Hector wasn't even sure he needed to escape. Maybe this was just a tournament of foreign Xian as had been advertised. That just didn't seem likely to him. Why would they host it on the property of the Lord Platinum? She was suppressing the barracks instead of the tower.

Unless the evil lord had stopped turning people into elixirs, Hector didn't think the participants of this tournament were ever going back home. That was the obvious conclusion to him. He could be biased in that view from remembering over a year spent in agony being drip-fed uncut spirits while his liver failed, but more likely the truth was the lord named for elixirs made using human cores inviting foreign Xian to her house had ulterior motives.

Actually, come to think of it, those memories weren't biasing him, they were illuminating the reality of the situation. Who the hell force-fed another person to death to make them into a consumable item? The Lord Platinum was a monster on par with the witches from Hansel and Gretel. Hector had to figure out a way to escape – and maybe get a few pieces of candy on his way out.

He came to his conclusions quickly. If he found an opportunity to escape, he would take it. Being greedy and staying around longer than necessary would get him upgraded from being confined to a barracks to being confined in a tiny glass vial. Until he saw his chance, though, he had to appear completely engaged in this tournament. And he might as well take advantage of every opportunity.

Hector acted on the one thing in his control and began to cultivate with his aura. He couldn't create a transit sphere with low energy reserves, after all. He needed to be half full to make the version that he could barely fit inside. Or if he used more energy, it would be larger. He had no idea how much larger yet. Volithur didn't create a transit sphere until level six, so all he could say about a level five transit sphere was that it should be bigger than his previous version but smaller than the smallest he remembered from his dreams. Still a tight fit, basically.

Testing out a theory, Hector relaxed his mind aperture and felt a small inflow of cosmic energy. His aura and externality both required a rhythmic circulation of energy to function, so he couldn't use both at the same time. Absorbing from the mental band was a more passive exercise that Hector could stack on top of another form of cultivation, providing there was a high enough energy density on the mental band. Without sufficient external pressure, every time Hector cycled his aura, the pressure that built up within his soul would cause his relaxed mind aperture to leak out his gains.

He didn't dare cultivate chaos where others could see. The Lord Platinum knew of Volithur's ability and would no doubt recognize the description if word got around. At the same time, that was his greatest advantage. He'd have to use it but limit that to times he was unobserved.

A couple of new fighters arrived, but Hector didn't join the group that came forth to scrutinize the newcomers. He figured the safest position for him at the moment was as a forgettable member of the pack. He could be neither the loudest nor the strongest nor the weakest. From the snatches of conversation he heard, most of the latest batch were dreamers.

There was a pretty strong rivalry brewing, he sensed. Legacies versus dreamers. Rogues, like Hector was claiming to be, were a bit of an afterthought because too few of them were here. If he could redo his introduction, Hector would claim to be a legacy. That would make him stand out less while not raising the question of what secrets he knew from a past life.

The talent manager called everyone forward to march to dinner. True to Sam's description, the man was level seven. He also had body enhancement close to that level as well. It must be easy to get your hands on powerful elixirs when you worked for the Lord Platinum. The fighters were made to assemble in two lines and march from the barracks to a nearby cafeteria. Hector learned that the suppression field did not extend to the cafeteria. If he was ever able to go there without the oversight of a much stronger chaperon, he had his ticket home to Union Central.

Inside the cafeteria, they were made to sit on either side of a long table. Their total number was in the mid teens, so there were enough there that it would require shouting to be heard by everyone. The talent manager did that. "Gladiators! I am Master Percival, the talent manager for the tournament. That makes me responsible for all of you. I'm a generous man but not one with an abundance of patience. So take advantage of the many benefits being given to you without breaking any of my rules.

"My rules for the table are quite simple. You remain seated, stay quiet, and clean your plate. That plate will come with some items on it. Do not waste them. Other items will be placed at the center of the table for you to take as desired. Do not waste those either. If you take it, you eat it.

"None of these foods qualify as resources within Tian itself, but they might as well be for such as you. Try to increase your body enhancement as much as possible in the upcoming days. It will greatly benefit you going forward."

Master Percival clapped his hands and servants rushed forward to begin setting plates before them. Hector looked at the contents of his dish. There was a hard-boiled egg, five sardines, a slab of red meat, and a whole pickled beet.

He hated beets. The things tasted like dirt to him. Well, might as well get the worst of the ordeal out of the way. Hector cut it into pieces small enough to swallow whole. He washed it down with gulps of water from a goblet placed before him.

