All Kyon had to do was to find out what the mysterious auction was about. He was going to ask Byron all about it when the local warden called him:
«Come here quickly, boy. We are waiting for you!»
A group of slaves surrounded Osip in the far corner of the hall. It was an amusing coincidence that among them was the man who had seen Kyon’s morning teleportation. When he saw Kyon coming closer, he moved away, casting frightened glances at the weird boy.
While they were washing, Kyon casually fished for information concerning the future “event.” It turned out that the Stone family recruited three slaves of the 3rd rank from each sector at the annual auction. It was an unusual auction where the vacancies were for sale. The slaves who offered the highest price would go to serve in the mansion. Of course, it wasn’t freedom, but the working conditions there were much better than those in the mine. Anyway, there were plenty of applicants: the salary in the mansion was higher, and they would send their families more money. Besides, it was easier than swinging a pickaxe. Three vacancies for each sector gave anyone a chance to try and win, especially those who didn’t waste their money but saved it.
Fortunately for Kyon, no slaves of the 2nd and 1st ranks could participate in the “promotion.” They were the backbone of the hierarchy in the sector. Besides, the quality of their life was much better.
Also, Kyon had to face some unpleasant facts. The employment contract clearly stated that the slaves could buy their freedom only if they had worked in the mine for three years. {Borya said that I had been here for a month. No money can buy my freedom. The only chance to get out of this hole is the auction…}
Kyon was enjoying the warm shower, ignoring the curious glances, the most harmless of which belonged to the admirers and envious guys, those who sympathized with him, and those who wanted to take advantage of the nouveau riche. More alarming were the glances of the wardens who couldn’t admit their failure but did not dare to do anything in the presence of so many witnesses. There were a couple of dirty glances, ogling the slim, pretty boy.
Fortunately for Kyon, the money at the mine was waterproof, albeit made of paper. He could safely take a shower, holding it close to his heart, not worrying about its safety.
When everyone had a shower, they returned to the common hall. The cart with daily rations had been arranged on a makeshift stage, where Mob was serving food, casting a glance of contempt at the slaves from his high vantage point. Anyway, they paid him back in the same coin.
The wardens came to the cart in turns and took the food for the whole group when suddenly there was some confusion. Osip said something to Mob through his gritted teeth, but he just waved him off:
«Are you nuts? Back off! N-o spells no!»
The warden spat on the ground and came up to Kyon with a guilty look:
«Mob got his hands on your food... Is there something going on between you two?»
Kyon was silent for a while and then nodded hesitantly:
«Yes, there’s some... Anyway, I have enough money to feed myself. Thank you for your concern.»
«Stay strong, boy.» - Osip gave Kyon such a heavy slap on the shoulder that it made him sag and went to Byron.
Kyon scratched his head thoughtfully: {That’s odd. I thought Mob and I have patched things up…}
Well, no one said it would be easy.
Kyon bought some food from some half-starved scarecrow for 200 rupees. What was for dinner? A bottle of water, a mix between pasta and mashed potatoes, dried fruit... Well, nothing too tempting.
Kyon took a slice of bread and stuck half of it in his mouth. It was fresh a month ago... Diligently chewing a very dried fruit, Kyon suddenly remembered Mike, his ex-roommate. Mob seemed to have seriously injured him. Kyon pushed the first door and saw Mike lying in bed, pale as death, staring blindly at the opposite wall.
{Poor fellow… He doesn’t get any food, and he can’t return to work.} - Kyon rarely experienced emotional empathy, but now, for some reason, he felt sorry for this simple, innocent guy. He might die unless something was done.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kyon infused the rest of the food with Synergy and handed it to Mike. Then he left without saying a word. He heard a quiet “thank you” in his back.
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The second degree Synergy could leave the body only when in contact with solids or liquids, never with gases.
Mike chowed down on food. With each bite, he felt an unexplainable surge of warmth and energy in his body. The pain was gone, his mind brightened up. {What’s the hell…}
Synergy contained in his food would automatically use the body's resources to heal the injuries. Kyon didn’t regret being generous: the energy would restore within an hour. He tended to maintain it at 99%. The rest was continuously spent on his body needs.
