Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 8: Standing Out (1)

From the second-floor terrace overlooking the training grounds, Altanic and Batiah were once again seated, watching Karon with eyes full of expectation.

Of course, the nature of their expectations differed slightly.

While Batiah’s interest stemmed purely from his opposition to Montecorato, Altanic’s attention was driven entirely by money.

Though Altanic was already the wealthiest man in Palemon, there was one thing he couldn’t buy: status.

For generations, his family had ruled over Palemon with great authority, but they were still looked down upon as barbarians by the nobles. Altanic wanted to elevate his family’s status by marrying his daughter to a noble.

Naturally, such an arrangement required a vast amount of wealth.

If Karon truly showed talent as a gladiator and was properly raised, he could bring in substantial earnings from Palemon. With luck, he might even generate astronomical profits at the Colosseum in the capital.

The greed of the wealthy knows no bounds.

Altanic raised one hand, signaling for the trial to begin.

Crack!

The overseer whipped the six slaves and shouted.

“Today’s trial will test your endurance, stamina, and mental strength. Each of you will drag your log and run around the training grounds 100 times! The time limit is until sunset! Those who fall behind will be thrown into the arena as fodder!”

No slave ever survived being thrown into the arena as fodder, and even those who had never been there knew what it meant.

The slaves dragged their logs and immediately felt a wave of despair. The logs were incredibly heavy.

Only Karon remained focused, his eyes fixed on the two figures on the second floor.

‘Everything happening here is because of those two,’ he thought as his facial muscles twitched slightly.

As Batiah glanced over the other slaves, he noticed Karon staring at him. But by the time their eyes met, Karon had already started dragging his log around the training grounds.

Each slave was assigned an officer to count their laps, while the overseer gathered the gladiators to begin their training.

While training, the gladiators occasionally glanced at the slaves, curious to see who would survive. It was one of the few forms of entertainment in the harsh life of a gladiator, where death could come at any moment.

Batiah watched Karon carefully as he struggled to drag his log from the very back of the group.

The other slaves were in their late teens or early twenties and had fully matured, making Karon’s smaller size a significant disadvantage in terms of strength.

As Karon fell several laps behind, the gladiators lost interest, assuming he was destined for the arena.

They had seen many slaves undergo trials, and Karon seemed like another one doomed to fail.

But Batiah thought differently.

‘He’s slowly figuring it out,’ Batiah mused, his eyes gleaming as he noticed potential in Karon’s movements.

Karon had shortened the length of the chain, lifting one side of the log slightly to reduce the surface area dragging on the ground. This lowered the friction and made the log feel lighter.

He also maintained short, even breaths and moved at a steady pace, taking one step at a time. Though slow, it conserved his energy and reduced fatigue.

His previously unfocused eyes were starting to sharpen.

Karon was using every ounce of concentration to overcome his disadvantageous physique.

However, Altanic, oblivious to this effort, grew bored as time passed and stood up.

Seeing no sign that Karon would suddenly surge ahead, he lost interest.

“Since this will take a while, why don’t we have some lunch?” Batiah suggested.

“Let’s do that,” Altanic agreed, already disinterested in the proceedings.

But as the sun rose higher in the sky, the situation began to shift.

The slaves who had started strong gradually slowed down, some breathing heavily, their mental focus faltering as exhaustion set in.

And in the gaps they left behind, Karon began to advance.

“Oh! Look at that!” Altanic exclaimed upon his return, pointing to Karon. Batiah, having somewhat anticipated this, showed little reaction.

“How many laps has he done?” Batiah asked.

Altanic quickly called over an officer to check, then stroked his chin as he relayed the information.

“He’s passed 50 laps. If he keeps this pace, he’ll pass the trial. But, as you know, fatigue will become a major factor by the afternoon. That’s when things will get interesting.”

Batiah nodded in agreement. There were limits to the human body, and Karon would be no exception.

Even after the gladiators finished their training, the trial continued.

Just as Altanic had predicted, some of the slaves began to collapse under the strain as time passed.

Yet, amidst all this, Karon kept moving forward steadily.

Seeing this, the other slaves started to mimic Karon’s method—shortening the chain, slightly lifting the log, and maintaining a steady pace and rhythm with their breathing and steps.

As they regained some momentum, one slave, a muscular young man with curly blonde hair, stubbornly refused to follow Karon’s lead.

Huff… huff…

Pride wouldn’t allow him to copy the actions of someone he deemed an insignificant kid.

But the result was disastrous.

With his strength and endurance drained, the curly-haired slave eventually fell to his knees.

The sun had already begun to set, and he had more than ten laps left.

Huff… huff…

Gasping for breath, he looked up to see the overseer standing in front of him.

