Filling the Ranks with Slaves
The twelve people gathered here had been officially confirmed as party members. All that remained was to fill out the rest of the roster.
"In my opinion, the ideal number for the 20th floor section is around 22 people. Should we recruit more regular party members, or fill the spots with slaves?"
Everyone fell silent at the question. In a standard party, the ratio of regular combat personnel to slaves was usually 1:1. By Namgung Seojun's party's standards, that would mean 11 regular members and 11 slaves. While the porters and sex slaves skewed toward more slaves, combat roles were typically 8:2 in favor of regulars. The reason was simple: losing a slave in battle meant a massive financial hit, so parties usually hired regular adventurers instead. Sure, regular members took a bigger cut of the profits, but it minimized losses.
"Of course we should!"
Pinara, unfamiliar with the party's dynamics, stated the obvious. Building a party entirely from slaves carried too much financial risk. The other members, however...
They simply looked to Seojun.
"Let's go with whatever Seojun wants."
"I'll follow hyungnim's lead, no question."
As all eyes turned to Namgung Seojun, he gave his verdict.
"I'd prefer to fill the remaining spots entirely with slaves."
This party was different from the norm. Thanks to Super Sense and the mapping skill, their mortality rate was overwhelmingly low. Only three party members had died so far—a remarkable feat when other parties averaged one death per floor climbed. Plus, the party had plenty of financial leeway. Seojun alone had over 2,000 gold, and Gisohee, Lee Guho, and Jo Jaehun were similarly flush. Factoring in future earnings from hidden dungeons uncovered via Super Sense and mapping... fewer regular members sharing the profits was ideal. And considering the linked quest on the 24th floor, skipping regulars altogether made even more sense.
"Sounds good. We'll follow the leader's call."
"Let's do it that way."
Led by Gisohee, the others voiced their agreement. Pinara felt something off but went along without objection.
"As I mentioned earlier, I think 22 is the right number. With Kim Hoon able to leave anytime and a bit of buffer, 24 it is."
From the 20th floor onward, the fields expanded dramatically. It took 2-3 weeks to reach the next floor, and up to a week between cities or villages. Parties naturally scaled up accordingly.
"How about 12 combatants, 7 porters, and 3 sex slaves?"
Floors 20 through 29 were mountainous terrain, where donkeys would only slow them down. Namgung Seojun proposed increasing the number of porters instead. Pinara raised her hand.
"Go ahead, Nara."
"The composition sounds solid... but that means buying 14 slaves. How do we cover the funds?"
Decent slaves would cost at least 800 gold. That's why she asked about the money. But the other members' reactions were nonchalant.
"We can just pool what we have."
"Pardon?"
Pinara bristled at Lee Guho's casual remark, thinking he was speaking without thought—but the others echoed him.
"The leader, me, Gisohee, and Lee Guho can chip in, right?"
Jo Jaehun said it like it was nothing, and Namgung Seojun topped it.
"I'll buy all the slaves myself. Don't worry about the gold."
Pinara could only gape, speechless.
The discussion on recruitment wrapped up.
"Jo Jaehun and I will handle the slave purchases directly."
No one objected. It was standard for the party, but Pinara realized just how immense Namgung Seojun's influence was here. In other parties, buying even one slave involved everyone's input.
"Gisohee, take the party around the 20th floor for acclimation training. We'll deploy the slaves as soon as we get them."
He assigned acclimation training under Gisohee.
"Li Zhangwei, please prepare for the tower climb."
Logistics like food and water went to Li Zhangwei.
The next day, at the slave market, Namgung Seojun headed to the market with Jo Jaehun and laid out his intentions clearly.
"I prefer 2nd class slaves."
Jo Jaehun fully understood why. For someone unburdened by costs, the efficiency and absolute obedience of combat slaves made perfect sense.
"But we can't fill the whole party with 2nd class, so let's buy a few cost-effective 1st class ones first, then go for 2nd class."
"Got it."
