Chapter 61
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Since the store had first opened for business Ben had been constantly on the move either building or working on his projects. During this time the store had sold nine carts that had not been delivered yet.
Ben had put off delivering these carts for some time now but if it continued he feared it may give him a bad reputation. Before the store closed he went back into the basement and had the nine carts made and sent to the store's Warehouse.
Because the customers had patiently waited without complaint for their carts Ben decided he would deliver them directly to the addresses they left on the bill of sales.
When he left the store with the nine carts in his inventory the flashing notification in his peripheral vision drew his attention.
[Notice] [You have unlocked a hidden structure! It is now available in the build menu!]
[Carriage Manufacturer]: Produces enclosed carriages of any type. Custom design menu can be used to make designs and/or alterations to carriages.
[unlocks after ten carts are produced]
'I unlocked another hidden structure? This one unlocked after I built over ten carts it says in the description. I built those two carts that are out on display up on the third floor of the store and with these nine carts, I am delivering I made one over the amount needed to unlock this Carriage Manufacturer. This is a nice option to have available, now I can make fully enclosed luxury carriages.'
Ben had to do some traveling around the city to deliver all nine of the carts. Thankfully none of his customers complained about the wait and all seemed to be excited when they came outside to see their brand new cart sitting out front.
After his final delivery to the northern part of Goldcrest City, Ben happened to find a slave market. Seeing a slave market located in Goldcrest surprised him. It seemed to be treated just like any other business in the city. Being from Earth he still was not accustomed to seeing old world concepts like this and they were accepted by the kingdom's subjects.
'A slave market right here in the city? I guess I shouldn't be surprised this type of thing happened on Earth as well.'
Ben stood out in front of the sprawling slave market and began to wonder how the slaves were treated and what it would be like to be captured and sold off as a slave.
'I wonder if the slaves here are treated as bad as the ones I had rescued from the bandits. I remember them telling me that they would only receive one meal a day and the quality of that meal was terrible. Their former owner worked his slaves to death and then brought in newly bought slaves to take their place.'
As Ben thought about what a nightmare their lives must have been he decided to head into the slave market.
'I need people to work at that Small Palace I built in the noble district. I should take a look here before deciding to recruit people to fill those roles. It may be possible to save a few of these slaves from a miserable life and gain a few loyal employees. I will need to use the guilds to recruit people for the more experienced jobs later but the lesser skilled jobs could be handled by slaves.'
When Ben entered the main building he found he wasn't the only one looking to purchase slaves. There were a few nobles speaking with the slave market agents in the open lobby. Upon entering one of the slave market agents noticed Ben's stylish clothes and what appeared to be a noble's badge pinned to his tunic.
Without making Ben wait for help the agent left his desk to walk over and greet Ben as he entered.
The slave market agent stopped in front of Ben and bowed.
"Good evening my lord, my name is Alvis can I be of assistance?"
"Hello, Alvis I am Duke King I recently built a new estate in the noble district. I am interested in purchasing some slaves to fill a few open positions." Ben explained.
"Oh, you are the one who owns the spirit king store! I have heard all about your new estate they say it is so beautiful that you should be the second king of Aregard!"
The slave agent attempted to flatter Ben but didn't realize he had willing just stepped on a landmine.
Ben was in a decent mood until he heard Alvis mention the second king rumor. In his anger, Ben activated his aura and forced Alvis to his knees.
"I am also a cultivator as well as a noble of this kingdom! If I hear anymore traitorous talk like that I will take you home as one of my new slaves!"
Everyone in the office had stopped talking to look over at Alvis who was on his knees. Ben released Alvis from his aura not wanting to create more of a scene as an older gentleman walked over toward them.
Alvis looked like he had just taken a shower he was sweating so hard. The older gentlemen who walked over had heard the exchange between them and was staring daggers at Alvis as he approached.
"I am sorry this idiot offended you, Duke King. He has been warned before to think before he speaks let us hope your lesson in manners will inspire him to do just that." The older gentleman explained and then turned toward Alvis.
"Exactly what did you think was going to happen by repeating those ridiculous rumors? Have you stopped to think about the pressure that slanderous talk actually puts Duke King under with the royal family? I want you to work the slave house until I know you can control that mouth of yours! Now get out my lobby!"
