Race evolution complete! You have become a [Human (E)]!

The same warmth that had accompanied the first racial evolution filled him and then left as it was completed. Ronan wondered about the mechanics of the racial evolution and how it would differ between races.

Humans were sort of… meh. Some of the aliens he'd seen so far in his journeys had far more potent natural advantages than his species. Would the evolutions make that pre-existing gap even wider?

In any case, Ronan had now taken the second step on his evolutionary path, becoming something that most humans back home probably hadn't even glimpsed at. He wondered how things were going on his home planet. Around this time… Maybe the fox took control of the pillar without my intervention? He was curious, but there was no way to find out.

With all of his evolutions complete, Ronan yawned and stretched. Even though the racial evolution hadn't explicitly changed anything, he felt quite different to when he'd sat down on his bed. A phantom feeling, perhaps, but it was there. Maybe consuming more things with mineral skeleton would give me more racial evolution options. Perhaps even some new classes.

He opened the door to his cell while pondering that, and found himself staring into the face of a prison guard. He recognised the armour that the ones who'd tossed him into the general population area had worn. He froze, unsure how to react. "How can I help you, guard?"

The armoured alien was about a foot shorter than Ronan, unlike the hulking behemoths who'd dragged him there. It stood still for a few seconds, making him quite nervous. Then with a hiss, the visor of its helmet slid downwards to reveal its face. Ronan almost gasped when it was down, but held himself back so as not to offend the guard. That would be a mistake.

Rather than any kind of creature, the head seemed to be a tank of some kind, with a bubbling liquid inside. Ronan saw a floating piece of what looked like pink coral, but he couldn't be sure. It lit up with a luminescent glow. "We heard that you were looking to spend some credits. The faction leaders weren't happy with how you handled that… incident, but frankly I couldn't give two shits as long as my pockets are greased."

The strange voice was robotic-sounding, and Ronan was almost certain that it was artificial. More shocking was how upfront the guard was about the corruption. "And how much were you making from those three, before…" He mimed a punch.

The guard tapped its metallic hands together. "Quite a bit. Avanalax wasn't one of mine, but the other two were making me about 2 iron credits per solar cycle. If you can't match that… Let's just say life in here will be difficult for you."

Ronan scratched his chin. Two iron credits wasn't that much to him. He had more than a few steel credits by that point in the iteration. However, he didn't know what a solar cycle was. A day? A week? A month? He could afford to spend money to keep this guard happy, but if it didn't get him the information he needed to escape the prison and complete this step of the Path of the Gladiator, it would just be wasted.

"And what were Feldramei and Hak Hak getting in exchange for their iron credits? Like I said before that unfortunate incident, I'm looking for some creature comforts. And maybe some information about the prison. Nothing that would compromise an upstanding guard like yourself, of course."

Another gurgling noise came from the guard. "Of course, you would be getting more than your money's worth. Nothing obscene, we are in a prison, after all. Quality meat, regular cell cleaning, and even some jakk powder on the rare occasion. If you throw in a little extra I might even be able to get you a companion. Mostly willing, unless you prefer a fight." The way the coral in the tank seemed to vibrate and glow brighter as it said that made Ronan want to throw up.

The guard was clearly a nasty piece of work, but if he wanted to find out how to escape he had to start somewhere. Without knowing how strong the faction leaders were, he didn't want to just walk up and start a fight with one of them.

"I prefer my own company, but thanks for the offer." Ronan wanted to punch the guard into scrap metal but had to hold back. "Let me know when the first payment is due. I can give you some extra now if you're willing to answer a few questions of mine."

The guard bubbled. "That's not how this works. I need three iron credits up front to get what you need. Then it will be two each cycle. I can answer whatever questions you want, just don't waste too much of my time. I've got things to do, and I don't need the warden prying into my business."

Ronan frowned. Three credits wasn't that many, but he didn't appreciate how this was going down. He swallowed his pride and relented, knowing he would find this guard and beat him to a pulp before he escaped. "Sure, three credits it is. How many floors are there in here? Louri said she was one of the vice-leaders, but it seems like there are quite a few more layers of cells going up to the top."

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The guard gurgled, and Ronan had to assume it was a laugh. "The leaders get the top half to themselves, about four or five floors each. There are some more powerful vice-leaders on the floor above this one. I wouldn't mess with them if you like breathing. They aren't as weak as the ones you killed. Besides, you cheated." It held out a hand expectantly, and Ronan realised it was waiting for him to shake it.

