The handwritten Hammer Techniques Manual was a lot easier to sink into than the other book and scroll. It called for relaxed standards, an antiquated formula base on the principals of their new world. Gefést had been making adjustments to the book regularly, it could be seen easily with the scratched out portions.
Despite being scratched out, the discarded ideas were still legible. The pair could tell that the book was something that was not openly shared or disclosed to others. Mike and Wu Hai were confident in their ability to learn its contents.
'These must be the things he tried beforehand, it would be fantastic if I could improve on these' Wu Hai had been going over the book while Mike monopolized the first book on forging and the scroll.
"I'd be a fool to dismiss anything over the next few days. The male slave auction is the day after tomorrow. If we're going to be here for a long period of time, it will be hard to house so many. We already have a bunch of females slaves that need to be delivered back to Zao City. I was going to take them back after we got the males. I still want to keep a few to keep the Tower organized and get Qu some company, we'll let him decide which he would like to have around." Wu Hai had some ideas and decided to share them.
"Right, you can teleport to other places you've been.. It makes sense that we shouldn't keep them with us, the food requirements alone would keep you and me way too busy to do what we need." Mike reminded himself a bit.
He was making the same assumptions, Wu Hai wasn't doing wrong by buying all the slaves he could. Morals aside, the Prince was even being smart enough not to burden the duo on their trip.
"We should go check out the Rogue Queen's Chamber after work tomorrow and arrange pickup at the same time as the males. I'd also like to find a better method of purchasing things.. we should look for the auction house." Wu Hai pulled out the book that Manager Chou had made up for him.
"The Auction house is on the central square near the main castle walls." Wu Hai pointed to the spot on the map.
"If we use the Dragoons we can be there in about 10 minutes, they probably won't close for another few hours.. the Suns are still up and who knows how an Auction House runs in this World, maybe they are always open." pinpointing his location, he looked for the fastest Route.
It was a rather bold thought, keeping an auction house open all the time, but this wasn't a game. There were not roaming packs of adventurers crashing through the landscape scouring for a never ending horde of monsters. Monsters existed, but usually they could be captured or driven away if they were a problem.
"Bro. I think you're right, but what should we use . If we're going to use the treasure we found on the bottom of the sea, we need to know what they are worth before just tossing them out." Mike was right, but Wu Hai had already been on it.
"Qu's been sorting non-stop while he reads. Plus the female slaves are suppose to be assisting him. I'm sure we can find at least a few things to auction off that will give reason to our wealth. If we just spend spend spend, we will attract attention." Wu Hai had the same idea as mike.
Making their way down the road on the dragoons they saw a bunch of faces watching them pass. It was obvious that the residential areas were spread out in an attempt to fill in spots that were once vacant. There were winding roads and alleyways they had to make their way through. Each and every turn they were held up by droves of pedestrians. It almost agitated them to the point of carrying their mounts and leaping from building to building...
It didn't take 10 minutes as Wu Hai had predicted, it took almost an hour because of the constant traffic.
"I wonder why this city doesn't expand, it seems silly to build like this.. why didn't they just build up, all the buildings here are less than three stories and none of them are very good." Mike had taken a course in college on architecture.
"I wonder if we could sell building plans." Mike saw an opportunity.
"Building plans... Mike, you're a fucking Genius! If we can translate one of the modern architecture books to this worlds crafting materials and methods... the implications. We should talk to Gefést. I'm sure he'd be angry if we put this out and didn't run it by him. He seems annoying when he's angry." Wu Hai gave a brief idea and almost dismissed it.
"Maybe we can do both. If we don't give out the production methods and only blueprints, we wouldn't have to worry about leaking knowledge unnecessarily and someone's bound to be interested." Mike felt like he could contribute, he insisted a bit on Wu Hai's plan.
"Alright Mr. Architect. When we get back to the Tower, have Qu help you do the math and draw up a blueprint for an apartment building. Make sure to consider the building practices of this world so people don't die from collapse." Wu Hai had an idea in mind.
A moment later they could see the auction house.
"Lets just get in and see." Dismounting, Mike saw a Eunuch running up to grab the beasts and stable them.
"uh.. yea.. here." passing the reins Mike and Wu Hai watched the Eunuch walk off to the stables with a frightened look on his face.
