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#15 PURCHASING SLAVES. THE HOLLOW EXCHANGE

  (Author's note: ??I got too much into the writing and made this chapter too long. Take it as an apology for me not being able to upload as regurly as I used to. I'll be getting my ptop back in a week, so I'll start uploading more then. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter)

  In the Moonspire of Luna temple, in the centre of Lunareth.

  Eria had already returned to the temple a long time ago after spending only 5 days to monitor Non's recovery. During her short absence, the whole temple was in an uproar over her disappearance.

  She held a high status not only within Lunareth but the whole empire. So, the temple desperately tried to hide her disappearance from the outside world in order to prevent panic within the empire.

  Holy knights were secretly dispatched throughout the city and the nearby vilges to search for her discreetly. This was why she decided to come back early.

  She wanted to stay with Non a little bit longer but since the desote vilge wasn't too far off from the city, she knew it was only a matter of time before the knights came to look for her there.

  If that happened, and they found her, news would have spread throughout the empire and the desote vilge would have attracted the attention of many people. This would cause Non a lot of trouble and hinder her growth and future pns.

  ...

  At present, Eria walked into the High Priestess's office as she greeted her mother.

  "Greetings mother."

  "Ah! Is my adorable daughter here to visit me again? You've been coming by a lot since you came back from your journey. It seems that I have to thank that child of prophecy for this when I meet her." Selia said as she beamed into a smile.

  For some unknown reason, Eria had started spending more time with her since she came back. This made her happy, but she also wondered what Non had said or taught Eria during her short stay.

  On the other hand, Eria had a solemn smile on her face as she heard this. During the short time she spent with Non, she had learned a lot. Non had told her about her previous life; she grew up as an orphan and had never seen or met her parents.

  All her life, she had been alone and had to depend on herself. Even after being reincarnated into this world, she still had no parents and had to take care of herself in a completely new environment.

  Eria, who was lucky enough to be raised by both her parents felt that she was truly fortunate. She secretly made a vow in her heart that she would spend more time with her parents while they are still alive.

  "Ahem! That's beside the point; I have a favor to ask." Eria spoke after snapping out of her thoughts.

  "Oh? What is it? Going out again?"

  "No. I need about 300 sves."

  "Huh?! 300 sves? What for?" Selia was shocked as she asked.

  "It's not for me, it's for Non. She needs an army."

  "An army? But why sves?"

  "I didn't ask. All she told me was that she wanted young sves, it doesn't matter whether they are human, beastkin, or half-demons. As long as they are below the age of 20." Eria eborated as she fell into deep thought.

  Selia looked at her in silence, thoughts and specutions rushing into her mind.

  The temple couldn't possibly purchase sves officially under their name. This would ruin their reputation for sure and cause riots among the citizens.

  She knew that Eria knew that as well, but to still ask her to purchase sves regardless meant that Non was in a tough situation. Reborn in a new world without any connections and now a chief of a desote vilge.

  She realized that Non really had no one to ask for help other than the one who received the prophecy from Goddess Luna. She also realized that the prophecy received by Eria was so she could help Non gain a firm foothold before the world noticed her existence.

  Not to mention, Non probably didn't have enough funds to buy the sves on her own. As one of the biggest temples in the empire, the Moonspire of Luna had more than enough funds to purchase all the sves in Lunareth.

  Eria's own personal funds were enough to buy 50% of all the sves by herself.

  "Mother, I have more than enough funds for 300 sves. So, I ask that you convert the money in my treasury and hand it over to Non. She said she would like to come to the city and pick the sves herself if possible." Eria suddenly said. Although her mother was the High Priestess, she knew that Selia secretly had connections to the city's underworld.

  Her only maternal uncle was used to doing business in the underworld and was very close to her mother. But only 2 people knew of this, and that was Eria and her father.

  "Two days, I'll use my own funds." Selia said with a firm voice.

  "But mother..." Eria tried to refuse but was cut off by Selia.

  "You are my daughter and the Saintess. I don't want you spending your own money on such dirty things, me and your uncle will handle everything. Just send a message to Non to come to the city on the morning of the 3rd day." Selia's gaze was strict and unwavering.

  Eria had no choice but to agree.

  "Alright. I'll send the message tonight using the whispering crystal." Eria reluctantly said as she looked a little disappointed by the fact that she couldn't directly help Non.

  "Hmm. Now come sit down, I want to sleep on my cute daughter's p." Selia continued as her expression took a complete turn. From a stern and strict mother to a loving and doting mother.

  Eria felt helpless, this mother of hers was truly a cunning person. She even wondered how her honest and righteous father fell in love with such a woman.

  After a few hours of struggling to get away from Selia, Eria finally managed to leave the office and send the message to Non.

