Ryan and Dennis leapt at Cameron, swinging their spears at him. Cameron slapped Dennis' spear away, but Dennis didn't falter. He spun and slashed at Cameron again without a single stutter.

But when Ryan swung at Cameron and had his attack parried, his arms shook and his body wobbled. He even stumbled backwards from the recoil. He thought Cameron was strong from the outside, but it's a whole different thing to actually fight him.

"You need to bend your knees more," Cameron said, glancing at Ryan whilst he parried Dennis' attacks, tapped away Lucien's dagger thrusts, slapped away Natalia's arrows, and ducked under Marissa's fireballs. "Pay special attention to your legs and feet."

Ryan nodded, shook off the rattling effects of the recoil, bent his knees and ran back at Cameron.

Ryan waited for Cameron to slap away Natalia's arrows and swerve his head to the side of Marissa's fireballs. When that happened, that's when he leapt at Cameron's flank and thrust his spear at him.

But Cameron's spear blurred away from slamming away a vertical slash from Dennis, to come down and parry Ryan's thrust. "Too slow," Cameron said whilst swerving his head to the side of an arrow. "Don't just put the force of your arms into your thrusts. Push your shoulders, torso, hips, and legs into it. Use your whole body."

Ryan nodded again, waited for Cameron to be distracted by a horizontal slash from Dennis, and then leapt at Cameron and swung his spear at his nape, making sure to push the force of his legs, the twisting force of his hips and torso, and the force of his shoulder into the attack. It felt much more powerful and much faster this time. Maybe this would hi-

Cameron ducked and Ryan's spear blurred over his head. Instead of hitting Cameron's head, it hit Dennis in the nose.

Cameron and the rest of the team paused.

Dennis groaned, stumbled backwards, dropped his shield and gripped his nose. Ryan winced. Not only did he hit a teammate, he just had to accidentally hit the terminally angry teammate in the nose. This wasn't gonna end well.

"Open your fucking eyes!" Dennis shouted, lurching at Ryan, teeth bared and eyes bulging in fury. Marissa bristled and stepped away from him. Natalia smirked at the sight. Lucien stepped between them, but Dennis shoved him out the way "You could've poked my damn eye out you fucking donkey!"

Ryan heard Zack laughing behind him and he had to resist the urge to let out a snort of his own. Natalia seemed to be on the verge of bursting out laughter as well. He felt bad about hitting Dennis, but did he have to react with such comical anger? "I apologise," Ryan said, turning away to make sure Dennis didn't see his smirk. "I'll pay more attention next time."

"You better!" Dennis shouted. "Because if you don't, your nose and much more will be next!"

Ryan nodded and stepped back to Dennis' side in the frontline. As the humour of the situation faded from his mind, he winced again. Not because he felt bad about hitting Dennis, but because of his own weakness.

He knew he would have poor control of his spear at the beginning, but he didn't know that he'd be this bad. He struggled to imagine a reality where he was skilled enough to become the powerful gladiator he sought to become, but he had no choice but to keep trying.

Ryan and the rest of them continued sparring Cameron for three hours. Whilst he didn't hit Dennis in the face again, sweat streamed across his body, he was gasping for breath, his legs ached and wobbled, and he struggled to pull the spear up from the ground. He kept wincing from the stinging pain in his mouth and the pulsing pain in his temple from when Cameron would hit him in the head, knocking him down.

That seemed to be the same for Dennis, Marissa, Lucien, and Natalia. All of them were exhausted and in pain. But none of them were able to land a single hit on Cameron. He still didn't have a single bead of sweat on his face. He breathed deeply, slowly, and calmly only through his nose. A smile was always plastered on his face. He never found it any harder.

Despite following and incorporating all of Cameron's advice, bending his legs, pushing the force of all his body into each tattack, preceding attacks with feints, and not holding the spear too tightly in order to not restrict the flexibility of his wrist, he still felt like he wasn't making much progress towards landing a hit on Cameron. He was impossible to surpass.

Ryan's fears only intensified when he thrust at Cameron's back. Without even looking backwards, Cameron ducked under it. Ryan grimaced down at Cameron, frustrated by another failure. But when he looked up, Ryan saw the spear head straight towards Dennis. He got too caught up in the moment.

Shit.

The spear jabbed Dennis' chest.

Cameron, Marissa, and Natalia paused.

