Night Training

Kirk and Spartacus had become friends through fighting. This time, Spartacus had come to discuss night training with him. The Marseille Dionysia Festival was about to begin, and Spartacus was eager to defeat Cress, who held the title of God of War, in Marseille. He needed someone to spar with. He and Vero had trained together for too long and knew each other inside out, so their practice wasn't very effective. Kirk was a rough sort, with crude moves and terrible fundamentals, but he was tough, powerful, and imaginative—quite similar to Cress. So the two of them had come to invite Kirk to train with them on the beach that night.

Kirk thought it over and ultimately accepted their invitation. Not for any other reason than that the man was Spartacus, who would one day be unbeatable in a one-on-one fight. Sparring with him would surely be immensely beneficial. It was like being a practice partner for the national table tennis team: take them out, and they'd be world champions. Kirk's close-quarters combat was self-taught, and he was far behind these professionals. If not for his powerful equipment and strong attributes, along with his exploiting his opponents' desire to win, he would never have been able to fight Spartacus to a mutual defeat.

It was eight in the evening. The three agreed to meet at the beach at midnight for training.

After seeing off Spartacus and Vero, Kirk received three more visitors: One-Eyed Dragon, the giant-shield MT Contractor, and the Female Magician. Kirk was a little surprised. It was already night, so why were the slaves, who should have been locked in the cowshed, still wandering around? The giant-shield MT said he'd bribed the greedy Ashur, but they could only stay for a little while.

Kirk had already guessed why they'd come. Clearly, they were here because of Audi, the American cult leader and the Contractors' current nemesis.

Sure enough, One-Eyed Dragon got straight to the point. "Are you in league with Veteran Audi? Now that you've become a gladiator, are you planning to bleed us dry before killing us, too?"

Kirk denied it unequivocally. "I became a gladiator so I could survive better and protect my own interests. I have no intention of imitating that bastard Audi."

The Female Magician suddenly raised her head. Kirk noticed her beautiful, lake-green eyes, as clear as water and endlessly captivating.

After a long pause, the Female Magician said softly, "He's telling the truth. At least, he is for now."

Kirk realized that she'd cast a spell on him similar to Detect Lie. He couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

"Don't be nervous," the giant-shield MT hastily explained. "We just urgently needed to know whether you were our enemy. Now we've confirmed that, at least for the moment, you aren't."

"What are you planning to do?" Kirk asked. Clearly, under the pressure of survival and Audi's oppression, the remaining Contractors had banded together, and these three were the leaders they'd put forward.

"We're planning to unite, temporarily, and get rid of Audi." One-Eyed Dragon's hoarse voice rang out.

"He's a Veteran," Kirk said, unimpressed by their chances.

"There are fourteen of us," the giant-shield MT said.

"You can't challenge him directly." Kirk shook his head.

"That's the problem, and it's why we came to you," One-Eyed Dragon continued slowly. "We need information. We need a solution."

Kirk decided to help them out, but not for free.

"I have the solution and Main Mission information you need. What can you offer me in return?" Kirk asked bluntly.

"He's your enemy. He'll rob you and then kill you!" the Female Magician scoffed.

"Yes, he's my enemy, but he'll definitely kill you before he gets to me." Kirk laughed. He was a gladiator now, not some helpless resource to be slaughtered at will. With the Dionysia Festival approaching, gladiators were in short supply. Audi wouldn't risk angering Bartitas by killing another gladiator. Kirk was in a favorable position for now.

"How much do you want?" The Female Magician was silent for a while.

"That depends on how sincere you are. But I guarantee that the method and information I provide will be reliable."

"Space verification!" One-Eyed Dragon decided at once.

After a heated exchange and some haggling, Kirk came away with 10,000 Survival Points and three Weidomei Cakes that restored Health Points. They weren't top-tier items; each could only restore 50% of his Health Points in five seconds. Still, they could be used in combat.

After spending too much in the space and being weighed down by Little Fatty, Kirk was running low on medicine. His recent fight with Spartacus had depleted his supplies further, and his stock was now critically low. The three cakes would help tide him over.

The 10,000 Survival Points were set aside as a reserve for Odin's Summon. That thing was an endless money pit, but it was Kirk's last trump card for survival and victory, so it was best to prepare well in advance.

