It was shocking for Griff. The idea that he had the chance to escape without going through further atrocities. It was... enticing. Certainly he would take the chance. Shouldn"t he? Yes, he had been betrayed before... But James hadn"t backstabbed him, right? So he can trust Mana right? He wanted to trust him..."Then a test of trust..."
"Well... I want to accept this. But I can"t trust as easily as before..."
"Ah, I know how harsh it is here, you only know treachery."
"Well, can you give your real name to me?"
Mana closed his eyes and smirked.
"Yeah, you"ve kind of grown up. You see, as a high ranked fighter I have the right to watch you green boys fight. You were entirely green, country b.u.mpkins were smarter than you and wearier."
Saying Griff was shocked would be an understatement. Yeah he expected to kind of stick out to some people as he was a young and new veteran but Mana knew him pretty much...
"Yeah, I"ll tell you my name. The reason why I also chose to tell you my plan is well, you"re pretty much a kid. And you are innocent enough to be trusted. My real name is Humbert. That"s all you need to know for now..."
"I see..."
"Well, being kind of naive helped me. I don"t know should I laugh or cry."
"So, you"re not even going to ask my plan? Kid, open your eyes and ask me s.h.i.t or you won"t make it out of here alive."
"s.h.i.t, he"s right. Grow some spine me..."
"Sorry... So what is the plan anyway?"
"This barracks is also where the highest tier veterans normally live. Me and Cracker there have been living here for over a month. He restrooms here and right now where we are sitting is a blindspot for detection magic. The mana lay lines are the weakest there."
Griff nodded his head.
"There is a small window for air conditioning the restrooms made of strengthened steel bars. They don"t have magic infused in them because the engineers here are lazy. I have been using rusting magic on the bars for a month now and the bars are weakened enough to be cracked open."
"But how will we escape after getting through the window?"
"It opens to a tea garden like area which I presume is the n.o.ble tea party meeting area. Tomorrow, before the first preliminary match they will gather there for a minor celebration. After that they will vacate the area. We will use that chance to escape through the window opening together."
"Got it, is there anything I can do to help?"
"We need the guards as far from us as possible. I have an idea but it is definitely not pretty. We will incite a fight between the brutes here and the guards. However, those oafs are smarter than they look and won"t fight with the guards unless offended."
"So I"m presuming I"ll be the one to initiate it?"
"Bingo!"
"What do I got to do to start it?"
"Simple, walk up to a random oaf and kick him right there."
"Right where?"
"The forbidden zone."
"Oof... that has to hurt."
"And it will draw everyones attention."
"Okay, I"m up for it. But how will I run away to the toilet?"
"Make sure to get punched in the nose. It will bleed easily and you can use that excuse to ask the guards to go to the restroom to clean yourself. The oafs will be against that and ask to fight you which the guards will interfere with and the tension will rise."
"Won"t the guards question my acts of randomly starting a fight?"
"Since the guy will be in pain he won"t be able to refute any of your claims. Just say he stole your lunch or he offended you."
"Alright... what will you do in the meantime?"
"I"ll ask a leave from my guards for the reason of a bowel problem. Works like a charm. They will send me to the restroom before "escorting" me to the fight."
"It seems smooth..."
"It is smooth. I already planned on inviting you lad. I can"t handle despair. Been there done there and I don"t want you to feel that."
"Maybe that"s a little late..."
"At least you won"t fall to despair."
Seeing as the two had dwelled in to their talk too much one of the oafs approached them.
"Hey you pieces of s.h.i.t. What are you two whispering? Talkin" how scared you are I see. Don"t worry. I, Don the Mighty will only crush your spirit, it won"t be as harsh as Cracker crushing your skull."
Griff felt anger, an emotion that had driven him to where he is. It was his instinct. He got up and prepared a right hook with his hot blooded teenage mind in control but realized he couldn"t move.
"Lad, It ain"t worth it."
Humbert had been using magic on him to keep him from acting rash apparently.
"If the kid wants a fight let"s give him a fight? What are you doing holding him back coward?"
"You there! Don"t start a commotion now. You"ll have plenty of time to kill each other in the tourney!"
A guard remarked. Griff realized it was one of the guards that constantly helped him and were his cell keepers. They had been warm to Griff and this act was pretty heart warming for him. Even if they had no requirement to help him they did...
Yeah, he could be a little more trusting now.
"Lights out all of you! Tomorrow is your time to shine. The boss wants blood and the first match is just for that. Mana and Cracker, put up a good fight."
Another guard remarked and the magically illuminated barracks suddenly became pitch-black. The oafs started to scramble and someone pulled Griff towards him and whispered to his ear.
"Steel your heart lad and have no regrets or hesitations for tomorrow."
Humbert than started to walk away, leaving Griff alone in the dark...