God Rising: Battle of Atela 47 Part III

"Hm…" His brows furrowed as he investigated the small genital she had. He wanted to say something, but he didn't want to sound rude. Once he found a suitable way to lighten his statement, he didn't spare a moment to talk. 

"Don't worry. You're still young. Eventually your penis will grow." He understood the reason for Armin's bashful conduct, but he couldn't relate to how it felt to be intimidated by the size of other men. All he could do was stop staring because it seemed like Armin wasn't comfortable.

Artemis put on the rough clothes, then commanded Keith not to do a hawk stare at her uncovered body ever again. 

If there was one thing she was glad of, it was the fact that her deceit skill was working flawlessly on them. For the first time in Sol, something was going her way. Well, only a little.

The violent guards hurled the slaves out of the hall and locked it once the last slave stepped out. They whipped him for his slowness, then pushed forward. 

The entryway to Hall C was shut unexpectedly, and would stay shut until evening. By then, all the slaves would have completed their work.

Artemis wondered what it was to be a female slave. She wondered if their hall was cleaner, if it was bigger, and if they had any privileges like Monica. She had a lot to inquire about slavery in Sol. 

"Hey Keith!" She called. 

Keith didn't turn back, but he was quick to answer "Yes?"

Artemis ran to his side, "What's it like to be a female slave?"

"Being a slave is terrible. Being a female slave is worse than terrible. I got to know that the hard way." 

An unexpected call from a feeble voice intruded his words. 

"Armin, Keith!!!" Monica approached them, and she asked the pair to stay behind while the others moved to their various places of work.

Artemis found the way she was grinning odd. She assumed she had privileges from the shade of her outfit to her conveniently styled and the cheerful expression she carried about. But Little did Artemis know, Monica was the one that suffered the most.

"I apologize for not handing you a copy of the rulebook. I'm not done writing it yet. For the meantime, Keith will tell you all he remembers. And I hope he remembers." The sudden raise of her tone made her last words seem threatening. Keith and any other slave understood why she was strict whenever it came to rules.

 Monica wrote the rules in the simplest way any dumb person could understand.

The middle-aged lady forced a grin before leaving the boys to handle things by themselves.

"I guess I'm your tour guide." He chuckled as he moved forward to the roster, and what he read made his mood turn gloomy. 

Fear gnawed at his insides, and his stomach twisted from the thoughts of having to go to the training ring again. He gulped, and the hairs at the rear of his neck stood. "No!" He banged the wall with his fist, and Artemis flinched from the sound of the impact.

"We're going to the training ring." His voice was thick with panic and dread had eclipsed his calm demeanour.

"Those bastards! You just arrived and they've already set you up for the arena." 

Artemis was certain the demigod had a hand in it, but she didn't know what exactly Keith was afraid of. She thought it was simply to watch Beastchildren train all the day, but she had no clue they'd use her as a punching bag.

Demigod's five children strolled down the earthenware steps, and once Keith sited them, he bowed. Artemis reluctantly did the same, and her rude gesture was noticed.

She gasped for air as soon as an unknown attacker struck her stomach. She coughed as she fell to her knees and she dashed her eyes to meet the face of the wolfman before her. 

"Learn how to bow properly or you'll die before the week runs out." He spat at her face.

Keith begged on her behalf, but it wasn't acknowledged. The wolfman left, and the others followed behind him.

"But it's so…" She winced before she could complete her statement. "It's so early. Why are they awake?" 

Keith shrugged as he helped her get back on her feet, "I don't know. I guess that's what happens when your father is a demigod."

"Who was he?" Artemis recalled the scary face of the wolfman that kneed her not too long ago. He looked a lot like his father. Big and intimidating. Just like a dire wolf. She was happy about the shortcomings of her deceit skill. She didn't want to feel the aura of the children. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle it.

"Hey, you're supposed to be inside the wagon!!!" The guard snarled and Keith quickly apologized for the delay before running out of the hall, pulling Artemis along.

They got in the wagon with ten other slaves and they sat close to each other to warm themselves up that cold morning. 

"You asked me a question about the wolfman that attacked you. That was Vincent Livingston. He looks like a devil because he is one. I'll advise you to watch out for him. He knows no mercy, and he doesn't discriminate. As long as you're human, he doesn't hold back."

"Apart from the little ones, I saw another wolfman. He seemed quiet…"

"That's Derren. The older brother. I don't really know much about him because we hardly cross paths. As for Vincent, he terrorizes every slave every day." From the tone of Keith's voice, it was clear how much he hated Vincent.

"Derren Livingston…" Artemis wanted to know more about that gentle beastman, and the first son of Demigod Marcellus. The prime opposite of his father.

With time Artemis found herself at the same Arena where the summer games took place.  It brought back a sentiment of pain, and she was frozen in place just looking at the building, reminiscing about all that happened six years ago.

"Armin, move!" she shook her head, trying to pull herself together "Sorry." 

With the parcel in her hands, she made way into the building, and headed for a storeroom.

On her way, she spotted a large chart. Keith had long gone without her, but she was certain she'd have the option to find him later on. Her eyes moved around in search of any guards, or anyone that would address what she was doing. There was none near, so she turned her attention back to the  chart. 

"Power ranking…" She read out and her eyes settled at the first name.

Rank 1: Vincent Livingston. 

Specialty: Close combat

Health: 12000 ()

Magic: 7000 (B+)

Strength: 11000 ()

His stats amazed her, however she was expecting Derren to be number one. She recalled him being the first child, and the heir but he wasn't part of the top ten. Her eyes kept moving down in search of his name. 

After the number 200, she found his name. He didn't have a number, and his stats were shocking as well.

Rank: —

Specialty: None

Health: 500

Magic: —

Strength: 50 

It was unbelievable. It was without a doubt that she was stronger than the Demigod's heir, Derren.

Chapter end