For a moment, he felt something—an invisible connection binding him to every slave standing before him. The sensation was strange, but he quickly dismissed it.
The receptionist then gestured for Lein to follow her. With steady steps, he walked out of the building, followed by the hundreds of slaves now under his command. The sight drew Lein's attention, but the people around them seemed indifferent. In a place , slave transactions were nothing unusual.
Once they reached the outside, Lein activated his elder token without hesitation. A faint blue light enveloped him and all the slaves surrounding him, and in the next instant, they all vanished.
As the teleportation light faded, Lein found himself standing on a vast field on Elder Island. The air here was fresher, and the laughter of children echoed in the distance. He turned and saw a group of young children playing around a large platform. Among them, a girl with shimmering silver hair stood out.
Her eyes widened the moment she saw Lein. Just as he expected, Zeylith immediately ran toward him with light, eager steps.
"Damn it, this girl again," Lein muttered inwardly, taking a deep breath before continuing forward. He gestured for the slaves behind him to follow, choosing to walk along the side path of the platform to avoid drawing more attention.
"Elder Lein, who are they?" Zeylith asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"They're my servants," Lein replied curtly, carefully choosing his words to avoid further questions.
"Slaves?" Zeylith murmured as she tried to process his answer. Not long after, her expression changed into one of admiration. "Ahh… You must be really rich, Elder Lein! My father said slaves are really expensive."
Lein simply shrugged, uninterested. "Not really. I only bought low-level ones."
He kept walking, ignoring Zeylith, who clearly had plenty of free time to chat. But his attention soon shifted when he noticed someone approaching from the distance.
The man walked at a relaxed pace, his expression as calm as ever. Upon reaching Lein, he gave a slight bow before reporting the task he had completed.
"All the ship's crew has been relocated to their new residence," Efan stated without unnecessary words.
Lein nodded, then glanced at the slaves behind him. He caught a strange look on Efan's face. The man seemed surprised, perhaps even… embarrassed?
Lein narrowed his eyes and stared at him meaningfully. "What are you looking at, Efan?"
Efan flinched slightly before letting out a small, awkward chuckle. "It's nothing, Master. It's just… there are so many of them."
Lein scoffed, clearly uninterested in the pointless remark. "Take care of them. Make sure they get food, shelter, and start working immediately."
Efan gave a quick nod before turning around to start organizing the slaves.
Lein then shifted his gaze to the old man named Dragnar. The elder remained motionless, silent as ever.
Beside him, Efan—who had only now taken a proper look at Dragnar—suddenly widened his eyes in shock. "He's… a King-tier?!" he stammered. Earlier, he hadn't paid much attention to Dragnar because the old man had deliberately concealed his aura.
Lein smirked. "Yeah, I bought him for a hefty price."
Efan was even more astonished. He stared at Dragnar in disbelief. "So… this old man is also a slave?" he muttered, almost as if speaking to himself.
"Enough, get back to work," Lein said casually, waving a hand to dismiss Efan before he could say anything else. "I have other matters to attend to."
Efan let out a short sigh before bowing slightly. "Understood, Brother Lein."
Without further delay, he stepped in front of the group of slaves and raised his voice. "Everyone, follow me!"
His tone was firm, intentionally authoritative. However, some of the slaves looked at him with a mix of fear and disbelief.
Zeylith, standing nearby, immediately grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Master Efan, you're so cool!" she cheered. "I wanna come too!"
Efan chuckled lightly. "Come along, Zeylith. But make sure you get your mother's permission first."
The girl nodded enthusiastically before dashing away, while Efan turned back and began leading the slaves toward Lein's residence.
Meanwhile, Lein—who had stayed behind—took out a small ship from his storage ring and leaped onto it.
"Get on," he said, gesturing to Dragnar.
The old man stepped forward without hesitation, his movements light as he leaped onto the vessel. Lein immediately activated the ship, propelling them toward the vast forest ahead.
He wanted to get to know his new slave better. More importantly, the slave control system still felt unfamiliar to him, and he needed to understand how it worked firsthand.
The journey didn't take long. The small ship finally landed in the middle of the forest, in an area devoid of any signs of life.
Lein was the first to step down, his feet landing lightly on the grassy ground. Dragnar followed, his steps as silent as ever.
Lein scanned the surroundings before his gaze settled on a large boulder nearby. He walked toward it and sat down casually on its flat surface.
Dragnar remained standing, staring at him without expression.
Lein let out a short sigh, then gave a faint smile. "Hello."
He stared at the old man for a few seconds before raising an eyebrow. "Speak… what's wrong with you?"
Dragnar remained silent. His deep, aged eyes only looked at him with a vacant gaze, seemingly unaffected by Lein's presence.
Seeing the old man's attitude, Lein started feeling slightly annoyed. With a swift motion, he unsheathed his golden sword and swung it without hesitation.
The blade slashed sharply, cutting into Dragnar's arm in an instant. A drop of blood trickled from the open wound, falling onto the ground.
Yet, Dragnar didn't move an inch. His expression remained the same—blank, without pain or surprise.
Lein observed his reaction with narrowed eyes. "You didn't dodge?" he muttered under his breath, slightly intrigued by the extent of control he had as a slave master.
He then took out the slave contract from within his spatial ring.