The opened door of the shed and the same guard with the strange emblem on his chest pull me out of my thoughts about Ni's abilities."Well, have you cooled down a bit? Ready to listen to me?" So, this little shed was needed for me to "cool down"? Ha-ha, very funny."Aren't you afraid to be alone with me? I beat you up pretty good!" I look at the numerous bruises on his face and remember my furious fist work."If your brain works even a little - you won't try anything and you'll listen to me," the guard answers sternly.Well, according to my Ni characteristics, Intelligence: 6 out of 10. Which is quite enough to understand that it's better to listen to this guard."First of all, everything that happened in that room with you and Tate is a strict secret. If you think of telling anyone - we'll have one less slave, you got it?"Hmm, so what happened is most likely illegal. Then it's clear why only one guard came to deal with me, why no full-fledged backup came, why the fat man himself grabbed the club. Another interesting thing: one of Andreas's rumors turned out to be true, funny."Secondly, since your fighting abilities are well developed, in two days you'll go to the fighting pit," the guard continues, "this is your chance for a better version of slave life or a quick way to die."Well, well, well, some more specifics wouldn't hurt here."Can you please tell me more about these pits?" I try to be as polite as possible, the idea is starting to appeal to me."Most often, slaves have several options: either they'll toil in camps until they die, or they'll be bought and toil for owners. However, there's another option, if you know how to fight and the Blood Community notices you - you'll end up in a fighting pit. There, slaves fight each other in front of spectators. If you fight well - over time you'll get a separate room, they'll feed you better. If you fight poorly - you'll live in the barracks with everyone else. If you fight very poorly - you'll die in the first fight.""It seems that the fighting pit is much better than the camp, so why aren't all slaves there?" I wonder."Because they're selected by members of the Blood Community, you insect brain!" the guard gets angry, "people with the same emblem on their chest," he points to the cloth with three blood drops.Then everything is clear... It seems I was lucky that I decided to fight with this particular guard. Another would have flogged me and that would be the end of it."We leave in two days, at night. I've selected three more people from the camp, maybe I'll notice someone else. Your task is to keep your mouth shut and wait for departure. If you blab - you'll rot here for the rest of your life, got it?""Yes," I answer restrainedly. I can't wait to get into the pit, maybe I can escape from there! One thing is unclear, do slaves really fight each other in brutal fights just for a room?.. Although considering their living conditions..."I didn't tell you the most pleasant part," the guard suddenly adds, "once a year on the holiday in honor of the Sirvian Empire Foundation Day, grand fights take place. The winner can be released and cease to be a slave."And you fucking decided to enlighten me only now?! I'm already packing my things for this pit, can't wait!"I-I see," I start to stutter from excitement. I have a chance!"Don't get your hopes up, there are fighters better than you there. Now go to the shed to sleep, if anyone asks - you were punished and beaten, not a word about our conversation!" With these words, the guard leaves.I walk to the shed with a stupid grin on my face. I have a chance! And even though the guard said there are strong experienced fighters there, they don't have what I have - Ni! Right, Ni?I absolutely agree with you, with me your chances of winning the tournament are much higher. I recommend continuing to level up your "unarmed combat" skill while increasing your level by accumulating experience.In high spirits, I reach the shed and crash to sleep.The remaining two days pass in the usual camp routine: gray slop, work, gray slop, sleep. Both days I work in the gardens, manage to improve my skills Endurance: 30 out of 100. Agriculture: 16 out of 100. And patiently wait for departure. In two days, only one extraordinary event: in the queue for a portion of dinner, Andreas for some reason pushes the man standing in front of him and starts a fight with him. Andreas is taken away for ten lashes, and the man is taken by the guard with the Blood Community emblem I already know.Couldn't this idiot just wait his turn, is he completely stupid!Finally, the long-awaited night of departure. After lights out, I behave as usual, pretending to fall asleep, and then go out to the main square. The guard is already there, and with him two more people. Strange, he talked about three...They put chains on us, bind our hands behind our backs (as if we could escape, yeah!) and put us in a cart drawn by two horses. Well, at least we don't have to walk!The duty overseer obediently opens the gates, and our small procession consisting of three slaves, a guard, and a man driving the cart sets off. Goodbye, camp, I hope I never see you again!Due to the darkness, the road and surrounding area are not visible. Apparently, this is one of the reasons why we have to travel at night. By morning we reach another fenced territory. So far it doesn't differ much from the camp, I must say!They bring us inside, then some man writes down our names and gives us shirts with numbers. I get number 