After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Chapter 1356: Elementalist Slaves Auction
This was something many of the aborigines had never seen before. The invitees this time were from far away, after all, and some of them didn’t even know there were new ‘foreigners’ that had arrived.

It has to be said: the information was really tight in Xeno. So many months had passed, and so many people in the region were still not privy to the fact that they had a ‘farm’ of elementalists appearing in the world.

Those who knew kept it to themselves, even planning on how to get some as well.

Of course, Mafo knew this, and after so long, more and more people knew. This was why he held this, so he could make more money while he could! Besides, those from too far away would have to invest huge amounts of money to even reach here or to bid wars, and Mafo was definitely taking advantage of this!

“Again, we will only sell 100 today. For the next couple of months, only 50 or fewer would be available! Buy them now while you can!”

“Let the auction begin!”

Applause resounded in the hall, and Mafo happily went down the stage, allowing the host to regain control of the attention.

The host was a slave named Eian, one of the good-looking men in the territory. Since Mafo obtained him a couple of years ago, he quickly became a favorite by virtue of his handsome face and his wit.

He was actually the son of a lord of a now-fallen village, and had once been the heir to the Lordship. This was why he was literate, articulate, and quite charming.

Most importantly, his level had climbed to above average in a Town, reaching Level 28 at a relatively young age! A top-class slave, indeed.

“Good day, esteemed guests! This is your Host, Eian, and I will be serving you today!” He chirped, combing back his blue-violet hair as he turned to the lines of slaves behind him.

His eyes flickered a bit, but nothing else showed on his face nor in his body language.

He simply pulled his eyes away from the slaves and to the servants assigned to assist him, signalling them to proceed.

They pulled a thin middle-aged man to the front. The man was shaking in fear as he was dragged to the stage.

“First one… is a fire elementalist! Level 8 and not yet awakened, but moldable to become a brave guard!”

Generally, typical humans sold for a gold or less in Towns, while Elementalists could sell 50 Gold at the lowest. This was tens of times more, even if the elementalist was half the level of a normal human!

Of course, the prices were different in Cities, and that was why they wanted to invite them here.

Slaves were sold in Towns at much higher prices than in villages. People, even the weak ones, were just more useful there.

Villages were simply too weak to maximize their forces, and would tend to simply use the slaves as meat shields to protect themselves. There were also far more wars between villages, so there were a lot more slaves, so the value of normal human slaves was not too high.

To compare, if a typical human sold 10-50 silvers in a village, that same low-leveled person could be sold for 10 times as much, at 1 to 5 Gold in a Town.

Another reason for this was that Towns had much higher capacities. It wasn’t like high-leveled people could procreate as well as low-leveled people.

There was also a large proportion of better-off people in Towns, and they could afford to buy a few slaves to serve in their homes.

Not to mention, the standard of living in towns was higher and the population denser, so there was much more work to be done that normal citizens did not want to touch.

“Starting price: 50 Gold!”

“50 Gold 50 silver!”

“51 Gold!”

Mafo watched the auction, calculating his profit. It was not his ideal situation, but was good enough.

He had hoped to sell the slaves when they awakened. That way the minimum price would be 100 gold. However, they died so easily! These people were so weak! It was a shame!

He lost so much money on these useless ‘Terrans’ trying to train them! After spending so much, they would just end up dying before they could be of any use!

The past few months alone, he lost at least a thousand people while trying to train them (not including the deaths due to natural disasters like the Heat Wave).

Fortunately, he gained a thousand or so more with higher potential so he gave up on those with low levels, realizing that the resources spent on them might not be worth it anymore.

In the end, to cut losses, he had no choice but to sell the newcomers as they were! At least this way, they had a use!

That said, he was reluctant to let go of most of those already awakened and were at a high level, so a good portion of today’s livestock had not even awakened yet.

Anyway, he could just sign a guarantee that they were indeed the elementalists as he claimed and the deal would be done.

“Sold! For 63 Gold!”

Applause echoed in the hall and the winner smiled proudly, happily gaining an elementalist for his home.

Eian nodded and proceeded to the next product.

“Next one… is a Level 9 Earth user…” He said, showing a blonde teenager. Because it was on the younger side, it meant that the potential was decent. Even if he was only Class D potential, he was moldable.

The thing about Potential was that it mostly referred to the strength they could reach in the future, as well as the quality of power they could control after a certain level. In the early stages, the difference was really not that stark.

So, unsurprisingly, this one sold for quite a bit higher than the previous one.

“Sold for 67 Gold and 88 Silvers!” Eian exclaimed, adding a practiced chirp in his voice.

He compartmentalized very well. Even if he was uncomfortable in his gut, none of this showed.

After all, he could feel pity, but he definitely wouldn’t risk his own safety and lifestyle for others—most especially not strangers.

So, taking a deep breath, he looked at the slaves again with a smile on his face.

“Next!”