Chapter 560 - The Deity In The Crystal Cage
As the last bit of wine went down his throat, Daniel closed his eyes, and let his mind wander in memories while purposely ignoring what was happening to his physical body.
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When Daniel opened his eyes again, some time later, he found himself laying onto a stone bed. Around him were three cement walls with irregular stones embedded into their surface. In the place of the fourth wall, was a grille of flat and rusty iron bars that went from ceiling to floor and from one side of a wall to the other, allowing him to see past, and into a dark corridor with an identical room on the other side.
This was not the first time Daniel had been taken prisoner, and despite this world being the furthest away he had ever been from home, he could still recognize the characteristics of a dungeon, when he saw one-The room he was in, was a prison cell.
This cell was poorly illuminated, with its only sources of light being a small candle placed on top of a rustic wooden table, and a square-shaped opening in the wall opposite to the grille, right above the bed. From this hole shone a faint white light, indicating that dusk had long passed, and that it was now late in the night.. Yet, the almost rhythmical shouting and clashing of swords implied that it was still not too late to interrupt the activities whose noises Daniel had heard ever since arriving at the estate.
Clearly unbothered by the sudden predicament, Daniel stood up and began to look around. He approached the iron bars, and as his body came in contact with them, he did not stop, and instead walked through them as if they weren't there to begin with, finding himself in a straight corridor that led into at least nine more empty cells. The exit, as shown by the moonlight that seeped through its chinks, was a door at the very end of this corridor.
"Go rest, you useless scum! Training tomorrow starts at dawn!" Said a loud and vigorous voice as the door at the end of the corridor flung open-Behind it, a line of at nine exhausted men, all dressed in a piece of loincloth held in place by a leather belt, and a pair of simple sandals, showing their bruised and sweaty bodies.
"This is insanity.." Muttered the first in line as he stumbled through the door. "How can we survive this?"
The second man, taller and quite calmer, walked past the first man and directly into his cell, the second one to the left. "Save your breath for tomorrow's training, you'll need it." He said as snuffed the candle's flame with the tip of his fingers and sat onto his bed. What followed were the whispered cries and complaints of a few of these men, all hurt and upset about the treatment they had received during that day.
The fuss only stopped once one of the men walked through the corridor and noticed Daniel, who was standing in his cell, and peering through the hole in the wall, where a patch of dark sky and a bright full moon appeared like a painting.
"There is new blood." Said the man who first noticed Daniel. A blonde short-haired man with a tall and muscular frame, bronze skin, and brown eyes. His thin lips were pressed together, showing the last remaining bit of unwillingness to submit to his fate-a feeling that was directly opposed to that shown by his tired and dispirited eyes.
Daniel's existence did not appear to be a surprise for them, as many of them had been there for weeks now, and had never seen a cell remain empty for more than a few days.. What they called "new blood," which to them was nothing but a new training companion, would usually arrive in the evening, allowing them to explain to him his situation before the evening training session started.
Unfortunately, Daniel had arrived too late in the evening to join in the training.
The men were too tired to bother with the new arrival, so they reserved the last bit of energy they had left to complain, and to head to their beds. Not long after they entered the dungeon, the sound of locks clicking resounded from the other side of the door, indicating that they were now locked inside. Following this ominous sound, one by one the candles present in each cell were snuffed out, and the men went to sleep.
As Daniel sat on his bed to meditate, he began to summarize what he had learned about the karmic power he had now spent days observing.
What he had learned was that karmic power was created purely by the actions of an individual. It did not matter whether the action warranted a negative or positive karma, to him as the aspect of Karma, or to the creation of the power itself, it made no difference.
This form of golden essence would linger on and around the body of the person it had originated from, seemingly without affecting them. The only person who would perceive its existence was Daniel, who could feel this unique essence nurture his powers as an aspect of existence at the same speed minuscule droplets of water would join together to form a boundless and bottomless ocean. The ocean being Daniel himself.
Another important piece of information Daniel had learned about this power, was that interfering with it would create a chain reaction that would stop its production indefinitely.
He had learned this by offering a coin to a beggar, which he had then used to purchase a jar of wine. The merchant, aware that giving the man a jar of wine would not be beneficial to the known drunkard, decided to put his business above the man's health, and accepted the coin. Witnessing this, the merchant's wife, who already harbored hatred towards the merchant's greed, accepted the courtship of one of her suitors, a married man who had courted her despite knowing that she was already married.
As Daniel observed this chain of events, he realized that while each of these decisions should have produced karma, be it that of the beggar, the merchant, or the two adulterers, none was actually created. From this, Daniel could infer that while he couldn't control it yet, the power of Karma recognized his existence, and made way for his actions, deeming them above the power itself.
For this reason, Daniel had decided that, unless he was willing to break the normal workings of this power, he would not interfere, and would instead spend his time in this world as an observer.
With no more information to think over, Daniel relaxed, and began to meditate for the rest of the night.
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The next day, as the sound of locks being unlocked was once again heard, the men walked out of their cells. One of them, a short yet muscular man in his early thirties, stopped in front of Daniel's cell. By the way the rest gave way to him, Daniel could guess that the man had the most seniority within the group, or had gained respect in some other way. "Come, they will want to inspect you." The man said while swinging the door of Daniel's cell open, and nodding towards the door. His hands covered in calluses brushed past his short black hair, before moving lower to scratch his unkempt beard.
Daniel said nothing, stood up, and followed the man, who was pleasantly surprised by his unusually calm attitude. Most of the prisoners had been extremely dispirited the first day, and some of them even cried, as they were taken as prisoners of war, separated from their families, and sold as slaves. However, Daniel appeared curious, and uncaring about his surroundings or situation.
