Arielle and Vera

As Augustus followed the knight, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

The room he was led into looked like something straight out of the medieval era, with torches flickering on the walls and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

But his attention was quickly drawn to the knight before him, who introduced himself.

"Ehem, my name is Galen Ravenswood. May I know your name, sir?" he asked.

"Augustus Gray," Augustus replied casually.

"Right, Sir Gray, I'm assuming you are an irregular?" The knight asked him, trying to confirm something.

The mention of the word "irregular" caught Augustus off guard. He assumed that the knight was trying to ascertain if he was from another world, judging by his name.

'Should I tell the truth? I saved their people, they shouldn't turn hostile towards me, right?' Augustus thought to himself.

"I'm an otherworlder. I came from another dimension," Augustus explained honestly.

"So, you are an irregular," the knight concluded.

Seeing that the knight was about to label him as an irregular, Augustus simply nodded. "You can call me whatever you like."

"Alright. To be honest, I'm here because I want to invite you under the Imperial Guard's order to join our clan."

Augustus couldn't help but wonder if the clan was similar to the sects in his world of martial arts, but he decided to ask about the benefits of joining instead.

"What are the benefits of joining a clan?" he asked.

"We will give you all the information you need about Exonia since you are unfamiliar with it, and we'll sponsor you with everything we have on the condition you help us fulfill some tasks. I promise that we won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

Suddenly, a quest notification appeared before Augustus' eyes.

[Sudden Quest arrived]

[Join 'Imperial Guard' Clan]

[Reward: 10,000 Points]

"The system is encouraging me to join their clan. It seems like they harbor no ill intentions," Augustus thought.

"I'm fine with joining your clan, but under the condition that I won't be shackled by you guys." Augustus agreed, knowing that he could benefit from the quest as long as he was free to do as he pleased.

"Yes, of course. We welcome strong irregulars like Sir Gray. So, uh, I have prepared a slave contract for you. These are their contracts, you just need to sign them so they can officially become your slaves." The knight handed over several magic contracts, similar to the ones Augustus had seen on Earth.

Augustus was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. "Slave? What do you mean by slave?"

'This type of magic contract is absolute and if you break the contract you will suffer huge backlash depending on the contract's grade. Judging by the magic circle, it's at least Middle-grade.' Augustus examined the contracts.

"The people rescued by Sir, under Exonia's Law, will be turned into slaves and forced to repay their savior for life," the knight explained. "I have secured everyone that came out of the dungeon in the prison; they can't escape."

"So, sir, please sign all these contracts." Sir Galen presented the contracts again.

"No, I don't want any slaves. I'm busy, just let them be free." Augustus rejected the offer, unwilling to accept the idea of having slaves.

"So, I should dispose of them?" Sir Galen misunderstood Augustus' meaning when he said 'free'.

"Just let them be free as normal people," Augustus clarified.

"Most of them will probably die if you leave them be." Sir Galen who's familiar with this world explained the situation to Augustus. "Some of them bear Goblin's child inside; they need money to get the goblin out. Also most of them are also extremely poor, that's why they entered the dungeon and risked their lives."

"If they don't pay taxes, they will be turned into slaves too and be sold under Exonia's law." Sir Galen highlighted another cruel law of this dimension.

"What in the hell of a dimension have I arrived in? There's no morality here."

"Bring me to them. I will only accept the useful ones." Augustus can't help but agree as he didn't want to leave any them to die.

I need a party for the dungeon anyway, and I'll accept one or two who are capable of supporting from the back. Since they managed to get to the 10th room, they must be decent."

"This way, sir," the knight guided Augustus to the prisons where they were located at.

Augustus arrived at the location and was instantly disgusted by the place. The people he had rescued were thrown into prisons, with no regard for their well-being. Even the unconscious ones weren't spared.

'Thankfully they are separated into individual cells.'

"Sir, please accept me as your slave. I will do anything." The conscious one pleaded with Augustus, knowing that he was strong and reliable especially when they heard he had the ability to clear dungeons on his own.

"I can't take care of everyone. If you pass my test, I will let you join my party. If you don't, I'll give you potions to sell," Augustus explained.

"Potions are expensive, right, girl?" Augustus stood in front of her cell and spoke to the previous girl that helped him.

"Hm? Yes, it's not the best potion but it doesn't have side effect at all, It can be sold for at least 10 gold coins," the girl replied.

"Is ten gold a lot?" Augustus asked Sir Galen.

"With ten gold coins, you can live comfortably for a year or more if you don't spend it carelessly," Sir Galen explained.

"So, there you have it. The one that wants to leave and receive a potion from me, raise your hand. I'll hand gold coins to you and set you free," Augustus said, looking around.

This way, Augustus could filter out the people that were only joining him because he was reliable.

Some of them hesitated at first, but ultimately decided to accept the offer. With ten gold coins, they could do whatever they wanted and even start a business.

At this moment half of them agreed.