Dennis stumbled backwards. He grimaced. He rubbed his chest. He scowled at Ryan.

Zack once again burst into laughter, still shadow sparring.

"I've had enough of you," Dennis said in between pants, glaring at Ryan. "You're fucking hopeless!"

Ryan struggled to disagree.

"You haven't learned a single thing these past three hours!" Dennis marched towards Ryan.

Ryan felt the urge to nod.

"You just need to give the fuck up!" Dennis sprinted at Ryan and swung his spear at him.

Ryan tried to duck, but he was too slow. Dennis' spear smashed into his face. He stumbled backwards. He shook his head and lurched back at Dennis who continued to run at him. If he wanted a fight then he'd give him one. Ryan lunged at Dennis, feinting a vertical slash before morphing the movement into a horizontal slash at his oblique.

Dennis leapt over Ryan's spear, and fell down at him, spear raised up high. He swung it down at Ryan's head. He tried to swerve his head to the side.

Once again, he was too slow. Dennis' spear smashed into Ryan's cheek, flicking his head to the side. He fell to the grass and rolled across it. Dennis stomped on Ryan's chest, and thrust his spear down at his nec-

Cameron snatched Dennis' arm and threw him away. "Calm down," Cameron said. "He's only been here one day."

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"One day too many!" Dennis tried to sprint past Cameron.

"Be patient," Cameron snatched Dennis' arm again and pulled him back. "We all have to start somewhere. Just focus on your own faults and it'll all work itself out."

"Will it?" Zack said. He stopped shadow sparring. He glared at Ryan. "He might end up on our team, you know? Our team's success is dependent on his skill."

"And he'll get that skill eventually."

"What if he doesn't?"

"We'll deal with that when we get there."

"Or we could deal with it now." Zack approached Ryan. "I apologise, Ryan. You seem like a nice guy, but being nice doesn't help much in a life or death battle."

There wasn't even the hint of a smirk on his face. He just glared with the utmost seriousness, rumbling a bit of fear in Ryan's stomach, especially when considering his level.

But Zack seemed to be the type of person who escalated his aggression when they witnessed fear or vulnerability, so Ryan made sure to stare back into Zack's eyes, eye contact unwavering. He stepped off the grass and to his feet. He suppressed all visual signs of fear. But that didn't stop it from rattling him from within.

"Without him, we'll have five on our team," Zack said. His shadow devoured Ryan's form."Even if someone on our team died, they'd be replaced by a more experienced gladiator than Ryan."

Cameron shoved Dennis to the floor and turned to Zack. "You weren't as good as you are now when you first started!" Cameron said, glaring at Zack. "Just wait for him to get better!"

"I wasn't as skilled as I am now, you're correct," Zack said, nodding at Cameron. He turned back to Ryan, and scowled down at him, tightening his grip on his spear. "But I was ten times better than how Ryan is now."

All Ryan could see was a blur. Ryan blinked and the next thing he knew Zack's spear slammed into his neck.

The impact lifted him off his feet, spun him in a pirouette and sent him hurtling across the training yard. He tumbled onto the ground head first. He rolled across it. The stench of dirt ravaged his nose as grass rushed up his nostrils. He eventually slid to a halt.

His body ached and stung all over, especially his neck. But he did nothing more than groan, promptly push himself up to his knees, and eventually drag himself to his feet.

He got stabbed to death a day ago, and suffered through the agony of burning himself alive a few hours ago, so Zack's attack wasn't hard to endure. Now that he thought of it, a lot of the reason why it didn't hurt him much might be because of his increased defence stats.

But the emotional pain of weakness, helplessness, and hopelessness hurt an uncomfortable amount.

"Ask her to make you a household slave!" Zack shouted, rushing across the training yard and towards Ryan. "Or else I'll make your life as a gladiator living hell!"

Ryan sighed and braced himself for another attack. He dropped his spear a dozen metres away in the process of flying across the training yard. Not like he had any chance of defending himself either. So he closed his eyes and grimaced, hoping for the beat down to be quick at the very least.

"Stop it," Cameron said. Ryan opened his eyes to see Cameron leaping in between them.

"He's a liability," Zack said. "If you have any intention of winning the tournament, it's in your best interests to bully Ryan out of the team."

"Ryan's gonna stay a gladiator whether you like it or not."

