“Everyone loves Sethnets. The women scream for him, and the men cheer for him. He was the true legend. I still remember his last performance. The Victor Arena was completely occupied; the tickets sold out in a very short time. The entire Rome shouted his name! When he walked on the stage, his blond hair waved with the wind like an incarnation of the god of war, Mars. At that time, he was up against six enemies. Each time he drew his sword, an enemy would be sent to meet his maker. There was nothing the remaining opponents could do to him. They could only tremble in fear after witnessing his greatness…” Mark Reuss was so excited that his body started jerking around.
The person in charge of the school had to knock some cold-hard truths into Mark Reuss, now immersed in his good old memories. “But my master, no matter how great the heroes are, they will get old. Sethnets was no exception. I don’t deny the fact that he was once a great gladiator when he was young. In fact, he was the best gladiator Rome has ever seen! However, after he became famous, he started to drown himself in alcohol and women. To gain wealth, we arranged too many battles for him to fight. Even before his wounds recovered, he would be made to fight again. As he aged, his strength started to decline greatly. His first two championships went rather well, but we had to tweak the battle for him to win the third championship. As for the final curtain call, we all knew that the six opponents were simply weaklings…”
“Enough.” Mark Reuss became extremely unhappy when he heard that. “Damn it! I know the truth behind him! I don’t need you to remind me! Know your place, Gaby!”
“Sorry, my master.” The head of the school immediately fell to his knees.
“I don’t care about the true strength of Sethnets as long as he makes me money! Ever since he retired, my business has only gone downhill. There is more than one gladiator school in this city, and that old bastard, Siah, is trying to overtake me! I heard he bought a mighty Thracian from who knows where. That guy has won eleven or twelve games in a row. Now, the ladies run in the direction of the smelly Thracian! We need to find a way to reverse our disadvantage,” Mark Reuss stressed.
“I’ll do my best.”
“No, no, that is not the answer I want! Let me repeat it. I need the next Sethnets, and I want it now! I don’t care what you do, whether it’s training till the death or sorcery… Make this damn Germanic the next Sethnets!!!”
Mark Reuss plopped into his seat in fury, his chest heaving violently. Since he did not get the answer he wanted, he had become extremely annoyed and discomfited.
A female slave of his shuffled up to him immediately and rubbed his chest gently, while another poured him a cup of wine. His raging temper, however, drove him to slap the cup, spilling wine all over the floor.
After being reminded of the cold truth, Mark Reuss no longer had the desire to review his newly recruited gladiators. He then turned to the head of the school. “That’s all for me today. I have invested in these newcomers, and as you said… it’s a huge amount of money. Know how I accumulate my wealth, Gabi? I never do things that cause me to lose money. So, you have 50 days to spare. Gabi… after 50 days, when I ask you the same question again, I hope you’ll give me the answer I want.”
“Yes, my master,” replied the school head, kneeling with his head lowered and his shoulders trembling.
With the assistance of the slave girl, Mark Reuss stood up. He was about to leave when someone called out for him.
“Uh… can I have a minute with you, master? I have something I need to discuss. I promise it won’t take too long.”
“Huh?” Mark Reuss turned his head and saw Varo walking out of the crowd. Frowning, he growled, “Boy, you better have a good reason to talk to me because I’m in a bad mood.”
Varo began trembling, knowing how mad Mark Reuss was. The man generally did not care too much about the backup gladiators, and he would only meet during their admission, which was now. The next time he would meet Ruess would have to wait until the day he was assessed.
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“Allow me to introduce myself,” Varo replied with gritted teeth.
Mark Reuss raised his chin. “Go ahead.”
“I’m Varo, an antique dealer in Mule Street…” Varo paused, anticipating Ruess’s surprised expression.
Instead, the latter casually asked, “And?” It seemed he had never heard of Varo’s name before.
Varo was a little disappointed, but he prickled himself up and continued, “I think your people might have made a mistake when they bought me. I’m a talented businessman, especially in the antique business. My father is a very famous antique dealer, and I am just like him. I’ve heard about your interest in increasing your wealth. Perhaps, you can make use of my talents. As long as you invest in me, I can use my talents to…”
Before he could finish, Mark Ruess interrupted him. “Let me ask you a question, Val. If you are talented in making money, why are you standing here?”
Immediately, everyone broke out into laughter, causing Varo to turn red. “It was an accident. I invested in a business other than antiques, and my partner encountered a robber. In the end, I had to pay him a lot of money.”
“Everything makes perfect sense now…” nodded Mark Reuss.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Varo, puzzled.
“Nothing. Now that I know what happened to you, I will find someone to verify what you have just told me. But before that, I want you to focus on your training. Do me a favor and train well, okay, Val? ”
“Actually, my name is Varo… The people on Mule Street know about me. You can ask any of them. It’s all very straightforward.”
“Are you teaching me how to do things, Val?” Mark Reuss lowered his face and rubbed the emerald ring with his index finger impatiently.
“No, master!” Varro lowered his head.
“Very well. As I said, I have heard your grievance, and someone will inform you when I make up my mind. Do what you are supposed to do now and be patient.” After Reuss was done speaking to Varo, he turned around and left the balcony.
After Mark Reuss left, the head of the school stood up from the ground. The first thing that he did was to look at Varo. The way he looked at him was a little strange, like watching a pig suckling roasted on a rack with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
Varo was baffled by the way he looked at his as well. He felt that although he did not get immediate results even after taking such a huge risk, he knew that he had achieved his goal. In other words, he would get to leave the gladiator school very soon. As long as Mark Reuss was smart enough, he would let him do what he did best after finding out his identity. Varo then returned to where he was standing, rushed to Zhang Heng, and said, “It was a great success.”
Zhang Heng, however, had no intention to congratulate him. He just said, “If life in the countryside is really as bad as you said, I think you’d want to consider taking your upcoming training seriously.”