'Slaves probably get beaten regularly in this world.. what a bunch of dicks.' Mike had a look of contempt on his face, when he discovered slavery was a thing in this world his heart sank with pity.
It did not look like the slaves of this world were any different than the last,
"Mike, buy whatever you want but lets avoid bidding wars unless we both agree. Also, Lets not buy everything, I'll do the same." Wu Hai wanted to get inside, he had been wanting to find one of these auction houses after gaining his memories.
They hurriedly walked through the plain building exterior, the ceiling was high and the outside profile of the building was entirely misleading. When they arrived at the counter top the lines were nearly non-existent.
"Sirs. This way please." An Usher directed them to a chair in an auditorium, Mike felt like the room seemed strange but left the feeling alone.
"Buyouts can be made at the counter for double the asking price of the items you're looking for as long as it hasn't gone up for auction yet, with a VIP token. Outside deals will lead to being removed, any efforts to create trade between another guests is strictly prohibited and our guards will execute you without question. This evening we have many items for Auction, tomorrow is the Monthly Slave Sale." The Usher turned out to be an attendant, after explaining she was interrupted by Wu Hai.
"How much stock are we talking about?" Wu Hai hoped he wasn't overstepping, the rules seemed rather strict for an auction house.
"If you like, I can have a Manager come with a current list to your table, the detailed information will give you a better understanding. Are you searching for anything in particular?" The attendant was pretty and polite.
Her dress was a little long and dragged on the floor behind her, but the floor was immaculate and the dress never seemed to fray.
"Does your auction house sell items at the behest of customers?" Mike had to ask the question.
"Of course! All merchandise is sold with an established fee. We take 10% of all sales, regardless of the size of the deal. Its easier to move items through us than through other people. Sometimes people just kill you to take what they want, without paying." She shook her hips and kept talking.
"The Auction will begin in about 20 minutes, its a good thing you showed up when you did. We're filling up quickly." Bowing once again, the young lady walked off.
The Room was filled with guests in a matter of minutes, they really had come at just the right time and their table was close enough to inspect whatever came by visually. "Wu Hai, should we cover up?" Mike asked quietly.
"No, its too late anyway. Lets just make sure we don't cause a problem, and we can't buy everything.. we'll be attacked for sure." Wu Hai wasn't about to be stupid.
The number of attendees had grown significantly and several of the people gave off extra ordinary feelings. Most of them also smelled like blood.
When the nice young attendant returned to the room, everyone quieted down. There was so little noise a fart would be downright disruptive.
She introduced the Auction House's rules, "Guests. We have several items for you today. It would be in accordance with the Auction House standards and rules that you wait until I've finished introducing each item and opened bidding before you place a bid yourselves. Failure to comply will lead to expulsion from the building, we don't need that. You don't need that."
Wu Hai was a little more impressed with the workings of the Auction House. It seemed they had a few problems in the past and learned from some harsh lessons.
"The first item up for bidding are the remains of an Ooze, its properties included a gelatin oil it would produce that could be set on fire. The opening bid is set to 7,000 gold pieces. Do I hear 7,000?" The bidding started the moment she finished speaking.
…. "8"
…. "11,000"
"11,500" … one buyer tried to slow the raises, but it seemed like everyone was moderately rich with gold, it would be a battle of wallets for the items that were truly worthy of bidding. To be spending on the day before another large auction was probably a luxury that many couldn't afford.
Still, Mike and Wu Hai were interested in a lot of the things that were going on. The Ooze seemed alluring, Mike wasn't sure it was something they should buy but he really wanted it. It was the first item up for auction and it was never a good idea to tip your hand. The first item was to gauge the bidders themselves.
"15,000" With another bid from a competitor the price was now double the original asking price and the low bidder from earlier sat down dejected.
'What's so good about a slime monster?' Wu Hai really wished he had paid a little more attention to the monster compendiums from Earth.
The Prince had not read them, but they were sitting in the library. At least a few of them had some mentions of what to expect from certain monster types. Whether it was fantasy novels, board game compendiums or just the scrolls filling up the shelves of the library, every story had some value. The Books on Beasts, monsters and other beings of this world were sporadic and had a tendency to be missing lots of information. They tried but there simply wasn't a compilation of knowledge and a sharing of ideas.