  That night, Non received the message from a whispering crystal Eria had left behind before she left so they could communicate easily.

  After receiving the message, she made preparations to leave for the next 2 days. To make sure the vilge would continue to function without her while she was away, she appointed Sandy in charge of the mansion.

  Vigil was still in charge of the unfinished constructions in the vilge while Drellis and a few guards were in charge of guarding and patrolling the vilge.

  ...

  ...

  Around 4 a.m. in the morning of the 3rd day, Non left the vilge heading for Lunareth. She used flight magic since it was a bit far.

  Since she still hadn't fully recovered, she still had a limited number of times she could use magic. At present, she could only use flight magic for a maximum of 4 hours continuously.

  The city was 8 hours away from the vilge, but this would not be a problem for Non since her flight magic would get her there in half that time.

  But this also meant that she wouldn't be able to use magic anymore as soon as she arrived. This didn't matter because she was still a level 5 Elemental sword master so she was confident she would be able to fend for herself even without magic.

  Sandy had also insisted she dye her hair and eye color with magic since bck hair and eyes were practically non-existent in the entire empire. She even thought that Non was probably the only person with such unique features in the empire.

  Following this, Non dyed her hair and eyes brown with magic in order to easily blend in without attracting attention in the city before leaving.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Exactly 4 hours ter, Non nded near the hidden cave where Drellis had previously dropped off Talia and met Eria. Since she didn't have an identity token to enter the city, Eria had instructed her to meet at this spot. And Drellis had given her the accurate location of the hidden cave.

  As soon as she arrived at the entrance of the cave, she saw the figure of a person inside. She cautiously drew her short sword and walked in.

  As she approached, the figure became clearer. It was a middle-aged woman with ash-blonde hair with streaks of grey, an ordinary appearance and gentle lines on her face. It was none other than Selia, Eria's mother. Non had heard of her from Eria, so she withdrew her sword upon realizing who she was.

  On the other hand, upon seeing Non, Selia beamed into a radiant smile as she saw through Non's magic. She was a 6th circle divine magician after all, so she could easily see through the spell Non had used to dye her hair and eye color.

  Divine magic was like a type of holy power, granted only to the priests and the Saintess recognised by Goddess Luna. It was stronger than Dark and Ordinary magic.

  In her eyes at this moment, she saw through Non's true form. This little girl in front of her was a truly a beauty, even the brown hair and eye color spell did little to hide her captivating beauty.

  "Are you Eria's mother?" Non asked as she stopped in front of her.

  Upon hearing this, Selia was even happier. Everyone in the temple called her "Madam High Priestess" or "Holy maiden." Even after she had Eria, no one ever called her, "Eria's mother" like Non just did.

  "Ah! Yes! I am Eria's mother!" She said as she pumped out her chest in pride.

  "Oh... I thought Eria was supposed to be the one to meet me here."

  "Eria doesn't know much about the city's underworld and I'd like to keep it that way, so I'll be your escort today!" Selia said as her eyes scanned Non up and down from head to toe.

  'Such a cute child dressed like a dark prince ready for battle. It would be a shame to let her looks go to waste.' She thought.

  "Can we go now?" Non suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

  A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Selia's face, "No. We can't go into the city with you looking like that." She said as she pointed at Non's usual outfit.

  "Huh?" Non was confused.

  ...

  A few minutes ter, Non was turned into a beautiful little girl, wearing a red dress that was up to her knees. Showing a rare sight of her white tender legs and arms.

  A red rose hung on the side of her hair. She was speechless, other than that one-time Luna had persuaded her to wear a dress, this was the second time she had ever worn a dress since coming to this world.

  Non: "..."

  'Eria was right, this woman is truly cunning. If possible, I should try my best to never meet her again!' Non thought to herself as she helplessly stared at Selia in defeat.

  After that, Non and Selia left the hidden cave and went into the city. As a 6th circle divine magician, Selia's magic was enough to hide Non so they could enter the city without having to go through the gates.

  An hour or two ter, they rode on a carriage on the busy streets of Lunareth. Selia was disguised as a wealthy noble woman, she had also used magic to dye her hair color brown like Non's and altered her facial features so no one would recognize her.

  She wore a red dress that matched the one she'd practically forced Non to wear. The 2 of them looked like mother and daughter.

  Inside the carriage, Selia stared at Non's face as she smiled.

  ...

  "...What?" Non finally couldn't bare it anymore and asked.

  "You have a cute face you know? I don't know how many noble families would kill to have a daughter-in-w like you. Even the Royal family would snatch you up if they saw you."

  Non: "..."

  After that, Non tried to ignore Selia as she hurled compliments at her. On the way, Non saw the city through the carriage window.

