Alex appeared back in the underground prison. He had moved forward a single column of cells. Now, the worst cells were behind him and better cells were in front of him. The visibility in his new cell was better, the yellow crystal above shining brighter. The cell was the same size but there were only five people now, half of the number of his first cell. There was an actual bucket one could go to the bathroom in. That would not have been tempting to him only a few days ago, yet now was very inviting.

Looking to his right he let out a breath seeing the figure of the old man. A familiar face was nice, even if he had only met him once. The old man was covered in the black impurities as well, his once dull eyes now contained a unique glow.

“You survived,” the old man smiled.

“As did you, congratulations,” Alex said. “Did you also fight a fox?”

The man nodded, “I did.”

“That jade drop was like magic,” Alex said.

“Magical indeed. My old injuries have completely healed. I can breathe for the first time in a decade. My joints and muscles remind me of when I was ten, no, twenty years younger,” the old man said.

“You look twenty years younger, sir,” Alex said.

“I can’t tell if that is a compliment or an insult.” The old man raised his eyebrow.

“No disrespect, not all... Old Man,” Alex paused for a second then played along.

“You better watch yourself, young man. I may be a weak old man now, but a few more of those drops and I'll be a wise old man in a young man's body.”

“We young men are foolish, I can't help it.” Alex finished, wondering when the last time he had joked around with someone was.

Alex still felt high on life after the jade drop. Even though he was in a cage, he felt good, joking around a little. He didn’t even do that on earth. Most importantly, the connection he now felt within his Soul World made him ecstatic. He wanted to enter his Soul World and check on the obsidian daggers. He would wait for that though, enjoying the endorphins pumping through him after his win.

“Secondary rewards. Cell Rewards: five-man cell and bucket toilet. Personal Rewards: an endless supply of water, a bowl of soup, and a blanket. To receive personal rewards simply think of the item that is within the token.

This is your second and final warning: these are your items given to you by me, the taking of other's items will be dealt with directly by me.”

His mind connected with the token to read the message. After which he mentally thought, water bottle. In front of him, a water bottle appeared, full of clear water, the faintest emerald shining from within. He reached out, grabbing the bottle, hoping to chug it when the old man spoke up.

“You should take it slowly. It’s been at least a day since you have drank or eaten, it would be a waste if your body rejected it.”

“Good point, thanks. I’m going to the toilet, and see if I can’t get this layer of gunk off me before I eat my soup,” Alex said.

“Good thought,” The old man said slowly, sipping at his water.

Alex walked over to the toilet as he slowly sipped the water. The water was not bad, there was a faint coolness and cleansing feeling as he drank. The feeling made him want to chug but he held off.

Sitting on the toilet, he went to the bathroom for the first time in a day. There was a slight awkwardness but in all reality, no one was looking at him. The other three people besides him and the old man had chugged their waters and were now tearing into their soups without abandon.

He shook his head, he had a feeling that in a place like this, that type of behavior would not bode well. They had no control over themselves. Some even wept as they ate the soup. Was he hungry? Yes. But only a day had passed, had these people never gone a day without food in their lives? Or maybe they were scared of fighting again? Or the pain of fighting.

For most being torn out of your home, forced to fight and kill, potentially being gravely injured. That may have affected others more than him. He only felt good, which was better than he had in years.

Placing his boxer shorts to the side, he used the water to pour over his head and wash his body. As soon as the water left the bottle, new water would appear within it from nowhere. There was truly an endless amount of water within the bottle.

He used his hands to clean every part of his body from the black sludge that had covered him. The gunk had dried and turned into a layer of tar covering every inch of his body. Slicking his black hair back, he attempted to fling the droplets of his body and dry slightly. Putting his boxer shorts back on he looked at the blood stains on it. He wondered how much was his blood and how much was the fox’s.

He went back to the opposite end of the cell, sitting next to the old man once more. Sitting down, Alex and the old man's heads snapped to the right hearing a shout. A giant man threatening a smaller man. The larger man's voice continued rising during their conversation.

“You're half my size, yet, we got the same amount of food. I was kind enough to let you eat half of it, now give me the rest.”

“I won this food fair and square! You read the Colosseum’s rules, my items are my items. It's not my fault you scarfed down your food without thinking!” The small man said without backing down.

The large man's eyes narrowed. He reached out to take it forcibly, but his entire body froze. A light landed on the giant man allowing everyone to see the view clearly as a voice sounded,

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“You have directly challenged the Colosseum, death is your punishment,” Colosseum said.

The man’s body exploded into a bloody mist. Seeing the scene, Alex’s eyes widened at the scene. The blood did not spray out but stayed locked down in a small area around the man. The blood mist slowly disappeared.

Alex looked on, this was the first time he had ever seen anyone die. He should be feeling fear right now, terror. He wasn’t, he should be disgusted, or feel anything but what he was feeling. If he didn’t feel horror, then he should feel what happened was impossible, his mind revolting at the very idea. Yet, he couldn’t. All he felt was excitement at the prospect of gaining that power. He felt energy from deep within him burning him up.

He felt like a tiny flame had lit inside him after he fought the fox. The magical rewards allowed his mind to begin processing what his current situation may mean. Now, seeing the power the Colosseum showed, opened up numerous possibilities. He felt fuel being added to that small flame as it grew slightly brighter.

