"Hey kid, what are you doing here?"
The man asked, approaching me.
"Are you a new servant? Servants aren't allowed here in the morning, you need to come back in the afternoon."
He said.
"How'd you even get in without a guard?"
He followed, slowly getting closer.
Then, in the most casual manner—
"I'm actually a gladiator... I'll be fighting in two days from now."
I declared that.
"Huh?"
Tap—
The man stopped in his tracks when he heard my words.
"The fuck are you talking about?"
He grumbled with a frown.
"You look like fifteen. Child slaves usually start as servants until they hit eighteen or something, since they can't fight well with small bodies."
He added.
And while shrugging my shoulders—
"I'm actually sixteen, turning seventeen... But yeah, I'm serious... I'm a gladiator."
I responded to him.
"..."
The man stood in place, speechless.
He had a very confused expression on his face.
"Are you joking?"
He asked.
"Not one bit. I wish I was."
I quickly replied.
"..."
The man stared at me, studying my face.
I kept a straight expression, no signs that I was joking
And seeing that—
"What the fuck happened and brought you here...?"
The man opened his mouth and curiously asked that.
"..."
I didn't answer immediately
I thought to myself long and hard.
This man over here seems like a fighter too—a gladiator. And he's not as violent as the others, he's genuinely showing concern about me—a child, being a fighter.
I can reason with him.
And so, with all that considered in my head—
"I'll tell you why I got here if you help me settle into a room and teach me what to do here."
I went and proposed that to him.
"Huh?"
The man looked shocked at my words—
a bit impressed too, if I might add.
"..."
We stared at each other in the eyes.
Then, after a short pause—
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!"
The man let out a very loud laugh.
"Ugh..."
It was loud enough to make my ears ring.
Fwish—
He brought his attention back to me.
And with an amused smile on his face—
"You've got yourself a deal, kid."
He said that.
'Nice.'
I thought, satisfied with the result.
*****
After my encounter and deal with the messy beard man.
He led me to a wooden door just beside the one he came out of earlier.
"This room is empty. The owner just died two weeks ago during the last event."
He said casually, looking at the door with a satisfied smile on his face.
'Bruh…'
I stared at him in disbelief.
'I guess deaths are just that normal here.'
Anyway—
Swish~
I shook my head to shake off unnecessary thoughts.
Then, looking at the wooden door in front of me—
Creak—
I pushed it open.
"..."
Behind the door was just a small room with a bed and a table beside it.
Nothing special.
"This is your first room!"
The man beside me exclaimed.
"Aren't you happy?"
He asked, looking toward me.
"..."
I looked back at him.
Honestly, the room was trash.
It was even dirty... Filthy.
I lived in a modern apartment before I came into this world, this is nothing compared to that.
But after only lying on solid floors whenever I slept since I got into this world—
"It's good."
This room was undeniably a huge improvement.
I genuinely feel happy to see a bed here.
"Haha, I understand how you feel, kid!"
The man said as if he knows what's on my head, patting me on the back.
"Now, let me get a chair from my room so we can start our story time."
He said after that.
Fwoosh—
Then he didn't even let me reply as he immediately rushed back into his room.
And when he came out again just moments later—
Bam!
"Let's go!"
He was carrying a small wooden stool.
And with that—
"... Meh, sure."
The two of us entered the new place that I would be staying—my room.
Moving on...
After we got inside—
I didn't close the door.
It makes me feel safer that way.
The man with the dirty beard didn't seem to mind it so everything's fine.
Thud—
He just placed his stool a step away from my bed and sat on it.
Meanwhile, me—
Pat—
I sat down on the bed.
"..."
It was hard as fuck.
Didn't even have a mattress.
But still—
'At least it's something.'
I thought.
"So, who'll start talking?"
The man then suddenly spoke, asking.
"..."
I shifted my attention back to him.
And without hesitation—
"You talk first, Mister."
I said that.
"Sure!"
The man replied without much thought or care.
...
...
"Then let's start here... Do you know what a fighter cell is?"
The man asked me.
"No."
I immediately shook my head.
Rose and Damian mentioned it to me last night, but they weren't exactly sure what this place is either—they've never been in a place like this after all.
"Well... Fighter cell is a place dedicated to us fighting gladiators. They give us private rooms so we can rest properly and recover fast. That way, we perform better in fights and become more entertaining."
The man with the dirty beard explained that to me.
'Makes sense.'
I thought, nodding my head.
Then the man continued—
"Depending on how strong and valued a gladiator is, they'll be given better rooms, and they'll have more privileges."
He said.
And opening his mouth once more—
"In the Crimson Pit, we all start here... This is called the copper place. Us that are here are called copper-rank gladiators. There are a lot of copper places in this coliseum, by the way."
He followed in a bragging tone.
The man didn't stop there too—
"To get out of here, you've got two ways... Either perform well in all your fights and raise your value as a gladiator... or the faster way—challenge a gladiator with a higher rank and win."
He went and declared that casually.
And hearing his last words—
"We can challenge other gladiators?"
I asked that.
This was new information to me.
"Yeah, but they can decline it."
He answered.
"Huh? We can decline fights too?!"
I followed with another question.
I was surprised to learn that as well.
And with a nod of his head—
"Sure do."
The man replied.
"Then, can't I just decline my fight?"
I asked him.
"Hmm?"
The man looked at me, observing.
"Depends… Why are you fighting anyway?"
He asked.
"..."
I didn't answer.
Then, with curiosity gleaming in his eyes—
"Hmm, now I want you to talk first."
He mumbled that.
"I'll just tell you the other things after you finish talking."
Then he immediately followed.
"..."
I remained silent, I was thinking things through.
But seeing that the man looked trustworthy enough so far—
"Sure."
I agreed with him.
Also... he might get violent if I refused.
I wouldn't be able to win...
After all, he looks like a bear in a human's skin.
So with that—
"Well, I'll start when that guy with the funny hat bought me in the slave shop..."
I started telling him everything I could, from the beginning.
"..."
The man with the dirty beard listened intently to my story.