A metal rod slammed Leo on his head and he blacked out. When he opened his eyes, his hands and feet were both chained with metal handcuffs.
He looked around without panicking and saw that there were multiple people around him. He wasn't the only one in his current situation. All the people around him were similarly chained.
They were all in a dimly lit cellar. Chains hung from the cold stone walls, binding everyone to the walls. Dampness permeated the air, mingling with the stifled sounds of the captives. Everyone had cloth tightly bounding their mouths. The flickering light of a single lantern cast eerie shadows, illuminating the rusted bars of a small window.
He saw that everyone there had a lot of fear in their eyes. They had no idea about what was coming for them. Meanwhile, he was still calm because he could still use his Magic.
He tried controlling it a little and found that it was only a little harder to control it because he was a little light-headed from the blow to his head. Otherwise, he was fine.
When he sensed around, he noticed that there were two guards outside the cellar, making sure that nothing happened. Leo realized that he didn't have anything to do for a while, so he closed his eyes and started to passively monitor everything around him.
After an hour or so passed, someone came into the cellar. Leo opened his eyes and saw that it was one of the guards. He brought in another person with him. Leo's eyes narrowed when he saw who the person was. It was the bandit he was supposed to hunt.
The man had a strong build and stood at an impressive height. His deep-set eyes were a striking shade of blue, complemented by a well-defined jawline. His hair, neatly styled, fell in dark waves. Dressed in a tailored suit, he exuded an aura of sophistication and power. He looked nothing like the picture that he was presented, nor like a bandit at all.
The man looked around the cellar. There were a total of 83 people in the cellar. Almost all of them were women, with only 7 males. He went around and picked out and pointed at one person among 10 as he walked along the walls. He finally arrived at Leo. He pointed at him as well and moved on.
In total, 10 people were selected - 3 men and 7 women. All of them were incredibly young, though Leo was the youngest among all of them. The rest were all around 18-19 years old. But only Leo showed very little fear.
The guards stepped forward and unchained them, making them fall to the ground. When the first person fell to the ground, the man in the tailored suit frowned.
"These are the most valuable goods here. Don't let them be damaged. Our customers don't like damaged goods. Make sure they are properly cleaned and brought to me. If I find out that you damaged my goods in any way, you will have to bear the costs," he said in a low threatening voice.
Leo and the other two men were dragged by one of the guards while the women were taken away by the other guard. Leo found himself taken to a room with a lot of suits and an adjoining bathroom. The guard unlocked his handcuffs along with the other two men.
"Get yourself cleaned up and then dressed. The women might be prized goods, but you aren't worth as much. I'm allowed to make you behave. So don't make my work harder." The guard said that and walked out.
Leo looked and saw that the two people weren't going to be moving any time soon, so he went to the bathroom first. It was pretty clean for what he expected. There were a few buckets of water, so quickly took a bath and came out.
He saw that they were still staying still in a corner and decided to make them snap out of it.
"If you don't do what they say, then you are going to go through a little pain and will be forced to do it anyway. Why do you want to make your life harder for yourself?" He asked them.
They saw a young boy telling them to accept their reality and decided it was time to give up. The emotions in their eyes died and they went into the bathroom to quickly get ready. Meanwhile, since Leo was the first person out, he could pick between all the suits there.
He picked out a nice navy suit that was almost his size and wore it. The navy complemented his blue eyes and went well with his olive skin. He sat on the side, waiting for the others to come out. At this time the guard came in to make sure that everything was proceeding smoothly.
He saw Leo ready and sitting in the corner.
"Good job getting ready. Out of all the people, I thought you would be the hardest to convince. Tell them to hurry up. I am on a schedule." He said and went back out.
Leo didn't bother and just sat there, waiting for the other men to come out. they came out after a minute and started getting dressed.
"What are your names?" Leo asked. He was bored and wanted to try to pass the time.
"I am Oliver," the taller of the two answered.
"I'm Brock," the other one said.
Both of them were similar to each other in appearance. They were both slightly feminine and had very fair skin. It seemed like the man was looking for a certain type while selecting people. Leo looked at his own hand. Why was he selected? Did he look that feminine?
"What about you? What is your name?" Brock asked him.
"I'm Leo," he said.
"I have never seen you around the village before. Did you move recently?" He asked.
Leo shook his head. "I don't live there. I'm just visiting as a tourist." He said.
Brock shook his head. "I am sorry for you then. You didn't deserve this fate at such a young age," he said.
Leo was surprised. "So you know what is going to happen to us?" He asked.
Brock nodded. "Yes. We are-"
Before he could finish talking, the guard opened the door and saw that all of them were ready.
"Good. Get out now. We have to take you all to the bosses first." The guard said.
Leo smiled faintly. It was so subtle that no one noticed it. Leo was happy that he was finally going to understand what was happening.
They were brought out of the room and made to stand in a single file outside. Across the room was another door that had another guard standing outside it. He also opened the door and peeked in.
He shouted into the door, "Get out now! Come out!"
A girl slowly walked out of the door. She was followed by 6 others. They were the girls who the man had selected along with the men. The girls were all clothed in pretty dresses and had simple jewelry on.
"Okay, now follow us." The guard said.
Leo rubbed his hands in excitement.
