Where Are You From?

Perhaps because they were about to be sent to the Gladiator School to become gladiators, the work assigned to them was not overly demanding. For the time being, Zhang Heng had yet to experience the brutal oppression of that accursed slave society.

After they finished the work at hand, the overseer never returned to assign them anything new, as if he had forgotten all about them. Thus, Zhang Heng and Valo, two new slaves with no initiative whatsoever, naturally began slacking off.

Zhang Heng took the initiative to talk with Valo, hoping to get as much useful information from him as possible. After all, his knowledge of ancient Rome was limited to a few famous historical figures and events. Valo, meanwhile, was unlike ordinary slaves. Before becoming a slave, he had been a genuine Roman Citizen and a merchant, so he was well informed. Moreover, unlike his hulking build suggested, he was quite amiable. Perhaps because he felt somewhat indebted over what had happened earlier, he answered practically every question Zhang Heng asked.

Considering their current circumstances, Zhang Heng first asked Valo about slaves. From Valo's earlier words, he could tell that although slaves occupied the very bottom of Roman society, the fates of different slaves seemed to vary greatly.

"Of course," Valo explained patiently. "For example, staying in the city is usually much better than being sold to the countryside. Cities are relatively wealthier, so slaves have somewhat better living conditions. And some nobles need to preserve their image and display their benevolence, so most of them do not exploit their slaves too harshly. Your work would mainly be caring for the master and mistress, doing some cleaning, and the like. There isn't much heavy labor. But the countryside is miserable."

Valo licked his slightly parched lips and continued,