With slight dizziness, Charles opens his eyes to see Robert looking concerned "Hey kid you alright? You didn't look good while you were sleeping there. Got a bad dream or something?" Robert asks as he checks Charles's forehead with his hand. "Y-yeah I'm fine I think, I just had this nightmare of an old man trying to kill me with some untested experiment..." Charles sighs with relief that he didn't see his ancestors yet.
"Well that's good, don't get too stress it'll make you weaker! Now I'm going to the mess hall to get food; you should go there to get something after you get a hold of your self." Robert stands up and walks out of the room. The door was locked yesterday when he got here, but now it's wide open. "Hmph, I practically saved your life but you treat it as me almost killing you?" Janko says with a bit of disappointment "I could have easily died because of that!" Charles retorted
"If you had learned some martial arts beforehand then yes you would have died but I've looked at how you're so naive, timid and weak it's clear that you have never even seen any martial art before!" Janko replied, "That's true, I've only heard about martial artists through other people but what difference does it make it felt horrible!" Charles looked at his body and didn't see any changes other than being a bit slimmer. "Well let's see if your mind has fully absorbed the skill instead of giving you a massive headache, though we will have to wait till you get into a fight," Janko explained.
"U-until I get into a fight? W-wouldn't that mean if it didn't work I'd m-most likely die?" Charles asks cautiously "Mhm your correct kid! You're finally understanding the situation you are in!" Janko happily replies "Now then you should go to that mess hall to get some food, nourishment is the key to improvement!" Charles sighs as he hears Janko's guidance and moves to the mess hall.
At the mess hall was somewhat crowded with people chatting about the food and fighting. Charles slowly walks over to the guards that are giving out the daily meals. The menu mostly consisted of rice and beans. The food looked bland and didn't have any scent. But at least it's better than starving. As Charles was looking for a place to sit, he saw Robert waving at him. As Charles walks over, he sees three other men of varying ages sitting with Robert. "Fellas, this is the kid I was talking about the new one. Charle, say hi to them. Don't worry they aren't strong, so they ain't gonna bite ya." Robert laughs as he introduces them "Hmph at least we are all still alive! The name's Rock, the two next to me are Ogg and Pike" Rock properly introduces them.
Rock is quite a tall, muscular man with a lot of scars on his body and was very disciplined. Ogg, on the other hand, was short and had a massive beard but had a bit of a temper while Pike was a kind bald man with nothing standing out about him. "Nice to meet you everyone my name is Charles, thank you for treating me so kindly!" Charles bows in gratitude to the warmth he has gotten
"Don't sweat it, kid, it's gonna be a tough road from here on out so your gonna need all the emotional support you can get!" Ogg pats Charles as he reassures him. "Be prepared for the battles ahead, but do remember not to lose yourself in this place." Pike advises Charles "As what pike said this place is a dangerous place so don't blame yourself for anything that happens in here." Rock explains.
"I understand, thank you for your guidance!" Charles exclaims "Charles friends in this hell hole is one of the most important things to remember" Robert seriously explains "What's the other important thing?" Charles asks curiously "The other most important thing is power! Without strength in here, your doomed to not live another day!"
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After talking with Robert and his three buddies, Charles headed back to the room and begun to think about what they said. "Relax kid you're going to be fine with the new powers I just gave you!" "But Sir Janko I don't even know what powers I got from you... and most importantly I have no idea what martial art is in the first place!" Charles starts getting frustrated with the notion that he might die soon. " Alright, I'll teach you, if the skill I gave you didn't work then maybe your hard work might keep you alive for a while. Are you willing to listen to a lecture from Janko the Wise!?" Janko Proudly asks.
"You know sir Janko; I'm slowly starting to lose respect for you even if your an elder... Fine I will listen to your lecture, it's the only thing that can save me now anyway." Charles reluctantly agrees "Hmph to think you'd develop such a rebellious spirit so soon! Now then Let us get down to what martial art is!"
"To best describe what martial art is, you have to think of it as the way we humans learn how to fight! It's the key to our survival and how our species has survived over the countless of years!" Janko explains "Oh so it's a form of fighting?" Charles asks "Precisely! Martial art isn't just one single form of fighting, but it is a word that describes fighting in general. Now everyone has different interpretations of how the best fighting style should be like."
" For example, two people agree that spears are the greatest weapon to use to fight. But one says that the spear should be used in a sneaky way and to stab the opponent when the time is right as a snake while the other thinks that the spear should be strong and tough crushing any opponent that stands in front of them!" Janko explains.
"So martial art is the way we think is the best way to fight someone and win?" Charles asks "You got the rough idea down so that should be good enough!" Janko is happy with Charles understanding the lesson. "But where do I start then? I have never even touched a weapon, heck I've never even punched someone before!" Charles gets a bit overwhelmed "With the skill I gave you, the experience problem should be solved so let us find a weapon for you!" Janko says with confidence
"Skill? You still haven't told me anything about that! And where in the world can I find weapons to train with I'm still a slave!" Charles gets annoyed, but Robert comes into the room "Hey Charles! Let's go to the Practice Ground to train! It'll be great for you!" Robert tells him with glee "Practice? Can we get that? Aren't we slaves?" Charles asks in confusion
"The audience doesn't want to see two idiots who don't know how to swing a sword to smack each other they want to see a full-on brawl between skill fighters in a life and death match! These fights are why they allow us to practice!" Robert explains "Watch us kill each other?! Some people are rather sick in the head..." Charles couldn't even imagine what they would be thinking "Don't overthink about that Charles, the most important thing is to live and get out of this hell!"
"Alright Roberts I understand, so where is this practice place?" Charles asks with a bit of excitement
"Yeah follow me, it's a huge courtyard with a bunch of wooden weapons to try out on dummies. Oh, and be careful about fighting other people in the practice place it's not allowed unless someone requests a duel with you and if that happens. Do not ever accept it! A duel will lead to you and that other person to fight in the arena! And you want to limit the number of times you get in there for your survival got it?!"
"Got it! Don't get into fights!" Charles replied "Mhm good remember that Charles! Let's get going, by the way, have you ever fought before?" Robert asks as they walk to the practice grounds "I've never fought once in my life." Charles says truthfully. "You've never fought before?! Then you got to treasure the time on the practice grounds! I use a longsword; Rock uses a greatsword, Ogg uses two axes while Pike uses a spear.
I look forward to seeing what you'll pick though." Robert says trying to help Charles with the information he has about his friends. "I'll do my best to find a weapon suited to me!" Charles says with confidence "That's some good spirit you have Charles! We've reached the Practice Grounds. I'm going to meet up with Rock and the rest to train with them; the weapon racks are there so you should find something suited for you! Alright, good luck out there!" Roberts says as he leaves.
Ok, time to pick my weapon out!