Chapter 2 Riot (Part 1)
I've been reborn? Reborn as this gladiator named Maximus?!... Maximus realized something, but he was unwilling to believe it was true. He preferred to think it was just a dream. However, when he struggled to open his eyes, what appeared before him was a dark and cramped room—no windows, no wooden door, only uneven stone walls, a dusty dirt floor, a shabby wooden bed with a straw mattress on it... The air was filled with a sickening smell of sweat, urine, and feces. What a terrible living environment!
Even worse, his ears were filled with piercing shouts. In his vision, countless grim-faced, bare-chested strong men were clamoring and rushing toward the iron gate...
This is not a dream! ... Maximus subconsciously clenched his fist, but felt a sharp pain in his chest, where Cross had struck him. However, he had no time to attend to this: Spartacus... Cross... Gladiator School... Batiatus... Could it be that I've been reborn into the era of the Spartacus revolt in Ancient Rome? And right now is the crucial moment when Spartacus leads the gladiators in a rebellion at the Gladiator School?!
With these thoughts, Maximus realized he must follow these gladiators and escape, or else he would face the crucifixion punishment.
Maximus used his hands to support himself on the ground and struggled to stand up. His head was still a bit dizzy, and he staggered to the doorway.
Outside the door was a narrow corridor, with a few scattered torches mounted on the stone walls above on both sides. The weak and solitary torchlight cast some brightness into the dim corridor, yet the dancing shadows added to a more sinister and terrifying atmosphere.
On either side of the corridor were many parallel small rooms, similar to dogholes carved into the stone wall, barely enough space for a person to lie down. Thinking that the original owner used to live in such a terrible environment, Maximus couldn't help but shiver, resolutely deciding to escape from there.
He watched the gladiators running ahead, and stumbled after them. Gradually... his head was no longer dizzy, and his body became agile...
A barred iron gate sealed off the entire corridor ahead, with thick iron bars deeply embedded into the ground and stone wall. Its sturdiness was despair-inducing, but fortunately, the iron gate in the middle was already open. Maximus ducked through the gate and saw three bodies lying at the bottom of the steps outside, trampled into a heap of mud by countless people.