Carrying the wooden log was just the beginning. After that, everyone was asked to do sprint training, weight training, mobile training, and some one-on-one basic exercises. As the sun was about to go down, exhaustion had set upon the trainees. Gaby finally announced that the first day of training had come to an end.
Some gladiator candidates had reached their limits. His body trembled involuntarily, and they fell to the ground the moment they heard that the day was finally over. Among these was Varo. He could not even move his pinky. Varo looked at Zhang Heng and saw that although he was sweating profusely, his breathing was still very calm.
The afterglow of the setting sun seemed to coat him with a layer of glistening gold as sweat ran down his chest. Zhang Heng’s muscles looked very unique. He was not as big and muscular as those burly men, which was also why most of them tended to ignore him at first sight. On closer inspection, one would realize that every single inch of muscle under the clothes was well-proportioned, giving off the look of a precise, calibrated, and well-put-together instrument.
After that, Zhang Heng stretched his hand to Varo, “You’d better get up quickly, or you won’t get any food until the next day. Don’t expect these guys to be kind enough to leave us any.”
Varo then looked around, only to find that most who were on the training grounds had left. Those who were too tired to move were being carried away by their companions.
“Thank you.” Varo took another deep breath, grabbed Zhang Heng’s hand, and stood up from the ground. “The good news is… if it goes well, I won’t have to participate in this damn training tomorrow. By the way, what did you mean when you said you’ve never doubted what happened to me?”
“Before I answer your question, it is better that you answer one of mine first,” said Zhang Heng. “Your slave trader friend. Will he ever close a deal that will cause him to lose money?”
“Of course not! Chickpea is one of those smart alecs. He is really good at what he does. Even if he is not the among smartest slave traders around, he is close to being one,” Varo said.
“I remember you saying that the price of an ordinary slave gladiator hung around two thousand sestertii. And you sold yourself to Chickpea for two thousand five hundred sestertii because you have the talents to conduct businesses. After that, Chickpea sold you to the gladiator school…”
“Yes. So, what are you trying to say?”
“Therefore, there are only two explanations here. First, Chickpea sold you to the gladiator school for a price higher than two thousand five hundred sestertii. In other words, the school would have known about your value from the very beginning, or they wouldn’t have sent you here since they knew that you were good at business. Or…”
Zhang Heng paused.
“He sold you here at a normal or an even lower price, and as you said, he will not close a deal that would lose him money. So there must be someone supporting him from behind. And this means it’s not a coincidence that you were sold here. And what’s worse is that since the other party had the gut to do such a thing, they would have surely anticipated that you’d attempt escape by telling the master that you are a talented businessman. Hence I believe that the other party has been waiting for this all along. Finally, judging from Mark Reuss’s attitude towards you, I believe that it’s very likely that he’s one of those who know about it.”
Varo was puzzled by Zhang Heng’s analysis. He wanted to open his mouth to refute, but he did not know where to start. In the end just said, “You don’t know me at all, and you don’t understand what happened to me. You haven’t even been to Rome before, so I don’t think you should speculate about what you don’t understand. I just have to finish my last meal here, get a good night’s sleep, and I can leave this hell hole as soon as I open my eyes tomorrow. And I’ll never come back again. So don’t tell me over and over again about this conspiracy! This world is not as dark as you think. We should behave kindly all the time…”
“That makes sense.” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“What?” Varo did not hear what Zhang Heng said.
“We should always harbor good intentions… that sentence makes a lot of sense.”
“Are you… laughing at me?” Varo started to doubt Zhang Heng.
“No, I admire those who are willing to look at the world with kind eyes. And, my Roman friend, if we don’t go and get our food now, I’m afraid we won’t even get to drink the soup,” Zhang Heng lamented helplessly.
“Oh! Right! Let’s go now! Don’t worry. My promise to you is still valid. When I regain my freedom, I will find a way to get you out of here.”
“Thank you, but for now, I’d like to stay here a little while.”
…
One week passed in the blink of an eye. The life of a gladiator candidate was straightforward. There were only three things to do every day: train, train, and train.
Repetitive basic exercises were dull enough to make a man take his own life, but simultaneously, the end of each training session would cause the trainees to feel as if all their energy had been drained from their bodies. Despite the toll of such a regime, no one dared to be lazy. Even though the school had prepared a training plan for all the gladiator candidates, Gaby would still be there to monitor them every day.
It could be seen that Gaby placed great importance on this group of newcomers. Some of the gladiator candidates had secretly asked those who had previously passed the assessment and had become official gladiators—according to them, although their training was ridiculously tough, it was not nearly as hard as what they were going through right now. This was probably the extra care that Gaby gave to the newcomers.
Especially for Bach, the intensive training almost caused him to break down. As compared to the rest, he had to do double the grinding. Although he had plenty of physical strength, it was unfeasible to carry out such strenuous training all day, every day. The torture he was put through each day made him want to run back to his mother’s embrace. Gaby, however, was still not satisfied with his performance. As time went by, Gaby’s expressions had turned more and more solemn.
And today was also the day of the announcement of gladiator types.
Last night, everyone had told Gaby about the gladiator that they wanted to be. Of course, the final result would be decided by the gladiator school. As the slaves trained on the grounds, the trainers were there to observe them silently, looking for the right direction they should be taking, so they could grow to become more powerful.
Gaby’s eyes darted around the group, and he called out the first name.
“Arius.”
The slave whose name had been summoned emerged the crowd.
“Secutor,” Gaby continued.
A glimmer of joy flashed in Arius’ eyes. This was exactly what he wanted to become. Usually, the opponents of Secutors were Retiarius’. When they engaged in battle, they would wear a sleek helmet. Two holes that were on the helmet allowed them to get rid of the net. During the battle, they would focus on defense and agility, two areas they had to play to their full advantage.
“Callun Tiga,” Gaby went on, calling out the second person’s name without pausing.
“Trache.”
