48 Hours a Day

Gabi had much to deal with, hurriedly leaving the training ground after arranging for tomorrow’s match.

The rest of the gladiator candidates were gathered in front of their trainers, inquiring about their opponents. After they knew about their opponents’ fighting styles, they quickly turned around, looking for people with similar combat styles to spar with them, thus simulating their upcoming battle.

Varo was the only one sitting on the ground alone, motionless.

From the back, he looked really lonely. This time most people could understand his frustration. He was truly unlucky to get Habitus as his opponent. There was a massive gap in strength and skills between the two of them, which also meant that Varo was destined to be defeated by Habitus tomorrow. That could only mean that he would fail his assessment.

Zhang Heng also asked his trainer about Garba, including his chances of winning and losing and his fighting style. The trainer had a good impression of Zhang Heng, even reminding him that he had to pay extra attention when fighting a cunning veteran like Garba.

Upon expressing his gratitude, Zhang Heng walked to Varo’s side.

Without even looking, Varo knew who was approaching him. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I haven’t given up on myself yet. You asked me what made me make up my mind to become a gladiator, right?”

“Are you willing to tell me now?” Zhang Heng sat down beside Varo.

“I saw him that afternoon, the same afternoon I went to help in the arena.” Varo clenched his fists.

“Who?”

“My best friend, or… rather, ex-best friend.” Varo laughed sarcastically. “I trusted him fully… gave him all my money so he could help me invest in the textile business in Egypt. Not too long after that, he told me that he had been robbed. The authorities told me that he was dead and all the money was gone. They did send the body back to Rome, though. There were no problems with his height and body shape, but his face was disfigured.”

“He’s back?”

“Yes, and he is with my wife now. They sat in the stands, enjoying the gladiatorial show. I don’t think they saw me. After all, even I didn’t pay attention to the slaves in the arena when I watched the shows back then.”

Varo’s ex-best friend’s arrogant behavior surprised Zhang Heng. Initially, Zhang Heng thought the man would leave Rome, moving to a new place forever with the wealth he had robbed from Varo. By doing that, there was no way to prove that this whole thing was a hoax. Nobody expected him to have the audacity to settle down in Rome with Varo’s wife.

“Can you sue him and get your wealth back?” asked Zhang Heng.

Varo shook his head. “Julia Basilica only accepts lawsuits from Roman citizens, and slaves are not allowed to sue anyone. Besides, I don’t have any money to hire a lawyer. And I know he would find all kinds of reasons to defend himself. For example, he could claim that he did encounter a robber but managed to run away. And others had mistakenly identified the dead body as him. After all, I was the one that signed the contract voluntarily at the beginning. No matter what the reason was, I did breach the contract.”

Varo was now a lot calmer than when Zhang Heng first met him, which was why people said hardship was the best way to mold a person. However, the problem Varo had experienced so far was too outrageous.

After experiencing his wife and his best friend’s betrayal, then losing his freedom, he finally snapped out from his miserable phase. He then went through a hellish training period that was almost impossible for him to survive, only to find out that he would fight with Habitus in his final assessment.

Varo hesitated and asked, “What are the odds that I will win against Habitus?”

“Do you want to hear the truth?”

“Of course.”

“Not even 10%.” Zhang Heng told him the truth. “He a gladiator at his golden age. His physical fitness, combat skills, and combat experience are a lot more advanced than you. This gap cannot be made up by sheer willpower. Even after the hellish training, Bach has a very slim chance of winning against him.”

“What about you?” Varo asked.

Zhang Heng smiled, and he did not answer his question. Instead, he turned around and said, “Your goal is not to beat him. You need to focus on passing tomorrow’s assessment.”

“As you said, his physical fitness, fighting skills, and combat experience are all above me. It will be a one-sided battle tomorrow. How can I pass the test?” Varo smiled bitterly, “I don’t even know how long I can last in that battle. Ten rounds perhaps?”

“I think you overestimated yourself, my friend,” replied Zhang Heng euphemistically. “Defending or running away allows you to drag the battle, but that’s pointless.”

Spectators were known to not treat gladiator deserters very well. Once the weaker gladiator was defeated before the audience got to watch the exciting performance, they would urge the organizer to execute the loser. To please the audience, the organizer would not hesitate to do it in front of them.

Thus, even a cunning gladiator veteran like Garba would have to fight hard when he encountered an opponent who was way stronger than him.

“The key to passing the assessment is not the number of rounds, but whether or not you can cause Habitus a little trouble.”

“Causing Habitus trouble? What kind of trouble? Will my blood be spilled on his sword?”

“It has to be something bigger than that,” said Zhang Heng. “If you are fighting someone else, I don’t think I can help you. Since we have seen Habitus’ fight with Bach, I think I can give you some suggestions.”

“Really?” Varo asked in surprise. He looked at Zhang Heng again as if looking at the incarnation of Jupiter.

Zhang Heng had rescued him more than once. He bought him three days to prove himself to Gaby, made his protective gear, and now, he was even telling him how there might be a way to take advantage of Habitus.

“Don’t be too happy. I’m not too sure about it as well. After all, it has to depend on your on-the-spot performance and Habitus’ attitude towards you.”

Zhang Heng continued after a pause, “Logically speaking, he should not participate in this sort of entry-level gladiator assessment. We don’t know why he is on the list now, but my guess is that he has some conflict with Gaby. After all, Bach’s growth will threaten his current position. Gaby is probably taking this opportunity to bring him down. Therefore, Habitus is not in a good mood. Other than that, he is a very proud individual as well. Here is your chance. I can play his role and do some sparring with you. We have the whole day to ourselves. If you can do what I say, you can probably cause him some trouble. Even if everything goes well, you only have about 40% chance to execute the plan.”

“Enough. 40% is better than 10%.” Varo gritted his teeth. “From the moment I was sold here, I have only one way to get out of this place. I have to do whatever it takes to regain my freedom.”

“Very well. Let me tell you what to do.”