《World of Conquest》


 Chapter 1 - Library

    A young man, twenty years old, rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at once. His face brimmed with confidence. He slammed the door open, storming into his father¡¯s office.


    ¡°Dad! No, Gino! I challenge you to a duel!¡±


    The father¡¯s real name was George, but online, he went by Gino. George sat comfortably in his favorite chair, specially designed for his body shape. He read one of those uncommon non-digital newspapers, enjoying the rare peace and quiet, while listening to some soothing classical music. Of course, the son''s disruptive appearance ruined any peaceful mood.


    George disliked being called Gino by his son in real life, but did not complain about such small matters. After all, his son had heard people call him Gino countless times, but rarely did anyone say George. His son had the guts to challenge him again, so how could he ruin the mood by nagging about irrelevant things?


    George lowered the newspaper, looking his son straight in the eyes. ¡°Valeriano? Oh, again? What now? You lost so badly last time¡­in fact, you lose badly every single time! Heh heh.¡± George said, amused by his son¡¯s competition spirit.


    Valeriano, the son, swallowed his anger, and continued to explain the new challenge. ¡°This time, we won¡¯t play against each other directly, nor alone. We will play a Virtual Reality MMO! Best player in a year¡¯s time, will win!¡±


    George frowned slightly. MMO¡­ there are endless variables that can determine your success. Simply getting a random lucky drop, means you will shoot ahead of the competition, even though you did nothing special to deserve it. ¡°First things first¡­ What game?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have a few in mind...¡± Valeriano fished out a small paper note from a chest pocket. ¡°Evolution Online! Have been delayed for over two years, but now they promise they will release it in a month. Probably just running out of cash though, heh.¡±


    George nodded. ¡°Read about it, sounds interesting. Their never-ending struggles to make that game have been fun to follow. What else?¡±


    ¡°Right, next is World of Conquest! Ancient Civs fighting each other. Comes out in five days. Seems pretty good, my personal favorite.¡±


    George searched his memory, but nothing special came up. Then he looked at his newspaper, and a huge ad covered the whole page. World of Conquest... George smiled, and read some of the info on the ad out loud, but translated it from Market Speech, into normal english. ¡°Some historical accuracy, but many non-historical things, and alt-history as well, to make it more fun to play. Factions are Rome, China and Egypt.¡± George chuckled to himself. ¡°Can¡¯t imagine being a female soldier would be much fun back then. Good thing they made some changes.¡±


    Valeriano looked up, making a ¡®not bad¡¯ expression, like the old president Obama was known for. ¡°Good, so you¡¯ve heard of it, no need for me to explain that one then. Moving on!¡±


    George mentally slapped himself. Ah, damn! Now I gotta do some proper research on my own¡­


    ¡°Then there are some more unusual games¡­ They have been going the rounds underground, merely rumors¡­ but their potentials are said to be unprecedented.¡± Valeriano took a dramatic pause, hyping the new games up.


    ¡°The Swarm, an amazing insect game. A video leaked, but it quickly got taken down. However, many downloaded it, and spread it around. Offline only, though. Every time it appeared online, the video got deleted. Not much is known about it, but maybe it will release within the year. Looked very finished in the video.¡± Valeriano said.


    ¡°Hmm. Well, we can¡¯t really play a game that isn¡¯t out yet. Saw that video too, looked amazing, but the maker is unknown. Perhaps, it was just a fake vid.¡± George said, his voice carrying a hint of disappointment.


    Making a gameplay vid, or even a cinematic vid would always be a lot easier than making the actual game. Such videos were common online, though, most did not claim to be real.


    ¡°Yeah, true.¡± Valeriano nodded, taking another dramatic pause. ¡°However, this rumored game is even more mysterious.¡± Valeriano said with a smile. ¡°It is said, the military, all of them, worked together to make this thing. Makes sense, given that they scrapped almost all their equipment, but didn¡¯t fire people. Perhaps they use them to fight wars in VR?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ all wars becoming virtual? While that would be a good thing, though, I fear gaming would no longer be about entertainment anymore. Only profit for the country. Maybe we would be recruited, or rather, forced into service, as well. Hope you are wrong about that game.¡± George said with a heavy sigh.


    George was getting old, almost fifty now, and he had no interest in shortsighted politicians wars for glory. To transform his lifelong hobby-turned-work-turned-hobby into something so evil... he wanted no part of that.


    ¡°Ah! Didn¡¯t think about that¡­ Hm¡­ anyway, which one do you choose?¡±


    ¡°Well, only one is coming out soon, and it will have plenty of wars for us to compete in. Let¡¯s go with World of Conquest!¡± George got back to his paper, wanting to, at least, finish his current article before doing some research about the game.


    ¡°You sure? The challenge can wait for some other game? Playing a MMO is a long-term project, if you really want, we can play something else. A new triple A game comes out every day, and several smaller indies, as well. Heh heh, we truly have too many games these days.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it¡­¡± George said from behind the newspaper. ¡°I get literally thousands of emails a day, from people asking me to play their games, and so on. I said that the World of Conquest thing was fine, just go with that.¡±


    ¡°Hope you didn''t take it because I said it¡¯s my favorite, it¡¯s quite different from most VRMMOs, heh heh. But, you made your choice, I will order the games right now.¡± Valeriano ran down the stairs again, towards his room, and ordered two copies.


    ¡°This time¡­ heh heh!¡± Valeriano spun around in his computer chair. He slammed his feet down, got up, and looked at the large digital blackboard hanging on his wall. ¡°For far too long, I have suffered defeat after defeat¡­ this time, I will win!¡±


    A series of numbers glowed brightly on the digital blackboard:


    42,841 Losses! 0 Draws! 0 Wins!


    ¡°I need to prepare my strategy¡­¡± Valeriano sat down on his chair again, thinking deeply. ¡°Need to get a village going quickly, become the top dog in my area, and from there¡­ I will dominate!¡± Valeriano finished his flawless plan and went to bed, tired after sitting up all night, researching games he could ¡®maybe¡¯ beat his father in.


    Over ten thousand games released every year, so Valeriano had an enormous backlog to slog through. Luckily, so did George.


    Valeriano only spent a few minutes on most games, before quickly realizing his dad would crush him in a duel if he picked that game. So, he went with MMOs with little to no details available, so at least, they would both start with a clean slate. If George got his infamous snowball rolling, he would be unstoppable, but what if Valeriano got lucky instead? Maybe he could at least get a draw¡­


    ---


    Five days passed quickly. Valeriano read some historical books about the factions, but he debated internally on how much of that would apply in the game. After all, China and Rome were quite some distance away from each other, and never fought any official battles! How would that logic apply in the game?


    But, perhaps the most worrying thing was the Egypt faction. For example, the Egypt Octavian, later known as Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, conquered for Rome, was not the same as the one in the game. It was a much older version, more around the period of the New Kingdom.


    All Valeriano could do was to wait. After all, it was only a game. Who knows what kind of balance changes the Developers made?


    Finally, the alarm clock rang, and Valeriano jolted out from the bed. Eight in the morning, a good time to start playing games!


    He got dressed in the usual gaming clothes; underwear and a tank top. Nothing worse than getting sweaty while gaming!


    Valeriano walked into the kitchen, but stopped when he saw someone already eating there. ¡°Dad, see you¡¯re ready for our duel. Eating breakfast already, heh heh. You look a bit tired? Did you forget about it, staying up all night?¡± Internally, Valeriano screamed with joy. Even if George claimed he forgot about the launch, the deadline could not be stopped. Asking for an extension at this stage, would be the same as surrendering.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, kinda.¡± George slurped some milk straight from the bowl, almost finished with his cereals.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t blame me for your lack of preparations. Today, our duel start! Hope you studied somewhat, at least.¡± Valeriano filled his bowl with his favorite cereals; a kind of Choco puffs. For serious gaming, he needed serious sugar, Rule number 7 and all... that was his excuse, and he was sticking to it!


    ¡°Yep, always do my homework when it comes to games. Hell would freeze over before I slacked with my preparations. Gamer Rule number 16: Always do your preparations! You don¡¯t become the World Champion ten years in a row, if you are a slacker! Remember that, son. Why don¡¯t you pick faction first.¡± With that, George finished his breakfast, and got up to get some water to drink.


    ¡°Okay then¡­I will take Rome.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good choice. Think our Italian blood will help you? Heh, I¡¯ll take China then.¡±


    ¡°Why not Egypt?¡±


    ¡°Well, can¡¯t play games when it¡¯s hot! Rule number 2. Heh heh! ¡±


    ¡°Uh, but¡­-¡± Valeriano raised a finger to point out¡­


    George waved his comment off. ¡°Relax son, it¡¯s a joke!¡±


    Valeriano felt a bit stupid, of course, George would know that. ¡°Fine, we will start at the same time. You ready otherwise? Just let me finish eating.¡± Valeriano poured in the milk, finally starting to eat at a rapid pace.


    ¡°Uh, the game actually came out at twelve last night. I already picked the China faction and made my village.¡± George scratched his head and said, feeling a bit guilty.


    ¡°Huh?! What?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me?!¡± Valeriano knocked the bowl over in his anger, spilling it all out. The white, fancy tablecloth got stained with brown chocolate milk, obviously created from the cereal and milk mix.


    ¡°This is a competition, son. I can¡¯t hold your hand. Rule number 25!¡± George said with a stern face, trying hard to control his emotions from watching the ruined tablecloth. That thing costed a thousand dollars! Royalty use those during big events!


    Valeriano took one look at the tablecloth, shrugging. The maid would clean that up. ¡°What if I picked China then?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I knew you would pick Rome. You love Rome. You always pick Rome. You are predictable. Rule number 3.¡±


    ¡°But, but¡­¡± Valeriano¡¯s triumph got ruined once again. Not only did he fail to get online on time, George even managed to squeeze in another lecture!


    ¡°Tik tok, son. I only came out to get something to eat. The game is great, by the way.¡± George said, walking out from the kitchen, heading back upstairs.


    ¡°Arrrgh!¡± Valeriano grunted out in anger.


    Valeriano still needed to eat, so he refilled his bowl. ¡°Damn, milk package ran out.¡± Shaking his head, he went to the fridge¡­ ¡°No milk?!¡± He checked the trash, and two empty and folded packages were neatly placed on top.


    ¡°Dad! You bastard! How much milk did you drink?!¡± Valeriano shouted out.


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that, heh heh!¡± A muffled voice shouted back, from upstairs. ¡°Rule number 8!¡±


    Cursing his Italian blood, making him always gesture too much when emotional, Valeriano instead ate some bread. Having finished eating, he pushed a bell-shaped button on the wall, and went to his room. Fuck! Lost so much time!


    ---


    A while later, an attractive female maid, in her early twenties, walked into the kitchen. She sighed heavily, seeing the mess. ¡°How two people can cause such a mess everyday is beyond me. Oh well¡­¡± She began the clean up. Bread crumbles covered the floor, as did an alarmingly high amount of cereals. Milk stained the super expensive tablecloth. Five different types of bread, and eight kinds of topping sat on the kitchen table. Some even soaked in a bit of milk. ¡°Throw the milky stuff away, I guess? Maybe¡­ I can eat it?¡±


    She made herself a luxurious sandwich, putting it aside until she finished cleaning.


    She put the milkless items back into the fridge, before they rotted or melted. The bread got packaged into bags, to prevent them from drying. Not that it mattered much, every day, ten types of freshly baked bread got delivered to the house. Worst part? They usually only ate shitty cereals!


    She threw away the soggy bread and toppings. With the table now cleared, the tablecloth could be removed. After a brief inspection, she sighed heavily. ¡°This thing¡­ can¡¯t be machine washed.¡±


    She brought a basin, and put the tablecloth inside. Then she mopped the floor. Finally, the kitchen looked normal again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ need to do laundry, thankfully they wear little clothing when gaming, so that is nice and easy. Then I gotta repaint the house...eh, do it another day. Lawn needs to get mown and bushes trimmed. Why oh why, did they insist on having such a gigantic lawn, when they NEVER go outside!?¡±


    She sighed, continuing with her list of chores. Saying it out loud helped her remember, and perhaps more importantly, it gave her someone to talk to. ¡°Hand wash the tablecloth. Sort the mail, over three hundred letters arrive each day. Vacuum the house when they are both playing to avoid disturbing them. Cleaning all the rooms, but maybe I can skip the forty empty rooms¡­ after all, they are empty.¡±


    She pondered for a bit. ¡°Hmm, what else. Order new milk¡­ actually, order a full restock might be better. Some items in the fridge are nearing a week old. For dinner, I can cook some lobster rolled in gold leaf, with white truffle¡­ maybe I should order it from a restaurant first? Check their recipe.¡±


    She took out her smartphone, making some quick searches. ¡°George might like this one, The Samundari Khazana from the Bombay Brasserie in London. A fine lobster dish. Maybe this one for dessert? The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate from Serendipity 3, in New York. We get some gifts included for the price.¡±


    She put the smartphone back in her pocket. ¡°George ate a whole kilo of Beluga Caviar three days ago, which he threw up later, so need to refill that. Other than that, we are good for a few days. Oh, need to refill the dishwasher too. Hm, Valeriano made no specific requests, he will just eat whatever George eats, I assume.¡±


    With that, she got back to work, humming a song to herself. Busy, busy everyday!


    ---


    Valeriano got into his custom-made, full-immersion capsule. Instead of lying or sitting on some kind of chair, like a peasant, he instead used the deluxe version, a Gaming Gel? capsule.


    ¡°Using a Gaming Gel? best selling capsule, means the body does not get so worn from playing. One of the main reasons why George Santini can still compete with the young is precisely that. In fact, he gains more and more experience in all kinds of games, making him the most knowledgeable gamer in the world, he only gets better as he age! Gaming Gel? are proud supporters of George Santini! The ten years in a row World Champion of Strategy! Tactic! And FPS!


    Back in the days, gaming only used mouse and keyboard, or occasionally a controller, which meant endless clicking and sitting uncomfortably in a chair. The Gaming Gel? supports the whole body, feels like floating in vacuum, meaning no worn body parts or bad posture. The slightly more expensive versions, available now for ONLY one hundred thousand dollars, even have muscle stimulants, meaning the body can keep up an average build without really exercising. There is a limit on those automatic stimulants, of course, it mainly avoids the deterioration that happens during long periods with little exercise. Thank you for choosing Gaming Gel?.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, even after paying a hundred grand for this capsule, they still show you this stupid ad every time you log in.¡± Valeriano grumbled to himself. They just had to throw in that part about his dad. But still, Rule number 6 applied heavily here.