"Why's that?" Zack chuckled. "Who's gonna stop me?"

"Who do you think?" Cameron twirled his spear, pointed it at Zack, and grabbed it tight.

"Why would I fight you?" Zack cocked his head. "I have no issue with you. You're strong."

"Who's strong and who's not doesn't matter. We're a team."

"Just because we're a team doesn't mean we're all equal." Zack clenched his spear tight and pointed it at Cameron. "I care about the success of the team. That's why I'm cutting out weak links."

"You don't get to call others weak links. You're not special."

"I'm the highest level here."

"Not for long. Ryan will surpass you."

Ryan grimaced. Why did Cameron have to say something so ridiculous and embarrassing?

Zack laughed. "Maybe if you offer to be Countess Gladine's jester you could attain freedom much faster than as a gladiator."

"I'm not joking. If he practises the Infernal Meditation every day, you won't be able to push him around anymore."

"I was a soldier in my past life!" All humour vanished from Zack's face. "I was an excellent squadron leader! You think a loser like him with no combat experience will surpass me!?"

"If you keep overestimating yourself and underestimating others, then yes, he will"

Zack took a step towards Cameron. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Actually, I agree." Cameron took a step towards Zack. "Because you're not stronger than me now."

"Are you sure you want to test that out?" Zack stalked towards Cameron. "I won't let you off easy."

"I'd love to." Cameron jogged at Zack. "You need to be humbled."

Ryan looked to the dais and was surprised to see Countess Gladine not trying to stop them from fighting. Because looking at how they scowled at each other, he could tell that it was gonna get ugly. But Countess Gladine and Franocles just watched, sipping wine and plopping grapes into their mouths. But Franocles was especially focused, watching with widened eyes and a big grin on his face as if looking through the window of a toy shop.

Maybe Countess Gladine viewed it as the only way to develop their martial skills. Since it's not like any other gladiator on the yard held a candle to either of them. Everyone could learn from those two, but no one could teach those two. But if those two fought, both of their skills would surely be tested.

Hopefully, part of what Zack would learn would be a bit of humility. If he didn't, then he was sure that he would make his time as a gladiator living hell. Because he had a point.

Ryan was a liability. If they got rid of him, then a gladiator that had been there longer and had a higher level would replace him if a member of the team died. Or even a new human that Countess Gladine would summon could replace him and maybe that human would have more combat experience, would be a faster learner, or just be mentally stronger.

He hated to admit it, but he understood where Zack was coming from. He wouldn't want himself on his team either. But Ryan had no choice. No matter what, he wouldn't give up on becoming a gladiator. It was his life and nothing else but himself would choose how he would live it.

So he watched Cameron and Zack point their spears at each other and circle each other. Many other gladiators on the training yard looked on as well. The rest of Ryan's team, Dennis, Marissa, Natalia, and Lucien watched intently, sitting on the grass, providing a brief reprieve from the exhaustion of their sparring.

"Are you sure you don't want to stop them?" Ryan heard Franocles ask Countess Gladine behind him, atop the dais. "I don't think their sparring is gonna stop with a single hit. They're gonna keep going until one of them is knocked out."

"Competition is good," Countess Gladine said. "Especially when it's brutal."

"Is that really the reason?" Franocles asked. "Or are you just hoping that Cameron defeats Zack, evaporating some of my motivation towards buying him?"

Countess Gladine frowned. "Why would I care about your motivations?" She asked with a forced smirk. "No matter how much I want you to buy him, as long as I say no, he'll stay far away from your grasp."

"I tend to get quite aggressive when I'm motivated."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Siblings tend to not get aggressive with each other, regardless of motivation."

"Is that so?"

Her frown deepened.

Maybe he was wrong about Franocles earlier. Before he didn't want him to buy Zack due to his strength. But if Zack was gonna try and bully him out of the team maybe it would be better that Countess Gladine sells him off.

But despite that, he wished the same as Countess Gladine. He also watched the fight with the hope that Cameron would dominate Zack. If Cameron won then surely that would humble Zack.

Ryan couldn't believe he looked at Cameron in a derogatory manner when he first talked to him. He could be a bit naive and say some wild things, but Ryan believed it all came from a good place.

So Ryan internally cheered for Cameron as he kicked off grass and leapt towards Zack, swinging his spear down at the top of Zack's head in a vertical slash.