The next morning, Kaiser woke and packed as quickly as he could. He had little besides some clothes, but wanted to leave as soon as possible.
He didn't want to give the bastards any chance to show up. Though his breakthrough had exhausted his mana the previous day, he'd recovered overnight, and now his power was more than enough if he had to fight. Still, he wanted no attention. Not even a little.
With that thought in mind, he finished packing and remembered there was something important he needed to retrieve before he could leave. He walked over, crouched down next to the dirty carpet in the center of the room, pulled it aside, and lifted a broken wooden floorboard.
There was a small opening containing a coin pouch and a gold amulet with intricate carvings. He reached in, grabbed both, and walked back to his bag, dropping the pouch inside.
Kaiser looked down at the amulet in his hand. It was an artifact of his house; he didn't know what grade it was or its function. Either it was broken, or he didn't meet the requirements to use it.
He could have sold it; any artifact would fetch hundreds, even the weak ones, but he kept it. It was his family's heirloom.
As he handled the amulet, he found himself reminiscing about his family. Finally, he placed it around his neck and tucked it beneath his dirty tunic.
Letting out a sigh, he threw his bag over his shoulder and headed out.
As he walked through the slums, he noticed two men watching him.
'It's the same bastards from yesterday,' he thought. 'They've posted watchers, so I can't slip away without paying. Do they really think I'd stick around? '
As he was thinking this, the two men locked onto him.
He tensed as their gaze fell on him.
Their eyes met, and they broke into a sprint.
'Shit, shit, shit,'
Kaiser panicked as he took off running, weaving between people in the crowded street.
"Hey, watch it!" an older man yelled as Kaiser bumped into him while running past.
'Damn it, I need to get out of here before they catch me,' he thought, desperately searching for a way to lose the two men.
"Move!" one of the men yelled at the people in his way as he sprinted after Kaiser.
Just then, Kaiser ducked into an alleyway, pressing himself out of sight. The two men ran straight past, missing him completely.
"The boss is gonna have our heads if we don't find the little bastard," Kaiser heard one of the men say to the other as they ran past.
Thinking he was safe, Kaiser let out a slow sigh and glanced in the direction the men had gone before turning to head the opposite way.
He made his way through the slums toward the center of the capital.
This was the capital of the Nova Empire, or as some called it, the Empire of the Sun.
It was home to one of the current four Great Houses, House Rasen.
They were known for their mastery over fire elements and all advanced types derived from it.
As he walked, Kaiser made sure to keep an eye on his surroundings, watching for any members of the gang that had been after him.
The gang was called the Black Hand.
If you wanted something done in the slums, they were the ones you went to.
They controlled everything there.
As he walked past a dark alleyway, something grabbed his arm and yanked him forcefully inside.
'Damn,' he thought. He had believed he had slipped past them, but it seemed that was wishful thinking.
As the thought crossed his mind, he tried to cast a lightning spell as fast as he could, but before he could, the man grabbing him delivered a sharp blow to his head, causing him to lose consciousness.
"Brat almost gave us the slip," the bigger man said.
The other, smaller man laughed, wiping his forehead. They had run all over the place looking for Kaiser.
"The boss would have killed us for sure if we had messed up," he said to his partner.
"Yeah," the bigger man agreed, lifting Kaiser by one arm. "Let's get him to the boss before he wakes up."
The man slung Kaiser over his shoulder and began making his way back to their base.
Later, Kaiser woke. It was already night.
"Where am I?" he said, grabbing the back of his head, still feeling the pain from the bigger man's blow.
As he did, he heard a clanking noise from his arms and felt cold steel on his wrists.
He pulled his hands back and looked down, shackles. And as his eyes traveled further, he saw his feet were shackled too.
He looked around in a panic. It was dark, but from what he could make out, he appeared to be in a cell.
'Maybe I could use my lightning to destroy the shackles,' he thought, but quickly dismissed it. 'No, that wouldn't work. It would electrocute me to death. '
The shackles were made of steel and would conduct the lightning straight back into him.
As he thought it through, he also realized he didn't have enough power to fight his way out, and sneaking out wasn't an option either, since the spell would make too much noise.
As he was trying to come up with a way to escape, he heard movement beside him.
He turned his head toward the noise and saw a guy with his eyes closed. He looked to be just a few years older than Kaiser.
He had short blue hair slicked back, red eyes, and a scar on his lips. He was tall, from what Kaiser could see.
Looking closer, Kaiser could see that he was shackled too.
The guy opened his eyes and looked at Kaiser.
"Hey, kid, don't try anything stupid like using your magic. It won't work. I've seen people try. They just end up dying from the backlash," he said, standing and walking closer before sitting down in front of him.
As he sat in front of Kaiser, he asked, "Name's Banner, what's yours?"
"Why do you need to know?" Kaiser replied, his eyes narrowing. "And what do you mean by backlash from trying to use magic?"
Sighing, Banner pointed down at the shackles. "You see these carvings in the steel? They're runes that suppress magic. If you try to circulate your mana, they'll disrupt it and cause backlash," he said, rolling his eyes before continuing. "As for the name thing, you'd better learn your partner's name before the matches starts."
Kaiser looked confused, not about the runes, but about what Banner meant by matches, so he decided to ask.
"What matches?" Kaiser asked, confused.
Banner raised an eyebrow. "Really? You don't know? We're pretty much slaves now, either you committed a crime, or you were sold to pay back a debt." Sighing, "and now we're forced to fight each other to the death for the entertainment of others."
Kaiser's eyes widened as he realized those bastards had sold him off for trying to escape without paying them.
'Wait, my amulet. '
He reached into his tunic, and it was still there. He let out a slow sigh.
'At least he didn't lose the last thing he had from his family. '
Banner watched him, then leaned back. "So, are you going to tell me your name or not?"
Breaking from his thoughts, Kaiser finally answered. "My name's Kaiser. Nice to meet you." He reached out his hand for a shake.
Banner smirked, took it, and shook it.
"So, about the matches, is there a way to win our freedom?" Kaiser asked, hoping for a good answer.
Banner sighed, rubbing his face before locking eyes with Kaiser. "Yes, but you have to win fifty matches in a row." He paused. "No one has managed it yet."
Kaiser's expression turned serious. "I'm guessing you've been here a while," he said, wanting to know more about the man in front of him.
"Yeah, about a year." Banner leaned back with a cocky smirk. "But I lost my partner twice, which set me back both times. So I've been stuck here."
Watching him carefully, Kaiser asked, "Are you a mage, by any chance?" His tone was serious.
Banner stopped smirking and looked Kaiser over, wondering if this kid knew what he was talking about.
"Yes. I'm Novice Rank Five, and I'm guessing you are one too," Banner answered.
Kaiser nodded. "I'm Novice Rank One," he stated.
Banner's expression shifted. "Hm. You're the first mage I've been partnered with; maybe we actually have a chance at winning our freedom." He looked pleased.
"We have a month before the matches begin," Banner told Kaiser, glancing over his frail frame. "So we have time to get you in shape."
After talking for a while longer, they decided to get some sleep and start Kaiser's training tomorrow