Lou Ben was used to being alone with his thoughts, he spent years simply watching his life repeat without being able to experience anything new.
The empty store inside the village is no different.
"Well, at the very least it's not something I've experienced yet."
"HAHA! To be bought and sold! It's new! The people here are vicious and quick to murder! Oh, heaven has placed me in such a precarious situation. All I can do is ride the wave of this tide and find out where I go!"
Lou Ben finished thinking and after thinking, he found a positive outlook on things.
Before he was one to sit and wonder with his eyebrows furled but now, he was trying to think of things in new light.
"There was a saying that was common in America, when in Rome do as the romans."
"I'll try to take this to heart and see what life brings me! This breath of fresh air is like a boulder off my shoulders. Nothing can compare. Yes, I am weak. Perhaps I can scheme myself way into the top. If I get the chance to walk this road of becoming powerful, then so be it. If I get the chance to experience love again then I'll take it. If there is a chance to take, I will not only take a meager wage, but I will take everything!"
"I was reborn, reincarnated with my previous memories of a pathless life. I will not make a mistake and will write those pages of my life for myself. If there are many mistakes and if I only live as a meager slave that died trying to escape, so what?"
"I have already experienced a life without direction. If I point the way and follow it then I have no problems with the outcome."
Lou Ben figured out that he was going to take a walk in any direction, but as to where that took him, he has yet to figure that out.
To a person like Lou Ben, they are like the many cocoons yet to be hatched. What he is experiencing now is the first crack of light, one before he emerges as a new being.
"All I must do is wait now. Someone will eventually buy me."
Lou Ben sat inside his dark blue crystal waiting for the next customer to take interest in him.
Many days had passed, even more customers were seen. Some sold, while others bought.
"It seems like these people only come here looking for specific mortals to do specific jobs."
Lou Ben had seen a small variety of people come into the shop.
There were many people who wore the same dark robe that covered their face. There were not so many people that boldly came into the slave auction.
When people saw Lou Ben, many eyes were raised in shock.
The price on Lou Ben as a mortal combat slave was much more than the average price. No one asked the reason, they simply picked their surprised gaze off Lou Ben and shifted towards the shelf with many other dark blue crystals.
One fateful day there arrived a certain dark robed character, like the many people beforehand, their face was covered with the hood. The dark robe character the man behind the bar.
"I want that one on the counter there."
The voice was stern, it sounded both strong and soft, female and male, there was no discerning features about the voice. It was much like the dark robe he or she wore, it covered them completely, not leaving anything up to chance.
The man behind the bar was excited, he knew the day would come when he would make profit off Lou Ben.
"Good sir or madam, this is a special product we have here. He is the youngest combat mortal we have yet to take in. His bone age should be around eighteen years of age. There is nothing else like him. Most at this age are in orphanages or lost due to disease. You know how difficult it is for a mortal to survive in today's world."
The man selling Lou Ben was talking the product up so that this customer will be happy with his purchase, he seemed to care very much about his reputation.
Unfortunately, Lou Ben was never able to see his features, when he first arrived it was all a blur. Lou Ben was more focused on trying to accept facts and see where his life would end up.
Now the person in this dark robe had talked about purchasing him, he perked his ears and opened his eyes to try to get a better look at him.
"I don't care, here are twenty-five aura stones. Take it or leave it." The dark robe character maintained their stern attitude towards the man behind the counter.
"Good sir or madam, I will gladly accept twenty-five aura stones." The man behind the counter was happier to get rid of product and make short profit, it seemed that it would make the customer happy, so he wasn't too pushy and simply understood that product that sits on the shelf for too long of a time is a product that makes no money. He was a man that thoroughly understood when and where to up the price and sell at any moment, a true businessman, one not too attached to the wares he sold.
"Good, I will take this mortal now. I was very much in need of one."
Lou Ben was sold as quickly as he was bought, little to no negotiation. The price was just right for the dealer to make profit. The man or woman behind the dark robe truly had a special eye at discerning the bottom line for merchants. It could be said that in a single glance this figure was able to get what they wanted for the best price.
"Come mortal. You can keep your name. I need a broom servant. Count yourself lucky that I don't use you to refine any crystals."
The figure swept their sleeve, and, in a flash, Lou Ben was in dark space with no sight of the inside world.
Lou Ben had already gotten used to being surprised after taking note of the people that walked into the store.
The people buying mortal slaves would often grab and stuff the dark blue crystals into their knapsack.
There was even an instance when a person directly combined the crystal with their weapon and displayed a sinister smile.
For Lou Ben to be transported into an empty space with no sign of the outside world, he was not surprised, but more in anticipation as to what comes next.
Lou Ben looked around and surely there were only aura stones, and a lot of them too, not only that there were countless jade slips and mountains of crystals.
If Lou Ben could try to discern who this kind of character was simply from what was kept in this space, then he could tell that at the very least he or she was someone well off.
"I was tortured and sold into slavery for one of those jade slips. Now a character arrives with mountains of aura stones, crystals of dark blue and jade slips. It's safe to say that who ever this person is, they have accumulated a large wealth."
Lou Ben had gathered enough information to know that what is in store might be something rather interesting. The heartbeat inside of him was growing in anticipation, it could be heard in this vast space of nothing and materials.
With a flash of light, Lou Ben appeared outside of his dark blue crystal kneeling down in front of the dark robed figure.
"Listen boy, my name is Xiao Weizhe, you will call me master Xiao. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will only say 'yes master Xiao' or 'no master Xiao'. There is no in-between. Do I make myself clear?"
Lou Ben heard this figure and knew he was a happy-go-lucky person.
"So stern." Lou Ben thought.
The figure pulled down his robe and a middle-aged man appeared. He was not too handsome nor too ugly, he was average. Master Xiao was had short, refined hair, yellow gold eyes, and a figure that was not too lean nor too burly, he was just as his looks were… average.
Lou Ben was slightly off guard but didn't want to take this time to fumble on his words. Who knows, if this person sees that he hesitated he might take his head off right here.
"Yes, master Xiao." Lou Ben exclaimed with an expressionless face as to now reveal too much.
He was much calmer in the heart as opposed to the last time he was face to face to another. This made it much easier to relax his face and do what he needed to do. That's not to say it was easy, this was his first time as a mortal slave, and he has yet to understand what's going to be asked of him.