065."This is your personal number, you'll fight under it!" the guard explains.Then they take us to - oh wonder! - baths, where we all wash and put on new shirts. I already like it much better here than in the camp, obviously!Next, the guard takes us to a long building that looks like a military barracks."Take your bunks and rest. Everything else will be explained tomorrow morning! You'll get a bowl of gruel in the evening in the canteen."Inside, the room turns out to be filled with some kind of beds. They don't even sleep on the floor here!The rest of the evening passes relatively calmly. I find out that one of the three slaves from my camp is that very prisoner of war Andreas told me about. A bit older than me with a short dark beard and short-cropped hair, he immediately starts a conversation with me."Mitrim, prisoner of war from the Edinheim Republic. I plan to win the tournament and return to my homeland."Hmm, a brave and confident guy with huge ambitions."Sasha, nice to meet you," you're dreaming about victory, beardo. Never mind, I'll quickly bring you back to earth in the very first fight.Above Mitrim's head flashes a quick inscription "level 5" and immediately disappears. I've seen this before, Ni, is this your work?I deemed it necessary to inform you about the level of a potential opponent. The level and preparation significantly exceed yours. The chance to win in a fight is 17%Great news, damn it. And what's my level?Level 2. Your experience bar: 115 out of 250 XP.3 levels lower... And I'm sure this isn't even the coolest fighter in this camp. It seems the plan to win the tournament is doomed to failure.I recommend raising your level by studying various skills and training. Besides that, you can earn experience points by completing various tasks.What tasks are you talking about, Ni?Like quests in a video game. Get something, defeat someone, and so on. I assign the tasks, as well as the reward for them.I see... Well, until I level up, I have no chance of winning here... I'll start training tomorrow. One more question, Ni, why do you refer to yourself in the feminine gender in sentences?I decided that it would make communication with me more pleasant.Ha-ha-ha, funny. Then tomorrow we'll start my leveling up.My internal conversation with the interface takes no more than a minute, and I decide to learn more information from Mitrim."How do you plan to win?""Train from tomorrow. Besides fights, the rest of the time here is free, there are places to train all muscle groups. It's not forbidden to train in sparring with others, although hardly anyone will agree to that.""Why?" I wonder, because training is the key to victory."They won't want their opponent to gain experience. Everyone here is a competitor, everyone wants to be free. With each day, the competition will only intensify, especially when the sixteen leaders are determined.""Sixteen leaders?""The fighters who will participate in the tournament on your stupid holiday. Does the overfed monarch of your Sirvian Empire really think that releasing one slave a year is an act of mercy?!""Well... Uh..." I'm at a loss, not knowing what to answer."I'll tell you this, in a normal state there should be no slavery! It's a relic of the past. The Sirvian Empire has long been stuck in time and doesn't move towards progress! It's different in my Edinheim!" Mitrim concludes angrily. He seems to be an ardent patriot of his country. Based on what he said, it turns out that not everywhere in this world has a slave-owning system, how interesting..."I'm ready to train in sparring with you, I need practice," I blurt out without thinking. Although it's a good idea, I need to gain experience points and raise my level."Hmm, okay. We'll start tomorrow." Mitrim makes it clear that the conversation is over.Funny, he probably thought I decided to help him. Naive! I only need to get my level as high as possible, and then I won't need Mitrim anymore. I have a chance to get out of here, and it doesn't matter how many people I have to use for this.In the evening, I visit the canteen and get a bowl of gruel. This time it looks like a thin soup with pieces of unknown fruits. It tastes much better than that gray slop!Ni, what about my status indicators?STATUS: Health: 81%; Stamina: 60% Alertness: 43% Hunger: 56% Thirst: 70%Not bad at all! Just need to rest well.With these thoughts, I return to my chosen bunk and instantly fall asleep.The next morning begins with a gathering of new fighters in the square. Besides us, there are slaves from some other camps, totaling twenty new participants."Welcome to the fighting pit, greenhorns! I'm the head of the Blood Community, Stalem," begins his speech a tall and muscular man in a blue uniform. On his chest is a familiar emblem with one large blood drop. Apparently, this is someone cooler than our guard with three drops."In a month, there will be a tournament on the Sirvian Empire Foundation Day. The winner of the tournament will be freed from slavery and released. It doesn't matter at all how exactly you ended up in slavery: whether someone sold you, you were taken for crimes, or you were "lucky" to be captured - the chances are equal for everyone. The qualifiers for the tournament start tomorrow. A large table will be set up here, where everyone should keep track of their fights by their number. Newcomers fight each other first, then with more experienced opponents. Some have been in this pit for ten years, so don't count on easy victories," Stalem