bignt

I will say this now. Roman naming conventions were messy, even they knew it. Usually, they had a praenomen as a first name inherited from the father or older family member from a previous generation. The nomen for a family name or clan name. And the Cognomen was a tribe name that was usually meant for voting rights. In any case, I have no intention whatsoever to use roman names as intended, and I will use them in the American style. (Because it is easier to understand, for both you and I.)

Women also didn't have a first name. Only a family and tribe name. In this work, women will have a much higher status than in history, so they will have full names like males do.

The dark auction was an underground auction house that looked like a theater. Two hundred rich aristocrats sat in 20 rows in an orderly fashion. There was no special dress code, but most of them wore masks to hide their identity. In addition to the normal rich aristocrats, there were also 4 VIP rooms, and they were reserved for incredibly distinguished guests, such as senators. If there were no influential enough guests, then the VIP rooms will remain empty, even if it means some people won't get to enter the auction due to a lack of seats.

Potitus, as the current grand patriarch of one of the eight large families of Lamaria, as well as the minister of commerce, was indeed more than important enough for a VIP room.

As for who occupied the other three VIP rooms...

Room number 4 was occupied by a middle-aged woman named Tanicia Hermina Petronaxia. Although she wasn't nearly as influential as Potitus or Amulius, she was what you could call the Madame of the high-class brothels in Lamaria, as well as some of the shady ones. Being in the position she was in, she held more than a few aristocrats by their balls. Both metaphorically and literally, some even personally. Obviously, she came here to handpick a few slaves for guests with peculiar tastes... Such as underaged and exotic children, all for the name of profit.¹Historically incorrect, might I add. I won't do the history lessons here, but take what I write with a large pinch of salt. It's a fantasy hybrid with magic, after all.

Room number 3 was occupied by a half-orc/half-drow man named Dalthu. He had no middle name or surname, being born into slavery. A tough man who managed to rise from the illegal pit fights and then the arena and become the champion of the arena, despite all odds, becoming the only non-human to become champion in the last 100 years. He not only became emancipated but also gained fame, glory, wealth, and power. Currently, he was a known pseudo demigod who was stuck at the bottleneck, waiting for inspiration to breakthrough. As a hobby, he liked grooming young non-human pit fighters so that perhaps, one day, one of them will rise and take his mantle, continuing his legacy.

As for Room number 1, It was occupied by a young man and a woman. Both of them could be considered handsome or beautiful, having faces that looked as if they were sculpted from stone by a master artisan. The man wore a red toga and a golden sash, and the woman wore a red Stola embroidered with gold. Both of them had golden wreaths on their head, signifying their high status. The man was called Aulus Sergius Fidelis, and the woman was called Consentia Fidelis. They were a pair of siblings from the Fidelis family, another one of the 8 great families of Lamaria.

In the city of Lamaria, 2 great families, the families of Potitus and Amulius, were non-human and slave rights activists, 3 families were human supremacists, and the last 3 were neutral.

The Fidelis family was one of the 3 great families that were human supremacists. Hence, they were at loggerheads with Amulius and Potitus, who were non-human and slave rights activists.

Incidentally, they were a frequent visitor to this establishment. As for what they did to illegal and unregistered slaves? Most people didn't know, but Amulius knew the grim fate that awaited the slaves...

The fat auctioneer announced, "Honorable guests, the initial bid for this slave is 250 silvers. The minimum increment for this one is 10 silvers. Make your offers!"

Immediately, one of the aristocrats called, "250!"

Another one shouted, "260!"

"270!"

This trend went on till the price reached 430 silver. In the end, he was sold to an aristocrat who, despite wearing a mask, was a known cannibal. The fate of this child was sealed.

Amulius and Potitus shook their heads. While they worked for the betterment of slaves and non-humans, they weren't heroes who foolishly saved every tom, dick, and harry. The world was cruel, and like two old foxes, they knew their limits.

The slave who was bought was led away to the other side of the stage. He would be placed in a designated cell before the new owner came to pick him up and sign the master-slave contract. In his stead came the next item.

This time, it was a black-haired half-beastkin of the cat tribe. Her looks were plain, even slightly ugly because of malnourishment. She did not look like she had any redeeming quality aside from her abnormally high intelligence. In the catalog, both her stats and skills looked rather bad even for her age.

Her chances of being sold to a cannibal were actually higher than the half-elf before her. She might even end up in the hands of some thrifty mage who wanted to do human experiments.

Amulius, not having high expectations, analyzed her. Soon, her status came to his mind. When he read her talents, a weird and funny look crossed his face as he double-checked her status to see if he was hallucinating.

"..." - Amulius was completely stunned. He came here with a friend to select a slave. At most, he expected to see an advanced talent. Now... He saw this freak of nature as the second slave. The talent was so great that he almost shat himself right then and there.

