much more intense magical light.
Many of them were curled into balls in the corners of their cages, shivering from the cold and the dampness. Their fur was matted with filth, and some of them had visible wounds that hadn’t been treated.
The smell down here was almost unbearable—a mixture of rot, waste, and old blood.
FWIP.
Verc curled his hands into fists seeing this.