Chp.1: A year later

One year. A whole year had passed.

Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred and sixty-five days, each of them marked by a fight.

When he was captured, Haku was almost seven months old. He was now over a year and a half old. Time had passed almost instantaneously in his eyes due to the constant monotony of his days, and if it hadn't been for his changing body he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

When he arrived in the arena he measured about five meters and was just a little over two meters tall. Now his size had doubled: he was over ten meters long and his height was more than four and a half meters. Creatures like wolves, lions, tigers and bears were now only small and insignificant victims in his eyes, and even the lindworm he had killed a year ago would now think twice before challenging him. In terms of size, he was now comparable to a great basilisk. Luckily the corridors of the arena were built specifically for large beasts, otherwise he would never have been able to pass through them again.

His body hadn't just grown, it had also changed. His scales, already very hard, had become much more resistant, and his muscles had become much stronger. The thorns on his back were now much longer and sharper and even trying to touch them could cause an injury to the victim. His jaws had widened and had become firmer, granting him an even stronger bite. His claw grip was also improved. His horns had grown a great deal and now adorned his head like a monstrous crown.

The more time passed, the more it was turning into an increasingly powerful and efficient predator. Now there were few creatures that could still stand up to him. Very often the beasts and gladiators who faced him were sent against him in groups, otherwise the battle wouldn't last long.

When Haku was born, his strength was barely around level iron. Now, at the age of a year and a half old, he was sure he was just one step away from level diamond. Which meant that in terms of brute strength, he could easily handle any living thing of level gold or lower. Adding intelligence and rune skills raised the bar even higher. By now, Haku was confident enough that he could take even a level mithril and win, albeit in a bloody battle.

While thinking these things, he reached the door of the gladiator dormitory. The guards barely glanced at him, and quickly looked away. Even though they knew he had the collar on and could therefore do nothing to them, they knew what he had done to all the gladiators who dared to annoy him, and they didn't want to risk it. Without saying a word they opened the door for him and let him pass.

Haku was greeted by a loud shouting, but it soon died down as soon as he entered. Immediately, all the gladiators fell silent and moved away, leaving him free to pass. None of them would have dared to stand in the way of the king of the arena.

During the first few days of his stay there, some idiots had dared to challenge him. Needless to say, Haku had killed them all, one by one. And just as he had done with the minotaur, he had quartered them and used their skins to improve his bedding. He had even started planting some bones on the floor to delimit the area where he slept. Within a short time, the gladiators understood that he must not be angered. The cruelty Haku showed towards those he killed was nothing short of terrifying. Haku had made sure that as many people as possible saw the scenes, so they could witness his danger.

When he arrived, he knew little of how gladiators were organized. Only in the following days did he understand that they were divided into numerous gangs led by the strongest. Just as in ogre society, even among the gladiators the rule of the strongest held true. These leaders could do essentially anything they wanted and often fought over the ownership of a particular slave or a better place to sleep. The guards didn't mind: they never entered the dormitory, except when they had to call someone because they had to fight. When they learned what he had done to the minotaur (who was apparently one of the leaders), some of them had tried to attack Haku in his sleep. Needless to say, they didn't end well. Haku had eaten them all.

Thus, in less than a week, the balance of power had shifted. Now he was the sole hegemon, the one whose word was surely law; all the others were below him. The remaining leaders, those who hadn't attempted any aggressive action against him (or hadn't had time to do so) had learned their new place. Within a short time, without Haku doing anything, new rules were born, and now all the gladiators respected them as if they were a religious mantra.

First rule: don't talk to the dragon. Haku didn't speak to anyone normally, and no one spoke to him. Everyone kept their distance and acted as if he didn't exist. Haku did the same. After all, he didn't want them to think he was a danger to everyone, just that they shouldn't disturb him. If the gladiators believed he would attack them for no reason, then it wouldn't have taken them long to unite against him. Instead, since Haku didn't do anything if he wasn't disturbed, the other gladiators understood that to stay alive, it was enough to ignore him.

Second rule: don't get in the way of the dragon. Haku always followed the same path: he entered the dormitory and crossed it all to reach the place where he slept, or he followed the same path in reverse when he had to go out to fight. Otherwise he never moved: since the bathrooms were far too small for him, he relieved himself in a barrel and then Misune emptied them down the drains. He always ate from his dimensional bag, so he didn't even move when dinner arrived. As a result, the only time of day when his path was likely to get in the way was when he entered or left the dormitory. At such moments, all gladiators had to move aside and let him pass. If they didn't, they would be trampled on without any regard.