Late-blooming beauty was a rather uncommon talent that made people look plain during the start of their life. However, after the age of 18, they bloom, turning beautiful. He once bought a girl who had the advanced variant. When he first saw her, she was rather ugly. But after turning 18, she became jaw-droppingly beautiful in just 3 years, where few rivaled her. She later became the favorite concubine of his eldest son.

Sex Arts Talent was self-explanatory. Those who had it had a much greater talent in sex than others. In addition, they also had increased seduction abilities to the point where it was useable in battle if trained enough. A perfect talent is enough to put even the most professional prostitutes to shame, riveling the godly.

When these two talents are combined and trained properly, she will become a true Femme Fatale. She would be able to make kingdoms and empires go to war at the swish of her tail. Even some weak-willed demigods would fight for her favor.

And these are just her normal talents.

Late-blooming Magic Talent simply made your Mana remain stagnant at G- until the age of 18. Once you hit 18, however, your mana blossoms without training for a period of 3 years. Someone with the basic talent could reach E+. Intermediate could reach D. Advanced could reach C-. Perfect could reach C. Along with the increase in mana, their talent in magic will also greatly increase.

As for Magics Roar, it was a talent that increased the potency of all spells cast by the user. Those who had it were highly valued by the mages guild, especially those who had a talent for mana. The current mages guild master only had the advanced variant.

Amulius, in his long career of almost 60 years, has never seen a beyond-perfect talent, even on the emperor. However, it was easy to infer that it was just that, a talent beyond perfect. He didn't know how strong such a talent was, but he could guess that the girl's mana could reach C+ if not B-, which was the standard of a fifth circle mage, all without even training. Along with the Magics' Roar talent, she was an extreme Late-Blooming prodigy of magic, a walking weapon of mass destruction in the making.

Not just in the empire, but in all the surrounding kingdoms and empires, this girl was a prodigy that might not be born even in a hundred years.

And this girl, who was ironically named Soot Simpletail, was being sold here in this shady auction like a goddamn cattle to murderous pedophiles, cannibals, and sociopathic mages. The mere thought of it made Amulius almost grind his teeth in utter rage! 

The emperor was right! Purging these fucking aristocrats is the only solution! Fucking animals... Almost ruining the empire's treasure... Fortunately, Potitus dragged me here...

At this thought, he glanced at Potitus, his longtime friend, in appreciation. This friend of his had an advanced talent called Lucky, as well as Veona's lesser blessing. Thanks to Potitus dragging him to buy slaves, he found many talents he would have otherwise missed.

Just then, he heard the voice of the fat announcer, "Calling 380 once! Calling 380 twice!..."

Immediately he snapped himself awake and called out, "390!"

Suddenly, all the people present, including the other VIP participants, looked at VIP room number 2 in curiosity. Even Potitus and Tanulia looked at him curiously.

Only Ahab remained unperturbed. He glanced at the girl on stage appraisingly, knowing that she will be a comrade soon.

The announcer's eyes immediately lit up as he said, "And VIP room number 2 called 390! Maybe she has some qualities we didn't know? Raise your bids to find out!"

Immediately, the bidding came back to life as someone called "400!"

"410!"

"Did she catch your eye?" - Potitus asked in curiosity.

Amulius looked at Potitus and said, "More than you know it. I am afraid she is too good for even your great-grandson, even as the main wife."

The great-grandson of Potitus had 3 distinct advanced talents, making him a very favored candidate to inherit the family in the future. Even a perfect talent wouldn't be overqualified for him. For Amulius to say that she was overqualified, even as the main wife...

Potitus widened his eyes as he whispered, not a hint of suspicion in his voice, "That talented?"

Amulius gravely nodded, "Yes. Because you were the one to bring me here, I will let you buy her. However, If you don't adopt her personally, then I will. I will help you find another slave for your great-grandson later."

Potitus nodded resolutely, "Alright then. Let me do the bidding."

A voice in the crowd shouted, "470!"

Just then, the voice of Potitus sounded, "1000! Who wants to mess with your daddy here?!"

Everyone once again glanced at the VIP room 2, their gaze turning strange.

It's just a plain girl who you could find just about anywhere. Is there a need to create such a scene?

This time, the fat auctioneer didn't try and rile up the crowd. He knew that since a VIP more than doubled the price and even warned everyone than it meant that he shouldn't try to pull any more funny business. As for the crowd, they didn't think the girl was worth it. Even the Fidelis siblings, who had bad relations with him, looked at Potitus as if looking at an idiot. They had no intention of vying for such a worthless slave.

The auctioneer said, "VIP Room number 2 called 1,000. Anyone else? Calling 1,000 once! Calling 1,000 twice! SOLD to room number 2 for 1,000 silvers!"

Amulius, who saw his friend managing to buy such a monster for half the price of a normal female slave, could only comment, "Potitus, when you go back, make sure to donate 10,000 silvers to Veona's church, and pray for a day and a night while fasting."

Potitus laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Noted!"

Then the auction continued.