bignt

  At the 5th Century's office-

  "Legionary Apollox, reporting, Sir!" I saluted my new Centurion.

  "At ease." The Centurion, a middle-aged man with curly honey-blond hair and sharp brown eyes, who looked like a real tough guy with a scar over his left eye, spoke with a stoic expression. "I am Maeck Leeroye Erock, the 5th century's Centurion and your new commander. I heard about you, the promising newcomer who is filling in."

  He then turned silent, took a deep breath, and sighed.

  "To be honest, while I respect that you didn't take any backdoor, I don't want an inexperienced guy like you in the 1st Cohort, let alone my Century. The others are even less enthusiastic about it, and they will undoubtedly try to test or haze you, so be mentally prepared for that."

  "I understand, Sir," I replied with unwavering eyes.

  "I have been bullied and looked down on my whole life. I am not afraid of bullying! If anyone bullies me, let me see how I take special care of them when I get promoted! Hehehe..." I evilly thought.

  Erock nodded, unaware of my inner thoughts.

  "In the 1st Cohort, we have 5 centuries instead of 6, and are always at double strength, having 160 members, and all Principales(Junior Officers) are the most senior and elite in the legion. All of them are handpicked veterans in the legion, the top 20% with tested combat performance. I realize that you got transferred here to be part of a fast-track promotion path, but this isn't your privilege. If you underperform and can't convince others about your qualities, I will personally transfer you to the other Cohorts. Is that clear?" Erock asked in a deep voice.

  "Yes, Sir! I won't let you down, Sir!" I replied with a calm, confident look.

  "Keep that confidence up and back it up with actions, and you might just make it to Junior Officer within a year." Erock smiled.

  To his words, I couldn't help but have a wry smile.

  "Sir, about that..."

  Erock frowned.

  "What? Are you dissatisfied?"

  I shook my head.

  "No, Sir. The Camp Prefect promised to promote me to a Tesserarius if I break through to the Veteran Warrior realm within a month. If I can't, he will block my promotion path for the next three years."

  I couldn't lie or hide it from him. If I get promoted, even by the camp prefect himself, I will still serve under him, and he will resent me if I don't speak.

  When Erock heard this, he grimaced and narrowed his eyes at me.

  "By the god of war, how did you offend that scary codger, of all people?"

  "I didn't. I just said that I am confident that I can break through to the Veteran Warrior Realm within a month, so he promised this to me." I helplessly said.

  Erock's face turned strange.

  "And you are confident?"

  I resolutely nodded.

  "Absolutely, Sir."

  To this, Erock gave me a deep look in the eye, wanting to see falsehood, but saw none. Finally, he showed an interested face.

  "Okay, since you are so confident, let me join that wager. If you break through within a month, you will not only get that promotion, but I will personally mentor you."

  I couldn't help but grin.

  "Thank you, Sir!"

  However, Erock raised his hand.

  "Don't thank me yet, young man. If you can't do it, not only will your promotion path be blocked for 3 years, but I will also kick you all the way back to the 10th."

  To his words, I straightened my back.

  "I won't let you down, Sir!"

  Erock smiled and stood up.

  "Okay, enough chit-chat. Let me show you to your new unit."

  We then walked outside the office and headed to the barracks. The barracks were many adjacent, rectangur, and long buildings. With a single gnce, I counted 12 rooms plus a suite that likely belonged to Erock. The building itself was double the size of a regur barracks, likely since it needed to house twice as many men.

  Erock then took me to the 11th room and opened the door without bothering to knock.

  When I looked inside, I saw a double room, with the first room a dedicated armory, while the other room was the living quarters. At this time, I saw the soldier gambling in the living quarters, rolling dice, with bronze and silver coins shining on the table.

  However, one of the soldiers noticed the Centurion and immediately stood up, saluted, and announced.

  "Commander in the room! Stand at attention!"

  Within moments, all the unarmored soldiers were at attention, some hurriedly hiding the dice. If I didn't see them pying dice and the still-present cups on the table, I wouldn't be able to tell they were gambling. However, Erock didn't react to it, seemingly turning a blind eye.

  "Yeah, actively punishing gambling soldiers would quickly cause them to lose morale." I thought.

  Meanwhile, the Senior Centurion waited for a moment, letting everyone get ready, and then waved his hand.

  "At ease. I came here to introduce you to someone new."

  After he said that, Erock gestured to me.

  "This here is Apollox, a very promising young man from humble origins, and the top recruit of his batch. Before you ask, no, he didn't get a backdoor. He got in through merit and results. Treat him fairly."

  Hearing his words, I couldn't help but feel a bit fttered and awkward, but I still kept my back straight.

  Erock then turned to me and spoke.

  "Apollox, you will join the 18th contubernium. They recently lost a member in a skirmish. Find your own bed and listen to your seniors, and don't let them easily bully you. Got it?"

  "Yes, Sir!" I saluted him.

  Erock nodded.

  "Good luck, and have a good rest."

  After he said that, he left, and I was stuck with the seasoned veterans in the barracks.

  The youngest among them was at least in his mid-twenties, while the oldest was in his early 40s. Without exception, they were all tall and strong, and here, I was likely the shortest and least experienced of the bunch.

  At the same time, they also gave me curious looks. Some had looks of admiration, while others frowned with dissatisfaction. However, the majority gave me a short gnce before ignoring me. But they showed high discipline. At least, they didn't overtly bully me.

  "Well, I wasn't expecting anything different."

