The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 87 - The Guy

Chapter 87: 87 - The Guy

After Kaiser convinced Viktor to start a new organization with him instead of joining one—

"I’ll go now."

"Close the door on your way out."

THUD-

He went back to his room.

And just then, he noticed the dual swords he got as one of his rewards. They were resting on the other side of the bed.

’I wonder where that guy is now...’

Kaiser thought to himself, referring to Edmar.

He placed the paper bag full of his clothes on top of the wooden table, then let out a soft sigh as he sat on the edge of his bed. It wasn’t that late yet. The sky outside was just starting to turn dark. They hadn’t even eaten dinner.

"I’m bored as fuck."

He mumbled to himself.

Normally, this would be the perfect time for training— but with his body still recovering, that was out of the question. Before he left Viktor’s room earlier, he even saw the guy casually using the dumbbell he got from Yin.

That only made Kaiser more impatient.

’Tch... I’ll just train my skill for now.’

So he decided to do just that.

[Intimidation].

It wasn’t something he used in actual fights yet. Mostly because it wasn’t that strong— yet. But aside from when he was unconscious, Kaiser had been training it every single day without fail.

’This is a good skill. If I make it strong enough to be reliable, it’ll give me a real edge in fights.’

It was a skill meant to disturb the mind. Affect one’s instincts. Make opponents hesitate— even if only for a second. That one second could mean life or death inside the arena.

And with that in mind— without any hesitation—

Fwip~

Kaiser got into position... Hr focused... Then he started training.

...

...

Time passed quietly.

The only sound in his room was his steady breathing and the wind whistling.

Kaiser trained for hours straight— only stopping when Viktor called him out for dinner.

But after eating quickly with him... Kaiser didn’t even stick around to talk!

"I have something to do, I’ll be going first."

"Oh, sure."

He stood up, gave a nod to Viktor, and went right back into his room!

And then—

Thud-

He dropped onto the floor again, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and continued training in silence.

"..."

His brows furrowed, his jaw clenched, and his presence slowly began to shift.

The aura around him...

SWOOSH~

It was changing.

Growing darker. Heavier.

Bit by bit, his [Intimidation] was evolving... The output he was emitting was getting stronger!

But then, just a few minutes after he went back to training— Kaiser heard a knock on his door.

Tok- Tok- Tok—

"Hmm?"

He paused mid-breath, his focus broken. His brows furrowed slightly, and he glanced at the door.

Then came Viktor’s voice from the other side—

"That kid, Rai. He’s here, looking for you."

Kaiser’s eyes widened just a bit at the mention of the name. He immediately stood up from his seated position and walked to the door.

Creak—

He pulled it open and saw Viktor standing outside, already turning to walk away.

"Thanks for telling me."

Kaiser said plainly.

Viktor just gave a nod, his hand casually lifting in a lazy wave as he walked off without another word.

And with that— Kaiser stepped out of his room and headed toward the front gate of the Silver Place. His steps were steady, but there was a hint of curiosity in the way his eyes sharpened ahead.

As he reached the metal bar gate—

There he was.

Rai stood just beyond the entrance, outside the Silver Place. As soon as his eyes met Kaiser’s, his face lit up.

"Kaiser!"

He beamed, his hand waving high above his head, full of energy.

Kaiser blinked for a second, then exhaled softly through his nose.

He didn’t smile, but his shoulders relaxed a little.

Rai’s enthusiasm was hard to ignore.

...

Kaiser reached Rai quickly, the metal gate and the bars are the only thing between them.

The two of them stood face-to-face under the dim lights outside the Silver Place, and after a short pause—

"Yo."

"Hey, Kaiser!"

They greeted each other with a nod and a smile. Rai looked him up and down, his brows rising slightly.

"How are you? I watched your fight until the end... Your condition back there doesn’t look that good."

He asked, genuinely worried.

"I’m fine now. Just need to recover a bit more."

Kaiser replied casually, shifting his weight onto one leg. His voice was steady, and aside from some lingering fatigue in his eyes, he really did seem fine.

"I’m glad to hear that."

Rai grinned. Then, his tone picked up with excitement.

