The next morning—
"Ugh..."
I opened my eyes with a groan.
My body ached.
It was uncomfortable to sleep in a place with nothing to lie on but the cold, concrete floor.
I also didn't sleep well because I kept an eye on the other cellmates, worried they might attack me while I had my eyes closed.
"Fuck this place..."
I muttered, frowning.
"Urgh..."
"... Shit."
I looked around and saw the other people in the cell were also tired. They didn't sleep well either.
"..."
Rose, Jenna, and Jhamillah all had frowns on their faces too after waking up.
Though, on the other hand—
"Haaaaaa..."
Damian woke up with a loud, soft yawn.
It seemed like he had a good rest.
"Man, this place is comfy."
He stated with a smile on his face.
My brows furrowed at his words—
'Oh, to be as stupid as him and enjoy everything.'
I mumbled in my head.
Everyone was looking at him weirdly too.
Anyway, just then—
Bam! Bam!
Two knocks were heard on the door of the cell.
"Hm?"
And through the metal bars—
"Eat up, bastards."
We saw five guards carrying a tray each.
Creak—
They opened the door.
And without saying a word—
Thud—
They placed the trays on the floor.
I saw bowls of rice on four of the trays, and on the last one... a small pot.
It had no lid, and smoke was rising from it.
I peered inside the pot.
And it looked like it contains meat broth.
"Ration the broth yourselves."
One of the guards said.
And after that—
THUD!
They just left the cell, closing the door behind them.
"..."
Our eyes fell onto the food they brought.
We're all hungry.
We were just given one bread each for yesterday's lunch and dinner.
One of the reasons too why we all didn't sleep well.
At that moment—
Fwish—
"Huh?"
Everyone in the cell turned to look at me.
"What?"
I asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
Then, with her lips parting—
"You're the leader of this place. It's common sense that you'll take the first portion and be the one to ration the food."
Rose answered.
"Hah? Is that a gladiator thing?"
I asked another question, turning to look at her.
"No."
She shook her head.
"It's a slave thing."
She added.
"Oh..."
My mouth hung open, unsure of what to do in this situation.
But just moments later—
"Meh."
I casually waved my hand.
"It's too bothersome and stupid."
I grumbled.
"Rose."
I called to her.
"Yeah?"
And when her attention was on me—
"You ration everything, evenly distribute the broth."
I just said that.
"Huh?"
"What..."
"... Did I hear him right?"
Everyone seemed shocked when they heard my words.
"..."
Even Rose was stunned, her eyes widening as she looked at me.
"What?"
I asked her.
Then, shaking her head—
"Nothing, I got it... Let me get started."
She muttered.
"You're really weird... In a good way."
Rose followed.
Tap- tap- tap—
Then she went toward the food brought by the guards, a smile resting on her face.
"..."
I just ignored her last words.
I could still feel the weight of many eyes on me.
'All the people here are weird.'
I mumbled in my head.
Then I decided to just ignore everyone.
...
...
Rose did a good job rationing the food.
And not long after—
All of us received our portion.
It wasn't much, but at least we all had something in our stomachs.
And after eating...
None of us were hungry anymore.
*****
After eating...
I sat in the usual corner where I rested.
I had nothing else to do anyway.
Though—
Bam! Bam!
Two knocks were heard again at the cell door.
'What is it this time?'
I grumbled in my head before turning to the door.
And there—
"..."
I saw a guard staring directly at me.
"Are you Kaiser?"
He asked.
"Uhh, yeah... I think."
I responded, unsure.
"Huh?"
The guard furrowed his brows at my response.
But then, immediately—
"Ah, right... I'm Kaiser."
I corrected myself.
I'm still kinda not used in my new name.
"..."
The guard looked at me weirdly, eyes squinting.
But after a moment—
"Come on, you're being relocated to the fighter cell."
He just let it go and said that plainly.
'The fighter cell...'
I heard about it from Rose and Damian last night.
I already expected this to happen because of that.
"..."
So, without saying a word—
Tap- tap- tap—
I walked over to the cell door.
Then, behind me—
"We'll be waiting!"
"Good luck."
"We wish you luck!"
"Come back safe."
I heard Damian, Rose, Jhamillah, and Jenna speak in order.
"..."
I didn't bother looking back at them.
"Yeah, sure."
Swish~
I just raised my hand and casually waved at them.
And with that—
Tap—
I stepped out of the cell.
...
...
*****
After a while of walking, following the guard...
Tap—
"We're here."
We arrived at our destination.
"..."
In front of me were metal bars, acting like a gate.
And looking past it, inside—
'It's spacious.'
I saw a massive space.
If I had to estimate it, it's about as big as a basketball court.
'This is my new cell?'
I asked in my head, tilting it slightly.
It's unnecessarily big with nothing inside.
But just as I thought that—
Creak—
"Go in."
The guard opened the massive metal-bar gate and gestured for me to step inside.
"..."
Tap- tap- tap—
I silently complied.
And as soon as I stepped past the gate—
BAM!
The guard slammed it shut behind me.
'I swear, I'll end these fuckers in the future.'
I thought to myself, annoyed.
"Find an empty room and use it."
The guard said that from the other side of the gate.
"Huh?"
I muttered in confusion, looking back at him.
"A room? What are you talking about, isn't this already my room?"
I asked.
But not giving a single fuck—
Tap- tap- tap—
The guard just ignored me and walked away.
'I fucking swear...'
I clenched my hands into fists in annoyance.
Anyway—
Fwish—
"..."
I looked around.
To gather information.
And that's when I noticed it.
"Hm?"
There were doors lining all of the walls, left and right.
There are five doors on each side.
"What's this?"
I asked aloud.
And then, at that moment—
Bam!
One of the doors on the right side swung open.
The one from the very end.
And from there—
TAP!
"Haaaaa...! I'm still sleepy..."
A man with bulging muscles and a messy beard stepped out.
Then—
"Huh?"
Our eyes met.
"What's a kid doing here?"
He asked asked, visibly confused about my appearance.