Chapter 10 – Revelations & Roommates

"If you need me, you know where to find me," Miss Kane said as she turned and swept out of the doorway after leaving Titus and Petra at their dorm.

The dorm room was located close to the food hall, but it was very clearly still underground as pretty much all of the Arena was. There were three beds set out and made up with warm sheets and comfortable pillows lying ready for them. It had three desks, chairs, and a shared toilet behind a wooden door. There was even a window displaying a green field and blue skies, though it looked nothing like the busy City landscape that surrounded the Arena. Titus quickly concluded that the window must've been enchanted to give the room a more pleasant feeling. And if he was honest, he kind of liked it.

"Where the hell do we find her?" Titus blurted out as soon as the door had been closed behind Miss Kane, referring to the Grandmaster's parting words.

Petra stared at Titus, then laughed. Then she laughed some more, and Titus felt his lips involuntarily curl up, joining her in what was the first time he'd laughed in what felt like forever.

"I guess she'll just have to find us," Petra said though her laughter.

Eventually, the laughter died down, and Titus remembered the few things that'd just happened to them.

"Henderson… he tried to kill us," he said in a far more serious tone.

"Nah," Petra replied. "I think he just wanted to scare us. But then he heard someone coming and ran. Besides, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? And we did the right thing not saying anything to Miss Kane; it sounds like Henderson's family really does have some money, and that means trouble if you annoy them too much. I say just keep our heads down for a while and let it all blow over."

"What're they doing keeping that monster down there anyway?" Titus asked. "That's got to be a recipe for disaster, hasn't it?"

"They've got to keep them somewhere," Petra said. "I bet that dungeon's much bigger than what we saw, and I bet there's much, much worse things down there than a level two Deadlands Boar."

Titus wasn't sure about any of that, but it did make sense.

"It's a good job I'm not hungry," Titus said after a short pause. "Missing lunch and all."

"Neither am I, actually. Do you think it's the health potion?"

"No idea," Titus said. "But can you believe that stuff? It's like magic!" Then he caught himself and smiled. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised."

Then he remembered the notifications that he'd seen about his new skill and Class. But he wondered if telling anyone else was a good idea, even Petra. He felt like they'd gone through a lot together already, but in reality he hardly knew the girl.

"What is it?" Petra asked, seeing the internal question in Titus' eyes.

"It's… uh… did you get any experience points after we got out of that fight?"

Petra smiled and nodded. "I hoped you were going to say that! I did, just a tiny bit, six points of XP, but it really was something, wasn't it? That's what happens when you aren't wearing the white armband then!"

"Right," Titus replied. "But was there anything else? Any other notifications?"

Petra shook her head. Then she looked at Titus and read him immediatley and her eyes widened. "Did you get something else?" She asked.

"I did," he said, deciding in that very moment to be truthful with Petra, rather than start their friendship off with a lie. "But I'm not sure what it all means."

"Well, what is it?" Petra asked, taking a step closer to Titus.

"Well, I got a new skill," he replied slowly.

"What‽" Petra exclaimed. "You don't even have a Class, how the hell did you get a skill? No, wait. Are you telling me that you've got a Class now too‽ What is it, Defender? Warrior?"

Titus smiled sheepishly. "It's not uh… I don't really know what it is. I got offered a Class called 'Capacitor' and I took it, but I haven't heard anyone mention it. Do you know what it is?"

Petra shook her head. "Not one I've heard about, but I'm not exactly the font of all knowledge. Maybe you should ask Mr Sinclair? If anyone knows about it, it's got to be him."

"But what if it's something bad?" Titus asked. "What if I was given it by The God of Balance because it saw how useless I was against that boar."

"How about you just try to see what it is for yourself like we did with the Contestant Profession?"

That was actually a good idea and something that Titus hadn't thought of. Dutifully, he obliged, turning his attention inward and to the word 'Capacitor' listed in his internal statistics.

Class: Capacitor

The Capacitor supports other classes in battle. They possess abilities to bolster their allies, mitigate damage, and provide supporting skills where they are needed most.

Titus relayed the information to Petra, who listened intently. Then he told her about his new 'Sacrifice' skill and waited for her to tell him whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Petra stared at Titus for a long time, but eventually, she furrowed her brow and said: "You might be right. I don't think we should be telling anyone about this. It doesn't sound like the best Class and skill in the world, but maybe you'll get the chance to replace it when you learn a bit more about the other Classes? I heard someone say it can take a week to get your Class anyway, and I'm pretty sure no one else has one yet. So I say stay quiet and try not to think about it. In the meantime, I've got an idea."

Petra then walked over to one of the wooden desks in the room and sat down in the chair facing it. Then she reached into her pocket to retrieve a small leather pouch from within. Unfurling it, she retrieved a long metal needle and placed it against the tip of her finger.

"Concentrate on me and activate your skill," she said.

"What? What're you doing?" Titus asked.

"Just trust me. I want to see if this works."

