"Where do you even get the energy to exercise Fero? Isn't carrying these huge rocks enough of an exercise for you?" Vim was genuinely curious when he asked. Also he had already summarized a few conjectures to why Fero was doing this. After all, this was his second day watching Fero exercise.
The days in prison were filled with tons of labor. But yet he had already grown accustomed to the work because it was just slightly harder than the normal livelihood he was used to. Intently he watched as Fero finished his routine. "You can always join me instead of watching me."
Vim looked at the charcoal grey boulders surrounding them and then back at Fero. "Did you fry your brain? I haven't had any food to eat from the day I came. And you want me to burn out because of an exercise routine that seems like a death wish?"
Fero chuckled while he got up, "A thousand of everything is not absurd. You're just too weak to comprehend."
Vim didn't respond and just strugglingly rolled one of the rocks towards the edge. They were on an enormous charcoal grey mountain, and the sun was scorching hot. The skies were clear with no clouds in sight. Vim had been hungry but he had long learnt to suppress his hunger for 3 or so days.
Fero looked at Vim and also began pushing, rolling the boulder following Vim. The mountain wasn't all bumpy, but they had to use the edges since the road was built there.
After 45 minutes, they finished bringing down the rocks. And their next task was to break these huge boulders into smaller chunks. Vim seemed tired, but Fero on the other hand was more energetic. The mountain was situated in the mine section of the prison. They were surrounded by walls, with only two gates on the east and north, each leading to prison cells. Fero found a sludge harmer and began breaking the rocks with ease.
As for Vim, he was having troubles. But that didn't stop him, he persevered nonetheless. In the section, there were more than 30 slaves working. And among all of them, only 8 of the prisoners, Vim included, seemed to have been having problems keeping up.
Fero smashed through yet another boulder with his hammer, and looked at Vim who was about smash a boulder. "You know that you're a death row prisoner, right?"
Vim stopped, his hammer mid air, "Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"
Fero gasped, "The all knowing King of the slaves didn't know?"
"Know what?" Vim put his sludge harmer down stopping to listen.
Fero explained with a smirk, while leaning on his harmer, "Later today, you'll be sent to this horrifying place. Well considering horror, is in the name, I shouldn't have described it like that."
"You mean the tunnel of horrors?" Vim couldn't help but ask. He got wind of this place from the older slaves, but all the older slaves also were apprised of it from others and never entered the place themselves. All vim knew of this place was that it was a nightmare with walking monsters straight from a fantasy.
Fero's eyes twitched when he heard Vim mention the place, he had few moments he outsmarted Vim, and he lost another one. "Yes. Then you know very well how hard it is to survive in there. So I suggest you pick a weapon when they offer you one, don't be hot headed."
Vim listened to Fero and began to consider the outcomes. Interrupting him from his thoughts were loud footsteps that got louder by the second. Vim and Fero simultaneously looked at the direction of the footsteps and saw five prisoners. Four looked to be extremely strong but the one infront looked frail. But strangely, he seemed to lead them. The five prisoners stopped infront of Vim and Fero.
"Can we help you?" Vim cautiously asked. His arm had already gripped the sludge harmer tightly in readiness to attack if anything were to happen.
"We got a problem?" Fero added with a frown playing on his lips. The other slaves began to chatter with those they were close to, and Vim collected only one common thing from their chatter, that being, "The enforcement" and "The prisoner breakers."
'This isn't going to be a pretty sight.. well, hope Fero doesn't choose to watch me get beat up.' Vim concluded in his mind.
"You two are having fun talking while we're working. Are you royalty or something?" The small guy on the middle questioned with sarcasm. The four men behind him were laughing like insane laugh along lackeys.
Fero walked and stood infront of Vim with his hammer, swinging it onto his shoulder, "You guys are practically wizards, seeing how you guessed right. Yeah, my friend here is royalty. He's king of the slaves after all. Have a problem with royalty slacking?"
"Oh, is this supposed to be our king? King Vim, this is a coup d'etat!" He bellowed, and the four men behind him attacked Fero.
Fero weaved the first man's punch, and pushed him behind towards vim. And kicked the remaining three to the ground in a matter of seconds while still shouldering his sludge harmer.
When Vim saw the guy Fero pushed towards him, he immediately attacked with the sludge harmer, hitting the buff guy's face. But the hammer stopped, and Vim tried using all his power but could nolonger push it further into the man's face.
Fero with a mock tone scoffed, "You planning to take the king out without using your powers? Come on guys, stop underestimating him so much."
The other prisoners watched not planning to interfere, but when Vim heard this, he was taken aback. He registered in his mind, 'I need to move back as far as I can.'
Not giving him a second to even act on his thoughts, the guy he hit with a sludge harmer's eyes grew red, and the buff guy, yanked the sludge harmer from Vim and swung it towards his head which was unable to block or dodge.
The hammer hit Vim sending him flying towards the boulder and breaking through it. Upon landing, he immediately fell unconscious while vomiting out blood.
"You want to fight us with powers, fine." The men Fero kicked to the ground stood up, all their eyes glowing red. The man who knocked Vim out now was also staring at Fero viciously.
Fero didn't look the slightest bit worried. He just looked at the knocked out Vim, "Damn. Did you have to do your king like that?"
