Hector was on the verge of peak level five in his entire body. There were places he'd not done as good of a job as he thought. Those stood out quite clear as blemishes compared to the perfection around them. His energy reserves were empty again.

They'd all skipped breakfast. Everyone else seemed about as miserable as Hector felt, but only Micah had achieved a similar feat. The two of them eyed each other while washing their hands. It was about a tie. Micah had roughly the same number of blemishes to his body enhancement. Neither of them spoke as they went their separate ways.

Micah returned to the bunks while Hector went inside a stall to cultivate chaos and focus on not emptying his stomach. He thought that he'd absorbed everything of value from the wine already but he wasn't taking any chances. Not long before lunch, Hector pushed all the energy he'd gathered back into his body. The blemishes shrank noticeably. At this rate, they should be gone within three days. Then he'd be at the true peak of level five in his body.

Hector imagined seeing his body statistic at five. Hopefully he'd actually live long enough to have the Union Central System give him that compliment for real.

Master Percival collected them for lunch. They ate bread with dipping oil and drank goblets of water. Meanwhile, the Lord Platinum walked the room dictating dietary adjustments to a following attendant who wrote down her words. "Hector. He's satisfactory in body. No more ashes, lime water, or enriched foods. One goblet of wine with breakfast and lunch. One goblet of uncut spirits with dinner. Reassess two weeks out for progress."

Others were not so lucky. Hector overheard that Carob would be receiving the whole deal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. That was powder pills, lime water, eggs, liver, beets, sardines, and uncut spirits. Fortunately, lunch was already under way when those decisions were made. No one seemed up to handling a hard drink or gross food items at the moment.

Hector pounded water back at the barracks to beat his hangover before he was required to imbibe again with dinner. When not doing that, he cultivated. He used his aura while sitting on his bunk. He used his externality while hiding away from prying eyes.

It didn't matter if he began to accumulate cosmic energy at a suspicious rate any longer. Hector was in the final sprint now. As soon as an opportunity arose, he intended to escape Tian with Darius and Jasmine in tow. If he was caught, then that would be bad luck. There was no sense being overly cautious. The greater risk was not being ready to take advantage of an opportunity.

At dinner, he was served grilled lamb strips over rice with a goblet of uncut spirits. The booze was every bit as dreadful as he remembered and his body objected quite strongly to drinking again so soon. Hector did it anyway. He intended to go back to a strict chicken and broccoli diet once back on Union Central. Surely some eatery in that diverse city served such simple cuisine.

Hector jumped into the new routine with the utmost dedication. They had an hour of calisthenics in the morning and an hour of stretching in the afternoon. Otherwise their 'training' was about eating and drinking what was placed before them. He got off easy on that count. Many of the others were constantly nauseous from the quantity and type of food forced on them.

He especially felt bad for those who were required to drink uncut spirits with every meal. The switch to wine at breakfast and lunch was a welcome reprieve for Hector. He was sober most of the day. About half of his peers could not say the same.

During all the down time in the barracks, Hector cultivated like he never had before. His energy levels rose steadily. In fact, he began to question his newfound resolve to not worry. Because people were noticing his insane regeneration rate. The other fighters were jealous of his speed but didn't ascribe too much significance to it. Master Percival, on the other hand, began to pay him a dangerous amount of attention.

He finished his body enhancement, removing the blemishes entirely to spend down some of the excess energy. Hector made it to over half of his energy reserve capacity. That was enough for him to form a transit sphere. One equivalent in size to what he used at level four, at least. He didn't need much more energy to be sure he could bring other people with him. What he did need, quite urgently, was for Master Percival to stop being so suspicious of him.

While he was pondering the issue in the reservoir room, Darius arrived to get a drink of water. Like many of their peers, Darius was on a strict diet that left him less than sober. That shouldn't last much longer, Hector thought, because the eunuch had finally completed his body enhancement. He just needed to get some energy in his reserves.

"Lord Needle said a man my size will have a lot of blood," Darius mumbled. His high-pitched voice was loud enough for Hector to overhear but quiet enough he could save face by pretending he'd been talking to himself.

"You know the reason such a thing matters to him."

Darius sighed. "What good does knowing do? They watch us like guard dogs when we're not locked away in the barracks. Knowing is just another way for you to steal my peace."

Hector knew that Darius had no peace to steal, but he did not say that. "A few moments of inattention is all I need. I can form a transit sphere when we're not within this suppression field."

"Your level is not high enough for transit."

"That's never stopped me before."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Darius still had not looked in his direction. "And what of me?"

"I'm not leaving without you, Darius."

"Then I can avenge myself on Harridan by doing nothing?"

Hector snorted. "I'm not that man, Darius. And the way he died is vengeance enough for anyone. Trust me on that."

