WARNING: Some events in this chapter might be disturbing to some.

(Carl POV)

After exiting the vehicle, I ordered my men to organize the prisoners based on their value. Most of the prisoners would be sent to dark auctions, while we would keep some for ourselves.

Those that were left were used by my men to vent their lust. It is a good way to ensure loyalty and satisfy their desires.

Most of the prisoners would be sold to lower establishments where some rich scions would buy them as eye candy and have their way with them.

We mainly deal in human trafficking, capturing people from faraway towns and selling them.

There aren't enough mages to protect everyone, especially nowadays, since rumours are that the government is determined to end the centuries-long war this decade.

Occasionally we pick up a rare artifact from the towns we invade. However, from our last raid, we found nothing of the sort. Though, if my senses are correct, I believe have gotten someone much more valuable.

After organizing the prisoners and counting them to make sure nobody escaped, I turned my interest toward the kid I picked up.

I went to the warehouse that was used by my lieutenants and where the kid was being held. I could see Alfred (Bandit 2) waiting for me.

"Alfred, get the mana measurement device, I want to confirm something."

I arrived at the cell to meet the kid. The kid was slumped on the floor but as soon he saw me, his face morphed into anger.

He quickly got up and tried to attack me. I saw the punch from a mile away but I still allowed him to hit me. The punch connected and I barely felt a thing. I think he was more hurt than me as he was massaging his fist after his attack.

"IT'S YOU!"

He was still glaring at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now. But, I wanted to have a meaningful discussion now so I sent a tiny mana blast at him. He was knocked down and I released my aura. He cowed in fear.

"I'll introduce myself first, I am Carl Ramirez."

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"Now tell me, what is your name?"

I began my interrogation.

"Julius Argenti."

He answered my questions timidly. I could tell he was being honest.

"How old are you?"

"I'm eight."

"Do you know your grandparents or any other family?"

"No, I have never met any other members of my family."

'Hmm, does his talent come from just being lucky?'

"Ok, final question, do you know any of your ancestors."

"I haven't even met my close family. How the hell would I know anything about my ancestors?"

That seemed like a dumb question to him. But I had to make sure. A person with immense talent but having no relationship with an S rank is favoured by buyers. Nobody wanted to piss off the S rank behind them.

As soon as I finished my questions, Alfred came in with the mana measurement device.

The mana measurement device was a device that could measure someone's total mana capacity. Higher quality ones could measure someone's mana capacity with a 0.01% margin of error.

The mana measurement device I had was of lower quality. This device could only measure the amount of mana a person was naturally emitting every second. From there, it would calculate the total amount of mana someone has.

However, it had many flaws. A person could change their mana output, increasing or decreasing it to provide an incorrect measurement.

Secondly, this device does not account for the fact that some people have greater mana recovery than others, meaning they would emit a higher percentage of their mana every second.

But for the purposes of measuring this kid, it works. He has had no training in mana control, so he cannot alter his output.

When pointing the device at the kid the result came out as 32.3R. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when reading this number.

"What the fuck...?"

Mana is measured in Retz, named after Franklin Retz, a famous scientist, and enchanter who helped create the current theory of mana.

But having a mana capacity of 32.3R when you are 8 years old is ridiculous. My first thought was that he had drugs in this system that forcibly raised someone's mana capacity. But I quickly discarded those thoughts.

An average 8-year-old would have a mana capacity of 3R - 8R. Mage candidates would have a capacity of 12R - 23R while even the most talented kids would cap out at 29R. But 32.3R is ridiculous.

Though the difference is only 3.3R, they are only 8. This gap would massively widen when they get older.

I almost couldn't believe this number. I even confirmed it with another device, and it gave me a reading of 32.1R.

"Quick, Alfred contact an agent from Vision. This kid is someone they would be interested in."

Vision was one of the most terrifying organizations in the human domain. They had agents everywhere and anyone who has had underground dealings knew their name.

One would consider it the greatest criminal organization. Though they didn't commit any crimes, they facilitated them. They would sell information about vulnerable targets, hideouts, and more.

They also managed the entire black market. They bought stolen goods from bandits like us and sold them to their intended targets.

They also held many underground auctions, the greatest of which was the Nox Occulta, a yearly auction. This auction has the best collection of artifacts, weapons, and other rare goods that were gathered this year.

In fact, this auction was happening in around 2 weeks and I wanted this kid to be in it.