Bach’s fight was arranged when the assessment was coming to an end. After him, only three people hadn’t yet participated in the assessment, including Varo.
Varo was supposed to fight Habitus earlier. Something unexpected happened during the assessment, and the main reason why he was still waiting for his turn was that Habitus was not here yet. Hence, Varo could only wait on the side. It was a rather embarrassing situation.
Fortunately, Habitus came to the training ground in the end. After all, Mark Ruess was here today. Even if Habitus was dissatisfied with Gaby’s arrangement, he still had to show up for the sake of Mark Reuss. Although he was late, he still decided to come to the training ground.
Seeing that his opponent was a random gladiator he had never heard of before, he had no intention to change his clothes. He then picked up a training sword and said to Varo, “Come on, hurry up. I need to go to Thermae later. I hope you can make me sweat a little before taking a bath.”
Varo did not say a word after hearing what Habitus had to say. He just lowered his head and grabbed his trident and fishing net. After that, he walked onto the stage and recalled the instructions that Zhang Heng gave him yesterday and the special training.
Now, it was all up to him, if he could pass the assessment or not.
…
The hut on the west side where Zhang Heng was located had no windows. Hence, he could not see what was happening at the training ground. In fact, Zhang Heng would not go and watch Varo’s battle even if there was a window in front of him. He had taught Varo everything that he knew. Now, Varo had to rely on his skills and luck.
Unlike Zhang Heng, who had deliberately put on a show, Varo needed the goddess of luck by his side this time.
There was too large a gap between the Varo and Habitus and as Zhang Heng had said, even if Habitus underestimated him, Varo’s chances of defeating him were slim to none. All Varo could do was make the fight difficult for Habitus. After that, it was up to Gaby to grade him.
And the strategy that Zhang Heng taught Varo was very simple. He asked Varo to try his best to reenact the scene where Bach and Habitus fought no matter the method he used. He taught Varro four moves, all of which were to overcome the tricks Habitus used against Bachand possible outcomes that he would face after that.
The day before the assessment, Zhang Heng explained Habitus’s character in detail to Varo after an analysis of him. Usually, all the attacks he performed were very fancy, which was how he became famous. During the battle, he would make sure that his attacks would embarrass his opponents. There were pros and cons to everything, however. Habitus’s combat methods might look fancy, but they were quite easy to counter.
About ten minutes had passed since Bach entered the house on the west side, and no one came in after that.
Most of them thought that the eleven people left in this room were the only ones who passed the assessment.
Since they were from the same gladiator candidates, they developed friendships with each other compared to the school’s veteran gladiators. At this time, whether they were familiar with each other or not, they were trying to introduce themselves. Bach, especially, was surrounded by those who passed the assessment. Because of his outstanding strength, the gladiator candidates were treating him like their leader. In the future, whether they would be teammates or opponents, it was better to be a friend than an enemy.
It seemed that they were right about being the only ones that passed the assessment. After a while, Gaby appeared outside the hut. The latter still had that stern look on him. “Everyone, don’t let your master wait for you. If you are done with talking to each other, come out and take an oath. Only after taking the oath will you be treated as a true gladiator.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to the training ground.
Zhang Heng frowned. He thought Varo must have failed the assessment. When he came up with this plan for Varo, he knew that the possibility of him failing was higher than success. Technically speaking, this outcome should not be a surprise for the rest of them. And this could be seen from the faces of other people in the room.
But Zhang Heng still felt it was a shame that Varo couldn’t pass the assessment. After all, it was not easy for Varo to survive until now. One more step and he would have been an official gladiator. If Bach hadn’t come to this school, Varo would never run into Habitus. He would have at least stood a chance to prove himself when he faced other opponents. When Zhang Heng followed those who passed the assessment and walked out of the house, he saw Varo on the training ground.
A school doctor was examining Varo to make sure that he had broken not his ribs. And Varo grinned when he saw Zhang Heng.
At that time, Zhang Heng knew that the battle plan he had discussed with Varo must’ve worked wonderfully. And Gaby decided to keep Varo.
“Okay, don’t linger.” Gaby said, “Let’s hurry up.” While he spoke, he thought of something and put on a smile for the first time. But it was gone the next second.
At this time, the people who had just passed the test, Varo included, stood in a row at the training ground. There were a total of fifty gladiator candidates who took the assessment in the beginning, and now, only twelve of them were left. Only less than a quarter of them were still standing o the training ground. The elimination rate was cruel—all those who failed the assessment were either forced to discontinue the contract with the school or sent to work nonstop in the mines.
“All those that passed the assessment are here, my dear master.” Gaby bowed at Mark Reuss on the second floor.
And Mark Reuss was still keeping his eyes on Bach. He did not even try to hide the joy on his face. He then nodded and said, “Yes. You did well. I didn’t make a mistake when I entrusted the gladiator school to you. Let the oath-swearing session begin.”
All of them had recited the oath last night, but some were destined not to get to use it today.
Soon everyone started to swear their oaths at a different pace, “…I swear, whether we are burned by fire, slashed by the sword, or spill out blood on the battlefield, we will fight till the end—all for the glory of Victor Arena and the dignity of the gladiator. We will fight like real warriors and dedicate our soul and body to our master, Mark Reuss…”
The moment they finished the last sentence, the trainers around them picked up a hot red soldering iron and branded a Latin letter V for Victor Arena on their arms. The female slaves who were holding the amphora then walked towards Mark Reuss.
And Marco Reuss, who had been sitting down, finally stood up at this moment, took the wine glass from the slave girl beside him, and raised it, “Welcome, welcome everyone to my gladiator school. As everyone knows, I am an exceptionally generous man. As long as you can bring victory for me and the arena, I will not hesitate to reward you with money or women. In order to celebrate all of you here passing the test, I have prepared wine for you. When you return to your room, there will be another gift waiting for you. Just have all the fun you want today, my warriors. And if you want more of that, remember to bring more victories to me. Finally, may the goddess of revenge, Nemesis, always look after you!”
After saying this, Mark Reuss left the balcony with the help of the two female slaves beside him.
