Expensive Slaves

Under Jon's guidance, Roland gained a deeper understanding of the place.

The Shadow Merchant Guild truly deserved its reputation as a guild specializing in human slaves.

Not only were the slaves here strong, healthy, and free of illness, but there was a complete range of men, women, and children. They could absolutely meet Roland's needs for developing his territory.

"Manager Jon, may I ask how much the slaves here cost?" Roland suddenly asked as he looked at the slaves in the cages.

Although these slaves greatly tempted Roland, the most important thing was still the price. If they were far more expensive than those outside on the street, Roland had no desire to be taken for a fool.

After all, even frail slaves could serve as residents for a newly developed territory. At worst, there would simply be more casualties.

"Lord Roland, our Shadow Merchant Guild has a long history of over a hundred years. Every slave we sell has been carefully selected. Our guild can absolutely guarantee the health of our slaves, and we would never sell any diseased slaves to our customers..."

Before he could finish boasting, Roland could not help interrupting him. "Manager Jon, what about their prices?"

Jon showed no displeasure at being interrupted. A trace of cunning instinctively appeared beneath his shrewd gaze.

"Lord Roland, a healthy adult male costs around twenty-five gold coins. An adult female costs fifteen gold coins, while children are much cheaper, requiring only five gold coins."

"Of course, if you need professional slaves, our guild also has warrior slaves. A Tier 1 Warrior sells for around fifty gold coins, while a Tier 2 Warrior..."

As Jon quoted the prices one by one, Roland's expression remained unchanged, but a towering wave had already risen in his heart.

Although he had learned from his predecessor's memories that the Terra Kingdom, being close to the Beastkin Empire and fighting wars year after year, had suffered enormous population losses, causing slave prices to remain high, his predecessor had not known the exact figures. After all, he had rarely paid attention to such matters.

But Roland had never expected an adult male slave to be worth twenty-five gold coins.

It was actually more expensive than a bottle of Level 3 Spirit Agility Potion.

"But... thinking about it this way... it doesn't seem that expensive. One human ≈ a Tier 3 Potion?" Roland froze for a moment at the thought.

"Nuwa, calculate the cost of purchasing slaves for developing a territory." "Received, Master."

"Beep! Based on the dangerous conditions of the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, it is recommended that Master purchase sixty adult males and forty adult females."

"Based on the Shadow Merchant Guild's quoted prices, a total of two thousand two hundred gold coins will be required."

"Two thousand two hundred gold coins?" Roland felt that it was expensive again.

Even with his success rate in brewing potions, he could only earn a little over three thousand gold coins in three months. Moreover, one-third of that had to be reserved for his daily meditation and improving his strength.

He also could not spend all the remaining money on slaves. Supplies, food, and hiring mercenaries for protection were all necessary for developing a territory, and they were even more important than buying slaves.

So he simply did not have the ability to purchase so many slaves at that price.

Thus, even as Jon enthusiastically introduced the slaves, Roland's attitude became increasingly cold.

"Manager Jon, thank you for the introduction. I'll take a look elsewhere first." With that, Roland prepared to leave.

Seeing that Roland did not even intend to haggle, Jon immediately grew anxious. He hurried forward and blocked Roland's path.

A trace of anger appeared on Roland's face. "Does the Shadow Merchant Guild intend to force a sale?"

"No, no, Lord Roland, you misunderstand. Our guild has a rule: if payment is made with Magic Potions, you can receive a ten percent discount." Jon hurriedly explained.

Hearing Jon's explanation, Roland's expression improved slightly, but he still did not agree.

Even with the discount, it would still cost nearly two thousand gold coins, which was beyond what he could afford.

Still, he softened his tone. "All right, I'll consider it."

Just as Jon was about to say something more, Jonathan suddenly stepped in front of Roland. Smiling, he said to Jon, "Uncle Jon, let's stop here for today. Apothecary Roland has an appointment with another merchant guild, so time is rather tight."

It would have been better if Jonathan had said nothing, but the moment he spoke, anxiety immediately appeared on Jon's face. He hurriedly said to Roland again, "Lord Roland, if you purchase one hundred slaves, I can apply to the guild for another five percent reduction."

Clearly, Jon had also noticed the Pioneer Knight badge on Roland's chest.

"Another five percent reduction?" Roland was somewhat tempted. After all, the quality of the Shadow Merchant Guild's slaves was indeed quite good.

But even if Jon slashed the price today, Roland still could not afford them.

So after once again saying that he would consider it, he left the Shadow Merchant Guild with Jonathan and Old Nob.