Wu Hai wasn't sure why he needed this monster corpse, but if it was selling for such a price then it obviously had a use. Wu Hai had gold, he just didn't want to make a scene by buying everything all the time when he went out. His experiences with Jin on Earth had shown a light on his inability to shop practically.
"18,000" Mike bid, He could see the pained looks in Wu Hai's eyes like he was also hesitating.
"Thanks"
"21,000" … Another bidder had just tripled the starting bid. "Can't win them all..." the Beastman said chidingly.
'Isn't that against the rules?' Wu Hai was now pissed.
"31,000" Mike bid more. It was one thing to outbid, but it was another to openly berate someone while outbidding them.
"We have 31,000. Do I hear more?" The attendant wait for a moment. The audience was stunned. It was a raise of 10,000 Gold pieces.
"31,000 gold going once." ..
Before she could continue, the snickering Jackure man made another bid. "35,000 gold."
The smirk on the Jackure man faded and had a look of contempt.
Wu Hai spoke up, refusing to give in easily. "50"
'Brother Wu, that's a bidding war.. you said you weren't going to do that' Mike wanted to call Wu Hai out and get him to stop bidding, but for some reason even he felt like they both had to get the remains of the Ooze monster.
"50,000 GOLD! We have a bid, do we have any higher bidders.. 50,000 going once."
"50,000 Going twice"
"Sold for 50,000... Please pay for your auctions before you leave the building otherwise we will send out our Remuneration Troop."
"Our next Item up for auction is a Bearded Undead Goat.. Please bring out the Goat." As she spoke, the hair on the back of her neck started to stand up.
She started introducing it.
"This Goat is an Undead Goat. Its Beard and furs are used in the production of many types of poison, they are well known for their toxic properties. Bidding will begin at 3,500 gold pieces."
After a round of bidding, the Goat was auctioned off for a whopping 20,500 gold pieces.
"Our third Item is....."
The items kept coming one by one, each more ridiculous than the next.
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Mike and Wu Hai started moving around their gold in the storage rings while they were waiting for the other auctions to pass.
A Rushroom made it onto the auction house, Wu Hai wanted to meet whoever collected it. They were notoriously well guarded.
Time seemed to fly by and it was already time to bid on the seventh item.
"Our seventh Item is the Ashes of a Saint.. Supposedly, These are the Ashes of Saint Dottie. According to all the stories after the fall of the Guardians, the Custodians caught up to Saint Munidod and Saint Dottie. Saint Dottie drew the fire from Blizzard Peak, saving the remainder of the Guardians at the cost of her own Life."
"The Ashes of Saint Dottie will go for a starting bid of 300,000 gold pieces.. We do not know the use for such an item but anything left over from a Saint is going to be powerful. Even the Ashes. Do I hear 300?" The Auctioneer finished her explanation and waited for the first bid.
"350" .. The man who had competed for the Ooze was obviously saving for this purchase, he hadn't bid on anything else.
"375" … He was quickly outbid by another man in the back.
"450,000!" A bid came from a man up front, his wife and lover both pushing for him to buy it as a trophy.
"600,000" A woman in the back made a startling bid.
150,000 gold pieces was not a small raise, the price of the Ashes had risen dramatically.
Wu Hai thought the bidding would fizzle out at 500,000, but it had already reached 600,000. If he was going to bid on it, there was no way to avoid prying eyes and assassination attempts.
"Mike, these are the Ashes of Saint Dottie. She's part of the bigger picture.. I know the ooze was felt important, but this is beyond important. We must have them." Wu Hai whispered to Mike.
"1,000,000" Wu Hai spoke up and the entire auditorium fell silent.
"One Million, Going once."
Evil eyes could be seen across the room, no one wanted to be shown up.. let alone be outbid by so much. Driving the price up to an entire million had kept anyone from speaking.
"One Million going twice."
'So what if they want to come, we'll be ready.' Wu Hai nodded to Mike to be ready for whatever form of problems come.
