There are many types of slaves, possessing low or intermediate intelligence, with certain innate abilities that allow them to carry out tasks assigned by their masters. Production-class slaves are generally confined to city areas, while combat-class slaves can assist players in battles.
Nie Yan did not need combat-class slaves, because unlike summoned creatures, slaves cannot be resurrected once they die. They are like servants, and if a servant dies in battle, they cannot be revived either.
He planned to hire three slaves to help manage his various shops within the city, handling affairs on his behalf.
The slave trading market was dirty and chaotic, with tents erected everywhere. On both sides of the central street stood cages, large wooden enclosures holding NPCs of all ages, their expressions listless and eyes filled with numbness. Some slaves with strong builds were tied with ropes.
Muscular slave traders wielded whips, lashing the slaves in the cages at the slightest dissatisfaction. Cries of pain and shouts of anger echoed throughout the market.
Nie Yan felt somewhat uncomfortable with the scene. He thought to himself that the world of magic was indeed cruel. Faith had vividly presented a realistic world to the players. In such an environment, could you still firmly believe that everything you once held on to was right?
This was the world created by Faith, and you had to abide by its rules!
Nie Yan examined the profiles of several slaves. Most of them had mediocre talents and abilities, only suitable for being ordinary butlers. Some physically strong and robust slaves, however, possessed decent combat talents, capable of assisting their masters in battle.
Nie Yan did not need combat-class slaves. As he walked along, glancing into the cages on both sides, he searched for good slaves. He needed slaves with better talents, preferably those with special abilities. He would rather not have any slaves at all than settle for mediocre ones.
“Respected sir, are you looking for a slave? The slaves I have are the best in the entire market.” A fat slave trader approached, his face covered in flattery. His eyes were squeezed into narrow slits by the folds of fat, and his cheeks twisted strangely when he spoke, making him look repulsive.
Nie Yan frowned slightly, preparing to refuse, when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure inside one of the cages—it was the boy Karrens he had just met earlier.
Karrens stood together with two companions. One was a small, delicate-looking girl about the same age as Karrens, and the other was an older boy, around fifteen or sixteen years old, with a strong build and bulging muscles, likely a combat-class slave.
When Karrens saw Nie Yan, his eyes lit up and he walked toward the cage.
“Respected sir, greetings,” Karrens said respectfully from inside the cage.
“Why are you here?” Nie Yan asked in confusion. He had just given Karrens a thousand gold coins, so logically Karrens shouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
“The despicable Berk took the money you gave me and captured me,” Karrens said with hatred, staring at the fat slave trader Berk beside Nie Yan.
“Sir, don’t believe this slave’s words. He’s a fraud and a thief,” Berk’s eyes flashed with a cruel and ruthless light. Once Nie Yan left, Karrens would suffer.
Nie Yan roughly understood the situation. The slave trader beside him was at least an elite of level 80, and Nie Yan had no time to deal with such matters.
“Respected sir, if you can take us away from here, we are willing to become your slaves and do anything for you,” Karrens pleaded. Nie Yan was his last hope.
Nie Yan remembered that under such circumstances, purchasing a slave would result in a higher loyalty level, reaching over ninety. Normally, buying a slave would only yield a loyalty level of around seventy. If the master treated the slave poorly, rebellion could occur. Although the probability of slave rebellion was small, it still existed.
Nie Yan looked at Karrens’ talents.
Evasion: Karrens possessed amazing evasion abilities, allowing him to avoid monster attacks.
Running: Karrens was skilled at running, with a speed of 528.
Searching: Karrens was more adept than ordinary people at finding lost items and ore veins.
Nie Yan pondered for a moment. Karrens’ three talents were somewhat different from those of ordinary NPCs and were quite rare. Karrens was not the type of NPC confined to staying in cities. He could move around in the wild and even venture into some high-level areas, although he lacked combat abilities and was not skilled in fighting.
Nie Yan then looked at Karrens’ two companions’ talents. The small girl was named Delfinia, and her talents were Evasion, Drawing, and Affinity. Affinity allowed her to coordinate relationships between NPCs, while Drawing included creating and copying various blueprints.