    The ad also showed the repeated victories of George, how he won game after game, match after match, in the three main categories he competed in. He competed in others too, but just casually, but he still reached the top hundred in every category.


    To become the World Champion, one needs to finish first in the hundred man tournament, in which only the top hundred have permission to join. The amount of competitors gets halved every round. Each round is a best of ten matches in ten different games. Since he just defends his title now, he can skip the grueling slug through the ranks, and wait for the second person at the top. If number two declines, it goes to number three, and so on.


    ¡°Please select your game!¡± A computer voice from the capsule said.


    ¡°World of Conquest!¡±


    The capsule lit up with a bright light, and Valeriano closed his eyes, allowing himself to become fully emerged into the Gaming Gel?.


    Valeriano slowly opened his eyes, and saw himself standing up. He did a quick body movements check, and it was just like real life.


    ¡°Mm, a good game. Some games a clunky to move in. Hello? Computer?¡±


    A fierce voice began to speak. Sounded like some ancient badass General, but he spoke oddly politely. An odd mix. ¡°Welcome to World of Conquest! Please pick your faction! You may choose between Rome, Egyp-¡±


    ¡°Rome!¡± Valeriano did not feel like sitting through that long speech, since he read it all online.


    ¡°You have chosen Rome. Your choice will influence your culture, city design and citizens.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Valeriano rolled with his hand, gesturing it to hurry up.


    The badass General paid him little heed, continuing with his speech. Allowing users to skip the explanation would be a bad idea, unless they wanted their ¡®Help¡¯ section to get swamped.


    ¡°Once you have advanced enough, you may design your own buildings or purchase user made designs from other users. However, if your citizens are still loyal to your starting faction, they might become upset with the foreign culture. You may not build or buy the other starting faction¡¯s buildings and units.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, can I change later? And can I make my own kingdom or something?¡± Valeriano asked, a bit happy the tutorial continued.


    ¡°Yes. You may change at any time, by visiting the other faction¡¯s Capitals and learning about their culture in the library. This comes with a heavy price, and your former faction will not stand idle by. You can also create your own culture when you hold enough territory. Creating your own culture does not have as big penalty on your current holdings, as changing to an existing one.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Roman culture selected. Starting area: Rome. What will you be known as?¡±


    ¡°Maximus!¡±


    ¡°Taken.¡±


    ¡°Nero!¡±


    ¡°Taken.¡±


    ¡°Brutus!¡±


    ¡°Available, do you wish you take this name?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    ¡°Error! Name taken.¡±


    ¡°What the?!¡±


    ¡°Arrgh, picking a name is always the hardest part of any online game. Why are the names unique?!¡±


    ¡°Valerian!¡±


    ¡°Available, do you wish you take this name?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes quickly!¡±


    ¡°Name reserved. Please select your avatar¡¯s appearance.¡±


    ¡°Phew, should have gone with my usual online name right away. That¡¯s what I get for trying to hide my identity. Though, not sure if I should laugh or cry no one stole it¡­¡±


    A box fell down from the sky, landing with a thud. Or rather than calling it a box, it was more like a mirror, except Valeriano could spin his figure around without moving himself.


    The figure looked exactly like him, in every single way.


    ¡°Heh heh! Swoosh! Swish!¡± Valeriano amused himself by changing the appearance to the extreme with some sliders. Super long legs, big neck, no neck, huge nose, no ears, fat, thin, short and tall. The choices were a bit limited, though. He could not make too extreme changes.


    ¡°Um, please reset this for me.¡± Valeriano said, not wanting to deal with the trouble of doing it himself. He did not want to look like that either.


    ¡°Reset.¡±


    ¡°Yep, that is good. Leave it at default. Gotta remember Rule number 13.¡±


    ¡°Creation complete. Welcome to World of Conquest! Step through the portal to begin your adventure.¡±


    A tear in space appeared, like shattering a mirror. The black void stared back at Valeriano, but he just took a calm step towards it, and got sucked in.


    Other games had used the ¡®cool¡¯ tear in space effect before. A surprisingly quick and painless way to travel. Just like stepping through an open door. Maybe not so painless, if his body was not made of data.


    Valeriano found himself in a small room. The only light in the room, came from the tiny keyhole on the door. Valeriano, or rather, Valerian now, tapped his foot on the floor.


    ¡°Wood. Walls are wood too.¡± Valerian felt his way around the room, hoping to maybe find something useful. Sometimes, the starting area had hidden secrets. Rule number 18.


    ¡°No such luck, heh heh. Oh well, would be bad balance to have hidden secrets at the spawn. Or maybe¡­ I missed them because I came late? Damn, won¡¯t be able to stop thinking about that now...¡±


    Valerian touched the handle. ¡°Not locked. Guess that is as expected...¡± With that, he flung the door open, immediately getting blinded by the bright lights from the outside.


    ¡°Ugh, didn¡¯t think that through.¡±


    With his eyes closed, the sounds and smells hit him much harder. It was truly different from modern times, to put it nicely.


    ¡°Great, how much effort was put into making the nose work the same?¡± Valerian said, pinching his nose.


    Valerian took a step out, looking around, but failed to see any landmarks or something to help him figure out his location. He only saw beggars at every street corner, and could not help but notice just how poor the general state of the area was. Buildings could use some serious repairs, as could the roads. Some buildings only had half a door left, after someone presumably, kicked the door in. The people looked hopeless and just...tired of everything.


    ¡°The slums?¡± Valerian did not jump with joy. ¡°This is one of those start from the bottom games? Kinda hoped I would start from the top, for once.¡±


    ¡°What the hell am I wearing?¡± Valerian pinched the white clothing on his body, pulling it out to get a better look. ¡°Is this a dress or what? Did I get my gender right? Ah, wait. This is a tunic, and on my feet are those ¡®Caligae¡¯ shoes, the romans always wear. Pretty nifty, I guess.¡±


    The tunic went down to his knees, with short sleeves on the arms. The shoes were heavy soled hobnailed military boots. Open aired to reduce the risk of all those nasty things like trench foot. Made from three leather layers and laced up the center of the foot and the ankle.


    Valerian spun around, looking in all directions. The building he came out from was a wide two-story building, with over fifty small doors in.


    ¡°Hm, I see. That¡¯s how we spawn in. In a house, out of sight.¡± Valerian said. His theory got confirmed by people constantly streaming out from the building. A few minutes later, someone even came out from the same room he did.


    ¡°No point hanging around here. Should find the library and maybe some training area.¡± Having made up his mind, Valerian was just about to set off, when he got interrupted...


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Huh? You said something?¡± A filthy and poor looking person, that just happened to walk by said, a mix of joy and surprise on his face. Finally, someone talked to me!


    ¡°Huh?! Who?¡± Valerian turned around, but took a step back in shock when he saw the person standing so closely to him. ¡°Uh, keep your dirty han- I mean distance, there friend. Sorry, habit of talking to myself. I gotta go!¡± Valerian ran away, leaving the filthy, poor and now stunned person behind.


    ¡°Phew, almost got dirty! Getting new clothes and a bath must be expensive, need to be more careful¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? You said something?¡± Another filthy and poor looking person walked by!


    ¡°Ah! Nevermind! Gotta run!¡± Valerian ran away again! From now on, internal dialogue only!


    Need to stop talking with myself¡­


    Valerian finally found the library. An impressive looking building; white pillars at the front, and statues and busts placed every few meters. He started searching for City Management or similar books.


    Too big! Too many books! No search computer! How does this system even work? Am I supposed to check them one by one? Jesus, what is this? The stone age?!


    ¡°Um, could you help me find some books?¡± Valerian gave up and asked for help. Should have done this right away! Lost thirty minutes on being stubborn!


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for. What do you need?¡± The elderly lady behind the desk said with a smile.


    Not sure how I should put this, but since she is a NPC, she should know what I¡¯m talking about, right?


    ¡°I heard the, uh, colonization efforts beyond the portal needs more people, especially talented managers. So, was looking for some books about managing a city, or something like that.¡± Valerian said with an innocent smile on his face. Rule number 23: A good gamer needs to be a good actor! How else is he going to deny all those invitations, without hurting or pushing away the person asking?


    ¡°Yes, since yesterday or so, people have come in here constantly, looking for things like that. I give them these two books: ¡®Basic Territory Management¡¯ and ¡®Roman Culture and their Ways of War¡¯. Haven¡¯t read them myself, but they seem to do the trick, since they all leave shortly afterwards.¡± She said, as she handed the two books over. One quite thin book, and one much thicker.


    Valerian gladly accepted them. However, Rule number 14: Always ask for more information! ¡°Thanks, but I wonder, do you have any other books on the subject?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s all we have available for the public.¡± She said with a stern face.


    ¡°The public? Does that mean you have others? If so, how can one access them?¡± Valerian asked, hoping to discover some rare books.


    ¡°There are two more books, but they are in the restricted area. Only available to nobles and other high ranking members of society. No offense, but you do not look like one.¡±


    Hmm, almost forgot this was a game. Maybe if I do something for her, my reputation will go up, and I can get access to them? Times goes three times faster, so been more than a day in-game already since the launch. Many have already started building up their villages. Those two books could benefit me greatly. Rule number 17: Always aim for the rare loot!


    ¡°Very well, will take these two books for now. By the way, do you need some help around here? I happen to like libraries, and have a feeling you might need an extra hand with all these newcomers.¡± Valerian put on his best job-searching smile. Not that he ever had a job...besides gaming. But he watched movies and tv-shows...


    ¡°Yes, I have been quite busy lately. Even eating my lunch at this desk.¡± She sighed, lifting some papers, revealing a plate with a half eaten piece of bread on. ¡°Finish those two books for now, and come and talk to me later.¡±


    Valerian nodded and walked over to a table to read them. The first one contained all one would need to know about managing their Territory. It also explained how to access and use the interface. Did not seem very hard. Which is why it¡¯s so thin, I guess.


    The second book, however, was more of a history book, explaining what weapons and tactics the Romans used. It also had a bunch of building details, so it was quite an interesting read. The same thing could be found online, but nice to get some confirmation about the Romans tactics in-game.


    However, the user had quite a bit of freedom, and could choose to make up their own things, so this was most likely just how the NPCs would act.


    Valerian returned to the old lady after reading the books.


    The old lady lit up, clearly happy to see Valerian returning. Must have been hard to see all those people coming here, yet no one stayed behind once they got their two books. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back! Would you like to work here for a while? You will, of course, start out with more simple tasks, like putting back books, cleaning, and so on, until you know your way around a little bit better. The pay isn¡¯t much, but I will provide you with some food.¡±


    Valerian happily accepted her offer, and as his first task, she told him to return a stack of books to their shelves.


    After that, he had to clean the shelves. Take out the books, dust off the shelves, put back the books. Repeat a hundred times...or more. The old lady stayed behind the desk, helping the crowds of people who constantly came in.


    There were quite a lot of users that had the same idea as Valerian; to come to the library for some tips, but none of them seemed to ask about working there. Did I make a mistake? Perhaps people have already tried this route before?


    However, no one looked twice at Valerian. They probably thought he was just some unimportant NPC, cleaning the shelves all day, every day.


    Valerian worked hard all day, hoping his grinding would pay off. As he immersed himself in the, surprisingly fun, activity of cleaning, the old lady suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, saying it was time to close the library. However, thanks to the 1:3 time difference, Valerian did not need to sleep yet. Not to mention, he could easily go two or even three days without sleep. Rule number 24: A gamer needs to master his sleep! Not the reverse!


    ¡°Um, can I stay here for the night? My sleeping patterns are quite irregular, and I¡¯m not tired at all. In fact, I don¡¯t even have any place to sleep! Can¡¯t I finish up the cleaning while you sleep?¡± Valerian put on a ¡®oh woe is me¡¯ act, making himself appear as pitiful as possible.


    ¡°What?! Are you serious?¡± The old lady did not know what to think. This was the first time anyone had wanted to continue working after closing hours, especially doing such a boring task like cleaning.


    She gradually calmed down. Valerian''s pitiful look was too much for her to resist. ¡°Well, you have worked hard all day, so I guess if you want, you can stay here for the night. There¡¯s some food on my desk, if you''re hungry. Take this key, in case, you change your mind and leave.¡±


    Valerian thanked her, waving goodbye with a big smile on his face. After she got out of sight, he quickly locked the door.


    Now, should I look up the restricted area first, or finish cleaning? Might not get another chance like this again, but she might be suspicious if I haven¡¯t finished. Or she just thinks I fell asleep. No! Let¡¯s finish cleaning first. Won¡¯t take that long¡­ I hope.


    Seven hours later¡­


    Finally done! Holy shit! Why did I keep going?! Guess, I wanted to see, if there was some kind of reward for finishing such a monstrous task. There was not.


    Valerian¡¯s hand trembled like a leaf, and his legs acted like perfectly cooked spaghetti. I¡¯m hungry?


    Valerian quickly ate the food left on her desk, and his body immediately got better. Ah, the wonders of an in-game body!


    Valerian moved towards the restricted section. It¡¯s really dark... and all I have is this small oil lamp. Ah, how I miss just entering a room and light appearing.


    Turns out, the entrance door key worked perfectly fine in the restricted area door too! Is this common? One key to unlock multiple doors or are the locks just that primitive? Do I even need a key? Feels like I could lock pick this...


    Valerian did not delay, and snuck inside. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Valerian slipped out. The restricted area was almost as big as the actual library! Well, the library had multiple floors.


    This might take some time¡­


    In the end, Valerian¡¯s search for the two secret books was a complete¡­ failure!  He decided to log out to eat in real life, while waiting for the new day to start. He did not meet his dad, but he noticed the kitchen looked better again. Good job, Bell!


    He logged back after eating. Just some quick and easy sushi: shrimp rolled in truffles, rice and salmon with a few other ingredients. A normal lunch snack.


    The sun slowly rose, and the streets began to look alive. All the normal shops were still closed, so maybe an hour until she came back.


    Come to think of it, we never introduced ourselves.


    The old lady unlocked the door with her spare key, surprised to see Valerian still awake.


    Valerian smiled and waved at her, stretching out his hand when she got close. She looked at the hand in confusion at first, but then she also realized that they did not know each other''s names. She gladly shook his hand with a firm grip... Actually, she shook his wrist¡­ which took Valerian with surprise, but he instantly adjusted his grip.


