Tony opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed.
"Finally, the Sleeping Beauty wakes up," Asti said.
Tony looked around and saw Hikiri reading.
He tried to get up to go to him, but Asti stopped him.
"Before I let you go, listen carefully: first, no fighting in the room, or you'll be the one cleaning everything up. Second, you don't leave the base unless you have a mission, got it?"
"Yeah, you're done, Mistress," Tony replied sarcastically.
Annoyed by his remark, Asti went back to her bed.
Tony got up and walked over to Hikiri. He took a chair and sat across from him.
Hikiri, who was reading, looked up at Tony, sighed, and said, "What do you want now?"
"Just wondering, what rank are you?" Tony asked.
"I don't see what good knowing my rank will do you, but if you really want to know, I'm rank eight," Hikiri answered.
Then he added, "And tell me, when I beat you, you called me a bastard who uses air. I just want to understand why."
"That's because before coming here, I fought a group of assassins, and there was a guy who used air too," Tony explained.
"Oh, you're the one who defeated that famous group of assassins? Well done! I heard that four of them could hold their own against a rank eight cultivator, but you managed to kill them all," Hikiri said.
"Are you trying to flatter me or what?" Tony asked.
"What, you don't like compliments?" Hikiri replied mockingly.
"Who knows, maybe," Tony said.
"So, besides staying here all day, what do you do in this base?" Tony asked Asti.
"First, every morning from eight to eleven, there's training," she answered.
"And what kind of training is that?"
"It's preparation for battles, missions, and to make us experts in our fields. We learn to maximize the use of our affinity cards," Asti explained.
"And the rest of the day?"
"The rest of the time, you can either do nothing, go to the training ground, or challenge people to fights. But nobody does that anymore. We have to be ready at any moment in case of battle, but that's for soldiers without a group," Asti specified.
"And how does it work for soldiers in a group?" Tony asked.
"To explain better: soldiers in groups are those who have proven their effectiveness to the superiors. They are sent on missions outside. What they do on missions, I have no idea, so don't ask me," she replied.
"And how do you join a group?" Tony asked.
"Are you deaf or what? You don't join, the superiors choose. But don't even try, people would see you fight Hikiri and you'd just get snubbed," Asti answered.
"What's up with him that just seeing a fight against him would stop me from joining a group?" Tony asked.
"Well, about two or three months ago, he decided to fight a superior. Since then, that same superior has prevented him from joining a group, as well as anyone who hangs out with him, and those who... lost to you, for example," Asti explained.
"Is there no other way to get out of here?" Tony asked.
"No... And if you try to break through the walls, everyone in the base will turn against you," she said.
"But you know what, you'd better go to the library and the speed room... well, that's if you want," Asti added.
"And where are those two?" Tony asked, thinking they might help him pass the time.
"Perfect, both are on the second floor. And please, don't start any trouble with anyone," Asti warned.
Tony was about to leave when Hikiri stopped him.
"Welcome to prison, Tony. Not to scare you, but I haven't been out for ten months. Believe me, you'll be here a while. Try not to get bored," Hikiri said, letting go of Tony's arm and returning to his reading.