Foldo gulped as he heard this. Since meeting Darius, he had never heard him sound as grave and serious as he was now. In the little time Foldo had spent with him, his master had been laid back and calm, giving the apprentice the impression that there was nothing the Adept mage couldn't do.
The older man nodded and waited for Darius to inspect the items fully. Darius' eyes roved over all the items as he Analyzed them one by one before he sighed, for what he had seen was truly shocking.
[Egg of a Hellhound - Miscellaneous
Durability: 2/2
Description: This egg contains the offspring of a special race from Armadon. Hellhounds are hard to breed but are in high demand due to their special and unique ability to track the scent of souls.]
[Digital Tablet - Technological
Durability: 10/10
Quality: Average
Uses: Infinite, as long as there is mana provided
Description: This creation of modern technology functions like a PDA for its owner. Unfortunately, without any connection to the Continental Network of Gravitas, the user cannot access the appstore, play online with friends, or download music.]
[Dagger of Death - Weapon
Durability: 40/40
Quality: Perfect
Uses: 3
Description: An item forged by the God Hephaestus as a gift for Asmodeus. The dagger has the ability to end the life of anyone struck by it that is not a God, regardless of the victim's strength or the wielder's weakness. However, it will shatter after repeated use if not wielded by Asmodeus himself.]
[Reaper Contract - Scroll
Durability: 1/1
Quality: Poor
Uses: 1
Description: An ancient document that the Demon Lord Barbatos handed to her contracted necromancers during the divine war. It takes a brave and confident necromancer to attempt to form a connection between themselves and a Reaper.]
[Phoenix Quill - Miscellaneous
Durability: MAX
Quality: Perfect
Uses: Infinite
Description: An item made from the tail feathers of a true Phoenix, this quill has gained its undying properties. Any text or parchment written on with this quill will also be benefit from this trait, creating a document that cannot be destroyed by anything other than a God.]
[Cupid's Heart - Weapon
Durability: 100/100
Quality: Perfect
Uses: 2
Description: The favored arrow of the cupid race. It allows the feeling of organic love to sprout between two people struck by its head in tandem. In the hands of any non-cupid, it can only display this ability once.]
[Tome of Demonion - Unique
Durability: MAX
Quality: Perfect
Uses: Infinite
Description: An item created from the laws governing the Armadon Continent. It allows the user to summon any Demon to fight on their behalf or perform other tasks as long as the proper price is paid.]
[Entry Token - Miscellaneous
Durability: 50/50
Quality: Average
Uses: 1
Description: A special pass meant for outsiders of Gravita. It allows the owner to teleport to the visitor's center of Gravitas for 24 hours before forcefully being sent back.]
[Soul Gem - Unique
Durability: ?
Quality: ?
Description: A unique item that can only be made when a Lich's phylactery is destroyed and reforged with extreme craftsmanship. A person can use it to store their true soul within so that they revive after death. The cost for it being their body deteriorating every time one comes back after death.]
Darius listed them all to Foldo one by one, slowly highlighting the possible advantages and disadvantages of each item to his dumbstricken apprentice who was profusely sweating.
He had always considered these items to be somewhat special, but now he was hearing that he had been holding onto items that might tempt even deities were they to know about it.
Especially the likes of A Stitch in Time, Dagger of Death, and the Tome of Demonion. Foldo could not believe he had been strutting about with ticking time bombs in his Bag of Holding.
He continued shaking for a minute longer before he gritted his teeth and breathed out. With a solemn face, he got onto his knees and prostrated before Darius, and spoke honestly.
"Master Darius, I have no confidence in being able to use these items while keeping my life intact, so I would like to grant them to you, as a gift for your tutelage!"
Darius smiled lightly. "You're truly clever Foldo. You weighed the pros and cons, rightfully realizing that despite these items being godly, you lack the power to sell or use them without losing your life for doing so."
Darius crossed his legs and narrowed his eyes playfully. "As such, it is indeed a much better choice to offer it to the master whose power and connections you have yet to uncover, in exchange for more resources in magecraft, which is more pertinent to you."
"That way, you kill two birds with one stone. This will allow you to see the limitations of your new master's power based on how he is able to utilize these items and remain unscathed or not. All the while gaining my favor and more resources for becoming a Journeyman mage, which is more of a realistic goal for you at this time."
Foldo froze with his head on the floor, his heart thumping in his chest rapidly as he had indeed defaulted into his cunning mode thereby forgetting that his master was even more vicious than he was.
How could he do something like this?! He literally swore to Darius that he would never try to go against his Master!
While Foldo was panicking and trying to find a good reason for Darius to not strike him, the latter merely found his first follower's reaction amusing. It was apparent that the older man had been too overwhelmed by the identified items making him act before thinking clearly.
It was similar to being told that there was a giant spider on your back. No matter how brave one normally was, it would likely lead someone to enter a state of panic where they might do something unwise like make sudden moves or try to swat it off, which would lead to unfavorable results.
Foldo had fallen into this trap.
Just as he was about to say something to extricate himself from this mistake, Darius chuckled and spoke calmly.
"Stand, Foldo. This is your first offense. I like a cunning subordinate like you because idiots would simply ruin my plans when I rely on them. Still, let me give you a piece of advice, my 'dear' apprentice. Make sure this will be the only time."