    There are no real evidence that Romans used the wrist shake, but plenty for using a ¡®normal¡¯ handshake, however, thanks to movies and so on, many think they did. And so, the Developers thought it would fit nicely in, increasing the ¡®cool¡¯ factor of the Romans. They did not, however, add in the ¡®Salve¡¯ and ¡®Ave¡¯ to say hello, or the ¡®Vade en pace?¡¯, ¡®Vale¡¯ and ¡®Avate¡¯ to say goodbye. Would just end up confusing for the users, if the NPCs spoke in mixed languages. If the users wanted to say it, however, the NPCs would gladly respond.


    ¡°Salve! I¡¯m Valerian. Pleased to meet you.¡± Valerian said with a gentleman¡¯s smile.


    ¡°Hehe, call me Prisca. First time I hired someone without knowing their name.¡± Prisca returned the smile. She looked around, seeing an unusually low amount of dust. ¡°Did you really finish your work yesterday?¡± Prisca said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yep, though it got quite dark, so might missed a few spots.¡± Valerian said with a casual shrug.


    Prisca walked around, checking for dust on the shelves by dragging her finger across the surface. She returned shortly afterwards with a satisfied look on her face.


    ¡°Very good! It¡¯s within the acceptable levels. So, I¡¯m going to open up in a few minutes. Are you going to bed now, or what?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. No, can still go on for a few more hours, before I need a break. What do you need me for today?¡± Valerian said, puffing up his chest. Rule number 19: Never say No to a Quest!


    Though, could this really be counted as a quest? A quest implied a reward, he was just free labour at this point. Well, in the eyes of a starving man, even some dried bread crusts was a treasure. For Valerian? Not so much.


    ¡°Um, don¡¯t feel right working you this long. This is worse than slave labour. How about you take a break for now?¡± Prisca smiled, trying to signal he was allowed to take breaks.


    ¡°Well, I did see a couple interesting books while cleaning.¡± Valerian said, looking over his shoulder. ¡°Do you have something I can write on?¡± Valerian scribbled some words in the air.


    ¡°Write on? Sure thing, be right back.¡± Prisca came back with a box full of writing materials, more than enough for what Valerian planned to do.


    ¡°Do you have some quiet place I can be in? Would prefer not to be in the main room, with all the others, you know. Ah! I know, the restricted area should be empty, right? Can I sit there and write down some things?¡±


    Prisca furrowed her brows. Was he planning on reading the books in there? However, he could have done that during the night, but instead he worked hard. Ah, I see! He¡¯s tired and wants a quiet place to sleep. There are private rooms, but other people can access them, disturbing his sleep. No one will enter that area! He¡¯s probably just embarrassed to say he¡¯s tired, which is why he¡¯s pretending to study...


    ¡°Very well!¡± Prisca nodded, smiling to herself, happy that she cracked into the mind of this young and ambitious person. ¡°Ah, here, take this blanket too. Might get cold in there.¡± She said, acting like a mother sending away her child on a long journey.


    That was easy. Guess I impressed her enough, letting me do whatever I want. Even got a blanket, for some reason.


    Valerian thanked her for the generous gift. A blanket could be very useful if he needed to travel in the night. Or simply for sleeping. He did not know if this game required the avatar to sleep or not, but would not surprise him.


    Valerian walked towards the restricted area, entering with his key. He stopped by the door, waving goodbye to the old lady that stalked him. Prisca returned the wave, smiling widely, but also wished him a good night''s sleep. Oh, that¡¯s why I got the blanket¡­ Even better. Now she definitely won¡¯t disturb me.


    Valerian searched the shelves for a few hours last time, seeing quite a lot of interesting titles.


    For some reason, many of the journals in there revolved around the dark side of Roman politics. Assassinations, slave trades, locations of hidden objects, adultery, buying votes, the list went on and on. Interestingly enough, the updates were monthly, going back around five years, until they suddenly stopped six months ago. Rule number 26: There are no coincidences! Investigate everything!


    Someone must have blackmailed the wrong target. However, something like ¡®death¡¯ did not stop Valerian. Prison and torture might, but not death. Once again, the wonders of an in-game body!


    Need funds to catch up with the other users.


    Most just read the first two books, and then immediately went through the portal, setting up their village in a nice spot. Nice spots that were getting fewer and fewer, by each passing minute.


    Valerian decided to prioritize the money-making things, especially the buried and hidden treasures. They might be gone by now, but if not, they would immediately level the playing field.


    Valerian spent around four hours frantically writing things down, with more and more sloppy handwriting as a result. Still readable...but just barely. Bah, who still writes with pen and paper? Using the mind to paper app is much faster...


    Then he decided to resume the search for the two books.


    Valerian placed the box of writing materials, blanket and the written papers in his inventory. The inventory was much smaller than normally found in games, but still big enough to squeeze in a few items. He could, of course, simply take the books, but that might be stealing them, and he was not that desperate. Yet.


    He was also not sure if such an action could be detected, so copying them saved him from potentially endless trouble. Or maybe he just worried for nothing. However, Rule number 27: Always be cautious! Thankfully, the books were all written in english! What a miracle!


    It did not take long to find the two other books. They hid only two shelves away from where he stopped last time. The books were called: ¡®Non-Human Cultures¡¯ and ¡®Non-Human Diplomacy¡¯.


    Interesting. Didn¡¯t know there were any Non-Humans, and not sure how the writer of this book found this information.


    That is, until Valerian remembered that he currently played a game, and therefore a simple thing to add in a few books about something that was not public knowledge yet.


    Another thing, when he started reading them, he noticed they lacked a writer¡¯s name or signature. Yep, most likely a rare book.


    The first one described the three major Non-Human races: Elves, Dwarves and Orcs. It also mentioned three lesser races: Goblins, Trolls, and Beastfolk. Their looks, architecture, and a lines about their warfare and tactics.


    Interesting¡­ It didn¡¯t say anything about it ONLY being three lesser races...


    The second one was perhaps a bit more important. It described the ¡®do¡¯s and don¡¯ts¡¯ of diplomacy. Do not destroy nature in front of an elf! Do not hug a tree in front of a dwarf! Do not be a coward in front of an orc!


    Judging by the book, the races are similar to the normal typical fantasy races, so no big surprises there. Or maybe the book is just basic. Rule number 20: Do not assume everything you read is true!


    Valerian closed the second book with a poof, pondering about their meaning. Suddenly, both books began to glow, and exploded into tiny light particles! Those tiny glowing particles slowly faded, until they all eventually disappeared.


    Valerian sat there, stunned over the sudden firework display. ¡°What was that?¡± He asked no one in particular. Luckily...he got no reply either, because that would have been creepy.


    Valerian internally debated if he should stay in the restricted area any longer, looking for more secret books, or finally leave the library. Hunting those treasures would be a nice change of pace, and maybe do some basic combat training after that.


    Valerian decided to leave. It was just too boring, to be honest. Though, his decision broke Rule number 22: Always milk a place dry before leaving!


    But he did not care that much. Aren''t rules made to be broken? It would be another thing if I gained stat ups for reading, but¡­ just reading for reading¡¯s sake? No time for that!


    The library would not go anywhere, but the treasures might. And if Valerian did not get through the portal soon enough, he would find it impossible to secure any nice place for his village.


    Valerian left the room, heading towards Prisca to say goodbye.


    She sat behind the desk as usual, and lots of people, obviously users, hung around, waiting for their turn.


    Valerian decided to logout, no point in waiting for the crowd to thin out. He hesitated to have their conversation in public. It would just alert the users that they could work for her, and perhaps get access to the restricted area as well.


    ---


    Valeriano got out of the capsule, and started doing some stretches. His body felt fine, not stiff at all, thanks to the Gaming Gel?.


    Wonder if there¡¯s anything new online? Valeriano sat down by the computer. Even though he spent a few hours in-game, he did not need to use the bathroom¡­ another handy feature of the Gaming Gel?. Yep, it handled that too...please refrain from asking about the specifics.


    A few sites dedicated solely to World of Conquest had plopped up, but one was clearly superior: Forum of Conquest!


    Valeriano checked the hottest posts in the Rome section. The top thread was about people posting a video of their village.


    Valeriano wore a special headset, using his eyes as a pointer. So, he focused his vision on the video, and it started playing.


    ¡°Look at my beautiful village! A small lake, with a small hill and a small forest. Perfect farming lands and¡­¡±


    The guy in the video went on and on about how perfect the village was. Valeriano had to admit, it was quite nice, but it only had about a hundred people living there. Better than Valeriano¡¯s grand total of zero people, but still. The guy in the video had no defenses either. He even told the coordinates to his village, so others could come and see for themselves.


    That might be a bad idea.


    Valeriano scrolled down through the thread, watching a few more villages, but no one as nice as in the first video. Guess he had a reason to brag! However, Valeriano could not help but feel the perfect looking village would look better...on fire!


    Valeriano soon discovered others shared his justified opinion. Another user posted a video a few hours later, showing a brutal raid on the perfect village. The raiders only had around thirty soldiers, but that was enough to cause serious damage.


    It looked like five users and twenty-five NPC soldiers had teamed up. The users simply wore the starter clothes, wielding a gladius sword, but the NPCs were fully geared Roman Legionaries.


    The raid party carefully snuck closer, moving through the nearby forest. As they reached the edge of the forest, they were only a stone''s throw away from the closest building.


    They spread out, picking their targets and the NPCs threw their pila, a throwing javelin designed to bend on impact, on the stronger looking men. While the other villagers panicked, the raiders charged in, killing, no, slaughtering in melee combat.


    With the help of their big rectangular shields, called scutum, the simple villagers could not even fight back. While the NPC soldiers were having a field day, killing as much as they wanted, the users hiding in the back, suddenly lit torches, rushing up to the buildings, setting them on fire. After their horrible deed, the users quickly retreated back into the forest, leaving all the fighting to the heavily armored Legionaries.


    Valeriano watched with an open mouth. The game did not spare on the visual details, and absolutely no censoring of the gore. Valeriano skipped the bloody details, the executions and other acts of cruelty, going straight to the end for the results. The video came with time stamps, in case, someone wanted to do just that.


    One of the users in the video began to talk. ¡°All villagers are dead! All houses burning! And only two soldiers died in the raid! Hahaha...!¡± He laughed like a maniac.


    Another user came, talking directly into the camera, which meant into the eyes of the person filming. ¡°That¡¯ll teach you! Haha! Next, we are coming for you!¡± The user said, pointing directly into the camera.


    The last moments of the video was them stealing a few horses to help carry the loot. The loot mainly contained metal tools, food, clothes, nails and some money. They did not bother with the heavier building materials like timber, even though it would be very useful for them. Just too heavy to grab in a small raid.


    ¡°Wow...¡± Valeriano leaned back in his chair, impressed by the video. Their tactic could use some work, but considering they only had a day to figure the game out, that was a very successful raid.


    Valeriano had practically forgotten that the term ¡®Conquest¡¯ was in the title. Conquest implied war. War implied brutality. He kept thinking about how to manage his village, but now he felt most of his time would be spent fighting.


    If war was unavoidable, then the only choice remaining was: Offensive or Defensive? Rush or Turtle? Economy or Military? Or a Balance? Late Game, a Balance would probably be the best, maybe a bit more focus on Military. Well, in the end, one has to change his plans according to reality. If there are no enemies, the military would be a waste of money.


    The video Valeriano just watched was about a Military Rusher and a Full Economic. Though, it is important to mention that the Rushers had five users, while the single Full Economic user had disarmed his soldiers to help with the normal work.


    Rushing is always strong at the start, but the more time the Economic or Turtles gets to build up, the more they will catch up, and eventually pass the Rusher. Of course, if the Rusher simply raids a few villages, then calms down, using the increased amount of resources to build up, he would be hard to stop. But, he will gather countless enemies in return. In short, there exists no sure win strategy.

 Chapter 2 - Training Hall

    Valeriano spent some more time looking through the Egypt and China sections. They were similar to the Rome section. A few friendly people showing off their villages, and some less friendly people posting their videos in response. The game was too young for any real changes or events to have happened yet.


    Valeriano decided to stop wasting time. The forums lacked any real tips and tricks, just posting well-known information, so he logged back in.


    Valeriano returned to the same spot he logged out in, behind an out-of-sight bookshelf. The swarm of people had moved on. They will soon return, and in greater numbers. Better do this quickly.


    Valerian walked up to Prisca¡¯s desk, and she waved at him as he approached.


    ¡°Valerian, you little sleepy head.¡± Prisca said with a smile. ¡°Did your studying go well?¡±


    ¡°Yep, learnt a lot.¡± Valerian said, a bit embarrassed. Though, if the feeling came from lying to this kind old lady or not, he did not know. ¡°But for now, I¡¯m wondering if there¡¯s any training hall, or something like that available?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re leaving me now?¡± An almost undetectable hint of sadness appeared in her eyes. Our time together was short, but he reminded me of my grandson...


    Prisca shook her head, ejecting the sad thoughts from her mind. ¡°Well, can¡¯t keep you here forever, I guess. Let me show you on this map.¡± She took out a map of the city, marked the training hall, and gave it to Valerian, which he gladly accepted.


    Sweet, a map! Rule number 9: Never turn down a free gift!


    ¡°Built only last year, as a public training hall, so not surprised you didn¡¯t know about it. To spend so much money, and not advertise its existence¡­ it¡¯s an odd building for sure. Anyone can go there, take a few swings at the dummies, or spar against other beginners. Before you go, take this.¡± She handed Valerian a handful of coins. ¡°Your wage. It¡¯s not much, but will buy you some bread.¡±


    Valerian looked closely at the few coins in his hand.


    Denarius, plural denarii, a type of coin the Romans used. Rome used many types of coins during the passings of time, and the decision to compress them all, into one single coin, was to make them easier to handle for the users.


    If one grew up with all those coins, they would be easier to deal with. However, not so much for someone playing a game, suddenly jumping into a world with as many as nine types of coins during the Augustan era. Needless to say, the modern gamer would complain. Not to mention, there was a coin called ¡®as¡¯, which meant the plural became ¡®asses¡¯. Something had to be done.


    Also, to buy a house would cost a lot more than buying a chicken at the market. To avoid the problem of people rolling around wagons of the single currency, the denarius got changed a bit. Instead of only silver coins, they got changed into three versions: Copper, silver and gold!