After they came out, Jonathan immediately lowered his voice and said to Roland, "Lord Roland, if you wish to purchase slaves from the Shadow Merchant Guild, you can delay for a while longer. I know Jon well—he will definitely lower the price again."

"And if you pay with potions, I believe the price can be brought down to around eighty percent."

Seeing Jonathan act as though he were sincerely considering Roland's interests, Roland could not help developing a bit of goodwill toward him.

"Thank you for the advice, Jonathan. I'll consider it."

"I also know another merchant guild. Their slaves are quite good as well. Would you like to take a look?"

Rather than immediately accepting Jonathan's suggestion, Roland asked curiously, "Do I have to buy from a merchant guild? I saw that the slaves in several shops along the street looked pretty good too."

Jonathan looked around nervously. When he saw that no one was paying attention to them, he replied in an even lower voice, "Lord Roland, those slaves in the shops may look good, but most of them are merely for show."

"They put strong, healthy slaves on display outside to attract customers. But when it comes time to trade, you'll find that not only can they not provide the quantity you need, but the quality of their slaves is also terrible. Nearly all of them carry illnesses to varying degrees."

"In the past, many Pioneer Knights bought slaves from them because they were tempted by the cheap prices. They did not notice anything at the time, but after transporting the slaves to the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, they discovered that those slaves' bodies simply could not adapt to the dangerous environment there."

"Moreover, some Pioneer Knights even suffered outbreaks of disease on the way to their territories, resulting in large numbers of slaves dying from illness."

"Merchant guild slaves rarely have such problems. Although Jon's prices just now were somewhat inflated, there was one thing he did not exaggerate—the Shadow Merchant Guild really does have a history of a hundred years, and its reputation is fairly good."

"Although their prices are certainly much higher than those on the street, I would still recommend buying from a merchant guild."

Jonathan's attitude was extremely sincere, as though he were entirely thinking of Roland. Although Roland was rather satisfied, he did not fully believe him. He could not possibly conduct such a large gold coin transaction based solely on Jonathan's words.

"Mm, then let's take another look." Roland nodded casually.

"Please follow me." Hearing that, Jonathan once again led Roland deeper into Bell Street.

Over the next hour, Roland followed Jonathan to two more merchant guilds. Neither was any smaller than the Shadow Merchant Guild, but neither specialized in human slaves, so the quality of their human slaves was slightly inferior to those of the Shadow Merchant Guild.

By then, Roland had lost the desire to continue. The prices of slaves at the merchant guilds were mostly similar, with almost no difference from the prices Jon had quoted at the Shadow Merchant Guild.

There was little point in continuing to browse. Unless they reached the final deal, Roland would have no way of knowing the bottom prices of the major merchant guilds.

So Roland directly instructed Jonathan, "Let's stop here for today."

"Very well, as you wish," Jonathan replied.

"However, there is one more thing I need you to do. I am willing to pay you for it," Roland suddenly said.

"Jonathan would be most willing to serve you. Please give your orders."

"I want to learn the prices of food, various farming tools, and hiring a mercenary group in Highland City. Can you do that?"

"Yes, yes. Within three days, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer." Jonathan immediately patted his chest in guarantee.

"Good. This is the deposit." Roland casually took three silver coins from his pocket and tossed them to Jonathan.

Jonathan did not refuse. Instead, joy filled his face as he bowed slightly to Roland in thanks.

Once the matter was settled, Roland set off for home with Old Nob.

After they were left alone, Old Nob, who had not spoken the entire way, finally could not hold it in any longer. With a worried expression, he said to Roland, "Young Master, this Jonathan is far too slippery. Do not trust him too much."

Roland smiled at Old Nob. "I know."

"That puts this old servant at ease." After speaking the thoughts he had held in all the way, Old Nob immediately felt much more relaxed.

When they returned to the two-story house Roland rented, it was already noon. Time was tight, so after a simple lunch, Roland went down to the basement.

First, he sorted and stored the Magic Materials he had purchased that day, then immediately threw himself into brewing potions.

Since Roland had sold all the potions he had on hand that day, he brewed one Tier 3 Fire Element Resonance Potion and two Level 3 Spirit Agility Potions to first satisfy his own need to improve his strength.

After several days of nonstop potion brewing, Roland's techniques had become extremely skilled.

As a result, his success rate in brewing Tier 3 Potions had now reached nearly ninety percent. Even when mistakes occurred, they were usually in the first few steps, and it was rare for all three materials to be ruined.

This meant that as long as Roland had sufficient Mental Power, the speed at which he could earn money would be terrifying.