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I didn't want to confront them, since I was barehanded, and they looked tough as hell — and I didn’t need to. Climbing down the crates, I dashed to a side road before the crowd near me noticed their arrival and blocked the passage. I then waited in a nook, waiting for the rush of people getting out of the soldiers’ way to stop.

When things calmed down, I got back to the main road and ran a few kilometers to reach the gate, finding it broken and with a few corpses on the ground. I didn’t see anyone in the surroundings.

They didn't have much manpower here, it seems. Maybe they didn't expect someone to break in from here? It seemed strange, but what would I know?

While I passed by, my gaze fell on the swords and spears of the guards. I stopped for a moment to arm myself and, though I didn't feel too tired, it was also an opportunity to catch my breath in the meantime. I didn’t grab the armor as it would take too much time to take off from the bodies, and it would be conspicuous to wear one of the guards’; I also didn’t pick up the shield and spears for the same reason. What I took was a pair of swords, a few knives, and their pouches. There was also a waterskin on the ground, near the wall, so I took that too.

After securing everything on my body, I picked up the kid again and kept jogging. A few kilometers later, though, I slowed down and started walking. I didn’t see big armies around, so probably the main one was in another part of the city — there was no need to tire myself out too much.

I kept going for around half a day until the fields started dwindling, leaving space for grass. In the distance, I could see a forest. The kid woke up in the meantime, struggling and screaming, so I just knocked him out again. It was better to have a conversation after we camped, and I was still feeling too alert to have a proper talk.

When the sun started setting, I reached the forest. I didn’t want to get a fire going without having the cover of the trees. It’s been a long time since I was alone in an open space, and I was feeling uneasy. I could also be spotted from kilometers away at night if I started a fire without any cover.

When I reached the forest, I walked for a while until I found a good enough spot where I could set up camp. I laid down the kid and went to pick up dry branches for the fire and leaves to use for sleeping — luckily it was still summer so we could survive with just that in the meantime. I didn’t travel too much, and the one time I did they didn't let me out to help, but I observed and asked fellow gladiators when I could. It had always been my dream to roam the lands, and those were necessary skills for a traveler, so I always paid attention when they mentioned such things.

Starting a fire had been a bit tricky as I never did it personally, but I managed to do it just before it got too dark. Good thing I took those pouches, or I wouldn’t have been able to do it without a flint before the sun went down.

After everything was set up, I took a look at the kid. I really didn’t know what to do with him, but I decided to wait until he woke up first and try to calm him down before trying to treat that wound. I took a look after I knocked him out, and it wasn’t too deep, but it had to be cleaned and bandaged. The soldier’s basic kit had all the necessities, so I didn’t have to tear up my clothes.

Now that all the most urgent things were taken care of, I wanted to get a good grasp of what happened to my body. I tried to do some shadowboxing barehanded, then I tried out the swords; maybe from an outside perspective nothing changed, but the difference was there. I felt like I could control my movements better and the sword didn’t feel as heavy as before, but the biggest difference was that I felt like I could push myself more — much more. There were already a few changes I noticed before, but now I could tell how much was different; I felt more energetic, more agile, more focused, more… everything.

The last thing to check was the mana.

Since I woke up in the trash heap, I felt it around and inside me, but I couldn’t do much with it while I moved, so I sat down to meditate — maybe that would change things. It was almost too easy to enter meditation, and it was a good move to try it; I could feel it with so much more clarity now.

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I experimented with my new senses for a while and noticed how the external mana felt, and how I constantly absorbed a tiny amount. In comparison, the mana inside my body was almost still — it was also evenly distributed everywhere. I also felt like a small amount was being consumed regularly; it took a while to notice since the amount didn’t seem to increase even though I was constantly absorbing some from the outside.

I didn't move, or do anything with it, since I wanted to take a look at my Status Screen before trying. Curiosity gnawed at me, but I was patient enough to wait a few hours so, after a while, I opened my eyes and began looking around.

Everything had been frantic and dangerous since I stepped out of the arena, so I hadn’t had time to revel in the feeling, but now I could relax a bit. I had mixed emotions about my situation — mostly because it came about so unexpectedly, and in such a situation — but for now, I just wanted to be happy. The hard things could wait until the next day.

I’m free dammit. I’m free, I thought, while inhaling deeply the air of the forest. It smelled like trash and sweat. Oh, wait, that’s me. Well, I’ll bathe when I find a river or somethin’.

I just sat there looking around, not doing anything but feeling happy until the kid woke up. I heard him shuffling and groaning, bringing a hand to his head, and then he opened his eyes.

He looked around, blurrily, for a few seconds, then he widened his eyes, sat up all of a sudden, and fell back down — he must have been dizzy. It was fun to watch, but maybe it was better if I calmed him down.

Now, how does one speak to frightened kids?

“Hey there kid. How ya doin’? Your big bro here busted you outta there, ain’t it nice?”

I had my best smile on, and my mellifluous voice that would put a bard to shame should have done the trick — it didn’t. Why does he look more scared?

I suspected he was just confused. Maybe he doesn’t remember what happened.

That tends to be a problem when taking blows to the head. “So, I don’t know if you remember, but things were pretty bad there, so I took you out. Remember when I asked you if you wanted to follow me?”

After a few seconds, the kid nodded. His face relaxed a bit, though it was still tense. Well, he’s a kid, after all. It’s normal, I think.

“Sooo, now that we got that clear. How about I clean that wound on your head.”

At my words, he lifted a hand to his head and flinched. He’s so tense he didn’t even notice.

“So, what do you say?” I asked. He didn’t seem to want to answer.

Wait, I heard somewhere that kids need to be coaxed. How do I do that? I thought while staring at him. He started to tremble for some reason. Mm, maybe he’s scared I’ll do something to him.

“Kid, there’s no reason for refusing. If you’re scared I’ll do something to you then you shouldn’t worry, I could easily kill you even at this distance, so close or not doesn’t change a thing,” I said with a thumbs up, and a smile, “And I could have done it when you were sleeping too!”

I believed that this would have eased him, but it didn’t — he suddenly got all pale. What’s wrong with him? Was it because I knocked him out earlier?... maybe I should have just treated him while he was unconscious.

I was a patient guy, though, so I put my head into it and searched for a solution. Thinking back to when I was a kid, I tried to remember what adults did at that time.

I do remember a few times that I got hurt when I was seven or eight… I was a wimp at the time, just a small cut and all whiny about it. What did my parents do?… Oh, I think they just kept me still and washed the wound. “Stop being a wimp,” they said... and after I became a slave… no, I don’t think that could be applied. Hitting until he shuts up and follows what I say is definitely not good. Shitty slavers.

Well, since I got my answer, I stood up. “Time to take care of you, kid!”

I saw his face morphing into one of terror, and he suddenly tried to run away with a shrill scream — it was the first time he let out a sound. He must have really been afraid of pain, but he didn’t make a meter before I caught him.

He kept screaming incoherently and thrashing around. It was a bit hard to keep him still at first, but there really wasn’t much to do, and he was really weak, so I was soon done.

After I let him go, he just sat there whimpering.

“Oh, come on, kid, stop being a wimp,” I said, echoing my parents. “If you want to be a man like me, you should shut up and man up!”

It didn’t work… again. Well, he’ll calm down, eventually…

With all the most urgent things taken care of, it was time to sleep, and see what changes I had in my Status Screen if I had any.

It was a bit hard to fall asleep, with the kid whimpering. The new environment was also making me feel so exposed.

Still, after a while, I started to drift off.

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