    Same name, but different looks. More accurately, copper denarius with a value of one, silver denarius with a value of one hundred, and gold denarius with a value of one thousand!


    However, while this solved day-to-day transactions, a big problem remained. The rich! If they wanted to buy a mega palace in cash, which would cost millions, then they could only roll in with wagons of denarii. Not practical.


    So, one last coin was created. A coin made to combat inflation, as the rich hoarded all the coins, forcing the state to print new ones for the normal population: the solidus, plural solidi. Also made from gold, but heavier and much higher quality. It had a value of one million!


    All the denarii coins had the face of some Emperor, some descriptive text, and on the back, a famous Roman building, symbol or God. The current Emperor always sat on the gold denarius, but the other two coins wore former Emperors, as a way to honor them. This meant some coins were more sought after than others, even though their actual value remained the same. Some rich collectors had hoards of coins with their favorite Emperors on.


    The solidus, however, had an eagle, spreading its wings, surrounded by a wreath of leaves. Below it, stood four letters: SPQR. The back only had a few words, different for each coin: famous Roman quotes and sayings.


    The details on the solidus coin were exquisite, almost too good. Probably made by using some Developer¡¯s magic, not the ancient Roman method.


    Since the solidus was made by using some Developer¡¯s magic, the sayings covered the whole Roman period. A small easter egg left by the Developers, in case a user got their hands on one of those coins. The NPCs did not think twice about it.


    Valerian felt he had observed the coins for a long time, and shook his head, trying to get rid of the odd feeling.


    Valerian did a quick count, resulting in ten copper denarii in his hand. Maybe he could get some day old bread with that?


    ¡°Oh, right, can I have that key back?¡± Prisca said, smiling a bit apologetically.


    Valerian cursed inwardly. Having a key to the library would be a huge asset! ¡°Sure, here, almost forgot! Good thing you reminded me!¡± Valerian made a stiff laughing sound as he handed over the key.


    Valerian thanked her for all the help and said goodbye, promising her he would return before leaving.


    Valerian exited the library and took out the map. He estimated it would take around twenty minutes to go the training hall, unless he got lost.


    One unique thing about this game, was how it hid all the signs that it was just a game. There were no HUD, menus, life bars, stats etc. That also meant there were no mini map or compass system. Full immersion was more than possible. Just another reason for its ¡®18+¡¯ rating. In fact, most VR games had a 18+ rating. There were just too many things that could provoke indecent behavior, not to mention the realistic violence. Only a few puzzle games, where the user had no actual body, had a 15+ rating.


    Valerian calmly walked down the nicer streets of Rome. They were packed with people wearing togas and tunics similar to his own. The roads were surprisingly orderly and clean. Guards stood watch every few hundred meters, keeping an eye out for ruffians looking for trouble. Street merchants constantly shouted out, trying to lure people to buy their goods. A far cry from the streets he began his journey on. Well, that was only one day ago, but still.


    Valerian window shopped in the finer shops along the way, but backed away when he heard the prices.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Valerian repeatedly made sounds of surprise. The artworks and buildings were incredible to watch up close. The Developers made a good job of re-creating ancient Rome.


    ¡°Out of the way!¡±


    A voice suddenly shouted behind Valerian. He turned, seeing a large horse only a few decimeters away from him.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Valerian jumped to the side, avoiding the rude horse. Well, maybe it was wrong to blame the horse.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me if you get crushed!¡± The cart driver looked over his shoulder, shouting to Valerian, as he drove past. He turned back to the horse. ¡°Faster horse!¡±


    The sound of the whip made Valerian cringe. Poor horse¡­


    Valerian shook his head, getting back up from the ground. ¡°Ah! My...my clothes?!¡±


    Turns out, the roads were not that clean, after all. Nooooooo!


    His white tunic...got stained! Some dirty water, and some brown sludge, touched his tunic as he sat on all fours.


    Valerian resisted the impulse of ripping the tunic off, and continued his walk¡­ The cold, damp spot stuck to his body, irritating him the whole way towards the training hall.


    Valerian tried to distract his mind, looking around for famous buildings and statues. He found the Colosseum, Pantheon, and the Forum, to name a few.


    Hm, kinda makes you wonder what time period we are in. Maybe the Devs just placed some in, even though the years did not really fit...


    What really got his mind off the damp, sticky clothing, was a marching Centurion. He wore a helmet with a sideways crest, a cloak, mail shirt armor and a sword on the left side, unlike the Legionaries who wore it on the right. The Centurion twirled around with a vine stick, used to punish any disobedience, in his hands. Eighty fully geared Legionaries followed behind. Walking in the middle of the formation, was a banner carrier, holding the red SPQR banner the faction Rome used to claim territory.


    Valerian got curious, and followed them down the street. After a while, the Centurion and his men reached the ¡®Great Portal of Rome¡¯. The mysterious portal that allowed them to travel to the New World, where the main part of the game took place.


    The portal suddenly appeared one day; forming inside a single archway Triumphal Arch, completely blocking the street that went through. The portal looked a bit chaotic, not very safe nor stable. The colors changed constantly, usually a mix of many, but sometimes unifying, creating a single colored portal.


    The Centurion stopped, talking some with the guards. They saluted each other, and the Centurion waved his men to enter first, making sure no one ¡®accidentally¡¯ stayed behind. Once everyone had entered, he also walked in, only taking a single last glance at his home: Rome.


    The Triumphal Arch trembled slightly each time someone crossed the threshold, looking like it was about to shatter, but it unexpectedly held.


    Valerian observed the entire process. The heavy security around the portal, made sure no one without access could travel to the New World.


    Five hundred heavily armed men, and four towers, with archers on top, guarded the portal, all day and all night. The state claimed the nearby buildings, turning them into barracks for the troops. The white stone roads and buildings wore a faint shade of red, telling the gruesome tale of the riots that happened around the portal. After the first few riots, wooden walls and gates got put up, funneling everyone into a single entrance, allowing the soldiers to deal with many times their numbers. The riots finally stopped after the citizens tried to storm the walls, but instead got mowed down by arrows and pila. A disastrous attempt to storm the portal with over three thousand civilians dead.


    After all, once the population heard about the Paradise on the other side, a world with countless possibilities, many poor wanted to pick up their things and go. That would mean an empty Rome, but more importantly, a hollow and weak Empire. If the New World grew stronger than the Old World, why should the ones living there, keep sending their hard-earned supplies back through the portal?


    So, the Senate worked hard to create a new law, creating a hard limit on the normal population that could enter each day. Users, of course, did not count.


    Each faction faced the same threat, and did similar things. China let three thousand through each in-game day, Egypt, two thousand and Rome, one thousand. For now, these numbers kept the balance between the worlds just fine.


    Not only did the normal people travel through the portal, countless wagons carrying goods did as well. The incoming wagons, entering the New World, all entered the portal in the same direction. But the ones coming back with goods from the New World, exited from the other side.


    This automatic two-way system made the traffic flow much faster, they never had to fear accidentally crashing into the incoming traffic. Because the New World was more resource rich than the Old World, a never-ending trail of wagons filled the roads, bringing the treasures, ores and new types of food, to all the corners of the vast Roman Empire. As a result of the portal, people immigrated to Rome from all the corners of the Old World, wanting to take a look at this new Wonder of the World.


    Valerian nodded, memorizing the nearby area. Now that I know where the portal is, time to find that training hall. Should probably learn to swing a sword before going out. Turns out, this game is quite dangerous.


    Valerian found the training hall, and craned his neck, trying to read the sign above. A large concrete building, built in a rectangular shape. The barren walls and entrance did not make it a welcoming building, and if Valerian did not know about its true purpose, he would never had entered. The only decoration was a man-sized statue of Mars, the Roman God of War. It stood a few meters inside, out of sight, unless one entered. The whole building just looked unfinished.


    A bored-looking man sat behind a small wooden desk. Valerian asked if he was in the right place.


    ¡°Yep, this is it. The great public training hall.¡± He scanned Valerian with his eyes. ¡°You can borrow training gear here, if you don¡¯t have any. Hope you won¡¯t need any reminding that it must be returned...¡±


    Valerian held up a finger. ¡°Sorry, gotta ask something¡­ why is this place so¡­ rudimentary? Everything in Rome have such grace and elegance, yet this place is¡­¡±


    The man looked up, thinking for a bit. ¡°Well, our great leader decided to cut the fundings for the art. The artists got sent to the New World instead, they got a whole city to deck out in there. Heh, funny story, the guy in charge I complained to, said he didn¡¯t even know why they decided to build the public training hall in the first place. Oh well, enough of that. Let¡¯s go to the equipment room, get you some gear.¡±


    The man guided Valerian to the equipment room. Seeing the lack of reaction from Valerian¡¯s side, the man sighed.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to put it on, do you?¡±


    Valerian shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. He did look up the gear online, but to see it in the ¡®real world¡¯, he was a bit clueless on¡­well, everything really.


    The man begun to hand Valerian pieces of clothing and armor. ¡°Right, start with changing into this linen shirt and tunic. You look like you only own the clothes on your back, so no need to make them dirty...dirtier, in your case. Take this scarf to protect your neck against chafing. Now, put on the Lorica Segmentata. And finally, the Cassis, actually, some call it the Galea instead, not sure which came first, or why we apparently have two names for it, but anyway, it goes on your head.¡±


    Valerian put on the metal helmet, wishing he had a mirror. The sudden weight made him clunky to move around, but he assumed he would adapt soon enough.


    ¡°We don¡¯t give real weapons to beginners, so take this wooden sword and a wicker shield. They are twice as heavy as normal weapons, in case you were wondering. Since it¡¯s such nice weather today, the Centurion trains outside. Just follow that hallway. Any questions? No? Good.¡±


    Before Valerian even had the slightest chance to say anything, the man left, heading back to his desk.


    When Valerian changed out of his tunic, he placed it on a random chair, but since the man left, he put it inside his inventory.


    Valerian slowly moved down the hallway, still not quite used to the extra weight.


    ---


    Time describe the gear a bit more, can skip, or skim through, if already mastered the art of googling.


    The Lorica Segmentata, was more likely called the Lorica Laminata by the actual Romans at that time, since the Segmentata word was first used during the 16th century. However, in-game, everyone will call it Segmentata, to avoid any confusion.


    The plates of Lorica Segmentata armor were soft iron inside, and mild steel on the outside, making the plates hardened against damage, without becoming brittle. This was a deliberate act, called case hardening, and is carried out by enriching the surface iron with carbon from organic materials packed tightly around the piece, which is then heated in a forge.


    The strips were arranged horizontally on the body, overlapping downwards, and they surrounded the torso in two halves, being fastened at the front and back.


    The upper body and shoulders were protected by additional strips, the shoulder guards, and breast- and backplates. The form of the armor allowed it to be stored very compactly, since it was possible to separate it into four sections, each of which would collapse on itself into a compact mass. The fitments that closed the various plate sections together, the buckles, lobate hinges, hinged straps, tie-hooks, tie-rings, etc. were made of brass.


    There were many types of helmets, but the most common one in-game were the Imperial Gallic type. Another slightly less common was the Imperial Italic. They drew these names from their main manufacturers, rather than wearers. The Gallic version, made in Gaul, generally held a higher quality than the Italic, made in Italy and other places in Europe. They caught up eventually, though.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    However, in-game, in the New World, an imported Imperial Gallic type, will be more valuable than a homemade Imperial Italic type. Unless the user can attract some master crafters to their settlement.


    The Galea, the helmet, had a large neck guard, metal cheek guards, and a protrusion at the forehead, giving light protection against downward slashes. A crest holder sat on top, but mainly only used by the Centurions, at least, during battles.


    Valerian still wore his usual Caligae, the sandals, on his feet.


    In case anyone want to learn some more about those, here is some more info: The open design of Caligae allowed for the free passage of air to the feet and, unlike modern military boots, was specifically designed so as to reduce the likelihood of blisters forming during forced marches, as well as other disabling foot conditions like tinea or trench foot. Socks were not normally worn with Caligae, although in colder climates such as Britain, woolen socks were used.


    Many users also wore socks, being used to them from real life. The further north one went in the New World, the colder it got, which meant everyone also used socks there.


    Caligae were constructed from three leather layers: an outsole, the middle openwork layer which formed the boot''s upper, and an insole. They were laced up the center of the foot and onto the top of the ankle. Additionally iron hobnails were hammered into the soles to provide the Caligae with reinforcement and traction, and were also an effective weapon against a fallen enemy.


    ---


    Even before Valerian reached the outside area, he heard the shouts and grunts of training. Soldiers ran around in full gear, formed in groups of eight.


    One man stood on a meter high stone, waving his stick around, shouting orders at them. The Centurion!


    It looked like they did formation training. Valerian watched them perform a Testudo, meaning tortoise in latin.


    ---


    In the Testudo formation, the men would align their shields to form a packed formation covered with shields on the front and top. The first row of men, possibly excluding the men on the flanks, would hold their shields from about the height of their shins to their eyes, so as to cover the formation''s front. The shields would be held in such a way that they presented a shield wall to all sides.


    The men in the back ranks would place their shields over their heads to protect the formation from above, balancing the shields on their helmets, overlapping them. If necessary, the legionaries on the sides and rear of the formation could stand sideways or backwards with shields held as the front rows, so as to protect the formation''s sides and rear; this made the formation slow and they covered very little ground.


    ---


    However, only a few seconds after the soldiers completed the formation, the Centurion shouted another order to the archers, also training there, telling them to fire upon the formation!


    The archers did not delay, immediately turning around, and fired three salvos at the Testudo, before stopping. They only used blunt arrows, but those would still hurt, and if hit badly, could cause great injury. The arrows hit the shields like rain, bouncing off in all directions.


    Surprisingly, the soldiers under the shields seemed to be unhurt. The formation was a complete success!


    Valerian looked around a bit more, the training field was quite chaotic to watch. Something always happened.


    Valerian squinted, looking off into the distance. Five people, dressed and equipped the same way as him, awkwardly fought against some wood and straw dummies. Users!


    Valerian walked up to them, asking if he needed to do anything special to start the training or just start practicing. Who knows? Maybe the effort only counts if I activate some hidden quest first?


    ¡°Yeah, talk to the big guy on the stone. Don¡¯t worry about interrupting him, it¡¯s why he¡¯s here.¡±


    Valerian walked over to him.