"Sold, for One Million Gold! Congratulations Buyer. As said before, all costs must be paid before you exit. Such a bid, We insist you bring it out, a broker will approach you momentarily." The announcer was happy, they would get a 100,000 gold commission for the sale if Wu Hai wasn't full of shit.
"The Eighth item for sale is a set of Books on Summoning the Undead, Enslaving your fallen opponents is one of the most pursued types of dark magics around. These three books are written in the Demon Language and have been authenticated by our appraiser before we brought them out. This item is likely stolen. It gives off a terrible pressure of death. As it holds a high price, the final bidder's funds will be checked by a broker."
"Bidding will start at 500,000 Gold." The Announcer was working hard to bring the bidding prices up.
A Broker finally came up to Wu Hai's table while the auction was ongoing, it seemed like he wanted to disrupt Wu Hai's bidding a bit but it didn't work to dissuade Mikes interest in the slightest. Mike was keenly aware of the use for necromancy. The problem was.. in practice, it would likely lead to a loss of self and a deep loathing for the living. He didn't bid.
"550,000" … one auction participant cried out quickly.
"600,000" There was another bid of 50,000 put on top of the last.
It crushed the hopes of the first bidder, it seemed the first bidder had laid everything on the line for that single bid.
After a few rounds of raising the the price, the Books were sold to a dark robed man in the back. He ended up paying more than Wu Hai had spent on the Ashes. "SOLD, 1,800,000 Gold. Congratulations buyer. A Broker is on his way to you now."
The tension in Mike's shoulders dropped a bit after noticing that someone had finally spent more gold than the two of them.
"Our last item up for sale today is the most popular item in our inventory tonight. This Chunk of Mystery Ore came from the skies 21 years ago, its color is unmatched and it gives off an abnormal aura. Without special equipment anyone who's touched the ore has died within four breaths.. Bring out the Ore. We ask you do not touch the Ore, but feel free to approach for the next minute while we conduct our in house business." The announcer bowed gently to the group and directed the brokers to make their way.
A small fist size bit of metal ore gave off a smokey purple aura. The Ore was brought in on a pillow that was set on a pedestal. The slaves who brought it in had their complexion change slightly when they backed away.
The Ore seemed like it was poisoning them a bit. The attention of the audience was immediately to the fist size rock.
"As you can see, its aura is very unique." The announcer was preparing to continue.
'Prices are going to skyrocket!' Thinking about the bonus she would receive the Auctioneer called out for the auction to begin.
"Starting bid is 2 million." She knew she could get more than that, especially with the deep pockets their guests had shown.
"Do I hear a bid" With a smile on her face the Auctioneer glared at the crowd like a Lion eyeing bleeding prey.
Some of the bidders talked among themselves when no one immediately put out a bid.
"2 and a half" The man in black that bought the books called out. He had come prepared.
"Three Million" The prince from a neighboring country bid while stroking his beard.
Wu Hai was blown away at the price for the ore.
"Six Million" Zao Wu Hai looked over at Mike.. Mike was drooling.
"Mike?" Wu Hai wasn't going to compete with Mike, but he was the one that would have to pay for it.
"I've got it Brother Wu, Teacher would never forgive us for allowing it to escape our grasp." Mike's eyes burned with desire.
"Six Million, do I have a higher bid? Six Million Going once." The announcer started the countdown, but was interrupted a moment later.
"Seven and a half." The man in the black robe looked very angry as he placed the bid.
This was the reason he had come.. all of his clans remaining money had been sunk into that bid.
"Eight Million" Mike bid again.
"Eight Million, Two Hundred-Fifty Thousand." The man in black was about to lose his patience, he even had to use up the last of his own funds to cover his latest bid.
"Ten" … Taking a deep gulp, Mike knew he had already gone way beyond what they were suppose to do.
"Ten Million Gold" Mike finished speaking, his mouth dried out from the amount of money he had just spent.
If this was Earth Mike would have just spent nearly half a billion dollars worth of gold.
'Forgive me Wu.' Mike felt poor for the first time in this World.
"Its alright Mike, the bid is cast." Wu Hai knew what Mike was thinking and watched the Announcer who just about shit herself, she smiled when she heard Wu Hai's response.
"Ten Million, Going Once."
"Ten Million, Going Twice."
