CHAPTER I

The crowd couldn't stop cheering and shouting from the very first moment I went onto the battlefield. I had made it to the great final and I was going to face one of the most brutal opponents I had ever fought. That year, John Lawyer had found a real champion for his ludclub; one really worth it. His name was Theodor. He was around 2.10 metres tall, although it didn't matter at that moment, for the only thing I could think of was how to defeat him. It wasn't going to be an easy battle even though I had been analysing his weakest points for months. My intention was to make him get dizzy and tired, so it was not going to be a short combat.

As soon as the start signal was given, I drew my sword; the most stunning katana ever seen. A golden cobra, whose head stuck out, rolled around the hilt, which was long enough to be held with two hands; and a clip point silver blade, much longer than a common sword, grew out of it.

Theodor started trying to corner me so that he could slice me up, yet he didn't know who he was facing. I faked that I was going to fall into his trap by retreating every time he attacked; I just focused on dodging his sword until I was led to the corner over which Leader Oldus, Lord Lawyer, Lord Centric and other representatives of the country were watching the show from the leader's box. When I had finally reached the corner, I waited until Theodor was close enough to carry out the idea that I had just come up with: going up onto the fence and jumping towards my opponent as quickly as I could, before he could even react. After I had parted him from his head with my sharp katana, the giant fell on his knees, which meant that I was the new national champion in Sapagna. For yet another year, Ben Centric's ludclub had defeated John Lawyer's.

Before leaving the battlefield, I could hear how the people of Mentrish shouted my name euphorically as if they had seen a god. Actually, that's what I felt I was at that moment: the god of gods.

Then, it was time for something I could not get very excited about: a press conference. Luckily, before entering the room, my colleagues rushed towards me almost burying me under them. They were noticeably excited because of my win, which, in some way, was also theirs. For four consecutive years, Ben Centric's ludclub had reached the top, whereas John Lawyer and his men kneeled before us. Such a sensation can't be expressed in words; and in fact, we couldn't exchange many because, after my colleagues had congratulated me, Lord Centric approached and spoke to me, intoxicated by the triumph.

We could barely exchange more than a few words since, after my colleagues had congratulated me, Centric approached and talked to me.

"Who am I looking at? Tell me who I am looking at, because I'm not sure whether it is a god or a man!" he exclaimed in ecstasy.

Centric was a man in his sixties, with a long white beard and medium-length white hair. Behind his shirt, a big round belly stood out.

"Definitely at a god, my lord," I confirmed as smiling wickedly.

Centric couldn't help guffawing. "We'll continue this conversation at the ludclub tomorrow, okay? Now go deal with the press."

"It's not an easy deed, my lord. I'd rather face any of Lawyer's stings right now," I asserted without hesitation.

He laughed again and let me alone in front of the press.

I didn't appreciate Ben at all, but I had to pretend I did so that everything kept on going well between us. The black sting-lord relationship needed to be cordial if such black stings wanted to prosper; otherwise, their lords would find a way for them to die in the arena.

Well, it was time to answer those junk questions that journalists always used to ask. The first question regarded my first year as the champion of my ludclub and how I got to become the national champion. I said that it had been a little hard for me at the beginning, but, with time, you learn how to manage the situation. Charles, the former champion, had prepared me well to be in charge of my ludclub companions. They had all worked fantastically during the season and the results were clearly seen, if the numbers of people who had attended each combat were considered. The fights between black stings belonging to Lawyer's ludclub had not even half the audiences of the combats which Centric's stings took part in.

The second question was about my brother's arrival at the ludclub. As the champion of Centric's ludclub, I could meet the lord in order to arrange ideas that could help improve the ludclub and its reputation; so, I advised Centric to go to the arena in Windswept City, the capital city of Windland, where I used to fight, so that he could watch my brother in action, and he could ensure that all I had told him about Severus was true. Severus was young, so Centric didn't have to pay much money for bringing him to Mentrish. That year, he began his training along with Wert, another trainee, and, undoubtedly, they both were ready to participate in the following season's contest.

I was asked five more questions which it is not worthwhile to talk about, and then I left the room. A private car was waiting for me at the doors of the arena to drive me home; it had been a long day and I needed some rest.

However, to my surprise, an unexpected visitor was standing in front of my house when I got home. I could see an old man, who was quite slim and tall, and whose beard and hair were white. It was Leader Oldus, who wasn't alone, by the way. There he was, by the side of the Minister of Sport and Education, William Swansea, who was a man in his late forties, with short curly brown hair and pale skin; and both were surrounded by ten soldiers.

"Good night, champion. It's been an incredible fight with an outstanding performance of yours. Pitifully, I cannot say the same about your gigantic opponent. I thought he did well during the season, but now I opine that perhaps his rivals were not worthy of participating in a national championship," Leader Oldus spoke honestly.

