Chapter 2 - Lone Wolf

FIRESTONE REALM, EAST REGION

The weather in the region started to snow. A merchant ship was sailing towards the coast of Waku City. Aboard its ship were numerous teenagers captured to be sold by the merchants as slaves in the nearby city. A boy was lying on a sack experiencing cold and high fever. He was on the verge of death. But then, he got miraculously healed. He opened his eyes and saw the snowy sky. The boy's name is Ragas, a 15 years-old boy from the clan of Lunaria. His eyes were blue. But actually, he's not Ragas anymore. He's alive, but his soul had died and replaced by another soul. It was Gilbert's soul.

He is observing his surroundings while shivering from the cold. He couldn't say much if he has been reborn.

A guy approached him and slapped his back of his head, "Hey you! Come with me. Our boss will tell you something." Gilbert obediently followed, but then realized he was alive.

They entered the cabin. The boss was seated on his office chair and starting to lit his smoke and suddenly went to stop as he saw the boy who had a peculiar nature. He was their leader named Fidel Nandez.

"Was this the boy from the clan of Lunaria?" he asked.

His lackey responded, "Yes, sir. A while ago, he had a high fever, but right now, it seems he's fine. I don't know what happened to him."

Fidel was delighted, "That's great! I'm glad he is very well right now. It'll be a problem if he's sick. I didn't even know that a Lunarian has regenerative abilities. We'll be hitting the jackpot today."

The merchants were overjoyed. He knew how rare it is to find a Lunarian. In the slave market, Lunarian worth tenfold of fiery stones. What a lucky day for them.

"What is your name, little fellow?" Fidel asked Gilbert, but he never replied and bowed his head. Instead, his lackey answered for him, "His name is Ragas. I heard it from those other children."

Fidel stood from his chair and went in front of Gilbert. He bent down to look Gilbert in the eye, "What's the problem?"

Gilbert raised his head and stared at Fidel coldly. Fidel was annoyed by that and went to slap him in the face. He knocked Gilbert down to the floor. Blood was dripping on his nose.

Fidel grabbed his hair, "You animal, you don't do that to me again or else..." He was getting furious, but at that moment, his lackey interfered him, "Don't ruin his face, sir. Our clients might not buy him if he has damage. We can't even gain profit if you kill him, and our hard work wouldn't pay off."

He suddenly realized his actions. He felt sorry for Gilbert, "Young fellow, forgive my actions toward you," he smiled afterward.

Gilbert was steaming up with anger as he didn't buy his apology. "Lunatic." He muttered.

The ship went into a sudden stop. "We had arrived," Fidel said.

They had docked at the port. Even in the freezing weather, it has always been a busy day for the people of Waku.

The slaves from the ship were chained, both of their feet and hands.

"Alright! Start moving!" the lackey pulled them out by the chains. They brought the slaves at the auction booth near the marketplace. Inside were customers who are waiting for the new arrival of slaves.

Fidel queued his slaves beside the booth's door. Before they went inside, he spoke to them, "Okay, young ones! Don't forget to smile! It's a strategy to attract more customers, and you might get an opportunity to be bought by a noble if there is someone inside, wasn't that great?!"

How can a person be grateful when he is going to being sold as a slave?

Moments later, the guard told them to go inside.

The audience inside was in chaos. Everyone was busy trading slaves until they saw another batch of slaves coming out of the stage. One of them was intrigued by the peculiar looks of the boy with blue eyes. One of them also recognizes the race where he belonged.

"He's a Lunarian!" he shouted. The audience was baffled. Fidel saw the face of the audience as they were looking to Gilbert.

Fidel teased them, "I can see that all of you are interested in this young fellow here. But we only have one."

The audience was dissatisfied.

He then made a pitiful remark, "This poor little guy right here needs a home. His clan went to ashes when war broke in their region. As you can see, he is a rare one different from the others. We were so lucky that we saved this pity boy. I hope you guys will take care of him well."

The audience ignored his introduction. Deafening noises shook the booth as they raised their numbers as they're making a bid. All of them wanted Gilbert's body so bad.

Fidel calmed them down, "Alright! Alright! Let's get to the bidding process then. Our starting bid will be fifty thousand gems, but you can buy him instantly at five hundred thousand refined fiery stones."

