'I needed a new strategy. More than that, I needed information. From what I had gathered, we had been kidnapped and taken to another world. They were going to separate us. Those deemed worthless would be locked in prison. But why? They didn't kill them outright. That meant there was some purpose.'
'Depending on what I did, they would put me in different places. If I could just survive long enough, I should be able to find out their true goal.'
'So I just needed to survive. My best bet was the Gladiator King. He would take us under his wing if we killed a classmate. But I also needed to stay alive afterward to avoid being killed by the others.'
[10 Energy Units Consumed.]
[Starting Simulations...]
[Imperial Age 1109, 12 July: You regained consciousness inside a castle and saw your class teacher fighting armored men.]
[Students began to wake up. Some tried to fight and were immediately knocked out. When the armored men approached you, you lay back down.]
[You were locked in a prison cell with other classmates. There were thirteen of you. The walls were made of stone, and the iron bars had strange inscriptions. They didn't bend or break, even when using Esper abilities.]
[Without drawing attention, you moved into a corner and made space for yourself while your classmates shared various conspiracy theories.]
[At dawn, a man in fancy clothes arrived with guards and dragged away three classmates. You remained with the other ten.]
[Soon after they left, a man in a red cape appeared. He looked furious and disappointed with the guards. Then he stormed off with his soldiers.]
[Two days later, it happened again. But this time, all ten of you were taken by another group.]
[You were brought to a place resembling a coliseum. There were no spectators, but more than fifty people stood in the arena.]
[Suddenly, words echoed inside your mind.]
[The Gladiator King was willing to take five of you under his wing.]
[He wanted you to prove your determination. You were ordered to fight and kill each other.]
[One classmate got angry and retaliated. He threw a spear at the king, and it nearly killed him. He survived only because he activated a forcefield just in time.]
[They attacked him relentlessly until his shield broke and he died. Even after his body dropped, they continued stabbing him, as if to make sure he was truly dead.]
[Then they told you to fight again. This time, it felt less like an order and more like a threat. The number of people the Gladiator King was willing to take dropped to four.]
[You rushed forward and pulled a spear from the body of the dead classmate.]
[For some reason, the others still decided to gang up on you first. Five of them came at you.]
[You declared you would kill the first person who approached, no matter who it was.]
[Only two classmates attacked at once. One had a control-type Esper ability that increased his leg speed. The other had an alteration-type Esper ability that generated electricity from his palms.]
[You focused on the one with enhanced speed but kept your spear pointed at the one with the electric palms to hold him back. When the first tried to strike from behind, you stabbed him before he could land the hit. Then the second rushed at you. You hit him in the gut with the back end of your spear.]
[While he reeled from the impact, you drove the sharp end of the spear into the first attacker's face. With one kill secured, you ran toward the far side of the arena to avoid being ganged up on again. Eight of you remained. That meant four more had to die.]
[You looked back and saw someone else kill the classmate with electric palms. The rest were already fighting among themselves. One had scored a kill but was now engaged in a three-on-three battle.]
[It was a bloody scene. No one escaped unscathed. But eventually, the victors emerged and you were one of them.]
[The four of you were led to a new chamber. It was nothing like the prison. Warm, bright, and luxurious. The people here smiled. Covered in blood, you felt out of place. No one seemed to notice.]
[You were presented before a towering man, more statue than human. He was the Gladiator King.]
[He inspected each of you with mild interest. His gaze held no admiration, as if saying out loud that none of you had any value in his eyes.]
[He spoke in a language none of you recognized, yet the meaning was conveyed inside your mind. He said you were now under his protection. Thanks to him, you had escaped the death of a dog, which would have been your fate in the castle.]
[He explained that only those among you who proved themselves would be allowed to live. The rest would still die like dogs.]
[A classmate questioned your location and why no one could understand each other. The Gladiator King answered: you were Subjects summoned from another world through magic.]
[Had you remained in the castle, your path might have led to magical warfare or slavery. But here, you would become gladiators. If you showed value, you could earn your freedom, as long as you survived the arena.]
[The next day, you were given a sword, shield, and armor. There was no refusal. Your first official battle was about to begin.]
[With thousands in the stands watching, you stepped into the arena. Your opponent was a massive green-skinned creature with tusks. It carried a shield as large as your body and a warhammer twice your size.]
[You died.]
[The simulation has ended.]
[You died at the age of 17.]
'So the Gladiator King is not an option either,' Leon realized.
He could keep using the simulation again and again until he found a weakness and defeated his opponent. But that would take too many attempts.
The simulation stated the fight would last twenty minutes. Ten minutes had already passed. Leon was still lying motionless on the ground while the real world continued moving forward.
