Lord: Sequence Master

Upon using the Black Market ticket, Rosen was teleported to the Black Market Realm, his identity verified by the Blue Whale Guild City system. He arrived in a reception hall, where a black-market dealer awaited him.

"I need demihuman slaves," Rosen said, lounging casually on the sofa.

The dealer quickly opened an alchemical book of transactions and began searching for suitable options, eventually handing the ledger to Rosen.

As Rosen scanned the list, he discovered that the Blue Whale Kingdom had a thriving demihuman slave trade, though the quality of the offerings varied greatly. After careful deliberation, he settled on a batch of cat-people slaves, attracted to their aesthetic qualities and utility.

These cat-people were not first-generation hybrids but descendants of many generations of crossbreeding between humans and non-human species. The first generation was always more expensive due to their stronger non-human traits, but these descendants were more humanoid and aesthetically pleasing to human buyers.

"I want a hand-picked batch of cat-people," Rosen instructed.

The dealer manipulated the alchemy book, projecting detailed information about the available cat-person slaves onto a screen for Rosen to review. After nearly an hour of scrutinizing his options, Rosen selected 202 cat-people slaves—100 adults capable of immediate labor and 100 younger ones for future training. He also splurged on a pair of twin cat-girl sisters, intrigued by their unique appearance and potential use as servants.

Transporting the cat-people slaves from the real world to his Divine Domain would take a few days, so Rosen occupied his time browsing the market for other resources. He purchased skill crystals, extraordinary buildings, and a bottle of Sequence 7 Hunter Potion. He also acquired some extraordinary plant seeds and craftsman potions, along with a supply of Shadow Cat essence to experiment with.

Though Rosen had stockpiled Shadow Cat sequence potions, he knew that only Shadow Cats could utilize them directly. Raising actual Shadow Cats would draw the World Government's unwanted attention, so he had to rely on more subtle methods.

By combining Shadow Cat essence with the potions during preparation, Rosen hoped to enable feline-type creatures, such as the cat-people, to absorb the potion and unlock Shadow Cat's abilities. Though these transformed cat-people wouldn't gain all the traits of real Shadow Cats, they would become far more versatile—combining human intelligence and Shadow Cat agility.

Two days later, Rosen received the Shadow Cat essence but soon realized that he lacked the skill to prepare such complex potions. While he could easily brew Hunter Potions, crafting Shadow Cat potions required a far deeper understanding of alchemy.

Fortunately, Gray Rat came to the rescue. Despite not being a professional alchemist, Gray Rat had survived for 20,000 years in the spiritual realm and had learned the basics of potion crafting. This was enough to assist Rosen with the preparation of lower-sequence potions, solving his immediate problem.

Once the potions were taken care of, Rosen received word that his shipment of cat-people slaves had arrived at the Sea Dragon City port. He rushed to receive them.

Transportation between the void whales—enormous floating cities in the sea—required specialized submarine vessels, while spatial teleportation was an expensive luxury reserved for the wealthy nobility.

The delivery was managed by a Sequence 9 Hunter who wielded a Void Beast Cage. This extraordinary ability allowed him to compress living creatures into a small space. He handed Rosen a small one-foot cage, which contained all 202 cat-people in a compressed state.

The cost of transporting the slaves alone was significant, but Rosen knew he had made a worthwhile investment. His Divine Domain couldn't sustain a larger population yet, so he limited himself to the 202 slaves for now.

According to the World Government's laws, the number of human residents in any noble's domain had to exceed the number of non-human residents. Failing to comply could result in the Noble Sequence Tree rejecting a lord's advancement. Though this meant Rosen had to prioritize developing his human population, high-quality human residents were expensive and difficult to obtain.

Rosen's plan was to eventually recruit Nen users from the Hunter Realm to serve as the primary human residents of his domain.

After transferring the cat-people into his Divine Domain, Rosen expected them to show signs of fear or submission, but instead, they appeared delighted. Their eyes were filled with awe and admiration for their new master.

Upon asking a few questions, Rosen realized that these cat-people had been indoctrinated from birth. They had been taught that serving their master was the highest honor, that hard work and obedience would improve their lives, and that even death at the hands of their master was a blessing. They believed that if they served faithfully, they could be reborn as humans in their next life.

Rosen was surprised by how thoroughly these cat-people slaves had been brainwashed, but he also realized how valuable they could be to him.

The cat-people were well-trained, able to read, write, farm, and perform basic construction tasks. They required only a small amount of land to sustain themselves, and with proper management, they could contribute significantly to the growth of Rosen's domain.

The twin cat-girl sisters Rosen had purchased were raised to be maids and stewards, making them perfect for managing his Alchemical Castle.

While the castle's automatic systems handled most of the cleaning, the twins could oversee operations and manage the day-to-day running of the domain. Rosen assigned the best of the cat-people farmers to work on the magical herb fields beneath the castle, while others were tasked with constructing terraced farms around the mountain to cultivate various extraordinary plants.

As he watched the cat-people working, their small, agile forms moving gracefully, their cat ears and tails twitching in the sunlight, Rosen felt a sense of satisfaction. He began to paint furniture and lighting for their homes, using his Divine Domain Lord abilities to improve the mountain caves where they lived. The caves were equipped with lighting and furnishings, ensuring that the cat-people lived comfortably.

While their living conditions weren't extravagant, they were far superior to what most slaves experienced. Rosen was determined to provide rewards for their hard work, knowing that content workers would ultimately yield greater results for his domain.

(End of Chapter)