"Sold, for Ten Million. Congratulations Buyer. Our manager would like to see you." The Auctioneer was grinning from ear to ear.
'Today was productive.' She smiled and felt soft in the knees.
"All sales are final and payment is required immediately, please take care of all debts now. Thank you. Items can be picked up once the sale is finalized." The announcer stepped down from the stage and made her way through a set of curtains.
The Man in black robes watched Wu Hai and Mike with tentative eyes. He was looking for an opening or anything he could use to attack them before they left.
One of the guards noticed his glares and stepped between his gaze.
"Out of my way" The Man in black got angry but remembered their executioner and walked to the entrance to pay for his books.
"Brother Wu, the bookworm keeps eyeing us. We should leave another way.." Mike wasn't blind, neither were the guards.
"Esteemed Guests, please come this way. Our Auction House Manager would like to speak to you." The Auctioneer was being courteous again.
Mike and Wu Hai had prepared themselves mentally for the expenditure. Wu Hai hoped he had enough ore in his storage. He didn't want to produce the gold in front of anyone. Luckily, they had run into the shipwrecks. Most of the Gold from the Ocean floor was left in the storage rings on Wu Hai's finger, after they made landfall Qu had spent a whole day sorting out everything from the Wrecks.
"Oh? Lets go see what they have to say." They both stood up and followed the pretty beast girl.
Mike was happy to see a cute Beastgirl. He was especially interested in finding a woman with a tail one day..
"Ahh, Esteemed Buyers. You have spent so much today, despite the hateful stares you still went through great extent for your items. I'd like to ask, how do you intend to pay. The Bill comes to 11,050,000 gold pieces." The Manager looked like he had other ideas if they couldn't pay.
Wu Hai looked at the Auction House Manager and pulled out one large stack of gold bars after another. After a while, the back room was filled with nearly 10,000 gold bars.
"This should cover it, I'm not cutting them into coins." Wu Hai finished paying.
'These two are filthy rich.. I have to get them to come tomorrow.' Manager Chou was delighted to see them pay the bill and his eyes glittered with greed.
"What are you plans for tomorrow? The City has its monthly sale of male slaves and our large auction will be held then as well." The Manager wanted to get them to buy more, he had a few ideas on their tastes.
Money was money, and more money was better for business. The Manager smiled and waited for an answer.
"We intend to see the auction tomorrow, we need a number of non-human soldiers. Please see that there are some opportunities." Wu Hai collected the Ooze Corpse into its own ring, and put the ashes as well as the ore into another.
"If that's all, we'll be taking our leave." Wu Hai and Mike were about to leave when the Auction House manager stopped them briefly.
"These are VIP access tokens, with them you can 'inspect' the cargo tomorrow before it goes to auction. I hope these will show our appreciation for your patronage.." Waving his hand to show them the exit ,the Manager watched the pair exit the office and walk to a corner in the Auditorium.
"Mike, we can't walk out. We can come back for the dragoons when there is less going on." Wu Hai hid his actions and started rolling for lightning-darkness abilities.
"We can just teleport, I've rested enough." When channeling his ability, a ring surrounded them both and then two lightning orbs entered the ring. Before anyone could see what they had done, Wu Hai touched his fingertip to the spell circle.
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They were in the forest near the spot they had placed the Tower previously.
Mike took the time to expand the pagoda while Wu Hai did some thinking.
Holding the Tower Control Token, Mike wondered why he was able to control it. Qu was finicky, annoyingly so. 'Is it because of my Tattoo?'
Mike had asked Qu about the tattoo before, but Qu didn't have any answers. It was strange for the Tower Spirit to be unable to answer questions about magical effects once they had been observed, but it had literally been years and Qu still had no answers. Mike felt like he finally had some sort of clue that was associated, but it was unverifiable.
Once the Tower was enlarged they entered quickly, there was no telling if anyone saw its expansion and they didn't want to be discovered.
"Qu, please read these books on forging before we leave. Gather the slave girls together." Wu Hai waved his hand and teleported to the 14th floor where he had many of his private experiments and materials.
Placing the Ashes of Saint Dottie in the weapon storage, and the Ring with the Ooze on a shelf Zao Wu Hai felt pained. Wu Hai had read about Munidod's fallen love in the books that Master Jiang had brought with him from the bookstore.
