Leo walked through the room towards the old wooden door. Things are a bit in my favor for once. They know damn well that there’s a lot of chances for me to escape at the trial, that’s why they used Akino as a hostage to make sure I returned to them. Those nobles were probably on the verge of revolting against them if they didn’t hand over Akino as soon as possible. Having one of your direct descendants captured as a hostage for some criminal organization isn’t very good for their public image.
Two soldiers, who were waiting in the hallway, handed him some new clothes and told him to dress up. Leo was happy he could get out of his stuffy clothes and hastily exchanged attires. There was no room for hesitations anymore, everything he did from now on until he completed the trial would determine the rest of his life. It was a pressure that would bother most people but to the boy it was a blessing to finally see that his own deeds effected the world around him.
Leo walked through several cavern-like hallways and staircases until they reached the surface. For the first time since being poisoned on the carriage he could feel fresh air blow through his longs. It felt like a blessing, the gentle wind making his greasy hair move. The refreshing feeling left him in awe, as if the anxiety he had tried to hide was blown away into the green landscape. After a few seconds one of the soldiers tapped him on his shoulder and told him to get to moving.
It was still early in the morning with a thin mist present over the endless grass hills in front of Leo. The place he had came out of was just an old barn next to a tiny farm. To think they could hide such a big organization beneath a farm. He continued following the soldier in front of him scanning the surroundings. “How come such a big organization’s base is in the middle of some grass hills. Don’t you guys operate in Topesh?”
The guard behind him spoke with some pride behind his words: “We do, but our tunnels connect to-” the other soldier interrupted his colleague. The man seemed a bit wary to leak information “It doesn’t concern someone like you, a mere gladiator in training.” The boy had expected this kind of answer but set his curiosity to the side. He tried to call upon different emotions to cover up the fear of what was going to happen. The wet grass softly stroked Leo’s ankles with each step. There must be some kind of fast traveling method to the city, I wonder why we don’t use it now.
At last they reached a wooden building with a rusted horse emblem above the door. The thing was only attached to a single nail making it swing at the rhythm of the wind. The door, which was opened by one of the soldiers, made a loud screeching sound. It was dark inside, only light from the door opening and holes in the rotted planks made seeing possible. At both sides of the building were horses calmly eating their hay.
On the other side of the barn stood two carriages, a fancy one, covered in gold foil and a beautiful red painted pattern. The other vehicle was quite the opposite, being nothing more than a wooden box on wheels that seemed like it could fall apart every second. A moment of silence was present as both soldiers seemed to be waiting on something. Suddenly, with a powerful swing, the door of the luxurious carriage went open and a dark stepped out. Just by feeling the pressure in the air Leo could tell who it was. There was no one else that could emit such violent and uncontrolled force by opening a door. “Eden Cronig”, he whispered to himself.
It was hard to forget those two glowing red eyes that were filled with malicious intent. They were linked inside of the boy’s mind together with what he had gone through the last weeks. “You’re here kid. We’re a bit late on schedule so get in the carriage on my right. There’ll be a familiar person escorting you to the city, he will tell you the details. I expect to hear good news, don’t disappoint me.”
With that the soldiers pushed him forward, pointing a spear at his throat. Was that a hint of fear in his voice? What can make the leader of the Exiled be nervous? Obediently, Leo walked towards the torn and worn out carriage. As he opened the wooden panel that was supposed to resemble a door, the entire carriage began squeaking. Carefully the boy entered the vehicle and stuck his head out to look who was inside. To his surprise a familiar figure with a blank mask sat on one side of the benches, the host of his previous cage fights.
“Hi there kid, it’s good to see you in a proper state again. Sit down, we can depart any second now.” Leo nodded and sat down, flinching as he felt a splinter entering his skin. The man saw his reaction and chuckled to himself “It happened to me as well, don’t worry. Even I don’t know why we’re going to the city in a carriage that’s in a terrible state. They should show us a bit more respect. It’s as if they’re transporting slaves… Oh wait, you kinda are.”
Leo didn’t react and stared to his right, watching through a hole in the wooden wall. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be offended but what did it matter? The masked man was about to say something but he was interrupted by a rough bump, marking that the carriage had began moving. The wooden wheels that supported the vehicle turned out to be of the same quality of the carriage itself making every inch they moved feel like being hit from below.
No words were spoken between the two of them for at least five minutes leaving Leo behind to watch over the landscape outside. The boy had grown up in a valley surrounded by mountains, plains and hills like these were new to him although he found them to be quite boring. It was only by soft and gentle words spoken by the masked man that the awkward silence was killed. “So kid, how are you feeling, about the trial and all of that?” The question caught Leo a bit of guard as he expected to just receive instructions but when he thought about it the man had always seemed to care about Leo and his feelings. It was only this certain man that had sneaked him in some extra food or bandages when he needed them.
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“I don’t know,” he muttered, “I’m not scared of the trial but of what comes afterwards.” Leo felt the need to be honest to the man who had made life in the cage a bit more bearable. Although he couldn’t see the expression behind that mask Leo could feel some sort of sympathy behind his words. “I know kid, and to be honest you should be. It might sound harsh but I don’t wish anyone your future. Life as a gladiator can be worse than that of a slave. They’ll push you with the concept of fighting for your freedom and the one in a million who make it to their final trial are opposed with something unbeatable. A creature picked out on your weaknesses and trauma’s.”
