The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 93 - Bet

Chapter 93: 93 - Bet

"Say, wanna make a bet?"

Brock said.

"Hmm? What bet?"

Then Kaiser asked, curious.

And with a grin still stuck on his face, Brock crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"You’re right about missing every shot you don’t shoot."

He mumbled.

"But at the same time... Your buddy Viktor here is also right. We don’t need to join organizations, we’re already strong as we are."

He added, pointing lazily at Viktor.

Kaiser turned to Viktor, who only shrugged.

Then Brock just continued—

"I don’t really like organizations. They’re troublesome, too many rules, too many people."

"And I’m not exactly a team player."

Kaiser nodded quietly, trying to read where Brock was going. He was going to decline.

"That’s why I never joined one until now."

Brock paused for a beat. Then, casually—

"But I like you, kid. So I’ll consider joining your organization."

He declared that!

"...!"

Kaiser blinked, surprised.

Even Viktor looked stunned, his brows rising a bit.

"Seriously?"

Kaiser asked, unsure if he heard him right.

"Seriously."

Brock confirmed, making him smile.

"But—In one condition."

Though, his lips twitched upon hearing that.

"..."

Jin and Khan turned toward Brock, frowning a little. They already had a feeling where this was going.

They knew this guy way too much now.

"What condition?"

Kaiser asked, his tone now serious, a spark in his eyes.

And seeing that, Brock grinned wider.

"Convince me that you’re worth working with."

"...How?"

Kaiser tilted his head slightly.

And then—with a mischievous gleam in his eyes—

"With strength."

He declared.

"Be stronger than me... Or at least, strong enough that I can acknowledge you."

Brock added that, loud and clear.

Jin and Khan frowned deeper.

"..."

"...."

They didn’t say anything. But basically, Brock was saying he wouldn’t join Kaiser.

At least... not anytime soon. It might not even happen all together.

"I knew it was too good to be true."

Viktor smiled faintly, shaking his head at the absurdity of the condition.

He figured Kaiser would just give up recruiting Brock now.

Even Viktor himself wasn’t confident.

Catching up to people like Brock, Jin, or Khan? He can’t see himself doing that any time soon now. Not in a year or five.

Hell, he might not even be alive by then!

Anyway... Brock was just smiling ear to ear.

Not saying anything more, just waiting for Kaiser’s reaction.

Then suddenly—

"Sure."

Kaiser said that.

Casually. Calm.

Like it was nothing.

"...?!"

Everyone’s eyes widened after hearing him.

They were surprised. Even Brock’s smile faded slightly!

But Kaiser... he just stared back at them.

"I’ll get stronger. Strong enough to make you want to join me."

He added that.

Still calm. Still serious.

There was no hesitation in his voice.

But then, smiling—

"I have a request though."

Kaiser added that.

Brock tilted his head, a frown forming on his face. He was curious.

"What is it?"

He asked bluntly.

And without beating around the bush—

"Train me."

Kaiser declared that.

"...?"

Brock’s eyes widened slightly, caught off guard.

But before he could even say a word—

"Train Viktor too."

Kaiser followed immediately, looking at him straight.

Viktor blinked.

"...The hell?"

He mumbled, confused.

"Why am I getting dragged in too?"

"Because I want all of us to get stronger together."

Kaiser replied to him with a grin.

Viktor just let out sighed.

Brock looked at the two of them...

Then—

"Pfft—Hahaha!"

He suddenly laughed.

Like he just heard the dumbest but most amusing thing today.

"You’re really crazy, kid."

He said, pertaining to Kaiser—of course.

"Unfortunately, I don’t know how to train others."

Brock said to Kaiser, his arms crossed.

Kaiser just shrugged casually.

"Then just do two things for us."

Without waiting, he continued—

"Spar with us, and tell us your training routine."

Brock went silent after hearing that.

"..."

He scratched his cheek, then glanced at Viktor and back at Kaiser. And after thinking for a while...

"Fine."

He finally agreed with a nod.

Kaiser smiled. Then, turning to Khan and Jin behind Brock—

"I know I’m being shameless... But, can I ask the same thing from you two?"

He added with an awkward grin. He knew he was asking for a lot now, being greedy.

But the two just glanced at each other.

"Sure, why not? It’s nothing big."

Then Khan answered casually.

"If I have time, probably."

Jin followed with a shrug.

They both thought it would be interesting to train Kaiser because of his potential,the same goes to Viktor.

Moving on... Hearing their answers, Kaiser’s grin widened. Everything was slowly falling into place to his favor.

"Thanks, you guys."

...

...

*****

After that and catching up with each other for a bit—Kaiser and Viktor eventually separated from the three.

