Adventure

"Speaking of wizards." Oeno changed the subject, since no one could offer an answer to that topic. "When Maggot Eye came in earlier, he said the only wizard was dead. The people outside seem not to know you're a wizard."

"Psyker," Qin Xa corrected him, then gave his opinion. "I think he was pretending. I'm certain the people outside can't possibly not know I'm a Psyker."

"You never tried to hide that you were a wizard. A Psyker." Oeno frowned. "Maybe that's because you didn't think you could hide your abilities. But what if the people outside really don't know you're a wizard too?"

Qin Xa met Oeno's gaze, pondered for two seconds, then asked in return, "If you came to a place and found one person lying on the ground amid the mangled corpses of over a hundred people, with no signs of a prolonged, fierce battle, what would you think that person had used to kill all those people?"

"Witchcraft," Oeno answered instinctively.

"Obviously." Qin Xa nodded. "The ones who sent me into the Arena must have been another group of Slave Catchers. They found me, so there's no way they didn't know I was a wizard."

"But what if someone deliberately hid it for you?" Oeno asked again. "For example, the captain of the Slave Catchers was an acquaintance or friend of yours. Or maybe you knew someone high up in the Arena, a close brother. He couldn't stop you from being sent into the Arena, but he could at least help conceal the fact that you were a wizard."

"Ha." Qin Xa chuckled and said nothing more.

But he had to admit that if the people outside truly did not know he was a wizard, then someone must have hidden it.

Yet no one had any reason to hide it for him, so it was more likely that the "only wizard" thing was some trick the Host had come up with, another rotten idea to toy with the Gladiators.

To boost the Arena's viewership, to make its side shows more dramatic...

"Buddy, if your abilities are dangerous, like Caesar's, then personally, I think you need to be more cautious." Oeno spoke with great sincerity. "You said before that you were educated. You understand the technology monopolized by the High-Riders on Nuceria, so maybe you could invent something..."

"Invent?" Qin Xa's feelings were complicated by Oeno's idea. "I need a laboratory. I need materials. I need a lot, a lot of equipment. There's no way I can get any of that."

"I was thinking too simply. I thought you could just get hold of some junk, hammer it around a bit, and make a weapon." Oeno recalled the movies he had watched with everyone in the slums as a child. "Like the ones shown in holograms."

Qin Xa did not know what to say. He lowered his head and muttered inwardly.

I didn't get transported here with a C'tan fused into me at the start, like in the books I read before coming here.

Even though Angron could not hear that inner thought, neither of them could offer any practical comfort. In the end, they could only fall silent.

"You can tell that my psychic power is very stable. Can you tell me exactly how stable it is? What exactly is my psychic talent like? What does my Soul Projection in the Immaterium look like? Can you help me gain a deeper understanding of my talent and abilities, so that I can..."

"Sorry, boy. I can't. I can only sense that you are very stable. My Prophecy revealed your existence to me. It revealed that, under extreme circumstances, you used psychic power to kill several traitor Soldiers who wanted to kill you. It revealed that even in extreme rage, your psychic power would not go out of control. But deeper examination requires preparation and time."

Qin Xa and the Librarian sat facing each other, conversing.

That was when they had left the planet that had just suffered a rebellion aboard a White Scars Chapter Cruiser.

"What preparations are needed?" Qin Xa asked.

"Many things. Rituals, certain ritual items, ensuring that your mind is extremely stable, in excellent condition, and controllable." The Librarian replied, "Once we return to Quanzhou Fortress, I will find other Librarians. We will spend one or two years helping you and watching over you. Only then can we safely gain a deeper understanding of your talent."

After speaking, the Librarian added, "As far as I know, the Grey Knights should have better methods. Unfortunately, we only know of their existence now. If you could join the Grey Knights, you could gain a deeper understanding of your talent more quickly. But unfortunately, you cannot join them."

"Then why did you say you would teach me how to use psychic power in the future?" Qin Xa said. "When we only know that my psychic talent is stable, but not exactly how stable, and know nothing else at all."

"First, I will make sure you do not become a passage for daemons to enter reality, because I can kill you before you lose control to that extent," the Librarian answered. "If you learn to use psychic power and your head does not explode, that proves you can become a Librarian."

