2 Chapter 2

Despite the hardness and dryness of the bread, Rezen still ate it without complaining. Even the almost transparent soup was drunk by him

In the past, this type of food is not something that Rezen would eat. It was simply unpalatable with little to no nutritional value

He already misses his former world - earth where he could eat all sorts of delicious food

Although his current world was also called earth, it wasn't his homeworld. From his hypothesis, this should be a parallel world where the concept of mana and mana warriors exists

The planet's level of technology was not that much different compared to his previous world but the law and how people live are completely different

In this place, killing is a common thing. It happens every day without fail. Inhuman treatments are rampant as people with the ability to tear the skies and shake the earth exists

In short, it was a world with the law of the jungle prevalent. It was the cliche concept of the strong eats the weak

However, no matter how cliche that sounds, as long as the person doesn't personally experience it, they would not be able to understand just how cruel that concept was

In this world, Rezen was forced to harden his heart and become a cold man. He was not stupid

He read many novels and he also has common sense. Rezen is completely aware that as long as he is still weak, he cannot completely trust someone and that kindness would not do him good

The only fortunate thing was that the body he is currently inhibiting has a high level of talent that made things a bit easier for him

In fact, it even gave him room to think of a plan on how he could escape this place

Rezen ate half of his bread and half of his soup before looking in a certain direction

In the corner of the cafeteria, around fifteen or so people can be seen. The other slaves have food on their table but those fifteen people don't have even a single piece of bread

That means that they don't have anything that could fill their stomach that was already begging them for food

The reason why every slave strives to show a good performance in the sparring matches was to obtain food

If they ended up in the bottom rank that did the worse performance, they would not be given food

The most frustrating part of it was that there is no fixed number of people that would not be able to eat

Sometimes it would be ten people but sometimes it could even be more than twenty. Thus, the slaves could only do everything they can to rank as high as possible

Rezen's eyes locked on a certain skinny man from that fifteen people and he stood up from his seat while carrying the tray that still has half of his food

His every move attracted a lot of attention. Everyone was intimated by him especially with his cold and silent demeanor

He is also not someone that don't make unnecessary actions. For him to go towards the people ranked at the bottom today, what exactly is he planning? The other slaves were curious

After some time, Rezen stops in front of the skinny slave that looks fearfully at him

This specific slave almost always ranked at the bottom as his power was simply too weak

"Teach me your transformation magic and I'll give these foods to you" Rezen offered

Out of the seventy slaves, only Rezen has succeeded in using elemental mana attack but that doesn't mean that the others don't have their own abilities

In this world, people can awaken an innate ability. It can range from the low-level fireball that Rezen uses earlier up to something that would cause the end of the world. Of course, the stronger the innate ability was, the rarer it would be

The skinny slave actually awakened his innate ability early on, unfortunately, it was a weak and trashy one

His ability could only let him change his appearance. It sounds good but if a mana warrior were to focus even just a bit on him, they would immediately notice the transformation magic

If it was the type of transformation that would completely turn a person into another person including their aura without letting the others know, this slave would surely be held in high regard. Unfortunately, although he has the fortune to awaken an innate ability, it was a trash one

"Y-you want to learn my innate ability?" The slave muttered in surprise

Innate Ability although sounds cool isn't always cool. Even the low-level fireball that Rezen uses can be a person's innate ability

The only difference between innate ability and other magic was that the user would be able to learn and wield it easier compared to the ones that they had learned

Why would someone at Rezen's level want to learn such a trashy ability?

"Knowing one more move even if it's a trash one is still better than nothing" Rezen said while nodding his head

The Bloodthirsty Wolves only taught the [Fire Style: Fireball] to the slaves. That mana attack is one of the basic of basic magic

Aside from physical combat, at this stage, the slaves could only either use their awakened innate ability or master the fireball which wasn't an easy thing to do even if it's a low-level magic

Rezen's words made sense to everyone although he has a plan on what to use the transformation magic for

The skinny slave doesn't think much of Rezen's offer. He was originally overjoyed after he awakened an innate ability but it didn't last long as he ended up disappointed at how useless it is

If he can use the useless magic of his to obtain food then he would be more than happy to do so!

"I accept! I accept! But please let me ear first!"

