Hero of Rome

As Nero orders public executions by burning dissenters at the stake, with Elagabalus's gleeful approval, Rome’s streets echo with screams and the simmering threat of revolt.

The fire from the military camp took hours to snuff out. Though, the victims of the fiery birds, mainly slaves and servants, all died much sooner than that. Their screams from burning alive as the fiery birds fell on them and the fire consumed the camp was ringing in my ears long after.

And the smell…

It was an impossible choice to make, but one that felt justified in only the utilitarian sense. It was not moral, it was not righteous, but it was necessary. At least, that’s what I told myself after choosing to sacrifice the slaves over my friends and family, my very small military, and myself. I couldn’t justify any of the other choices whatsoever, even the one where I finished off the one hundred Stymphalian Birds single handedly. The stamina curse would be far too devastating on the rebellion as a whole.

They need me, I thought to myself as the soldiers carted off the burnt and deceased slaves. It was necessary.

All philosophical justifications didn’t make it hurt any less. My eyes stinged with tears. “Only from the flames,” I told Caesar and Sulla when they inquired.

A lie.

I wasn’t surprised when my morality dropped, but I was astonished at the one positive aspect of making this choice.

Honor (-100): 160

Wisdom (+10): lvl 3 (0/40)

Glory (+40): 3,120

Level: 39 (90/410)

Skill Points: 3

“Maximus, a word,” Caesar said, motioning to a secluded spot by one of the villa’s many marble fountains. I followed him without question, waiting for him to speak. “You foresaw every path, I presume?”

“I did,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice from breaking. I had to stare forcibly at his face to not be distracted by the slave corpses being carried away. When Caesar frowned inquisitively, I sighed, telling him of the dilemma that I had faced and my ultimate decision.

“Hmm,” he said, casting a look at the decimated slaves. “A wise choice, though a painful one. You did well, Maximus. You will have many, many more decisions such as these in the coming days, weeks, years.” Caesar’s gaze seemed to be somewhere else as he spoke. He grimaced before speaking again. “I remember Alesia, one of my most trying battles and finally the defeat of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. I had to encircle the barbarian city with two walls, given how vastly outnumbered we were. He thought to trap me, but I caught him instead. The heathen tried to release the women and children from the city and through our walls. It was understandable, since they only ate the dwindling food within their city. But it was a risk I could not accept. I refused them. Only, their own husbands, fathers, and brothers refused them too. And so they starved, slowly, between our armies.”

Though Caesar was only in his late fifties, he looked suddenly older as he recounted the harrowing tale. The lines in his calculative eyes hardened in reflection. The Battle of Alesia was both heroic yet horrifying given the cost. It led to Caesar’s triumph over Vercingetorix and the Gauls, but at a very steep cost.

“I will not lie to you, Maximus,” Caesar said in a softer voice while grasping my shoulder, looking me sincerely in the eyes. “I still hear the screams of those mothers and their children. It is something I will never forget. You will face many more decisions like this, perhaps greater in scope and sacrifice. However, such is the cost of leadership, of triumph. Greater still is the cost of tyranny, of oppression. Do not take fear, Maximus, for the world of men needs men to lead it, not cowards. You must be prepared to resort to anything, to submit to anything, for the sake of the commonwealth.”

“Caesar,” Sulla said, breaking our conversation. The famous dictator waved at us to follow inside the villa.

Caesar’s teeth silently gnashed in annoyance. “Let us not make him wait, in case his patience runs too thin.”

I followed behind Caesar, passing by Titus and Livia who were helping the wounded recover. Cleopatra was there too, alongside Valerius and Cassius, handing out health potions to the most desperate and working collectively to heal the injured. Cleopatra offered an encouraging smile to me as I walked by. As for Umbra, the pegasus had taken to the skies in order to “refresh himself” after the terrifying bird encounter. I had no fear that he would run away, especially due to the golden key around my waist that could instantly teleport him to my location at any given moment (something he very much despised despite the trust we had built since the labyrinth).

Gaius was there with Sulla, with parchments in hand, in one of the villa’s many large room’s. There lay a large table at the center, with maps and tactical diagrams strewn across it. Female servants awaited around the war table with giant pitchers of wine, and of course, coffee.

“Large mug, please,” I said to one of the attractive servants, who dutifully poured me a mug while giving wine to the others. She took a sip of my mug first, something I had implemented after being poisoned with a sleep drug last time. “Thank you,” I said, my shaking hands taking the warm mug before downing it. The caffeine was not going to help with the nerves one bit, but I wanted to be fully present for the meeting.

“They will be here in two weeks,” Sulla said, starting the conversation off on a chipper note. “My spies report thirty-thousand men in Elagabalus’s army. We have ten-thousand, if the hundreds injured from today recover by then.”

“Would they not be here sooner, since Rome is so close?” I said, caught off guard by the time estimate.

“Elagabalus is retrieving his men from Constantinople,” Caesar explained. “The riots have grown in number and ferocity across the empire since your slaying of Cetus and Commodus. He and Nero are spread thin, but they still have enough to crush us. It is for that reason, along with the giants Cacus and Caca, that more men refuse to join us.”

“Here are my defensive proposals,” Gaius said, almost too eager to butt in as he slid parchment diagrams towards us.

Defensive Wall:

Length: 500 meters (encircling the main area of the villa and its immediate surroundings).

