Chapter 2: Should I be glad that the price on my head is high?

“Never touch the merchandise! It might be auctioned off for more than your own worth.”

The leader said that and stormed out.

As I listened to her fading footsteps, Youngchil leaned against the wall and got up.

His face was clearly distorted with a mixture of anger and shame.

“That b*tch…”

The moment Youngchil gritted his teeth and spat on the floor, his colleagues quickly rushed over and covered his mouth.

“Please be careful with your mouth. If the leader hears you, you’re dead.”

One man looked around and whispered in a low voice.

“Times have changed. After the Heavenly Demon, most of the masters are women.”

Another colleague grabbed Youngchil’s shoulder and added worriedly.

“That Heavenly Demon b*tch has done something terrible to the world…”

The slaves huddled in the corner were watching with fascination as the warriors, who were usually known for their arrogance, were groveling in front of a woman.

“What are you looking at! You guys are going to be sold off anyway!”

One of the warriors shouted at us.

Some of us cowered, but I wasn’t particularly shocked by that.

Sold off… Yes, it was too obvious.

I would have been embarrassed if they had said something like, “You won’t be sold! From now on, we will raise you as warriors of Heukgalbang!”

I know the “Becoming a Master from a s*ave” scenario of Wind and Cloud Murim very well.

The protagonist starts as a s*ave, but his life takes a turn when he is sold to a large black market faction that recognizes his potential.

If it goes that way, there’s nothing wrong with it.

As a member of a large faction, I will be able to bully Heukgalbang in reverse in two or three years.

The problem is that this is a mod.

How much have they changed the original scenario and events?

The sound of clanging chains and the sound of bare feet stepping on dirt were clear in my ears.

The other slaves, including me, were being dragged to the auction house.

When we reached the entrance of the auction house, a man with a goatee beard scanned our slaves with sharp eyes. Then, he quickly divided us into two groups.

One side gathered ordinary or unattractive children, and the other side gathered boys and girls with relatively outstanding looks like me.

“We can just sell these off cheaply.”

The man muttered indifferently as he looked at the ordinary group.

“This is good enough.”

He stroked the face of a girl who looked pretty good and said with satisfaction.

And when my eyes met his, my heart pounded.

“He has the looks that female martial artists would like. This guy will be sold for a high price.”

A total of ten people.

Four boys and six girls stood side by side.

Everyone was covered in dirt and sweat, but their handsome faces could not be hidden.

“Hey, wash these guys and dress them properly!”

As soon as the man’s order was issued, the subordinates drove us towards the bathroom.

The other slaves who were left behind looked at us with a mixture of regret and jealousy.

I turned my back on that gaze and moved forward.

“Here it is. Wash well.”

When I arrived at the bathroom, I saw a wooden tub placed on the floor, and next to it were a gourd and soap. I hesitated for a moment in front of the tub full of cold water, but eventually started washing by pouring water on myself.

“Ugh, it’s cold…”

I didn’t expect such luxury as hot water.

Still, I was grateful just to be able to wash my body with soap. Soap was definitely a luxurious item in the martial arts world.

After washing cleanly, I changed into the prepared white clothes.

When I saw a metal mirror nearby, my eyes turned to it.

In the mirror was the same figure as the character I had painstakingly created in the game.

A beautiful boy with sharp and delicate features and clear eyes was looking at me.

Thanks to this appearance, I was classified as a top-quality product…

I gave a bitter smile.

“Then you guys come this way.”

Following the guidance of the black market warrior, I and the other children entered a waiting room.

As soon as the door slammed shut, the ten of us looked at each other warily.

It was a pale-faced girl who broke the short silence.

“What… what will happen to us?”

There was anxiety in the girl’s trembling voice.

“But we were chosen as top-quality products, so we’ll be better than the other kids.”

Then, a thin boy replied in a low voice.

“It’s not necessarily true. We might be sold to some strange adult.”

However, another girl soon coldly retorted.

“I don’t know about the boys, but I’ve heard that special girls are bought by martial arts sects.”

And another girl quietly added.

“Martial arts sect? Aren’t they cruel people?”

At that, the girl next to her widened her eyes and asked back.

Some of the children nodded.

Listening to them, I heard that the influence of the evil sects was strong in this area. This was the same as the initial setting of becoming a s*ave master.

Some may have lost their parents to evil sect warriors.

The lives of ordinary people were difficult, and the value of an ordinary person’s life was not very high in this world.

“Men can also become martial artists!”

A boy in the corner raised his voice and sparkled his eyes.

“Before the Heavenly Demon appeared, it was common for men to become martial artists! Bodhidharma, Jamsangbong, and Yeo Dongbin were all men! And two of the top ten masters these days are men!”

Listening to the boy’s spirited voice, I also organized my thoughts.

The worldview of Busty Murim vaguely came to mind.

There is a special martial art created by the Heavenly Demon.

