The sky darkened, the sun vanished, and the moon rose. Their training for the day was over. Guards hustled them from the wide open space of the training yard into the dark and dank tunnels that led them to their slave quarters.

By the time they arrived at their slave quarters, they still had two hours to rest until it was time to sleep. During which, the guards let the household slaves into the slave quarters to give everyone food. They started off by giving them all the rotten smelling pottage and loaves of bread dappled with mould that they were officially supposed to eat at night.

But after that they pulled out bottles of wine, cooked chicken and beef, and fresh and steaming bread that they hid at the bottom of the crates they carried the dated bread in.

It wasn't any sort of wine that Ryan was used to seeing back on Earth. It had the colour of sky blue and tasted sweeter than any wine he drank back on Earth. The household slaves explained to him that it was called purite wine. It was an incredibly rare and expensive wine that only the nobility of this world would drink. This is because you had to venture into the continent of mana to acquire puri berries, which was the main ingredient for it.

That explanation made Ryan doubt that purite wine was truly sweet. Because it could just be the thought of how annoyed Countess Gladine would be noticing all the missing wine making it taste so delicious.

But at the same time, wouldn't the missing food and wine be easy to notice? Wouldn't the solution just be to have guards watch over the household slaves as they served the food?

Was she letting this happen on purpose? If not, why did she not care or do anything? Countess Gladine was clearly lax in comparison to other elven slavers, but she couldn't be that lax, could she?

Regardless, after Ryan finished his cup of wine, he put the wooden cup to the side, and walked to the exit of the common room. Despite Ryan's repeated failures during sparring earlier on in the day, Natalia stood in front of him. "Where are you going?" She asked. She grabbed him by the arm and led him to a table in the corner of the common room where Dennis, Lucien, and Marissa sat. Steaming bread, bubbling chicken, and glimmering beef sat on wooden plates. They had an entire bottle of purite wine for themselves. Lucien shuffled a deck of cards, and Dennis rattled a few die in his hand. "You gonna play with us?" She gestured at the table.

Dennis glared up at Ryan. "He can leave," he said before turning back to his dice. "He can play once my nose stops stinging."

Ryan chuckled. He'd probably take that grudge to the grave.

Lucien snorted. "Forgive him, Denny," he said. He patted Dennis on the back. "He'll get better eventually. Even if he doesn't, he's part of the team now."

Dennis sighed and narrowed his eyes up at Ryan again.

Marissa smiled up at Ryan and tapped the chair next to her. "Come on, sit and play with us before the guards come in," she said.

Natalia laughed. "The guards won't come in for hours," Natalia said.

Marissa shrugged. "You never know."

"You're being silly." She turned to Ryan. "Like Lucien said, you're part of the team now! So you have to play with us! The punishment for not doing so is death!"

Ryan snorted. She was a bit much.

"I wish that was the punishment," Dennis said with a chuckle. "Just sit down and play. Don't waste our time, idiot."

Ryan did want to. Playing with them that was; he valued their time.

He spent the whole day burning himself with the Infernal Meditation Skill, and the rest of the day sparring, getting hit all over. He deserved to chill out and relax.

But fairness doesn't make the world go round. Fairness wouldn't give him strength. Whilst the thought of lounging on that chair, laughing with his new teammates, indulging in the thrill of playing cards with them, and savouring in the sweet taste of more purite wine, the savoury deliciousness of the steaming bread, and the glistening chicken and beef.

But thoughts of Zack flashed in his mind. His towering form. His lightning fast speed. His ground rumbling strength. His heart rattling scowl. He didn't want to die again, and he didn't want to feel the regret of death again. Whilst Cameron's speech was nice, he refused to forget Vanessa. He wished he could have fun and achieve his goals, but that would be too good to be true. He refused to forget the consequences of shooting for the stars.

"Sorry," Ryan said. "I'll play with you lot another time."

Dennis shrugged and plopped his dice onto the table.

"What do you plan to do?" Lucien asked.

"Meditate."

Lucien nodded. "Make sure to not burn yourself out."

"Are you sure you don't want to play with us?" Marissa asked. "Haven't you spent enough time training?"

"I want to do a bit more."

"Come on!" Natalia grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him towards the table. "Just have some fun!"

Ryan pulled his arm out of her grasp. "I'ld love to, but not today. Sorry."

