Haliard led the men on five laps of the track at a jogging pace before they broke for lunch. Despite the joy he had expressed at his new life earlier, he was getting tired of the same foods for every single meal. As he held the meat in his hand, staring at it, he started to think about what Haliard had told him.

  Each of the servants Mike passed while walking to and from his training with Aric avoided his gaze, keeping their eyes on the floor. Some even flinched at his approach, turning away or ducking into rooms until he passed. Were they so broken that someone of a gladiator’s status scared them?

  “Do we ever get to socialize with the other slaves?” Mike asked as the conversation lulled around him. “Like you said, I’ve only been here a week.”

  The others shared a glance, each one expecting someone else to speak up. Finally, Haliard sighed and answered.

  “Not usually. Sometimes the families will contract out breeding fees to help keep some strengths within their family.”

  “Like stud fees?”

  “Yes. Thankfully the Bluringtons aren’t big into that.”

  “Some of the families will also pay for it within their own families,” Julian added. He nudged Aaron who scowled at him. “Aaron did that for a few weeks.”

  “Right, I remember you telling me that. Is that really the only times we meet the other slaves?”

  “The powers that be don’t encourage a lot of socialization among us.” Haliard shrugged. “When they magically control us, they don’t have to worry about keeping us super happy.”

  “As long as we fight for them,” Bradiac said. “Even if we could go on strike, they would just stop feeding us.”

  “Change of subject, then. Aaron, can I see your book of spells again?” Mike pushed his plate away from him, no longer hungry. Seeing he left it behind, Bandit dove on the plate, tackling the pile of food that was left over. Everyone laughed as Aaron stood.

  “Sure, let me grab it for you.”

  Mike tried to pick the remnants of the sandwich he had been eating off the badger, but Bandit was not cooperating. Each time he managed to pluck a loose piece of cheese out of his fur, the animal twisted to make a mess again. As Aaron came out with the book in his hands, Mike gave up and let Bandit roll. Once he was unsummoned, he’d be cleaned automatically.

  “Are you going to do your spell thing again?” Aaron asked Mike as he handed it over.

  “Not this time,” he answered as he opened the book to the page containing the Conjure Arrow spell. “I’m going to try and apply what I have learned from studying under Master Aric.”

  With that, he focused on the symbols that made up the spell. He knew them now, he understood how they all went together. Tracing the lines with his fingers, Mike felt how it all worked. He held out a hand to cast the spell but remembered that he still hadn’t selected an upgrade for it. Calling up the icon in his internal spell book, Mike reviewed the two choices he had.

  Conjure Alchemical Arrow

  Spell, 5 Mana, 5 second cool down

  Conjure an arrow that has been imbued with the properties of one Alchemical concoction that you know. Arrow persists for 3 minutes.

  Conjure Barbed Arrow

  Spell, 5 Mana, 5 second cool down

  Conjure an arrow that has enhanced armor penetration characteristics. Arrow persists for 3 minutes.

  Mike was torn between the two but ultimately decided to go with Alchemical Arrow. Once I learned some poisons or oils that will be really powerful, he thought to himself as the changes settled into the spell. He recalled that he had an upgrade for Force Dart and went to view that one as well.

  Splitting Force Dart

  Spell, Variable Mana, Instant

  Damaging spell. Mana spent determines number of Darts generated. Minimum is 1 Dart for 3 mana.

  Homing Force Dart

  Spell, 6 Mana, Instant

  Damaging spell. Deals minor damage to target. Caster can mark a target, and the spell will pursue that target.

  Mike selected the second in an instant. The first one may have benefits when he had more mana, but the ability to make sure his spell didn’t miss meant he wouldn’t have to train it with Haliard as much. He’d have to experiment more with it to figure out how it worked. Mike hoped he’d be able to designate certain points as targets and not just whatever he was aiming at.

  A guaranteed head shot every time would be nice.

