Chapter 212: Children are Expensive

"Yula!" the man called out, his voice muffled as she stared hazily at the fire, "Yula! Can't you hear your own father when he's speaking to you girl?"

Yula jerked awake, turning to the voice.

"O-oh.. F-father… What is it?" she asked.

Yula's father, Horrib, looked back at her with a sorrowful gaze. Regret was obvious in his eyes as he looked around at their situation.

She just like him had a spiked mana collar around her neck. And were placed in a shabby rickety building with a single furnace inside. Yula was in front of the anvil her hand holding a smithing hammer limply as her eyes tried to keep their focus.

"You haven't eaten in days… They haven't fed us but expect us to forge weapons and armor for them like damned slaves!" Horrib growled, bringing his daughter into a hug.

Yula hardly had the strength left to return the gesture, letting the hammer slip from her hand as she leaned into her father.

"It's a-alright, F-father… I-I like making things… It's the o-only thing I-I'm good for…" she whispered.

Yula felt her father's shoulders shudder at her words and she knew he was crying silently. They both had been through so much since coming out of the tutorial and she knew he blamed himself for it.

She wanted to console him, to do something for him to give him peace of mind, but all she knew was how to make equipment.

Before she could attempt to, the door to their building creaked open, a dark chocolate-skinned girl in a maid outfit peering in cautiously. Her hair a silver gunmetal that went down to her shoulders in two ribboned ponytails that parted around her elongated ears at the end.

Yula turned around slowly at the sound, a faint smile creasing his lips.

"Tanya…" she murmured.

"Yula… Horrib… They are treating you all like dogs," she grimaced, pulling a bag from behind her back, "Here, I managed to sneak these out of the house you have to eat and keep your strength up," she murmured.

Horrib turned rubbing his eyes before putting on a large grin, "Thank ya, dear girl. But won't this get ya in trouble?"

Tanya shook her head, "I don't care what that old fat bastard does!" she sneered, "He can't hurt me anyway," she shivered, "He won't hurt his damned precious doll…"

She gritted her teeth only to lose her strength as she exhaled tears welling up at the corners of her own eyes, "If only my sister was here… If only someone would take us all away…"

Yula weakly took the bag and handed it to her father, turning back to Tanya, and slowly wrapped her arms around her even though the young elf girl was taller than she was as a dwarf, despite herself being an anomaly among dwarves.

The hug was awkward but her concern was conveyed well enough that Tanya began to sob in her arms.

"I-I want to leave… I want to see my sister again! I want to see the forest, the brook from our home. I-I want to go h-h-homeeee!!" she wailed.

Yula closed her eyes, silently holding Tanya as she sobbed, unable to comfort her more or offer words of encouragement. The situation was just that abysmal for them. But she was sure that everyone in the town who had been captured and forced into slavery here thought the same thing.

They wanted to live. They wanted to be free.

—--------------

Drake looked down at the pile of ash, slightly unsettled with himself at how readily he was able to kill another person. But he steeled himself. Knowing it wouldn't be the last with more people like this out there.

"Rvul."

Rvul seemed to come back alive, his previous frozen shocked self shaking awake.

"Y-yes, Patriarch?" he asked, righting himself.

"Free the rest of them and have them brought to the Doc, once you have, do the usual," Drake ordered, turning back around with a sigh.

He looked at the siblings that he had freed himself, the brother looking at him with a mixed expression, and the sister somehow following him even without the use of her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through suffering of that degree by people who used to be just like me…" he said solemnly, "I will make it up to you and anyone else trapped in that town. But I have somewhere to go first. If you wish to take back your life and punish those who did this, you are free to stay here and follow me."

Drake would go to the town of Sandal. But first, he needed to make sure his own family was safe. In a month, yes, in a month he would bring back his family to this town and go to Sandal to finish this before the coming events took place.

The boy Clotho looked visibly shaken, unsure of what he was hearing.

They should be able to understand me, the girl answered me before… Maybe the reality just hasn't set in for them. Claire… Claire was like that at first too, wasn't she? Drake thought remembering his girlfriend.

"She was indeed. It took her weeks to begin opening up even after gaining closure," Natto affirmed.

The girl, Atropos, moved in front of her brother, surprising Drake, and Clotho as she went into a half bow.

"Thank you. We will not forget this debt," she said, her shoulders shaking.

Her brother saw her and followed suit, bowing at the waist for a moment.