Titus stared at Petra for a long moment before determining that she really was being serious. He steadied himself and focused on his new Sacrifice skill, though in truth he had no idea what he was supposed to do or how it was supposed to work.

Petra then pressed the needle into her finger, and a tiny speck of blood appeared.

At first, Titus felt nothing. But then it happened. A pressure in the tip of his own finger began to rise as he stared at his friend. It wasn't painful, but it was there without question.

"I can feel it!" Titus said. "Right there on my finger, just like yours!"

Petra held up her hand to show Titus her finger. The tiny pinprick and the speck of blood had disappeared.

"My health!" Titus said. "It's gone down a point!"

"And mine hasn't gone down at all. Wasn't it just supposed to take half the damage?"

"That's what it said. But I guess maybe if you only did one point then it's rounded up?"

The pair then repeated the action again and again, with Petra putting more and more pressure through the needle. Indeed, after the fourth try, they'd determined the skill was indeed mitigating half of the damage taken, with it being rounded in favour of Petra.

Once they figured that out, they then began pricking different parts of Petra's body with her back to him so that he could call out exactly where it hurt. It was actually kind of fun and after a while Titus forgot that they were actually causing themselves a bit of damage.

And the problem was that after all of this experimentation, Titus' health had dropped to just ten points. With his white armband on, though, he knew he couldn't actually die, but the accumulation of pain and constant reduction to his HP was having a fatiguing effect.

"This has got to be useful for something," Petra said as the pair concluded their experimentations.

"Seems like it'll be really useful if you get yourself in trouble," Titus said.

"No, I don't mean in fights," Petra said. "Like I don't know, we could win bets with it or something. If I can send you signals that nobody else can detect, that's got to be something, right?"

Titus scratched his chin. "I guess. Maybe we'll think of something. I don't know if conning people out of money's a good idea though, not that I have any to begin with of course. I didn't even bring any clothes with me."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about clothes," Petra said. "The Arena gives everyone clothes. They said because people here tend to grow and change so much so quickly, they have tailors on hand at all times to make sure everyone has the basics. It's quite nice not to have to think about it actually."

By the time they'd spoken about a few of the niceties of life in the Arena, Titus and Petra had picked beds and desks to call their own, and eventually, they heard a knock at the door.

And then the larger boy named Jordan walked in, the one who'd recognised the taunt spell in Mr Sinclair's class. His hair was short and dark, and although he looked to be the same age as Titus and Petra, he was a head taller than them both, at least. And he was to be their roommate and the third member of their household.

"Hi," Jordan said. "I think this is supposed to be my room, are you my new roommates?"

Titus and Petra shared a look that each knew meant they were to stop talking about Titus' new Class and skill.

"I'm Petra," Petra said. "And that's Titus. But fair warning, we've kind of got on the wrong side of Henderson, so if you want to be friends, then you might have to deal with that at some point."

"Oh, that's fine," Henderson said. "I never got on with those types with their noses turned up at the rest of us. My family always had to work for everything we had, and he seems like he's been given everything since the day he was born."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Petra said, extending her hand for Jordan to shake. "So what brings you to the Arena?"

"Not much to tell, really," Jordan said. "I got two brothers, but I'm the biggest by a way, so the family sent me here to become a Contestant. You know, make money and send it back home to keep them in good clothes. Seems a bit strange that I get them for free and they've got to pay for them."

"Just the perks of The Arena," Petra said with a smile.

"Wait, there's money?" Titus asked.

Both Petra and Jordan looked at Titus like he'd grown two heads.

"Of course, there's money, Titus," Petra said. "And don't worry, Jordan, somehow this one was brought up living under a rock. Honestly, he knows nothing. Titus, as a Contestant, you get a weekly salary. You can spend it however you like…"

"There are merchants right here in The Arena," Jordan interrupted excitedly. "You can buy weapons and armour from them. Some have food and decorative stuff, but it's a bit of a waste if you ask me. Don't suppose I'll have much left over to spend on myself after what I'll be sending home anyway."

"Hang on… there's a salary?" Titus asked, still not sure he was grasping the concept properly.

"Yes!" Petra and Jordan practically shouted simultaneously. Then she continued: "For whites and blues we get one Gold per week, purples forty, browns sixty, and blacks one hundred. Get it?"

Titus nodded. "But… what're we supposed to do with it?"

"What are we supposed to do with any money?" Petra asked. "Spend it, of course…"

"Don't worry, if you have any trouble spending it, I can help you out there," Jordan said. "You know, for a small fee."

Titus looked at the larger boy for a moment before he realised Jordan was joking. And then he laughed.

"Listen, Titus, there are a few things you're going to have to learn about the world around you," Petra said. "And I'm not just talking about the Arena stuff either. I mean things like money means power and if you have lots of both, then it means you can do what you want to other Contestants, even lock them in a tiny cell with a rampaging beast. I'll tell you about it later," Petra said to Jordan, who now had a very confused look on his face. "But if you hate Henderson already, this one's going to make your blood boil."