  Mike went back to studying the layout of Conjure Arrow in Aaron’s spell book. He found that he easily understood it now and knew he could write out how it worked. The changes he had made with Conjure Alchemical Arrow would be more difficult than this simple spell, though. Mike felt that drawing out how that spell worked would take several pages.

  Instead, Mike flipped the pages to Phantasmal Self spell. This one he was fifty percent of the way to learning, according to his HUD. It matched what Mike could make out of the symbols based on the instinctive understanding gifted by Identify.

  But he had more than an instinctive understanding now.

  Some of the symbols were ones Mike had learned from Aric, and their interactions were clear in the drawn-out spell form before him. The arcs and lines meant something beyond what he had absorbed.

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  Sweat broke out on Mike’s forehead as he pushed himself to understand. How the spell felt inside him when he focused on its icon didn’t exactly match what he was seeing on the page, but he knew that the gaps left would unite it. Turning the page, he focused on the next spell, then the next. Each one revealed more information about itself than it had before.

  With the scant time they had left before Haliard called an end to lunch, Mike was able to push his familiarity with the spells inside the book to just under seventy-five percent. With one last Identify cast as he handed it back to Aaron, he bumped it up to ninety percent.

  Mike felt wrung out. He was drained by the effort he put into studying, but there had been no drop in his stamina.

  No increase in my Intelligence, either. Mike shook his head, trying to clear it as he rose. It took several days of concentrated effort to get Dexterity to increase. I need to focus to get the other Stats up.

  They went back to the training ground where Haliard led them to another set of trunks hidden beneath the benches. This one was loaded with different size bars with spheres the size of Mike’s fist on the ends. It took Mike several seconds to realize that they were all weightlifting equipment.

  There were two sets of hand-sized ones and a full size for each man there. Sets of mystical sigils along the sides of the circles could adjust their weight on the fly or be fixed in a set value.

  “These are amazing,” Mike said as he studied the enchantment carved into each weight. He could understand some of it and was fascinated to trace the magic flowing through it. The bar was crucial despite not having any of the symbols carved into it. Some part of it acted as a channel for the forces, amplifying them while balancing them between the two weights.

  “The Bluringtons spare no expense when it comes to our training,” Bradiac said as he grabbed his pieces of equipment and moved away. “They only want the best.”

  “I can tell they do.” Mike noticed that there were several other sets in the chest but ignored them. They served as a grim reminder of what the actual cost of this new life could be.

  “One hour with these, then we’ll switch to unarmed training,” Haliard said as he lifted his own equipment. “We’ll be doing an hour every day, either before lunch or after it.” Haliard said as he lifted his own equipment.

  “I’m going to need some help with these,” Mike set, gripping a dumbbell in each hand. “I’ve never really lifted weights before.”

  “Never?” Julian sounded surprised. Mike looked at him questioningly. “You are in pretty good shape.”

  Mike laughed but did remember he had stuck a Free Point in Strength earlier. Between that enhancement and the exercise he had been doing, Mike could see definition in his muscles. He wasn’t huge by any point, but Mike realized that he was already in the best shape he had ever been in.

  “Everyone, grab bench space.” Haliard moved up the stairs, pointing out space next to him for Mike

  After only a week, too. He smiled as he moved up beside the older man. This is just the start of it.

  As Haliard called out exercises, he kept an eye on Mike’s form. With the man’s focus on a solid foundation, Mike knew he was in good hands. They were starting a ‘push day’ according to Haliard, working on muscles that were involved in pushing things. Mike knew the bench press and needed only a little correction on that but did need help with the other exercises they were doing.

  The equipment they were using felt so bizarre to Mike at first, but he quickly adapted. The enchantment worked to match the weight to the effort you put in. To Mike, it felt like pulling on a rubber band until it stretched. Once it settled into that point, it would stay that way until you exhausted yourself.

  Between the sets, Mike watched how Sum did similar exercises. Before, the crystal had focused on fine control, creating multiple shapes and moving them with his psychic might. This time, he was gathering as much sand as he could into a single sphere. It hovered three feet off the ground, with grains of sand dripping to the ground as more floated up to join it. At a half-hour, the orb was six feet in diameter.