Drake walked over gently raising both their heads, "You don't have to thank me. Just get better," he said, then thought of what the man said about their classes, a twinge of pain hit his stomach but he forced himself knowing he needed talented people, "If you want to thank me, I will be leaving in a week's time to train other young people to become strong and defend themselves. You are welcome to join."

The siblings turned to each other, Drake only able to see the uncertainty in Clotho's face as Atropos's was covered in bandages.

Drake smiled softly before speaking, "Don't worry about deciding right now. First we're going to get you fixed up and fed. Rvul," he shouted, the previous chief turning around from removing a collar.

"Yes?" he answered, "What may I help with now?"

"Did the two you were going to meet me with… Where are they now?" Drake asked.

"They should be at the Auction House, Patriarch. I came to the gate due to the… man shouting."

Natto, we will have to get guards and a way to deal with new visitors set up. I don't want something like this happening, Rvul has more important things to do than play guard at a gate. Drake thought.

"It will be set up by the end of the day. I will see to it, that there will be no need for anyone else to stand guard. I will be able to deal with it myself, I unfortunately did not have time earlier. We are still dealing with a lack of personnel and basic infrastructure. So it will be some time before everything is in place even with my abilities to speed things up," she explained, "I am reluctant to say this but, we may need to source from other towns. But if the quality of people are to… the degree we have seen from most people so far, I am afraid it will take some time to fill the gaps."

Drake sighed. He agreed with her. It wasn't looking the best for the human race at the moment. They had met good people that was a given. Mikhail's and a few other Adventuring parties were a perfect example. But the outliers. These slave traders were a glaring blotch on the human race's record.

"Good. I'll meet them there now. You two," Drake instructed, "Come with me as well. Can you walk?" he asked.

"Y-yes, I should be able to manage P-Patriarch…" Atropos stammered.

Drake scratched the back of his head, "No need to call me that. My name is Drake. Now let's get you two to the Auction House so we can get some warm food in your bellies."

—---------------

"And?" Taliya asked, leaning on the table with her arm, a faintly smoking pipe in hand.

Drake stood at the other end of the table, his usual playful expression flat.

"I would like to host an in-town auction in about a month and would like to know if it was possible to have it hosted inside the auction. You have security and systems in place already," Drake explained.

Taliya bobbed her pipe slightly humming as she did.

"Hmmm… It is possible. But to ask for a favor so soon… You know how to make a merchant's heart flutter, Little Wallen."

Drake's lip twitched as he sighed, feeling overly mentally exhausted for the first time since exiting the tutorial.

"It's not like I was trying to. And I don't plan on having it be unfavorable for your company. I know the items we will be auctioning will be pennies to what you can normally auction. So I planned on having the Spirit Fox take 70% profit of everything sold. This auction is to bring in visitors and spread the word not to make an immediate profit."

"My, my… quite the offer. I will accept but do understand Little Wallen, I do not normally do this. You are a… special case," she hummed.

"Is that because I'm the last of my race?" Drake responded slightly louder and more angry than he wanted to sound.

Taliya's brows rose slightly then returned to normal as she gave a more curious expression, a brief puff from her pipe before she spoke again.

"Yes, you are correct. It would seem you are in a foul mood after what has happened. All I can offer is that I am sorry it has happened. But," she said, her eyes turning to a fierce canine gaze, "Do not mistake my understanding as a reason to disrespect me."

Drake's head immediately tilted downward, feeling the full brunt of her intense gaze and aura, despite using all of his strength to defy the skills.

He stayed silent as he tried his best to fight back in defiance until he heard a sigh, the pressure and force dissipating.

"You may not believe me but not everyone is out to get you. And not every Primordial or strong race was part of the hunt, may I remind you. Some of us are descendants of such races, albeit distantly related…" she frowned.

A tinge of regret hit Drake, this time willingly bowing his head slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm just trying to process it all and there seems to be no end to the disappointment of my own- no, previous race," he frowned.

"It is no matter but do remember that even if I am forgiving. Or do favor you," she smirked, "Others within the auction may not and will not tolerate the disrespect. You would do well to learn some etiquette. Shall I teach you?" she grinned a slight lick of her lips.

Drake raised his head, almost regretting his apology as he ignored her.

"That reminds me, I picked up some wolf-like children a few minutes ago. Is this why you gave me those stones earlier?" he asked.

Taliya frowned, her ears pouting just like her lips.

"Is that so? It is possible," she replied.

Does she have a skill or class that can see the future…? Drake wondered.

