"Next!" The Eyepatch man ordered.
A man was next on the queue. "I am a blacksmith and I have a mission from the system to..."
"—Announcing the arrival of Lady Sanchi of House Tiamat."
The moment Alex heard this, his body tensed.
Xander knew why.
This was a farm, and Alex was premium goods.
The lady in question, Lady Sanchi moved with the agonizing precision of a ticking clock, her spine perpetually straight and her sharp, slate-grey eyes scanning the place as if auditing it for imperfections.
While her ivory complexion and intricate, silver-threaded gown drew admiring gazes from those on the queue, her refined silence felt heavy.
This was an intimidating beauty that seemed utterly untouchable.
When she looked at the common people, they found their place below her gaze.
Furthermore, she used a cloth to cover her nose from the stench.
Behind her were two guards.
One of her guards walked over and dropped a pouch in front of the Eyepatched man. "My lady will like the best product you have."
The Eyepatched man took a look inside the pouch and smiled. "Of course."
Alex braced himself for what was to come. By now, it had happened a lot of times, but it still hurt.
Just then...
"Announcing the arrival of Lady Caramel of House Argon."
Lady Sanchi frowned at the mention of that name.
Lady Caramel walked forward. She was every bit a contrast of Lady Sanchi.
Where Sanchi was a clock, Lady Caramel was a summer breeze.
She moved with a fluid, unstudied grace, and her posture was relaxed and welcoming rather than stiffly upright.
Instead of scanning the room for flaws, her bright, amber eyes sought out friends, and her laughter—loud and frequent—filled the silence that Sanchi’s presence usually demanded.
One might say that she didn’t just walk into the farm, she swept in with a cheerful heart, her hands often waving at the common people.
Xander could not help but have a favorable impression of her at first. But then he looked back at Alex.
A subtle fearful feeling arrested his heart.
Sanchi turned to the new arrival, "Caramel, I see you as unbearable as ever, fraternizing shamelessly with the low-borns.
Oh, of course, I remember now. Your mother did have you with one." Sanchi gave that smile that did not reach her eyes.
"At least my mother was able to have children, what are you on now? Your third miscarriage this year?" Caramel clapped back, still smiling.
Sanchi frowned instinctively touching her tummy with a hand. But was not yet out of words. "A woman, no sane lord wants, should not talk about the marital affairs of noble MARRIED women."
Caramel took a step closer, "You know, I wonder how long Lord Tiamat would continue to wait before the pressure from his old mother makes him take a concubine.
Who knows, I might just be available when the time comes."
Both women kept going back and forth, but no one could come in between them. No one would dare.
Caramel’s guard went up to the Eyepatched man.
"Lady Caramel would like your best product."
"Uhh..." The Eyepatched man swallowed hard, "...unfortunately, Lady Sanchi has booked the product. You can wait till when she is done and—"
"No," Caramel suddenly interrupted. "I refuse to have the sloppy seconds of this fruitless woman. She will affect my luck. If I don’t go first, then I’ll take my money elsewhere."
On saying this, Lady Caramel gave the signal and her guard dropped a heavier coin pouch on the table.
The Eyepatched man froze, at a loss for what to do.
By right, Lady Sanchi was supposed to go first, but how could he refuse the extra cash from Lady Caramel.
At the same time, refusing either women would become trouble for him in the future.
These were noble ladies.
Meanwhile, both women’s bodies had began glow in a strange subtle light.
"Mana... They use mana!" A man alerted.
Those on the queue backed away in fear. No one wanted to be caught in the cross fire between mana users.
At such a time, a figure appeared, smartly dressed in a light brown tunic. Hair brown, and deep blue eyes that pulled attention his way.
He had the demeanor of a pretty boy pampered by his access to beautiful women.
This was Baron Bones.
"Ladies, Ladies..." he swaggered towards them. "Please, I rather you don’t fight over our best product. How about a proposal?"
Both women turned to him, Listening attentively.
"This proposal, Lord Bones, it had better have me leaving no crumps for this wench." Sanchi murmured coldly.
"Same." Caramel echoed. "I am not willing to share."
Alex, could hold it in no more. He was once a prince everyone feared and respected, and now, he had been reduced to no more than a loin cloth between noble women.
When the scene changed again, it was a battered beaten bloody Alex, hanging freely from a thick stretch of rope.
Even dead, Alex’s eyes remained on Xander.
Pleading...
In this manner, the last thing Alex saw was Xander.
The last thing Xander saw was Alex.
Then there was nothing.
Then there was everything....
Xander’s vision suddenly cleared.
He was back to reality.
Now, he understood everything that had happened.
For a moment, he laid there, tears falling from the side of his eyes.
After a while, the tears stopped.
Xander tried to move.
It was difficult. Alex’s body—his body, was riddled with a lot of injury.
Every muscle aches. Every joint screamed in protest.
Even worse, Xander could not call for help. Hanging from a rope for hours had done damage to his throat.
Then again, even if he could, he wouldn’t dare.
As a Negative Profession, he would just suffer the same fate again.
With much difficulty, groaning hard, he managed to flip over.
Shocked.
Xander was met with the still face of the farm girl.
One eye leaked from her socket, held by vein strained like a drop of water.
Her face still carried the horror of her last moments.
Xander gritted his teeth through the pain, a hand slowly reached for her face, closing her one remaining eye shut.
He wanted to say the words. Tried. But his throat won’t allow him.
All he could do was place a kiss on her forehead.
[Ding]
[New Skill Unlocked: Dead Man’s Patience]
[Passive: Host has died and been discarded. Fear of death threshold: Negligible.]
[Bonus Effect: Psychological intimidation attempts against host reduced by 80%.]
The texts, in red, hovered before his eyes.
The System gifted by the Orb. The same one that destroyed Alex’s life.
He had nearly forgotten about that.
He would need to go through it, but first—
He leaned up, and noticed his environment properly.
Waste of all kind surrounded him. From dung to human faeces, spoilt food.
And of course, corpses. Most of which were other unfortunate Negative Professions.
Xander could tell. He was in an incinerator.
But then another thought came to his mind. After all, if he was in an incinerator, then it meant that they were here.
Those insatiable things.
Xander turned.
In the darkness at the edge of the incinerator, dozens of eyes reflected the dim light back at him.
Unblinking.
Scavenging.
Click click click...