After checking everyone else, he found out that none could be compared to Jezebel's stats.
'This person is a monster! Thinking about how I was trying to play fire with this person!' Zane felt a cold sweat on his back.
"Now, work hard and show me what you have," Jezebel said her goodbyes before departing.
Beside her stood Boza, a one-eyed brute, who shouted, "You have two options. One is to become a miner and work day and night. The second is to fight for your freedom and join the ranks of Blood Warriors, like me."
"Blood Warrior?" A wave of discussion surged among the slaves as they pondered whether becoming miners or joining the Blood Warriors was a better choice.
The brute grinned and announced, "Those opting to become miners, step to the left, and those chose to be Blood Warriors, move to the right."
A stir of commotion swept through the slaves. Amidst the wait, Boza suddenly singled out Zane, declaring, "You there. You don't have a choice. As commanded by Ms. Jezebel, you're destined to be a Blood Warrior."
'Well, shit.'
With a bitter expression, Zane trudged to the right. Before he could choose, destiny had already chosen for him.
Minutes later, the majority had joined the Blood Warriors. Unsurprisingly, over 80% of the new slaves did.
"Do these fools think becoming a Blood Warrior is just chasing gold and glory?" the brute laughed.
He was well aware that nine out of ten would meet their end within the unforgiving confines of the arena. The slaves remained unaware that fresh batches of slaves arrived every three months for a deliberate purpose.
"Miners, form up for transport! The rest of you, back to your cells! Prepare them for tomorrow's challenges."
Zane was sent into one of the cramped cells. Inside, his fellow slaves still bore the weight of shock and despondency from the recent ordeal. Beyond the cell walls, a cacophony of myriad emotions could be heard.
Zane was shoved into a cramped cell. Inside, the others still carried the shock of the day, their spirits crushed. From beyond the walls came a chorus of fear, despair, and broken whispers.
Zane expected this reaction. Only a week ago, they had been free, but now they were slaves. Most knew that once branded, freedom was gone forever.
Lying on his bed, Zane was plagued by a multitude of unanswered questions, though eventually, he gave up thinking about it.
'I have a very bad feeling about tomorrow,' he thought before drifting into sleep a few minutes later.
...
A few hours after sunrise, a resounding horn echoed through the courtyard.
"SLAVES! Move out and gather!" Boza's voice thundered.
Hundreds of slaves stumbled from their cells. Many hadn't slept, restless in this new nightmare. They lined up in the courtyard. Unlike most, Zane felt strangely refreshed.
Having worked as an ER nurse, he was accustomed to operating on minimal sleep, having dozed off in various settings, from his car to the breakroom, and occasionally even in the more luxurious patient's room when there wasn't any one paying attention.
'System, Status!'
Strength: 1.8
Agility: 1.7
Perception: 5
Constitution: 1.9
Mana Capacity: 0
Experience 0/10
Looking at his status, Zane couldn't help but be wide-eyed at what he was seeing. Not only his Vital Signs was now 'Healthy.' But more importantly, his stats grew almost doubled.
He didn't know the answer, but one thing for sure was that he knew that he would need all of these stats. Zane can feel strongly in his gut that something terrible will happen soon.
'Strength, Agility, and Constitution seem very direct to me but why my perception is so high with more than 5x an average man?'
Zane tried to hover his mind over the stats and find its description but nothing was showing. 'I guess I just have to figure it out later.'
--
During the night, Zane's soul had finally settled into his new body, adapting to this world's laws. The transmigration had nourished his body, giving him a boost to his overall stats.
---
Meanwhile, a small platform was added to the huge courtyard, "Today is the most important day of your life! It is time to separate the wheat from the grass. So eat your fill and get your strength, cause you'll need all the energy you can muster!"
The slaves were then moved to a couple of huge spacious banquet halls, spacious enough to feed hundreds of people. They were given brick-like bread, milk, and some porridge. For slaves, it was a very luxurious meal.
Zane ate his food quietly. He knew there was no point in talking to others because they were as clueless as he was. They were all waiting for the trial. There was also no point in being friendly; the lifestyle of being a Blood Warrior was not something to be cheerful about.
When the meal ended, the slaves were marched out.
Coming out of the courtyard, the slaves heard loud noises coming outside. As soon as they started walking down the street, they began to hear large commotions.
Then, they were paraded with cheers, whistles, shouts, and loud claps from both sides of the street. The majority were slaves, but the crowd was also mixed with commoners, soldiers, and some lower nobles.
"Haha! This is not too bad!" Some slaves gained confidence through the cheers, so they raised their heads up and chested out.
A slave with a brutish build laughed and said while posing his firm muscles left and right, "Wait for me in the arena," as he shouted, "My name is The Destroyer, I will destroy every opponent I have. Gods and immortal come at me, HAHAHA!"
Some bystanders were shocked by this confidence, with some shaking their heads. Even Zane was embarrassed and was intrigued enough to check his stats. However, he cursed at what he saw.
Name: Mo Han
Level: 2
Level: 1
Strength: 1.9
Agility: 1.1
Perception: 0.5
Constitution: 2.1
Ignoring the loud cheers, Zane was shook his head. He felt a very bad premonition, 'This is not welcoming of the warrior but we are rather lambs being led to a slaughterhouse!'