Coliseum Part 1

The next morning, I woke up early and decided to go out for a run. Dad was not in bed, so he was probably getting ready to go for a run, too. When I got downstairs, a servant greeted me and asked if I wanted something light before going out.

“Sure, thanks.”

I went to the dining table and saw an older adult drinking coffee and eating a French baguette with fruit spread.

“Good morning, Grandpa Justin.”

“Good morning, Cato. Call me Tato.”

He grabbed his cup of coffee and poured some into another small cup, then gave it to me.

“Why, Tato?” I said after taking a sip, it was bitter, just like I like it.

“Do you want sugar?”

“No, it’s perfect.”

”Uh? Okay. Tato is how grandchildren call their grandfather in the kingdom southeast of Dikausyne.”

“Oh, I will do that. So, part of our family origins is from the kingdom of Dikausyne?”

“That’s right. That's where Tata and I are from, an old and small town.”

Tato took his bread and sliced it with his hand into small pieces, like feeding a bird, put the spread on it, and gave me the small pieces to eat.

“What about Mom?” I asked, eating the bread and drinking coffee.

“We adopted her west of Dikausyne on our way to Eleutheria. We were already in our late 40s and were unable to have children. We bought your mom from a family who was trying to sell her as a slave on the border. No one would buy a baby to be enslaved, too many expenses, and who knows how strong that baby will be. However, we were overjoyed because we had been looking for a daughter or son of our own, by the gods. I have never seen them again or heard about them. That was the luckiest day of my life.”

“You can buy babies? Not here in Eleutheria. However, things were not so good in Dikausyne back in the day. There was a famine in the kingdom. Those were difficult times. Once we crossed to Eleutheria, we registered her as our daughter.”

“Does Mom know the story?”

“No, she doesn't want to know. She said we are her parents and that’s that.”

“Ha ha ha, that’s like Mom”

“I’m not going to stop you any longer. Are you heading out to train?”

“Yeah, I’m guessing Dad went before me.”

“No, you are the first one out. Well, have a good run.”

“Thank you, Tato.”

Dad probably went back to his room then. Oh well, I’m out.

“Have a good workout, miss.”

“Thank you, will be right back.”

It’s 6:00 am on the Seventh day of the week of the last day of celebration of the Week of the Heroes, and the city is already booming. Everyone is getting ready for this last day of celebration. The city is beautiful. The streets are clean and huge. The sidewalks are big too. I head north, running to see if I can get a better peek at the palace and the fourth wall.

I arrived at a park from which I could see parts of the palace. Jogging around the park, I saw some young people training. I recognized the training gear because it was the same one Aunt Eugina had made for me. I don’t see Paul between them. They might be younger than Paul. I stop for a moment to see how they work out. It’s similar to what Dad makes me do every morning.

I sat on a bench to rest for a little while before going back to the house when I saw her. A homo Felidae of baby blue hair and sapphire eyes. She was tall, and her hair was a chin-length bob cut that emphasized her delicate face and confident gaze. The training gear suits her well, making her look slender and graceful, while showcasing her toned and lean athletic figure. Everyone had their eyes on her.

“Don’t stare so hard, girl! Go do your business, we are training here.” A kid nearby said to me.

“You don’t own the park, kid. I can do what I want here.”

“Kid? How old are you?”

For a moment, I forgot I'm not in my mid-forties.

“I’m 11. Sorry for being rude.”

“See, kid. I'm older than you. I’m 13, and in case you don't know, we're freshmen in the academy. We are soon going into our second year. Stop looking at Cassandra like a creep.”

Cassandra, that’s her name. What a beautiful name.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

For a moment, our eyes lock into each other. And she waved at me. I smiled and waved back when suddenly a voice came from behind.

“Cato, what are you doing here?”

So awkward, Cassandra was waving at Paulus.

“Paulus, how are you?” Said Cassandra, running towards my brother, pushing me out of her way.

Then, everyone was around my brother and Sappho talking. I didn’t want to accept it, but Paulus, having the looks of Mom, has become a hottie.

“Relax, everyone, it’s time to go back. Come on, hurry. Cato, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, thanks.”

“Went out for a run?”

“Yeah, I wanted to take a look at the city and the palace.”

“It’s pretty nice, right?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Alright, I'm taking all these kids back.”

Paulus blew a whistle, making a sign with his hand, and everyone got in a horizontal line.

“Everyone, this is my little sister Cato. She will be a freshman like you guys next year. Take care of her. And don’t get fooled by her looks.”

“Yes, sir!” Everyone said in unison. And started jogging in a line.

“Bye, Cato.”

“Bye, Paulus.”

I head back to the house to get ready for the main event today.

…

We are in the coliseum. The battles will take place in multiple arenas, where the seniors of all the Academies on the continent will fight in teams against beasts. Later, the top students will be assembled for a special event. Paulus will be competing with his team in Arena 3-C. There are seven Arenas, and each of them has a field prepared from A to E for the combats. There are judges in each field giving points individually and as a team to crown the best teams and players. We arrived at field 3-C and waited for Paulus' team’s turn.

The Colosseum is enormous. We did not go inside, but it can accommodate more than 100,000 people. Many people are coming to watch the students fight. We got five tickets for free, and the rest we had to buy.

“Dad, why are there so many soldiers?”

“Just in case something goes wrong. They don’t want any of the students to get hurt.”

“What's the point of the whole event?”

“Give the students their last opportunity to practice before they engage in real combat.”

“Are they killing a lot of beasts? I think it is sad that they are killing poor animals.”

“Honey, these are the beasts they captured recently that were killing and eating humans. These are not just simple beasts. And they are not just killing beasts. They are killing monsters, too.”

“What’s the difference between a beast and a monster. You see, Hoshi would be considered a beast, dangerously powerful, but it is still tameable. You see that woman?” Dad said, pointing at Mom, who was adorably eating a turkey leg. “That’s a monster on the battlefield. You don't want to get close, just run.”

“I see.” I guess Dad means anything that has a bloodthirsty aura is a monster, like Aicrossus. I will never forget that night.

The competition is about to start.