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Avan stared at the cold, damp gray ceiling and thought about the reaction of the other prisoners when he suddenly reappeared in the cell after more than a week.

The guards had handed him over without comment, and the steel door had slammed shut behind him while the others stared at him with different expressions on their faces.

Almost like the look the head healer had when he had examined my full recovery frantically and with wide eyes.

Avan shook his head inwardly. Apparently, all those bone chips were about as hard to heal as regrowing a chipped body part. Almost impossible, if the healer's mutterings are to be believed.

The healer had examined him with equipment amazingly similar to that used by doctors on Earth and had simply whispered quietly to himself in disbelief.

A short time later, he was released by an astonished healer, while the nurse looked at him with a strange look, while he was led past the reception by two guards.

So he had been brought back to his previous cell with the other slaves, who had stared at him in different ways.

Lea had bombarded him with questions about where he had been and what he had been doing for so long, while she had come uncomfortably close to him and put her arm around his shoulder with friendship and frightening strength.

He had told everyone what had happened, except for Timo who, as usual, stared at him angrily from the back corner of the room, but had made it much less serious so as not to evade any more questions about his rapid and unnatural healing despite the mana lock.

Nick had been sitting in his alcove the whole time and had also reacted with surprise at first, but eventually stared in Avan's direction with a small knowing and serious look, almost as if he suspected there was more to it.

And so Avan came to be back in the cell with the others, and lay lost in thought on his back, which also showed only a fine barely visible scar, as far as Avan had understood the healer correctly.

It was already evening, and the sun had apparently set. The nurse had fed him soup during the first days of his stay, when he had been delirious, and the food had been much fresher than what the slaves usually got. Thus, Avan had fortunately not missed any food and could simply enjoy his secret successes and go to sleep early to be fit for the normal training routine tomorrow.

So another evening passed, and except for the fact that the taskmaster Rielta had looked at him strangely when he suddenly rejoined the group, the next day went on as normal and the slaves were sent into training battles against each other.

And so, another week passed, fortunately without another incident with either the whip or the torturer, while Avan continued to practice his skills silently and secretly every free minute. He had, after the first incident in the hospital bed, the escaping mana cloud under control and could leave the wild blue mana completely out of it, while his own celestial mana seemed to be under his full control. Since Avan didn't want any glow effect and visibility, his own mana also remained invisible, he had noticed. Once again the system of the world... My intention determines how my abilities materialize. his train of thought wandered to the amazing fact of how much control he actually seemed to have with sheer willpower.

Another week went by and Avan made significant progress under Rielta's instruction, even though he still seemed to be performing rather averagely. Just more talent with magic, creativity, and my imagination, I guess... Except unarmed combat.

Weaponless combat was also practiced, but Avan had difficulties because he couldn't focus on his mana, unlike the practice fight with Eve back then, so again he didn't really do well.

These observations of the last few weeks ran through Avan's mind as he stood in a semicircle with all the other slaves in front of the taskmaster this morning.

The only odd thing is... That a few people are missing, or am I mistaken? he remarked with a brief observation to the group. I could have sworn there are a handful of slaves missing...

"Listen up! It's been four weeks now, and the preliminaries for the seasonal battles are coming up!" Rielta suddenly declared in a loud voice, and each of the slaves turned around tensely to listen. "The rookie training is over, and the games start next week! That means you no-goods will be used as fodder for the preliminary rounds!"

A murmur went through the slaves present as each realized exactly what this statement meant.

"IF any of you manage to survive the preliminary rounds ALIVE, you will compete with the other gladiators in a variety of fights. Should you no-goods really make it that far, then you will go up the dungeon The Black Ascent with all the other gladiators from this season and prove yourselves there!"

The tense mood had not diminished in any way so far, and Avan could read confusion, anxiety, fear, but also anger in the faces of many, while he himself was more excited now that he had taken the first step towards regaining his dungeon abilities.

"SILENCE!" Cracked the taskmaster's whip on the floor, and the different voices immediately fell silent, while he looked at the loudest among those present in turn, calculating wickedly. "SHOULD any group or individual succeed in climbing the black tower to the highest level, he will be given freedom by the king himself!"

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The murmurings, which had just been negative, now quickly changed to more interest on the part of most, while the weakest among the slaves present still looked on with fear.

And so, during this week of announcement, the slaves present had been trained in group combat, and in the use of nets or other tools that could be used more against monsters than against bipedal opponents.

So another relatively equal week passed, only this time it was fought in groups against groups and against stationary wooden dolls, just as if you were fighting against a group of monsters.

