"You all have two hours to read. If you try to be clever, there will be consequences!" shouted one of the supervisors, opening the door to one of the libraries inside the slave farm.
This was not a break. Literate slaves with greater intelligence would sell for a higher price, increasing the farm's profits.
"I'd better hurry or I'll get in trouble," Conan 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 talked about 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 belonged to different factions that 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 predominant in each.
"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.
He was not particularly attracted to such a strange name. His opinion changed when he read that it was the magicians who had given the names. Mainly because they were the quickest to invent them.
The boy did not realize that the time they had given him was running out, so he had to hurry, turning the pages of the old book as quickly as possible.
From this, he extracted the names of the other continents, as well as discovering the existence of other races.
The names of the other continents were: Zenitos, the magical continent, and Aetherium, the continent of alchemy, the latter being the smallest of the three and surrounded by small islands.
"No continent has a normal name..."
He couldn't help but feel saddened by this fact. He couldn't help thinking that the magicians chose these names as a way of shaming the other factions.
He shook his head to avoid thinking about other things, focusing on what was written next in the book.
Predominant races of each continent:
Zetinos Continent: Elves, Half-Dragons, and Fairies.
Xanthar Continent: Humans, Beastmen, and Demons.
Aetherium Continent: Dwarves.
"There are half-dragons...?" Conan asked himself, baffled by this new discovery.
His curiosity grew more and more. But it was halted when he heard the door slam open and one of the supervisors enter.
"It's time for you 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 got after training.
With a silent sigh, Conan puts down the book he was reading and follows the others, mostly resigned to receiving another beating.
<<<<>>>>
Inside the large hall, the sound of wood hitting wood could be heard, along with some soft moans of pain. The floor was covered in sweat and drops of blood that fell with each blow.
Conan was now practicing with another slave, one 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 thought, trying to convince himself and gather strength.
His sparring partner was now in front of him, seeing the younger boy's indecision about his next attack. He decided to take advantage and go straight at him, thrusting himself forward with all his body and attacking 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 in his mind, determined to defeat the boy.
Conan could barely react, jumping to the side in an attempt to dodge the attack. His sudden movement caused him to lose his balance, falling face first.
He got up as quickly as his body would allow, putting his wooden sword in front of him.
"He almost hit me!" Conan said to himself, frightened to see his sparring partner charging at him.
"We could end this quickly!" he said to Conan, running towards him.
The boy trembled as his older partner yelled at him. He received a strong kick to his side, which knocked him to the ground, a few feet away from his older partner.
Desperate, he tried to think of a way to attack or escape. He decided on the former when he saw a small stone near his hand and threw it at his face.
The stone hit him squarely in the nose, momentarily stunning him.
Terrified, he forced himself to get up, holding the heavy sword with both hands, and struck the other boy on the right side of his face, causing him to scream in pain.
"Another one! I have to hit him again!" he encouraged himself, tears streaming down his face.
He repeatedly struck the older boy with his sword, not noticing how his body had curled up in an attempt to protect himself from the blows.
"That's enough," said an adult, grabbing Conan by the arms and immobilizing him.
Once restrained, Conan regained his composure, looking down at his sparring partner, now covering himself, his clothes stuck to his back, and with several cuts from the friction of Conan's sword tip.
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 senior, who had been dragged away from the room.
A few minutes later, training ended, and he decided to walk with the others.
"Training is over, everyone go to the dining room!" said the supervisor who had been holding Conan, guiding him along with the others.
"Will I be able to eat something...?" he wondered, remembering how he hadn't eaten anything in four days.
In 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. He completely forgot about the previous encounter, devoting his full attention to the food.