    ¡°Excuse me, was told to speak with you about starting the training?¡± Valerian said, making sure he spoke loud enough for the Centurion to hear.


    The Centurion glanced over. ¡°Hmm, another new face. Very well, go and join the others in swinging at the dummies, until you can control the sword. Once you feel ready, do some sparring with the others. Focus on stabbing movements, since that¡¯s what your weapon specialize in.¡±


    Valerian spent two hours learning the way of the sword. At first, it was quite dull, but with time, he noticed he improved. He had greatly improved compared to when he first started, but compared to the real soldiers, on the other side of the field¡­ not so much.


    During a quick break, Valerian observed the real Legionaries, trying to emulate their stance and technique. When they struck the dummy, it shook greatly, sometimes even leaving behind marks. When Valerian, and the other users, struck their dummy¡­ it barely trembled.


    During the two hours of practise, two users left, and two new joined. Still at even numbers, and everyone somewhat used to fighting with a sword, Valerian suggested some sparring.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sick of these dummies. First blood wins?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. How should we decide the match ups?¡±


    ¡°How about, one of us closes his eyes and turns around. The others form into a random line, and the one with the eyes closed, says six numbers? Fight the number next to you, and then we can have winners and losers fight each other.¡±


    They all agreed, but decided to only fight one battle at a time, so the others could watch and learn.


    The first duel was between a small, weak looking guy, at around one meters sixty, and a huge two meters tall muscle mountain. Surprisingly, and very clich¨¦, they were named David and Goliath!


    ¡°Haha! Those names! C¡¯mon David! Pull your special move!¡± Tom shouted. One of the other users.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± David looked up and down, but could find no way to defeat the much bigger Goliath.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Goliath said with a grin. He did the reverse, he looked at David, finding no way he could lose.


    However, this duel did not end like the ancient biblical duel. Goliath rushed in as soon as the battle started, shield bashing David. David cowardly hid behind his own shield, but instead of blocking, he just flew away like a punctured balloon, landing over two meters away. Physics¡­ even in-game, they can not be underestimated!


    ¡°Holy shit¡­ David, you alright?¡± Jack ran over, poking the pitiful David.


    ¡°Uh¡­ wh-what happened?¡± David said in a weak voice, as he slowly raised his head up from the dirt.


    ¡°Think you need to study the David versus Goliath story a bit more, you seem to have misunderstood.¡± Tom crossed his arms, shaking his head in disappointment.


    Next match-up was more even. Jack vs Tom. They had the exact same height, one meters seventy-six, and looked faintly similar.


    ¡°You two...are not much of role players, are you?¡± Valerian said.


    ¡°Hey, what about that David guy? Isn¡¯t that also a normal name?¡± Jack said, defending his naming sense honor.


    ¡°Good point... Still, David sounds more ancient than yours. Anyway, get started already.¡± Valerian gestured with his hands, making them hurry up. He wanted to fight as well. Probably, should never have mentioned the names. Valerian faintly suspected those names were their real ones.


    ¡°You got time to talk with others, when fighting against me?!¡± Tom said, a hint of joyfulness in his voice, and charged out.


    Boring everyone to tears, that is what their fighting style could be described as. They ended up circling around each other, looking for holes in their, unexpectedly solid, defenses for ten minutes.


    Finally, Jack began to tire, holding up the heavy shield and sword made his arms burn, and since he could feel himself running out of time, he rushed to end the duel quickly. A mistake.


    Jack tried to stab Tom in the face, which Tom dodged, easily countering the attack with a slash down on Jack¡¯s extended arm, which caused Jack to drop his sword.


    ¡°Ow¡­ that really hurt¡­¡± Jack said, rubbing his arm.


    ¡°Well, watch it, or there will be more of that later!¡± Tom said, smiling smugly.


    Jack jumped Tom, and a wrestling game began. Everyone was a bit shocked over the sudden event, but decided to continue with the duels. After all, the wrestling seemed more like a game, than an attempt to kill each other. Perhaps they knew each other?


    Finally, Valerian¡¯s turn to fight arrived.


    ¡°Name is Valerian, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Brutus. Let¡¯s have a good duel.¡±


    ¡°You! You bastard!¡± Valerian instantly recognized that name, and pointed with his sword. Though, angry at first, he quickly calmed down, realizing Brutus actually did nothing wrong. ¡°Heh heh, I picked that name, then I suddenly got an error when trying to confirm it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Brutus raised an eyebrow, but not much else. ¡°Hey, first come, first served, you know. Now get ready!¡± With that, Brutus raised his shield and Valerian did the same.


    The two slowly moved closer and closer, occasionally exchanging a few blows, testing out the shields. Unsurprisingly, it was almost impossible for them to deal any real damage to each other. Or so Valerian thought.


    Brutus suddenly did some quick footwork, like he no longer got dragged down by the heavy armor, rushing up to Valerian¡¯s side. Brutus shot out with his wooden sword, stabbing Valerian in the ribs, before Valerian could swing around with the shield. Even though no blood got spilled, it still counted.


    Valerian lost the battle, but learned some important things. A big shield could not always protect against a faster opponent, but more importantly, he learnt that the pain setting was quite high. Perhaps, even at real life levels.


    ¡°Ouch, nice stab there. Hit me right in the ribs.¡± Valerian said, wincing from the pain.


    ¡°That¡¯s where I aimed.¡± Brutus said a bit nonchalantly. He sat down on the ground, resting until the next fight.


    The others clapped their hands at the only proper winner in the duels so far.


    ¡°Nice stab!¡± Jack said.


    ¡°Excellent stab!¡± Tom shouted out.


    Jack looked at Tom with sour eyes. He one-upped me again!


    Just as Jack was about to jump on the smiling Tom, Goliath grabbed Jack¡¯s helmet, stopping him dead in his tracks.


    ¡°Uwah!¡± Jack exclaimed, his hands reaching for the thing applying pressure on his head.


    ¡°Hey, no fighting! You are missing the duels, and disturbing us.¡± Goliath said, shaking Jack¡¯s head a bit before throwing him down again.


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s fine. We know each other in real life.¡± Tom said, barely able to contain his laugh. Watching Jack being treated like a rag doll was just too funny!


    ¡°Yeah, we are twins!¡± Jack said, after he adjusted his helmet back into place.


    ¡°Really? The helmets block your face a bit, but still¡­ didn¡¯t realize.¡± Valerian entered the conversation.


    ¡°Yeah, Tom changed his face a bit. Made himself better looking... to get some girls! Hah! Can you believe it!? Playing an ancient civ war game; to get girls!¡± Jack howled with laughter. Finally he had something he could ruthlessly pull out, and Tom could do nothing in return.


    ¡°Hey, you said you would stop bringing that up¡­ Besides, who knows what kind of female warriors wants to try ruling the ancient world. They got suppressed in real life, so now they have a chance! Imagine some Cleopatras, Jeanne d¡¯Arcs and...well, those are all I know...¡± Tom said, his words making a few of the other men nod in agreement.


    ¡°Not sure the second one fits in here, but anyways. Let¡¯s get on with the next fight!¡± Valerian had enough of the talking, wanting to get to his next fight. After all, the clock was ticking.


    David decided to sit his next fight out, said he needed more practice on the dummies. This meant Valerian and Jack would fight after the winners had fought. Since Brutus just fought Valerian, Tom and Goliath stepped up to duel.


    ¡°Goliath, you better not let the fight drag out, like last time Tom fought.¡± Valerian said. A mix of joke and deadly seriousness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Attacking is my speciality! Tom! You better keep your shield up!¡± Goliath charged Tom and swung time and time again, striking the shield each time.


    ¡°Uwah! Calm down!¡± A half kneeling Tom shouted from behind his shield. He now knew how David felt.


    Goliath went into a Berserk state¡­ well, looked like it, at least. Over twenty swings already, every single one striking the shield. Goliath let his shield arm hang to the side, completely abandoning his defense. Tom did his best to block the attacks, completely abandoning his offense. In fact, he long since dropped his sword, and now used both hands to support the shield.


    On the side, Valerian said in a low voice: ¡°Wow, told him not to dally, but this is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Jack said, frowning, and his mouth twitched slightly.


    Angry your twin getting beat up? Valerian thought to himself.


    ¡°But, this is awesome! Haha, look how silly Tom looks!¡± Jack suddenly laughed out, taking Valerian by surprise.


    ¡°Suddenly, I¡¯m glad I lost instantly¡­¡± David said.


    Cracking sounds appeared, getting louder and louder with each swing.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Tom suddenly got pieces of wicker on his face. Where did it come from? His own shield, of course!


    The shield crumbled under the blows, not designed to endure such a barrage of attacks.


    Holes formed, and Goliath did not let the chance slip. ¡°Huah!¡± Goliath cried out, as he stabbed through a hole in the shield, stabbing Tom in the chest, knocking him down.


    A decent fight. Goliath focused on heavy blows, while Tom defended. However, did they really learn how to fight like a Legionary? Questionable.


    Tom stayed on the ground, holding his chest, rolling around in pain. ¡°Aargh!! Why does it hurt so much?!¡±


    ¡°Hm? Is it really that painful?¡± Goliath asked. He felt Tom overreacted. After all, it was just a game. Limbs could get blown off, without the user even flinching, in most VR games.


    Valerian and Jack got ready. No one bothered to check on Tom.


    This time Valerian tried to use his newfound knowledge, using what Brutus did to him. Hard part was: When? It needed to be used in an explosive manner with perfect timing.


    The two started slow, as usual, testing each other.


    Valerian waited, observing Jack¡¯s movements, playing it passively. Valerian focused on Jack¡¯s feet, watching them as they stepped on the dirt, kicking around small stones and creating dirt dust.


    Jack had a different idea. He decided to take after Goliath, the one who just showed how powerful overwhelming might could be! He saw Valerian looking down, appearing distracted by something, and decided to end the game quickly. Jack charged Valerian!


    Jack¡¯s sudden feet movement turned him into a blur, only for Valerian though, since he had a tunnel vision on Jack¡¯s feet. Those feet suddenly turned into a rapidly approaching shield!


    Valerian pupils shrunk from the shock, and raised his head up, holding up his own shield by reflex. However, there were still a tiny amount of time until Jack reached him.


    The shocked Valerian quickly recovered, and decided this was the perfect time to execute the secret plan! Jack charged in like a bull, and if Valerian could dodge, and flank, he would win!


    Valerian moved his feet in small rapid steps, kicking up a small dust storm, wanting to have complete control over his movement direction. The aim was to avoid and circle around Jack.


    However, the extra weight from all the gear, plus the sudden unusual movement, meant that Valerian simply stumbled, falling headfirst into Jack¡¯s charging shield bash.


    Suddenly, everything went dark.

 Chapter 3 - Hospital

    I¡¯m not logged out? I didn¡¯t die? Am I unconscious? What¡¯s that down in the corner? A timer? First piece of HUD I¡¯ve seen so far. Oh¡­ two days, fourteen hours. Guess that¡¯s when I¡¯ll wake up. Dammit, so much lost time!


    Valeriano got out from the capsule. The Gaming Gel? gently pushed him out, making both getting in and out a breeze. Valeriano sat down at the computer, checking for any news. Unsurprisingly, nothing important had happened. What to do now?


    Valeriano spun around in the computer chair, thinking about what to do. This unexpected event completely messed with his plans to stay logged in for the entire day. Valeriano caught a glimpse of dust bunnies in the corner. Normally, he would have ignored them, like always, but after spending an entire day in-game cleaning, something awoke inside him.


    Valeriano got up and brought their robot vacuum droid-thing to his room. A flat circular robot that moved around on its own, sucking up all the dirt and dust.


    Now, how to start it? ¡°Robot, activate cleaning program!¡±


    ¡°Error! Only Bell may order me around.¡± The robot unexpectedly denied him access.


    Valeriano frowned, and snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m Valeriano, Bell¡¯s master! Do as I say!¡±


    ¡°Voice recognition confirmed. Activating cleaning program!¡± The robot beeped and blinked, turning on.


    Valeriano watched it zoom around in the room. A faint smile spread over his lips. This thing was quite fun to watch!


    ¡°Never seen it clean before, heh heh. Bell always does it when we are online or away. Now, while it cleans the floors, I should clean the shelves and desk. Hmm, but with what?¡± Valeriano went to the bathroom, looking for cleaning items.


    ¡°Ah, this brush seems good. Long and sturdy, with a big brush head. Wonder why it¡¯s beside the toilet though¡­ oh well, what do I know?¡±


    While Valeriano cleaned his room, Bell received a message on her smartphone, alerting her about the usage of the robot vacuum, that her authority got overwritten. She rushed to the scene.


    ¡°Wh-what is going on?! What are you doing?!¡± Bell said in a frantic voice.


    ¡°Bell? Uh, just some cleaning?¡± Valeriano stopped scrubbing, seeing the odd expression on their, always so kind, maid.


    ¡°I¡¯m the maid! That¡¯s my job!¡± Bell exclaimed. If you two learned to clean, what would you need me for?!


    ¡°Sorry...only wanted to try¡­ Look! Cleaned these shelves, and figured out how the robot worked.¡± Valeriano said proudly. Just as he was about to return to his scrubbing, Bell shouted out.


    ¡°Stop! Stop! You, you¡¯re doing it wrong!¡± Bell ran up to Valeriano, grabbing his arm.


    ¡°Wrong? You can clean wrong?¡± Valeriano said, eyebrows raised and his heart filled with surprise. Had no idea cleaning was such a complex matter!


    ¡°Yes! Clearly! You¡¯re using a toilet brush to clean! Give me that!¡± Bell snatched the toilet brush from Valeriano¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Uwah! That¡¯s what this is?! Had no idea.¡± Valeriano wiped his hand on the black tank top he wore.


    ¡°Well, luckily, I change them after every use, but still. Just leave the cleaning for me, deal?¡± Bell said.


    ¡°Sure... just did some cleaning in-game, and kinda enjoyed it, so wanted to try IRL. Who knew it was so hard!¡± Valeriano said with a sigh.


    ¡°You cleaned in your game? How? Why?¡± Bell asked, a bit confused. Cleaning was not something one did for fun...in her opinion.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a long story¡­¡± Valeriano told her about his experiences in the game.


    After hearing the full story, Bell¡¯s eyes went wide with amazement. ¡°Wow¡­ sounds really cool! Does it really look like ancient Rome? Always wanted to go there¡­¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± Valeriano smiled a bit mysterious. ¡°Hey, you never played a VR game before?¡± Valeriano asked.