Alvis retreated without a peep and made his way toward the back door leading toward the slave house.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Duke King, my name is Baron Bolstad. I am the owner of this slave market. Please allow me to apologize once again and be the one to personally help you."
"Thank you, Baron Bolstad. To tell you the truth I have never been to a slave market before so please excuse my inexperience. I am currently interested in purchasing six young men for groundskeeper roles, six young women for maid roles, and one middle-age to older man as a steward. I am unsure if any of your slaves are experienced in working for noble households if there are I would be interested in checking them out." Ben explained.
"I have close to a thousand slaves housed here in the market. There are many experienced slaves who have been either trained or were once free people who were labors, servants, and even craftsmen."
Baron Bolstad led Ben into a large comfortably furnished room just off of the lobby. The Baron had Ben sit down on a sofa and get comfortable while he left the room to arrange a viewing.
Ben did not have to wait long before the Baron returned through another door. He led a group of thirty young women into the room with him and had them line up in front of Ben who sat quietly nearby.
"Each of these women has at one time worked as maids some longer than others. I will go and prepare the next viewing when you are done with these women you can ring that bell on the table just there and one of my employees will take them away."
Baron Bolstad turned and left Ben alone with these women and he was suddenly at a loss on how to deal with this situation.
He at first just looked from one to the next until he saw that one of the women appeared to be in a daze.
They were all in poor condition wearing torn and dirty tunics and looking undernourished but this one girl looked to be in much worse shape.
'If I didn't know any better I'd say someone had drugged this slave girl. She looks completely spaced out.'
While he was wondering what might be wrong with her he suddenly had an idea. Ben had never attempted to use his [Analyze] skill on a person before because he had never thought of attempting it.
Ben used his Analyze skill on the dazed girl and a small window opened before him.
_____________________________
Name: Elsa Dahle
Age: 24
Rank: Slave
Skills: Maidservant, Laborer, Sex Slave
Emotional state: Detached
Physical Condition: Poor
Mental Condition: Psychosis
______________________________
'What the hell is this? She has sex slave as a skill and she has suffered from Psychosis. Was she sexually abused by her previous owner to the point that she ended up in this unresponsive state? I don't think there is anything I can do to help her. If it was a physical condition I could simply heal her but mental trauma is serious stuff.'
Ben felt bad for this young girl but she was too far gone for him to help her.
Now that Ben found out he could use his Analyze skill on people he continued to use it on each girl.
They were all in passable to poor condition but he found their emotional states told him a lot about them. One of the girls had a desperate emotional state and her eyes seemed to be pleading for him to pick her while others had an uninterested emotional state and seemed to have settled into their role as a slave and no longer cared if they were purchased or left to remain in the slave market.
Out of the thirty women, Ben found seven of them which he liked. They were a little rough looking but they each still had a positive outlook.
Ben rang the bell on the table and pointed out the seven girls that he wanted to the attendant.
The next group of slaves was a group of young men who had experience as gardeners and grounds keepers. Using Analyze Ben found six men that he thought would work out well and picked them out from the group to be held for him.
After nine groups of slaves had been brought before Ben he had picked out even more than he first thought he would find.
Ben had thought the slaves would all be unskilled laborers. He had found seven maids, six groundskeepers, four highly experienced cooks who once owned a popular restaurant and lost it due to overspending and went into debt. Unable to pay their debts they had a choice to become slaves or be sent to debtors prison.
Along with the four experienced cooks he chose three experienced kitchen scullions. There were also two laundresses, an accountant, a soldier sergeant from another kingdom who was an experienced combat fighter, and an older man who had served as a noble's steward for many years.
When Ben thought about how many slaves that he had chosen he became a little nervous at how much money they might all cost him. Being so used to spending hundreds or thousands of gold coins on structures it was a pleasant surprise to find out the slaves he purchased only cost him 500g total and would be delivered to his estate in the noble district at sunrise tomorrow morning.
If it wasn't so late in the day They would have possibly even delivered them right after he had paid for them.
Ben left the slave market and explained to the guards outside the noble district he would have slaves delivered in the morning and to allow them to pass.
The guards understood and confirmed they would make sure everything went smoothly.