Darius frowned. "How did he die?"

"He spent over a year in the black tower of the Lord Platinum, not far from where we are now. Before that, his hands and feet were amputated by the Lord General and never regrew. They put a tube down his throat and trickled uncut spirits into him until his liver failed. He was chained in place so that he couldn't move. Every moment was torment. The sores on his back. His inflamed abdomen. Every joint hurt as toxins built up within him. And he never once fought back, Darius. Not since the day he learned what had been done to you. They broke him in that moment. He just let his torment happen because he felt he deserved every bit of it. You think you hate your father, but no one hated that man more than himself at the end. When he died… his final wish was that he be entirely forgotten."

Darius stood preternaturally still, not reacting at all. Hector took a chance. "Do you know where your name comes from? I imagine it might have been something neglected in your education. Your paternal grandfather was named Darius. His wife, your grandmother, was Annie. They died when the Lord General came to Volithur's world. Xian soldiers popped their heads with cables of force in front of your father. They didn't deserve that. They weren't saints by any stretch, but they were good people.

"Darius sold boutique items to extremely wealthy people. He was paid well for it, but he often tired of playing the role of an obsequious underling. Sometimes he would come home and be a tyrant to his wife and son. Most of the time, though, he was a loving family man. He helped out with school projects, threw a ball in the yard, bought lavish gifts for birthdays. I suppose in many ways he was just a normal man. Most of us are. But he was a decent person.

"And Annie. The gentle spirit who took care of everyone else's needs. I don't think she was happy. I know she drank more than she wanted people to know. She was dealing with her demons the best she could and making sure everyone else was happy.

"Your father never stopped missing them. He felt such a rage for the life and love that was stolen from him. He received a lot in exchange for those sacrifices, but he could never forget. It ate at him constantly. He couldn't escape. Not even gaining a new family was enough. He loved you and your mother so much. But he could not put down his hate.

"I lived it all, Darius. Every moment from the invasion of his world until his final breath. As much as I disagree with the terrible decisions he made, I understand him. It's complicated having memories of another life downloaded into your mind. I didn't do those actions. I don't approve of a lot of them. But I experienced them. Every last emotion."

Darius finally spoke, his voice strained. "What is your transit fee?"

"When the time comes, I'm taking you with me. Your 'fee' is getting in the sphere."

"Then what? You drop me off on some backwater unempowered world to rot?"

Hector cleared his throat. "We go to Union Central, home of the Coalition Army. I will set you up to make a good living there."

"I don't need your charity. Just get me out of here."

Darius sought to put distance between them after that. Any time Hector approached, Darius dismissed him by promising to be ready when the time came. Fortunately, the man stayed close to him outside of the barracks. That was one passenger sorted at least.

Having a willing ally also helped with the Percival problem. Hector arranged to be caught switching goblets with Darius a couple of times by Percival. That earned him stern frowns. Percival moved Hector to sit beside him at meals and thereafter neglected Hector. The great mystery had been solved: Hector was stealing uncut spirits.

To manage his energy reserves when they grew too rapidly, Hector began practicing the mental strengthening technique. That soon proved too conservative and he had to cut back on his chaos cultivation. He was still close to full capacity by the time the six weeks were done. Fearing an accidental advancement in his level, he never pushed to become absolutely full.

He had only one other thing he needed to take care of. And unfortunately Jasmine was avoiding him. Finally, the day before the next round of the tournament was to begin, he cornered her in the reservoir room after she'd gone in for a drink. Everyone was sobering up as they'd been weaning off alcohol for the past several days.

"We can talk about the future in a few days, Hector."

"I don't know that I'll be here in a few days."

"Well, I'm not paranoid." She looked up at him. "We'll talk. I promise."

"At least hear out my escape plan."

"Hector, I'm certain that if you lose your next match you will be gone from Tian plenty fast."

He put out an arm to bar her way past him. "Please."

"Make it quick. Micah is the jealous type even if we're nothing serious. I don't want to put you in his sights again. We get to use all our abilities this time, remember."

"I'm making a transit sphere the moment we're not suppressed or watched."

"Don't be ridiculous, Hector. Even if we needed to escape – which we don't – a level five Xian isn't taking a passenger between worlds."

That conversation was a hell of a lot less productive than he hoped it would be. He'd just need to make sure to stay close to Jasmine. That should ensure the three of them were in close proximity if a chance came. When a chance came.

Hector studied the others in the barracks. About half of the sixteen remaining competitors were only a quarter of the way to their soul reserve capacity. Micah, the best after Hector, had only half his capacity filled. Hector stood out as a freak of nature.

He needed every advantage he could get. For the fighting and the escaping.

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