Bab 72: Chapter 72
In this empty alley, the entrance to the VIP area was concealed behind a wall. Before they reached that, Wall Harry handed Celeste a sack filled with magic crystals and said, "You will need it to get in."
By knocking on a stone in the wall corner, an undeground passage has been revealed.
At the end of that passage, they reached a door guarded by two Rank acolytes wearing the blood-red robes of the Redbud family.
Not only were they strong, they were also equipped with magical artifacts.
The VIP area of such markets was usually the part where the real deals happened. High-value and even unique items like magic artifacts.
In the regular area, the available items could either be mass-produced, like farmable ingredients, or common in value.
Of course, the VIP area had its own price. Not everyone could get in; usually it was targeted at Official Magi; acolytes were quite uncommon in there.
"An item of proof or an item at least worth 1000 magic crystals!" One of the red-robed Acolytes said it coldly. They don't seem to be the type that would hesitate to strike them down if they were here to play around.
Both Celeste and him handed over a sack with 1000 magic crystals each. Inside their sacks were ten high-grade magic crystals that had a value of 100 low-grade ones.
Magic crystals could be easily fused into bigger ones with the right spells; one only had to be careful about the standardized values, or it would become troublesome to pay with them.
The standard values were low-grade, the common standard size. Medium-grade ones were worth 10 low-grade ones, and the high-grade ones were worth 100.
Naturally, it was possible to fuse them even more, but these were the standard denominations used as currency.
After confirming the value of the magic crystals, the red-robed acolyte returned their sacks before opening the door, allowing them to pass.
Once inside, an interesting sight revealed itself: the whole VIP Area was down below the Original Magus Market. It was overall smaller and more compact, with a single street traversing it.
As expected, this whole area was heavily crowded by Rank 3 acolytes and a larger amount of Magi than above. There were a few Rank 2 acolytes, but Rank 1 ones were very rare.
First, they stopped at a potion store to acquire the more rare ingredients he needed for the Ancient Potion Recipes he had bought from Kroft.
He left quite a bit of wealth here, but he was still unable to acquire all he needed.
Kroft sold these recipes for a reasonable price, for a reason after all, even if he was his student.
There were a lot of high-quality goods available here, even some low-grade magic artifacts.
While he was interested in studying all kinds of objects, he already had enough on his plate for now and needed to preserve his wealth for these needs.
His main goal was further down the market.
"Scary, isn't it?" Harry asked as they stopped in front of a large, fenced area.
Celeste looked at it, frozen in fear.
Behind the fence was an area filled with many naked humans, with empty and emotionless looks on their faces.
"Slaves." Harry finished her toughts before pointing at something and saying, "Look at them!"
There was a group of beautiful females; one of the slave traders was even groping some of the big, full breasts to show off the goods.
"Are they…" Celeste tried to ask with a hitched breath.
"Nobles? Yes. Would that have happened to you? Probably, if you didn't die before." Harry replied while watching them, besides Celeste, "They get specially trained and dosed with Potions to have their former personalities wiped; their new owner usually chooses new names for them. But their former selves are basically dead, even if the body still lives. It's usually impossible for anyone on the South Coast to bring them back; you would need to be able to reverse time or something similar."
This was exactly what he wanted to show her. While his contracts were absolute, she could still resent him and find ways to get back at him by finding loopholes. Putting every possible scenario of how anyone could outmaneuver a contract together was simply impossible.
He still wanted her to work well and put effort into it. Harry would never abuse anyone working for him, even if forced into a contract. It wasn't simply his style; he believed in loyalty and effort.
If Celeste developed some loyalty for him after seeing this, her future would be better, and she would resist less.
She looked at him with wide eyes and asked, "Are you planning to buy some bed slaves?"
Harry had to snort at that. "That's your first idea? Quite the perverted mind you have!"
"What? You specifically showed me that!" She complained, embarrassed.
"No, I have no need to buy women to warm my bed. I prefer women to be willing to share my bed. Forcing them or robbing them of their free will is just not for me. Having them willingly is the true path." Harry replied before walking towards one of the slave traders, "No, we need some manpower." Or rather, you need. One of your duties will be to manage the businesses I acquire, and more people will make it easier."
What he wanted to buy were knights—manpower that he could employ for his different interests in the Poolfield Kingdom without having to interfere himself.
A warrior trained to the knight level costs 100 magic crystals; one on the level of a grand knight costs 2000.
In the end, he and Celeste walked out of the market with ten regular knights and two grand knight-level slaves.
The Grand Knights would be useful to his research too, while having the necessary strength to protect his interests from anyone else.
Usually, grand knights were high-ranking nobles; that's why their price was so high. But the research value of studying their physiology made it worth it.
He had specially chosen two that had trained in different techniques.
The same goes for the Knights too. All of them had used a different technique to train their bodies.
Knight Training was a different method from the Magus Path, or rather, one of the paths to progress in power.