The larger the breasts of a woman, the easier it is to build inner strength, and the martial arts that exert powerful power showed high compatibility with other martial arts.

As a result, it spread rapidly in all directions, and as a result, the martial arts world rapidly transformed into a female-dominated society.

That’s the setting. Well, it’s obviously an eroge setting to anyone.

I was lost in reminiscence for a while. But before I could fall into it, I heard a commotion outside the auction house.

“Wait a moment and be quiet! It seems like the auction has started!”

After signaling the children to be quiet with a wave of my hand, I pricked up my ears.

As everyone held their breath, the sounds coming from outside became clearer.

“Well, first of all, these children have disabilities. Their faces aren’t very good either.”

The auctioneer’s calm voice echoed over the door.

“They might be useful somewhere. I don’t know where they will be used, but if anyone wants to buy them, I will give them all ten at once.”

“5 jeon!”

“15 jeon.”

“25 jeon!”

The price slowly went up.

“50 jeon!”

And stopped at 50 jeon.

50 jeon… Based on the Wind and Cloud Murim world, that’s about the price of a pig.

“Will we be sold as a bundle like that too?”

Someone asked in an anxious voice, but another child soon shook their head.

“No, we’re different. We’re top-quality…”

Someone murmured with faint pride. Even though they were in a miserable situation, they were relying on the single label of ‘top-quality’ and clinging to hope.

“105 jeon!”

“130 jeon!”

The auction continued. It seemed like the children were being sold off one by one.

Children in good health were around 100 jeon, and those who looked a little more muscular or beautiful seemed to go for 200 to 300 jeon.

Then finally, it seemed like it was our turn to appear.

“Well, finally, I will show you the core product of today, ten people.”

The auctioneer’s tone changed.

“Four men and six women. All of them are children with outstanding beauty. As much as they have excellent physical condition, they may be men with special constitutions.

The host paused for a moment and then continued.

“To be honest, we don’t know much about that kind of thing. We just gather them separately if they seem a little extraordinary. Maybe there were kids among the ones who were already sold who had special constitutions even though they looked ordinary. I heard that there are quite a few of those constitutions.”

“Puhuhuhuhu.”

“Heh heh ha ha.”

Laughter erupted.

Judging from the reaction, it was clear that there was no such ‘special’ child among the children who had been sold just before.

“Come out, you guys! It’s your turn!”

In the front row. The five women lined up in a row caught my eye.

Their beauty was not overwhelming, but four of them were clearly owners of handsome looks.

One person covered her face with a black mask.

The reason why I could tell that she was a woman even though her face was covered with a mask was simple.

It was big.

Her chest was big.

“Okay everyone! Let’s start!”

The auctioneer led the first girl forward.

“First of all, we’ll start with this girl here. Well, she’s a bit unattractive among the ten, but she’s a beauty in her own way, and her muscles are…”

The auctioneer paused for a moment and shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know either.”

The auction for the first girl began.

“150 jeon!”

“160!”

“185!”

The price was not as high as the previous children, as there were no special muscles.

“250 jeon!”

In the end, the girl was sold for 250 jeon.

Immediately after, the second boy was…

“265!”

It was auctioned off at a slightly higher price.

But even with that price, there was no guarantee that he would go to a good place.

I already knew how rough this neighborhood was.

Because I knew that well, cold sweat kept forming on my palms.

When the sixth girl stood on the stage, the audience stirred a little.

“She has martial bones.”

“She definitely has martial bones.”

Some buyers looked at the girl with interest.

But the women in the front row had a completely different reaction. A middle-aged beauty opened her mouth dryly.

“Even if she has martial bones, they’re just unnamed miscellaneous martial bones.”

The women around nodded in agreement.

“Considering her age, her breasts are small.”

“In the end, we have to take care of her with special elixirs, so why bother doing that? I don’t even have enough to take care of my own daughters.”

The girl who was so harshly criticized was sold for 2500 jeon.

It was the highest price among those who had been auctioned off so far, but the girl lowered her head and left the auction house as if the evaluation she had just heard was painful.

After that, one boy and one girl were auctioned off, but the price did not rise much because they did not have martial bones.

Did I… pick a trait related to martial bones?

I couldn’t remember.

I didn’t know how the women in the front row would see me, or where I would be sold, so my anxiety only grew.

Finally, my turn was approaching.

“Well, finally! As you can see, he has outstanding looks…”

Before the auctioneer could finish speaking, the middle-aged beauty sitting in the front row raised her hand and shouted.

“5000 jeon!”

The middle-aged beauty who had devalued the girl with martial bones earlier raised her hand and shouted.

Her eyes were quite different from before. There was seriousness in them.

I felt like I was frozen in place, and I felt her gaze fixed on me.

Why did she call such a high price?

And I immediately saw another woman raising her hand.

“5200 jeon!”