1508 looked at Jero, who was carrying him and walking fast. He didn’t care about the pain from the friction on his body or the shock of the man’s steps. He wanted to know—was there really someone who wanted to buy him? But he didn’t dare speak.
"This is your last chance, so whatever you do, it’s for your future," Jero said.
1508 looked down. He was skeptical. He was sure that whoever it was would leave after seeing him.
He looked around. It was crowded. The slaves had come out of the barracks, and even the trainers were clustered in some corners. What was going on? When they saw him coming, everyone looked at him seriously. Some gave him puzzled and questioning looks.
When Jero brought him to the center of the field, which slaves used for physical training, two men stood there. They seemed to be the center of attention.
The closer they got, the wider 1508’s eyes grew. The two men had brought him back from the forest this morning.
There was no way they would buy him, right?
Jero slowly placed the slave’s body down on the grass. 1508 tried hard to kneel— a mandatory position for slaves during the slave market. But in his condition, he had difficulty getting up. Instead, his body trembled violently.
But he didn’t want to fail again. He took a deep breath and knelt down despite the pain throughout his body.
Don’t fail again, please... he pleaded silently. His body was stiff with dried blood. He bowed his head. His chest beat hard.
"Isn’t he your slave? You sold him. Why don’t you treat him well?" Sylas’s voice rang out. His soft and firm tone assured the slave that he wasn’t dreaming of seeing that man again.
Jero smiled, but his body’s reaction couldn’t lie. He was nervous. 1508 had never seen his trainer bewildered before.
"Well, he’s one of the most obedient slaves we have. You pay for him now, and you can take him after his wounds heal. How’s that?" Jero made a deal.
1508 was silent. He was used to being treated like property, a commodity in Omino. He just looked down in silence, unable to think for fear of disappointment.
He saw Sylas’s shadow on the ground as the man raised his hand. Then he saw the black-robed knight Alvaro looking down at him. Before he could raise his head, he felt the man’s hands move quickly, slipping under his feet and lifting his body into the air.
1508 was startled and widened his eyes. But his stomach had already landed on Alvaro’s shoulder. The position was extremely painful for him, but he was more afraid of what the man would do.
"I don’t want to come here again!" Alvaro snapped, throwing a bag of coins at Jero. It seemed very heavy.
Jero caught it quickly. He counted the coins. Slaves were valued differently according to their skills and abilities. The more skilled and in-demand they were, the more expensive they became.
The most expensive slave was valued at 2,500 gold coins. One of the slaves with the most excellent service was in bed. A sultan of a kingdom took her as a concubine.
Slaves were typically valued at 500–1,500 gold coins. But there were some cases of slaves being sold for 100 gold coins because they were considered worthless, rather than being taken down.
Similarly, 1508 had been marketed for 200 gold coins. However, no one wanted to buy him, even after the trainer agreed to lower the price to 100 coins.
1508 was surprised when Jero mentioned the number of coins in the bag. "500 coins." Thıs content belongs to novèlfire.net
Jero’s face lit up because he received a commission for every slave sold under his charge. He hadn’t expected to make money from a weak and useless slave who was almost taken down.
Jero looked at Sylas, bowing respectfully. He was sure the man wasn’t an ordinary person. But why did he want 1508, and why did he specifically mention the slave’s characteristics, as if he already knew him?
"We have a lot of slaves. If you’re willing to give me a contact, I’ll let you know when the slave market opens," Jero said.
Sylas was about to reply, but Alvaro interrupted. "Train your men properly! They almost killed us. Is that how people treat customers?!"
"Well, we do guard this area carefully. Outsiders are not permitted to enter the slave training camp. But if you come to the slave market, we have a special place and will be happy to serve," Jero replied, trying to make Sylas a regular customer.
"You don’t need to know who we are. We won’t come back!" Sylas said, and walked away.
Alvaro looked away, impatient. He walked quickly, not caring that the slave’s body on his shoulder trembled with pain.
Sylas stared at the slave, sure that his wounds had worsened. He regretted not taking the slave away this morning.
He hadn’t intended to buy a slave at all. He didn’t want a slave. But this morning, after arriving at their inn, Sylas couldn’t sit still. He didn’t understand why that slave filled his thoughts.
Finally, that night, he forced Alvaro to accompany him to Omino to ensure the slave was safe. The slave’s words about being taken down made him even more uneasy. Though he didn’t really believe humans could be taken down like that, without breaking the law.
Arriving at Omino, they were forced to leave. Some of the men had already drawn arrows on them. Only then did a man called the chief come and calm them down.
The man asked Sylas to leave, but Sylas insisted on seeing the slave’s condition. He mentioned the slave’s features and the number on his wrist: 1508.
The chief told him he couldn’t see the slave unless he bought him.
After a long conversation, Sylas believed that everything could be solved with words—but that was not the case in Omino.
Sylas had to leave or buy the slave. And he knew he had no other choice.
Alvaro was very upset when the man decided to buy the slave because he believed slaves would only make their lives harder. But, as always, he couldn’t stop Sylas.
In the end, they left Omino with the slave.
They had left their horses quite far outside the village. Since Alvaro was sure their horses would be robbed if they entered Omino, he had to be careful.
Alvaro got 1508 off roughly, making the slave groan in pain. He immediately untied Sylas’s horse and brought it to him, along with his own horse.
"Are you satisfied now? What are you going to do with that slave?" Alvaro asked, staring at 1508 coldly.
The slave looked at Sylas and Alvaro in turn. He still couldn’t believe it—surviving Room Zero and now having a master. He felt an overwhelming sense of joy, as if a miracle had just come his way.
Without caring about Alvaro’s annoyed gaze, or the pain in his body, he crawled to grab Sylas’s hand.
Sylas, who was still busy with his horse, was surprised and reflexively pulled his hand away. Alvaro quickly grabbed the slave’s hand, pulling him away.
1508 groaned in pain, collapsing into the grass. Alvaro pulled out his sword, placing it against the slave’s neck. "Don’t you dare touch him!"
1508 was frightened, and he shook his head quickly. He didn’t mean to hurt his master. He immediately prostrated with difficulty. "P-please forgive me, Master. Don’t kill me, please!"
Sylas stared at the terrified slave. He had never seen a human so fragile and easily scared—especially when he saw the slave crying under Alvaro’s sword.
Sylas asked Alvaro to remove his sword. "He won’t be able to touch you even without a sword," he said.
Alvaro had only intended to scare him, but unexpectedly, the slave cried in fear. "I’m warning you again, don’t touch him! Do you understand?"
The slave nodded quickly. He wiped his tears and knelt down again. "Please forgive me. I will not do it again. I will do better!"
Sylas moved closer, grabbed the slave’s hand, and forced him to stand.
The slave groaned in pain but forced himself to stand. His head was bowed.
"What’s your name?" asked Sylas.
The slave was silent for a moment before answering. "1508, Master."
Sylas shook his head, not expecting that they would name each slave by number.
"From now on, your name will be Kai. Not 1508. Remember that?" Sylas said.
The slave was transfixed. He had a name? Kai?
He looked up at Sylas with his eyes still glazed. "Yes, Master."
"I don’t need a slave. You can go wherever you want."
Kai was silent. He suddenly felt scared. "No, please... Master, don’t leave me!"