Back at his Small Palace again Ben went through it and began to stock cleaning supplies, soaps, shampoos, paper, record books cookware utensils and everything else that could be needed or used to make the place livable.
When it was dark out he went out behind the palace and built a little neighborhood of twenty-five Small Houses. He built the Small Houses some distance from the palace so the slaves that lived there would have some privacy and would not feel they were being watched by the main house on their off time.
____________________________
[Small House]:
[2 bedrooms]: double beds, nightstands, lamps, closets
[Kitchen]: trash disposal unit, electric stove-top oven, hot/cold running sink, electric fridge, cabinets
[Bathroom]: flushing toilet, hot/cold running sink, bathtub, shower, mirror, towel closet
[Living Room]: sofa, coffee table, end tables, reading chair
[Dining Room]: dining table, four chairs, dining hutch
[Laundry Room]: electric washer machine, electric dryer, linen closet
[A small charming home that provides baseboard electric heating in every room]
[Locked until; built waste management- water treatment- power plant- glass maker- trash incinerator] [requires wood-stone-glass] [costs: 50g]
____________________________
[Auto_Notice] [The system has advanced a level! System Level 19!]
[Auto_Notice] [The system has advanced a level! System Level 20!]
[Auto_Notice] [System Level 20 Custom Building Bonus!]
[Notice] [You have been awarded a new feature for reaching system level 20! You can now design your own buildings and use features from any unlocked structure in the Build Menu!]
'This is an interesting new feature. I can make my own buildings now without having to use or tweak the predesigned structures the Build Menu provides me with. This might be useful when I am building here in Goldcrest. I will be able to make buildings people can actually enter and interact with staff.'
Ben closed out the new notices and got back to working on the small hidden neighborhood.
He designed the area so that each house had a stone brick paved walkway leading from their front door that connected to the garden walkways that allowed them to travel between the Small Palace and their homes without having to walk through grass and mud.
In the center of the small group of homes, he built a market that would allow the slaves access to food, clothing, and household items.
[Market]: A square-shaped structure with a small 10ft x 10ft central courtyard. The market interface distributes food, clothes, items or anything you want your people to have. This market takes food and items you have selected directly from the warehouse. You can limit the amount of each item per day that a person can take from the market. [Locked until; built orchard]
When the homes were all built he used the garden tool to landscape the homes and Market area with shrubs, flowers, and trees. It looked like a quaint little village had suddenly sprung up inside a vibrant garden.
Every slave he had purchased still had a small bit of hope for a good life in their hearts so Ben knew that once they saw their new homes they would fall in love with this place.
They would be working for Ben for free and still be slaves but they would live better than most people in the city did and everything they would need would be provided for them.
'All right everything is prepared for their arrival in the morning. I guess I will go inside the palace and cultivate until they arrive.'
Ben went into the Small Palace and made himself comfortable in one of the luxurious drawing rooms. Sitting on a comfortable sofa Ben began to cultivate throughout the night.
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Since the store had first opened for business Ben had been constantly on the move either building or working on his projects. During this time the store had sold nine carts that had not been delivered yet.
Ben had put off delivering these carts for some time now but if it continued he feared it may give him a bad reputation. Before the store closed he went back into the basement and had the nine carts made and sent to the store's Warehouse.
Because the customers had patiently waited without complaint for their carts Ben decided he would deliver them directly to the addresses they left on the bill of sales.
When he left the store with the nine carts in his inventory the flashing notification in his peripheral vision drew his attention.
[Notice] [You have unlocked a hidden structure! It is now available in the build menu!]
[Carriage Manufacturer]: Produces enclosed carriages of any type. Custom design menu can be used to make designs and/or alterations to carriages.
[unlocks after ten carts are produced]
'I unlocked another hidden structure? This one unlocked after I built over ten carts it says in the description. I built those two carts that are out on display up on the third floor of the store and with these nine carts, I am delivering I made one over the amount needed to unlock this Carriage Manufacturer. This is a nice option to have available, now I can make fully enclosed luxury carriages.'
Ben had to do some traveling around the city to deliver all nine of the carts. Thankfully none of his customers complained about the wait and all seemed to be excited when they came outside to see their brand new cart sitting out front.
