I woke up today with only one plan in my mind: conflicts."I need to spark a real conflict between the heroes." I slowly put on the dark armor we were given.
"Their choice of color was really dumb. Choosing black armor is the dumbest decision they could've made. Black absorbs most of the sunlight, which will make us literally cook inside the armor.""Anyway… let's head to the cafeteria. Today is a rest day—no academic or physical lessons."
I entered the cafeteria and saw Draven and Zareth waiting for me at one of the many tables. The other tables were also full. There are now around 200 heroes here.
"Morning," I said while holding a slight smile as I approached them."Morning, Malvek," Zareth responded."Did you rest well?" Draven asked.
I nodded."Here," Draven said as he handed me a plate full of food. "Your usual."I took it from him. "Thank you."
With that, we started eating. The food was really delicious, and slowly our mouths were getting used to all these new flavors. Yet, the food here is millions of times better than the one back in our world.
Most of the food back there is fast food or cheap food that looks good but isn't delicious, nor is it good for the human body. But here, the moment I eat something, I can feel my body absorbing it like it's some kind of medicine, like my body is getting stronger.
"They didn't manipulate the food here, did they?… Nah, no way."
We all finished eating and headed back to our rooms to rest more after this exhausting week we went through. Yet I only stayed in my room for a few minutes before heading back out.
While walking through the halls of the castle—the ones we were allowed to use—I headed to the room of one of the heroes. He is just another regular hero like the others: weak, naive, dumb, and always complaining.
"But he has something special… a group he formed."
Knock, knock.
After a few seconds, the door slowly opened. The ugly smell of the room hit my nose immediately, and the sight of it—an unorganized, messy room—came into view as he appeared from behind the door.
"Yo, what's up?" he said. "You're Malvek, right?"I nodded. "Yeah. How are you, Leo?"
"Well, I'm fine… just a little tired.""Is there anything?" he asked curiously, moving a bit to the side. "Wanna come in?"
"No need."I waited a few seconds before continuing, taking a deep breath and making a worried expression.
He looked at me with concern. "What is it, Malvek? Did something happen?""No, no… not like that. It's just… I didn't know how to tell you this, but…"
I stepped closer and whispered into his ear."Listen, Leo… I heard that Hario's group said that—"
I suddenly stopped and stepped back. I rubbed the back of my head."You know what, Leo? Never mind… just forget it, haha," I said with a nervous laugh as I turned to leave.
His hand grabbed my shoulder. "Wait, wait, Malvek. Please tell me—what is it? What about Hario's group?"I turned to face him.
"Fine… but don't tell anyone I said this. I'm only telling you because I think your group is better than them in many ways."He nodded. "I won't tell anyone. Just tell me."
"Alright…" I leaned closer again and whispered."You see… I heard Hario's group saying that your group, Leo… might get kicked soon… because you're weak and useless as heroes…"
I stepped back. His face turned serious.
"You see, lately groups have been formed—and I'm not talking about 2–3 people. I'm talking about Leo's group with 28 members, and Hario's group with 45 members. Groups have started competing over who can have the most members… and these two stand out the most."
He touched my shoulder again. "Thanks, Malvek… I really appreciate you telling me this.""No need to," I said and turned to leave.
"Wait!" he shouted. "Malvek, before you go… would you join us? You and your friends? Zareth—he stands out more than any other hero… and the other one, what was his name again?""Draven," I said calmly.
"Yeah, him. Actually… not going to lie, Malvek—I already asked Zareth before. And I heard multiple groups asked him too, but he refused all of them—"
"You want me to make Zareth join your group? So you're just using me like everyone else…" I said, cutting him off, my face serious.
"No—I mean, yes—" He got nervous. "Malvek, don't get mad; I didn't mean it like that. I want you and Zareth to join. Actually… I especially want you to join. After what you told me now, I really appreciate it. That's why I want you close by my side."
"By my side? What a high ego… anyway, this is getting interesting."
"I'll think about it," I said and left.
"I planted the idea of Hario's group saying all that in his head. Now all I have to do is...Wait."
"Zareth… he made a strong impression on everyone when I made him speak against the king. That made others fear him—or more than that… respect him. Just as I planned. He'll be more useful than I thought."
"The next days will be fun."