Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

Most offered basic street food, with dry jerkies being the most common product, easy to preserve and carry. The smell of the dried meat made Felix hungry, but the idea of cooking something back at his camp was quickly dismissed. He didn't want to attract Sean Smith's attention again.

Thinking of Sean soured Felix's mood. He muttered to himself.

"I should have just killed that idiot and been done with it. I'd sleep a lot better knowing he's out of the picture."

With that, he began to search the area, half-hoping to find Sean still awake. But as expected, the man was nowhere to be found, and Felix sighed, letting go of his impulsive thoughts.

As he wandered deeper into the market, Felix's attention was caught by a large circus-like dome tent illuminated by torches. A group of middle-aged men in fancy clothes stood outside, beckoning passersby. Curious, Felix approached, and one of the men quickly moved toward him, whispering in a suspiciously low voice.

"Sir, are you interested in some company for the night?"

"Hoh?" Felix raised an eyebrow, amused. "Is this tent a brothel?"

The man chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no, not a brothel. We're much better than that."

"What do you sell, then?" Felix asked, intrigued.

The man smirked and made a suggestive gesture. "We sell female slaves. Humans, demi-humans, Crimson Desert tribeswomen—you name it, we've got them."

Felix's expression darkened as the merchant's words echoed the shadow's warning from earlier.

[If you visit the local slave market, you will find our brethren among them. The nobles and merchants of that city treat us as pets and livestock.]

"Do you have any Lamias in stock?" Felix asked, just to confirm his suspicions.

"Of course! We captured several during the last expedition campaign. His Majesty's army brought them in. We're the official labor distributors for the royal palace. See?" The man proudly showed Felix a golden plaque with a silver wand emblem.

Felix almost choked at the revelation but kept his composure. He needed more information. "Are these Lamias from the Black Forest or associated with the Lamia Queen?"

The merchant's eyes lit up. "You're very well-informed, sir! Yes, these are some of the finest Lamias, straight from the Black Forest. They're naturally perverted, and our customers love them to death! Well, except those who forget to take their antidotes," he added with a wink, trying to share an inside joke.

Felix forced a laugh, playing along. "Yeah, anyone who skips the antidote would be an idiot."

The merchant, believing he had found a like-minded customer, laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Rest assured, sir, if you buy a Lamia from us, we'll throw in three sets of premium antidotes and aphrodisiacs, concocted by the alchemist saint himself! But enough talk, let's head inside."

Felix's stomach churned with disgust at the human-trafficking business, but he suppressed the urge to destroy the entire settlement on the spot. He followed the merchant into the giant dome tent, where he found an indoor zoo filled with humans and monsters.

Glass rooms lined the dome, each containing naked maidens, chained and trembling in fear and shame. Signs in front of each cage displayed the current bid price and buyout price for the slaves inside. Armored guards with whips patrolled the area, updating the bidding prices. Noblemen and commoners strolled through the tent, leering at the slaves and placing bids.

Felix's blood boiled as he watched the scene. Though he kept reminding himself that he was no longer on Earth, the sight disgusted him to his core. After glaring at the crowd for a moment, he snapped himself back to reality and forced a smile at the merchant.

"Where are the Lamias?" he asked.

The merchant grinned, pleased with Felix's interest. "Follow me, sir."

Felix trailed behind the merchant, deeper into the twisted marketplace.

…

The front area of the tent had been just an appetizer. As Felix ventured deeper, the cages became less appealing and clean. Each cage here was isolated in its own aisle, guarded by four armed men holding sharp spears. The guards ignored the visitors, focusing solely on the captives within.

In these cages, Felix encountered female monsters he had never seen before. One caught his eye—a plant woman whose lower body was part of a giant flower, looking even younger than Valley.

Next to her, a larger cage held three chained Lamias. One had already lost both limbs, with fresh bandages still covering the stumps. Unlike the human slaves, these Lamias didn't look sad. Instead, they wore confident expressions. One of them licked their lips and smiled provocatively at a middle-aged man who stood in front of the cage, visibly excited.

The man rubbed his pants in anticipation and began negotiating with a nearby slave trader.

"How much for the buyout, that one?" the man asked.

"2,000 third-rate mana stones, sir," the trader replied.

"I'll take that frisky one! I want to see her face when I destroy her!"

"Of course, sir!"

The two walked toward the back of the tent to finalize the deal. Felix, approaching the Lamia's cage, watched the exchange with a frown. He pitied the Lamias and wondered if they still held the same warrior pride they had when they first met him. However, his expectations were shattered when the purchased Lamia smirked at him and flaunted her private parts.