One of the audience muttered, "Is a Lunarian that rare to find?"

They began to doubt as they heard those prices. But Fidel disproved their speculation.

"Did you all know that a Lunarian has a different color of blood? Also, their eyes change when the full moon lit up the sky. But one thing that I can prove to all of you, for now, is his blood," he said.

He grabbed Gilbert's arm, pulled him over to the front then he slit Gilbert's arm. A peculiar color of blood flowed out from the wound. Its color is purple.

The audience can't believe the boy was a genuine Lunarian. It's their first seeing one in their life. One person seated with the audience was from the powerful and wealthiest families in the city of Waku, Lumicia Clan.

That person raised his number, "I'll buy him for five hundred thousand fiery stones."

The whole audience looked at him and recognized his face. That was Hudan, the fiery fist from the Lumicia Clan. They began to feel dismayed. While Fidel was stunned when he heard the gentleman's bet, but he regains his composure afterward.

"Oh! It seems like our esteemed guest over there wants to buy him instantly. Okay, any bid higher than five hundred thousand fiery stones? Who wants to challenge it?" The audience went into silence.

Suddenly, another hand raised his number, "Six hundred thousand fiery stones." The man wore a hood that covers his head, cloaking his face with darkness. The lumician gentleman looked at his direction with a cold stare. The unknown guy made a slight grin.

The audience was muttering at each other, " Is that guy lost his mind?! His enemy is no ordinary person."

Hudan spoke, "You over there. I'm the first one to get him, you understand? Better not bid, or else I wouldn't go easy on you."

The audience sat still in their places as they listened to their conversation, not wanting to join a one-sided battle.

"The auctioneer asked for more bidder, so I joined." The unknown guy doesn't show any fear.

"Okay then, let's see if you can last for long. My wealth is vast, you know." Hudan boasted his wealth.

He earned his money from the hunts, treasures, and even business that he went through. The conversation didn't last for long.

He then raised the bid, "Seven hundred thousand fiery stones."

The unknown guy raised it again, "Eight hundred thousand fiery stones."

"Nine hundred thousand..."

"One million..."

...

"Two million fiery stones."

Fidel's jaws dropped. He couldn't imagine that the bid will go up to million fiery stones for one rare slave. But the one who won the auction was Hudan.

Hudan's face had a wide smile. The unknown guy didn't contest anymore when the bid was raised to two million as he didn't expect to have a call at that point, so he went out of the booth. Hudan was disappointed and felt angry at the guy. He felt like that guy scammed him. He quickly rushed outside and chased him, but the guy disappeared. "That guy! How dare he scammed me! Don't he dare appear in front of me again," he muttered. Two million fiery stones were lost in his pocket for just one slave as he wanted to buy more. Later on, he calmed down and took Gilbert into his household.

In front of the gate of Lumicia Household, there were two guards stationed. Hudan passed Gilbert to one of them, "Put him in the chamber and tell it to the chief maiden about him."

They proceeded to the chamber. The guard pushed Gilbert into a small room after he removed his restraint, "You stay here for a while. Wait for the Chief Maid." He shut the door and locked it.

Gilbert wanted to escape early on. But he doesn't know any information about the world he is in right now. So, he decided to become a slave for a while to gather. Since Lumicia clan has wealth and nobility in the city, it's the best place to shelter for now as going outside might invite danger. They haven't noticed his mysterious powers yet, It was thanks to the concealment technique given by the supreme emperor.

He then remembered the person wearing a hood. It seems like he seemed interested in his body. If he had an opportunity, he wanted to meet him outside.

Chief Maiden opened the door and entered the room.

"Get up, boy. Let's go to the hall," she said.

On Lecture Hall, there were more than ten slaves who are seated waiting for the next lesson.

She told the other young slaves around, "Okay, younglings, you have a new mate around."

She then said to Gilbert with a soft voice, "Okay, introduce yourself to your new friends here."

Gilbert felt awkward that he is befriending those youths. But later introduced himself, "My name is..."

The only problem is he doesn't know if he will continue to use his name, Gilbert, or use the body's name, Ragas. He thought for a while about it, until he decided to stick to Ragas as his name.

He then introduced himself, "Hello! my name is Ragas!"