A deep sigh escaped the man before he continued, “I don’t think a kid like you should be a gladiator. I saw you in that cage and even without that terrifying power you used at the end of your time there, you were very talented. A combination of determination and talent is very rare in the new generation of humans. On top of that you’re humble and cared enough about your companion to go in that cage. It would be wasted inside of a dungeon training to be a tool for someone else, to become nothing more than a puppet attached to strings. Please keep my opinion for yourself because it can and will get me killed when it reaches the wrong ears.”
Leo looked with big eyes at the man’s confession. He kept silence for a few seconds to think. It felt great to hear someone take his side for once. “Thanks, those words really mean a lot to me.” Again the man sighed. “Words don’t get the likes of us anywhere but the torture chamber. Enough about those depressing things, let me explain the basics of the trial now.”
“The trials are held in a secret place that changes every year, but I heard it was on the north coast of the continent this time. Usually it has three parts: fighting, enduring, and reflecting. The trial starts by having to kill a monster, people say the monster is chosen based on the person’s strengths. Then you’re all faced by all of the elements one by one. It will continue until a certain number is left so the difficulty depends on how good the rest is. Finally, the few that have made it through are faced with a trial that defers for each person. I’m not giving you details because the trials may change every year. Be prepared for everything.”
Leo nodded and laid his two blades next to him on the bench. The man looked at them before pointing at the two weapons. “Kid, I can’t let you go with those two. Your life is on the line here, although the trial itself rarely kills anyone instead of kicking them out, it’s different for you. If you fail, Eden will do things worse than death to you. That’s why I’ll hand you these.”
The masked man opened a hidden closet behind a rotten, wooden plank and pulled out three weapons. Two of them were metal blades the same length as the ones he normally used, they were an identical pair. He handed them to Leo to inspect. They’re a bit heavier than usual but better balanced. Wow, they look brand new and even have a blacksmith mark on them. The last blade was made out of a black material and seemed to be folded up. He took it on his lap while staring at the markings carved all over it.
“I watched most of your training in that cage back there and there’s one thing I can conclude. You have more potential than I’ll ever have. I bet you even awakened your mana and aura by now. If one of us deserves a chance it’s clearly you. Look, that black blade is what ruined my life, blinded by greed. Maybe it’s better to say that my actions to acquire the thing ruined my life. I hate it as much as I love it, although I feel it’s like a black hole sucking up all the things I could have accomplished. After I had killed everyone dear to me to get it, I was too scared of even wielding it, scared that if someone strong saw the blade he would kill me and take it from my corpse. I’ve always been pathetic, scared of losing what I sacrificed something for.”
His words were filled with pain. He talked as if he could fall apart out of memories every second now. Leo didn’t know just what he did but he could clearly see the man in front of him felt regret, and seemed to be lost. The entire time the former host had been pushing his nails into his hands leaving behind little wounds. With a deep breath and a small bow the man continued:
“Kid, I’ll hand it to you. The last few years I have been realizing what kind of disgusting thing I am, just how blinded I was by greed. I’ve decided that instead of trying to amend for my sins I’m better off helping out saving someone who didn’t even do anything wrong. How can I, a criminal and a kid like you be on the same level. It’s wrong and unfair, that’s why I’ll help you. That blade can only be used when you imbue it with mana. It’s a set of two blades around the same shape and size of the one you use but you can attach the two hilts together to form a double sided blade.”
Leo looked at him stunned. To think the man would open up to him and do him this big of a favor. He didn’t know how to react and just whispered a soft thank you. The man sighed and smiled softly. His face might have been cover but his voice betrayed his relief to have spoken those words. He cleared his throat before speaking again with more confidence. “That’s not all kid. I wouldn’t give that blade to a gladiator who’ll die anyway. It would all be pointless then. I want you to escape, make sure that after the trial I won’t see your face again.
Here’s the plan; an hour after your trial has finished a boat will depart around the area of the trial. It will have the mark of a white snake engraved on both sides of the hull of the boat. It’s an expedition that goes to The Otherside, you won’t be chased by the organization there. At the end of the trial you’ll get the chance to duel one of the other participants. Seek out a rich looking kid and beat him up, all of them have a teleportation scroll on them for safety reasons. Take that as your reward and teleport to the nearest harbor. At last you’ll have to sneak on the boat I described.”
Again Leo was left in amazement. “Wow… you really planned all of this. I’ll be forever in your debt if it works. But… why? Why would you care to help me?” The man laughed. “No worries kid just promise me you won’t come back to the continent until you’re strong enough to handle Eden, be it alone or with allies. And for my reason, I guess it is to atone for the sins I made. To get rid of the regret that ate me alive day and night these last years.” The boy nodded and promised him the conditions.
The rest of the ride was spend by talking about what could possibly go wrong and how Leo should react in such cases. At last, a few hours later, they arrived in front of two huge gates marking the entrance of Topesh, the capital of one of the seven human kingdoms.