"And? What of the children," Taliya asked.

"They were hurt badly," Drake responded, a pit of disgust hitting his stomach as he remembered the injuries that children had, "I don't have the means to heal them. I wanted to know if you know of an item or something to heal their injuries?"

"How severe are the wounds?" she asked back, matter of factly. 

"One had both their eyes taken, and the other lost his tongue."

"I see. There are some items I can point you to, but I will be unable to help you with this. You will have to purchase them like everyone else," she said.

If what Drake said of the wolf children bothered her, she didn't show it.

"That's fine. What are the items?"

"You will need either a Health Potion one grade above the children's Rank. Or you could purchase a Monster Core endowed with a major healing spell. For a spell that would be powerful enough to replace lost limbs for F-Ranks, I assume… an E-Grade Core should suffice. Other items would be sufficient but unfortunately, they are well beyond your means of purchase at the moment."

Drake was curious about the other items but he had gotten his answer and wanted to hurry and purchase the items if he could, the children were still waiting outside with the two administrators Rvul had brought. He hadn't gotten their names as he quickly went inside.

"Thank you."

He turned ready to leave the private room she had brought him into, but she stopped him.

"Little Wallen," she called to his back, "Do not dwell on the shortcomings of your past race or what you must do to correct their choices. The euphoric power and strength that come with the system twists and mutates many new races into undeniable pursuers of power and reprehensible evil. Feel not responsible. You are not responsible."

Drake scoffed, imagining Natto nodding her head.

"Thanks. Maybe you aren't so bad after all, Taliya…" he smiled, leaving the room.

"Ara… What a tease…" she smirked back.

Drake had gone through the private room's doors, guards on either side of the exit. Both men wore ethereal-like glowing armor with a faint hum of mana circulating through them. With even a brief inspection Drake could see the subtle movement of ambient mana around them.

The guards didn't greet him, just eyed him indifferently as he left.

Giving a wave of his hand Drake said his farewell to the men, "Good work you two. See you sooooon," extending the goodbye with a smile.

The guards being no fun and keeping their indifferent expressions made Drake move on quickly to the auction floor while reminding him of what he thought King's Guards would be like in his old world.

Dismissing the absentminded thoughts he walked down the stairs from the private rooms, the sound of loud chattering and yells filling his ears.

He had passed through here before but now that he wasn't pressed to meet the owner of the Spirit Fox, he could look around appreciating the ambiance.

The building was filled to the brim with people of all races and extremely powerful people. The multiverse was vast indeed.

Seeing what he could only assume were multiple high ranks idling around in the auction house, not only as guards but as customers had put it into perspective for Drake.

Despite his strength, he truly was still at the bottom.

Even with his large stat pool and titles, he was still in his infancy as a Mana Vessel. While no one could technically interact physically while here and guards posted everywhere to stop any coercion or fights. The pressure given off by the multiple B and C-Ranks made Drake shiver in excitement and trepidation.

He had to force his will to challenge and fight down with excruciating effort as he panned the surroundings unable to accurately identify many of the patrons. It was exhausting in many ways.

But Drake wasn't the only one amazed. The auction house was now open to his city and his citizens had of course entered to trade, only to be taken aback by the sheer size of the building and the crowds that filled it.

There were also eyes that followed him as he walked the building.

Well, I guess I should expect this from now on… Now that I have a huge bounty placed on my head. My only saving grace is that there doesn't seem to be anyone as strong as Taliya here. And definitely no S-Ranks. Drake thought, weaving through the crowd trying to find an open terminal.

Many of the patrons whispered in hushed tones as he passed, but he had grown accustomed already to it.

Things like, "Hey, fresh meat."

"I can't wait to see you outside the auction."

But not all of them were threatening. Surprisingly there were quite a few who seemed to look at him in reverence or awe, which he assumed was from him being a Primordial Race rather than himself.

Drake sighed, finally able to find a free personal terminal to access.

In the Auction, there were several ways to trade. There were the Auction Floors, where unique and incredibly expensive items were sold actively through a bidding system curated by the Spirit Fox's auctioneers.

Then there were the bartering sections, where men and women gowned in lavish, expensive, or torn beggar-like clothing sold their items themselves. Haggling for the best possible price.

Finally, there were the auction lists, that reminded him a lot of a certain website from his old world. Here you could find items ad nauseam, listed at flat prices or biddable prices with a buy-out price.