The five of them were here to train, so they get on moving for now.

Viktor and Kaiser headed to the weights area together.

Kaiser couldn’t train with his greatsword at the moment since Khan, Jin, and Brock were already occupying the remaining straw dummies.

He let them go first—After all, he was the one who broke one of the dummies yesterday.

...

"Bruh, why do you need to pull me in with training with them? I’m already doing fine on my own."

Viktor said to Kaiser as they walked side by side.

Kaiser just shrugged his shoulders, then opening his mouth—

"I know, but having someone to teach you can be better too."

He stated that.

Viktor frowned, he was about to say something else.

"You can even have Jin train you. Like you—he specializes in dual wielding."

But Kaiser spoke again before he could even let out a word.

And hearing that statement of his just now, Viktor got silent.

"..."

He thought about it for a while, then—

"Hmm, true... Whatever, I’ll just go with this and try to be even stronger."

He just brushed it off and said that.

"Anyway, are you really taking Brock’s bet seriously? Or did you just use that to have them train us?"

Viktor then asked Kaiser.

"Well, I did use that to convince him and the other two to train us."

Kaiser mumbled.

"But I’m completely serious about the bet."

Then he declared.

"..."

Viktor just stared at him silently after hearing that.

"He and the two will be training us anyway, we might as well try to be stronger than them, right?"

"They’ll be super good to have in our organization too. Right now—there’s only us two, after all."

Kaiser mumbled.

And at that—

"Haha, you’re really something."

Viktor let out a small laugh and said that.

"That’s right, let’s surpass them."

Then he followed, smiling sarcastically.

Though in his head, Kaiser’s words earlier were echoing...

’You miss every shot you don’t shoot, huh...’

*****

Kaiser and Viktor finally reached the weights area. Just like before, it was mostly empty, with only two other gladiators doing their own thing at the far end.

And without wasting time, the two of them went their separate ways—each heading to a different training section.

Kaiser grabbed two heavy iron dumbbells, gritting his teeth as he lifted them. His arms were still sore from the sparring yesterday, but he didn’t care.

He sat on a wooden bench and started doing slow, controlled curls. His biceps bulged, veins popping out from the strain. With each rep, his expression turned more serious.

’One... two... three...’

Sweat rolled down his temple. But Kaiser’s focus didn’t waver.

After several reps, he moved to shoulder presses, then to heavy bar lifts. His whole upper body was screaming, but he kept going, biting his bottom lip, pushing through.

He was determined to make his swings faster, his grips firmer.

His mind replayed Brock’s challenge again and again.

’Stronger, or at least as strong as me.’

That sentence burned in his head like fire.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Viktor was doing his own intense routine. He set down a pair of weighted ankle wraps, strapped them on tightly, then began a series of lunges across the training area. His steps were heavy and slow, but deliberate.

After that, he moved to box jumps on a wooden platform, sweat spraying off him every time he launched himself upward.

He was training explosiveness, speed, and balance.

"Again."

He muttered under his breath, landing from another jump.

Unlike Kaiser, he wasn’t training for brute power. He wanted to become even faster—light on his feet, agile, sharp.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

The two of them didn’t talk. They were too busy battling themselves.

Grinding silently, under the hot sun.

Driven by the same goal.

To get stronger that they already are.

...

...

...

Kaiser and Viktor trained for hours, sweat dripping from their bodies, every muscle sore and aching.

But even so, they didn’t stop. They kept moving, pushing themselves past their limits.

Until finally—

"Lunch!"

A guard shouted from a distance.

Everyone, including the two of them, paused what they were doing.

Their eyes turned toward the sound. And just like yesterday—Kaiser and Viktor saw servants lined up, pushing trolleys with huge pots stacked on them.

"i’m hungry."

"Me too."

Viktor and Kaiser weakly mumbled in unison. And without further ado, they walked over and lined up to get their lunch.

*****

Viktor and Kaiser joined Brock, Khan, and Jin later on. The five of them ate together, occupying two side-by-side benches.

They chatted while eating—Kaiser and Viktor asked the three what happened to them after getting back to the Silver Place.

It was just casual conversation to pass the time while they ate and rested.

Then, not long after... They all finished eating.

They didn’t get up right away though, choosing to stay seated and rest a little longer.

"Fuuuuu..."

"..."

"Burp—"

No one spoke. They were conserving their energy in silence.

But then, out of nowhere—

"Brat."

Brock called out to Kaiser.

"Hm? What?"

Kaiser replied, not even looking his way.

Then casually—

"You asked me to spar with you, right? Let’s do it later, after you’ve rested enough."

Brock said it like it was no big deal.

"Huh...?"