Kyon returned to his bedroom to do some stretching exercises. Twenty minutes later, his body was thoroughly cleaned from all types of contamination. Energy consumption decreased by a third, food consumption slowed down, his immune system got much stronger.
Next, Kyon assigned Synergy a new task of upgrading his nervous system. It had to improve the conductivity, strengthen synapses, restore neuronal and axonal connections. The process was similar to replacing copper wires with silver ones. Upon successful completion, the bundles of axons in the peripheral nervous system would conduct information to and from the central nervous system many times faster. It would also increase his resistance to stress and neurotoxins, create a more harmonious relationship between every muscle group. Synergy would supercharge his senses of touch, smell, sight, hearing, taste, enhancing them beyond limits. Even his penis would be more sensitive to sexual pleasure. However, the whole process was going to take about 15 days.
He heard a loud noise in the common hall. Three men in the uniform - two merchants and a guard with a longsword in the scabbard - had dragged a counter full of goods on the mini-stage and began to arrange merchandise in front of the impatient slaves. There were drinks, groceries, dried meat and fish, canned food, medical potions, games, bed linen, clothing and shoes, books. They could get almost anything with enough money.
The customers shifted from foot to foot at the stage. At long last, they could get letters from their relatives and spend money on all sorts of entertainment and goodies…
One of the merchants started to cry out for customers. Those who were still in the bedrooms came into the hall and stood in line. Kyon was in no hurry. He finished his stretching exercises, checked his keys, adjusted the flow of Synergy. When the crowd around the stalls melted away, he put a bandage made from a piece of cloth on his forehead to hide the formation and started browsing through the goods.
He passed the rows of clothes and food and stopped in front of a small bookshelf. Among the tabloids and fiction, he found the books he needed about the elements, spirit, and body.
Kyon picked up a thick volume and opened it on the first page. Judging by the title, it was about spirit cultivation. Just then, the guard appeared in front of him:
«Hey, pay for the book and then leaf through it all you want!» - He yelled at Kyon.
«I’m just taking a look at the chapter titles to see if there’s anything I need. I’ll buy the book only if I find it useful.» - Kyon replied calmly.
«Hmm… Alright, but do it quick!» - The guard said with a tsking sound and took a step from the bookshelf, keeping a watchful eye on the suspicious boy.
Kyon didn't mind being watched at all. He could memorize a whole book just leafing through it. What the point in wasting money (which he didn’t have that much) if he could get it for free? Kyon took one book after another, quickly flipped through and put it in its place with a self-satisfied smile. He had “recorded” all the available literature, about 20 books, and started browsing through the other goods, getting a blank stare from the guard.
«What’s the meaning if this? Are you going to buy anything or not? Do you have any money?» - The guard put his hand on the hilt of the sword, trying to intimidate Kyon.
Kyon chose not to argue about it. He took out a wad of money and shook it at the guard’s nose:
«I will buy something else.»
The guard quickly calmed down when he saw the brown banknotes and let Kyon be.
One of the merchants, a plump middle-aged man, was responsible for correspondence, taking orders, and providing information.
Kyon came up to him and asked quietly:
«Could I get some information about a guy named…»
«150 rupees.» - The man interrupted him idly.
Kyon held out three banknotes:
«...named Kyon.»
The man took the money and opened his notebook with the database.
«There’s no such name... What’s his family name?» - He asked, squinting his eyes at Kyon’s forehead, but his name was hidden under the bandage.
{Just as I suspected...} - He was missing from the global database for some reason.
«Well... It doesn't matter... I just wanted to find out the sector where my friend was sent to. It turns out he isn’t here at all…»
The man shrugged:
«Are you going to take anything?»
Under Babil’s anxious glances (Was the little prick going to spend all the money he had so blatantly stolen from them?), Kyon bought the goods for 7600 rupees. He took a backpack, a 1-week food supply, a change of clothes. He wanted to buy weapon, but it wasn’t on the list. The shopkeeper counted the money, looking quite pleased. As for Kyon, he was happy to have 38,000 rupees left in his pocket.
Babil and the other “robbed” wardens breathed a sigh of relief. Most of their money was still on the boy, even if only for a short time: they were going to give him a good beating the next day and take away everything that belonged to them by right.