Areth looked at himself in the mirror inside the private cabin of a ship that swayed gently back and forth with the waves. It had been a week since the moment he reincarnated in a dungeonand slaughtered everyone in a grand hall before encountering two different gods.
During that time, he had never once thought to look at his new face. Of course, the novel had described Areth's appearance, so he had a rough idea of what he looked like. Still, seeing it with his own eyes felt strangely unfamiliar.
In his previous life, he had been about as ordinary as a person could possibly be. He had four siblings and was the youngest among them. The amusing part was that all of his siblings had striking features. Colored eyes. Unusual hair. He, on the other hand, had been painfully average.
Brown eyes. Black hair. Average height. Average facial features. Because of that, the man he saw in the mirror was surprisingly pleasing. His hair was still dark black, but this time his eyes were no longer brown. They were black.
"A big improvement… hmm."
Fortunately, he had a sharp, masculine face that could easily be called handsome. Even so, getting used to this new appearance had been difficult at first.
A person was far more a creature of habit than they realized.
The face you saw every morning when you woke up. The weight of your body when you walked. Even the faint clicking sound your joints made when you curled your fingers.
All of these things formed a part of your identity. Having them suddenly change was something that could shake a person at their very psychological core.
Areth stepped closer to the mirror.
He slowly lifted his hand and touched his own face. His cheekbones were more pronounced. His jaw descended with a sharper line. Instead of the soft, ordinary texture he used to feel when touching his face in his previous life, this one had a harder structure.
He leaned closer.
His black eyes stared directly into their own reflection.
"How did I reincarnate into this body… and more importantly, why?"
It was a question he had never truly considered before, simply because he had not had the time.
The answer certainly wasn't written in the mirror.
Even so, he didn't take his gaze off his reflection. It was almost as if, by staring long enough, he might discover the answer hidden somewhere among the lines of his face.
He didn't.
A quiet breath escaped his lips.
"Ridiculous…"
he murmured to himself.
There was no point thinking about something he had no way of knowing. Perhaps one day he would meet someone who had the answer to that question. But right now, it didn't matter.
He had no time to occupy himself with questions he could not answer.
He had reincarnated. That was now reality.
And to be honest, he didn't miss his old life all that much.
If humanity ever made contact with aliens or started producing humanoid robots, maybe he would consider visiting Earth again.
But the world he was currently in was far more interesting.
And far more dangerous.
As Areth thought about this, the corner of his lips curved upward ever so slightly. Danger had always been interesting. In his previous world, life had been… too flat.
People lived the same mornings, walked the same streets. Days were copies of each other. Major changes only happened in the news, and most people's lives were never truly touched by them.
Here, things were different.
One week ago, he had been a chained prisoner.
Then he had killed dozens of people.
After that, he had spoken with gods.
Now he was in a world filled with dozens of different races, strange powers, and magic. There were countless places to explore and endless sights to see. And, of course, the existence of different races also meant he could potentially "socialize" with women of different species.
A small but important detail.
Areth tilted his head slightly.
"Truly…" He brought his fingers to his chin. "… interesting."
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A few weeks later – The City of Olnalend
Hundreds of people came and went every day in the covered market district.
Voices filled the air as people argued and merchants sweated through fierce negotiations, trying to sell their goods for higher prices. The marketplace, especially popular among wealthy nobles and their servants, was one of the most important areas of the city. With newly arrived goods from the port, the market had grown crowded, and exotic products were drawing significant attention.
The product being sold, however, was... human.
More precisely, living beings. In short, this was a slave market, or rather, given its size and architecture, it was a slave bazaar.
Slaves of many races, species, and skin tones were available here. They were purchased for heavy labor, service to nobles, and various other purposes. Of course, there were also buyers with… different motivations.
As for how these people became slaves, there were many different paths. Pirates captured large numbers of slaves from cities they raided. In some kingdoms, people could also legally fall into slavery under certain circumstances. In short, every slave chained inside the cages of this market had their own story.
But most of them shared the same fate, which was to serve.
Standing in front of the most sought-after slave trader's shop in this market was a tall man with black eyes and a body that clearly showed signs of strict training.
He was scanning the slaves.
Finding the one he was looking for did not take long.
She was the most eye-catching slave in the entire market.
The woman he sought was so beautiful that she could have passed as the daughter of a goddess, with pink hair and blue irises. For a slave, she was remarkably clean. Her hair had been carefully arranged, and she smelled pleasant.
In fact, she looked less like a slave and more like a noble. Which was not far from the truth. The blood running through her veins was not that of an ordinary noble. It was royal blood.
She was the daughter of the recently deceased king of the Kingdom of Dumanna. More precisely, she was the daughter of one of his concubines. Because of that, she had never officially been a princess.
Yet the legendary royal blood still flowed through her veins.
