Seems like it hasn't been long since I arrived here if my health is still that low… Geez, this woman really put me through so much trouble.

Well, at least I gained a nice ally.

…

(Unknown POV)

Psh… Psh… Psh… Psh… Psh…

"Heyyyyy… Wake up… Are you awake?" Somebody kept whispering into my ear, and they even began to poke my cheek.

Who dares to poke my cheek while I'm sleeping so peacefully!?

And when I opened my eyes, a familiar woman had her face practically pressed up against mine, and she was even sitting on top of me.

Damn, she doesn't look like it, but she's heavy as fuck… holy shit, how much does she weigh?

"It's just because muscle is heavier than fat!" She cried out.

And it seems she noticed I was complaining about her weight as she began to literally strangle me with her immense grip strength.

"Ah! I'm dying! I'm dying!" I cried out, but nobody came to save me… and that's the second time I encountered near death in just a few days.

After she finally let go, she smiled ecstatically at seeing me wake up, and I just began to remember that we had agreed to become allies.

Wow… I forgot all about that… What have I done?

It was a completely impulsive decision that was based on a near-death experience, and if it weren't for her being just as strong as me, I probably wouldn't have agreed.

"Hey! Come on! Talk or do something! You're just sitting there like a rock!" The woman shouted as she began to pinch my stomach.

To be honest, I wanted to say something, but she had broken pretty much everything in my body, and even moving my mouth hurt like shit!

…

Another few days passed, and we were moved to the recovery center, where decent doctors began to monitor our health every day.

We might've been slaves, but we were also their money-making machines, so they needed us in our best condition in order to make as much money as possible.

Then, there was also the fact that we had to share a room with somebody as there was a recent increase in injured gladiators.

Even if you're one of the lowest-ranked gladiators, you still get minimal treatment because betting between the lower ranks still hordes tons of money.

The lower ranks don't have an exponential increase in power, so sometimes, the outcome of the battle is obvious, and it's some quick cash.

The colosseum normally only does this when they're running low on the money, though, because they take 10% of the profit from each bet.

It's a quick cash grab with minimal work, and it really does work most of the time.

Yeah, the audience might be displeased, but the investors and bidders are completely ecstatic, so it's a win-win-lose situation.

Two wins and one loss are better than three losses. Am I right, or am I right?

Anyway, back to the room situation that I'm in because I'm having trouble dealing with this piece of shit who keeps annoying me.

"Hey! Let's play something! Anything!" Lucy, the gladiator who I had just allied with, complained.

I was still trying to recover, but this woman still wanted to spar me or arm wrestle me or do anything brutal that would just be bad for my recovery.

She was like a kid in a late teens body, which I guess sort of adds up but her constant bugging me was getting really annoying.

I was trying to recover as fast as possible so I could continue to rise up the ranks, but only after training some more.

Losing to this woman has made me realize the difference between myself and close combat users, so I need to figure out a way to counter it.

Suddenly, I had the terrible idea of asking Lucy for a suggestion… and I tried to resist it, but to get stronger and kill the empress, I was willing to even set aside my pride and learn from this childish woman.

"Hey, Lucy…" I muttered with sweat dripping down my entire face.

I took in a deep breath in order to calm myself, and as the woman looked over at me with a clueless expression, I spoke up again.

"I-"

"Wait! I'm sorry, but I already have a girlfriend," She suddenly and cruelly interrupted all confidence I had built up.

She blushed like a bashful maiden, and I was suppressing the urge to completely conk her in the face and beat the shit out of her.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

She suddenly began to laugh her ass off, and as she began to calm down, the warrior that I knew I had sparred with suddenly revealed herself.

Her eyes began to fill with maturity, suppressing the childish personality, which kind of seemed like a coping mechanism.

She seemed to want to use it to keep up good spirits while in this depressing and decrepit place…

"You want advice… right?" She asked me while sitting on her bed perpendicular to where I was lying down.

"Y-Yeah," I responded, my voice shaking a bit as her change was way too sudden.

"Well, you came to the right person. I know you want to learn how to face close combat people, especially when the rank one is surprisingly a monk. Did you know that? That's pretty crazy if you ask me," She chuckled a bit.

The rank one is a monk? How did she figure that out? Was she able to see the arena or something?

"Anyway, I'll teach you free of charge. I got nothing to do anyway as you're planning on not doing anything with me…."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

"Yep, but it seems it's not working," She chuckled once again before removing her shirt and revealing her well-toned body.

Guess she wasn't lying about that…

Also, she thankfully had some decency as her breasts had been wrapped tightly with bandages, I assume acting as her bra… I guess. I don't know.

"You putting on a strip show, or are you going to show me something else?" I asked.

"I'm showing you how the muscles work," She muttered before creating a sword of ice.

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