"You all have two hours to read. If anyone is seen doing anything else, they will be punished!" said one of the supervisors, opening the door to one of the libraries inside the slave farm.
Obviously, this was not a break. Literate slaves with greater intelligence would sell for a higher price, increasing the farm's profits.
"I better grab a book or I'll get in trouble," he said to himself, now heading for a bookshelf, grabbing any book and taking it to a table.
As he sat down and looked at the book he had taken, he saw that it was one on world history, which aroused his curiosity.
Inside, it talked about the beginning of magicians, discussing their existence since the dawn of time and their dictatorship over the world as the only ones capable of using the mana around them. Moving forward in time, it talked about the rise of warriors, developing Ki and ending the empire of magicians, and the birth of alchemists, who could not use either Ki or mana but used their will to change the world.
It also spoke of the last great celestial war, so called because of the participation of the strongest individuals from each faction, who reached the highest level of power and were called gods.
These three gods, each belonging to a faction, fought each other for dominance, but the war ended with their deaths. As a result of this confrontation, the world was changed, separating the large main continent into three smaller continents ruled by the different factions.
"So... which continent am I on?" Conan wondered.
Upon reviewing the book, he realized that he was located on the continent of Xhanthar, the main continent of warriors, or on the continent of Murim.
"What exaggerated and strange names..." he said to himself with an uncomfortable expression. "But it must be so since the magicians named the continents," he thought, in an attempt to downplay the name of his continent.
As he continued reading, Conan realized that time had passed very quickly, leaving him only five minutes to continue reading before being taken to physical training.
Seeing this, he decided to focus on important things, extracting the names of the other continents and being surprised to find names of other races besides humans.
Hurriedly searching for the important things in the book before being dragged off to physical training, he discovered the names of the two remaining continents: Zenitos, the magical continent, and Aetherium, the continent of alchemy, the latter being the smallest of the three.
"I thought that some continents would exclude themselves from the 'uniqueness' of their names, but it seems I was wrong... Anyway, this is..." Conan did not finish his words when he saw what was written on the next page of the book.
Races of each continent:
Zetinos Continent: Elves, Draconians, humans, and Halflings. Xanthar Continent: Humans, beastmen, angels (small number), and demons. Aetherium Continent: Humans (small number), dwarves, and elves (small number).
"There are... more races besides humans?" Conan asked himself, now baffled by this new discovery.
Just as his curiosity grew even more, he heard the door slam open and one of the supervisors enter. "It's time to go, leave everything and start walking!" he ordered, leaving the room before anyone could refuse.
"Damn, I have to go to practice again..." he cursed to himself, remembering the beatings he received every day and the lack of food he received after training.
With a silent sigh, Conan put down the book he was holding and followed the others, resigned for the most part to receiving a beating.
<<<<>>>>
Now inside the large hall where the sound of wood hitting wood could be heard, along with some cries of pain and the floor covered with sweat and drops of blood from injuries sustained during practice, things were different for Conan.
He was now practicing with another slave, who was four years older than him and a little taller.
"I'm scared... If he hits me, I'll pass out. But if I don't hit him, I won't eat... I have to win, at least this time I have to win," he said to himself in an attempt to convince himself and gain strength.
Conan's sparring partner was now in front of him. Seeing the younger man's indecision about his next attack, he decided to take advantage and go straight at him. Using his body, he quickly approached Conan and attacked him with an upward-downward movement with his wooden sword, determined to end the fight quickly.
"I'm sorry, but I can't afford to lose to you," he apologized, determined to defeat Conan.
Just as the attack was about to hit Conan, he dodged it, moving to the side, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground
"Get up! Get up or I'll hit you!" Conan said to himself, now on the ground and watching as his sparring partner came at him.
"You were lucky to dodge that!" he said to Conan, wasting no time in charging at him, pointing his sword at Conan.
Seeing the other man charging at him, Conan tried to think of something, but he couldn't come up with anything he could do to avoid getting hurt and losing the duel. Out of the corner of his good eye, he saw a small stone, which gave him an idea.
He quickly picked it up and threw it at his opponent, who was less than a meter away from him. The other boy couldn't react in time, causing the stone to hit him in the nose and knock him off balance.
Without giving the other boy time to recover, Conan quickly got up, brandishing his wooden sword and hitting the other boy in the right eye, causing him to cry out in pain.
"I have to hit him harder or he'll get up!" he said to himself, repeatedly striking the older boy with his sword.
"That's enough," said one of the supervisors, grabbing Conan by the arms and immobilizing him.
When he regained his composure, Conan saw the boy, now covering his face, his eye completely red from the blows.
Other supervisors lifted the injured boy by his arms and carried him out of the room. Seeing this, Conan couldn't help but feel guilty for hurting his older brother, who had been dragged out of the room.
"Training is over, everyone go to the dining hall!" said the supervisor who had been holding Conan, leading him along with the others.
"Wait... Does that mean I can eat something?" he asked himself, remembering that he hadn't eaten anything in four days.
When he was taken to the dining hall, Conan was finally able to eat something, which was only a piece of bread and potatoes. But even that was better than nothing, completely forgetting the previous encounter and now devoting himself entirely to the food.