  Since she arrived in this world, this was the first time she really felt like this was truly another world. The desote vilge was too isoted and didn't have much. But Lunareth was different, it was bustling with all sorts of people. Street vendors, performers, Knights, nobles, merchants and many more. Non couldn't look away as she witnessed all these different types of people mixed together and seemingly in harmony.

  But she knew better than to believe what was shown on the surface. She saw through these people's facade; many were desperately trying to survive while others looked for opportunities to extort the people around them. The nobles acted high and mighty, doing as they wished. Even priests from the church roamed the streets with their arrogance out for everyone to see.

  Sves could be seen accompanying their masters amidst the crowd, battered and chained like dogs on a leash. Non looked over, a frown appearing on her face.

  Selia noticed this, "You are the only one who can save them you know," she said as Non's gaze shifted back to her.

  "The reason I associate myself with the underworld is so I can monitor it closely. In this corrupt world, there's no way for the church to completely get rid of them, especially with so many corrupt priests. The more of them we wipe out, the stronger they return. Only the presence of a powerful being beyond our grasp can completely clean up this world. I hope you make that prophecy a reality." Selia said as she looked outside the carriage.

  Non remained silent, there was no need for her to reply. But she already had an answer in her heart, her coming to the city to buy sves may seem like a trivial matter to others. But to her, this was the most important part of her pn. The sves she would buy here would be core members of her troops in the future, this was why she came to pick them herself rather than let Eria and Selia select them at random.

  2 more hours went by as the carriage continued deeper into the city, finally turning into a dark pathway in between some abandoned buildings. The atmosphere suddenly changed, this pce was dark and gloomy. The deep east-end of Lunareth.

  The sunlight had no pce to shine here, beggars filled the streets along the way while some suspicious people watched from the shadows, coming with schemes of their own as they id eyes on the carriage.

  Shabby and broken houses were lined up on the sides, the streets were damp and dirty with sewage water, causing a strong stench in the air.

  This pce was the dark side of Lunareth, the underworld. Many criminal organisations and guilds resided in this pce. It was beyond the control of the church's knights since it was in the slums.

  This was not because the church couldn't handle it, but because they were not interested in cleaning up this pce. Especially with the church having so many corrupt higher ups.

  At this moment, within the people hiding in the shadows. A man wearing a bck cloak looked at the carriage as he frowned, shortly after he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

  Inside the carriage, Selia felt something and looked over in the direction the man had disappeared with a smile on her face.

  "It seems like they've noticed us. Prepare yourself." She said, still looking outside the window.

  "Enemies?" Non asked, since arriving here, she had felt a lot of malice directed towards them from all directions.

  "Don't worry, we are valued customers here. So, no one will dare y their hands on us. Actually, they've even sent someone very powerful to protect us in the shadows."

  "You mean that dark magician?" Non asked, surprising Selia.

  "Oh? You noticed him too? I'm impressed."

  "That's only because he suddenly used his magic, otherwise I wouldn't have sensed him since he had no malice towards us. But is he really that powerful?" Non was curious, since she had used up her mana reserves for the day, she couldn't sense that dark magician's true strength.

  "He's a 4th circle dark magician." Selia replied.

  "Huh? But aren't dark magicians the weakest among the magicians. Not to mention he's only a 4th circle dark magician."

  "Indeed. Dark magicians are the weakest type of magician there is, but he's different."

  "How so?"

  "He's a dark elf. The st of his kind..." Selia paused before continuing, "The dark elves were extremely talented in dark magic arts before they were wiped out. Their dark magic is almost on par with divine magic, he may be a 4th circle dark magician but even a pinnacle 5th circle ordinary magician may not be able to beat him."

  "Dark elf..." Non was surprised, she didn't expect to find one here all of a sudden.

  "Seems like we're here." Selia said as the carriage stopped in front of a wall at the end of the street where there was no one around. Selia stood up and got off the carriage, followed by Non.

  "Come," she said as she held her hand out to Non.

  Non grabbed a hold of it; they had pnned to go in acting as a mother and daughter duo after all.

  Standing before the pin-looking wall, a magical glyph shimmered into existence. Revealing a hidden door carved with ancient runes. The glyph pulsed once, as if scanning them, then faded. The stone parted noiselessly, opening a narrow passage into the darkness.

  Non followed Selia into the passage, her steps quiet, but her mind alert. Despite trusting Selia, she didn’t lower her guard. Her sharp eyes scanned every inch of the dim corridor lit by flickering blue torches embedded in the walls.

  Selia walked with ease, clearly familiar with the yout. "This pce is older than the city itself," she suddenly said.

  "An ancient ruin converted into one of the rgest underground sve markets in the empire. It’s called The Hollow Exchange. Few on the surface even know of its existence."

  "Underground... how fitting," Non muttered. "A rotting system hiding its shame beneath the city's feet."

  Selia chuckled lightly. " You have a sharp tongue too. But you’re not wrong."