After his final delivery to the northern part of Goldcrest City, Ben happened to find a slave market. Seeing a slave market located in Goldcrest surprised him. It seemed to be treated just like any other business in the city. Being from Earth he still was not accustomed to seeing old world concepts like this and they were accepted by the kingdom's subjects.
'A slave market right here in the city? I guess I shouldn't be surprised this type of thing happened on Earth as well.'
Ben stood out in front of the sprawling slave market and began to wonder how the slaves were treated and what it would be like to be captured and sold off as a slave.
'I wonder if the slaves here are treated as bad as the ones I had rescued from the bandits. I remember them telling me that they would only receive one meal a day and the quality of that meal was terrible. Their former owner worked his slaves to death and then brought in newly bought slaves to take their place.'
As Ben thought about what a nightmare their lives must have been he decided to head into the slave market.
'I need people to work at that Small Palace I built in the noble district. I should take a look here before deciding to recruit people to fill those roles. It may be possible to save a few of these slaves from a miserable life and gain a few loyal employees. I will need to use the guilds to recruit people for the more experienced jobs later but the lesser skilled jobs could be handled by slaves.'
When Ben entered the main building he found he wasn't the only one looking to purchase slaves. There were a few nobles speaking with the slave market agents in the open lobby. Upon entering one of the slave market agents noticed Ben's stylish clothes and what appeared to be a noble's badge pinned to his tunic.
Without making Ben wait for help the agent left his desk to walk over and greet Ben as he entered.
The slave market agent stopped in front of Ben and bowed.
"Good evening my lord, my name is Alvis can I be of assistance?"
"Hello, Alvis I am Duke King I recently built a new estate in the noble district. I am interested in purchasing some slaves to fill a few open positions." Ben explained.
"Oh, you are the one who owns the spirit king store! I have heard all about your new estate they say it is so beautiful that you should be the second king of Aregard!"
The slave agent attempted to flatter Ben but didn't realize he had willing just stepped on a landmine.
Ben was in a decent mood until he heard Alvis mention the second king rumor. In his anger, Ben activated his aura and forced Alvis to his knees.
"I am also a cultivator as well as a noble of this kingdom! If I hear anymore traitorous talk like that I will take you home as one of my new slaves!"
Everyone in the office had stopped talking to look over at Alvis who was on his knees. Ben released Alvis from his aura not wanting to create more of a scene as an older gentleman walked over toward them.
Alvis looked like he had just taken a shower he was sweating so hard. The older gentlemen who walked over had heard the exchange between them and was staring daggers at Alvis as he approached.
"I am sorry this idiot offended you, Duke King. He has been warned before to think before he speaks let us hope your lesson in manners will inspire him to do just that." The older gentleman explained and then turned toward Alvis.
"Exactly what did you think was going to happen by repeating those ridiculous rumors? Have you stopped to think about the pressure that slanderous talk actually puts Duke King under with the royal family? I want you to work the slave house until I know you can control that mouth of yours! Now get out my lobby!"
Alvis retreated without a peep and made his way toward the back door leading toward the slave house.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Duke King, my name is Baron Bolstad. I am the owner of this slave market. Please allow me to apologize once again and be the one to personally help you."
"Thank you, Baron Bolstad. To tell you the truth I have never been to a slave market before so please excuse my inexperience. I am currently interested in purchasing six young men for groundskeeper roles, six young women for maid roles, and one middle-age to older man as a steward. I am unsure if any of your slaves are experienced in working for noble households if there are I would be interested in checking them out." Ben explained.
"I have close to a thousand slaves housed here in the market. There are many experienced slaves who have been either trained or were once free people who were labors, servants, and even craftsmen."
Baron Bolstad led Ben into a large comfortably furnished room just off of the lobby. The Baron had Ben sit down on a sofa and get comfortable while he left the room to arrange a viewing.
Ben did not have to wait long before the Baron returned through another door. He led a group of thirty young women into the room with him and had them line up in front of Ben who sat quietly nearby.
"Each of these women has at one time worked as maids some longer than others. I will go and prepare the next viewing when you are done with these women you can ring that bell on the table just there and one of my employees will take them away."
Baron Bolstad turned and left Ben alone with these women and he was suddenly at a loss on how to deal with this situation.