Third rule: don't take the dragon's things. Haku initially always put his possessions in his dimensional bag when he had to leave for a fight, but he quickly realized that he risked losing it. So he had chosen to simply leave everything in the dormitory, including the bag. Thefts were common among gladiators, but only a madman would ever dare to steal anything from him. He had already proved this once: a slave had taken advantage of his absence under orders from his gladiator and had taken away from his nest a small ring that Haku had snatched from one of the gladiators during a battle. Needless to say, Haku had noticed right away and had tracked down the culprit in no time using his nose. The slave had been eaten alive, and the gladiator who sent him was tortured for over an hour before being killed. Since then, no one had dared go near the 'dragon's nest', as the gladiators called it.

The 'nest', by the way, had changed a lot during that year. Initially it was just a table with a fur coat on it; however, it was soon changed due to the influx of resources and Haku's ever-increasing size. The dragon had moved the 'nest' next to the wall opposite the entrance door, and there he had placed several tables close together to create a smooth surface, over which he had spread a large number of hides to make his bed very comfortable. Also, he had started collecting things. To further intimidate the other gladiators and keep fear upon them, he had made a habit of taking a piece of his opponents at each fight and displaying it as a trophy. If he was fighting gladiators, then he would take one of their items (not their weapons, as gladiators couldn't take them into the dormitory), i.e. clothes, rings, ornaments, whatever, and then place it at the foot of his bed. If instead he fought against beasts, then he ripped off a piece of their body (horns, tails, teeth, even eyes) and then hung it on the wall behind him. In the end, to make everything more threatening, Haku had taken the legs of the tables he had destroyed to make his bed and planted them on the floor, and above them he had exposed the skulls of those who had dared to challenge him there in the dormitory. The leaders of the gangs, the thieves, those who dared to get in his way: he cleaned their heads completely and then put them in full view, all around his bed.

Now, a year later, the 'nest' was so full of trophies that it could easily pass for a monster's lair. In fact, many gladiators had compared it with the dragon caves that appeared in stories and tales. Since Haku was also a dragon, it was only natural that he would behave in that macabre way as well.

Haku reached his bed and hung the wyrm's tail on the wall. Its stingers were still oozing venom. Haku made sure to pick it up: it could always come in handy in the future. Haku always took the most important parts of the beasts he defeated, because they could be essential for his future escape. Even though after a year he still couldn't come up with a good plan.

As usual, he lay down on his bed and let Misune start washing his body. The half-elf was the only one who dared to stay close to him: every day she obeyed his commands as if he were an object and worked to ensure that he was always happy. The other gladiators often looked at her with interest: after all, she was a very beautiful slave. However, they would not approach her as long as she was near the dragon. Misune knew this and therefore preferred to stay all the time next to Haku, even if she knew that if someone tried to do something to her he would remain indifferent. After all, it was clear as day that he didn't give a damn about her, and only saw her as a tool to groom himself. But at least the dragon wasn't interested in her in that sense, so Misune had made sure that Haku never got tired of her, so he didn't send her away. She knew what happened to beautiful slave girls, and she wasn't about to risk it happening to her. When she had nothing to do she just sat in a corner not far from Haku, not too close but enough to ward off any attackers. She only broke away from him when Haku dismissed her and allowed her to return to the slave dormitory.

Haku opened his mouth and let Misune clean his teeth. His jaws were now so large that the half-elf could fit half of her body inside. It was a terrifying thing to do, but after a year Misune got used to it and realized that Haku would never eat it, not if she didn't give him a good reason. So she leaned over and stuck her head and half of her torso inside the dragon's mouth, starting to clean his teeth. The other slaves and the gladiators, even if they didn't look at her directly, could not help but consider her crazy as they noticed her out of the corner of their eyes. After all, only a madman would have dared to enter those jaws.

As Misune cleaned his teeth, Haku's mind, as it often did, returned to its siblings. He hadn't seen them for a year now and he missed them more every day. He wondered what had happened to them. His hope was that they had thought him dead and had continued on to the Thul Oasis, and now lived there safe from the newcomers, and were growing up strong and healthy. He wondered if they still thought about him after all that time...

Well, he at least never stop thinking about them, and he wouldn't stop trying to get back to them. The promise he'd made to himself a year ago still stood. He would never give up; he would find a way to escape and reach them!