Harrot struck up a conversation with The Bald Man to ease his nerves.
"Boss, how did you become a gladiator?"
The Bald Man gave a bitter smile and replied,
"I used to be the captain of the guards in a town. Back then, I was young and hot-blooded. Relying on my decent strength, I gave the criminal gangs in the city a thorough beating."
"But one time, I kicked an iron plate. I busted up a human trafficking ring, never expecting that the noble lord behind them was..."
The Bald Man did not need to say the rest; Harrot could already guess it. The noble had taken revenge, turning The Bald Man into a slave and then a gladiator.
"After becoming a gladiator, my heart was filled with hatred and resentment. I only hoped those nobles would all die horrible deaths!"
The Bald Man continued telling his story in an exceedingly calm tone. It seemed he had completely come to terms with it by now.
"I should have spent the rest of my life as a gladiator, but fortunately, I met Count Sarik!"
"He is a true noble, a wise and great noble!"
The Bald Man's eyes were filled with respect as he spoke. It was hard to believe that such a monstrously powerful legendary gladiator would admire anyone so deeply. Count Sarik must truly have been remarkable.
"Not only did he pardon my crimes, he even dealt with that bastard noble for me."
"That man had repeatedly violated Kingdom Law. Count Sarik exposed his crimes to the King, who convened a tribunal. In the end, his title was stripped and his lands confiscated!"
"Count Sarik possesses outstanding character. He could never be blinded by money. I believe he will not let that beast Scarface continue doing whatever he pleases!"
Harrot remained a quiet listener as he heard The Bald Man out. At last, he sighed along with him. "Count Sarik truly is an extraordinary man!"
The Bald Man assumed Harrot admired Count Sarik's excellence just as he did, never realizing Harrot's admiration carried an entirely different meaning.
Violating Kingdom Law? That was only something used to fool Commoners. The Kingdom of Lucanir had been founded jointly by the royal family and many noble houses. Compared to the other nobles, the King merely possessed greater territory and stronger power. Strictly speaking, there was no true superior-subordinate relationship between them.
In Harrot's impression, the status of nobles in such countries generally stood above ordinary law. As long as a noble had not committed grave crimes such as treason or rebellion, all he needed to do was pay a huge fine to the King and the other noble jurors.
Personally, Harrot was more inclined to believe this had been a conflict of interests and a political struggle between nobles. That noble had been the loser, while the so-called trial was merely a formality.
What he admired was Count Sarik's ability to crush his opponent while simultaneously gaining three benefits: the opponent's territory, public prestige, and The Bald Man's loyalty.
Count Sarik was a ruthless man! Scarface's death was foreseeable!
"Boss, is your strength considered top-tier in the Kingdom of Lucanir?"
Harrot had already dispelled the unease in his heart and took the opportunity to learn what supernatural abilities humans in this world possessed.
The Bald Man snorted and said irritably, "Are you mocking me? Which noble lord who has awakened their bloodline isn't stronger than me?"
That sentence contained explosive amounts of information. Harrot was a little stunned. What did awakening a bloodline mean? Shouldn't it have been terrifying Battle Aura or unfathomable magic?
And even such a powerful legendary gladiator as The Bald Man could be easily surpassed? Was awakening a bloodline really that absurdly powerful?
Harrot hurriedly pressed on, "What does awakening a bloodline mean? Can only nobles awaken one? I used to live in a remote village, so I don't know much about these things."
The Bald Man was somewhat surprised, but he still answered, "A bloodline is a latent power inherited from one's ancestors and contained within the body. Once awakened, it grants tremendous strength."
"Every noble who awakens a bloodline experiences a huge increase in physical abilities and gains a supernatural power as well. Count Sarik, for example, can release and control flames!"
"The greatest difference between nobles and Commoners is whether they possess the Heroic Bloodline! This may not be common knowledge, but anyone with even a little worldly experience knows something about it."
"Generally, lords deliberately spread this knowledge to increase the loyalty of their subjects. The lord of the village where you grew up was probably a fallen noble whose bloodline had run dry."
Information was limited in this world, and many villagers never left their village for their entire lives. It was perfectly normal for the original Harrot, a country bumpkin, not to know these things.
Harrot's mind raced. As expected, just as he had guessed, humans in this world possessed supernatural powers too!
But why did only nobles have them? Harrot was deeply unwilling to accept that. Everyone yearned for those supernatural abilities, and Harrot was no exception, even with a system.