He at first just looked from one to the next until he saw that one of the women appeared to be in a daze.
They were all in poor condition wearing torn and dirty tunics and looking undernourished but this one girl looked to be in much worse shape.
'If I didn't know any better I'd say someone had drugged this slave girl. She looks completely spaced out.'
While he was wondering what might be wrong with her he suddenly had an idea. Ben had never attempted to use his [Analyze] skill on a person before because he had never thought of attempting it.
Ben used his Analyze skill on the dazed girl and a small window opened before him.
_____________________________
Name: Elsa Dahle
Age: 24
Rank: Slave
Skills: Maidservant, Laborer, Sex Slave
Emotional state: Detached
Physical Condition: Poor
Mental Condition: Psychosis
______________________________
'What the hell is this? She has sex slave as a skill and she has suffered from Psychosis. Was she sexually abused by her previous owner to the point that she ended up in this unresponsive state? I don't think there is anything I can do to help her. If it was a physical condition I could simply heal her but mental trauma is serious stuff.'
Ben felt bad for this young girl but she was too far gone for him to help her.
Now that Ben found out he could use his Analyze skill on people he continued to use it on each girl.
They were all in passable to poor condition but he found their emotional states told him a lot about them. One of the girls had a desperate emotional state and her eyes seemed to be pleading for him to pick her while others had an uninterested emotional state and seemed to have settled into their role as a slave and no longer cared if they were purchased or left to remain in the slave market.
Out of the thirty women, Ben found seven of them which he liked. They were a little rough looking but they each still had a positive outlook.
Ben rang the bell on the table and pointed out the seven girls that he wanted to the attendant.
The next group of slaves was a group of young men who had experience as gardeners and grounds keepers. Using Analyze Ben found six men that he thought would work out well and picked them out from the group to be held for him.
After nine groups of slaves had been brought before Ben he had picked out even more than he first thought he would find.
Ben had thought the slaves would all be unskilled laborers. He had found seven maids, six groundskeepers, four highly experienced cooks who once owned a popular restaurant and lost it due to overspending and went into debt. Unable to pay their debts they had a choice to become slaves or be sent to debtors prison.
Along with the four experienced cooks he chose three experienced kitchen scullions. There were also two laundresses, an accountant, a soldier sergeant from another kingdom who was an experienced combat fighter, and an older man who had served as a noble's steward for many years.
When Ben thought about how many slaves that he had chosen he became a little nervous at how much money they might all cost him. Being so used to spending hundreds or thousands of gold coins on structures it was a pleasant surprise to find out the slaves he purchased only cost him 500g total and would be delivered to his estate in the noble district at sunrise tomorrow morning.
If it wasn't so late in the day They would have possibly even delivered them right after he had paid for them.
Ben left the slave market and explained to the guards outside the noble district he would have slaves delivered in the morning and to allow them to pass.
The guards understood and confirmed they would make sure everything went smoothly.
Back at his Small Palace again Ben went through it and began to stock cleaning supplies, soaps, shampoos, paper, record books cookware utensils and everything else that could be needed or used to make the place livable.
When it was dark out he went out behind the palace and built a little neighborhood of twenty-five Small Houses. He built the Small Houses some distance from the palace so the slaves that lived there would have some privacy and would not feel they were being watched by the main house on their off time.
____________________________
[Small House]:
[2 bedrooms]: double beds, nightstands, lamps, closets
[Kitchen]: trash disposal unit, electric stove-top oven, hot/cold running sink, electric fridge, cabinets
[Bathroom]: flushing toilet, hot/cold running sink, bathtub, shower, mirror, towel closet
[Living Room]: sofa, coffee table, end tables, reading chair
[Dining Room]: dining table, four chairs, dining hutch
[Laundry Room]: electric washer machine, electric dryer, linen closet
[A small charming home that provides baseboard electric heating in every room]
[Locked until; built waste management- water treatment- power plant- glass maker- trash incinerator] [requires wood-stone-glass] [costs: 50g]
____________________________
[Auto_Notice] [The system has advanced a level! System Level 19!]
[Auto_Notice] [The system has advanced a level! System Level 20!]
[Auto_Notice] [System Level 20 Custom Building Bonus!]