"Sorry, child. I do not want to be so cold, nor am I a cold person. But while this cruel selection method is not the best, it is the fastest. This galaxy will not give us much time now."

"..."

Qin Xa opened his eyes from the memory.

He had just "slept" within that memory. Though he no longer needed sleep, there was nothing else to do anyway.

Caesar's corpse was still lying there.

Like a sign that read:

Psykers awaken at random, and they die just as randomly.

As he considered where to bury Caesar, Qin Xa looked away.

Almost all the Gladiators were sleeping soundly, including the female Gladiator who had called Caesar a sissy and gotten splattered with blood.

Clearly, death, even such random death, would not keep the Gladiators awake, because it was far too common in this place.

Angron had not rested yet. He sat in the corner opposite Qin Xa, seemingly lost in thought.

And Qin Xa began thinking about Angron.

This Primarch seemed to be in fairly good condition now. At least he was normal, not a bloodthirsty madman who would grab an axe and hack everyone apart without a word.

That was because Angron had not yet received the implant called the Butcher's Nails, and had not yet been tortured by the Butcher's Nails' agony whenever he did not kill.

If he remained in the Arena, he would be fitted with the Nails sooner or later.

Not just him. Qin Xa figured he would probably meet the same fate, because the slave masters all expected Gladiators this strong and powerful to cast aside all humanity and morality, presenting the most extreme slaughter before them.

The Butcher's Nails, plus the miraculous narcotics among Nuceria's three great treasures—anyone would fall victim to that combination.

"Should I investigate my own abilities?"

A thought suddenly surfaced in Qin Xa's mind.

But his vigilance quickly suppressed it.

Yet the thought was like a breeze, lingering in Qin Xa's heart, accompanied by a string of questions.

"If I still wait for help from people like the Grey Knights or Librarians, like when I was transported a second time to before the 30th Millennium, can I wait until they arrive before I get the Nails?"

"If I do not investigate my own abilities and figure out more ways to use psychic power, can I possibly escape the Arena?"

Though the Immaterium had inexplicably sent him to the 30th Millennium, ten thousand years before the 40th Millennium of his first journey, he had come here all the same.

That was what Qin Xa thought.

If the result of coming here was that, a hundred years later, Angron had another nail-implanted madman at his side who only knew how to kill, then that really would be...

Qin Xa began considering whether he should take a risk.

First, he suppressed the impulse in his heart and made a rational judgment.

From the uncertain stability of his psychic talent, to the fact that he had never lost control while learning the basic techniques of psychic power from the White Scars Librarian, to the effortless feeling whenever he used psychic power...

All of this made Qin Xa think that perhaps he could safely investigate his own abilities.

But even without considering those things, Qin Xa felt he still had to take the risk.

The reason was simple—without risking an in-depth understanding of his psychic talent, without relying on psychic power, escaping the Arena was nothing but a pipe dream.

Qin Xa still remembered what he had read about Angron before being transported into this universe.

Angron had fought the slave masters to the death on Nuceria alongside the Slaves, looking just like Spartacus's uprising. Anyone who did not know better would have thought he was a mortal rather than a Primarch.

Yet after The Emperor took Angron away, he casually tore a Custodes apart with his bare hands.

Angron was not weak. It was simply that he had started in the hell of Nuceria, where the temple was small but the demons were fierce, the water shallow but the bastards numerous. Physical abilities beyond those of mortals alone could accomplish nothing.

And for an Astartes who could not develop his psychic talent into something powerful, even staying alive was a problem.

"Looks like I need to change my mind," Qin Xa murmured.

Qin Xa decided to change his short-term goal from escaping the Arena to exploring his psychic talent while waiting for an opportunity, gathering information, and finding a way to organize more people.

Unless one was purely seeking death, one had to realize that the Arena was not the greatest enemy. Nor could one believe that simply leaving the Arena meant everything would be fine in this world of Nuceria.

The Arena was merely a relatively safe corner of Nuceria's hell. If one wanted to leave this hell called the Arena and step into another, even more terrifying hell, it was best to be fully armed, thoroughly prepared, and accompanied by a large group of people with both the courage and strength to enter that more terrifying hell.

Risking an exploration of his psychic talent was necessary, because it was the only option besides waiting to die or actively seeking death.

Though this choice merely meant he was not absolutely guaranteed to die.