    ¡°No, always busy, and well¡­¡± Bell paused, looking down on her maid outfit. ¡°They cost a lot.¡±


    ¡°Heh heh, I¡¯ll order one right now.¡± Valeriano moved towards the computer.


    ¡°B-but!¡± Bell tried to stop him. Her efforts looked somewhat half-heartedly, though.


    Valeriano waved off her concerns. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you get it for free!¡±


    ¡°Th-thank you, young master!¡± Bell bowed deeply, her heart filled with a sense of gratefulness.


    ¡°No need for such words. Now, let¡¯s go and get something to eat. Just got knocked out, so got plenty of time to kill.¡±


    Bell whipped him up something to eat, and Valeriano ate his food slowly. While he ate, he thought of how to improve his fighting style. Most VR games he played had automatic skills and movements, or made the body super strong, to help the beginners. This game did neither.


    To calm down from his loss, he decided to play some non-VR stuff. Just controlling a normal character with keypresses or mind control.


    He did that for several hours, until he finally beat the game he played.


    George suddenly popped in. ¡°Hey, son! Heard you got your ass handed to you? Heh heh, what a blunder!¡± The smiling George said.


    ¡°Shut up! Was just a training accident.¡± Valeriano said, a bit grumpy. Dad came to gloat? Just perfect...


    ¡°Heh heh, just expanded my Territory to reach the nearby forest. Can finally get a steady supply of wood. First settled near a hill, that I suspect can be turned into a mine, after I get someone to examine it more closely. Whew, got a bit worried, importing wood would be disastrous for my budget. The price is skyrocketing, since everyone wants it. Had to make my Territory really thin and narrow, but now the worst should be over. You got your village yet?¡± George asked.


    ¡°No, still in Rome. Doing some combat training now. Don¡¯t worry, our duel is not over yet.¡± Valeriano met his father¡¯s gaze with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°Tsk tsk, told you to take your martial arts lessons seriously. Now look at you? Getting owned in basic training. I also did the training, but finished it within the hour. Rule 16: Always do your preparations! You never know when something will come in handy, but frankly, when would martial arts not come in handy?¡±


    Valeriano broke eye contact, looking down, saying some half-hearted excuses. ¡°Well, you kept pushing it on me, and I mainly played FPS games back then¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re still young... Anyway, gonna take a quick nap and eat something.¡± George said and left.


    Valeriano sat in his chair, thinking deeply. Damn, was really stupid and lazy back then. Should pick it back up later¡­


    After that, he took a shower. He calculated the remaining time until he would wake up in-game, setting a timer, and finally getting into bed, taking a nap.


    ---


    Suddenly, his entire bed vibrated! His alarm did not make a sound, it instead shook the entire bed, making Valeriano think an earthquake happened. The best way to get out of bed quickly!


    Valeriano yawned, and got ready for spending, at least, twenty-four hours online without stopping.


    Valeriano logged back in and found himself in a bed. A small room, with a small desk by the bed, and a simple wooden chair in the corner. Nothing special or noteworthy, except for the iron bars in the window.


    Someone carried me here? Or did I spawn in? Normally, I return to the same spot I logged out in.


    ¡°Urgh!¡± An enormous amount of pain suddenly struck Valerian¡¯s head and neck, as he tried to look around. They thumped with an intensive pain, that made Valerian guess this was how the sword felt as the blacksmith hammered it into shape.


    Valerian did slow and controlled breathing exercises, trying to think about other things. With a moderate degree of success. After about five minutes of this intensive and mind numbing pain, the door opened, and a middle-aged, dark-haired woman, wearing white, came in.


    She said something about getting the doctor. That was about all the details Valerian could take in.


    The doctor arrived shortly after. By this point, the pain had lessened a bit, and Valerian could wipe his teary eyes, regaining some of his sight.


    The doctor wore a green toga, and his hair had reached the final stages of balding.


    ¡°You''re awake, good. Was getting worried. You took quite the hit during training. If it hadn''t been training weapons, you would¡¯ve died for sure. Do you remember what happened?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Stumbled and fell into a shield bash.¡± Valerian received no ill effects from the virtual damage, except pain, so his memory was just fine.


    ¡°Mm, that¡¯s what they told me.¡± The doctor scribbled some stuff down in a journal. ¡°The Centurion supervising the training there, ordered some men to carry you here immediately. You should thank him, if you meet again. Ah, right, he must have went through the portal by now, so you probably won¡¯t. How many fingers am I holding up?¡± The doctor said.


    ¡°... Four? And what do you mean by: I won''t meet him again?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± The doctor then moved closer, forcefully spreading Valerian¡¯s eyelids apart, taking a close look into the eyes. Satisfied, he then asked Valerian to follow his finger, while he moved it in different directions.


    ¡°Okay, you don¡¯t seem to have any obvious brain damage.¡± The doctor scribbled down some more notes. ¡°Do you have any pain, or other discomforts?¡±


    ¡°My head and neck was killing me, though, it¡¯s a bit better now.¡± Valerian said, moving his hand up towards his head. He did not feel hair, nor metal. Some kind of fabric. Valerian pulled the fabric lightly.


    ¡°Hm, guess that¡¯s normal after headbutting a shield bash. Ah, don¡¯t mess with the bandage. You might not be fully healed yet.¡± The doctor gently stopped Valerian¡¯s hand from unwrapping the bandage.


    ¡°If you want, you can stay here a few more days for observation, and maybe get some morphine if it gets really bad? If the pain doesn¡¯t go away, we can try some Trepanation. Always does the trick.¡± The doctor smiled, rubbing his hands.


    ¡°Uh, what is Trepanation again?¡± Valerian did not like the look in the doctor¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a simple and ingenious surgery. We take a drill, make a hole in your skull, relieving you of the painful pressure that built up inside. Haha, just wait right there, I¡¯ll bring the drill right over!¡± The doctor was just about to rush out, when Valerian reacted.


    ¡°Ah no! No need! Heh heh, I¡¯m sure the pain will pass. Already feel much better after your examination. So, can I leave now?¡± Valerian said, internally wiping his brow.


    ¡°If you feel well enough, go ahead. Can¡¯t really stop you.¡± The doctor said, a bit disappointed he did not get to use his favorite technique. Oh well, another patient complained about tooth ache, he probably won¡¯t mind trying some Trepanation!


    Valerian climbed out of the bed, his legs unsteady, but he managed to take a few steps. He stopped by the door, remembering something.


    ¡°Oh right, you never answered, why can¡¯t I just meet him on the other side?¡± Valerian asked, not that he had any intention of doing so, but the way the doctor said it, made Valerian curious.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been here almost three days now. Everyday a Centurion leads his eighty men through the portal to patrol the villages. The Legionaries must do some final tests in the training hall before they leave. Don¡¯t want to accidentally take any rookies to the New World.¡± The doctor chuckled a bit, probably thinking back on all those rookies that got injuries, and he had to treat. Valerian was a shining example of a rookie. Headbutting a shield bash, what would they think of next?


    The doctor cleared his throat and continued. ¡°Not sure if you know this, but recently the amount of villages in the New World exploded in numbers. And what¡¯s worse, some of them fight amongst themselves! Romans killing Romans! So, the Centurion, and his men, walk around, spending a night or two at a village, before moving on. If they spot any threats, or actions that they deem to be against the will of the Emperor, they will strike down the enemies with the full might of the Roman Empire behind them!¡± A patriotic fire burned in the doctor¡¯s eyes, as he spoke with a clenched fist.


    ¡°However, only the Centurion himself knows the route they are taking, so finding a specific patrolling unit is next to impossible.¡± The doctor calmed down and said.


    Huh, interesting. Some kind of PvP protection? Though, the patrols seem to be randomized. Makes sense to restore order, at least, from the Empire¡¯s point of view. They don¡¯t gain anything by users killing each other.


    Valerian thanked the doctor for the treatment, and the useful information, and slowly made his way out from the hospital.


    Finally back in business! Time to find some of those hidden treasures.


    Valerian brought out the notes, and after sorting them, he picked the closest one. After a bit of searching, he seemed to have found the first target. The bandage got placed into the inventory at some point. He stood out in the crowd, skulking around with a wrapped head simply attracted too much attention.


    ¡°This is it, I think¡­? Third brick from the ground, on the warehouse in front of the great tree.¡± Valerian mumbled to himself, scratching his head.


    Kinda vague¡­ There are several ¡®third bricks¡¯, but probably only one loose.


    Valerian started his search. He took a small stone and tapped each ¡®third brick¡¯, looking for any movements. It took a while, but he finally found one suspicious. Getting the brick out was even harder, but with the help of a thin stick, the stone, and his trustworthy fingers, he managed to free the brick from its prison.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ something in it!¡± Valerian exclaimed.


    Valerian quickly looked around, making sure no one saw him doing this suspicious activity. Thankfully, the whole area was completely deserted, and the warehouse built out of sight. Probably, why the person picked this spot in the first place.


    Satisfied, Valerian took out the item. The hollow brick contained a small brown bag. Valerian fished the bag out, clenching it gently. Yep, this feels like a treasure!


    Valerian slowly opened the bag, and saw two things inside. He took them out one by one. First, a golden snake ring, made of gold, with no gems. Second, another snake item, but this time a golden bracelet that coiled five times around the arm, with green emeralds as eyes. Both were masterly crafted handiworks, with details like each individual scale carved in, and the ring snake had it¡¯s tongue out.


    Probably worth a lot.


    A small problem remained; they might be stolen goods! Why else would they be hidden inside a brick?


    Valerian returned them to the bag, which he put inside his inventory. Heh heh, if the one that hid these knew of my inventory, he would be so angry and jealous.


    Valerian continued on with the treasure hunt. A thumb-sized, uncut diamond inside a hole in a tree, three more rings under a loose stair step, an actual bag of denarii buried under another tree¡¯s roots, and so on. However, not everything was a hit. Twelve of the locations were empty. Or maybe Valerian just went to the wrong place? Impossible to know.


    Thanks to the inventory system he could avoid looking like a thief. The inventory was the same size as his body, if one removed all bones, organs, blood and so on. He did not have to play the ''loot-Tetris'', that was common in loot-heavy games, because all items automatically sorted themselves into their optimal position. Naturally, nothing larger than himself could be stored. So, no surprise siege equipment plopping up outside the walls during a siege.


    Now, how do I turn this into money?


    Except the money bag, that contained enough money to feed him bread for a lifetime, the others were useless to him. Unless he wanted to wear them all, and get robbed the instant he entered a dark alleyway.


    Go to some auction, hope I get lucky, or sell it directly to some jewelry store?


    Valerian decided to visit a store, sell off some of the more common looking things. He asked a few rich looking people, each wearing a fancy toga, if they knew any good stores willing to buy jewelry.


    However, the ones they suggested did not want to buy the suspicious goods. The shops gave Valerian an estimate on the value, though. The last one of the suggested shopkeepers had a friend that dealt with the more shadier side of trade. Located smack center of the slum area, close to where Valerian started.


    ¡°This one, huh.¡± Valerian said. He looked over his shoulders, checking if anyone watched him. Valerian was no expert spy, and everything around him was new and unknown, so he could not have detected them if that was the case, but it felt appropriate, especially considering the shady business deal he was about to take part of.


    Valerian entered the shop, that looked more like a normal house, than a place where people traded. A slightly overweight old man, wearing a red toga, stood behind a waist-high wall of, what looked like, crates, the only furniture on the floor. The old man examined a piece of jewelry, and failed to notice the newcomer. The shelves inside the shop did not have any wares on them. The whole thing looked very weird. Most people would not look twice at it, assuming it was just an empty building.


    Valerian tapped his feet on the wooden floor. The sound alerted the old man of his presence, and the piece of jewelry quickly slid down into a pocket.


    ¡°Ah, where did you come from? Haha! Must be getting old! Anyway, what can I do for you?¡± The old man straightened himself out, looking like a nice and honest citizen.


    ¡°Got some jewelry I¡­ inherited. Was wondering how much it¡¯s worth.¡± Valerian walked up to the crate wall and took out a few items.


    The old man¡¯s eyebrows jumped up in surprise, but he quickly returned to normal. He stroked his chin, thinking for a bit.


    Valerian thought to himself: He probably thinks I¡¯m desperate, willing to accept a deal far below market value. There¡¯s some truth in that, though.


    The old man took out a balance scale, weighing each item. Satisfied, he then took out some kind of magnifying glass item, and begun to closely examine them one by one.


    ¡°Hm... Yes, this is quite the find you...inherited.¡± The old man said, once again stroking his non-existent beard, pretending to think hard about what to offer. ¡°Good quality and nice details. How about... three thousand denarii for all?¡± The shopkeeper said, a professional smile on his face.


    The other shops had estimated the jewelry¡¯s value to be around eight to ten thousand denarii.


    Valerian frowned at the lowballing offer. ¡°Hey, are you trying to scam me, old man? This is worth, at least, three times that much!¡±


    ¡°Me? Scamming? Absolutely not!¡± The shopkeeper grabbed his stomach and chuckled. His laughing stopped abruptly, his face changed into one full of seriousness. He looked around in the room, making sure they were alone. Then he leant forward, and spoke in a low voice. ¡°However, the risk of selling these items are quite high, so I have to lower your price. After all, you have clearly stolen them!¡± The shopkeeper said, as he looked at Valerian¡¯s simple, and a bit dirty, clothing, devoid of any decorative items.


    Valerian got a bit taken back by the response. This shopkeeper was smarter than he looked! Valerian took a few seconds to think up a good reply. ¡°Hmph, judging people by their clothes!¡± Valerian snorted with some amusement and slowly shook his head.


    ¡°Tsk tsk, if I had walked into this area, wearing my usual fancy clothes, you think I would¡¯ve left with them still attached to my body? No. Considering the nature of this sale, I also came alone, not taking my usual guards with me. I did not steal them!¡± Valerian said, radiating an aura of wealth and that of a spoiled and rich senator¡¯s kid. Valerian was not aware he gave off that impression, since that was his true, in real life, nature.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The shopkeeper scratched his head, a bit surprised over the sudden speech. He was also no longer sure about his first instincts, even though their accuracy was enough to shock the vast majority of people. Risk offending this, potentially rich, person, over a minor profit? Every time!


