It made me pull my sword and cut the webbing off of me. He was not actually that strong. I got free before I could be lifted up to him. "I wasn't finished talking to you." he said with a pout. "That doesn't seem like my problem. If it is, I can fight my way out of a small trap like this." I said. He looked at me and sighed. "Is listening to me that hard for you, nekojin?" he demanded. The drider was not on my radar of people I needed to listen to. "Listen to me. I am done. If you stay here, that's on you." I told him firmly. He hissed at me, but he did not dare attack me. I then walked away, and he let me go this time. When I got home, I told Szicut. He flinched and said "Please excuse him and his brashness. He is just enjoying his freedom." I asked him more about it. He repeated that they were treated poorly in their clan. "Arza was probably only excited. Males have no freedom in who or when they mate. I suspect Arza is of the type that prefers males to females as well." the drider concluded wistfully. That might have been so, but it was not my problem. If he wanted to fuck guys, he could.
As long as it was not me he was trying to have sex with it, I saw nothing wrong with it. I decided to get some tutors for the driders. The parents could teach them all about the culture and the brawn. Scholars could teach them all the brains. Once they learned, it would make them better fighters. The human teachers were obviously scared, but the money was too good to pass up. I was there to make sure they were safe. If the children were too antsy, I just commanded them to be still and pay attention. The driders all stopped doing their disruptive behaviors. They had no choice but to obey. Hopefully they could learn what was being taught and it would allow them to better navigate the world after being gladiators. I intended to free them if they won 10 matches. They could then go on to become mercenaries or adventurers. I might even join them. I still needed to make my way to Epic City eventually. That would be a good thing if I was going to quit the gladiator fights. I let Szicut and Zivith stay in the room to learn as well. They could also learn some new things. In the meantime, I did more fights.
Jumping ahead a few months, I was level 29. I was still a master gladiator, and I was getting offers again. Nobles, merchants and mercenaries wanted me to join them in their causes and fight with them. I turned them down. The people that were asking did not deserve me or my help. Where were they when I needed someone to free me and give me a chance? Nowhere to be seen. In fact, they were there in the pits. They all just wanted to use me and the rest of the Cat Pack as a slave force. "Are you content to just rest on your laurels? Haven't you wanted to be something greater?" a human knight leading a mercenary company asked with balled fists. He was not too happy to be denied by a demi-human. I turned to him and said "I crawled from the slave pits and got lots of money for fighting. I'm already great! I don't need to do anything else to prove it to you." He glared at me before leaving. That was all that could be expected. What they thought about me did not matter to me one bit. As long as I could live in the duchy capitol and fight, I was fine. The children's training was good.
