"..."
Alfred sat there, well, more like floated there, staring out into the distance.
"On one hand, I didn't get tortured!
…
"Like that even is something I should be bragging about."
On the other hand, he died despite getting so far. Four months, give or take a few days, was by far the longest he had spent in a reincarnation. It's only other comparison, though, wasn't much. How could it have been?
It was now the first time he had been in this "in-between" with a clear mind. Neither confusion nor unimaginable, soul-crushing pain plagued his mind.
Half of him wants to get it over and done with, to go into his next life, but he can't help feeling like this pit in his gut he is experiencing would be dangerous to go into said next life with.
"Auhhggghh!
"I really want to punch something right now…" he buzzed.
'Maybe, I should look into that last fight. Why did I fail?' he thought. '... I can answer that much-'
"Careless"
That word, albeit broad, summed up his thoughts.
He didn't realize the third in the initial group wasn't drunk, he failed to figure out despite having HSM that there were more people, he failed to predict the simple collapse maneuver they pulled off, and he failed to stay out of sniper's line of sight.
'What would have happened if I had just slipped out?'
That might have been a better possibility, actually. If Alfred had a physical body right now, he would really be tempted to pull out his hair. The area was dark enough for him to at least get two floors down without the sniper nor the other group seeing him, maybe more if they got really cautious when inevitably found out.
In this state, he felt that visualization and focus was enhanced, so now was a better time than ever to think and analyze the fight over again to draw out as much knowledge as he could from it.
…
'The one good thing about this "power", if you could even call it that, is I get another shot' he thought.
He prayed: "Please! Oh… god? Send me into the body of some rich, powerful, handsome young master! I deserve it just about now, right?"
Of course, his call had most likely fallen on deaf ears. Probably.
Just then, that same light and stretching-feeling gripped him as he was forced into the dead body of some new "victim".
-
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-
Moonlight shone through the open ceiling of a house's courtyard. The rays passed through vines hanging over a masterful sculpture that slowly trickled water down into a small pond. This beautiful and serene scene wasn't so great if you incorporated the sounds.
Two people were quarreling over a sprawled out figure on the ground.
A woman spoke, saying "She's only a child! Your child! You know I understand your actions, but this is too rash, brother. Maybe wait a year? You never know…"
"Know what? That this failure could do anything right? For crying out loud, it can't even speak! Not a word has come out of its mouth the second the fucking bitch mother left-" he spit on the ground in apparent discuss, "fucking whore."
"Sigh~" the woman scratched her head and rubbed her temples. 'Sweet child, she was. Brother doesn't give her much credit, she was not stupid, if you leave out äura…' she thought to herself. 'Oh well, can't change his mind, even if it is his own daughter.'
"Fine." She said, "I'll take her over to the colosseum tonight, when I leave. I'll get 10% of the cut, though."
He nodded, apparently too annoyed to speak any more.
Little did they know, that girl was already dead. Instead, Alfred was the one sprawled out on the floor. He had already branded this new mind with HSM, and it seemed one reincarnation had reduced the numbing of his pain, as his whole body ached from the beating that sad girl died from. He remarks to himself 'Tsk~ What dickhead beats up a little girl! I'll- wait.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
'Girl!'
He checked. His little trooper was no more. 'So it's indiscriminate, eh? I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.'
Despite wanting to do something, he couldn't. After the initial shock wore off, his new memories fell into place.
He saw a few things. This girl's childhood, which greatly mirrored his own, only with the parents' roles switched. Her father's growing disappointment. The disappearance of her mother. Science. History. Literature. Math. Food. Sleep. Architecture, simply Roman architecture. And an energy, taught as soon as she responded to any meaningful order given out by that man.
Inside him, he could feel it. Despite the girl being not much older and around the same weight of his recent past body, she was stronger. Faster. More responsive. Springier. Had more endurance. All were superhuman for her age. With his new memories, he searched for the technique.
As she had already been practicing this… energy, or "äura", there was nothing to be done in regards to starting up his development, although he does know how, if it comes to that. Now, he had to train.
With äura, one must choose, kind of like stat distribution in a RPG, where to focus your development.
Äura, in fact, was in most cases a nearly completely passive physical enhancer. There were certain people who had more "magical" uses for it, but the girl was only told stories of what they did, what they could/can do, and who they were/are, not how they achieved such power or how they "unlocked" it. That was besides the point.
Currently.
'What…' he pondered, 'what is the best course of action from here?'
-
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-
His exhausted, bruised, and bloodied body was being carried over to and into a carriage of indiscernible quality, which promptly left. Not soon after, he noticed that the aunt was asleep. 'I'll start now. Much has to be done before we reach our destination. I don't like the most probable location, either.'
He heaved his new body off the cramped floor of the trunk and sat upright in as comfortable a position as he could muster. 'Good thing that man gave out more of a beating than a spanking, or sitting would hurt more than standing…
'funny now that I feel a little pain after four months of nothing.'