“You fool. Throwing away your life over your worthless pride. Take him away.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the command, the waiting soldiers seized the yellow-haired slave and began dragging him away.

“No! I can do it! I can still go on! No! Nooo!”

His final desperate screams echoed through the training grounds as he disappeared from sight.

Thud! Thud!

Heavy sounds came from the other side as the slaves who had completed their 100 laps dropped their logs to the ground.

All but Karon collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted. Their bodies trembled from the strain, and an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over them.

At the same time, they looked up at Karon with a mix of complicated emotions.

Perhaps due to their hazy minds, the image of Karon standing in the glow of the evening sun seemed like that of a distant, ethereal figure.

Karon, meanwhile, stood quietly, taking deep breaths to recover. There wasn’t a trace of exhaustion visible in his demeanor.

As Marcus, the overseer, approached the five slaves, he stared intently at Karon, who remained standing alone.

‘Even though he barely made it, his body shouldn’t have been able to succeed. He was already in bad shape, clearly drained of energy. This is unusual. Surviving the Colosseum alone wasn’t just luck, after all.’

Marcus started to wonder if Karon might be the real deal. However, two more trials remained for them to overcome.

“How long do you plan to lie there? Get back to your cells!”

At his shout, the slaves struggled to their feet and headed back toward the solitary cells.

Though Marcus didn’t show it outwardly, he secretly hoped Karon would pass the trial.

As night fell and Karon satisfied his hunger with the usual bread and soup, he waited for the training grounds to quiet down. Once it was deep into the night and everyone else had disappeared, Karon quietly stood up and began to practice the gladiator techniques he had memorized over the past two days.

Remarkably, his movements perfectly mimicked those of the gladiators he had observed earlier in the day.

Although his muscles screamed in pain and his body protested, he clenched his teeth and refused to stop moving.

Then, something surprising happened. As time passed, his muscles began to loosen up, and the fatigue in his body slowly started to fade.

His movements were so silent and hidden by the darkness that he was almost invisible. Even his eyes, usually dull, became sharper yet remained unnoticed.

“Hoo…”

He let out a deep, heavy breath.

By the time dawn approached, Karon finally stopped. He sat in the middle of his cell, closed his eyes, and took slow, steady breaths.

In his mind, the layout of the training ground, the entrance, the underground tunnels, and the gladiators’ quarters were perfectly mapped out.

Karon mentally retraced his steps, from the entrance to the storerooms and armory on the first floor. He realized the only place left was the second floor.

It became clear to him that the best route for escape would involve reaching the second floor.

That’s where important figures like Altanic and Batiah resided.

His plan was to cause chaos, escape through the second floor, and leave the rest to the gladiators.

As he gazed at the second-floor main building through the bars of his cell, Karon began waiting for the right moment.

* * *

The next day.

Before dawn, five slaves were loaded onto a transport carriage and taken away to an unknown destination.

They arrived at a cliffside where the southern sea and eastern cliffs of Palemon met.

Altanic, Batiah, and their soldiers were already waiting at a vantage point where the cliff was clearly visible. Down below, small boats floated on the water, with soldiers armed with bows eagerly awaiting the trial to begin.

Marcus, the overseer, lined up the five slaves along the cliff. Strangely, he ordered their shackles to be removed, but with so many armed soldiers surrounding them, escape was out of the question.

“Today’s trial is a test of courage, bravery, and adaptability. The task is simple: climb this cliff from the bottom to the top. Anyone who fails to climb or tries to run will have an arrow pierce their throat.”

The five slaves peered down at the cliff. It was nearly vertical, making the task seem impossible.

In the distance, they could see the small boats floating on the sea.

“But… Why are we here? If we’re supposed to climb the cliff, shouldn’t there be a path to the bottom…?” one slave mustered the courage to ask.

Marcus stepped forward with a sinister grin and replied, “You don’t need a path. The quickest way is right here.”

*Wham!*

Without warning, Marcus kicked the questioning slave in the stomach, sending him flying off the edge of the cliff.

“Aaaagh!”

The slave’s brief scream was quickly drowned out by the crashing waves below.

Panicking, the remaining slaves tried to back away, but soldiers armed with spears and officers blocked them from behind.

Realizing they had no choice, Karon was the first to jump off the cliff.

However, there was something strange about his actions.

As soon as he pushed off from the cliff, he twisted his body midair and fell backward, his eyes fixed on the cliff.

Falling backward without looking down required an extraordinary level of courage.

But Karon kept his eyes on the cliff until the very last moment before hitting the water.

He had a reason for doing this.

He was memorizing the entire cliff face to find the easiest route to climb.

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