Drake didn't have time to sit through the cycles of the auctioneers, and he assumed an E-Grade or F-Grade Item wouldn't make the cut for the main floor. He also didn't think it was best to go haggling right now.

So he opted to go the standard purchasing route for now, panning through the lists and looking for the items that Taliya had mentioned.

With a bit of searching Drake found the items, but balked at the price.

"Why am I always being ripped off?!" Drake shouted.

[Imbued Core: Healing of the Light Mother - Medium] [E-Grade] 20 E-Grade Mana Coins or 2,000 F-Grade Mana Coins

An Imbued E-Rank Monster Core containing a medium E-Rank strength healing spell.

This spell is potent enough to replace missing limbs and heal entities of E-Rank or higher to full health with one charge.

Contains 3 Charges.

Can be used during combat

Item will be destroyed after charges are depleted.

Drake gritted his teeth and then sighed as he looked at the price.

I guess Jacqueline's healing was actually really strong. Drake chuckled.

The purchase price was extremely expensive. The money in the multiverse seemed to be relatively straightforward for the lower grades coins. 1 E-Grade Mana Coin being 100 F-Grade Coins.

Luckily for Drake, he still had plenty of F-Grade Cores that he could exchange for coins, but even this amount was steep, nearly clearing him out. And this wasn't the end of it as he searched for another item he would need for the kids soon enough.

[Language Book of the Myriad Races] [S-Grade] [5 A-Grade Mana Coins]

Scoffing at the price, Drake spat at the ground, "It's not like I didn't expect it but come on!"

He had assumed the S-Grade Item would be extremely expensive, but due to it being so cheap during the tutorial, he held out hope it would at least be affordable. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed away in an instant.

Drake resigned himself and hit the purchase button for the healing core, making a mental note to come back later when he had more time to search the lists for items he could give the children. The item appeared in front of him in a mote of light much like drops had and Drake put it into his inventory, but before closing out the list he did look for one last thing.

[Language Book of Humans] [F-Grade] 1 E-Grade Mana Coin or 100 F-Grade Mana Coins

He bit his lip but it was a necessary expense for the children if they wanted to communicate on this trip effectively.

Drake also managed to find Language Books for Orc, Avian and several other races that were within the town currently, which he was sure would be needed eventually if not sooner.

Just as he was about to press the purchase button he was stopped.

"Don't buy those here," the high-pitched voice behind him said.

Drake stopped turning to the voice to find a woman concealed by a hoodie that looked strikingly familiar to a hard punk rock hoodie. The hood was up so he could only see the golden irises glow slightly underneath, two jet-black horns poking out from the top that gave him pause.

They look just like Mir'phyra's… but a different color…? He thought then looked closer.

The horns were painted. Nearly the entirety of the horns seemed to be covered in some sort of paint but the base of them for whatever reason, whether they were slowly growing and she had forgotten to repaint them or it had worn down he didn't care.

He looked back with a scowl, "What's it to you?" he growled.

The girl flinched and recoiled.

"What's your problem? I just didn't want you spending money like that, you can buy those basic things at the System Center for cheap. The basic necessities being sold here are just scams to get newly inducted races to spend boatloads of money," she scoffed, turning around, "Asshole…"

The girl walked away, leaving Drake feeling indignant but he let out an exhausted breath changing to one of feeling bad for judging her because of his interaction with Mir'phyra'.

"Not every one of the same race is bad Drake…" he mumbled to himself.

The girl melded into the crowd but not before he got a better look at her clothing. She was wearing a punk rock checkered skirt with patches here and there of things Drake didn't recognize. Animals, faces, figures, and writings he could only remotely make out. The mini-skirt had a small hole for a tail that swayed back and forth behind her, the pristine white scales reminding him of the Dragon Matriarch. She also wore high stockings of the same checkered pattern as her skirt, with high platform rocker boots.

The girl's outfit left Drake feeling confused.

I didn't think there would be that kind of thing outside of earth…

He tried to identify her before she left but was surprised to find he couldn't. Meaning she was at a much higher level and Rank than him or held an obscuring item like he did.

Shaking his head, thinking he might have just made another enemy of someone due to his quick temper, he sighed, deleting his cart from the terminal and leaving the floor, making for the door.

Ignoring the jeers and whispers that the crowd sent towards him on his way out, he tried to mentally calculate what he would need for the children on this trip, his face slightly going pale and his eyes hazy at the numbers simply going up and up.

I'll have to kill everything in the area and more… Hopefully there's some E-Ranks around… Drake laughed wearily.