The old trainer wanted to say something, but he suddenly decided to shut his mouth.
Not long afterward, Zhang Heng also heard someone talking and the faint sound of footsteps coming from the corridor. A large group of gladiators walked in from outside. It seemed like they had just finished their training. They were talking and laughing while walking. The old trainer then said, “I will go to you, and we can discuss more then.”
After he was done talking, he got down from the alcove and went back to the hot pool.
And Zhang Heng decided to enjoy the hot steam for a little longer before returning to the hot pool.
“As someone who’s experiencing such hot steam for the first time, I must admit you lasted quite long,” said Varo after seeing Zhang Heng coming out of the sudatorium. Varo seemed to have recuperated after soaking in the pool for a while. He then got out and said, “It’s my turn now.”
“I will wait for you here,” replied Zhang Heng.
When Varo came out of the sudatorium, the two went to the cold pool next door. The ancient Romans had a bizarre bathing habit. They seemed to like to alternate between hot and cold baths. Actually, this kind of bathing method was very likely to cause them heart problems. Other than that, staying in a cold and humid environment for a long time might even cause sailor syndrome and hearing loss.
As compared to the men, the women in ancient Rome were healthier since they hardly took cold baths.
Zhang Heng tried it once and decided not to do it again in the future. And he also advised Varo not to alternate hot and cold baths in the future. The latter listened to what Zhang Heng told him and immediately nodded obediently without asking why.
After that, they ended their bathing session with a massage. According to Varro, although the public bathhouses had a very cheap admission fee, services such as storing clothes, buying snacks, and getting massages were all charged separately. However, the bathhouse in the gladiator school was served to protect the valuable assets of the school owners. Hence all the services for gladiators were given free of charge.
This was also one of the few perks of being a gladiator.
When Zhang Heng and Varo returned to their residence, the “battle” over there was already over. The four female slaves had left the room, leaving the two drunk gladiators lying on the bed. Looking at the smiles on their faces, they seemed to be having good dreams.
Today was the day when they passed the assessment. Gaby also knew that they had worked hard for a long time, so he did not ask them to train today. Everyone was allowed to savor this victorious moment to the fullest.
Varo, on the other hand, was very disciplined. After his mind and body fully recovered from their exhaustion, he returned to the training ground and began to train. He knew that it was sheer luck that he could pass the assessment this time. Even if he did not face Habitus during the final assessment, his combat skills were still below average compared to other new gladiators. Hence, to regain his freedom in the future and carry out his revenge plan, his fighting skills needed to improve to survive the next few battles.
As for Zhang Heng, he took a nap and then wandered in the gladiator school until it was dark.
After they became official gladiators, the areas that they could go to had expanded a lot. As long as they did not leave the gladiator school’s premises, they could wander anywhere they wanted. Zhang Heng first talked to a few gladiators to learn more about the gladiator schools and staff. Especially the information of some trainers; he wanted to know what they were good at. In the near future, he would love to learn all those skills from them.
Zhang Heng paid close attention to the old Persian trainer’s information, but from the information collected so far, it was almost the same as before.
His name was Dadatis, and he joined the gladiator school half a year ago. The school assigned him to train a group of newcomers. After that, he was asked to focus on Habitus’s training only. His origin was very mysterious. It was said that he hew Gaby many years ago. Other than that, no one knew much about him.
Many gladiators consulted him about their training, and Dadatis was always willing to give them advice. However, his answer was not much different from other trainers. In the end, fewer and fewer people came to him.
After that, Zhang Heng went to the medical bay. Almost every gladiator school would be equipped with a medical bay, where all wounded gladiators would receive medical treatment. This place could also help the owners reduce their losses.
In all fairness, the doctors in this era were quite skillful. Take the gladiator school where Zhang Heng worked as an example. There were retired emperor doctors who worked here, especially good at dealing with external and bone injuries, and they were even equipped with stainless steel or copper surgical tools. Their had a very similar shape to modern surgical instruments—except having no effective means of anesthesia other than alcohol and opium. And, of course, disinfection was something the people of that era had no knowledge of.
Other than that, they had no good way to deal with internal injuries or organ damage. Hence, they could only wait for the reapers to harvest their patients’ life.
When Zhang Heng entered the medical bay, he saw a doctor with half-white stubble bandaging a gladiator with a leg injury. Zhang Heng stood by the door to wait for the doctor to finished treating the injured gladiator. After he told the injured gladiator about what he should be really paying attention to, he raised his head and looked at Zhang Heng.
“Where did you hurt yourself? Let me see.”
“I am not injured,” said Zhang Heng.
The doctor frowned, “Then why are you here?”
“Oh, I simply wanted to seek your advice. I wonder if I can buy any herbs here?” Zhang Heng explained his intentions.
He spent the remaining time in the Alien’s dungeon to learn more about herbal medicine. It could come in handy in an era where medical treatment was not as advanced. Zhang Heng picked a few commonly used herbs to treat inflammation, diarrhea, fever, and bruises. Most of them could be found in the Mediterranean. But even so, it took him a long time to describe what the herbs looked like to the doctor.
The doctor seemed skeptical after listening to what he had to say. Fortunately, Zhang Heng met a doctor that was willing to open to new things. Some of the herbs were widely used in this era. Except for these surgeons, herbal medicine and prayer remained the most popular treatment for internal diseases.
The doctor promised to help Zhang Heng look for the herbs that he wanted. If it worked, the doctor did not plan to charge him. The school would bear the cost of all the gladiators’ treatment anyway, which was why he was willing to accept the invitation to be a doctor here. Besides the generous income, he could also get a lot of opportunities to verify his medical theory.
After that, Zhang Heng returned to his residence in the evening.
During this period, the old Persian trainer did not come and look for him again, as if he had forgotten about him.
