State of Mind

From how the Regulator gives his briefing to the Gladiators, Ramero can sort of guess that the school they are up against, the Gladiator School of Clarity is the nemesis of the Gladiator School of Tyranny.

It was easy to guess since the Regulator dangles the reward of freedom to the Gladiators.

Ramero is not an expert on medieval history and doesn't really know how Gladiators work, but he can safely assume that a Gladiator needs to sweat blood and tears to achieve freedom. At least that is what the Gladiators that have no choice but to be thrown into the Gladiator School want.

The Regulator promises that reward should be a big deal, and many Gladiators are pumped.

'Well if I were the Regulator, I can just say that to boost the Gladiators' morale but not grant them freedom after they win the match. That's probable...' Ramero thought. In his experience, when something is too good to be true then it probably is.

After the briefing ended, they were escorted to their quarters for the match.

Since Ramero is still at the bottom thirty in the ranks of the school, his turn comes relatively fast. A worker of the Deathbound Colosseum came to the quarters and announced that the first match is going to start, and Ramero is amongst the first chosen Gladiators.

Instantly after that, some of the Gladiators started to show a hint of nervousness.

There's a clear indication why the hospitality of the Deathbound Colosseum for the Gladiators is top-notch, and that is because this day will be the last day of many Gladiators' lives. More than thirty Gladiators are going to die on this day at least.

Ramero knows that the first three matches are the undercard that consists of weaker Gladiators.

A battle of 10 versus 10, a complete all-out brawl of two opposing sides. Not only that, but the Regulator also reminds them to not team up, it's distasteful for the crowd if they charged at the opposing sides in a formation or so.

Well, Ramero can't blame them as they want brutal fights. Not an orderly fight.

Just as the Deathbound Colosseum's worker came back to pick the ten Gladiators for the first match, Ramero can feel the air becoming heavy, the tension rising high, and the entire room is covered in silence.

If a pin dropped to the ground at this very moment, everyone would hear it.

As he stood up he can feel his body trembling vigorously, 'Am I really scared for this first match...?' Ramero thought with a frown, he then shakes his head as he doesn't feel fear at all. But then he was confused as to what made his body tremble like this.

Soon enough he realized that it was not fear, but excitement instead!

'Living in the modern world like my home city, punching people is a scarcity as you can get sued and get immense backlash. But now, I can do anything I want!' Ramero thought excitedly, he's living the dream life at this very moment.

Of course, he suspects that this excitement is also due to the Constitution of Sparta legacy skill.

From the description of the skill, he remembered that the legacy skill amplify his desire for battle. Since his desire is already high already, the legacy skill amplified it to the point of his entire being trembling out of excitement.

Many would probably find him weird if they knew what he's feeling right now.

Ramero follows the lead of the worker but his hand got held by Silver Fists, he glanced back in confusion. "Don't hesitate or you'll die in there" Silver Fists said, and Ramero nodded in understanding.

In his perspective, Ramero probably looks like he was new in this kind of life.

Sadly he has already accustomed to killing out defending himself or even the orders of the higher-ups. If Silver Fists saw the blood and gore of the assassins that attacked Ramero's cell, he might not say this.

With that Silver Fists lets go of his wrist as Ramero heads to the door.

'Okay, act cool' Ramero thought when he saw a noticeable figure standing beside the door.

Champion of Tyranny was standing by the door with an interested look on his face. A wind of relief hits Ramero when the sight of the door is already near, a couple more steps before he managed to flee this weird situation.

But a voice called out to him, stopping the tracks of his steps, "Hey, Greenhorn!"

"Yes...?" Ramero turns his body sideways, looking at Champion of Tyranny who is looking at him with his arms crossed. Muscle definitions can be seen all over, and the immense power and strength can be seen flowing in his veins from the outside.

Pausing for a moment, Champion of Tyranny smirked, "Don't shame the school, I'm watching you"

Upon hearing this Ramero can feel beads of sweat seeping out from under his skin, 'What the fuck did he mean by watching me?!' he shouted inside his head. "I will try my best." he forced out a reply before hurriedly scurrying away.

A moment later, Ramero and the nine other Gladiators intricately walk along a round hallway.

Shadows cast its grasp in this hallway that it needed torches along the wall to ward the way for the Gladiators passing it. Walking steadily and almost in rhythm with the worker, they find themselves at a junction with a metal portcullis barricading the gate leading outside.

The worker stopped in front of it and turns around, "Stand here while the rest follow me"

One Gladiator was told to stand right at the metal portcullis while the other nine were told to follow the worker to the side. The worker repeated that process several times which is confusing, but there must be a logic behind it.

Ramero then noticed that there are multiple gates along the hallway.

Not only that but he also realized the fact that the worker skipped one gate before putting the next Gladiator there, and this keeps on going, decreasing the Gladiator one by one. But then everything makes sense when the remaining Gladiators pass by another worker leading yet another line of Gladiators.