Seeing her shameless behavior, Felix gave up on her, concluding that she might actually enjoy her life as a slave with that attitude. He shifted his attention to the other two Lamias.

One had short pink hair and had lost both her eyes, with dried blood still on her face. Despite her injuries, she exuded a dignified air, like a proud warrior or royalty. The other, the one without limbs, lay still but glared at Felix and the merchant as if ready to kill them at any moment.

The merchant laughed dryly and introduced them. "My apologies, young sir. It seems most of the good ones have already been sold. These two are all we have left, but if you're interested, I can offer them to you at half price, 1,000 3rd-rate mana stones each."

Felix ignored the merchant and gazed at the two defeated Lamias. He asked them, "You with the pink hair, what was your relationship with Lamia Queen Diana?"

The limbless Lamia hissed at Felix, but the blinded one responded, "Do you know my mother?"

Felix didn't hide the truth. "We met and talked. You could say we're acquainted."

"I see," the blind Lamia said. "Then you must be the alpha everyone was talking about. Didn't one of my sisters kill you?"

Felix chuckled. "She wasn't very good at her job."

The short-haired girl smiled faintly, her voice devoid of sadness. "Xin Ci was too prideful sometimes. I see why she failed. Oh, no pun intended. Hehe."

Despite her condition, the girl remained optimistic. Meanwhile, the merchant was surprised by their familiarity and signaled the guards to keep a closer eye on Felix. Ten armed guards gathered behind him, watching cautiously but not yet drawing their weapons.

At that moment, Jessica updated the map and displayed it for Felix. The map showed a green dot representing the blind Lamia, while the limbless one was marked yellow. The rest of the staff appeared as red.

Felix sighed, realizing his time for window shopping was running out, but he continued the conversation. "Are you and Xin Ci direct descendants of Diana?"

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Yes, we were both candidates to succeed her as queen. But as you can see, I'm disqualified."

"Yeah, I can tell. One last question: If I buy you, will you and your friend promise to serve me?"

The guards grinned as soon as Felix mentioned "buy." Their icons on the system map turned yellow.

The pink-haired Lamia lowered her head. "We, the defeated, will gladly serve an alpha. You will be our king from now on."

"Thanks," Felix said, turning to the merchant. "How much are they again?"

The merchant rubbed his hands in glee. "As promised, I'll sell both of them at half price. How about 2,000 third-rate mana stones?"

"Will these do?" Felix asked, producing a sack of 2,000 spirit stones he had created. They had a similar hue to the local mana stones but with a hidden effect only Felix knew.

The merchant inspected one of the stones and frowned. "This isn't a mana stone. What is this, sir?"

Felix paused to think, but then, Jessica advised him, <Tell him it's a raw mana stone from the Highland Province.>

'Highland Province?' Felix thought, remembering the treacherous terrain he had once trekked through. He never wanted to return there.

<Along the way, I detected several quarries and mines. If you use that excuse, they'll buy it.>

Felix coughed and followed Jessica's advice. "They're from the Highland Province, fresh from the mines. Do you know how hard it is to smuggle raw mana stones from that place?"

The guards and the merchant widened their eyes in surprise. The merchant laughed. "Indeed, such precious minerals are hard to come by. But, sir, some of these can be refined into first-rate mana stones. Are you sure you want to pay with these?"

Realizing Jessica's plan, Felix replied, "I don't have the means to refine them. How about a win-win trade? You take these off my hands, and I'll take the two unsellable slaves from you."

The merchant laughed heartily. "Young sir, you're a natural in this business! We have a deal!"

Felix grinned and secretly opened a system screen.

[Please enter a password.]

Felix left the prompt open and slipped a certain ball into the sack of spirit stones before handing it over to the merchant.

Without counting the stones, the merchant tried to lift the sack but found it too heavy. Three guards rushed over to help, struggling to carry the half-ton bag to the back room.

The merchant then brought out a dozen wooden boxes filled with modern vials of pink and white liquid. "The pink ones are for that," he explained. "The white ones are the antidotes. You know what to do."

Felix accepted the boxes, and the slave traders switched the chains for the two Lamias, dragging them over. The merchant handed the chains to Felix, transferring ownership without any fancy slave brands or contracts. Just like that, the Lamias were his.

The blind lamia and the limbless lamia followed Felix without struggling. As for the naughty one that was purchased earlier, she followed the staff members to the back.

Felix silently exited the tent. Then, he input the password in order.

UP

RIGHT

DOWN

DOWN

DOWN

*BEEP*

Inside the sack, a beacon was mixed within. It lighted up, shooting a red beam to the sky.