"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!"
The man with the messy beard let out an ear-deafening laugh after hearing my story.
"You punched a slave shop owner?! I wish I could've seen that personally!"
He exclaimed, still laughing.
"I already like you a lot, kid."
He said.
"Haaaa..."
Then, after calming himself down—
"Phew... That was funny."
He muttered that, looking at me.
"..."
I just sat there on the bed, watching him turn red from laughing.
"Your story is so interesting, it's hilarious!"
The man with the dirty beard said with a wide smile on his face.
"You're really violent for your look, huh."
He added.
"So let me break down what happened based on what you told me."
He muttered.
And before I could even say anything—
"The boss probably liked your wild personality after seeing you punch that slave owner... not showing any fear in front of death, too..."
He started talking.
"You also got yourself an underling—who you bashed the head of when they punched you... then later on, you bashed another bastard's head and gained three more underlings."
"Wow, I can't believe you achieved all that in just a week. Your first day here was really something too, I'm telling you."
He stated, recalling everything noteworthy I did ever since coming into this world.
But then, after a short pause—
"The problem, though..."
The man started telling me where it all went wrong.
"The one you bashed the head of yesterday, almost to death, was probably one of the new promising products bought by the boss. And because you destroyed one of them... he sent you to fight immediately, without training or explaining much things to you."
He said.
"He wants you dead."
Then he bluntly followed.
"Well, yeah... I already kinda expected that."
I replied, looking back at him.
"Why did he even put a child like me into the gladiator section...?"
Then I asked.
"Hmm..."
The man with the messy beard looked up at the beat-up ceiling, massaging his chin.
Then, after thinking about it for a while—
"I think he wanted to train you a little, then have you fight later... in which you'd give it your all to try and survive. It'll be a big hit for the nobles, after all—they'll see it as the weak struggling against their fate. Win or lose, the boss was going to get money out of you."
He explained that.
"..."
I was speechless after hearing that.
I was actually thinking the same thing.
This bearded mister was way smarter than he looked.
Or should I say—he had a lot of common sense and he was thinking logically.
Except for Rai, Rose, and the other two women, this was the first time I'd met someone like this.
Anyway, just as I was thinking that—
"I guess it's time for me to continue teaching you about this place, huh."
The man said.
"Ah, yes."
I responded plainly.
"BUT BEFORE THAT—!"
The man turned to face me directly, eyes wide.
And before I could even react—
"Let's introduce ourselves to each other."
He added with a grin, holding out his right hand for a handshake.
"..."
I stared at his dirty hand for a second.
Then—
"I'm Kaiser."
Fwip—
I reached out and shook it.
The man smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Kai."
He replied cheerfully.
"I'm Brock."
Then came his introduction.
"From now on, call me that!"
He said.
*****
After our brief introduction—
Brock followed through with his promise.
"Let me tell you this... Right now, there are ten of us in this fighter cell."
"Not all of them are as friendly and as handsome as me, so be careful."
He said with a grin, clearly joking.
But I could tell that he was serious about the [be careful] part.
"They're probably still asleep. Most of them don't leave their rooms unless it's time to eat."
Brock explained, pertaining to he other gladiators in this place.
"I'm actually the same. I was just about to step out for a wee when I saw you."
He added.
'Too much information... I didn't need to know that.'
I thought.
Anyway—
"Moving on... Do you know what battle points are?"
Brock suddenly asked me that.
"..."
I gave a quiet shake of my head. This time, I genuinely had no idea what that is.
Rose and the others didn't mention anything like that.
"Well, figured."
Brock nodded, as if he expected that answer.
Then, looking back at me—
"Battle points are a currency used by us gladiators. With them, we can do a lot of things."
He began to explain them to me.
"We can buy new weapons and armors, upgrade them, get potions, food, and many more..."
He casually listed what could be done with them.
"It's basically our money in this place."
He stated.
After hearing his words—
"Got it."
I nodded my head.
"How many of that do I have right now?"
I asked.
And without hesitation—
"Five."
Brock replied.
"All gladiators start with five battle points. It's enough to get you something useful for your first match."
He added.
'Five, huh…'
I wondered how much that was actually worth.
Honestly, I had no clue.
So I set that aside for now.
And instead—
"How do I use them?"
I asked that to Brock.
And with a casual shrug of his shoulders—
"Easy. Every afternoon, servants come around. They go here to assist us. If you want something, just tell them. They'll name the price in battle points and deduct it from your total after the deal."
"They keep track of everyone's points with some paperwork."
He explained confidently.
"Is that so..."
I muttered.
So basically, for now—
'I need to wait until afternoon, huh.'
My brows furrowed at that thought.
It was still morning.
Probably around 9 AM.
And so—
"I should probably sleep until afternoon..."
I mumbled.
And hearing that—
"Damn right, kid."
Brock agreed.
"Rest your body, so you can fight your best in two days."
He said firmly.
And without waiting for my response—
"I'll leave you be now. Lock your door—there are bastards in here."
He warned.
"I'll knock real hard later when the servants arrive."
He added.
"Nice meeting you again, kid."
And with that—
BAM!
Brock stepped out and slammed the door shut really hard behind him.
I thought it was going to shatter.
"..."
Tap- tap- tap—
Click—
I stood up and locked the door.
I was still tired, exhausted.
So with that—
PAT!
I dropped onto the bed.
It felt like lying on plain wood.
But now that I didn't have to worry about anyone attacking me—
"..."
I closed my eyes, finally relaxed.
And soon—
"..."
I drifted off to sleep.