The way back seemed much faster, and we soon reached my cell.
Without saying anything, the guard opened the door, gestured for me to enter, and left shortly after.
I looked at the empty cell for a moment before walking toward my bed. Rash and I were the only teens left, and since he wasn't here, he must be in the bath.
Climbing onto the bed and lying down, I focused again on what John had told me.
A duel against a member of a Highblood family.
First, I should find out if anyone knew about them.
Rash might know something...
Thinking so much made my body grow tired. The training hadn't been difficult today, but I felt as if I had spent most of my energy inside John's room.
Closing my eyes, I soon drifted into sleep.
***
Rash and I were dueling in the arena early in the morning.
Our swords clashed, locked in place.
"You look kinda off today," Rash said while pushing against my blade. "What happened?"
My shoulders twitched at his question.
Was it really that obvious?
My mind was still occupied with what had happened yesterday. Even I didn't fully understand why it bothered me so much.
Maybe it was the uncertainty.
Pushing his sword away, I stepped back as he prepared another attack.
"I met John," I said. "He mentioned something about a duel."
Clang.
I blocked Rash's next strike and continued speaking as he retreated and slashed diagonally again.
Shing.
"Against the son of the Highblood family."
My sword was ready to block his next strike—but the sound of metal never came.
Rash had stopped his sword centimeters before mine, stopping his attack.
I shifted my gaze away from his sword and toward his face.
His eyes widened for a breath before he slowly pulled his sword back.
"The son of the Highblood family?"
His tone had grown serious.
Too serious.
Something felt wrong.
I lowered my sword.
"Yeah."
His eyes widened again.
He stepped closer at once, sword hanging loosely at his side. Looking straight into my eyes, he spoke in a tone that made me feel like something was truly wrong.
"Adonis. Tell me everything that happened."
***
Rash and I sat down on the arena floor.
I told him everything that had happened from the moment I was escorted to the upper floor. He fell silent afterward, deep in thought.
After a while, I asked, confused.
"Is something wrong?"
Rash nodded absentmindedly.
"Yeah."
I frowned.
"What is it?"
He paused briefly before speaking.
"Adonis… Highblood isn't a family name."
I tilted my head, not understanding his statement.
"What?"
He continued in a serious tone.
"The Highbloods are more like the nobility of humans. I don't know much about Drakoria, but I'll tell you what I know."
He raised his hand and held up three fingers.
"There are two distinctions—no, three—for people here."
"First are slaves. Like you, me, and the women you saw upstairs. We are at the bottom. Nothing more than property with no rights. Second are the Lowbloods. Those are the dragonkin born with inferior blood. They're basically normal citizens."
"Lastly come the Highbloods."
He lowered his hand.
"They're not a family. They're a group. Dragonkin with a special lineage. It's said that the blood of the First Dragon runs through their veins. They're basically the nobles of Drakoria."
He let out a sigh before continuing.
"The Highbloods have special rights and privileges because of their lineage. They're the true rulers of this land. One Highblood is worth more than thousands of Lowbloods. They're revered… and feared. The death of even a single Highblood can start wars."
"And you…"
Then he pointed at me.
"You will be fighting one of their sons. That's why John emphasized the duel so much."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I think what he meant…is that you should lose."
I frowned.
"Lose?"
Rash nodded.
"Yeah. Lose."
Seeing the confusion on my face, he explained.
"Everything that happens in Drakoria passes through the hands of a Highblood. Even slaves can only be owned or traded by them. I think one of them wants to test his son against the famous young slave."
He pointed at me again.
"That's you."
I blinked.
"Me?"
Rash sighed again.
"Yeah, you. How long have you survived here against all odds? Didn't the crowd even give you some fancy titles?"
I slowly nodded.
He went on.
"Surviving even one Blooding is already a miracle, and you… You survived who knows how many. Word must have spread. There are probably crazy gamblers betting on you to survive this Blooding, too. People must think you're some kind of genius or prodigy."
"The Highblood ruling this place probably heard about you and spread the word. That's why one of them arranged this duel. They're proud. And they probably don't like the idea of a slave receiving so much attention."
I nodded slowly.
But I still couldn't understand.
"Then why should I lose?"
Rash stared at me for a moment before facepalming.
"Weren't you a noble?"
Seeing me still confused, he continued.
"I'm only guessing here, but you should already know the answer."
He spoke as if it were obvious.
"If a slave wins against the son of a Highblood…that would bring shame to all Highbloods. That's why you should lose. John basically said that you should give it your all to make the fight entertaining…but lose in the end and make the Highblood look good."
I finally connected the dots.
"Know your place, right?"
Rash nodded.
"Exactly."
"Know your place and make him look good before losing. That's what he meant. He couldn't order you directly to lose. If that got out, it would shame the Highbloods."
Realizing the truth behind the duel, a curse escaped my lips.
"Fuck."
Rash placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah."
"You're fucked, little brother."
His words didn't help.
Did he even try?
"My advice would be to give it your all. Block most of his attacks. Then, when you see a weak strike…take it on purpose. Maybe a small stab to the stomach would be enough to end the duel."
He tightened his grip on my shoulder and looked me straight in the eyes. His voice serious.
"Don't injure him and don't push him too far."
"Why?"
Rash removed his hand.
"It should be obvious why injuring a Highblood is a bad idea."
I nodded.
"Yeah, but pushing him too far?"
He was about to answer, but stopped halfway and stared at me before asking hesitantly.
"You...you don't know what Race Abilities are, right?"
I shook my head.
"No?"
A smile spread across his face, and a chuckle escaped him.
"Of course you don't."
Sighing, he began explaining.
"Each humanoid race has a unique power that only they can use. These are divided into two types."
He raised two fingers.
"Inherent Abilities and Race Abilities."
Lowering his hand again, he continued.
"Inherent Abilities are passive traits. For example, the Sahari's inherent ability is called Resilience. We're better suited for hot environments. We can survive long periods without food or water, and the sun doesn't affect us as much as it does other races."
He looked at me with a small smile.
"In short, since we live in the desert, our bodies are better suited to survive there."
"Pretty simple, right?"
I nodded.
"Now comes the important part."
He paused, taking a breath.
"Race Abilities."
"The Sahari's Race Ability allows us to harness the power of the sun, or more precisely, solar mana. By absorbing solar mana, our physical abilities and mana are enhanced. We become faster, stronger, and our mana becomes more efficient. You could call it a kind of boost we receive when we stand under the sun."
The explanation was simple, but hearing about his Race Abilities raised another question.
Leaning slightly closer, I whispered after checking that the guards weren't paying attention.
"Aren't Race Abilities a secret? Are you even allowed to tell outsiders about them?"
Maybe it was some kind of taboo.
I appreciated him telling me about it, but I didn't want him to get punished for it.
Rash stared blankly at me for several seconds.
Then—
"Hahahah!"
He burst into laughter.