It was the Gladiators from the opposing sides, equipped with their own armor and weapons.

'So that's what they're doing, they deliberately put the Gladiator from our school and the opposing school by turns to probably prevent the Gladiators from teaming up' Ramero thought, the last missing puzzle is complete.

As this is a fight to the death, there's no saying what the Gladiators are going to do.

Trying their best to clutch ahold of life, the Gladiators might just try teaming up which will disappoint the crowds. Due to that, the Deathbound Colosseum has taken a measure to prevent that by doing this.

Passing by the line of the opposing school, Ramero's eyes lit up upon seeing familiar faces.

But that delight in his eyes didn't linger long, his expression contorted into a terrifying bloodthirsty look as he glared at the Gladiators that he recognized. They were the Gladiators that mocked him earlier when they passes by.

"Oh, look! We're paired with that Dog!"

"Lucky us, we're definitely surviving this match easily"

Like before, the two Gladiators run their nasty mouths as they pass Ramero.

Despite the erupting anger inside him alongside his blood flow quickening which makes his face red, Ramero kept silent as he would pay their ridicule in the arena. 'Tick tock, I'm going to make sure to make this day the last day of your lives'

Just as he thought of that, a loud laugh echoed in the hallway which surprises many.

Ramero looks up and saw Laughing Butcher laughing his ass off, tears even came out due to how much he was laughing right now. Wiping the tears, he then glanced at the two Gladiators, "Better watch your back, I have a feeling your death is quite gruesome"

"Why you-!" the Gladiator wanted to brawl with Laughing Butcher but was stopped.

Under the gaze of the worker that is leading the Gladiators from the School of Clarity, the said Gladiator clicks his tongue and refrains from doing anything rash. It seems there will be a heavy consequence if he were to act out.

Passing the other school, Laughing Butcher glanced back at Ramero with a thumb up.

"Don't embarrass me, Noble Brat. I already stick up to you so make sure you kill those boys good" he said with a confident smile, showing that he has definite confidence that Ramero would teach those Gladiators a lesson that would cost them their lives.

But this makes a light smile appeared on Ramero's face, "Don't worry, I'll kill them good alright..."

Many possibilities of the death of those Gladiators are purring inside his murderous mind, he would make sure that their deaths would be the showcase of the first match. Putting a heavy burden on the next match to overcome the gruesome deaths that Ramero is already prepared to do.

[Side-Quest - Victims of Mockery]

Two Gladiators mocked the host and saw the host as easy prey, it was a disgrace as a potential Spartan Incarnate to be seen as a weakling. Show the world that the host is not easy prey, make sure this never happens again!

Quest Reward: 10,000 Points, 10,000 Exp, and Warrior's Intellect Potion.

'Well, thanks for the goodies assholes' Ramero thought with a smile, he would gain a lot from finishing this side quest. Of course, he would thank the two Gladiators greatly for this, but he would use his short sword instead of his words.

A moment later, Ramero stands behind the gate in the dim-lighted spot.

Despite the heavy fortification of the gate that is stamped in steel to the wall, the cheering of the crowds makes the entire place trembles. Even some debris from the ceiling falls down occasionally each time the crowd burst.

Ramero is currently closing his eyes, he's concentrating on himself.

'Calm yourself down, try to remember the state of mind needed to face a battle revolving around life and death. I know you are eager for a fight, but a fight is not fun if you don't wind and also don't survive to feel the end of the exhiliration'

Inside his mind, Charlie's voice echoed to remind him of what to do before a fight.

During many occasions of secret operations, Charlie has always tried his best to remind Ramero if he started doing something reckless. And those wise words that he said saved Ramero numerous times, it's the reason why he can still survive that long in the special force.

For Ramero, Charlie is the ultimate warrior, almost like a teacher and a best friend all at once.

After putting his mind in the perfect state of battle, Ramero opens his eyes as the announcer's muffled voice seeped into his ears, the first match is about to begin and the crowd is burning with sensational anticipation.

"Charlie, this fight is for you. I'll dedicate this fight solely to you" Ramero mutters softly.

Rumble!

Right after he said that the metal portcullis makes a steely heavy sound as it got lifted off of the ground slowly, the start of the first match is seconds away from starting. Upon the gate opening, he would dwell on his first performance.

Little by little, the metal portcullis finally reached the top and the gate slowly knocked open.

Clenching the short sword in his right hand and a shield in his left hand, Ramero is ready for the battle that awaits him. Traces of light can be seen seeping in from below, fresh air gushed inside, and the sound of trickling water can be heard.

A frown appeared on Ramero's face when he heard these weird noises besides the cheering crowd.

But when the gate was opened completely and the light of the arena's scenery seeped into his eyes, Ramero sucked in a cold breath, "What in the world...? The arena, I think it's way different than what I imagined it to be"