Avan learned how to throw a net reasonably neatly, which had heavy metal balls around the edge and could catch or slow down opponents. He learned how to use a kind of pitchfork to pin monsters down on occasion, for example, pinning their necks to the ground.

Ranged weapons in the form of thrown spears were also practiced with targets, in which he did surprisingly well and much better than he could have imagined before, and he attributed it to his mathematical brain, which seemed to be able to calculate the trajectory relatively effortlessly by instinct, at least when the target was not too far away.

Avan also finally learned what game the other cellmates were playing with the black and white pieces, and was surprised when Nick showed him a variation of chess, only with different pieces and movements of the individual pieces. The old man had taught the other four, and now Avan had also taken turns playing a few rounds with the others in the evening, even if he didn't immediately understand all the moves that were possible.

The game had no name, at least according to Nick, and the pieces consisted of a king, his queen, two advisors, four knights, and a militia, which made the game a hell of a lot like the chess game from Earth.

And so the week also passed, while the spectator stands were decorated more and more each day by servants, and garlands and flowers were placed in the private seating areas.

As the slaves had gradually learned, the preludes were run as a kind of entertainment for the poorer people and the slaves had to defend themselves against waves of various captured animals and monsters. A member of the royal family would open the games, but the king himself would not be present until the so-called ascent in the dungeon, the black tower.

The black tower apparently consisted of oversized levels inside, which were many times larger than the tower could be seen from the outside, as dungeons could probably create a kind of pocket dimension.

The Black Ascent, as the dungeon was called, consisted of ten levels with hordes of monsters, traps, bosses and more, while the nobler and wealthier inhabitants of Haipu could look inside in spectator stands on the outside around the tower, but no one could be seen from inside.

And so, on the day of the preludes, Avan and the others in the cellar were awakened by more and more loudly talking and shouting colloseum guests, who gradually arrived and could be heard loud and clear through the barred cellar windows.

Lea looked up eagerly, and winked at Avan as he looked around, watching with interest how the others were feeling. He himself was, surprisingly even to himself as he listened inside, very calm and somehow relatively emotionless. Hmmm...

Nick himself seemed to be in some kind of meditation again, when Avan observed his breathing like this. Whether he is or was also some monk? He thought about it, but didn't want to bother the old man with his questions. Another thing that is different... Usually I always wanted to know everything...

Timo just looked angry again and stood with folded arms leaning against the back wall, while he stubbornly looked straight ahead.

The two dark-skinned men whispered to each other in a foreign language and showed no significant outward emotion, while the four board game players, on the other hand, wore much more concern on their faces, and one even fear.

Avan had not yet been able to get to know the others better, since they all seemed to keep to themselves.

As always, guards came down the stairs, but this time there were four of them, leading the procession of slaves, two in front and two behind, to the front of the bars, which were closed for the first time. The four guards lined up on the left and right of the aisle, while they were told to keep quiet and wait until it started.

Outside, loud shouts, screams and laughing visitors to the arena fights could be heard, and the air vibrated with tension and the impending bloodshed that was fuelling the crowds.

All this left Avan relatively cold, his mind still not the same since the torture, and he calmly went through his exercises with celestial mana, like a mantra. The mana, which had previously been attached to his soul core in a single strand, was now a constant vortex and mist, which Avan was remarkably able to control more and more precisely. He had concentrated on being able to manipulate and control the mana without much focus, and the mist now wafted here and there with a few thoughts. With a single silent command, he could condense the mist and focus it on a specific part of his body, or create different mist-like forms, which he had not yet been able to materialize like his Akkalons form before.

But Avan was happy with his progress, as it meant an immense leap for his regeneration and survival abilities, and he could partially affect non-living material with his mana by seeping the mist into an object. This allowed him to achieve a kind of telekinesis with smaller objects, or to instantly magically sharpen the dull blade of a wooden practice sword.

Suddenly, fanfares sounded from outside, and a loud person with an amplified voice called the crowd to quiet.

"Welcome! Welcome, people of Haipu! Once again this year, the king has spared no effort to bring in the strongest slaves for your entertainment and to train them to fight! For you, residents of Haipu, the royal house has spared no effort or expense! Therefore! Let us now welcome together the fighters of the preliminary round of this year's seasonal fights!"

We were trained to fight, my ass! Avan thought sarcastically as the massive portcullis was slowly pulled up rattling with an invisible mechanism.

As if it hadn't been loud enough before, the spectators in the stands now roared even louder and stomped on the stone floors of the galleries, while the groups of slaves were led one by one, flanked by four guards each, onto the sandy arena floor.

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