Jo Jaehun agreed immediately. The temple-certified slave shop was the largest in the market, a bit pricier but trustworthy—no scams on adventurers. The pair started there. Upon hearing Namgung Seojun planned to buy many slaves, the merchant ushered them to a private VIP room, where they could inspect the slaves he brought in.
"I'd like to see 1st class slaves with healing and buff skills."
The temple shop merchants promptly brought matching slaves. Kim Juon had a healing skill and nothing else special. Five years and six months left on his 1st class contract, priced at a reasonable 20 gold—a solid, unremarkable pick. Alongside him was Wu Kanghwa, a Taiwanese woman with two years left as 1st class. She had the unique-grade Heavenly Hymn buff skill and cost only 9 gold—an absolute bargain.
Super Sense gave the green light on both. They moved to purchase.
"I'll take both. Any special requests?"
Kim Juon just wanted a contract guaranteeing basic human rights—no complaints otherwise. Wu Kanghwa demanded the same, plus refusal rights on sexual orders. Namgung Seojun signed their preferred contracts and completed the buys.
"Next, 1st class sex slaves: high appeal, short contracts."
The merchant brought five women. All had appeal over 40, contracts under three years, around 10 gold each.
"Jaehun, they all look fine to me. Pick whichever."
Grasping Seojun's intent to keep costs low, Jo Jaehun replied, "Leave it to me," and snagged two for 16 gold total. Im Soo-jin: 1st class sex slave, appeal 40, two years left—tall with a killer figure. Ryu Seo-yo: appeal 54, one year and six months left—petite with a slim waist and huge breasts, a total babe.
"Welcome to the party, both of you."
With that, the four 1st class slaves were acquired. Moving to 2nd class, one new condition was added.
"Pardon? You want to see residents primarily?"
The merchant was puzzled by Namgung Seojun's request. Resident slaves... Summoned were Earthlings who got academy perks, achievements, traits, and skills boosting their averages. Residents lacked those, so they lagged behind. Most preferred summoned slaves. The sole reason to seek tower-born resident 2nd class slaves? His God's Eye occasionally spotted hidden talents in them.
"Show me all 2nd class resident slaves."
"Understood."
The merchant gathered every resident-origin 2nd class slave from the VIP room and nearby shops—31 in total.
"Not many residents. I pulled from neighboring stores too. Here's 31 2nd class resident slaves."
First came 14 warrior-types. As tools rather than humans, class meant little, but their combat ability bumped the price.
"Take your time."
They examined each one calmly with God's Eye. Nothing stood out.
No standouts here.
No one caught their eye. After reviewing all, with Seojun passing, Jo Jaehun told the merchant,
"Show us the others."
"Yes."
The merchant cleared the room and brought in eight 2nd class porters.
"These are 2nd class capable of porter duty."
Among them, a couple shone.
Mid-tier Dexterity?
Song Kang: level 19 porter with low stamina, but mid-tier Dexterity latent trait. Dexterous porters were invaluable; unlocking it would double his value.
Low-tier Archery here.
Yui Koizumi: level 17 porter with low stamina, latent low-tier Archery and Agility traits. Train her as sub-combat, use as fighter/porter—high value.
"We'll take these two."
Song Kang and Yui were selected. Next, nine 2nd class sex slaves entered one by one. Beautifully made up, dressed provocatively, radiating appeal... but their faces held endless darkness. Despair. The hopelessness of lifelong slavery.
Namgung Seojun evaluated them one by one with God's Eye.
Honestly, not great.
2nd class sex slaves were tools, poorly maintained, no growth or investment. Lower appeal and looks than 1st class.
Hm?
One's latent trait intrigued him. Choe Sohee: level 13, appeal 30, just 26 gold low-tier sex slave—but hidden low-tier Stamina talent.
Low-tier Stamina... Gift her the trait, and she hits mid-tier instantly?
Slaves could be gifted low-tier traits for gold. On Choe Sohee, it'd upgrade straight to mid-tier.
Train as porter—profit.
A low-tier sex slave was 26 gold, but a mid-tier Stamina porter? Over 40 gold value.
"We'll take the sixth one."
And so, Choe Sohee was picked—not as a sex slave, but a porter.