[Notice] [You have been awarded a new feature for reaching system level 20! You can now design your own buildings and use features from any unlocked structure in the Build Menu!]
'This is an interesting new feature. I can make my own buildings now without having to use or tweak the predesigned structures the Build Menu provides me with. This might be useful when I am building here in Goldcrest. I will be able to make buildings people can actually enter and interact with staff.'
Ben closed out the new notices and got back to working on the small hidden neighborhood.
He designed the area so that each house had a stone brick paved walkway leading from their front door that connected to the garden walkways that allowed them to travel between the Small Palace and their homes without having to walk through grass and mud.
In the center of the small group of homes, he built a market that would allow the slaves access to food, clothing, and household items.
[Market]: A square-shaped structure with a small 10ft x 10ft central courtyard. The market interface distributes food, clothes, items or anything you want your people to have. This market takes food and items you have selected directly from the warehouse. You can limit the amount of each item per day that a person can take from the market. [Locked until; built orchard]
When the homes were all built he used the garden tool to landscape the homes and Market area with shrubs, flowers, and trees. It looked like a quaint little village had suddenly sprung up inside a vibrant garden.
Every slave he had purchased still had a small bit of hope for a good life in their hearts so Ben knew that once they saw their new homes they would fall in love with this place.
They would be working for Ben for free and still be slaves but they would live better than most people in the city did and everything they would need would be provided for them.
'All right everything is prepared for their arrival in the morning. I guess I will go inside the palace and cultivate until they arrive.'
Ben went into the Small Palace and made himself comfortable in one of the luxurious drawing rooms. Sitting on a comfortable sofa Ben began to cultivate throughout the night.
Since the store had first opened for business Ben had been constantly on the move either building or working on his projects. During this time the store had sold nine carts that had not been delivered yet.Ben had put off delivering these carts for some time now but if it continued he feared it may give him a bad reputation. Before the store closed he went back into the basement and had the nine carts made and sent to the store's Warehouse.Because the customers had patiently waited without complaint for their carts Ben decided he would deliver them directly to the addresses they left on the bill of sales.When he left the store with the nine carts in his inventory the flashing notification in his peripheral vision drew his attention.Notice You have unlocked a hidden structure! It is now available in the build menu!Carriage Manufacturer: Produces enclosed carriages of any type. Custom design menu can be used to make designs and/or alterations to carriages.unlocks after ten carts are produced'I unlocked another hidden structure? This one unlocked after I built over ten carts it says in the description. I built those two carts that are out on display up on the third floor of the store and with these nine carts, I am delivering I made one over the amount needed to unlock this Carriage Manufacturer. This is a nice option to have available, now I can make fully enclosed luxury carriages.'Ben had to do some traveling around the city to deliver all nine of the carts. Thankfully none of his customers complained about the wait and all seemed to be excited when they came outside to see their brand new cart sitting out front.After his final delivery to the northern part of Goldcrest City, Ben happened to find a slave market. Seeing a slave market located in Goldcrest surprised him. It seemed to be treated just like any other business in the city. Being from Earth he still was not accustomed to seeing old world concepts like this and they were accepted by the kingdom's subjects.'A slave market right here in the city? I guess I shouldn't be surprised this type of thing happened on Earth as well.'Ben stood out in front of the sprawling slave market and began to wonder how the slaves were treated and what it would be like to be captured and sold off as a slave.'I wonder if the slaves here are treated as bad as the ones I had rescued from the bandits. I remember them telling me that they would only receive one meal a day and the quality of that meal was terrible. Their former owner worked his slaves to death and then brought in newly bought slaves to take their place.'As Ben thought about what a nightmare their lives must have been he decided to head into the slave market.'I need people to work at that Small Palace I built in the noble district. I should take a look here before deciding to recruit people to fill those roles. It may be possible to save a few of these slaves from a miserable life and gain a few loyal employees. I will need to use the guilds to recruit people for the more experienced jobs later but the lesser skilled jobs could be handled by slaves.'When Ben entered the main building he found he wasn't the only one looking to purchase slaves. There were a few nobles speaking with the slave market agents