Natalia frowned and crossed her arms. "All work and no play made Jack a dull boy."

Ryan turned from them and waved at them over his shoulder. She must've forgotten to read the second part of the proverb, "All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy." Or maybe she didn't forget, and instead just watched the Shining like most people.

Back on Earth, she may have been right. Working more than you were told didn't mean much. Hard work barely paid off back on Earth. It certainly didn't pay off for him.

But he wasn't on Earth anymore. He could have his fun after getting a bit stronger.

So Ryan snaked his way between the many slaves in the common room and entered the bedding section. Ryan glanced at the corner and was shocked that he didn't notice the stench of the toilet until he thought about it. And he didn't think of it for long. He had more important things on his mind.

He winced as memories of it flooded his mind, the searing flames, and the skin scraping heat. But he sat down anyway, crossed his legs, and slapped his palms together. He took a deep breath in, and then out, settling his rattling heart. It was hard to do when he remembered that performing the Infernal Meditation for more than five hours in a day would double the intensity of the pain.

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But he grit his teeth. He had to do it. It was the only way he had any hope of surpassing Zack.

"Haimartia mouhi caughlli thata," Ryan chanted. It was like an invisble hand tried to clench his mouth shut, stopping him from completing the incantation, desperate to not put himself through an even worse torture than he faced in the morning. But his passion sliced that hand off and pushed it away from him. He had to do it! "Deta specationni mouhi thi thata keppa." He finished the incantation.

He shouldn't have been shocked by how it felt. He knew what was coming. But how could anyone prepare themselves for such a feeling? He didn't have the words to describe it. The pain he felt in the morning was teetering on the edge of his comprehension. But this was something else entirely. It was like he was trapped in the middle of a blazing sun. Which wasn't a metaphor that helped describe it all that much because who could possibly know what that felt like?

The only thing he could say was that he was in pain.

His body shook, rattling and banging against the cobbled floor, grazing his knees. Sweat rushed across and down his body, drenching his rags and pooling on the floor. A continuous groan steadily clambered up his throat, oozed through grinding teeth, and poured out his mouth. His face twitched. He grimaced. His palms were like magnets, repelling each other.

He desperately wanted it to stop, and only by mustering every inch of willpower that existed within his heart was he able to keep his palms touching.

Every time Ryan blinked and was met with darkness, his imagination ran wild. He imagined fire smothering him. Greasy steam shot up from his body. His skin shrivelled and blackened. Blood boiled and sizzled. His skin gave away to muscle. His muscle gave away to bone. His bone gave away to fire.

In order to avoid such horrid sights he resisted the urge to blink. He kept his eyes wide and open for as long as possible.

The pain would occasionally get too much and his continuous groan would turn into a shriek. He'd grimace, clamp his mouth down, and grit his teeth after a few seconds of that, but that wouldn't stop slaves from the common room hearing and peeking inside to see what was going on. He'd then overhear one of Ryan's teammates telling the gladiators that Ryan was just meditating, which would result in a few chuckles and they'd leave him alone. If anyone disturbed him and caused him to cancel his meditation, he didn't know what he'd do. Even if they were Level 10 or above, he'd just lose control and attack them. If all the pain he went through for what felt like an hour was to go to waste then he didn't know what would vanquish such anger.

Even after what felt like two hours, the pain didn't decrease. He couldn't get used to it at all.

After four hours, Ryan was shocked that it wasn't over. His eyes watered at the current pain he felt but also at the dread of having to do this four more times on that night, and do this again every evening.

A single tear dripped down his cheek and after what felt like another hour passed, there was still no system notification. How could his instinctual sense of the passage of time be so awful? Maybe he missed the notification? Maybe there was a glitch in the world's system somehow? The thought made no sense, but it was oh so very attractive to pull his palms apart, rescue his body and soul from this torture, and check if he already recieved the 6 XP.

It was attractive. But he refused to do it. He kept meditating, embracing the agony.

And then it appeared.

Congratulations! You have performed the Infernal Meditation Skill for 1 hour!

Reward 6 XP

Ryan pulled his palms apart. He spread his arms wide. He fell onto his back. What had the world come to that the sensation of the rough cobbled floor poking his back with its icy and damp surface was euphoric enough to spread a big and silly grin on his face? He breathed deep and took pleasure in the rancid smelling air. His body felt so light he was surprised by the fact that he wasn't floating. In that brief reprieve everything appeared beautiful.