"Also—congratulations! You’re Silver Rank now! You ranked up fast... and broke a record too!"

Kaiser let out a short laugh and gave a small, almost bashful smile.

"Thanks."

He scratched his cheek for a second, a bit awkward at the praise.

"Your name’s gonna be known soon, I can feel it!"

Rai added with a laugh. Then, his grin widened even more.

"Also... I gotta thank you. Since I’m the only servant you talk to, and now you’re Silver Rank, I got promoted too!"

"...Oh yeah?"

Kaiser raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

"Yep! I don’t have to run around too much cleaning or helping other gladiators anymore. I’m assigned mainly to assist you now!"

Rai puffed his chest slightly, clearly proud of that.

’This is probably one of Jeff’s rewards to me for fulfilling our deal... Not bad.’

Kaiser nodded, smiling.

"Good. I’d rather work with someone I already know."

"Same here!"

They declared.

And after that, the two chatted for a bit—just a small talk, catching up about what happened while Kaiser was unconscious, and a few jokes here and there.

It was relaxed, light-hearted, and exactly what Kaiser needed after the chaos of the last few days.

"Oh, here’s your daily chicken breasts, by the way."

Rai said mid conversation and handed three paper bags to Kaiser.

"I also added the ones you missed."

He added.

"Oh, I appreciate it."

Kaiser took the paper bags, but only the two of them. And opening his mouth again—

"I can’t eat this all tonight, and it’s go bad tomorrow. Have that one bag for yourself."

He declared that.

Rai was surprised, but immediately—

"Thanks!"

He replied with that.

"Also, here’s your sandbags from the Copper Place that you told me to bring here."

Then he followed.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Kaiser muttered. Then they continued talking again.

...

...

...

Eventually though, they said their goodbyes. Rai gave a short bow before heading off, waving one last time before disappearing down the corridor.

And when he was gone—Kaiser turned back inside and made his way to his room.

Once there, he closed the door behind him and sat down again.

Thud—

"..."

Silence.

No more talking. No more distractions.

He ate four roasted chicken breasts as he rested.

And after doing that—

"Fuuuuuu..."

Whoosh~

He took a deep breath—and started training [Intimidation] once more.

Hours passed. He pushed himself until his mind was sluggish and his concentration faded completely.

And when he finally laid down...

"Ugh, my head hurts."

Kaiser slept soundly.

...

...

...

*****

The next day...

Kaiser woke up early as usual.

"..."

He quietly stared down at his hands. Slowly, he touched his nape, then ran his palm over his chest and sides.

"Haha, I’m all good now."

He mumbled to himself, a slight smile creeping up on his face! He rotated his shoulders, feeling no lingering pain or tightness in his joints.

His energy is back now too!

So without wasting any more time—

"I’ll do my morning training now."

He immediately stood up, began with a full-body stretch—shoulders, arms, neck, spine. Then squatted low, stretching his legs and hips!

After warming up, he got to work.

"Let’s start."

Kaiser used the makeshift bar he had assembled—javelins stuck through sandbags—just like he always did.

He trained his core, cycled through strength sets, and pushed his stamina until his shirt clung to him with sweat.

Then lastly... he moved on to practicing with the greatsword.

The same one he used against Edmar.

SWOOSH—

FWISH—

SLASH—

Each swing was heavy, each movement deliberate. He wasn’t aiming for elegance. He was aiming to get used to its brutal weight.

...

...

Then... Time passed.

Grrrr—

Kaiser’s stomach growled.

"Time to eat breakfast, huh."

He muttered under his breath and sat down to rest for a moment, wiping sweat off his forehead with his arm.

Then after catching his breath and fixing himself, he stood up again.

’I’ll invite Viktor to the Silver Training Ground too, haha.’

He grinned to himself as he made his way to the door. He was excited.

Creak—

He opened it.

But just as he did that—

Someone was coincidentally walking right past his door.

"Huh?"

Kaiser blinked when he saw the guy.

"Wha—?"

The guy turned at the same time and saw him too.

Both of them froze.

"..."

An awkward silence hung thick in the air.

Because the man standing just outside his room—

"So one of the newcomers is you, huh... Brat"

—was Edmar.

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m