in the open lobby. Upon entering one of the slave market agents noticed Ben's stylish clothes and what appeared to be a noble's badge pinned to his tunic.Without making Ben wait for help the agent left his desk to walk over and greet Ben as he entered.The slave market agent stopped in front of Ben and bowed."Good evening my lord, my name is Alvis can I be of assistance?""Hello, Alvis I am Duke King I recently built a new estate in the noble district. I am interested in purchasing some slaves to fill a few open positions." Ben explained."Oh, you are the one who owns the spirit king store! I have heard all about your new estate they say it is so beautiful that you should be the second king of Aregard!"The slave agent attempted to flatter Ben but didn't realize he had willing just stepped on a landmine.Ben was in a decent mood until he heard Alvis mention the second king rumor. In his anger, Ben activated his aura and forced Alvis to his knees."I am also a cultivator as well as a noble of this kingdom! If I hear anymore traitorous talk like that I will take you home as one of my new slaves!"Everyone in the office had stopped talking to look over at Alvis who was on his knees. Ben released Alvis from his aura not wanting to create more of a scene as an older gentleman walked over toward them.Alvis looked like he had just taken a shower he was sweating so hard. The older gentlemen who walked over had heard the exchange between them and was staring daggers at Alvis as he approached."I am sorry this idiot offended you, Duke King. He has been warned before to think before he speaks let us hope your lesson in manners will inspire him to do just that." The older gentleman explained and then turned toward Alvis."Exactly what did you think was going to happen by repeating those ridiculous rumors? Have you stopped to think about the pressure that slanderous talk actually puts Duke King under with the royal family? I want you to work the slave house until I know you can control that mouth of yours! Now get out my lobby!"Alvis retreated without a peep and made his way toward the back door leading toward the slave house."It is a pleasure to meet you, Duke King, my name is Baron Bolstad. I am the owner of this slave market. Please allow me to apologize once again and be the one to personally help you.""Thank you, Baron Bolstad. To tell you the truth I have never been to a slave market before so please excuse my inexperience. I am currently interested in purchasing six young men for groundskeeper roles, six young women for maid roles, and one middle-age to older man as a steward. I am unsure if any of your slaves are experienced in working for noble households if there are I would be interested in checking them out." Ben explained."I have close to a thousand slaves housed here in the market. There are many experienced slaves who have been either trained or were once free people who were labors, servants, and even craftsmen."Baron Bolstad led Ben into a large comfortably furnished room just off of the lobby. The Baron had Ben sit down on a sofa and get comfortable while he left the room to arrange a viewing.Ben did not have to wait long before the Baron returned through another door. He led a group of thirty young women into the room with him and had them line up in front of Ben who sat quietly nearby."Each of these women has at one time worked as maids some longer than others. I will go and prepare the next viewing when you are done with these women you can ring that bell on the table just there and one of my employees will take them away."Baron Bolstad turned and left Ben alone with these women and he was suddenly at a loss on how to deal with this situation.He at first just looked from one to the next until he saw that one of the women appeared to be in a daze.They were all in poor condition wearing torn and dirty tunics and looking undernourished but this one girl looked to be in much worse shape.'If I didn't know any better I'd say someone had drugged this slave girl. She looks completely spaced out.'While he was wondering what might be wrong with her he suddenly had an idea. Ben had never attempted to use his Analyze skill on a person before because he had never thought of attempting it.Ben used his Analyze skill on the dazed girl and a small window opened before him._____________________________Name: Elsa DahleAge: 24Rank: SlaveSkills: Maidservant, Laborer, Sex SlaveEmotional state: DetachedPhysical Condition: PoorMental Condition: Psychosis______________________________'What the hell is this? She has sex slave as a skill and she has suffered from Psychosis. Was she sexually abused by her previous owner to the point that she ended up in this unresponsive state? I don't think there is anything I can do to help her. If it was a physical condition I could simply heal her but mental trauma is serious stuff.'Ben felt bad for this young girl but she was too far gone for him to help her.Now that Ben found out he could use his Analyze skill on people he continued to use it on each girl.They were all in passable to poor condition but he found their emotional states told him a lot about them. One of the girls had a desperate emotional state and her eyes seemed to be pleading for him to pick her while others had an uninterested emotional state and seemed to have settled into their role as a slave and no longer cared if they were purchased or left to remain in the slave market.Out of the thirty