But that euphoria was short-lived. He had to do it again. He winced. He sighed. He pushed himself up, crossed his legs, and pressed his palms together again. Time for another round of Hell.

"Ryan?" he heard someone say behind him. Ryan turned to see Cameron standing in the archway between the common room and the bedding section.

Ryan smiled. "Nice to see you up and about," he said.

"Wish I could've been that way the whole day," Cameron turned away and chuckled. "Unfortunately Zack didn't have the same wish. "

Ryan shrugged. "He was a higher level than you. You fought well. Don't sweat it."

Cameron smiled and nodded. He turned to Ryan and snorted. "Don't sweat it? Maybe you should take your own advice."

Ryan looked down at his rags and saw that it was dappled with patches of dampness. "Zack wasn't wrong. The Infernal Meditation Skill isn't a fun time."

"Being able to do the whole five hours is very impressive."

"You didn't think I'd be able to even do that much."

"You blew my expectations out of the water." Cameron frowned. "Especially seeing you do more now."

"We've gotta get as strong as possible. No matter what."

"We will. But is there any point if you don't enjoy yourself along the way?"

Cameron was a good guy, but he was a bit silly sometimes. "Why would I give up an opportunity to improve and get ahead?"

Cameron crossed his arms. "You'll become stronger than most with even a mere five hours a day."

"What if I'm not? There's no way of knowing how strong our opponents will be. We just have to expect the worst."

"Constantly dreading the future. Is that any way to live?"

"If you don't want the worst to kill you then I don't think you have a choice."

Cameron's eyes narrowed. "How can you enjoy such a life?"

"I don't. Not now. But I will once I win."

"What if you could win without draining all joy from your life?"

Ryan appreciated Cameron's optimism when he first talked Ryan into becoming a gladiator. Ryan wasn't in a good mental place at the time. He nearly resigned to a dull and mediocre life. But Cameron's hopefulness lit a spark in Ryan, blowing away the bleak clouds that covered his vision.

But the light that Cameron shone on those around him was too bright. It was bright enough to lead Ryan towards a better future. But Cameron was closer to it. Cameron had to hold that fire in his hands. It burned him. It was too hot. Cameron wasn't aiming for the stars. He aimed for the centre of the universe, a destination that might not even exist, let alone be seen.

A little bit of optimism was good. But it was like sugar. Too much and you'll be barfing out rainbows. And unfortunately, that was exactly what Cameron was doing. "You can't have your cake and eat it too," Ryan said. He crossed his legs again. "You can't chase after ludicrous ideals and expect it to be achieved without sacrificing a ludicrous amount."

Cameron sighed. "I think you're just being paranoid," he said. "But you do you. Just try and quit before you burn yourself out, ok?"

Ryan would never burn out. So he nodded. It wasn't a lie. Because he'd never give up. Cameron left the bedding section and walked into the common room. Ryan pressed his palms together in the dark and damp corner of the room, completely alone, and chanted the incantation.

And alas, he was back in Hell.

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A few months later, Procilla not only led all of the gladiators to the training yard, but also led them to the front of the keep for the first time. At the front of the keep was a courtyard Dozens of horse-drawn carriages lined the cobbled road that cut through the middle of it. By the side of it trimmed grass stretched far and wide. The occasional tree sprouted up and out of it. Whilst those trees were tall, they never crested the height of the stone walls that towered over everything in the courtyard. The environment sloped downward. The cobbled road led down to a gate made up of sinuously curving metal bars arranged in a picturesque shape. Beyond the gate seemed to be stone roads and buildings and what looked like civilians wearing vaguely mediaeval clothing bustling along it. The keep seemed to be built inside a city. A city that Procilla probably owned.

The reason why Ryan and the rest of the slaves were on this courtyward was a mystery to him until Cameron explained. "We're finally heading to the Continent of Mana," Cameron said. "We'll first stop at the Adventurer's Citadel so all the slaves Countess Gladine accquired in the last three mongths can recieve a Blessing from the Treasure Angel. And then after that, we'll venture into some Dungeons."

Ryan grinned at the thought of finally heading to the so often talked about Continent of Mana. The Infernal Meditation got him quite a few levels, but the Dungeons would get him more and thensome.