Meanwhile, serving platters were placed at the center of the table. There were only three main courses, but they all looked interesting to Hector. First was a goat curry that had him salivating just looking at it. Second was a dish combining potatoes and beans with a creamy sauce. Third was blood sausages.

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Before taking anything else, Hector wanted to finish the things already on his plate. He ate the five sardines and chased them with water. As he cut the red meat, Hector discovered that it was organ meat by the texture. He'd planned to eat items in order of most distasteful to most desirable, but now his system had been thrown into disarray. Liver was not a food he enjoyed.

Hector's experience eating things he didn't like had improved a lot lately and he used his new skill to put away the red meat. Then he moved onto the egg, which he cracked only to stare in horror. It both was and was not a hard-boiled egg. There was a damn fully cooked baby bird inside the shell. Around him, others were dutifully munching on the contents of their egg.

He tried to psych himself up for the experience by imagining the benefits he'd get from eating an entire animal, complete with bones and organs. That had to be worth a bad experience, right? Definitely not, he told the positive part of his brain. Hector shoved the creature into his mouth before he could think better of it. He almost gagged because of the sensation of tiny feathers in his mouth.

With an exercise of his willpower, Hector began to chew. He didn't know if the texture or the knowledge of what he ate was worse. He went into a borderline fugue state until after he swallowed the last bit of it and gulped water to remove the lingering taste.

A servant refilled his empty goblet with a pour of wine. Hector used serving spoons to add goat curry and blood sausage to his plate. The curry was wonderfully spicy, making him sweat starting just a couple of bites in. The blood sausage had a metallic taste that he didn't care for, but he suspected it would be the best resource on the table.

Hector ate until he was full and then sipped the wine until it was empty. A servant refilled his goblet with water. He had noted already that no one got more than a single fill of wine. That was fine. He didn't need to get drunk while he was still trying to figure out his escape plan.

Master Percival led them back to the barracks and gave them a brief update on the plan. It was just as Sam relayed to him. Two more days to allow all the fighters to arrive. Then six weeks of training before the hand-to-hand round robin matches began. They were encouraged to relax and cultivate until training began.

Alone then, Hector lay on his bed and cultivated while his body metabolized the meal. It was certainly having an effect. He waited until the cosmic energy boost from digestion was at a peak before he switched from pumping his aura to circulating energy through his body instead. He worked at that for several hours until the heat began to fade.

Though his senses might be poor, Hector still managed to finish his entire spine in that session. It cost him, though. He estimated his energy reserves were down to ten percent. Laying there, Hector keenly missed the System and its survey results. Eyeballing his energy reserve levels and body enhancement progress didn't feel as satisfying.

Hector found the barracks washroom and carried a bucket of water to one of the stalls. While soaping up and rinsing off, he cultivated chaos. He let himself drip dry before redressing and emerging. He almost ran into Jasmine.

"You sure were taking your time in there." She made a crude gesture with her hand.

"They didn't give us any towels," Hector said.

"Are you sure you weren't blowing off some steam?" She winked.

"Quite sure."

"You're all business, then? I can respect that."

And that's when it struck Hector what was happening. This was his Survivor moment. It was time to make an alliance. "Do you have anyone to watch your back in here?"

Jasmine glanced meaningfully at him. "Lots of people are watching my backside. It's about five men to every one woman in here. Did you have something mutually beneficial in mind?"

"I think it makes sense for like-minded people to enter into an alliance so that we can help each other."

"Are you asking me to rub you off, buddy?"

Hector frowned. "If you're not interested, I'll move along."

"First tell me what you are looking for in an alliance."

"At this phase, sharing information."

Jasmine considered that. "You have been cultivating in your bunk since you've been here. The only information you have is on yourself. I can get free information from Sam."

"Don't use Sam for information," Hector said. "Use Evan to spread disinformation."

Judging by the expression on her face, he'd just won her over. "Let's talk about that."

"You craft a rumor about yourself that will give you an advantage. Then I take that rumor to Evan and let him spread it around. You do the same thing for me."

Jasmine looked around to make sure they were alone. "So you tell Sam I'm weak and get people to underestimate me in the matches?"

"Sure. Or let's say you are better at grappling than striking. We spread a rumor that you prefer striking to trick opponents into attacking in a way that plays to your strengths."

She smiled suddenly, feral and eager. "I like the way you think, Hector. Let's do this alliance. I'll have to think about what lies I want spread around."

Hector nodded. "We shouldn't talk too often or people will suspect we're working together."

"You're one crafty bastard."

Back in his bunk, Hector smiled to himself. He never imagined his experience as a reality television star would ever be relevant to his life again, but here he was.

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