When he touched the metallic suit a notification appeared in his vision.

Ghtlgugaigh is initiating a trade!

You will receive:

Nothing

Ghtlgugaigh will receive:

3 Iron Credits

Ronan raised an eyebrow. "This says I'll receive nothing? Are you ripping me off here?"

The guard's visor closed, hiding the glowing coral and the tank it was sitting in from view. "Of course not. I just can't have an official trade with a prisoner on my record. Besides, I don't have what I'm giving you yet. If you've got a problem, go complain to the warden, kelpfucker."

That was a new insult. Ronan would be adding it to his repertoire. It was probably the only thing of value the guard had given him during their conversation. "Do we ever get to see the outside? I miss the feeling of the sun on my face."

"Did your parent kick you in the head when you were born? The outside? If you want to feel the sun on your face I can throw you out the airlock with the sewage. How does that sound?" The guard gurgled and started to walk off after Ronan accepted the trade, giving up three of his hard-earned credits.

Ronan stared at its retreating figure, narrowing his eyes. What a piece of work. I can't wait for the moment I get to punch his head in. He turned to look across the floor, seeing Louri watching him with a bemused expression on her face. He waited for the guard to leave through a hidden door in the wall before calling to her. "What's so funny?"

Her twin tails flicked from side to side behind her head as she giggled. "You picked a nasty one to work with. If you'd asked for my opinion I would have told you how to handle little glug."

Little glug? Is that a nickname or something? It's definitely easier to pronounce. "If you didn't notice, I didn't have much chance to discuss things with you before little glug turned up at my cell door. Maybe some warning would have been nice."

"You're not my responsibility. Your choices are your own. I have some business to attend to. Try not to start any more fights." She walked over to the nearest ladder on her side of the floor and started to climb upwards. Ronan watched her go, doing his utmost not to fixate on her plump rear.

When she was gone, he walked up to the railing and looked over the edge. There were a few on the third and second floors hanging around and chatting, but the ground floor was almost completely empty. Apparently his little stunt had a big impact that had yet to settle.

He then walked over to the place where the guard had exited. He ran a hand over the smooth metal, trying to figure out how the doors worked. I wonder if they can just open a door anywhere or if they are in predetermined locations? All the walls and floors look the same all over.

It was difficult when he had little experience of alien technology. He barely knew much about Earth's technology before the integration. He'd been to the Grathen planet, but that tech was vastly different to what the prison had going on. Whatever, I'll just cultivate a bit more and see what happens in the next few days.

He closed the door to his cell and took out another gladiator shard. Within half an hour he had completely consumed it and made some decent progress towards the next realm of soul cultivation.

He was about to take out another shard when he realised he was actually quite tired after everything that had happened. He didn't need to sleep as much as he did when he was just a low level g-grade human, but he did need some rest. The mattress was comfortable enough, so he lay down and closed his eyes, wondering what he was going to do to escape.

Ronan felt something gripping his arm. His eyes snapped open and he lashed out, activating magic strike as he punched at whatever had him in a vice-grip. His fist crashed harmlessly against solid metal, two knuckles breaking. What the fuck!?

He looked up to see three gigantic guards arrayed in front of him. He looked to the left and saw a guard that was about the same size as the bastard from earlier. "This is the one, warden. Honestly, I think purging is the best solution. Isolation would be too generous." The voice was unmistakable.

"Perhaps you're right. We have an inspection coming up and if we do well on this one I'll get the promotion I've been waiting for the last two decades. Good work rooting the troublemaker out, Ghtlgugaigh." The speaker was someone Ronan had never seen before.

Standing behind him, between two of the huge guards, was a humanoid alien with blue skin and ribbed fins on its bald head. Two green eyes stared down at Ronan. "Yeah, I don't like the look in its eyes. End it."

"What the fuck, you can't do—" Ronan felt a sting at the base of his spine and his entire body went limp. He activated vital surge, but he still couldn't free himself. Then the room started to spin.

Oh. Well, that's disappointing. I wanted to learn a little more about the place before this one ended. At least I get another sub-class now. Ronan's head hit the ground and he winced as his brain rattled around in his skull. He tried to speak but all that happened was some blood spurted out the bottom of his throat.

"Is it still alive? Humans are disgusting. Get rid of it!" The blue-skinned alien shouted at the guards, and the next thing Ronan knew one of them stomped on his head.

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