  The stone bench was fine to sit on, but as the weights got heavier, the thin shirt Mike wore became less protective. By the last set of presses he was doing, he could feel the stone grinding into his back as his muscles flexed. After he sat up, he asked the others if they noticed it.

  “I’ll ask Master Aric about better equipment for this then,” he said after they all nodded. “Maybe some mats or something.”

  “How is your training with him going?” Karl asked. Mike had finally gotten used to meeting the smooth expanse of flesh where the other man’s eyes would be, so he was able to face him as he told them about what his classes entailed.

  The story was interrupted by more exercises, with Haliard keeping them to a strict schedule. When Mike mentioned that Aric was trying to find a way for him to get training fights, the others nodded.

  “It is important to get that under your belt.” Karl leaned forward so Mike could conjure fresh water over his head. He repeated this for the other men while they rested between exercises.

  “Especially since you are in the rotation for the next fight,” Julian added. Mike froze as he did.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, since the last fight we had was with Sum, he is the only one of us out of the drawing.”

  Mike tried to control his heartbeat. It was already elevated from the exercise, but the knowledge that he could be called up to fight any day was a shock. He had known what all this training was about, but now the concrete fact of it was staring him in the face.

  There is no way I would survive, Mike thought to himself as he imagined him standing before the Dread Vine that Sum had fought, armed only with a spear and Force Dart. The thing would have ripped him apart in an instant.

  “That is how the system works.” Haliard picked up on Mike’s nerves and clasped him on the shoulder. “Once the councils decide a contest is the only way forward, a random fighter is drawn from the stables of each house.”

  “With Sum out of the drawing, we can expect a contest quicker than normal.” Karl nodded to where Sum had drawn even more sand into the orb in front of him. “Knowing you might have to face him makes some houses nervous about continuing forward.”

  “They sometimes also decide that more than one-on-one is needed, though that is often politics behind the scenes.” Aaron continued explaining as Mike paled. “If a house is particularly out of favor, they might even have a penalty.”

  “That is what attracted the notice of my brother and I,” Julian said, throwing his arm over his brother’s shoulders. There was no resemblance between the two, but they swore up and down they were brothers. “We can team up like no one’s business.”

  “An archer and a defender are a classic pairing,” Haliard added. “But that is very rare, and to be on the receiving end, the Bluringtons would have to lose most of their influence. Despite their recent setbacks, they are still owed favors and allegiance from other clans.”

  “And they know that the best way for them to regain their lost influence is for us to kick ass.” Karl leaned forward and slapped Mike on the shoulder. “So go ahead and let them know what we need to do it.”

  Mike’s panic wasn’t calmed by the bravado of the others. Just the opposite, he felt worse than he did before he started talking. They cheered Karl’s statement, but Haliard noticed how pale Mike was. He sat next to the man.

  “Breathe deep. Focus.”

  “I don’t know if I can fight,” Mike whispered to him.

  “You can. I think you’ve got talent, even before you add in your extra special stuff.”

  “But that Doom Vine, it was a monster.” Mike shuddered as he recalled the speed at which it whipped its serrated leaves at Sum.

  “Don’t think about that fight. Most of the fights will be against people like them,” he said as he gestured to the other men. They had picked up that the conversation was private and were ignoring Haliard and Mike. He appreciated that.

  “So, what do I do?” Mike’s voice was growing stronger as he focused on Haliard’s words. He knew the people around him could match him with weapons, but he was confident he could take them. Casters were rare among the gladiators of Chilt. With the spells he had taken from Aric’s spell book, he could probably secure victory over a normal fighter. Hell, maybe a Fireball or two would settle even a Doom Vine.

  “What you do now is called an overhead press.”

  Mike laughed as they all picked up the weights and followed Haliard’s lead. The only thing to do was get better until he couldn’t anymore.

  Even if the fear wouldn’t leave him that he wouldn’t be good enough in time.