Chapter 6: First Step

"Excellent! It appears that Ms. Astarte's eye is not so blind as to invite weakling into this family. Well I have other jobs to do so figured the rest yourself." Raul who appeared from nowhere, stand upright, tapping his pant to clean the grass that stick to him.

"But wait how exactly should I know what this sword is supposed to do? 'sides you didn't help with anything, it was Dorothy who explained to me the basic" He wasn't even looking at me; his back and his waving hand were the only responses I got.

"At least I've tried asking. Now then," I swung my arm around, my imbalance body was adjusting to the cutlass weight. "Time to find out what this silly weapon can do."

Its appearance was visually striking; the light purple color made me dizzy if I looked at it for too long, but other than that, I couldn't find anything that distinguished it from a standard weapon.

It had a standard length of about 30 inches, and the sharpness was not bad; it could easily cut wood; if I had to say it had the quality of the finest steel, the problem was that it chipped. Hmmm.... How strange, when I was a kid, I used to read stories about how a magical sword had one defining feature, it can maintain its quality even after being used for a long time in war. Guess this was a low-level magic sword in comparison to the one in the story.

When I let go of it, nothing happened; the sword did not vanish, nor did it have any effect when touched by another person (Raul, who was looking from distance).

A magic chant that, when spoken, materialized this cutlass. It would be nice if I could manifest another one since this one was chipped, so once again I chanted it, but nothing happened. I pray to the nameless god with such conviction, but still nothing happens. There was no inkling, no new magic, nothing.

That only means whoever this God was, it wants me to win the gladiator fight with nothing but a chipped normal cutlass.

..-.------.-..

Just like that, my free day had ended. Dragged forcefully while being blindfolded was not the most pleasant experience. "If we didn't blindfold you, you'd just memorize the route and flee." Damn that family for treating me like a toy. Just wait until I got out of the hellhole that was the gladiator fight.

During the journey, Don Westel briefed me some info about this city Burnland and how the place for this gladiator fight was called Colosseum. I didn't find it strange since Astarte basically confirmed others beside me had already come to this world before, it should be expected to find some of their influence still remaining.

Don Westel continued talking without pause, honestly I didn't think he even cared if I was listening. But, I did get some good info about Don Westel. Apparently this city had program where veteran soldier that had expertise in combat could join the city council in exchange for providing protection and enforcing rule. He keeps talking and then the chart that we rode stopped abruptly.

"Here we are Trevor at our destination. C'mon, where is your manner? Show the gentleman here your biggest smile." Don Westel forcefully removed my blindfold, revealing a tall, hairy brown creature with big fangs protruding from its mouth. I assumed the one in front of me was a male based on its body structure and my knowledge of animal.

There was a little distance between us, and yet I could smell the stinky breath from that creature. Not only that, but his eyes were fixed on me, as if it was about to shred me into pieces with the sharp claws on both of its arms and legs.

"Now what? Do you want me to slay this monster as a requirement to enter the gladiator fight?" I asked Don Westel, but all I got was him hiding his face with his hand, which reminds me of the times when I made mistakes in public place and my father would do the same to bury his shame (before beating me for an hour with a wooden stick).

"We may look intimidating to some, but being compared to a monster is a new low." He talk! The monster in front of me is talking like a normal human!

"Sorry, Bjorj, but as you can see, this fellow here is from another world with different culture, and during my briefing I forgot to tell him about the Gosterlingh." Don Westel spoke to that monster casually, treating him like his companion. Bjorj huh? So even monster had individual right to be given a name.

"Those who know naught are sinless." "Normally I will scold you but seen as you know no better then it's only right I explain to you about the Gosterlingh in Don Westel stead." Bjorj looked at Don Westel, asking for approval, and Don Westel answered with a nod, he looked disappointed though as he forgot to explain the most important thing in one of his rambling. "Want it or not, you need to hear my explanation; after all, not everyone in this gladiator fight will treat you kindly if you call them monster."

Bjorj invited us to the Colosseum for better accommodations to hear his story, that's roughly what he said. Honestly I tried not to hear any word from this creature and I didn't like being ordered around by him, but it wasn't like I had a choice since even showing a hint of resistance would trigger Don Westel's reflex to slain me.

Now that I've looked inside, the Colosseum was indeed modeled after the one in my world, yet even though the model was similar, there were many differences. The floor was made of some kind of hard ceramic instead of stone and concrete. The pillar was made of bamboo that had been bundled and sticked together with a clear colored adhesive. From a distance, the Colosseum appears to be made of stone, but it was actually made of from hard wood material that I've never seen before. I also noticed that this place was not only filled with humans, but also by all manner of fairy tale creatures.

"Stop staring at your surroundings Trevor. C'mon, move faster." Don Westel kicked me forward to get my attention, and he sure got it. Still, the only thing I could do to him was glare with spiteful eyes.

"And here we are," Bjorj said as he led us into a chamber where inside it was a spacious room filled with round tables and stone chairs surrounding it. "Take a seat wherever. My explanation will take a while."

"Now, where should I begin? Oh, right, how about by introducing myself first." He stood up, giving a little bow and then being seated again. "As you know, my name is Bjorj, and I'm from of the race of Gosterlingh known as the buggane." Buggane? This is the first time I'm hearing that word.

"Gosterlingh means a creature that was deemed to be God's ally, whereas monster or heretic, as we know it, means any creature that is not classified as Gosterlingh." So monster in this world had different definition from the one in my world. Here someone was not judged as monster by external appearance but by circumstance of birth.

"I see. It's understandable now why you dislike being called a monster. Besides human and buggane, are there any other races that can be classified as Gosterlingh?"

"There are many race that can be considered Gosterlingh, and it would take a whole day for me to list all of them. But, if we are talking purely about Burnland, then the Gosterlingh that is native to here would be human, buganne, scylla, and the accursed fairy."

"Bjorj, how many times must I tell you to never insult the fairy?" Don Westel was angered by that statement, it's his duty after all to uphold order of this city and the act of insulting one of the native here must felt like personal insult to him.

"Oh yeah, if the fairy doesn't want to get hated, then they should behave like a civilized race. My ancestor didn't die to make that smug race prosper."

Hearing the response, Don Westel answered with a statement, and Bjorj replied with a mocking voice. I didn't hear a thing from their banter because my mind was busy enacting a plan.

This world was not as perfect as I thought. While other races were treated equally to human, not all races were born equal, as some were heretic and others were Gosterlingh. Furthermore, there must be some kind of class divide or something similar to that between all races, as evidenced by Bjorj's hatred of fairy. That was excellent. The seed of doubt had already been planted long before I came here. All I needed to do was nurture that doubt, and the idea of this whole society where every race was treated equally might collapse. But first, I needed to gain some influence for this plan, and the quickest way to do so was to win this gladiator fight. I couldn't wait to see how Don Westel would reacted when realized that the punishment he gave me would backfire and instead destroy the order he so fond of.