"Good night, sirs. It is always an honour to be visited by the leader of Sapagna. I must show my gratitude for your words, Mr. Oldus. In my humble opinion, I think I was smarter than Theodor. He had just one plan and he thought it would work, but right now he may still be finding his head in the arena," I replied, trying to be kind by making that joke, although I wasn't sure whether they had found it funny or not.

"May we come in? We have a lot of things to talk about, if you are interested, Mr. Wildfred," Swansea asked me politely.

"Undoubtedly, sirs. Feel at home. Please, come in. I will see what I can offer you. My maid shopped yesterday, so there must be plenty of drinks in the fridge," I guessed.

Actually, I was still flipping out. The leader was at my home. I was wondering what he was going to propose me. I picked out a bottle of white wine that I found in the fridge. I knew Leader Oldus' tastes because I used to read a magazine called Gossips on the Top, where information about the wealthiest people in the country was published.

Oldus and Swansea had sat on the sofa when I walked out of the kitchen. I served three cups of wine and sat opposite them as the soldiers waited outside.

"Well, sirs. What purpose has led you here?" I enquired, intrigued. "I'm looking forward to pleasing you as well as I can."

"Leader Oldus has come up with a great idea that will help the country prosper; but to make it true, we need help from the most influential person in the country, the national black sting champion, who is you, to inspire the people and convince them to follow our...suggestion," the Minister of Sport and Education hinted.

"What type of suggestion are we talking about, Mr. Swansea?" I queried.

"For longer than a century, we the leaders made people forget the word war and any others belonging to its lexical field thanks to the fact of having isolated this country from the rest of the world in all senses. However, out there, there are many countries which keep on fighting each other for several reasons. One of those reasons is natural resources, Mr. Wildfred. We have plenty of them for our own, but there are others who need to take them from abroad. The problem is we are alone, for Sapagna has no allies, and you know that our army is not ready for war because we have lived in peace for more than a hundred years," Oldus explained.

"I'm sorry, Leader Oldus, but I don't see the point of this matter. Could you tell me what my role would be in all this?", I asked him, confused.

"Mr. Swansea and I have been discussing this idea for months, and we both think that, if some country would dare invade us, we would need not only our army but also every black sting to face such an invasion," the leader clarified.

"We need more black stings," Swansea took the floor. "Leader Oldus and I are here to ask you to collaborate, Mr. Wildfred. Your image will be at every corner of the country so that all youngsters and young adults become part of a ludclub in order to begin their preparation."

"Moreover, a new rule will be approved for next season," the leader added. "No black sting will be killed in the arena unless I request it. We will need all of them if any foreign armies dare invade us."

"But...to train so many black stings will entail a substantial outlay. Where will you take the money from in order to afford so many facilities, weapons, coaches...?" I wondered.

"Leader Oldus has requested me to close all public educational facilities throughout the country due to the plausible menace, and I totally agree with that idea. Children are not interested in mathematics, chemistry, biology...They only look forward to enjoying black sting contests in the arena. All children dream of becoming the national champion one day. We will help them make their dreams come true; and those who fail will not need any further studies to serve the nation as farmers, builders, fishermen, or any other productive jobs," Minister Swansea expunded.

"Come on, Champion. I assure you your bank account will appreciate your collaboration with the government every month. Trust me. I have been the leader of Sapagna for 46 years. No candidates have ever surpassed my test results; which means that there is nobody more prepared than me to lead this country," Leader Oldus tried to persuade me. "Join me, Exeus. Help me save our country."

I took some time to consider the offer. I had just become the national champion and I was already under pressure. I drank up the wine and breathed deeply. I remembered that, when I was younger, I left school because my parents needed me in the fields; but I would have liked to continue my studies if I could have done it. Unfortunately, circumstances didn't let it happen. The only reason I chose to turn into a black sting was the considerable amount of money that I was going to be paid. I transferred most of it to my parents when I was fighting in Windswept City, but I stopped doing it when I came to Mentrish because Charles made me believe that their fates were none of my business anymore.

After a long meditation, I couldn't accept their proposal. I considered that knowledge was an essential factor in society. Those who intended to dedicate their lives to academic matters in order to keep trying to improve people's quality of life should have the right to do it. It was not Oldus' view, however.

I told them that I couldn't help them fulfil their purpose since I didn't share their thoughts. I would keep on training hard to keep being a champion worthy of the people who supported me, but I would be lying to myself if I agreed to take part in such a reform.

My decision didn't satisfy Leader Oldus at all. He expected something else from me, and told me that we would meet again before season 2667 began. He encouraged me to think of it more calmly during my holidays.

I agreed, although I knew that my opinion wasn't going to change.

After Oldus and Swansea had left, I started thinking about how I would celebrate my victory over Theodor in the national contest. The following day, I had to go to Centric's ludclub to discuss how we would share the gains. I wanted to spend some in a celebration along with my ludclub colleagues. I wanted to join all of them in spite of knowing that Arnes didn't like celebrations; so, my challenge was to convince him. I thought of how I would achieve it while lying on my bed, but I couldn't think for long as I fell asleep immediately due to tiredness.