The cold floor, the rumbling of a stomach that has been empty for days, and the sound of dripping water.
"You bags of filth, an important customer is coming today. Try to look presentable."
The one shouting was a man whose belly preceded him. With his well-kept clothes and mustache, he resembled an average, wealthy Renaissance nobleman.
I am grabbed by the arm and forced to my feet, along with the other slaves who were weak from hunger. A few seconds later, buckets of water colder than the stone beneath us were dumped over our heads.
"No matter how clean they get, filth is filth. A buyer from the Council is coming. Dress them in something decent and take them out to the main hall."
An eye-catching, one-piece white garment was brought into the slaves' cells, accompanied by a large, classic witch's hat. Both the hat and the dress were adorned with semi-transparent white crystals that shimmered like the morning sun against the cold, gray stone walls.
"Honorable Alice Quartz, thank you for visiting our humble establishment. We have brought our finest products according to your preference."
She began to scan the slaves, her gaze as cold as ice from her gray eyes. "The finest specimens, you say. Alexander, bring the meter."
An old, white-haired butler immediately came to her side, carrying a rectangular device with different colored crystals on it. He made a small cut on the finger of the red-haired girl at the front of the line. After a few drops of her blood dripped into the device's small chamber, it began to emit strange, repetitive sounds.
"Close to 500 mana and a +200 on the scale. What ancient languages do you know, child?"
"Only a little of the Virtue tongue."
"Not bad. Alexander, load this one onto the carriage."
After inspecting a few more slaves, it was the turn of a boy with messy brown hair.
"His values are abysmal. What is this garbage doing here, merchant?"
"Lady Alice, please don't say that. He may not look it, but this boy is an expert in 4 branches of the Varlık ancient language."
"Are you mocking me? With values like these, he's worthless even if he were an expert in 7 branches."
"At least take a look at the rest, Lady Alice."
Despite her anger, she did not lose her calculated and cold gaze as she made a cut on my finger with her cold hands and let the blood drip onto the device.
"1000 mana and a -650 on the scale?"
I'm not sure about these numbers. They are obviously a bit better than the others, but not by a huge margin. Not that I care, as long as it gets me away from these gray walls.
"How many ancient languages do you know, little raven?"
"Three branches of the Sin tongue," I managed to say, the words forced out of my dry throat and numb mind.
Alice carefully tilted my chin up with her cold fingers. She stared intently into my lifeless, dull eyes from behind my messy black hair, as if searching for a hidden treasure.
"Yellow eyes and black hair… Understood. Alexander, the Arthuria talisman."
"Right away, Your Excellency." The servant held out an unnecessarily ornate necklace, its golden handguard shaped like wings, and placed it in my hand with his cold fingers.
The moment it touched my palm, the necklace began to glow and burn my skin like a searing flame. Being accustomed to pain, I paid it little mind and let it continue to glow and scorch my hand, illuminating the room. After a moment, the necklace shattered and fell to the floor.
The merchant was prostrated on the ground, and the man they called Alexander had turned pale as a sheet. But the woman in white, Alice, laughed.
"HAHAHAHHAaaha! with this hair and eyes, yet so devoted to the Everlight. On top of that, his values are through the roof for his age. Is this even possible?"
"My lady, he was strong enough to break the necklace, and he didn't let go even though his hand was burning."
"Little raven, does your hand not hurt?"
"It hurts, but it's not that much"
"Alexander, this brat is magnificent, hahahahhh! So the Everlight doesn't hurt that much, eh?"
The merchant, who had been groveling on the floor, must have come to his senses. He stood up and struck me hard on the head.
"Watch your mouth, you fool blood brat!"
"I like you, little raven. Merchant, take this. I believe it should cover the entire bill." Alice took a rainbow-colored stone fragment from Alexander and tossed it to the merchant.
"Lady Alice, there was no need to give so much, especially with the magisteel supply requiring…"
"Alexander, this money is necessary for my research. This one is worth the price. Little raven, from now on, you belong to the House of Quartz."