I raised a brow.
’The Atium Shards?’
That was the first thought that came to my mind. After all, it would take a large number of Atium Shards to emit such an immense amount of energy in the pits.
I half-opened my eyes, my gaze settling on the entrance of the aberrant pits. Ahead, a few Roman soldiers appeared in my line of sight, walking into the pit with numerous crystalline energy sources. The crystal objects were bright and luminous, shimmering like a sea of stars in the deep hours of the night.
Most of the Roman soldiers swept through the gladiators with condescending gazes, uttering a few words of contempt. A while later, they proceeded to distribute the Atium shards. Some of the gladiators received the Shards with expressionless looks. Others, mostly the weaker gladiators, rushed to absorb the Atium shards the moment they received them. It was as though they were scared that if they delayed even a moment longer, the shards would be taken from them.
However, I knew the Roman soldiers wouldn’t do such a thing. They’d probably deem it beneath them. Unless, of course, in certain special circumstances. Although I very much doubted a single Atium shard would be enough to awaken the avarice within them. As a result, I was more or less convinced that this was because the stronger gladiators were preying on the weaker ones.
And whether I liked it or not, that wasn’t going to change. Nor could I do anything about it.
Shaking my head, I sighed. ’Perhaps the weak truly have no choice but to be preyed upon.’
...A few moments later, a Roman soldier arrived before me, handing me four Atium shards. I nodded, wrapping my hands around them before examining each one. I found nothing wrong with them and exhaled in relief.
Calling out to one of the soldiers, a fairly familiar face among them, I inquired about getting a cave room. The Roman soldier glanced sideways at me before muttering:
"One Atium shard."
"Oh."
I had thought he would attempt to cheat me, however subtle he could, and get away with. But I guess I was either wrong, or... they’d been warned against it. Whichever one it was, though, I couldn’t be bothered to care.
"Thanks," I said, handing one Atium shard to the soldier.
I didn’t even consider the possibility of him taking the Atium shard and refusing to follow through with the room allocation. He could possibly do that to low-ranking gladiators, but against gladiators such as myself, who had hopes of passing the Elite Romans’ Academy Trials — however low the chances might be — he’d be tempting fate by doing so. There was also the question of whether he’d remain in one piece if word ever reached Valerius’s ears.
The Roman soldier, however, held out his hand after receiving the Atium shard, eliciting a light frown from me. It was then that a soft chuckle reached my ears.
The young Terrisman waved at the Roman soldier, who gave me a cold glare before walking toward him. The young Terrisman then proceeded to hand over a dozen or so denarii coins to the soldier, deepening the frown on my features.
Why hadn’t I expected something like bribery?
Azrael motioned for the Roman soldier to lean forward, then spoke in a hushed tone for a few seconds before handing him something. He then drew back, resting against the cold bars.
"Alright." The Roman soldier nodded. "I’ll get it done."
"Thanks, Maezel," the young Terrisman replied with a smile.
Maezel nodded at Azrael, not sparing me another glance before walking out of the pits.
The young terrisman glanced at me. "Do you know why I place so much importance on the cave room and advocate getting one?"
"For training?"
"Well, yes." Azrael shook his head. "However, much of it is due to the fact that you’ve offended quite a few tribal factions, and it’s never a bad idea to be careful." He paused, as though thinking about something, before continuing.
"Staying here inside the pits, you’re restrained, and the chances of you being able to resist any assassination attempt are quite... minimal, to say the least. However, if you were to get a cave room, the chances of that happening would be almost zero. Whoever wants to take your life would have to pay quite a terrible price — one they’d be very much unwilling to pay."
"Wait..." I suddenly frowned at his words. If I understood his meaning correctly, he was implying that I could be attacked in the pits?!
"You mean I can be attacked in the pits?"
"Well... by the gladiators? Not really. The Roman soldiers, on the other hand, certainly have the means to do so. It’s just that very few are willing or able to pay the price."
Azrael’s words sent a cold chill down my spine. I didn’t think I was strong enough to resist a powerful Roman soldier, least of all while I was confined within a small cage.
"I guess you should now understand why I emphasize getting one," The young Terrisman said with a light smile.
I said nothing, my heart racing at the countless scenarios that could easily lead to my death.