    The shopkeeper cleared his throat, resetting his facial expression back to his usual shopkeeper face. ¡°It hardly matters to me, now does it? But, I¡¯ll be nice, and give you thirty-five silver denarii for them. Final offer. Take it or leave it.¡± He crossed his arms over the chest and took a step back, carefully observing Valerian¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°You drive a hard bargain, but it¡¯s better than nothing¡­ I guess.¡± Valerian was not really upset about it. His acting classes had once again paid off, increasing the sales price with five hundred.


    Three thousand five hundred denarii may not sound like a lot, but just that made him one of the richest users in the game, with just a few hours of work. Well, that only took in account for the money on hand. The ones that invested heavily into their villages could technically sell of some stuff and get even richer.


    But most importantly, he still had the really valuable items left. Like the bag of denarii! Valerian had not carefully counted them yet, but he was sure no one else could rival him in wealth. For now.


    Valerian finished the deal, accepting the thirty-five silver denarii, and left the shop.


    With some spending money acquired, Valerian now turned towards the shopping streets. He headed back to the richer areas, the shops he browsed in before. His aim? A nice clothing shop.


    The old shopkeeper gave me an unimpressed look, and looked down on me, thanks to my...rudimentary clothes, and he was only a simple shopkeeper. No, even worse; he dealt with stolen goods and other illegal things! If I tell people about my plans to become a village Governor, dressed like a beggar, they will think I¡¯m crazy!


    Valerian entered a suitable store and began to browse.


    ¡°Ah, Mister Customer! What can I do for you, this wonderful day?¡± The clerk did not leave Valerian to browse alone, immediately offering his help.


    Valerian liked to shop alone...undisturbed, but this time, some help might be a good idea. ¡°I want some normal clothes, nothing fancy. Durable, but also not the type the peasants wear.¡±


    ¡°Excellent choice, Mister Customer! Come here, we got some fine tunics.¡± The clerk picked up a white tunic. ¡°This is a normal wool tunic, durable, but also great quality. Will last you a long time. Each cost you only a hundred denarii!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, call me Valerian if you must. Sure, those look better than mine. I¡¯ll take three. Now, I want some pants... got any?¡±


    ¡°Pants you say¡­ you mean like these braccae? Hm, a barbaric piece of clothing, but I guess it has some uses.¡± The clerk said, clearly a bit disappointed in Valerian¡¯s taste.


    ¡°Barbaric? How so?¡± Valerian asked.


    ¡°Well, some of my best friends are from Gaul, but I¡¯m just saying, they are still quite barbaric, even after being conquered by us. Real Romans use the tunic and toga! Maybe you want some leg wrappings instead?¡±


    ¡°Hm, I see. No, I¡¯ll take two pairs.¡± Valerian said with a smile, not letting the clerk¡¯s narrow minded view stop him from getting some pants.


    ¡°Oh. Sure. They are hundred-fifty denarii each. Anything else?¡± The clerk gathered all the clothes Valerian bought in a bag.


    ¡°Hm. Need a belt. Another pair of shoes, perhaps something more suitable for the cold? Some socks. A dark green cloak, with a brooch to fasten it, if you got any of those.¡± Valerian said.


    The clerk lit up, so many orders at once! This customer would be a profitable one! ¡°Yes! Follow me!¡±


    Valerian bought a plain leather belt. A pair of proper winter boots with fur to keep the cold out. Four pair of socks. He also got a nice brooch to go with his dark green cloak, which also came with a hood.


    ¡°So, Mister Valerian, you keep picking these winter items? You going up north? You in the army?¡± The clerk asked, wanting to get to know this big spender a bit more.


    ¡°Through the portal. Who knows what kind of weather they got over there.¡±


    ¡°Oh! The New World! Wow! Wish I can go there one day. Imagine having a clothing store on the center street in New Rome!¡± The clerk looked up into the distance, falling into a daydream.


    The store the clerk worked in was not exactly the top of the line quality, and a bit from the most expensive streets, but still, it was inside Rome. For the Romans, Rome was city number one in fashion and art, and only New Rome could threaten its reign as the greatest city under the heavens. However, unlike Rome, New Rome grew with an unprecedented speed, meaning unlimited potential for any new business.


    Valerian waited for a few seconds, before he cleared his throat. ¡°Excuse me, I wanted one more thing¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah! Yes, what would that be?¡± The clerk said, looking a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°A toga. Not sure how they work, but maybe you can¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh! Of course, let me help you with that!¡±


    The clerk happily spent the next few dozen minutes going over various kinds of togas and how to wear them. Valerian also got to try several. In short, a pain to both put on and wear. The clerk called in slaves to help out.


    In the end, Valerian decided on a simple white toga. He did not really plan on wearing it, but incase he got some fancy NPC visitor, it would be embarrassing to not have one.


    ¡°So, the total is¡­three thousand four hundred denarii!¡±


    ¡°Heh heh!¡± Valerian laughed to himself, as he handed over thirty-four silver denarii.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± The clerk asked, while he, as casually as possible to not offend the customer, counted the coins.


    ¡°Just sold some things before I got here, and only got one silver denarius left now.¡± Valerian said. He, of course, still had the bag of money, making him the richest user in the game.


    Valerian accepted the bag with the clothes in, and left the store.


    ¡°Welcome again!¡± The clerk waved goodbye.


    Valerian entered a nearby alleyway, and placed everything in his inventory, except for the belt and pants, which he already put on inside the store, after finishing the toga ordeal.


    Not used to running around with bare legs. Well, except for when I¡¯m home...where I¡¯m always doing just that¡­ Hm. What I meant is, not used to run around with bare legs in public!


    Valerian decided to return to the training hall, finishing up the basic training. He also wanted to practise with the pila.


    When Valerian got there, he changed into the training gear again. The same guy sat at the front, but this time, Valerian did not need his help. The training grounds looked the same as last time; soldiers trained and a few users practised the sword.


    Valerian spoke shortly with the Centurion, but he told Valerian to just keep practising with the sword.


    Maybe I need to win a few spars, before I¡¯m worthy to continue?

 Chapter 4 - Finished Basic Training

    Valerian walked over to the dummies, and saw some familiar faces. David, Brutus, and Goliath were all there, practising so the sweat dripped from their faces.


    ¡°Hey, you guys still here? Thought you left a long time ago.¡± Valerian said with a wave.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, Valerian? Haha, how was your trip to the hospital?¡± Goliath said, grinning widely, while stroking his right elbow.


    ¡°Did you die, or what?¡± Brutus said. He stood a bit awkwardly, leaning heavily on one leg.


    ¡°Hmm, didn¡¯t die, but got a two days and fourteen hours lockout, probably for being unconscious. Woke up in a hospital bed with an insane headache. They said I was carried there? Is that true?¡± Valerian said.


    This time David spoke up. ¡°Yep, I shouted for help when you stopped moving, and the Centurion rushed over, and after checking you, he ordered some men to get a stretcher and carry you away. After that¡­¡± David looked over at Brutus and Goliath, who both smiled wryly.


    David shook his head and continued his story. ¡°These two idiots here, went at it full force. They managed to knock the weapons out of their hands, and then they started wrestling. Brutus managed to get an elbow lock on Goliath, while they were on the ground, but Goliath refused to surrender, and Brutus¡­ kinda broke his arm. Brutus quickly got up to a standing position, having both won and not wanting to be near the screaming Goliath. However, in his rage, Goliath kicked out with full force, right on Brutus¡¯s kneecap, snapping the leg in two. Well, backwards, at least.¡±


    Goliath¡¯s laughter interrupted the story. ¡°Sorry about that! Guess it was my fault!¡±


    Brutus only snorted in response.


    ¡°These two have also been in the hospital for about a day each. They didn¡¯t pass out like you did, though, maybe that¡¯s why their visit was so short in comparison. I shouted for help once again, and the Centurion came over again. This time he just shook his head, calmly ordering some men to get stretchers.¡± David said.


    ¡°My knee still feels wrong. Hope they don¡¯t have permanent injuries in the game.¡± Brutus said, doing some stretches and bends with the leg.


    ¡°Same with my elbow. I¡¯m sure it will pass with time. It was, after all, only a day or so ago. While it¡¯s a lot comparing to other games, it¡¯s nothing compared to IRL.¡± Goliath also did some movements with his arm.


    ¡°Yeah, my neck is kinda stiff.¡± Valerian said, cracking his neck.


    After all, it¡¯s impossible to talk about an injury and not move it around or show it off.


    ¡°But, let¡¯s get back to training. Don¡¯t wanna stay in Rome for much longer.¡± Valerian said and the others agreed.


    After about thirty minutes of hitting the dummies, Valerian felt ready for some more sparring. The others did as well. They used the same system as before to decide the match ups.


    Valerian vs Goliath in the first duel.


    ¡°So, you got any better since last time, Valerian? You lost every time, you know?¡± Goliath threw some friendly taunts to rile Valerian up.


    Valerian kept his silence and simply twirled the sword around in his hand¡­ which unfortunately caused the sword handle to slip out of the hand, flying away towards Goliath. The sword struck the shield with the tip first. So much for looking cool!


    ¡°Brilliant tactic there, Valerian! Almost got him!¡± David shouted while clapping his hands.


    Brutus shook his head while sighing.


    Goliath raised an eyebrow, the sudden ¡®attack¡¯ took him by surprise. However, after seeing Valerian¡¯s embarrassed face, he simply smiled and backed away, allowing Valerian collect the sword again.


    ¡°Heh heh, oops! Let¡¯s start for real this time...¡± Valerian said.


    The fight finally started. Goliath charged Valerian with his shield, using the tried and true tactic of overwhelming the opponent with brute force, which worked quite well for Goliath so far.


    Valerian dodged the charge, and tried to circle around to stab Goliath in the side, but Valerian was too slow and he had to defend from Goliath¡¯s powerful blows with the shield. Each strike was like a hammer, pounding mercilessly on the wicker shield.


    After Goliath attacked a few times, Valerian realized the fight was going south quickly. He had to risk it, or the shield would crumble.


    Valerian raised the shield slightly higher, at an angle, while slowly inching forward. Goliath kept attacking, unaware of the plan. When Valerian got close enough, he rushed Goliath, but Valerian unexpectedly lost his balance, falling to his knees!


    Goliath blew some air from his nose, laughing internally. He did not delay and rushed forward, raising his arm for a crushing swing.


    The two onlookers rested their heads on their palms.


    Valerian held the shield up, trying to protect himself from Goliath¡¯s incoming mega-attack.


    The first blow made Valerian¡¯s arm buckle under the force, hitting himself in the head with the shield. Intense pain sprung up from the neck and head area, but Valerian gritted his teeth and endured.


    Goliath changed stance, moving closer with one foot, as he reloaded for another attack.


    Brutus leaned forward, opening his eyes fully. He smiled slightly. David, next to him, did not understand why Brutus suddenly smiled.


    Valerian saw his chance! He moved his shield to the side, and almost leaped forward, his wooden sword¡¯s tip angled down towards the ground. With a fearsome stab, putting his entire body weight behind it, he impaled his sword into Goliath¡¯s foot!


    Goliath screamed from the pain, but as he instinctively tried to pull back with his foot, he realized¡­ it was stuck! The sword had actually penetrated through the entire foot, into the ground! Blood began to flow, painting the ground red.


    ¡°My foot!!¡±


    Valerian did not expect such a result, and flinched back, releasing the grip of his sword.


    David, who just took a sip of water from a canteen, spat it all out again with great force.


    Brutus, the target of the water, did not react to his sudden shower, instead just smiling. ¡°Looks like Valerian won. Some actual first blood. Haha, didn¡¯t know these weapons could cause such injuries!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there! Help me!!¡± Goliath roared out, using both hands to gesture wildly towards his foot.


    ¡°Good lord¡­¡± David wiped his mouth and said.


    Valerian won his first battle! But at what cost?


    ¡°Get the Centurion already!¡± Goliath shouted out. Goliath''s loud shouts had already alerted the Centurion, so he came over on his own.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? How did such a thing happen?¡± The Centurion said, inspecting the wound. ¡°Well, this will be quick...on three, I will pull it out.¡±


    ¡°One¡­¡±


    ¡°Two¡­¡±


    ¡°Aaargh!!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, three.¡± The Centurion laughed, holding the bloody sword. ¡°Who owns the sword?¡±


    ¡°You bastard! You said on three!¡± Goliath wanted to punch the Centurion, but as he laid on the ground, rolled up in a ball, such a thing was... not possible.


    The Centurion ignored Goliath¡¯s ramblings, waving the sword again.


    ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡± Valerian said, coming forward.


    ¡°Good strike. These weapons rarely draws blood. Don¡¯t worry about his injury, it was a clean hit, should heal quickly. We can take him to the hospital, or just bandage it up? Your choice.¡±


    ¡°Eh, just bandage him up. He has already won quite a few duels. He can observe for now.¡±


    Some soldiers gave Goliath some first aid, and he felt a bit better afterwards. The bleeding stopped, at least.


    Some other users came over, and joined the duels. Brutus won his easily with some flashy movements, and David had a narrow defeat. His training efforts showed, though. Soon, David would be at Valerian¡¯s level.


    While some other users dueled, the group of four sat on the ground, talking casually about their plans for the future.


    ¡°So, what are you gonna do after this? Planning to start a village?¡± Valerian asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit late for that? The best safe spots have most likely been taken already. The further away from the portal you go, the more dangerous it gets, you know.¡± Brutus said.


    ¡°Hmm, no, don¡¯t think so.¡± David pitched in with his opinion. ¡°The New World is huge, and got plenty of room for everyone. Living closer to the NPC towns might not be the best idea either. Who knows what kind of treasures are hiding in the Wilderness. Anyway, I¡¯m gonna be a Merchant! I¡¯m mainly waiting for the villages to grow up a little first. They would most likely only be interested in buying construction supplies right now, and those are not very profitable. Hard to transport and sells for little.¡± David said.


    ¡°Haha, a Merchant!¡± Goliath laughed, making David glare at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a merchant? Huh?!¡± David said, kicking Goliath in the injured foot.


    ¡°Ow! You!¡± Goliath shrunk back with his leg, trying to protect his foot with his hands. Unfortunately for him, David did not let go, and kicked him again. ¡°Aaah! Stop! Sorry!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! See? Merchants are not to be messed around with! Anyway, what are you going to do?¡± David said, sitting down again.


