A pair of soft eyes slowly opened in the darkness, revealing bright, azure pupils.

Noa looked left and right with fear and alertness.

She was confined within a small, iron cell with dozens of other women.

Unlike her, all of these women were half naked, only their private parts being covered up with dirty rags.

They had blisters and injuries all over their dirt-covered bodies, their hair frizzled to a mess and their eyes void of all emotions.

Noa gasped subconsciously, horrified at what she saw: ‘All of these women… they are slaves.’

She was taken aback with sorrow and also anger at this entire concept.

Her knees weakened, buckling beneath her as she fell onto her feet.

Noa never remembered coming to Rock Saelfine, the village of Imbu.

She had always remembered her life in another place far away from here, with her parents and family.

However, a lapse in her memory caused her to one day appear in Imbu.

Ever since then, although she was left alone, Noa was taken in by the people of Imbu and raised as one of their own.

She grew, played, learned, and eventually became a member of the Imbu people.

Her goals quickly formed around the village.

The people within Imbu were not like those from Rock Saelfine.

Instead, they were the very opposite. Despite those within the main kingdom viewing unfortunate people as slaves, the people within Imbu viewed the unfortunate as someone they could relate to. A friend, perhaps.

The people outside of Rock Saelfine’s invisible walls hated the concept of slavery, as their ancestors were the ones to go through that fate.

And as such, Noa came to hold the same view. However, her passion for the hate of slavery extended beyond that.

To her, the very thought of confining someone else for one’s bidding was the worst act possible.

From a young age she vowed to free anyone that she could from this fate, and her Ancestral Ability fit her personality perfectly, as she was able to use it to free many from their physical shackles.

However, it wasn’t like she could actually free slaves…

She was only a young girl, and she had other things to worry about, like caring for her people of Imbu.

Although her dream for as long as she could remember was to free everyone she could… she also badly wanted to find her parents…

And now, her worst nightmares had come true. Seeing these slaves in front of her sapped her of all energy.

It was the worst thing she could imagine, and it was happening right in front of her. The grief and angst she felt was deplorable.

She even began to tear up, muffling her mouth as she silently sobbed. The memories of the people of Imbu… Spen… her parents… her dreams and aspirations.

‘Were they all for nothing?’ She thought to herself. ‘Why… why must people be so cruel?’

***

Hanzo and Malon arrived at the auction venue within a few minutes of their departure from Spen.

They were speeding like never before. At a certain speed, even the guards wouldn’t bother trying to catch you…

The auction house was a large, half-circle building. It’s walls were red, with white stripes lining its edges.

The entrance was grand and large, the main doors open to all from what they could see.

Dozens stood outside, others entering while others exited the building.

Everyone looked to be dressed either in brown robes or very fancy attire.

The two hopped off of the jetski and neared the building.

“The poster said all are welcome…” Hanzo said to Malon, slightly concerned if they would be let in.

“What the plan…” Malon questioned, slightly skeptical.

“I haven’t ever been to a slave auction, but I’ve been to other ones. They all work the same in terms of the highest bidder getting the purchase.”

Malon furrowed his eyebrows, “Y-you want to buy all of the villagers!?”

“No…” Hanzo said in a low tone, “I do not know what they did with everyone, but we will try to buy everyone that we can… especially Noa.”

Malon was a bit caught off guard by this, “Why do you hold her above the others? Is that not cruel?”

Hanzo sighed, “Look, Malon… she has one of the most rare abilities in the world. Above that, she is a real friend of mine. At least I think she is. Although I wish I was perfect, I’m not. I want to save my friend at the very least, damn it.”

Malon turned his face forward, “No… I can’t blame you. I would do the same if I was in your situation. No one is perfect… but if we can, we must try to buy all of the villagers that we see.”

“No doubt about that. Let’s see how far 35,000 Gold takes us…”

***

Tyr’s intent to kill was so surreal that it had translated into real, physical blood thirst energy in the air.

So much so that the Black Merchant Guild members could feel an overwhelming feeling of doom suddenly overcome them.

They stared at the smiling human in front of them with bewilderment, who, with this blasphemous killing intent, now seemed like some sort of towering monster.

‘Blink Step.’

Tyr blitzed forward out of nowhere, appearing before one of the robed figures and grabbing him by the neck.

The thug was lifted up from the ground and immediately began choking. He wailed his legs, kicking nonstop as he clawed at Tyr’s tightly gripped hand to remove the iron maiden on his neck.

Tyr’s expression remained furious as he continued to squeeze even harder, eventually crushing the man’s vertebrates and neck bones and tearing his neck muscles as if they were mush.

The robed man immediately stopped moving, his hands and feet falling like a ragdoll’s limbs as blood trickled down his mouth.

[You have slain Mena Oeal (Apprentice Rank Human).]

[You leveled up!]

[Current level: 142]

[Level needed for next spell: 250]

Tyr smiled again, “How satisfying…”

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