A few more slaves were sold in the span of a few hours. However, Arthur had not a bit of interest in any of them. He was here for a purpose which hadn't been fulfilled yet. But it didn't take long before it arrived.
"Now, for our twenty-fourth display, we have Kai!"
Vivi's cheerful voice struck the ears of the customers. However, unlike before, no one displayed any excitement. It was certainly not the first time Kai had been showcased on the stage of the auction.
Regular customers were aware, and so were the organizers of the auction.
Kai was an anomaly.
Despite having been showcased several times, no one seemed to be interested in him. His existence was faint, while his abilities were nonexistent. His presence was weak, but most of all…
He retained his will.
Slaves were best when they did not offer any resistance, said many customers during a survey a few years ago. Many of the customers believed in such a notion and despised "items" that seemed to have a will.
Those with a will will resist.
That was only one of the reasons no one seemed to find Kai worth spending tokens on. Not a single person offered a bid over the starting price, but for some reason, the organizers refused to accept such a measly amount.
They presented Kai every single time an auction was held, providing customers with many reasons to bid. However, despite that, he still hadn't been sold.
'Finally,' thought the crimson-eyed man. His purpose for attending the auction was the child named Kai. Although no one else seemed to notice it, Arthur was not unbeknownst to the child's complex nature.
Even a slave with a will would eventually be sold. Yet, why was Kai deliberately being ignored by customers?
It was due to a mysterious aspect of the world, called "fate."
Kai was a child who had the appearance of a twelve-year-old boy. He wore a thick, wolf hide that covered his waist, along with a thin fabric that he slung over his shoulder. The fabric seemed to hold the hide in place.
The child was quite lanky, as if malnourished. With exoskeleton practically being up for display, it was difficult to grasp how long he would survive.
Perhaps during the next auction, he would suffer a mysterious death and fail to appear on stage. His fate was unpredictable.
He was merely an ordinary slave to the eyes of most, but with a single peculiarity: his eyes, which still seemed to display some vigor. It was as if he had failed to give up… As if he wasn't aware how to.
"The bidding will begin at 250 Tokens."
As Vivi's voice entered the ears of the customers, the crowd turned silent. Not a single person decided to bid, and simply awkwardly exchanged glances while directing gazes laced with disdain at Kai.
Kai's eyes drooped, while he considered his eventual fate.
'Will I just pass away here?' Kai wondered, staring at the ceiling while suppressing tears. The outside… the word seemed to foreign to Kai.
Having spent virtually his entire life trapped away in a cage, Kai was unbeknownst to the wonders of life. Many would perceive them as horrors, but Kai was different. He had yet to perform even the most basic tasks that a player would.
His only memories were of a mysterious, cloaked elder leading him through the various floors of the so-called "tower." Then, a peculiar darkness enveloped his vision, and an eternal veil draped over his face.
"300 Tokens!" A man in VIP room #379 shouted. The man was–in fact–Arthur. He could have bid in the thousands, but in order to avoid suspicion, it was better to offer a bid slightly above the starting price.
It wasn't like anyone else would bid, anyway.
According to the original timeline as well as Kai's fate, no one bought him, and it was only after a fateful encounter that he escaped the clutches of the Juggernaut Association. After proving his abilities in the tower for a mere year, he perished.
His death was caused by a Ranker who drooled for his mysterious power.
However, shattering all expectations, there was another bid. "350 Tokens!"
Arthur's eyes widened, and he turned silent. This wasn't supposed to occur… Was there someone who could shatter fate itself? He was able to due to his regression, but there shouldn't have been anyone else…
'Did someone else regress?'
Aside from regression, Arthur wasn't aware of anything else that could shatter Kai's fate of eternal captivity and inevitable death.
"500 Tokens!" Arthur shouted. His words caused a stir within the crowd, with many doubting the validity of his claim. How could one spend 500 Tokens on a worthless boy such as Kai? Was Arthur dumb?
"1000 Tokens!"
"1250 Tokens!"
"5000 Tokens!"
Several gasps resounded across the crowd, while Arthur's face paled. Bidding any higher would be detrimental, as many would realize the depth of his wallet. Thieves were not common around these areas, but they still existed.
Arthur would have trouble hiding his identity if forced to engage in battle.
But he couldn't allow Kai to fall into the wrong hands.
"5001 Tokens!"
"15000 Tokens!"
'What the fuck…' Arthur coughed. Either the bidder was merely playing with him, or he–too–sensed the potential behind Kai's existence. But why had such a rich man come to such a dull, mundane auction?
There were larger ones.
"15001 Tokens…"
"30000 Tokens!"
'Fuck it,' thought the crimson-eyed man.
If he had a massive hole in his pockets after the auction, then so be it. At least, Kai would belong to him. His existence could not be described in words or tokens. If he could, Arthur would pay over a million.
Alas, he was too poor.
So, in order to shatter the hopes and dreams of the other bidder, Arthur decided to bid the highest amount he possibly could at once. Ferhill would definitely be angry, but they would eventually find a way to revive their wealth.
Wealth was temporary.
"100,000 Tokens!"