The small guy laughed, "Hahaha, you too will meet the same fate if not worse!" The small guy's arms materialized red dragon tattoos which prompted the other prisoners to gasp.
Fero's grin grew much wider, "Oh I see now, you're nolonger a blessed. Haha well, don't think for a second you're the only slighter here!" From Fero, a huge amount of aura burst forth enveloping the whole mine area. The whole area trembled, the four guys who had activated there power were slammed to the ground.
The small guy fell to the ground. His eyes widened with fear showcasing an awfully timid expression. He moved back every time Fero took a step towards him. "Your pants feel small now right big boy?!"
The small guy felt a chill down his spine when he heard Fero's question. Somehow, in his eyes, Fero had grown bigger than the mountains in there. When Fero was about to reach the small guy, one of the gates opened. The knight who had ordered Vim's arrest walked into the mine area. "Is that rebellion I sensed?"
All the prisoners recognized this man. Everyone, Fero included, dismissed there powers. Everyone else other than Fero got on their knees bowing to the man.
Fero carried an annoyed look when he responded, "You sensed right. What will you do about it?"
The knight closed the distance between the gate and Fero like no space existed between. He now was behind Fero. The knight, slow and deliberate, spoke "If it was rebellion why did you dismiss your power? Have you learnt to be scared of those whose power far surpasses yours Fero, dictator of the slaves?"
Fero ignored the man's words and walked towards Vim and carried him. "Keeping me alive will one day be your biggest regret." Fero said and walked to the gate with Vim on his back. As he was about to get out, the Knight spoke. "Make sure he's up by 6pm. He and 8 more will be taken into the tunnel of horrors."
Fero was rebellious, but he wanted to stay alive so he could take revenge, so he was going to do as ordered of him, for now.
...
" Damn, that hammer to the head was so damn painful," Vim thought adjusting the bandage wrapped around his head. He then returned to browsing through the weapons set on the table. Vim was standing in a room with eight more people. The room had two doors opposite to each other, no windows, and the bulb at the top didn't light the room up much.
While browsing through weapons Vim sneaked a glance at the person who stood alone in the corner. The man was undoubtedly handsome. No, handsome wasn't the right word, he was beautiful. The long hair that fell on his back, he's pale skin, he was the only one without scars in the room. On his waist, hang a sword with engravings Vim couldn't make out from afar, 'What is a noble doing among us lowly prisoners?' He asked himself, not aloud of course.
He then tilted his head to the only chair in the room. On it was a green-haired girl. 'Her facial features aren't that striking, especially with that man here.' He thought while glancing at the beautiful man one more time.
He than glanced infront of him, where two men who were chatting like they had no care in the world. Both men were holding picks in there hands. 'They seem to have chosen there weapons.'
He returned his eyes back on the table and grabbed a dagger and a sword. 'These should be enough for long and short range fights.' After picking the weapons, he was going to head to a corner when one of the four who had been sitting on the floor spoke, "Don't you think it's appropriate if we introduce ourselves? Because none of us is going to survive alone in the tunnel of horrors."
Everyone in the room turned to look at the man. Among those seated on the floor, one was trembling uncontrollably. The trembling guy was going to speak but was cut off by the first speaker, "I'm Tram. I'm not saying this because am an elder. But I'm saying this because we need to stick together."
The green-haired girl stood up and scoffed, "Hmph! By the looks of things, you seem pretty old for your blabbering. And also.. why should we listen to you? What crime got you on death row anyways, old man?!"
Vim looked at the man. And truly, he did look old. But Vim wasn't trying to get involved, so he used his inert ability of disappearing into the noise. He made his way to a corner watching the argument.
"My crime is none of your business." The old man retorted. "If you don't wish to team up, that's on you. I'm a war slave, my chances of surviving are much higher than yours."
"Oh look, grandpa thinks he's special. Old man, I was arrested for killing my slave parents. What can you do that I can't?" The girl held her waist with a look of disgust.
The two men with the picks looked away and continued to chat between themselves. The three men seated on the floor kept quiet, while one of them continued to tremble.
The beautiful man spared them a single glance and looked away.
A few minutes passed and the girl's boisterous chatter was stopped by the opening of the door. Everyone kept quiet and bowed their heads. It was the same knight from earlier.
"You had plenty of time to chose your weapons. Now let's go." He didn't wait for a response, he spoke and walked to the door ahead. The door opened immediately he reached it.
When the door opened, a flight of stairs appeared. The stairs though, were descending. The knight, with his head, signaled for them to go down. "Go."
No one dared to say no, all 9 prisoners walked down the stairs. The more they walked, the darker it got. When they made it to the bottom. They noticed that the door and the knight disappeared.
'Is this it?' Vim began to look around. It seemed like they were outside. This place didn't seem to have a roof. It wasn't too dark, it was just like a normal night now that he focused. He then looked around, and finally noticed. It seemed to be a very specious jungle. Some trees, and the place was undoubtedly mountainous. He lowered his eyes to the ground, and figured something that caused his eyes to widen in horror. 'This...'
All nine of them, were in a 3 feet hole that seemed to resemble a foot. 'There's a monster...'