A week after the two dwarves stumbled into the mushroom garden.
True fragrance.
Glenm now only had to lazily follow behind twenty-plus Puchis, directing them to haul stone to the designated spots.
Compared to the days of carrying everything on his own back, this was relaxed and efficient. He could earn around ten contribution points a day without much effort.
The only downside was the visible mycelium marks on his body; they still felt a bit unsettling. But there was no helping it.
They had personally verified this frozen wasteland; escape was impossible.
Rescue from their kin was a faint hope. They weren’t even sure the spatial rift still existed.
They could only follow the rules here and work to earn enough points for freedom.
They had double-checked the “redemption” system’s legitimacy with Jeff.
Jeff gave many examples of nearby tribesmen.
Before the rules changed, some tribesmen would deliberately trespass from afar to get free symbiosis for cold resistance and Puchi command. They usually worked half a month and regained freedom.
Hearing this, the two dwarves secretly regretted. If they hadn’t caused all that trouble, maybe a few hundred points would have set them free?
Confirming the redemption system was real, the dwarves gritted their teeth and chose symbiosis.
Only after completing it did they realize the unassuming Jeff was an elite among captives; his command limit was double the average, no wonder he was B-rank.
And after true symbiosis, Glenm discovered Jeff hadn’t even listed all the benefits.
Besides commanding Puchis and shedding thick beast pelts, Glenm could now use something like telepathy to communicate flawlessly with demons or humans who didn’t speak Common; it made everything much easier!
What depressed Glenm was that during symbiosis, they had claimed Thorin had talent for piloting Jida and upgraded him to B-rank.
B-rank captives got an extra delicious mushroom per meal. Glenm was green with envy.
Regular captive meals in the mushroom garden didn’t include delicious mushrooms; those cost a lot of points.
Even so, Glenm still found it absurd. Back in the mountains, he had only tasted “delicacies” a few times thanks to Thorin.
But in this godforsaken frozen wasteland, captives who spent their points could eat delicious mushrooms every day?!
The massive gap gave him an unreal feeling.
By now, the two dwarves had also figured out they hadn’t reached the demon Empire but a northern power called the Mushroom Garden.
They should have realized from the weather it wasn’t the Empire, but the north was completely cut off by imperial territory. Information was scarce. Ordinary dwarves like them, without special interest, truly hadn’t known.
Now they finally understood what Jeff meant by being “traded.”
…
Glenm was focused on directing his Puchi team to move stone when Thorin tapped his shoulder.
Thorin gestured for him to follow. The two slipped out past the half-built city wall.
Outside the wall had come a demon group.
Though called demons, from their beast-pelt clothing they were likely the nearby tribesmen Jeff mentioned, not imperial demons.
The dozen-plus group brought five empty sleds, each pulled by two slaves.
They could tell they were slaves at a glance: not only were there half-demons, but humans too.
In these lands, free humans simply didn’t exist.
Spark approached with several mushroomkin and briefly spoke with the leader.
Then he directed a group of plump recluse Puchis forward. The mushroom giants pulled massive quantities of mushrooms from their round bodies, filling the sleds.
Loading complete, Spark personally handed the leader a bag of delicious mushrooms.
Trade done, the tribesmen personally pulled the full sleds homeward. The slaves were left behind, led away by Spark’s people.
“Slave trading…” Glenm murmured, watching the scene.
Both humans and demons engaged in slavery across the continent.
Humanity had some limits due to the Church and demon threats. Demons were far more brazen.
Though this wasn’t the Empire, if even the Empire did it, these northern tribes certainly would.
Criminals, war captives, even passing travelers could become slaves.
Elves and dwarves looked down on slavery.
Moral stance aside, from pure profit: for resource-rich elves, the security risks and management costs of slaves far outweighed their value.
Dwarves were the same. Their greatest output was mining and forging; non-dwarf slaves couldn’t compare.
Witnessing this barbaric, primitive transaction, Glenm couldn’t help showing disdain.
Jeff had somehow appeared beside them. Watching the slaves being led away, he sighed enviously. “Another batch of lucky ones!”
“Lucky ones?” Glenm couldn’t connect slaves with that word.
Jeff understood the dwarves’ thoughts and chuckled. “Do you know most of those humans probably can’t even speak Common well?”
Seeing their confusion, he continued, “Many humans who end up here have been slaves for generations! To them, demon tongue is their ‘masters’’ daily language! Now these people, who should have been slaves their whole lives, only need to work here—not too hard—for two years to gain freedom and protection. Compared to other slaves, aren’t they lucky?”
He pointed at himself.
Jeff had also arrived through trade. Compared to his old life, even without redeeming freedom yet, he was already very satisfied.
Before this, when had he ever tasted delicious mushrooms!
Not to mention, under the Boss’s rule, even captives weren’t randomly abused. Dispute resolution seemed reasonably fair to him; something he had never dared dream of before.
“Praise the Boss!” Jeff saluted devoutly toward the half-built tower in the city center, where a Puchi in a striking red cape stood, then turned back to work.
The two somewhat stunned dwarves stood there, silently digesting what they had just heard.
(End of Chapter)
Comments