"I'll get revenge for you, I swear it." Swearing under his breath, Wu Hai went back to the lobby floor and saw the slave girls in a row.
All of them had taken the healing potions, bathed and acclimated well to their new surroundings. They still had looks of confusion on their faces but most of them were amazed at their situation. They never imagined that they would be treated this well in such a short amount of time.
"Master." The girls all bowed down at Wu Hai.
He had taken the time to do the blood contracts.
"Call me Prince Wu.. Tomorrow I'll be taking you all to my Clan's home, along with as many male slaves as I can purchase. You will be left in the care of the Patriarch of the Zao Clan, and my family. There you will be given a job that suits your aptitudes. Qu has probably been testing you to see what your skills are. Those that make the top 5% of scores will be rewarded." Wu Hai commanded them all to return to reading and studying.
"Brother Wu, how many can you teleport at one time?" Mike was curious.
"I have only done a few teleports with more than just myself, as long as they are in the teleportation ring they should transport. I might need more than one trip depending on how many males we buy tomorrow. It all depends on the situation, I'm prepared somewhat. You should give the Ore to Teacher, but remind him that it cost 10 million gold to buy. He should be thankful, or pissed that we bought it... we'll find out." Wu Hai walked up to Mike and followed him outside, they had to take the carriage with them this time.
Wu Hai shrunk the tower and surrounded the carriage with a teleportation ring.
The Inn's barn was pretty big, when they teleported inside nothing was in the way.
Wu Hai left the Carriage in the barn and grabbed Mike's shoulder once more, "We still have to go retrieve our dragoons, hang on."
Wu Hai made a smaller circle and they flashed to the corner of the auction house where they had teleported earlier.
It didn't seem like anyone had seen them. Wu Hai felt at unease when teleporting, but he didn't really want to be found out. An unknown enemy that knows your skills is an opponent you might regret.
The Auction house was quiet and very few people remained in the building. Wu Hai could feel them all on their arrival. A flush of waving curtains was the only disturbance when they returned. No one saw their arrival and Wu Hai still had the darkness ability. With Mike in tow, they stuck to the shadows and blinked from one wall to another. The suns had set so the night sky brought enough shadow to cover their escape from the second floor.
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They made their way to the Stables for the Dragoons.
The Eunuch that had been watching the Dragoons looked tired and ready to go to bed.
"Thank you, here is a tip." Tossing a gold coin to the castrated man, Wu Hai noticed his eyes.
The Eunuch had been listless since he had taken away the Dragoons. It immediately seemed pointless to hand him wealth. Money would never bring happiness to the broken man.
"Wait, give that back.. drink this instead. Good luck." Wu Hai took the gold away and passed the man an Ancient Healing potion.
"Young Master, I cannot." The Eunuch tried to pass it back but Wu Hai was intending on the man drinking it.
"Drink it or I can feed it to you." Wu Hai wanted to know if it would work, the man didn't look long for his days the way he was currently and Wu Hai thought it was worth the try.
No matter the case, the slave was unable to disobey and live. He looked back at Wu Hai and spoke with a cracking voice.
"If that is your wish, I will do as you say." Tipping the cap, he quickly drank the contents of the vial. A strange flush came over the man and he had a feeling that he had not had for many years.
Startled, confused, excited and fearful the man looked in his pants and watched as his severed member slowly returned to its glorified self, his friends had sold him into slavery at a young age. When he became a slave the first thing that happened was his castration. Crying without making a sound the man looked at Wu Hai and Mike before he dropped to the ground in disbelief. He finally had what was lost to him.
"Masters.. please.. don't leave me here." Wu Hai couldn't just take the man from the Auction house.
"We cannot take you from here today. But, I can probably buy your contract tomorrow. Pretend this never happened and speak to no one about it. If they find out, they will take it from you again. When we leave this city, I'll take you with me even if they won't sell you. Do what I asked, and its a promise." After consoling the servant, Wu Hai looked at Mike and nodded.
Their unspoken communication had been evolving lately, leaving less to be said in strange situations.
Passing the reins to their owners, the former Eunuch looked at the pair of masters leaving his sight and shook from head to toe.
He had been given hope in his life again.