Kaiser and Banner reached the training grounds. There weren't many people, just a few scattered around. It was an open courtyard with plenty of space, weapon racks lining the walls, and training dummies spread throughout.
"Alright, first things first, for the first two weeks we'll be focusing on body training, and after that we'll spend the remaining two weeks getting you started with the spear," Banner said.
Kaiser nodded, but he had to ask. "How are we going to get my body into shape within two weeks?"
Banner smirked.
"Well, you see, as you know, mana can be used externally by channeling it through a magic circle and shaping it into your mana type, but you can also use mana internally to strengthen your body. It's called mana reinforcement," Banner said.
He walked over to the nearest training dummy and threw a punch, causing it to rattle from the force. "As you can see, that was already a powerful punch, but watch what happens when you use mana internally."
As he said that, his arm began to glow a deep royal blue. He threw a punch forward, and the dummy exploded into pieces.
Kaiser's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He hadn't known that was possible. He had only learned the basics before his family was destroyed, so he had never known the full scope of what mana could do.
"You have to be careful, though — use too much and your limbs will explode from not being able to handle the force, and if you use too little and don't channel it evenly, you could still hurt yourself," Banner explained, looking down at the destroyed dummy.
Kaiser noted what he said.
'I have very little mana right now, so I need to use as little as possible so as not to exhaust myself,'
Before he could think further, Banner grabbed his attention again.
"What we'll be using mana reinforcement for is to strengthen your body over time — the more you use it, the more it strengthens your body from within," Banner explained, outlining how Kaiser would be using it for the next two weeks.
Kaiser nodded.
"How do we start?" Kaiser asked, not knowing how to actually use mana reinforcement.
"Feel your mana in the core of your body and try to expand it evenly throughout," Banner explained.
Kaiser closed his eyes and focused inward, sensing his mana sitting deep within his core.
As he focused, he felt a warm, electric feeling. Once he had a sense of his mana, Kaiser tried to spread it evenly throughout his body. As he did, he felt a warmth wash over him, and his body felt lighter.
Opening his eyes, he flexed his hand. He hadn't felt this good in ages.
"Alright, seems you've got the hang of it," Banner congratulated Kaiser before adding, "but it's not combat-ready yet, we'll fix that when we train you with your weapon. It takes you too much focus to spread your mana evenly, but it's good enough to start training your body."
Kaiser had no choice but to agree.
'Maybe I should try and practice in my off time, like when I'm eating or resting,' Kaiser thought.
"So for your training over the next couple of days, you'll be doing one hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats each day, and after you're done with that, you'll run around the training ground two hundred and fifty times," Banner told Kaiser with a devilish look on his face.
"WHAT? Are you trying to kill me?" Kaiser yelled in a panic.
"There's no way I'll survive that!"
Banner smiled and laughed it off.
"Don't worry, I'll be here watching over you. If anything happens, you'll be in good hands," Banner said.
'I'm going to die,' Kaiser thought to himself. 'But if it's the only way to become stronger, I'll just have to endure it.'
For four hours, Kaiser underwent a grueling training regimen.
'God, why does it have to be so much?' Kaiser thought to himself as he pushed through his eightieth squat. He was almost done, but after this, he would have to start running, and the last thing he wanted was to do that. But he had to. If he had any hope of getting his freedom back, he had no choice.
Another thirty minutes passed before he finally reached his hundredth squat.
After finishing, Kaiser fell to his knees.
'This evil bastard, making me do this,' he thought, glancing over at Banner.
'That bastard's smile,' dark thoughts boiled in Kaiser's mind as he finally forced himself to stand.
"Come on, you've got this, get up, you're almost done for the day," Banner cheered him on with an insufferable smile on his face as Kaiser began to run his laps.
It took another two hours before Kaiser was finally done with his laps.
They had started in the morning, and by the time the training was over, it was already the afternoon, and lunch was ready.
Kaiser finished his laps and collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard and panting. Banner walked over. He had been working out as well, though his training had been far more intense than Kaiser's.
"What a monster," Kaiser muttered to himself. He had watched Banner's workout from the ground. It had looked like absolute hell.
Banner laughed.
"It's time for lunch, let's head to the dining hall," Banner said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Banner helped Kaiser to his feet, and the two began making their way to the dining hall.
As they walked, Kaiser had a question that had been sitting on his mind.
"So, who do we face in the matches? Is it the other slaves?" he asked.
It had been nagging at him throughout training. If they were fighting other slaves, that meant anyone in the facility could sabotage them for an easy victory.
"Hm, not always," Banner said, his expression turning serious. "Sometimes they make us face mana beasts," he added in a grim tone.
Kaiser's eyes widened.
Mana beasts were a completely different matter compared to monsters. Like monsters, they had mana cores, but while monsters were mindless, mana beasts possessed some level of consciousness. They were leagues more intelligent and far more feared.
'Shit, I thought we were simply facing other slaves, but now I have to worry about damned mana beasts too. Can't I ever catch a break?' Kaiser cursed in his mind. Just the thought of facing a mana beast made his stomach turn.
Banner put his hand on Kaiser's shoulder, trying to reassure him.
"Don't worry, last time I almost won my freedom, they put my previous partner and me in the ring with one, and look, I survived," Banner said, trying to lighten the mood as they finally made it to the dining hall.
"'Didn't your last partner die?' Kaiser wanted to pull his hair out at what Banner had just said.