There were many advanced meditation techniques that required a knight training method first. It had been a pretty much confirmed theory in the original novel that the different knight training methods originate from an advanced meditation technique.
They could be based on the same one, like, for example, the Branded Knight Technique, which was based around enhancing the body with Runes.
But it was more likely they were based on many different advanced meditation techniques that were more physical than mystical or magical in nature.
Anyway, Harry would love to study them all thoroughly to gain more references about advanced mediation techniques.
Right now, he is facing one major problem. While he would be able to reach the peak of Rank 3 acolyte easily enough, without his old system, he had no way to progress.
While the Multiverse had many ways for himself to become stronger, for example, Haki, the SAO System, and rituals were things that the worlds he usually had access to could offer.
Unfortunately, he was stuck here right now, with no way to get back without becoming stronger first. He had to use an advanced meditation technique.
While he knew the location of a powerful one, a Rank 4 Advanced Mediation Technique, that could potentially reach Rank 5, The highest power in the South Coast was Rank 3 for reference.
Too bad it wasn't perfectly compatible with his own physiology. The first problem was that he wasn't fully human.
This technique was one that allowed the user to become a warlock. A warlock is a magus that uses the bloodline of a creature to become more powerful.
He technically had a bloodline already, a mix of elvish and draconic. Which would most likely clash with that particular meditation technique, but he had to take a look first.
More importantly, his affinity just wasn't compatible. While his secondary affinity with fire did fit, the main affinity needed for the technique to be truly effective was darkness. His main affinity was death.
Elemental affinity is in the early stages of a meditation technique and is more important than the talent itself. Most advanced meditation techniques belonging to Magi focused on their elemental affinity in the first level. At least from what he could conclude from the original story.
If one thing most cultivation worlds had in common was that one needed a stable foundation to reach a high level, Unfitting Elemental Affinites was not something he would call stable.
So here he was; he had to find a fitting Advanced Meditation Technique for himself.
He had managed to steal a few Rank 1 ones from the Acolytes with backgrounds in the academy, but they were all unfitting for him too. None of them had the death element as their main affinity.
The Redbud family used the blood element, the Lilytell family used metal, and the Liliels used darkness. He also found two more in the academy: a fire one and a plant one.
While they were good references, none of them were fitting for him. And then there was the problem that they were only Rank 1, or rather that it was all he had access to.
One of the biggest challenges the Ancient Magus faced was creating higher levels for their meditation techniques. It had been a lot of trial and error, costing them many lives and resources.
Ancient Magi studied and used many different creatures, concepts, resources, and even other worlds to develop their meditation techniques.
As many references and research materials as possible would help Harry with his own problem of finding a fitting meditation technique.
It was also nice that more research material was offering itself to him.
"Stay back; this is not someone you are able to face." Harry ordered his newly bought slaves, who had placed themselves protectively in front of Celeste and him, and the two figures waiting for them just a bit outside of the Market Place.
"A smart little acolyte. How toughtful of you! If you cooperate, we will let you live." One of the Black Robed figures said with a smark, "We couldn't help but notice that you have quite the big amount of wealth on yourself and were so foolish to flaunt it around."
"Oh, so you were the one spying on us in the Potion Store." Harry answered calmly, "I thought you belonged to the store." Well, maybe you do. Is it normal to rob your customers?"
"Shut, up. You have nothing to say here. Hand obediently over your belongings and sign this." The other black-robed figure said this while holding out a piece of paper.
Harry recognized what kind of paper this was. A contract powered by the trial's eye. They were trying to do the same as he had done so often. Binding him through a contract.
That made him internally chuckle, but on the surface, he had a nervous Look, "Please let us go. I will forget what happened here."
"We don't care if you forget or not. You have no choice in this matter. Now come here and sign this!" The first black-robed figure said.
Harry did as ordered, slowly walking over to the person with the contract while the group of knights he was with and Celeste watched him worry.
Once he arrived, besides Magus, he took the offered quiz and moved his hands towards the paper.
Then everything went fast; two green flashes were followed by red ones, and the two magus were on the floor.
"Ah, surprise attacks always work nicely." Harry said he relaxed.
Not only had they looked down on him for his Rank 2 Acolyte level of strength, but they had been careless.
These two were just Rank 1 Magi that had advanced with Grine Water. Even worse was the fact that Harry hadn't noticed any defensive spells on them. The rank 1 spell model they must have used as their innate spell to become a rank 1 magus must not have been one.
Leaving them completely open to surprise attacks.
Basically the bottom of the whole Official Magus spectrum, barely better than a Rank 3 acolyte.
He was sure they would have cast defensive spells if they hadn't looked down on him, making this whole thing more troublesome.
But this way he could take them out swiftly and add them to his collection of transfigured, formerly human pebbles.
"Let's go; we still have a bit of distance to cover." Then he pointed at three of the knights and said, "You three! Get three carriages from the village. One house, one for Celeste and myself, and two were the rest of you are able to fit."
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