Areth was currently in a different kingdom, so this girl had nothing to do with the king of the land he stood in few weeks ago. But Areth knew her very well. He knew how powerful she would become within a few years.
He even knew that she would eventually become a queen. That was exactly why he was here. His goal was to buy her. However, it would not be easy. Everyone here knew that the pink-haired woman came from royal blood. The slave trader had been advertising this day for weeks.
Areth's gaze lingered on her for a few seconds longer.
Unlike the other slaves, she was not inside a cage. Instead, she stood on something resembling a stage. Regardless of whether they were buyers, people could not touch her; guards protecting the woman's location stood ready to stop anyone who tried to touch her. Even the seats reserved for important merchants or nobles were placed a little further away from the stage. Clearly, the slave trader had previously experienced unfortunate events that caused the price of his slaves to fall.
Chains were attached to her wrists and ankles. Despite that, there was a strange nobility in the way she stood. Yet that nobility began to crack under careful observation.
Her shoulders were subtly tense. Her slender fingers gripped the cold rings of the chain as if she were forcing herself not to tremble. Her breathing looked steady, but the slight quickening of her chest was noticeable.
Most of all, her eyes betrayed her. There was fear hidden inside her blue irises. The gazes, whispers, and greedy stares coming from the crowd trapped her inside an invisible cage.
She had been raised as a woman of noble blood. Among servants, spacious rooms, silk garments, and secure walls. Now she was a commodity for sale in front of dozens of strange men.
A few voices rose from the crowd.
"By the gods… is that truly royal blood?"
"Look at the color of her hair."
"The man who buys her will brag about it across the whole city."
Another man spoke more quietly.
"Do you really think she'll only be bought as a servant?"
When those words were heard, the woman's fingers tightened slightly around the chain.
Her face still held a controlled expression, but for a brief moment her gaze dropped to the ground. She was afraid. Truly afraid.
Areth noticed it immediately. He remembered the novel, but there was a difference between written lines and reality. In the story, it had merely said "she was sold in a slave market." In reality, it was far uglier and more disturbing. Especially the way people looked at her.
Those greedy gazes that put a price on a human body. The slave trader stepped forward before the crowd. He was short, fat, but energetic, with a cunning smile on his face. Raising his hands, he quieted the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
His voice was loud enough to cut through the noise of the market.
"The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived... Today we present a truly special commodity!"
The auction had begun, and was open only to wealthy individuals of high status, or those who had paid the entry fee. For days, the slave trader had advertised this commodity everywhere to spread the word.
The crowd moved a little closer.
"A woman who carries the blood of the late king of the Kingdom of Dumanna!"
The man dramatically extended his arm toward the woman on the stage.
"Yes, you heard that right. Royal blood!"
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Meanwhile, the woman struggled not to close her eyes. But as the gazes of countless strangers moved across her body, her stomach tightened.
Her chin trembled slightly. But she did not cry. Perhaps she already knew that crying would accomplish nothing. The trader continued speaking.
"Such a rare opportunity does not appear every day! Her beauty is obvious, and so is her blood!"
He grabbed her chin roughly and lifted it upward.
"And she is still young! The high priest has confirmed that she is still a virgin and has never been touched!"
The moment those words echoed across the market, the crowd erupted with movement.
A crude laugh rose from one corner.
"Did he say virgin?"
"By the gods… that makes her even more valuable."
Several men laughed openly. Others shamelessly scanned the woman from head to toe. Their intentions were so obvious they did not even bother hiding them. Several wealthy nobles standing near the front were practically leaning forward.
One of them had a thin smirk on his lips. While turning the ring on his finger, his eyes roamed across the woman's body.
He whispered to the servant beside him.
"If I buy her, I'll be the talk of every banquet this year."
Another man laughed more crudely.
"A toy like that wouldn't be bad for my wine cellar."
The man next to him burst out laughing.
"If you can afford the price first."
Some in the crowd were entertained. Others were genuinely excited. A few young aristocrats had even flushed red. It was obvious they were swallowing nervously as they stared at the woman.
One whispered to his friend.
"Look at her hair…"
"By the gods…"
"She looks like a goddess."
The woman heard those words.
Every single one of them.
Every laugh.
Every stare.
Her shoulders stiffened further. The rings of the chain pressed coldly against her fingers. She tried to keep her head held high, but her breathing had quickened. In these people's eyes, she was not a person.
She was an object.
A prize.
A toy.
Areth watched all of this silently. His black eyes swept across the crowd. It was not difficult to see the greedy expressions on their faces. Some of the nobles stared at the woman as if drool might spill from the corners of their mouths at any moment.
A brief thought passed through Areth's mind.
"Human nature really doesn't change."
Then he touched his storage ring.
"Buying her will bring me a lot of trouble… but I know it will be worth it."