Height: 3 meters (providing a formidable barrier against infantry and light cavalry).

Thickness: 1 meter (sufficient to withstand assaults and provide a sturdy defense).

Gates:

Main Gate: Reinforced wooden gate, 4 meters wide, with a drawbridge over a ditch.

Secondary Gates: Smaller gates (2 meters wide) on opposite sides for quick access.

Ditches:

Outer Ditch:

Length: 500 meters (encircling the wall).

Width: 3 meters.

Depth: 2 meters.

Inner Ditch:

Length: 400 meters (closer to the wall).

Width: 2 meters.

Depth: 1.5 meters.

Sulla scoffed. “You think this will be enough to take down the giants—”

Before Sulla could finish, Gaius shoved another set of papers towards us. “Heavy artillery,” he said, very pleased with himself. “Ballistae should do the trick.”

Sulla only responded with a grunt, signifying his approval.

“Will there be enough time?” Caesar said, pouring over the documents.

“In two weeks? If we do not relent, then theoretically, yes,” Gaius said.

“What about the finances for everything?” I said. Walls, ditches, artillery, were all going to be very expensive. I had also no idea of how much wealth I had since leaving it all to Gaius before the labyrinth quest.

“I’m glad you asked,” he said, handing me a parchment document. “Here’s the cost for the defenses, along with where we stand after some successful raids and the time you were gone.”

Siege Defense Cost:

Defensive Wall: 7,300 Denarii

Ditches: 2,700 Denarii

10 Ballistae: 23,500 Denarii

Grand Total: 33,500 Denarii

Maximus Wealth: 51,000 Denarii

I was both shocked and relieved to see that I had that much money after leaving him with everything. I had over ten thousand denarii from the labyrinth loot, but still, I wasn’t expecting that much.

“Spend it,” I said without a second thought.

Wealth (-33,500): 17,500 Denarii

“How did I have that much though?” I asked. “Surely the cost for the troops and preparing for the civil war was higher.”

“Indeed it was,” Caesar confirmed.

“There was much, much more that we gained from their raids on caravans and villages in your absence,” Gaius explained, his eyes far away as he reflected.

“Most of it was spent on bribes,” Caesar said. “It was the only way to secure loyalty from the senators and generals that were willing to work with us. We do not have enough to maintain daily pay for the troops, so all of the money was spent as a down payment, if you would.”

I shook my head in bewilderment. War was costlier than I imagined. Even an additional five thousand troops must have been staggering. I was immediately grateful Sulla was footing the bill for his own five thousand. No wonder the Roman Empire was always stretched thin.

I took a heavy sigh. “All right. Let’s get to work. But first, who can I speak to about weapons training?”

Sulla smiled with enthusiasm while Gaius and Caesar rose to see about the villa’s defense preparations. “I know just the one.”

I couldn’t help but notice Caesar casting a suspicious glance at Sulla as he left the war room.

It turns out, the person whom Sulla had in mind was himself.

After he saw to it that his centurions and officers delegated the tasks of starting the ditches, walls, and ballistae preparations, Sulla took me to the unscorched gardens on the other side of the desecrated tents where Caesar had relocated the military camp.

The caffeine from the coffee was already hitting me, helping with the fatigue of fighting two major battles today.

“Have you already reached mastery with your pilum?” Sulla said, taking off his cape and withdrawing several books.

“I have,” I said, summoning the Pilum of Mars for extra effect. “I can’t spend any more Skill Points on it.”

“Indeed,” Sulla said, nodding to himself. “From what I’ve learned of this strange second life, you must learn from a master to delve deeper into the art of war. Have you read a skill book before?”

“Once,” I said, recalling how Marcus Aerelius gave me one that unlocked the ability to throw my one pilum into three. “All I did was read it and I unlocked the skill.”

“He must have unlocked it for you. How generous. And what did you learn?”

I activated the Piercing Rain ability to hit three dummy targets at a far distance. They almost broke from the immense force of my throw.

“The Path of Enhancement,” Sulla noted. “I have not been favored to earn those.”

“Earn? As in the power the System gives you upon waking to this world?”

Sulla shook his head. “Do not try to flatter me. I was not fortunate enough to be one of the System’s Favonius.”

I blanked. “The Favored?”

Sulla squinted in suspicion. “Yes. Very few, as far as my understanding goes, are given an extraordinary gift to help them survive in this new world. It is very, very rare. Do you have such a gift?”

My mind instantly recoiled to survey the next several seconds of Historical Insight. His reaction betrayed nothing of how he felt no matter if I told the truth or not. Knowing his history and his probable dislike for Caesar whom I was allied with, I decided to keep it a secret.

“No,” I lied, to which he nodded.

Sulla knelt to the ground, laying out four stacks of books. “In any case, I have killed more men than you could count. In my second life, Fors Fortuna has been most gracious to me and my mastery of war. In completing quests for her, she has granted me the power of the gods to increase my power. I have not unlocked all of these yet, as they require too many Skill Points to attain. However, and these are nowhere near conclusive, I have heard of many more paths, these are the paths I can grant to you for your pilum. Each can be explored deeper for more powerful effects. Which one will you choose?”

Path of Lightning

Path of Fire

Path of Water

Path of Ice

Before I decided, I tapped into the futures to see what each of them would be like. What I was not expecting was that in the next few seconds, Sulla would surprise me with an impossibly fast pilum throw, directly at my face.