Plan B

I told him I'd buy this one, so let's lock the door... and head straight to the next room.

The slave trader locked Alexandra Smirnova's room and led me to the adjacent one. When he opened the next door with his key, a boy in his late teens with short black hair was sitting inside. He looked extremely thin, probably from malnutrition.

“This one... well, you could call him a regeneration user.”

“Ah.”

Unlike the regeneration I gained early on after eating the Cheonwanghwan, this seemed to be a case where the trait itself manifested as regeneration. However, while the Cheonwanghwan offered incredible growth potential, this boy's regeneration ability would likely depend on the rank of his trait.

I briefly considered using the Ruins Spectacles still in my pocket, which had two uses left, but since I already knew it was regeneration, it would be better to save them for the others. I could just ask the slave trader how powerful the ability was.

“How strong is his ability?”

“It's not at the level where he can regrow an entire severed arm like in the movies... If his arm gets lightly cut, it recovers in about five minutes. The ability is a bit vague, so it doesn't sell well. It's hard to even call something like this a superpower...”

NPC characters had a higher chance of developing related traits compared to players, so if regeneration appeared, similar abilities might show up later. If raised properly, he could become a decent tank-type fighter. Plus, seeing how skinny he was, the slow recovery might simply be due to a lack of nutrients.

“How much?”

“Since he's a male with all his limbs intact, I'll need at least one hundred and fifty thousand points.”

“I'll buy him.”

“Oh~! Excellent choice!”

After this transaction, I realized the slave trader was surprisingly honest. He had described the boy's ability without any exaggeration. Any other merchant would have hyped him up as some troll-level ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠regeneration user and demanded a million points.

“Next...”

He locked the regeneration boy's door and opened the following room. Inside sat a boy wearing a hood with his eyes closed. His body was completely wrapped in long clothes, making it impossible to tell if he was thin or fat. The hood also hid most of his face, though I could see that his eyes were shut.

“This one possesses clairvoyance.”

Clairvoyance, huh... I'd been on the receiving end of that before. The sniper who had shot through the restaurant wall when I met Nagumo Shian recently was a clairvoyance user. I wondered if he was still alive.

“He's quite expensive. Just one or two trips to the casino and you'll easily recover your investment.”

Ah, so he could be useful for gambling too. Maybe I'd been thinking too narrowly about combat applications. Clairvoyance was a decent ability in its own right. Should I buy him?

“So how much?”

“At minimum, one million points.”

“Only a million? If you're selling him for just a million, wouldn't it be better for you to take him to the casino a few times yourself?”

My question about why he was selling so cheaply made the slave trader give a slightly bitter smile.

“To be honest, he doesn't listen. In fact, he deliberately loses at the casino or tells people the opposite of the cards that come out, making us lose money. The losses were devastating.”

From what the slave trader said, the boy didn't seem like the type to submit to anyone. Looking at how he was wrapped up in long sleeves and pants, it was probably because he refused to obey and had been beaten severely, leaving him covered in wounds and bruises. If he'd caused the slave trader to lose money, it made sense that he'd been punished harshly.

“Not listening could be troublesome... Let's make it five hundred thousand points.”

“Half is too harsh. How about seven hundred and fifty thousand?”

“Fine. Since you said you'd give additional discounts based on how many I buy, I'll look forward to that.”

The slave trader let out a groan and pressed his temple. We then moved on to the next room.

The boy in the next room had a petrification ability—a lesser version of Sawayanagi Tobey from the Seryu. He was quite large. The slave trader seemed to rate this ability highly and asked for one million points. I nodded. Compared to Alexandra Smirnova's ridiculously cheap eight thousand points in the beginning, this was probably the normal range. The petrification ability wasn't bad, so I casually agreed to buy him.

“Then we'll skip this room...”

I grabbed the slave trader's arm as he tried to pass by the room next to the petrification boy. I could clearly sense a presence inside, so there had to be a story behind why he was skipping it.

“What's in here?”

“This one has a dangerous ability, so I was planning to dispose of her. Let's move on.”

Dangerous ability, huh... That meant it was powerful. The slave trader's reluctant attitude made me sense something big.

“You don't have to open the door. Just explain it to me.”

“Sigh... Understood. First, this one is a Japanese girl. She seems to be about twenty years old now... Have you heard of the Evil Eye?”

Of course I had. The Evil Eye was a high-level ability that inflicted damage simply through the power contained in one's gaze. Since avoiding eye contact with the opponent was difficult, it was quite troublesome to face.

“I know about the Evil Eye. So what is the ability of this Japanese girl's Evil Eye?”

“Just looking at her brings overwhelming terror. There have even been people who committed suicide from the fear after merely seeing her.”

So it was a mental attack type of Evil Eye. The slave trader must have suffered quite badly himself, as a hint of fear flickered in his eyes.