Seeing the Drawing talent, Nie Yan’s mind sparked with an idea. Delfinia could copy blueprints, completing ordinary ones in a few hours and high-level ones in one or two days. If she could copy blueprints like Frost Catapults, it would be of great significance to the Bull Tribe.
Seeing Delfinia’s talent, Nie Yan immediately made up his mind—he must acquire them!
Looking at the other boy’s talents, the stronger one was named Bernardien. Although young, he had a strong, muscular build and dark skin, like charcoal.
At first glance, Nie Yan thought Bernardien might be a combat-class slave, but upon checking his profile, he found out that Bernardien was actually a production-class slave. His talents were Evasion, Running, and Mining.
Bernardien was skilled at mining, and with a good pickaxe, he could dig for ores.
“Mr. Berk, how much for these three slaves?” Nie Yan asked the overweight Berk beside him.
Berk’s eyes darted around. As he was about to speak, Nie Yan interrupted, “Mr. Berk, I hope you can give me a fair price. I believe the governor would not allow a Demon Slayer and Grand Scholar to be deceived in Hilton Fortress.”
Berk smiled awkwardly, “Respected Demon Slayer and Grand Scholar sir, the prices of my slaves are absolutely fair. These three slaves will cost a total of 120 gold coins.”
“Mr. Berk, you despicable man! Someone came here earlier and asked the price, and you said only 60 gold coins!” Karrens pointed at Berk, his face flushed with anger.
Nie Yan didn’t want to argue with Berk any further. The man was repulsive. Nie Yan handed him 120 gold coins and said, “Here’s 120 gold coins. They’re mine now.”
Seeing that Nie Yan paid so quickly, Berk looked somewhat regretful. He hadn’t asked for a higher price, but the deal was already done. He accepted the 120 gold coins, walked to the cage, opened it, and glanced at Karrens and the other two. “You have a new master now. Get out.”
Karrens and the others glared at Berk angrily, wanting to rush at him and fight, but they understood a fact—they were no match for Berk at all.
Nie Yan said to Karrens and the others, “Let’s go.”
Nie Yan walked out of the slave market, having already purchased three slaves. He found that the loyalty levels of the three slaves were all above 95. Karrens had the highest loyalty at 99, Delfinia at 96, and Bernardien at 95. With such high loyalty, rebellion was unlikely.
Nie Yan planned to make good use of these three slaves. The little girl Delfinia could be responsible for copying blueprints. Karrens and Bernardien could search for and mine ores in the wild, occasionally running errands for him in various cities. The Bull Tribe had effectively gained three special production-class slaves.
As Nie Yan walked out of the slave trading market, he remained deep in thought. The Bull Tribe’s number of production-class members was growing. The development of Star Pharmacy had been very successful, producing many high-level alchemists. Other production classes within the Bull Tribe were also developing rapidly, with their numbers continuously expanding to astonishing levels. Each worked independently, accepting various tasks daily and staying busy with their respective duties. In fact, all production classes were closely related. Later on, crafting a single item couldn’t be done by just one alchemist, blacksmith, or engineer alone—it often required dozens of people from various professions working together, such as goblin magi-cannoneers, frost iron catapult engineers, and so on.
An idea formed in Nie Yan’s mind. Why not gather all these professions together and establish something like a production-class guild—uniting alchemists, blacksmiths, engineers, tailors, metallurgists, miners, and so on. It would be best to build a structure somewhere, dividing it into different sections, grouping each profession together for both specialization and collaboration, making things much more convenient.
Of course, constructing such a building would cost a significant amount, at least tens of thousands of gold coins. However, Nie Yan believed that spending such a sum would be worth it. Gathering so many production-class members together would generate tremendous synergy. It would surely drive up land prices in the surrounding area and bring prosperity to nearby shops.
Nie Yan decided to build this structure near Star Pharmacy. After all, there were still two or three large plots of land nearby that hadn’t been leased out, because ordinary players simply couldn’t afford such large spaces. Nie Yan hadn’t decided what to do with these plots before, so he had just built a level-one shop on them to prevent the system from reclaiming the land. Now that he had a plan, he could get started on this project when he returned.
Nie Yan further refined his vision for the upcoming production-class guild, gradually forming a grand plan in his mind.
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