Within that energy, there was a hint of something else. He wouldn’t call it fear, more like respect. He remembered to stay on the good side of this Colosseum, for now at least. He held respect for the Colosseum’s power and was more than interested in the power the spirit could give him. But he also treated him like a slave and could take that power away from him in an instant. If he ever had the chance he would pay that back, for now, he would bury that thought deep.

Alex looked at the old man. His eyes were blank with astonishment and disgust, still staring at the place where the man exploded. Alex frowned again, knowing he should probably feel disgusted too. Yet, after the initial shock of the man exploding wore off, the scene was already gone from his mind.

He simply felt hungry. Thinking blanket & soup, a bowl of soup appeared atop a folded blanket. He touched the dark gray blanket, feeling the rough exterior. He didn’t mind this as he had never liked soft things. He picked up his soup and grabbed the spoon already within. The top was a milky white color with brown swirls. He took a spoonful and saw what looked to be sausage and potatoes, taking a bite. He nodded his head, not bad. The soup was still hot and warmed his body.

Sipping at the broth, he enjoyed every bite until the soup was gone. The bowl disappeared out of thin air. He didn’t even blink at this point, things appearing and disappearing had become commonplace.

After the battle, his body had been hot. As the adrenaline wore off and he had drenched himself in the cool water, he was already beginning to feel cold. He ate the soup slowly, making sure to properly chew to be easier on his stomach. He wrapped himself in the rough blanket and leaned back against the cage, now with some protection between him and the bar.

He looked out at the others and soon saw a man run to the toilet vomiting within. Most people simply grabbed their stomachs in pain. The old man was right, chugging a bunch of water and eating an entire bowl of soup without having eaten in a day wasn’t a good idea.

Maybe that was also from the scene they had just watched. He had heard a few people in his cell whispering. Supposedly before he woke up someone had been making noise yelling and screaming to be released. His ending was much the same, which is why no one attempted to escape the bars.

He hadn’t because that would have been pointless. If someone had captured him, what would yelling for them to release him do? Although maybe that was only natural for people in such a situation. Tired of useless thoughts he called up his status.

Status

Next Fight: 23:29: 41

Inferior Human: Alex Blackwell

Credits: 1

Items: Tier 3 Obsidian Daggers, Tier 1 Spirit Token, Briefs, Blanket, Water Bottle

Cultivation: Realm 1 Step 0 - Enhanced Mortal

Intent: None

“Items without a ranking are ordinary items. First Tier items relate to the power of the First Realm, Second Tier to the Second Realm, and so on.”

The status was nearly the same, except he now owned a few more items and one useless credit. His thoughts went back to the fight, thinking over everything that happened. He would have to fight again. No, he would get to fight again. There was a small flame within him now. A flame he had not felt many times in his life, and he didn’t want to lose it.

He needed to prepare to give himself the greatest chance of success. He had a desire to fight and win. If he died trying, he was fine with that, but he would like to make the journey as long as possible.

His father had taught him, if you want to improve, you have to analyze what you want to improve. What would you do the same? What would you do differently? He had never listened to his father’s advice before, yet now he suddenly was. He shook his head going back to what he needed to focus on to survive.

In this situation, he wanted to avoid injury in the future. Every time he was injured vs his opponent was an opportunity they could use against him. He had his two rules now, withdraw as fast as you strike, and the enemy isn’t finished until it's dead. Both of these were created in the heat of battle, so he should be able to comprehend them on a deeper level, now that things were calm.

These two concepts felt simple but no situation was black and white. With the first concept, to withdraw as fast as he struck, he would need to constantly be in the position to pull back rapidly. Keeping control of his body the entire time. Even if his opponent didn’t know he was in control, he still needed to be.

Withdrawing didn’t just mean his attacks but even retreating after quickly attacking. Just like the shadow that had killed the giant in the forest, he needed to strike and then be out of range for the other to attack him back. Easier said than done, but he was fighting with daggers, he would need to be the fastest, not necessarily the strongest. As they say, speed is king.

As for the second concept had underestimated the fox from the very beginning. As soon as he had seen the small fox with large eyes, something in him had subconsciously calmed. The attention of the fox had been for him to think of it as a friend. That hadn’t worked on him, even though he had the thoughts.

He had relaxed though because he had no longer seen the fox as a threat. He couldn’t let that happen again, no matter how small the opponent. They were on the other end of the arena for a reason. The same would be true for larger opponents. If he naturally assumed they were slow, then they may be able to surprise him with a burst of speed.

He needed experience and understanding of his opponents to fully incorporate this concept. Understanding was half the battle though and he felt he would get all the personal experience he needed over the next few days. Alex felt that if he simply practiced his withdrawal and focused on thoughts that labeled his opponent, he would be ahead of where he should be.

With that figured out, he wanted to try and enter his Soul World again. He wanted to survive if only to understand how the Colosseum had so much power. Knowing if he could enter the Soul World again was important. If he wanted to grow and excel here then he needed to master the opportunities that the Colosseum gave him.

The Soul World gave him the ability to have insane control over his every action and study himself closely. He also wanted to check on his daggers, he could feel them within him but getting to them was another story. Then there were of course the images that would help him gain experience. He had labeled the space with the images, his Soul World so pretending to be a monk, he sat in a meditative position and began controlling his breathing.

He felt a little foolish, but closing his eyes he sunk deeper inside of himself with each breath. Losing himself deep within his body he “opened” his eyes and was taken back; he was not in the Soul World but somewhere completely different.