He shook his head and thought over a strategy.
'Shi-hi-hiit' he inwardly cursed, 'I was never good at this type of activity. Like chess, building thinking ahead is quite important. Now I must think: What will help me the most?'
Thinking back to why he died in the last fight, speed was a big issue, in addition to endurance. Every time he was hit, it was due to him 1) not being able to move as fast as he reacted and 2) not having enough energy to practically utilize the full extent of the third level of HSM (1 hour at the low end to 23 hours at the high end for every second). He kept the resistance to the fatigue, but that wasn't enough. It drained him of an actual energy outside mental, and he suspected that äura could help him remove that limitation at least partially.
With only access to a basic knowledge of the circulation, he began the slow process of build-crafting. His focus was agility and dexterity of his body, along with generalized endurance. 'Very sweeping…'
He was referring to the generalized "agility", "dexterity", and "endurance" he was focusing on. Alfred knew there was something more, he just had no clue how to do it. 'There's no way to figure it out tonight, so I'll say I'm building up a base.'
And build a base, he did.
-
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-
Not a week later, the carriage started to slow down. Voices of countless (assumedly) merchants, guards, mercenaries, slaves, children, horses, and even dogs surrounded him. 'The curse of all great cities in humanity, lines.
'I pray that the hollow clutches of the DMV hath not spewed their malignant grime on this city.'
Although he said that in jest which jinxed them into waiting in a line almost as painful as those at the DMV, he inwardly wanted it. It gave him more time practicing his new favorite hobby: Äura Refining.
So far, he could notice an actual difference in his performance. His body felt more responsive, as if he had gone from a 120Hz monitor to a 144Hz one. Not too drastic, but noticeable. He also had definitive proof now that this äura improved his endurance with HSM. With no breaks and to failure, he could keep up a medium third level HSM for around 5 seconds. Earlier on the second day, he had clocked in only ~4.75 seconds to failure. 5 seconds isn't bad at all, since that translates to ~65 hours of perceived time.
This new feeling was addictive, like how he imagined those video games would have been like, since he never got to play them. He could imagine himself being able to, in the future, move faster than cars by simply jogging, being able to move at speeds where, with HSM, he'd be completely untouchable.
This power couldn't come soon enough, as through the conversations of his "aunt", he found out that he was being sent to "the Colosseum" in the city of "Detrimi" to be sold as a slave gladiator.
This world, or at least this part of the world, was not dissimilar (on the surface) to ancient Rome, seeing as the architecture and the senate + emperor are eerily close. Obviously, äura changed that a lot. Many of the populace have at least a basic level of äura developed, making even the weakest people close to the same level physically as olympic-level athletes on earth. This makes fighting, be it mono y mono or animal v human, far more entertaining. So even, and almost especially, children are valued as slaves to provide entertainment in the colosseum.
'It would be stupid to expect that they'll save me if things go south' he thought. 'No matter what, I have to survive here. If I can't extract the techniques for this power… shit, I don't even want to think about it. The feeling I get just imagining it is too unsatisfying.
'On the other hand, if and when I do reach the peak, will I even be killable? If the stories are true, I'll be faster than a bullet and strong enough to split mountains myself. HSM will only act to enhance that notion.'
Even while he was drooling at these dreams, he continued to refine his äura. With his work ethic, Alfred would no doubt push the limits of this new power he has been graced with. There was no doubt in his mind that this "Colosseum" would prove to only help his development.
*Knock~ Knock~*
"Hey! Brat!"
Snapping out of his trance, Alfred was half blinded by the sun as the hatch at the back of their carriage was opened by an unfamiliar guard-looking man. Under his armor, Alfred couldn't make out much other than the fact that he was of medium height and had a strong-looking build with tanned skin.
"Out, and follow me" the guard shouted sternly while dragging Alfred out of the compartment.
Once on his feet, Alfred followed obediently and proceeded to analyze his surroundings habitually. Although he felt that with the guard, he probably wouldn't be attacked, knowledge was always beneficial, so he took what he could get.
When they entered the shaded gate at what looked to Alfred like the back of the colosseum, he was at first greeted with sparsely populated hallways, mainly inhabited with guards. This continued until it abruptly didn't.
"Oi! Give me your hand. Now" his guard ordered.
Alfred nodded and held out his hand. Before he cared to react, his finger was pricked and blood was drawn onto a tablet-looking thing. 'It isn't technological, so it must be made with the mysterious abilities that some have with äura' Alfred thought.
The guard then pulled out a thin collar, touched the tablet, and placed the collar on his neck.
"This will monitor your life forces. Inside the slave-section, killing is not allowed. Any and all slaves are monitored, and killing another slave will be considered destroying the empire's property." he warned. After, he looked into Alfred's eyes to see if he understood, prompting Alfred to give a quick affirming nod.
"We will not, however, step into any conflict that arises, so watch yourself."
The guard then opened the last gate and shoved Alfred in through it.