After the conversation with Banner, Kaiser didn't know what to feel. He had finally set out to become an adventurer after so long in the slums, and now, just like that, he was a slave.
Sighing, Kaiser rolled over and fell into a light sleep, not truly trusting that he was safe — and rightfully so.
Kaiser woke to a sharp slam into his shoulder.
"Wake up, brat, it's time for breakfast. Head to the dining hall," a man who looked like a guard barked.
Grabbing his shoulder in pain, he fully woke. He noticed the man had swapped his shackles out for simple wristbands carved with similar runes, though they seemed different somehow.
'Damn it, why is it always a beating? Couldn't they just wake me up normally?' Kaiser thought as he stood to his feet, still holding his shoulder.
Looking around, he didn't see Banner. He guessed he had already woken and gone to eat, so Kaiser decided to head to the dining hall.
As he walked, he realized he didn't know where he was going. He wanted to ask someone, but that probably wasn't the best idea — he didn't know how things worked here yet. He could end up making the wrong person angry.
Lost in his thoughts, he wasn't watching where he was going and walked straight into a group of rough-looking men.
The one he bumped into was of average height with red hair, black eyes, and a smug look about him. He had been carrying a tray of food. When they collided, the tray flipped, spilling everything down the man's front and staining his clothes.
"Hey, what the hell is your problem, brat?" the man angrily yelled, grabbing Kaiser by the tunic and yanking him up.
'Why does everyone call me a brat?' Kaiser thought, growing tired of it.
"Let go, bastard — I don't want your nasty hands on my tunic," Kaiser shot back.
He knew full well his tunic was already filthy. He just didn't like being touched, and honestly, part of him had wanted to let the guy have it. He'd had enough of people putting him down.
"Why you little—" the man barked, reeling his arm back.
But before he had the chance to strike, Banner appeared beside the man, catching his arm and fixing him with a sharp look.
"William, I wouldn't do that. The kid's with me," Banner said with a smile, squeezing William's arm just enough to make him wince.
William dropped Kaiser. "You got lucky today, kid," he spat, shrugging off Banner's hand and walking away.
Kaiser glared after him. "Bitch," he muttered under his breath, causing William to tense. It looked like he was about to turn around — but he kept walking with his group.
Banner smacked the back of Kaiser's head, having heard him mutter under his breath. "Don't go looking for needless trouble — but that doesn't mean you can't stand up for yourself. You did well," Banner said, giving a thumbs-up.
'I like this guy,' Kaiser thought, allowing himself a small smile. He felt like he could trust Banner, but he knew he couldn't let his guard down yet. He had known Banner for less than a day.
Coming out of his thoughts, Kaiser saw Banner holding a tray out to him.
"I was bringing back some food for you — didn't think you'd get into trouble on your first day," Banner laughed with a smirk.
Accepting the tray, the two began making their way back to their cell.
"So how are we going to get my body into shape within a month?" Kaiser asked, not really believing it was possible. He had stopped training his body a while ago because it slowed down his mana training, so he had put all his focus into mana instead.
"Isn't it better to just focus on training my mana and try to raise my rank in the time we have?" Kaiser asked, raising his eyebrow, not really understanding.
Banner looked at him with a contemplative gaze. "Well, we could try to raise your rank, but that would just be a temporary fix. We need to strengthen your body — it might slow you down at the beginning, but later on, having a stronger body will help you survive breakthroughs and use your mana type more easily," Banner explained as they finally made it back to their cell.
"You see, your body is like a container — it holds and controls your mana. The stronger the body, the more mana you can hold and control when you rank up," Banner said.
Kaiser nodded. Now knowing that, he regretted not training his body — but it wasn't like he'd had much of a choice. He had needed to raise his rank as fast as he could, or he would have been killed sooner or later.
As he thought, he sat down on his rough bed — nothing but hay on a stone slab.
He began eating his food. It was the most he had eaten in a single meal in the two years he had spent in the slums. It looked like leftover slop with bits of meat thrown in, but to Kaiser, it was the greatest food he'd had in a long while.
After eating, Kaiser set down his tray.
"So, how do we begin my training?" Kaiser asked, a smirk on his face and an eager glint in his eyes.
Banner smiled.
"Well, we need to start with strength training — but we also need to find you a weapon to use."
Kaiser looked surprised.
"Weapon training? How are we supposed to do that? We don't have any weapons," Kaiser asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Banner facepalmed.
"There's a training ground for combatants — there are weapons there we can use. But I think the best one for you, given your stature, is a spear. It'll give you some reach that you don't have," Banner said, looking Kaiser's body over.
Kaiser had an unamused look on his face. "Are you calling me short?"
Smirking, Banner stood, stretched, and walked out.
"Hey, don't just walk away!" Kaiser called after him.
Banner just laughed and kept walking. "Come on, squirt — I'll explain the rest when we reach the training grounds."
'Bastard,' Kaiser thought as he followed after him.