"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
A guard's shout echoed through the arena.
Then—
SWOOSH.
As if a vacuum had opened, all the heat and mana I had released were sucked back into my core again.
Then—
BATHUMP.
My heart began to pound so loudly I thought everyone around me could hear it.
BATHUMP.
The heat and mana drawn inward no longer filled only my core.
BATHUMP.
They flooded my whole heart.
The pressure rose, and the heat rose with it. It felt as though something was pressing against my heart from all sides.
Until—
"Agh!"
Another scream escaped me as pain surged through my body. For a moment, it felt as though my heart had exploded.
Then—
Everything vanished.
The heat.
The pain.
The pressure.
I couldn't hold myself up any longer.
Thud.
The sword slipped out of my hand, and I fell to my knees.
Haah.
Haah.
Heavy breaths escaped me as my chest rose and fell. Sweat flowed down my face as if I were showering. My eyes closed for a moment as exhaustion crashed into me.
Only to open again at the words from someone beside me.
"Stage three… He advanced."
My eyes snapped open at the voice, and I turned toward the one who spoke.
A guard stood in front of me.
I didn't know when he arrived.
It felt like he just appeared out of thin air.
Turning my head further, I noticed that the other teens were still looking at me with widened eyes, though that didn't last long. Soon enough, they returned to their own training.
The two guards who had been sitting at the table near the entrance had stood up during my advancement and were now sitting back down again.
"Good work, slave."
Hearing the guard in front of me speak again, I turned my head back toward him. But his red eyes only glanced at me once more before he bent his knees and—
Thud.
Jumped.
It happened too fast for my eyes to follow.
I just felt a gust of wind brush through my hair before the guard disappeared. A cloud of sand obscured my vision for a moment.
I turned my head as soon as it settled, eyes drifting through the arena, searching around.
The guard reappeared in the stands where the crowd normally sat.
My eyes widened slightly.
Had he jumped down here just because of me?
"Congratulations on your advancement."
Another voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
It was 125.
My head turned away from the guard and toward him. He stood a few meters away, lips curving ever so slightly into a smile.
It felt strange to receive a compliment.
If it even was one.
But the smile told me that he was at least genuine.
I answered flatly.
"Thanks."
Silence fell again between us until 125 broke it again.
"You must be tired from your True Awakening. It would be better if you rest. We can continue our duel another time."
I didn't really hear the rest of his words as I was too focused on something else he said.
Curious, I asked, "True Awakening?"
125 just nodded, not understanding that I had asked an actual question, so I repeated myself.
"What does True Awakening mean?"
The boy in front of me let out a small chuckle before answering.
"Ah, sorry. True Awakening is another name given to the Third Stage."
I stood up and wanted to ask another question, but exhaustion crashed into me, and I almost fell again. Gripping the hilt of the sword still embedded in the ground, I forced my feet steady.
"You should go and rest, 29."
The boy in front of me spoke again.
And he was right.
Advancing to the next stage had taken a toll on me, not to mention the exhaustion from having worked the whole night without sleep.
With a nod, I slowly pulled my sword out of the ground before lifting it over my shoulder and heading toward the exit.
The teens cast me glances as I walked past them, but I ignored them and just walked toward the racks. I returned my sword and turned, walking out of the arena.
The guards sitting near the entrance looked up for a moment as I passed before returning to their card game.
Step.
I made my way back to the cell.
My clothes were drenched in sweat, clinging to my skin. But I was too exhausted to clean myself right now. I skipped bathing and walked back to my cell.
Creak.
The metal groaned as I pushed the door open.
Step.
I halted at the threshold for a moment, taking in the cell.
It was empty.
The sight wasn't new.
Familiar even.
It happened too many times to keep count.
I was alone.
Again.
All the boys had died in the fight against me, and the girl died in her own battle.
Step.
Having looked enough, I stepped inside.
Soon, the guards would bring new teens from other cells.
I took some food out of the crate before walking toward my bed. Climbing up, I sat down and ate.
While chewing, the bed opposite mine entered my vision, and I remembered the girl again.
Her corpse.
That small smile.
How the beasts had torn her apart, devouring her.
The memory made my stomach twist, and I had to stop eating for a moment before I forced myself to continue. After finishing the meal, I turned around and looked at the wall of numbers behind me.
I raised my hand and bit into my finger until I tasted iron. Then I leaned forward and wrote another number on the wall.
[116]
The girl's number.
She hadn't died because of me.
She hadn't been the reason for my survival.
But I still wrote her number down.
Because I wanted to remember her.
My gaze lingered on her number for a few breaths before I continued and added the numbers of the six boys.
Haah.
I let out a breath after finishing and fell flat onto the bed.
Thud.
I was exhausted. It felt like the times when I had drained all my mana during training. And it wasn't only because of the advancement.
It was because of everything that had happened.
The fight against the group of teens.
Being sent underground.
Seeing the girl's corpse.
Shoveling shit.
And finally—
The advancement itself.
It all came together and crashed down on me.
My eyes closed, and sleep took me.