"You should absorb your shards," Azrael said a few seconds later. "You’re gonna need them very soon."
After saying that, he also closed his eyes, preparing to absorb his Atium shard. I frowned at his words, especially since he clearly had no intention of revealing any further information.
"Fucking Terrisman," I muttered under my breath, eliciting a light chuckle from him.
Calming my mind, I pushed aside all distracting thoughts and lingering concerns, exhaling deeply before grasping one of the Atium shards. I could sense a large amount of energy rapidly flowing from the shard into my body. I focused on the strands of energy, sensing them settle into my bones and muscles, further refining and strengthening them. A few strands of energy were drawn inward, slowly being gathered by the Dark Soul Core within me.
Of course, I could’ve absorbed the Atium shard at a faster rate. However, considering my supposed A-rank talent, doing so would have been foolish as it would easily raise suspicions.
Absorbing the energy contained within the Atium shards at a steady pace, I felt a growing hunger for more as I continued consuming the Shards, my strength rising with every passing second. Along with it, I could feel my soul core changing.
I couldn’t really explain what was happening with the bizarre, revolving soul core, as everything it did seemed to contradict everything I knew about soul cores. For one thing, it seemed to possess an instinct of its own, acting without my command. Or, was it the fact that it was able to absorb some sort of energy from those I slew? However, considering the fact that it was a core that gave birth to an SSS ranked ability, it did make sense that it wouldn’t conform to certain norms and rules.
I could feel my organs strengthening, my heart pounding rapidly, and blood surging through my veins at an accelerated pace. Somehow, the Soul Core seemed to be purifying the energy from the Atium shard, drawing it inward before distributing small amounts of the strange energy throughout my body and strengthening me in the process. I could sense my vitality increasing at a rapid pace as well.
Moments later, I realized I had already absorbed the three Atium shards, their crystalline forms crumbling into pieces.
"What a pity," I muttered as I opened my eyes, the dark aura emanating from me growing stronger at an alarming rate.
If I had a few more of those, that would’ve been great. Though I could feel that I’d hit a certain barrier, and I would need a substantial amount of Atium shards or other large sources of energy to overcome it. Although the thought of the numerous resources needed to do so terrified me a little, I felt it would eventually be worth it.
Hopefully.
Sensing someone staring at me from the darkness, my brows narrowed. ’Hmm... interesting. I definitely couldn’t do that before.’
I turned my head to face the young Terrisman, who squinted his eyes.
"What?"
The young Terrisman tilted his head. "Nothing," he replied hesitantly. "Something just seems off about the current you."
"I grew stronger, obviously," I replied, rolling my eyes.
"Well... yeah. I can’t deny that," Azrael said. "However, that isn’t the weird thing."
He shook his head.
"It seems to have something to do with your... Soul Core?"
I paused, shaken by his words. Was there something in this world this guy couldn’t figure out?!
Calming my racing heart, I asked with an amused expression:
"Why do you say so?"
Azrael frowned, then shrugged it off with a wave of his hand. "Forget about it. As long as you become stronger, that’s the only thing that matters."
I nodded, mostly because I also really had no interest in conversing any further on this particular topic, lest the young Terrisman figured something out.
I was about to speak when I sensed a figure inching closer, their aura significantly above mine.
"..."
I frowned. ’I seem to have gained the ability to assess the strength of those around me.’
I confirmed it after sensing numerous other beacons of energy around me. However, just as I expected, apart from the fact that I could sense the young Terrisman, I couldn’t really glean anything else about him. Not his aura nor his strength range.
In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought him to be a mortal.
However, I already knew better than to dwell on strange occurrences when it came to the young Terrisman, so I simply shrugged it off. A while later, the Roman soldier I’d sensed walking towards us arrived, pushing open the creaking doors to our pits.
"You both can follow me to your cave rooms," Maezel said, not waiting for a response before walking away.
I glanced at Azrael.
"..."
"..."
Why wasn’t I surprised that he’d also gotten a cave room?
Shaking my head, I glanced at my metal-barred cell one last time before walking out of the pits. Azrael chuckled softly, a light smile crossing his lips as he flipped the strange coin in his hand.
When the coin landed, a cold, hidden glint seemed to flash across his eyes for a moment before he finally stepped out of the pits.
The light, charming smile slowly spread across his face once again.