“That's why you're disposing of her?”

“Yes. She's quite pretty, so I kept her for a while, but there's no way to use her and she's only costing maintenance fees...”

Leaving the slave trader muttering to himself about the disposal reasons, I approached the door and spoke in Japanese.

“Are you okay? What's your name?”

“... Are you Japanese?”

After a long silence, a beautiful voice answered. Just from the voice alone, I could tell she must be incredibly attractive.

“Half Japanese. What's your name?”

“My name is Konoe Akina.”

Even though she had only given her name, the introduction carried an air of dignity. Konoe... that was quite a prestigious family, wasn't it? The Konoe family in Tokyo was a noble house with considerable political and economic influence. They weren't as large as the Taira or Minamoto, but they maintained their own independent power.

I had no choice but to buy her and send her home. It would be bad if people misunderstood and thought I had kidnapped her.

“Wait just a little longer. I'll rescue you and take you home.”

“Ah...! Yes, thank you. I won't forget this kindness.”

Even when told she would be sent home, Konoe Akina's voice remained calm. After finishing my conversation with her, I turned back to the slave trader. He looked somewhat flustered that I had spoken with her.

“Now that we've talked, I'll buy this girl.”

“Y-you speak Japanese fluently.”

“Something like that. So how much?”

“... Let's do this. I'll give you this girl for free. In exchange, there will be no discount rate applied.”

I stared at the slave trader with a dumbfounded expression.

“Weren't you going to dispose of her anyway?”

“Hahaha, if a customer needs her, then she gains value. How about this instead? I was originally going to give five percent discount per person, but I'll make it two percent.”

“Understood. Let's move on.”

“This next one is the last.”

Since we hadn't opened Konoe Akina's door, there was no need to lock it. We quickly moved to the next room.

“By the way, why are there no adults? They're all boys and girls.”

When I asked the slave trader while he was unlocking the next door, he answered without even looking at my face.

“Adults usually have their own abilities, so they don't end up in debt. Most of the kids here were sold by their parents to pay off debts.”

I see. So the parents were the problem. If the parents were the issue, that was actually better. They wouldn't try to return home. I had planned to raise them under me since I bought them with my money anyway, but with their family ties severed, it was even better.

In the next room sat a rather cute girl with greenish hair. She had a relaxed expression that didn't quite match her appearance. Green hair... I wasn't sure what ability she had, but it seemed her hair color had changed because of her superpower.

“I don't really know what ability this one has. The debtor who brought her clearly said she had a superpower, so she's here, but I'm not sure what it is. You don't have to buy her if you don't want to.”

In that case, I should use the Ruins Spectacles in my pocket. It was a shame since I only had two uses left, but by now the batch of Ruins Spectacles I had swept up from the Dark Merchant app should have arrived at home. Even though it was a sweep, they were consumables rather than permanent abilities, so I needed to be careful with them.

I put on the spectacles and looked at the green-haired girl.

Her stats had nothing to do with combat, but if I had her grow medicinal herbs or something, it could be useful. Since I also had the Juangua seeds, I could entrust her with those. The green hair was probably due to the Plant Communication - Blessing of the Tree Spirit trait. Moreover, it wasn't even Master or Grandmaster Horticulture but Superhuman. This girl seemed born to grow plants.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“The debtor who brought her said she talks to ghosts, but nothing has been confirmed, so we just assumed it was something like a shaman's ability.”

Hmm, they probably saw her talking to plants ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because of the Plant Communication - Blessing of the Tree Spirit and thought she was speaking with ghosts.

“How much for that girl?”

“Um... She doesn't seem to have any real ability, but she could be used for more... adult purposes, so I'll need quite a bit. Around one hundred thousand points?”

So the market price for an ordinary woman was about one hundred thousand points. I nodded. If Jeong Darim grew well and cultivated special medicinal herbs, I could easily recover the one hundred thousand points.

“Since fate has brought us together, I'll buy her too.”

“Excellent! So that's six people. Two percent discount each makes twelve percent total... That comes to two million seven thousand two hundred and eighty points.”

Six ability users for two million points—about two billion six hundred million won. It was practically a steal. Of course I'd have to send Konoe Akina home, but I could get compensation worth more than that.

When I completed the payment through the app, the slave trader opened the doors to each room except Konoe Akina's. Then, with an expression that was half fear and half embarrassment, he handed me the key to her room.

“Please open the Japanese girl's door carefully and speak gently so she doesn't get hurt. The exit is over there. You can open the exit door with the key I gave you as well.”

There was a small side door where the slave trader pointed. Having a separate exit was quite thorough. And he clearly seemed afraid of running into Konoe Akina after she had killed his subordinate.

“I'll head up first. If any more ability users come in, I'll contact you again.”

Leaving only those words, the slave trader hurriedly fled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the underground second-floor ability user prison.