Most of the students who were unconscious had already woken up. The teacher was growing more exhausted with each passing moment. Every second inside the simulator was a second lost in reality.
He had ten minutes left. Ten minutes to decide his fate.
Ten minutes to choose between a prison cell and a psychopath.
'If I end up in prison, I could use the simulator more times,' Leon thought. 'I might even be able to convince the Gladiator King to rescue me if I can prove I have future-seeing powers.'
This would be his final attempt.
If he failed to change his future this time, he would reveal everything to the Gladiator King.
[10 Energy Units Consumed.]
[Starting Simulations...]
[Imperial Age 1109, 12 July: You regained consciousness inside a castle and noticed your class teacher fighting armored people.]
[You decided to fight.]
[You stood up with your resisting classmates. Instead of rushing, you decided to support other classmates. When one classmate was being overpowered, you ran at full speed at the soldier from behind, making him fall to the ground.]
[Before the soldier could get back up, you retreated and left the rest for classmates to handle. You used this strategy a few more times. But eventually, the class teacher still lost when the reinforcements arrived.]
[As soon as she was defeated, you jumped out the window and landed on the balcony. Then jumped again, landing on the ground. Without looking back, you kept running to the side. Quickly, you hid yourself on another side of the castle. But there were men in armor guarding, so you couldn't run freely. And they would soon start looking for you everywhere.]
[You found a temporary hiding spot behind one of the side towers, but armored guards were patrolling heavily. Movement was risky. You knew they would begin a full search soon.]
[In desperation, you spotted a wooden barrel, half-filled with water, and climbed inside. It was cramped and cold, but it offered cover.]
[Moments later, a man in a red cape appeared, flanked by soldiers. They surrounded the barrel with unsettling precision as if he had put a tracker on you. With this, you could finally confirm that your exact location had already been known. From this, you realized that no matter where you ran, the man in the red cape would always know.]
[Realizing there was no escape, you surrendered. You were imprisoned in a cell alongside Anna.]
[Since knocking her out had failed, you changed your approach. You feigned surprise at being locked in the same room with Anna and immediately offered her the bed. She scoffed, saying the bed was too tame for her tastes. You expressed deep regret that there was only one bed and nothing could be done. After a pause, she reluctantly took it.]
[You began praising her adaptability, her calm under pressure. You complimented her strength, her elegance, her upright character. Each time you spoke, she stiffened slightly, trying to maintain her image, trying not to show how much your words affected her.]
[You talked about her family's Esper ability, how mesmerizing it was to see weapons conjured from their body. In response, she demonstrated a few techniques. Blades shimmered in and out of view, ethereal and deadly. You watched with practiced awe.]
[By the second day, she had warmed to you. Her tone softened. She spoke freely about her family, her training, her childhood. Stories poured out of her. She told you about her pet cats, their names, their favorite snacks. Once she started, she didn't want to stop.]
[By the third day, Anna grew restless. She paced the room, anxious and silent. Her eyes lingered on the door more often. She struck it twice with her conjured axe, but the wall did not budge.]
[ That evening, you confessed that you had long harbored a huge crush on her. That being locked in this room with her didn't feel so terrible to you. ]
[ She fell completely silent. No reaction. No response. Just quiet. The kind that lingered. ]
[ That night, you couldn't sleep. You lay on the cold floor, staring at the ceiling. Then you heard it. Soft, almost muffled. Weeping. Anna was crying. ]
[ You rose and approached her. She admitted she was hungry. You offered her the stale bread the captors had provided. She refused. ]
[ Then she told you the truth. Her family's ability came with a hidden cost. The conjured weapons were only one half of their power. The other half was a monstrous alter ego, an entity that lived within. Every three months, it had to be fed. Raw flesh. If not, it would break free. ]
[ Tonight was the third month. ]
[ Anna turned to face you. Her eyes glowed faint crimson. She said that once the transformation began, she wouldn't be able to stop herself. You would die. ]
[ She admitted she had originally planned to sever your arm before losing control to feed her monster self. But after spending these days with you, she no longer believed she could go through with it. ]
[ You lay beside her on the bed. Without hesitation, you extended your arm. You told her to take it, if it meant sparing your life. ]
[ When morning came, Anna had no memory of what happened the night before. But when she saw your missing left hand, the truth became clear to her. You told her not to dwell on it, saying it was for the best for both of you. ]
[ Anna said nothing. ]
[ Later that day, the cell door opened. The guards took you to a large hall. Your classmates were already there, except for the twelve who had been taken to the prison and the class teacher. ]