I Can't Hear You! I Can't Hear a Thing!

"You have obtained 'Servant'*1."

"You have obtained 'Servant'*1."

The notifications kept refreshing, and only stopped after sixteen of them.

Colin sat behind the table, watching figures take shape not far from him. He couldn't help marveling at the sight.

"Greetings, new Lord," the Servants rasped weakly.

Colin nodded, but before he could say anything, several Servants suddenly lost their balance and collapsed.

Uh...

Colin froze, then hurriedly opened their status panels.

The status bar showed "Extreme Hunger," and their fullness value was down to just 1!

On top of that, a bunch of other debuffs appeared in their status bars, including "Dizziness" and "On the Verge of Shock."

In less than ten minutes, Colin would be watching someone starve to death right there!

Most of the people selling Servants had already been driven to desperation. They were Lords who were nearly starving to death themselves, so naturally they had no food to spare for anyone else.

So by the time Colin bought them, they were already on the brink of starvation. They could barely even stand.

"Feed them, quick!"

Colin immediately used the Synthesis Table to make some oatmeal porridge with a little meat mixed in, then sent Number One and Number Two to hand it out.

After a flurry of activity, the Servants finally recovered.

Seeing this, Colin breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't want the people he'd just recruited to die on the spot before he could even put them to work. That would be a terrible omen.

"Thank you, Lord, for saving our lives!"

The recovered Servants thanked him repeatedly, their eyes reddening and their faces full of gratitude.

To save useless good-for-nothings like them, their new Lord had given them such luxurious, delicious food.

Just like Number One and Number Two before them, their memories were filled with hard, sour Black Bread full of grit. After their first taste of this, their jaws even started to ache a little.

Some of them could even taste meat in it!

Meat!

A delicacy their previous master couldn't even afford!

Of course, if their previous master could afford something like this, he wouldn't have sold them off.

After giving them ten minutes to rest, Colin saw that they had more or less recovered. Number Two smiled and said, "As long as you work hard for Lord and follow him faithfully, you'll get to drink this porridge every day!

"Lord rewards and punishes fairly. If you earn merit, he'll reward you with meat!"

"R-really?"

One Servant couldn't help asking, but as soon as he'd said it, he felt a stab of fear. He'd actually dared to doubt Lord's subordinate.

Number Two was about to say something, but Colin raised a hand to stop him.

Colin sat in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands beneath his chin.

He recalled something a Survivor had said in the Chat Channel and decided to borrow it.

"I don't like long speeches, and I don't like making pretty promises. I'm a simple man. You risk your lives for me and do what I ask, and I'll give you food and good treatment.

"Of course, I won't sacrifice you carelessly either. I value life, whether it's mine or someone else's. Understood?"

Colin spoke in a low voice.

"Yes, Lord," the sixteen men said meekly, their voices ragged and out of sync.

Colin frowned but said nothing. Had he hired a bunch of old men and women getting on a bus?

At that moment, Number One stepped forward with the Great Wheel on his back. He stood tall, chest out, and bellowed, "From today on, you're the first batch of followers Lord Colin has taken in! You can call me Number One! That guy over there is Number Two! We're your friendly big brothers!

"I'll repeat what Lord said!

"As long as you risk your lives for Lord, he'll give you food and good treatment.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask us, and we'll be happy to explain! I'll give you three seconds! Three! Two! One!

"Good! Looks like there are no questions!

"Now, I'll say it again! Do you understand? If you do, say, 'Yes, Lord!'"

"Yes, Lord!" This time, their voices were a little more unified.

They all looked at Number One with some fear. His voice sounded like rolling thunder.

They were all Servants, but it was clear that he was twice as strong as they were!

His bulging muscles and the bloodstained Great Wheel on his back made him look like he could kill them with one punch!

But Number One noticed out of the corner of his eye that Colin hadn't reacted at all. He frowned.

He knew what Lord wanted.

Presence! Resolve! Strength!

"Not loud enough! I can't hear you! Are you mute? I can't hear a word you're saying! Again!"

Number One roared.

"Yes, Lord!"

"I can't hear you! I can't hear a thing! Did you even eat just now?! A dog could bark louder than that! Again!"

Number One planted his hands on his hips and glared, his presence imposing.

Even Colin was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Number One to be so talented.

Servants could be trained, and there was no limit to how far they could rise. That gave Colin an idea.

"Yes!! Lord!!" Their voices grew a little louder.

But this still wasn't good enough. Their stances were crooked. No good.

Most importantly, Colin still didn't see "Inspired" appear in their status bars!

"I can't hear you! I can't hear you! I can't hear a thing! Again! You think you can risk your lives for Lord when you're this quiet?! And you! Straighten your back! Stand like me!"

"I'm telling you, we're having meat porridge for lunch today, but if I still can't hear you, if your legs are still bent, and if you keep hunching your backs, you'll all go hungry today!"

Number One shouted.

As a Servant himself, he knew exactly what these people feared most: going hungry!

Beating and scolding them were useless. The only thing they truly feared was going hungry!

"Yes!!! Lord!!!"

At the mention of going hungry, they all panicked. Their blood rushed to their faces, and they shouted at the top of their lungs.

The food Colin had just given them had only been enough to keep them alive. In truth, they were still hungry, just no longer in a state of Extreme Hunger.

"Good." Colin took over from Number One, clapped his hands, and gave his approval when he saw that the whole group had become Inspired.

Only then would they be less likely to lose their nerve when they went exploring later.

Seeing the Servants' empty hands, Colin thought for a moment, then traded for some materials on the Trade Market.

Colin quickly made more than a dozen axes, along with a shovel, a hoe, and a few other tools.

Then he had everyone come up and take one.

Soon, each of the nineteen people there had an axe.

The Mist Axe Gang. Should I do an axe dance? Colin quipped to himself.

Then he looked at the group before him. "Number One, Number Two, get the teams organized. I'll make some preparations. Before we leave, I'll make sure you're all full. Don't disappoint me!"

"Yes!!! Lord!!!"

Uh, they really didn't need to do that. Colin gave them an awkward but polite smile.

Then Colin unrolled the Parchment and opened the Regional Channel, intending to see if there were any new messages.

Preparing whenever the opportunity arose was basic survival in the mist.

After all, the notifications weren't infallible.