[20 'Health Potion I' obtained]

"Sir Galen, can you help them sell these potions and turned it into gold coins?" Augustus asked.

"Of course! but I'll need to leave." Sir Galen carefully grab the potions. "Let me go grab a backpack."

After a while, Sir Galen returned with a proper backpack to store the potions.

"Here's the key and contracts and my Insignia. If anyone bothers you, just show him this. I'll go and sell the potions," Sir Galen said politely as he handed over all the necessary items. "Wait for me. I'll bring the golds over soon."

Sir Galen left in a hurry, carrying all the potions with him. There's two people left, the others are unconscious so Augustus couldn't ask for their choice yet.

"Two of you left, while we wait for Sir Galen, introduce yourself," Augustus said to them.

The girl that Augustus was familiar with decided to come forward first. "My name is Arielle. I'm magic bow user, and I can summon various elemental spirits. I'm half-elf and half-human. The goblin has not touched me yet," Arielle proudly introduced herself to Augustus.

Augustus shook his head upon hearing the last part. "I just want you both to know that I'm not interested in that sort of thing. What I need is a reliable party," he stated firmly.

Turning to the other person who stayed and volunteered to join his party, Augustus inquired, "What about you?"

"My name is Vera, and while I'm just a commoner, I can use magic," the girl replied, showcasing her magical prowess by manifesting fire in her hand.

"What's your mana rating?" Augustus asked, his curiosity piqued.

"I'm a One-Star Mage," Vera answered sheepishly.

One-Star Mage? They could only reach as far as the tenth room. Did they enter as a huge group or something?

"Just curious, but how did you guys end up getting captured?" Augustus queried.

Vera and Arielle exchanged a glance before Arielle spoke up. "Do you remember the guy who survived? We entered the dungeon in a group, My party and his party, each consisting of ten people."

"So, it was twenty people in total. That makes sense," Augustus murmured in understanding.

"Because of him, we were captured. We were about to defeat the Goblin King but he betrayed us by trying to reduce the number of people eligible for the reward," Arielle continued bitterly.

"The Goblin King ended up gaining more power, and the front line crumbled that's why we surrendered to the goblins." Vera explained.

Augustus ignored the last part but he gritted his teeth as he heard the explanation. If he ever laid eyes on that man, he would make him pay.

"Just so you know, we were captured for one week but both of us wasn't touched by the goblin" Vera added.

'Wait where is he right now, Sir Galen said he captured everyone right? Later I'll ask Sir Galen when he comeback.' Augustus ignored her statement.

"Okay, so you both know each other?" Augustus confirmed with a nod.

Vera and Arielle both nodded in response.

"I could accept you both into my party, but you need to get stronger," Augustus declared.

Augustus took some time to mull over his options on how they could get stronger.

"I'm back!" Sir Galen's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I sold the potions for 20 gold coins each. A lot of people wanted more, but I told them that's all I had."

"Give ten gold coins to those who agreed and release them," Augustus instructed, handing over the everything back to Sir Galen for management. However, he kept two contracts belonging to Vera and Arielle.

"Understood," Sir Galen replied, distributing the gold coins to the women who had been waiting patiently on the side and he also ripped off their contracts at the same time so that it won't be valid anymore.

"Please move the unconscious women to a different location and when they wake up give them the gold coins."

Sir Galen swiftly counted the required amount of gold coins and handed over the rest to Augustus, who accepted them with a nod of gratitude.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with?" Sir Galen inquired respectfully.

"Oh yeah, do you remember a man that came out of the dungeon that I cleared?" Augustus trying to find out about the man that left earlier than him.

"Oh? We kept him in separate cell as he was suspicious. He said that he was party with you Sir and he has right to keep slaves."

"Right, dispose that guy for me, he's the main cause that the previous group failed the dungeon." Augustus explained.

"Would you want to sell him for gold sir? He's a bronze-rank adventurer he will worth at least hundred golds."

"No, that trash don't deserve to live." Augustus coldly said. "What about the women he brought out?"

"They are still unconscious." Sir Galen explained.

"Here you go, twenty gold, do the same thing for them." Augustus hand over more gold.

"I'll notify the guards and have him executed instantly." Sir Galen bowed as he accepted the gold coins. "Is that all?"

"No, that will be all for now," Augustus replied, his gaze fixed Arielle and Vera. "I'll be leaving now."

"But what about the Imperial Guard Clan?"

"I will handle Arielle and Vera first," Augustus assured him. "Once that is done, I will seek you out."

"Understood, you can keep my insignia," Sir Galen said, giving back the emblem again and offering it to Augustus. "Use it whenever somebody is bothering you.

Augustus accepted the insignia and tucked it away in his dimensional storage. "Thank you," he said with a small smile.

With that, Augustus, Arielle, and Vera departed from the basement.

I had three months left until dinner time. He had plenty of time left in Exonia so he wanted to explore the area and see what's this dimension is like.