52 Kidnapped
Arthur was no longer inside his room, but outside of the city in a woody area. The reason? He needed privacy to start his training.
It was early in the morning, as he had slept all night after those tiring fights. There were still 2 weeks before leaving, but Arthur did not want to lose his precious time.
The first element he wished to master was fire. He already had his Fire Breath during his dragon form, so you could say he wasn’t a complete beginner.
“You need to start with the basics. First, follow this chant mentally and try your best to absorb the sunlight. These rays will make everything else you learn about fire more effective.”
Arthur read the first page about the fire element in that book. It said he needed to master a sort of meditation, but unlike mages who meditate to gather mana from the air, Arthur had to absorb sun rays.
What was the use behind it? Well, the book said these would integrate with the body of a dragon, and make him more prone to learn that element. Arthur did not know where to start.
He sat with his legs crossed and thought about the chant he just learned. It was all in the dragon’s tongue, so it felt a little weird to think about it, but Arthur tried.
At first, nothing happened. The warm sun’s rays touched his body, but it was just the regular way of taking a sunbath. There was nothing special about it, or magical.
It stayed like that for at least an hour. Arthur kept thinking about the chant in his mind, but it did not work. Well, until it finally did.
The warmth of the sun was no longer only on his skin, but within. It was a clear sign the skill was working. After that first wave of energy got inside his body, more and more did the same.
A feeling Arthur had never felt before. This strange energy coming from the sun changed his body, and a notification popped right in front of his eyes.
[Ding]
[New Skill Learned]
[Dragon’s Fire Body]
[Dragon’s Fire Body (Max Rank): Increasing the absorption level of this skill will make you learn fire related spells faster. It will also increase the power of your fire spells, and your fire resistance.]
[Absorption level: 0,3% of 100%.]
It had been a long time since Arthur got that notification from the system, so it felt good. He was all smiles until he saw how little progress he had with the skill. An astonishing 0,3%.
“Everyone knows this type of skill only gets harder the more you progress. I want to cry…” Arthur thought.
The book said some things about milestones. It said the user would feel something different when he reached the first milestone, and when that happen, it was possible to start in more advanced skills, but never forgetting the basics, which was the Dragon’s Fire Body.
During the first week, all Arthur did was to train that skill. He would wake up, eat, and absorb the sunlight until night. At night he would eat again, and talk with his crew about the plans and what was the best course of action.
After an arduous week, his progress bar finally reached the threshold of 1%, and when that happened, he felt the strange feeling the book said he would.
The very next day, Arthur would train his new dragon fire spells, that if he survived the night.
Arthur was on his way back to his room, all smiles, after finally succeeding. It was night already, and he was passing through an area without many city guards patrolling.
At that moment, four masked guys tried to kidnap him. With a quick glance, Arthur could tell they were all level 35, and being four of them, it was too much for him at that point.
“I should just save my strength until a better opportunity of escaping comes. There’s no point.” He thought.
The attackers appeared out of a sudden and put a hood on his head. It certainly had a toxic substance, as Arthur went to sleep a few moments after.
~~~~
Arthur woke up inside a dark room, and he was not alone. Others were tied up to chairs near him, and these were people he had never seen before.
The walls were made of stone, and the door that locked them inside was of pure steel. Arthur was not optimistic about breaking his way out. What he could do, though, was to break out free from the ropes that tied his wrists.
The others also woke up, and each one of them used their own way to break free from the ropes.
“Who are you?”
None of them knew each other, but after they talked more, they got to know that all of them were fighters of the same arena.
“How did they know about our identities?”
“Well, I was kidnapped after I left the arena.”
“Yeah, me too.”
It turned out all of them were kidnapped as they were inside the arena, or after leaving. So the attackers knew who they were, and that’s it. But Arthur? He did not use his fighting outfit in a week, and he was just strolling around the streets when they got to him.
That could only mean one thing. He had been followed the day he talked with Runo, and did not notice.
“Damn it. I hope whoever followed me did not see too much. I need to be more careful from now on.”
After 10 minutes of waiting, someone opened the door of the cell. It was Runo, and he quickly apologized for doing that.
“I’m sorry to you all. I had to do this. Remember, all of you will take part in a legal tournament, so it is a must that all of you know each other well.”
“Couldn’t you just invite us to a talk?” one of them said.
Runo thought for a while, and could not find an answer.
“Well, this was quicker. Anyway, follow me.”