As expected, the slave didn't reject the offer making the others envious, especially the bottom fifteen

Although they can't get food, these slaves were still in the cafeteria in hopes that there would be even a few leftover crumbs that would be left for them to eat from the plates of the other slaves

Now, they wish that they have an innate ability even if it was a useless one if it meant that they could obtain food

——

After the skinny slave ate, he and Rezen immediately head to the training grounds. Since the gang wants to nurture strong slaves, the slaves were almost always free as long as they train their powers

As such, it wouldn't be hard to find a place and time for Rezen to be taught by the skinny slave

"Okay, please listen to me as I explain my ability" the slave said. Since he has already eaten Rezen's food, he must teach him as much as possible

If not, who knows what this silent demon would do to him

The slave first explained the key points of his ability but since he don't really train it that much, he wasn't able to explain things properly

Innate abilities were after all mostly instinctual. The user could grasp how to use the ability even without studying it

As such, the slave could only explain his ability in a crude manner. Even then, Rezen still understood it as he is not as simple as he looks like

"I'm going to demonstrate it now. You might be able to learn it easier if I show you" the slave said before closing his eyes

He focuses on the flow of mana inside his body and he controlled them with his mind in a systematic manner

"[Magic Art: Transform!]"

Soon, the slave's body instantly changes. His appearance was completely different from before

Instead of his usual skinny and ugly appearance, it was turned into a man that chicks would go crazy for

As Rezen is the one in front of him which makes visualization easier, the slave transformed into Rezen. Albeit there was some difference

The slave's skills were too lacking as he could not completely copy Rezen's appearance. It was a lower version one

People would not even need to stare at the two for long to notice the differences

The slave knew that he was lacking and he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I could only do this much" he apologizes but Rezen shook his head

"It's enough. You can do whatever you want to do now" Rezen said before walking to the side of the training grounds

He is confident that he can learn and master that simple transformation magic fast. However, he cannot be too flashy

If he showed too much talent, who knows what will happen to him

"One week, I only have one week to escape from this place or else, I would be a slave forever" Rezen thought while clenching his fist

He is roughly aware of the potential that he has but he cannot let it bloom fully right now. If he were to show too much talent, it would only do him harm

As such, Rezen could only continue to hone his combat skills using his fists, feet, daggers, and shurikens as those are the less eye-catching ones

It was very frustrating for him that he is many times stronger than people know but he has to act weaker purposely to avoid trouble

——

Exactly 1 week later, the 'initiation rite' of the slaves is now going to start. This was the real deal that would end up with more deaths than before

In the past, there are already some slaves that died from the training. However, the initiation rites or the 'graduation' of the slaves in training is much bloodier

The number of deaths that would occur is certainly higher in number. A person that you just saw a moment ago would soon turn into a corpse

As usual, the graduation would be held in the Death Arena where countless people have died already

This time though the slaves would fight each other one by one and killing is absolutely not prohibited anymore

Although this was called the graduation or the initiation rites, the process was actually simple

The people responsible for the slaves would just call them one by one and have them fight to the death

The loser would die while the winner would live a life that is worse than death. It was an unfair match where all the results are a horrible one

"Gabe and Ken come down now. Give your seniors a good show!" The crooked teeth member of the gang said loud enough for all the slaves to hear

His eyes were glowing brightly despite knowing the fact that a lot of people would die here today

In fact, he even looks greatly excited. He doesn't feel any remorse that the things he would facilitate today would cause deaths

Rezen watched all of this happening with cold eyes. He doesn't want to be this indifferent to people's death but he also doesn't have the luxury to care about other people

This day, he has to kill and Rezen would not hesitate to do that. For him, his life is still the most important. It overshadows his guilt and morals

Not to mention... the life in this hellhole has twisted his personality by a large margin. Rezen seldom speaks but his experiences birthed a demon inside him

If he were to arrive at a certain place where he doesn't need to suppress himself, that demon might even let loose and bring hell

"Kekekeke, why are the two of you look nervous? This is a joyous day! The ones that would pass the test would become official members of our Bloodthirsty Wolves. They would even be awarded with the precious slave collars!"

Slave Collars... that is the thing that Rezen absolutely cannot let be given to him

The slaves as of right now aren't absolute slaves yet. They were merely forced to obey as there are mana warriors around them that can literally kill them in one move