The Contractors hadn't exactly gotten a bad deal, either. Ten thousand points sounded like a lot, but divided among fourteen Contractors, it was just a drop in the bucket. They were like headless flies right now. What they needed most was a way out and a plan.

Kirk explained slowly, "There's a hidden Main Mission in this space."

At that, the expressions of the three across from him changed. They'd suspected as much, but had never found a way out of their current predicament. This Arena Mode actually had a Main Mission?

"Is it related to becoming a gladiator?" the Female Magician asked softly. It seemed this perceptive woman had already guessed at some clues.

"Yes. The main focus of this world is gladiatorial combat. You're currently considered raw materials, and you need to obtain the status of either gladiator or gladiator assistant within four days, before the Marseille Dionysia Festival begins. Then you can join the training camp as gladiators and appear in the arena. This is a hidden Main Mission, so you won't receive a prompt before triggering it. If you can't get promoted, you'll participate in the fights as slaves, and the rewards will naturally be very different," Kirk said.

"Our main problem right now is Audi," One-Eyed Dragon said.

"Yes, but those are really one and the same. If we obtain gladiator status, he won't be able to extort us with the festival so close. What are the requirements for becoming a gladiator?" the Female Magician asked softly.

Kirk glanced at her. She was clearheaded and calm.

"You have to fight head-on and defeat a gladiator to qualify. The festival is about to begin, and the training camp is seriously short on gladiators. You can think of something; Bartitas will promote you. Under the rules of gladiatorial combat, as long as the raw materials forfeit their right to surrender, a gladiator can't refuse their challenge! You can use that as an excuse to prioritize strengthening a durable fighter and send him to challenge Audi. Keep him occupied, take up his training time, and he won't have a chance to extort you." Kirk laid it all out.

As a Veteran, Audi was currently far stronger than anyone else, and his position was untouchable. He was also Kirk's greatest threat. Kirk absolutely didn't want to see him take all the benefits for himself. He had to stir things up to fish in troubled waters. Ideally, he'd use this group of Contractors to keep Audi occupied for a while, grow stronger himself, and then find an opportunity to eliminate Audi.

The Female Magician gave Kirk a long look, then smiled. "Good idea. During training each day, we'll focus our resources on one person and send him to challenge Audi. He'll have no grounds to refuse. If we keep taking up his training slots, he'll have no excuse to extort us under the pretext of training raw materials." They'd have to lend out their equipment and medicine to strengthen the challenger, but that was still much better than being bled dry.

Kirk saw a flash of determination in One-Eyed Dragon's eye. It seemed he'd made up his mind.

At midnight, Kirk arrived at the woods beside their agreed meeting spot and found that Spartacus and Vero were already there, training with wooden swords in hand. A gladiator's strength came not only from superhuman talent but also from hard work. The two trained without pause and held nothing back as they fought. You couldn't tell they were good friends practicing together; every move was precise, like a fight to the death between enemies.

In the distance, the full moon hung high, and the Adriatic Sea shimmered with enchanting light beneath it. Gentle waves lapped at the shore, while the coastal mangroves rustled in the sea breeze. The fresh, salty air cleared the mind.

Kirk felt his own blood stirring. Smiling, he walked toward the two men training hard.

Vero and Spartacus stopped and lowered their weapons. Vero grinned. "You're right on time. I'm sick of getting beaten by this beast. Your turn." He tossed over a wooden training sword.

Spartacus shook his head. "Let him use the weapons he's comfortable with. I can't feel enough of a threat from a wooden sword. It won't be very effective."

Kirk didn't hold back. He pulled two deadly weapons straight out of his inventory. Their pale-green and deep-blue blades glimmered in the moonlight, and he charged.

"Not bad!" Vero nodded. It seemed this "raw material" had made Spartacus awaken his bloodline for a reason.

"Not really." Spartacus parried, catching Kirk's slashing longsword. Then he redirected its force with a deft twist. Kirk felt his right hand nearly lose its grip on the sword. He quickly pulled it back, barely preventing Spartacus from knocking it away.

The two exchanged smiles, then clashed fiercely again.

"Watch your footwork. Space is your best weapon. Make full use of it," Vero called out.

"Combat technique is the art of using space and time skillfully. Differences in position and timing are your best weapons. Do everything you can to use your strongest aspects against your opponent's weakest. That's how you win," Vero continued.

Kirk felt a flash of lightning streak through his mind. Many things he'd vaguely understood but never quite grasped suddenly became clear.

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