pauses to catch his breath.Yeah, I'm afraid to imagine what level the fighters with ten years of experience have... Ni, out of curiosity, what level does this boss have?Stalem. Level 35.He's tough..."The remaining time is your own," Stalem continues, "you can spend it on anything: training, rest, even paint pictures. I draw your attention to the fact that the reward system works in the pit regardless of the tournament: the better you fight - the better your living conditions. Some of the fighters live on the camp territory in personal houses, which says a lot. Also, I draw your attention to the fact that all injuries you receive are your own problems. If a slave is unable to continue fighting - he returns to his camp. If a fighter dies - only he himself is to blame. Is everything clear?"How ironic, death is a personal problem. Do many people, when they die, start looking for someone to blame?The meeting ends, and the newcomers scatter in different directions. I decide to explore the territory but remember about training with Mitrim.I find Mitrim behind the barracks in a small area cleared of grass and covered with sand. He's warming up all muscle groups in turn, not looking at me.I come closer and, without saying a word, also start warming up.After some time, we stand opposite each other and begin our training. Although "begin" is too strong a word... I swing and try to hit Mitrim in the solar plexus, but he quickly blocks and counterattacks me with such force that I fall to the ground.-2% to health, Health: 79%I get up, we again take fighting stances, and again everything repeats: in a moment I'm already on the ground.-2% to health, Health: 77%Ni, I have "Unarmed combat: 24 out of 100"! Why can't I even hit him?The opponent's level significantly exceeds yours. Besides, your defense skill is poorly studied.And I naively thought that fights would be no trouble at all.Meanwhile, Mitrim turns without a word and starts to leave."Where are you going, we haven't finished yet?" I call out to his back."I want to train to win the tournament, not beat up weaklings," this phrase sounds worse than any insult. I'm not a weakling, damn it!Mitrim leaves, leaving me alone. I angrily get up from the ground, determined to level up my fighting abilities at all costs. Weak... I'll show him what I really am.Meanwhile, a huge table of qualifying fights has already been placed in the square. My number 065 stands next to 066. What an ironic coincidence. My first fight will be with Mitrim. A good opportunity to show him what I'm worth. Hmm... our battle will be in a week, at least there's time to prepare.New task: defeat Mitrim in the qualifying fight. Reward 50 XPNi, what kind of task is this?I've already explained, quests for gaining experience and a new level.And you can't give me a bunch of simple quests so I can quickly get to level 10 and wipe the floor with Mitrim?The program isn't designed for that. I can't issue any quests at my discretion. I analyze situations and issue specific complex tasks.Well, how can I get additional tasks?Communicate with other people. Set goals for yourself. Want more.All I want is just to get out to freedom! Eh, it's all clear... I have to hone my skills in a week, level up, and then - win the fight!Where should I start?I advise starting with sports training, then visiting the canteen and replenishing your strength, then studying various skills in the library.Wow, there's even a library here?I scanned the territory, here's a map of all the premises.Let's start! Using the map, I find a large training ground. Many fighters are already here: some are boxing, some are doing endurance exercises, some are doing strength exercises. I decide to start with a classic cosmonaut training and quickly realize that I've lost some form. Of course, how long have I been without sports in this bloodsucking camp!Ni, suggest a training program for me.Analyzing your condition. Recommended exercises...The training suggested by Ni turns out to be exhausting and draining. As a reward, I get:5 units to defense Defense skill: 5 out of 100 1 unit to unarmed combat Unarmed combat skill: 25 out of 100I distribute the units myself, deciding that defense is also very necessary in fights.Exhausted and tired, I have dinner with another bowl of gruel and head to the library.Ni, what should I read?Any book. Experience points will be redistributed according to your wishes.I walk between the rows and notice that there are no books on martial arts available. Apparently, this is done to make winning even more difficult.So I spend the rest of the evening with a book: Growing Zhigurtsina.Zhigurtsina, as it turns out, is the name of that plant with purple fruits that I participated in collecting in the camp. It is one of the main nutritious plants in the Sirvian Empire, used for gruels, as a roast, in salads.Ni, what does it taste like?Analyzing your knowledge of vegetables and fruits, the most accurate match: potato. You tried Zhigurtsina in the gruel at dinner today.So that's what it was! Quite tasty... Strange, a few days ago I couldn't put local food in my mouth, and now I even find some of its elements tasty. Life is an unpredictable thing.Two hours of studying plants give me 10 XP (130 out of 250 XP). I'm firmly focused on raising another level and improving my Defense skill. For this, I'm ready to read about Zhigurtsina every evening.Extremely tired after such an eventful day, I crawl to the barracks and immediately fall asleep.