women, Ben found seven of them which he liked. They were a little rough looking but they each still had a positive outlook.Ben rang the bell on the table and pointed out the seven girls that he wanted to the attendant.The next group of slaves was a group of young men who had experience as gardeners and grounds keepers. Using Analyze Ben found six men that he thought would work out well and picked them out from the group to be held for him.After nine groups of slaves had been brought before Ben he had picked out even more than he first thought he would find.Ben had thought the slaves would all be unskilled laborers. He had found seven maids, six groundskeepers, four highly experienced cooks who once owned a popular restaurant and lost it due to overspending and went into debt. Unable to pay their debts they had a choice to become slaves or be sent to debtors prison.Along with the four experienced cooks he chose three experienced kitchen scullions. There were also two laundresses, an accountant, a soldier sergeant from another kingdom who was an experienced combat fighter, and an older man who had served as a noble's steward for many years.When Ben thought about how many slaves that he had chosen he became a little nervous at how much money they might all cost him. Being so used to spending hundreds or thousands of gold coins on structures it was a pleasant surprise to find out the slaves he purchased only cost him 500g total and would be delivered to his estate in the noble district at sunrise tomorrow morning.If it wasn't so late in the day They would have possibly even delivered them right after he had paid for them.Ben left the slave market and explained to the guards outside the noble district he would have slaves delivered in the morning and to allow them to pass.The guards understood and confirmed they would make sure everything went smoothly.Back at his Small Palace again Ben went through it and began to stock cleaning supplies, soaps, shampoos, paper, record books cookware utensils and everything else that could be needed or used to make the place livable.When it was dark out he went out behind the palace and built a little neighborhood of twenty-five Small Houses. He built the Small Houses some distance from the palace so the slaves that lived there would have some privacy and would not feel they were being watched by the main house on their off time.____________________________Small House:2 bedrooms: double beds, nightstands, lamps, closetsKitchen: trash disposal unit, electric stove-top oven, hot/cold running sink, electric fridge, cabinetsBathroom: flushing toilet, hot/cold running sink, bathtub, shower, mirror, towel closetLiving Room: sofa, coffee table, end tables, reading chairDining Room: dining table, four chairs, dining hutchLaundry Room: electric washer machine, electric dryer, linen closetA small charming home that provides baseboard electric heating in every roomLocked until; built waste management- water treatment- power plant- glass maker- trash incinerator requires wood-stone-glass costs: 50g____________________________Auto_Notice The system has advanced a level! System Level 19!Auto_Notice The system has advanced a level! System Level 20!Auto_Notice System Level 20 Custom Building Bonus!Notice You have been awarded a new feature for reaching system level 20! You can now design your own buildings and use features from any unlocked structure in the Build Menu!'This is an interesting new feature. I can make my own buildings now without having to use or tweak the predesigned structures the Build Menu provides me with. This might be useful when I am building here in Goldcrest. I will be able to make buildings people can actually enter and interact with staff.'Ben closed out the new notices and got back to working on the small hidden neighborhood.He designed the area so that each house had a stone brick paved walkway leading from their front door that connected to the garden walkways that allowed them to travel between the Small Palace and their homes without having to walk through grass and mud.In the center of the small group of homes, he built a market that would allow the slaves access to food, clothing, and household items.Market: A square-shaped structure with a small 10ft x 10ft central courtyard. The market interface distributes food, clothes, items or anything you want your people to have. This market takes food and items you have selected directly from the warehouse. You can limit the amount of each item per day that a person can take from the market. Locked until; built orchardWhen the homes were all built he used the garden tool to landscape the homes and Market area with shrubs, flowers, and trees. It looked like a quaint little village had suddenly sprung up inside a vibrant garden.Every slave he had purchased still had a small bit of hope for a good life in their hearts so Ben knew that once they saw their new homes they would fall in love with this place.They would be working for Ben for free and still be slaves but they would live better than most people in the city did and everything they would need would be provided for them.'All right everything is prepared for their arrival in the morning. I guess I will go inside the palace and cultivate until they arrive.'Ben went into the Small Palace and made himself comfortable in one of the luxurious drawing rooms. Sitting on a comfortable sofa Ben began to cultivate throughout the night.