After all, the "Mount and Blade" system was simply too plain. It did not even have any visual effects.
"Only nobles have the Heroic Bloodline? Why don't Commoners have bloodlines?" Harrot asked indignantly. Subconsciously, he believed this was a lie fabricated by the upper nobility to make ruling Commoners easier.
The Bald Man did not answer Harrot's question directly. Instead, he said with a smile, "You're just like I was when I was young. I thought it was unfair too. There was no reason nobles should have bloodlines while Commoners did not. It had to be false information deliberately spread by the nobles."
"But later, I understood a truth and recognized my own limits."
"It isn't that only nobles possess bloodlines. Rather, only those with bloodlines can become nobles!"
Harrot froze upon hearing those words. After thinking for a moment, he dismissed the conspiracy theories in his mind. That statement was more convincing than any conspiracy.
"It isn't that only nobles possess bloodlines. Rather, only those with bloodlines can become nobles!"
Those words were quite discouraging, especially for outstanding Commoners. They essentially sealed off their prospects and future.
Without a bloodline, no matter how hard one worked, one could only remain a Commoner for life and would never possess great power. Even The Bald Man, who stood at the peak of ordinary human combat ability, was still no match in battle for a noble who had awakened a bloodline.
Harrot was a transmigrator with a system, yet even he felt deeply disappointed. One could imagine how much the other outstanding Commoners in this world suffered.
The Bald Man patted Harrot's shoulder and comforted him, "Maybe you can't accept it right now, but you'll slowly come to terms with it in the future!"
"Besides, not every noble can awaken a bloodline. Quite a few noble families have their titles stripped after going too long without anyone awakening a bloodline!"
"Everyone has their own troubles. Since you can't become someone above others, make the most of what is in front of you. Tomorrow's gladiatorial battle with the magical beast is what matters most to you!"
Harrot was stunned for a moment, then nodded and replied,
"Mm, I understand. I'm a gladiator. Whether I can become a noble has nothing to do with me. Escaping my status as a slave is the real issue!"
Although he claimed not to care, Harrot still had trouble falling asleep when he returned to his cell to rest.
Do I really not have a bloodline? Can I not become a noble? I'm so unwilling to accept this. Even after transmigrating into this world, am I still just a nobody?
Before transmigrating, Harrot had been an ordinary person. His grades were ordinary, his athletic ability was ordinary, and his appearance was ordinary.
Although he had faced all kinds of difficulties and crises after transmigrating, and was currently only a slave gladiator without freedom, Harrot still held great hopes in his heart. This was another world with dragons, elves, and magic!
Would anyone who came to such a fantasy world with a system be content to spend a peaceful, ordinary life as a common town guard or caravan escort?
Harrot drifted into sleep with regret in his heart.
In his dream, he wielded a peerless divine weapon. Accompanied by an elven girl, dwarven brothers, several Knight underlings, and a bard responsible for recording his glorious deeds while shouting "666," he went to slay an evil dragon that had invaded the Kingdom's territory.
After defeating the dragon, he bathed in its blood, greatly extending his lifespan. The Kingdom rewarded him with vast wealth and land. Harrot became a dragon-slaying hero and noble lord admired by everyone.
He married eight wives in total. Elves, humans, Mermaids, big-breasted women, long-legged women, women skilled in bed—he had them all.
Dream Harrot was omnipotent and lived with incomparable freedom.
Then he woke up. Harrot was still that slave gladiator, that gladiator trapped in a cell and unable to move freely, that gladiator who had to wager his life against a magical beast for the audience's amusement.
Harrot stared at the iron bars before him, let out a deep sigh, and sat in a daze. Then he suddenly laughed, grinning from ear to ear.
So I desire an extraordinary life this badly? Wealth, beautiful women, fame, lifespan... My ambitions are so vulgar!
Dreams have everything, but unfortunately, I can't live in a dream. So I'll work hard and face reality!
Dreams were dreams precisely because they were difficult to realize and divorced from reality. Harrot knew his dream could not become reality, but he still wanted to strive for it.
Harrot no longer dwelled on his regrets. He slapped his cheeks and headed for the Training Ground full of fighting spirit, beginning his warm-up as he prepared for a life-and-death battle with the magical beast.
So what if he had no bloodline? He possessed a miraculous system beyond reality, as well as all kinds of precious knowledge from his previous life. He believed he could surely write his own legend!
Now, he was no longer fighting merely to survive. He was also fighting for his dreams.
Before you continue