  They passed through a series of winding corridors, guarded by silent, heavily armed mercenaries who didn’t spare them a gnce. Non noticed the absence of any religious symbols or noble crests, hiding one's identity and background was sacred here.

  Eventually, the corridor opened into a vast underground chamber as they continued forward, a subterranean marketpce illuminated by glowing crystal mps hanging from the high ceiling like suspended stars. Cages and pens lined the area in organized rows.

  Sves of every race and age were locked within, humans, beast kin, half-demons, and a few more rare species. Some were silent, eyes devoid of life; others watched with a mix of hope and suspicion.

  Merchants in hooded robes stood beside each cage, ready to pitch their "goods." The air was thick with magic suppressants, and a faint but ever-present stench of despair lingered, drowned by the high-pitched voices of the merchants' salesmen.

  Selia leaned close to Non and whispered, "You’ll find all kinds here. Some were born into svery. Others were sold by desperate families, and a few were once nobles who fell from grace. Choose carefully. Many are broken, they need someone strong to guide them."

  Non frowned as she spoke, "Don't worry, I'm not looking for loyalty. I’m looking for potential."

  She stepped forward, brushing past Selia as she looked at her tiny figure from behind. Selia wondered why the Goddess would bestow such a heavy burden on such a young and fragile child.

  ...

  As Non began her slow walk through the marketpce, something stirred within her. Her instincts, honed through decades of killing in her previous life awoke. Her gaze was clinical, precise. She passed rows of caged children, ignoring the merchants' pitches.

  She looked calm on the surface, but she was furious on the inside. Scum who did this kind of business were people she hated the most even in her previous life.

  As they continued forward, one cage suddenly made her pause.

  Inside were three children, barely ten years old. Two boys and a girl. All half-demons. Their horns had been sawn off, leaving jagged scars. But unlike the others, their eyes burned with quiet rage. Not fear. Not despair. But pure rage.

  Non crouched before them, staring through the bars as Selia stood behind her, extremely alert. Since they entered the marketpce, Non's beauty drew the attention of many who saw her. Even with her unique features hidden by magic, Non was still no doubt the most captivating person in this pce.

  Since Selia couldn't risk revealing her identity by using magic, she was very cautious and alert. But luckily for them, the dark elf magician was secretly following them. Within the marketpce, being followed by him meant that they were no ordinary people.

  Any threat towards them would be met with the retaliation of the marketpce's executives. 'Phew, looks like my brother took care of everything.' Selia thought to herself as she felt the presence of the dark elf.

  "What’s your name?" Non asked the girl in the cage, who stood in front of the 2 boys as if trying to protect them.

  "...Rika," she said quietly. "You buying us?"

  "I might," Non replied. "What would you do if I let you out?" Non asked.

  The girl blinked, then answered, "Protect my brothers. Kill the ones who caged us."

  Non smiled faintly. "Good answer."

  After that, they moved on. Selia watched Non’s process with interest. She wasn’t choosing based on physical strength, talent or beauty, but fire, spirit, ability to survive, and tenacity.

  By the end of their walk, Non had picked 320 individuals, all under twenty years and of various races and backgrounds. There were 100 humans, 100 beastkin, 100 half-demons and 20 demons.

  Their pickings had caused an uproar within the market. So many sves, and all of different races. Not to mention, they weren't the strongest since they were all children between the ages of 6 and 19.

  Everyone couldn't guess what someone would want with so many young and useless sves. But one thing was clear, these people were clearly of high status to be able to buy so many sves.

  However, they would have to wait for the negotiations to be completed in order to confirm their specutions.

  In a VIP back room of the marketpce, Selia handled the negotiations with the underworld broker, a man with a wolf mask and a voice like gravel. The transaction was discreet, but Non noticed how the broker’s tone grew cautious when he addressed Selia. The Moonspire’s reach was clearly deeper than she expected.

  Eventually, the paperwork was settled. The sves were marked with temporary ownership seals bound to Non’s mana signature, and a special magical token was crafted for her, a pendant that could control or release the seals at will.

  Later, as they walked out of the Hollow Exchange, the atmosphere outside felt lighter. Non stared at the pendant in her hand.

  Selia gnced at her. "Have you decided what you’ll do with them?"

  "I’ll train them," Non replied. "Break their limits. Mold them into something more. They’ll be my secret army. Not sves. But my soldiers and citizens."

  Selia raised a brow. "And what will you call them?"

  Non looked down at the pendant. Then, without emotion, she said, "The Bck Dawn."

  A while ter.

  As the carriage rolled back toward the centre of the city, the scene shifted perspective to one of the chosen sves back at the marketpce, Rika, reflecting on the strange girl in the red dress whose gaze made her heart tremble, not with fear, but with hope.

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