Darius reached out and took the items and placed them into his Inventory. All of them would come in handy in different situations, but Darius had realized something even more important from this.
His Transmutation had an important and limiting rule that he could only create things that already existed in Faust.
By Analyzing and identifying more items, he would come into contact with more things he would be able to recreate with his Transmutation.
Of course, Darius didn't bother to check for any of the items he already made. Just making bloody basic spells was enough to tap him out for the day, so valuable items like these that required special methods to be made would come out above his CP threshold based on the 3 stages.
Still, Darius decided to humor himself and took out the simplest item, the Entry Token to Gravitas. He took out his one Silver Ando Coin that he had transmuted on the fifth day, when he went to bed with 0.1 CP leftover.
The material of the token seemed similar to that of the silver coin, so he assumed it would make it the cheapest to convert.
[Would you like to change the Silver Ando Coin into an Entry Token? This will cost 245 Conversion Points.]
Darius' lips twitched. He immediately regretted checking, wondering which demon whispered to him to do so.
He had spent the first few days finding out what there was to know about his Transmutation ability.
It had helped him formulate a good hypothesis on how it worked, making him able to roughly gauge how expensive conversion would be as long as he understood their practical value in the world of Faust.
Darius placed the coin back into his Inventory and gave Foldo a playful smile as he prompted the older man to lead him to the slaves.
Foldo nodded as he rose back to his feet and took Darius through the mansion's lower corridors. Eventually, both men arrived at a hidden trapdoor that led further down. Foldo entered first and beckoned Darius to follow him.
The Itemancer complied and they walked down a few stairs until they came into a small room. The room was refreshingly ventilated and well-kept. Darius could even see many vent-like contraptions that allowed fresh air in and stale air to go out.
The room itself was well-decorated and carpeted despite its huge size. Many of the villagers from above ground moved up and down the large chamber, cleaning and monitoring the slaves who were kept in glass-like cubicle rooms.
This chamber was like a large prison floor, with two columns of cubicle rooms connected back to back, with a carpeted pathway in between each of them. There was also a column of cubicles pressed against the eastern and western wall, with two rows pressed against the northern and southern walls.
The slave owner led Darius down to the floor and walked along the column of cubicles to the easternmost wall and allowed his master to take a look at the persons trapped within.
Darius's eyebrows rose when he noticed that the cubicle rooms were also extremely clean and well-maintained. There was a small bathroom, a small closet for clothes with a mirror, a desk with some books, and a comfortable bed.
To Darius, it looked like a luxurious cell from Earth that was reserved for VIP inmates who didn't want to stay with the rabble in the average cells. According to his knowledge, ignoring the lack of freedom, these slaves had better living conditions than some middle-class people in Faustian society!
Foldo was amused by Darius' obvious surprise and explained. "Master Darius, you have to understand one thing. No healthy and wealthy buyer would ever want to enter a room that smells like shit, depression, and despair."
"I have never understood my fellow slavers who keep their products in filthy cages, starve and beat them to near death and then still expect someone to pay a premium price for those slaves later on."
Foldo tapped his temple with a smirk. "Much cleverer to keep your products clean, healthy, and somewhat happy if possible. Well-fed, well bathed, and sanitary is the way to go."
Darius once again felt that his choice of keeping Foldo alive and working for him was really wise. His thinking was too similar to modern merchants from Earth, as opposed to the kind of time period he was living in.
For that matter, Darius checked the so-called 'products'. Foldo hadn't lied, they showed no signs of hopelessness nor the depths of despair one would expect from normal slaves. Of course, they were not at the peak of happiness, but they weren't listless like the world had come to an end.
Foldo turned to Darius. "Master, what exactly are you looking for in your slave? Do you desire a young, adult, or older female as a servant? As a sex slave? As a combatant? Or would you prefer a male youth, adult, or elderly for one of those categories?"
Darius rubbed his chin. "I want a male, preferably youth, but an adult might also work. He needs to be human and it doesn't matter whether he is average or talented."
Foldo's eyes flashed. "I have just the thing."
He led Darius to the middle of the room, to the set of cubicle rooms that faced towards the west. There, Darius saw the entire column hold young boys aged 5-15 who were either playing with toys or reading books provided to them by Foldo.
When they saw Darius, they became curious and came to the edge of their cells to gaze at their potential owner. Meanwhile, the transmigrator Analyzed them one by one to check their different stats. Nearly all of them were actually classless and naturally hadn't sparked.
Darius rubbed his chin and held up the System Brand. After admiring the ring, he decided that it was time to test out its utility.
Darius walked to the cell of a boy who was quite burly for his tender age of 15, yet the Analyze had revealed that the lad was in fact a half-giant. He had a shaggy mane of black hair that reached just below his shoulder blades.
His eyes were a bright green color and were overwhelming, as if he could press down on whoever he gazed upon with them. He had a relatively good-looking face despite his heritage, with a small nose, thin lips, and a great jawline.
His upper body was bare-chested while his lower body consisted of shorts that were black in color. His skin tone was a healthy brown, similar to Darius himself.
Darius looked up and made eye contact with the boy while the lad did the same. After staring at each other for a minute, the boy nodded and looked away.
Darius gestured to Foldo to release the fellow. "I choose him."
Foldo smiled as he understood what had just occurred, but did not comment. He only said: "You have made the best possible choice, Master."
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