    Goliath breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°Gonna join the army if I can. If not, maybe a Gladiator. Or a Mercenary perhaps. Something that fights a lot. My only problem is that the standard Legionnaire gear isn¡¯t very suited for my fighting style. I want some kind of two-handed weapon.¡±


    Brutus seemingly ignored the scene that just happened, returning to David¡¯s answer. ¡°A Merchant, eh? Suits you, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Not sure if that¡¯s a compliment or not¡­¡± David said with a slight frown.


    Brutus continued without responding to that. ¡°I¡¯m going for some kind of bandit myself. Usually play a chaotic or criminal character in games. Sadly, being ¡®evil¡¯ is often limited, and you end up simply killing off the NPCs, making the game emptier.¡±


    ¡°B-bandit?! You¡¯re not going to attack me, are you?!¡± David said with fear in his voice, quickly inching away from Brutus.


    The group laughed at David.


    Brutus shook his head. ¡°No, not unless you carry something really valuable through my Territory. In fact, it would be a good idea to cooperate. If you hear about a big trade, someone disguising their goods, or something similar from your Merchant friends, feel free to tell me.¡±


    ¡°Working together with a bandit...?¡± David stopped to think. He did not think long, and lit up with a smile. ¡°Sounds great! Hope you can rob my competition!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s shake on it.¡± The two men firmly gripped each other''s hands, both of them laughing loudly. This was the beginning of a very profitable partnership.


    After things had calmed down a bit, Valerian asked something that had been on his mind. ¡°So, how are you going to become a bandit? Won¡¯t the patrols take you out?¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s what I had in mind: You know how all goods must be manually transported, including money transfers from vassals, tributes and bribes? I suspect many guilds or alliances will team up, boosting a single user to create a large city quickly. To do that, they must transport the goods and money from all the vassal¡¯s villages, and those caravans will most likely be very lightly guarded, since guards are expensive, you know. Not to mention, since they are on their own Territory, they won¡¯t expect to get robbed. Get a bunch of peasants and hunters with ranged weapons and you can most likely win without too heavy losses. Basic hit and run tactics.¡± Brutus said.


    The others pondered on his plan in silence.


    Valerian broke the silence first. ¡°Um, anyway. I had planned to get a village running. Maybe we can all work together one day?¡± Valerian said, hinting shamelessly that they were welcome to join.


    Sadly, everyone had their own plans for now.


    ¡°I know! Let¡¯s all add each other to the Friend List.¡± Goliath took out a piece of paper. ¡°It¡¯s quite different from other games. I read about it online. You can use a drop of blood, or just write your name on it.¡±


    The others stared at the blank paper, except for the top, where ¡®Friend List¡¯ stood in big letters.


    ¡°How do you get one?¡± David asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you simply reach into your inventory, and think ¡®Friend List¡¯. It¡¯s in there, but hidden.¡± Goliath explained.


    ¡°Huh, it worked! Got some writing materials if you want. Some quill pens and ink.¡± Valerian took out a quill pen for each person. ¡°So, you just write the name of the person you want to add, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± Goliath quickly wrote down ¡®David¡¯, and the black ink lit up in a golden color, shining brightly on the paper, before turning black again. It transformed Goliath¡¯s sloppy handwriting into something that seemed to be machine written.


    They quickly added each other, and returned the quill pens to Valerian. Once two users added each other, a green circle appeared beside the names, probably showing the user¡¯s current status.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°So, now what? How does it work?¡± Valerian asked, while trying different methods to contact the names on the list.


    ¡°Well, they didn¡¯t know exactly. Maybe you need another item to communicate with each other?¡± Goliath shrugged.  ¡°At least, now we won¡¯t forget about each other.¡±


    They stopped talking at this point, because it was their turn to fight again. David versus Goliath and Valerian versus Brutus. Time for a rematch!


    David looked a bit more confident this time. His skills had increased, while Goliath was injured! It was now or never!


    ¡°So, you gonna make me come to you? With my injured foot?¡± Goliath said, after waiting ten seconds for David to make the first move.


    ¡°Well¡­ yeah?¡±


    ¡°Fine. No mercy then¡­¡± Goliath slowly moved forward, dragging his injured foot behind him.


    Once in reach, Goliath started swinging like usual. David blocked them, but each impact knocked the shield back, slamming into his own body.


    David could not compete in strength, but he now held an overwhelming advantage in speed! David circled around, looking for openings. He poked several times, trying to get a stab in, but Goliath was unexpectedly quick with the rotation of his body. By planting his good heel in the loose dirt, and using his injured foot to turn him, Goliath spun around with ease.


    David bent down to dodge a sudden wide swing, but not fast enough. The sword scraped against the helmet, sending it flying.


    ¡°Hah! Surely that counts?¡± Goliath stopped fighting for now, allowing David to pick up his helmet again.


    ¡°Hm, probably. If that was real, who knows if that helmet would be split in two or not?¡± Brutus said, acting as the judge. ¡°Goliath wins! However, good fight David, much better than the last one.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, why are you so much stronger than me? Shouldn¡¯t we both be level one?¡± David asked, while rubbing his head, where the sword struck against the helmet.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t you know? There are no levels in this game, and your IRL body is simply copied over! Of course, any injuries and diseases are cured. You can train your in-game body to be stronger, but that will take time, and someone like me will have a huge advantage in the start.¡± Goliath laughed while flexing his muscles.


    ¡°Wait, so I can never catch up to you?¡± David asked.


    ¡°Not exactly. Since you are so¡­ weak, you will gain strength faster than someone like me, who is already nearing the human natural limit. Haven¡¯t you noticed how much stronger you are now, compared to when you first arrived? You took breaks every few minutes before, and now you can hit the dummies for twenty minutes before pausing! I suggest you start working out IRL too. That will carry over to the game, and be very helpful in general.¡± Goliath said, causing David to look at him with astonishment.


    ¡°That¡¯s true! Ah, but isn¡¯t that very unfair? You can dominate for a long time, just with your natural body size¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ But looking back at our lunch breaks, I clearly ate more than you, and my gear is bigger, meaning it will cost more to create. Then again, my inventory is bigger than yours¡­ Oh well. Guess I¡¯m more likely to get hit by arrows!¡± Goliath laughed at his joke.


    Goliath and David then walked away to the side, talking about different training techniques. Goliath also showed him several bodyweight exercises.


    Valerian and Brutus was up next. At a glance, their builds were similar, but Brutus clearly had more muscles than Valerian. The Gaming Gel? technology was no substitute for proper exercise! At least, when talking about building muscles. To compare its effect with a real exercise, it was more like going for a run. Activates the muscles, but not enough strain to break them down, forcing the muscle fibers to rebuild.


    ¡°Hey, do you train in any martial art, or something like that?¡± Valerian asked. Brutus had been unnaturally good at fighting since the beginning.


    ¡°Hmph, maybe.¡± Brutus clearly did not want to talk about it.


    ¡°Gotta keep up the mysterious Bandit Leader image, right?¡± Valerian joked, something Brutus did not seem to appreciate, since he immediately charged Valerian.


    It caught Valerian by surprise, and he immediately raised the shield, blocking four quick swings. Valerian quickly stepped back to create some distance, but Brutus followed after, attacking over and over again.


    Valerian decided to stand his ground, exchanging blows whenever he could.


    That was a mistake.


    Only a few swings later, Brutus somehow managed to pull off a leg sweep on Valerian, who ended up on the ground, with a sword pointed at his neck.


    Brutus reigned supreme as the undefeated champion. His only threat, Goliath, was injured badly, and gave up without a fight.


    ¡°Lost again, huh. Seems no one can beat Brutus!¡± Valerian said as he got up from the ground.


    At this point, the Centurion came over to the group.


    ¡°I have observed your duels and you four, follow me.¡± He pointed at Valerian¡¯s group.


    David wore a big smile on his face. He did not expected to pass the training with his... results.


    ¡°Hmm, you there. The small one. I didn¡¯t mean you, get back to your training! I meant the one behind you.¡± The Centurion¡¯s words made David¡¯s smile freeze.


    They turned around and saw that another guy stood behind them. His face lit up in excitement, and he quickly followed the Centurion.


    ¡°Um, well, we will see you later, I guess. Keep up the hard work, David.¡± Valerian said, trying to cheer him up.


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Guess I still have some time to kill, before I should start looking for a Merchant job. Better get right to it!¡± David ran back to the dummies to train.


    David looked a bit lonely, standing there and hitting the dummies with all the force he could muster. After the group started to walk away, David stopped, turning around, and sighed to himself as he looked at the backs of his friends advancing forward.


    ---


    Valerian, Brutus, Goliath and the newcomer followed the Centurion to another small training field.


    ¡°Right, listen up! You got two options! You can either choose to continue your swordsmanship training with a lighter, or rather, a standard weight sword. Or, you can try out the pila. You won¡¯t start with a real one, since they are designed to bend on impact, but we got plenty of wooden javelins for you to throw.¡± The Centurion quickly explained their options with a stern face.


    All of them decided to learn the proper pila throwing techniques.


    ¡°Right! Each of you, grab ten javelins and start throwing! I want to see what I¡¯m dealing with first.¡±


    Goliath went first. ¡°Watch and learn!¡± He threw the wooden javelin with a grunt, accidentally leaning on his injured foot, messing up his balance. The javelin flew out from his hand with great speed...until it impaled itself into the ground, only three meters away.


    ¡°Mars, give me strength¡­.¡± The Centurion shook his head.


    Goliath stood there, slack jawed and stunned, watching the result of his failed throw.


    ¡°Good job.¡± Brutus went next. He weighed the javelin in his hand, feeling the heavy weight, and calculating in his head. He made a good throw, and it flew in the air, but landed short. Two meters from the target.


    The target was twenty meter away, so not a bad first try.


    ¡°My turn¡­¡± Valerian said. He had learned a lot watching the two others. Watch the footing, maintain a proper balance, and do not hold back. After stomping the ground for a few seconds, trying to get a good spot to stand on, Valerian threw his javelin. It went high up in the air, and...spun around?


    The javelin spun around a half lap, landing with the blunt end, about ten meters from the target.


    ¡°How is that even possible¡­?¡± The Centurion said quietly to himself.


    The first throw was a disaster on many levels. The following throws did not improve much. The javelins failed to reach, or simply missed the target. Once the javelins did hit, they spun around and smashed into the target with the bottom or side first. A few more throws straight into the ground. One time, the javelin even slipped out from the hand, flying backwards when withdrawing the arm. But the constant turning around, as they held a javelin over the shoulder, hitting each other in the head, must have been the worst part.


    The Centurion pinched his nose bridge, and other similar gestures, several times during the training.


    ¡°Right, listen up you worthless maggots! Here¡¯s what you need to do¡­¡±


    A thorough lesson, filled with all kinds of little details they had no idea about, followed for the next hour. The results, however, spoke for themselves. After only four hours, they all passed the Centurion¡¯s minimum demands!


    ¡°Right, good job! I would hesitate to stand next to you in a line formation, but I guess you have passed the bare minimum for this public training hall. As a reward, you will each be given a brand new Wooden Sword! The same type as you started with, heavier than normal weapons. They are very durable, and its blunt edge will keep you from accidentally killing your opponent. You are, of course, always welcome to stay here and keep training. It is, after all, open for the public. Now, if you excuse me, I must return to watch over my men.¡± After those kind words the Centurion left.


    The group went and picked up their new weapons.


    Brutus seemed extra happy for the reward. ¡°Excellent! With this, I can easily knock people out. Very helpful for capturing prisoners and slaves.¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s why you wanted it?!¡± Goliath said with some shock.


    Valerian exhaled out a long sigh. ¡°Hah¡­ you truly are evil.¡± Valerian said as he shook his head.


    ¡°Hey, there''s a lot of money in that, and it¡¯s not even against the law! So, who can blame me? Better than killing them for sure.¡± Brutus smiled. He clearly had put in a great deal of planning and thought into his Bandit business.


    ¡°Hey, Septimus, what are you planning to do after this?¡± Goliath asked, trying to change the subject.


    Septimus, the fourth member that came out of nowhere, taking David¡¯s spot. He also passed the training.


    ¡°My life¡¯s goal is to rebuild my clan! However, the Old World is impossible...so I must turn my gaze towards the New World! I come from North of here... a Province Rome conquered about fifty years ago. I¡¯m not particularly angry about that, I¡¯m born Roman, have a Roman name, would give my life for Rome, and it¡¯s all I know... but I¡¯m now the only one left, my tribe¡¯s culture and memory resides on my shoulders...¡± Septimus looked into the distance as he reminisced about better times.


    The others looked at each other, thinking it was quite odd to put so much backstory into one''s character.


    Septimus misunderstood it as pity and quickly said: ¡°Ah, but don¡¯t feel sorry for me. It happens all the time. Wars and raids destroys many families.¡±


    Suddenly, the atmosphere changed to a very awkward one. Septimus quickly tried to change the subject again.


    ¡°My full name is Septimus Hostilius Carnifex, by the way. May I know yours?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, only got my single name.¡± Valerian said.


    Brutus and Goliath said the same.


    ¡°Eh, how is that possible? Didn¡¯t your clan¡­¡± Septimus stopped there, realizing that these three did not even have a clan in the first place! Here he complained about being the last member of his clan, to a bunch of orphans that never knew the meaning of a clan...


    ¡°Nevermind, I guess¡­ So, as I was saying before, I¡¯m going to the New World to start up a village. Anyone of you want to join?¡± Septimus said with a smile.


    ¡°Nah, we all got our own plans. I¡¯m joining some fighting force, Valerian wants to create his own village, and Brutus will lead his own Bandit gang.¡± Goliath explained.


    ¡°Very well. I hope to hear great things from you one day. Good bye, for now.¡± Septimus turned around, walking away towards the exit.


    ¡°Hey, wait! Let¡¯s add each other to the Friend List?¡± Valerian half-shouted out.


    Septimus stopped, and looked over his shoulder. His eyebrows jumped up in surprise at first, but soon after, scrunched together. ¡°What¡¯s that? Never heard of it. Anyway, need to go now.¡± After Septimus said those words, he sped up his pace, and quickly left.


    ¡°What the, thought he liked us?¡±


    The three stood there, scratching their heads, wondering exactly what just happened. They quickly recovered, saying their goodbyes and went on their own separate ways.


    Should visit Prisca in the library to say goodbye, and then I can finally leave Rome and actually start playing the game! This ¡®tutorial island¡¯ took longer than I expected...feels like it has been months since I started my journey...


    With that thought, Valerian left the training hall, heading towards the library.