Once outside the dungeon, Daniel found himself in a massive yard. This yard was surrounded by pillars, like the room he had taken a bath in before, and its ground was completely covered in sand. From the various weapon racks placed to the sides Daniel could guess this yard was something like a training ground, with large areas for people to practice their weapons in, and a small arena where trainees could duel and train in front of relatively large crowds.
The only people present in the yard were a balding man dressed in an excessively loose white toga, the stout middle-aged man who had traveled alongside Daniel, and his bodyguard. Staring at him from a balcony Daniel could see the stout man's daughter, who seemed to be observing him without her father's consent.
"Those are Lusius, our doctore dimachaerus.. the dual sword trainer." Whispered the short-haired man to Daniel's ear while looking at the bodyguard. In his tone, Daniel could feel a hint of fear. "The man in the white toga is our medicus, a physician. He will examine you, so don't be alarmed, and don't stop him. Now, go stand in front of them." He then added before turning around, and heading towards the weapon racks.
The other prisoners followed suit, and alongside two additional groups of men, which had emerged from two separate dungeons, they headed towards the weapon racks. Once there, despite the hurry they showed when leaving their cells, the prisoners did not immediately start training, and instead waited quietly.
Curious about the man who had brought him here, before the short prisoner could walk too far away, Daniel asked, "Who is the third one?" He could have easily peered into the man's mind to discover all of this information, but since he was making the effort of observing this world as a witness, he decided to not use his powers for something he could easily ask.
The short man stopped walking, and after turning around, he said gravely, "That is Lanista Audaios, your new owner." As the man resumed walking, Daniel took notice of the suppressed killing intent that emanated from his body.
Following the man's instructions, Daniel walked towards the three individuals, and stopped just a few steps in front of them. As Daniel approached, the man in the white toga, seemingly in a hurry, stepped forward and began the examination.
"What an amazing individual." Muttered the physician while walking laps around Daniels body. He would occasionally grab his forearms, ask him to walk a few steps, to rotate his shoulders, to squeeze his hands, or open his mouth. The more he asked, the more interested he became, to a point where the purpose of the examination was put aside, and he lost himself in examining the young man in front of him.
This went on for several minutes, until finally, clearly bothered by how long the whole process was taking, the stout man asked, "So then, is he healthy enough?"
"Healthy?! He isn't healthy, he is perfect!" Uttered the physician instinctively with an almost protective tone. "This is a body gifted by the gods! It should be studied.. We should find out what his occupation was, what he grew up eating, and where he is from-"
The physician's rant triggered something within the stout man, something which had nothing to do with interest of scientific nature. The only thing the man cared about, something which he could see piling up at his feet the more the physical went on-Money.
"Very well, medicus. Your assistance is no longer required." Said the stout man, putting an end to the man's flurry of words.
Worried and unwilling, the physician's gaze kept shifting between Daniel and the stout man. "But.." he muttered before seemingly realizing something, "How much did you pay for him? I'll give you double that!"
Unfortunately for him, the stout man wasn't moved, as he dismissed his requests by adding, "That will be all." He then watched as the physician stormed off in a rage. On his face was a content smile. "I'll leave him in your hands." He said to the guard.
Surprised by the man's words, the bodyguard turned to look at him with confusion. "He hasn't started physical training yet." He objected.
"Look at him! Does he require it?" Responded the stout man with a matter-of-fact tone while grabbing Daniel's wrist, and showing his arm to the warrior. Once convinced, the stout man let go of Daniel. "I want him ready to fight as soon as possible. He could become our new main performance." He ordered before leaving, not giving the guard any chance to express his disapproval.
With his orders clear, the tall guard looked at Daniel one last time, then turned towards the observing slaves, and shouted, "BEGIN TRAINING! YOU PILES OF WASTED RESOURCES!" Hearing the man's words, the now united group of roughly thirty slaves immediately grabbed a variety of weapons, and after occupying a small piece of the training ground, began to train in pairs or groups.
Lusius, the stout man's bodyguard, walked towards a weapon rack and picked two pairs of wooden swords. These swords were barely longer than twenty-five inches, with a straight and pointy blade, they were referred to as gladius.
As Lusius approached Daniel, he quietly threw two of the four swords on the ground. He then pointed at them with the one he was holding in his left hand, and said, "Pick them up." His tone was commanding, and it showed his ability to intimidate, and to take control. Yet, Daniel's calm and casual expression had yet to change.
In an almost nostalgic way, Daniel picked up the two swords, and started to feel their weight and length with his hands. In his mind, were pieces of random memories which showed the hundreds of hours he had spent practicing dual wielding in the training room of his black castle. While the automated dummies he had practiced with could not compare in demeanor to this experienced fighter that stood in front of him, Daniel had no doubt that the latter could not teach him anything more than he already knew.
Nevertheless, Daniel obeyed, and prepared himself.
Lusius, possessed by some sort of cultivated bloodthirst, leaped towards Daniel while brandishing his two swords, thrusting the one he held in his right hand. The piercing motion disturbed the calm breeze almost surgically, and headed towards Daniel's relaxed body. The target was Daniel's shoulder.
The observing trainees, aware of the man's brutality during sword training, turned away, unwilling to watch another man fall limp on the ground, covered in bruises.. Yet, all they heard was a noise they were all too used to.
*PAH!*
The sound of wood hitting wood caused the group of men to turn around, only to see the trainer point his now empty right arm to the side of his target.. By his neck, was the point of Daniel's wooden sword.