  Thinking about it, I headed inside the room while carrying my bag, and quickly found the only avaible top bunk. Looking down, I saw a man in his mid-30s. He was everything I could imagine a seasoned veteran to be. Stoic, tall, bulky, and with crisscrossing scars on his body. Currently, he was carving a wooden figure with a knife.

  Out of courtesy, and knowing he didn't want to be disturbed, I nodded at the man and respectfully spoke.

  "Well met, elder brother."

  The man looked up at me and gave me a brief nod. "Well met, younger brother."

  And then, he returned to his woodcarving.

  Knowing the unspoken rules of the barracks, I pced my belongings in a way that wouldn't disturb anyone and removed my armor and weapons. Finally, I y on my bed, no one disturbing me, and I didn't disturb them.

  Perhaps we were fellow soldiers, and now part of the same group, but that didn't mean they accepted me, a young and unworthy recruit, joining their veteran team.

  "If I don't prove myself, they won't accept me, and might even request my removal. Likewise, if I am a loudmouth and annoy them, they will grow dissatisfied. For now, I need to be silent and show my hard work, and they will open to me by themselves." I figured.

  Since I now had free time, I distracted myself by looking at the system. After joining the 1st Cohort, there were some changes in the Ally Score and the Military Multiplier.

  Ally Score: 6->15(You are a proud Legionary of the 17th Legion's 1st Cohort. While you are considered part of the best soldiers, you are also the tail of the lion, and your status is shaky at best. Still beats being in other Cohorts, though.)

  Military Multiplier: 3->10(As a legionary of the 1st Cohort, you are surrounded by veterans who will guide you and lead you by example, significantly improving your military experience.)

  Seeing this, I pced a hand over my mouth to hide my grin.

  "The higher the multipliers, the higher the ceiling of my abilities."

  The Progress System followed some rules, and one of them is that multipliers are king. For example, when I started, reaching lvl 250 in ability was likely the ceiling. But now, it was far higher. After a few more simutions, I might reach the te hundreds in my abilities. Even the 10 times experience needed for the Legionary Css has been more than mitigated.

  However, I also knew that if I didn't further improve the multipliers, that would be my limit.

  "Ability, Wealth, and Allies are all needed for raising the Happiness Multiplier. But women... dammit. Maybe I should get a common-w wife?"

  In the army, it was forbidden for soldiers to marry before they finished their service. However, most soldiers spat on that w, including the commanders. They had unofficial common-w wives living in the nearby settlement, with children and all, usually living with or close to the parents of either the mother or father.

  While the soldiers were expected to live in the barracks, they often took leave to see their families, which supported them and raised soldier morale. That was even more so for military officers, such as the Optio or Centurion, who often slept at home, rather than in the barracks.

  If such things were not allowed, given that soldiers needed to serve for 25 years, only to retire in old age and then start a family, what would be the point of their saved money? To enjoy a dozen-odd years of retive financial stability before taking it to the grave?

  Of course, some truly remained single until they finished their service, but usually out of choice.

  Anyways-

  "I should probably wait until I am an officer before I find a wife. That way, I can at least have a higher-quality woman. If I only have a poor freedwoman of below average looks and wits, not only will I feel bitter, but the multiplier would likely be as low as 1.2 or something."

  I already had my lesson from my borer friends. While I cherished them, I had to be realistic about it. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to cry!

  Other venues of advancement were, quite literally, breaking through the realm and advancing.

  "The faster simution time is good, letting me master new jobs and abilities more quickly. However, in the end, it doesn't improve the multiplier limit. Even if it reached 100 years per day, what good would it do if it can't go beyond a certain limit?"

  After thinking about it, I figured out a way to maximise the advantage of a faster simution speed.

  "I can try learning side professions. That way, I might obtain several useful abilities. Of course, I would still need to train them in real life."

  In the end, no matter how many game avatars lived and died, I only had one finite life. While the simutions helped me improve dozens of times faster, that was all.

  "Hm... would becoming a Tesserarius give me a new css and ability? Yeah, it probably would. But would it belong to a different category?"

  With that thought stuck in my head, I soon had a small dinner with the men, washed up, and went to sleep.

  .

  .

  .

  In the following days, I found that I was receiving the cold treatment, with no one trying to befriend me.

  There was no bullying, such as a soldier making me do his chores or making my life miserable. However, that didn't mean they didn't keep an eye on me. On the contrary, they tested me, time and again, about my competence and ability under stress.

  I trained even harder than in my regur training, reaching the intensity level of the best veterans.

  I sparred with the veterans, and although they were stronger than me by a bit due to their vastly superior experience and training time, I still held my own, gradually reaching and surpassing their level.

  When it came to watch duty, I didn't sck off, sharpening my senses.

  When we had bor work to do, I made sure to work as efficiently and hard as everyone else, if not harder.

  Gradually, the men accepted me, whether they liked it or not. At first, it was just a few friendly words of encouragement and telling me their names. And then, it evolved to chatting with me and showing me some tricks. And before anyone knew it, I already started pying dice with them in the barracks while ughing.

  After three weeks of hard work and merit, I organically became part of the 1st Cohort.

  During that time, I also obtained a Css and a new Ability.

  Sentry:

  A military night watchman serving under the command of a Watch Commander. It is a common but crucial role of a professional soldier.

  Hint: It is comparable in leveling difficulty to a regur Legionary.

  Sharpened Senses:

  Long nights of keeping vigil over the camp and walls have sharpened your sense of sight, hearing, and smell, enabling you to notice subtle details and detect an ambush or infiltration earlier.

  Bonus to watchman-type Csses.

  Obviously, I diverted some of my leveling progress to these two new entries. Improving the Sentry Css allowed me to function better at that role, while Sharpened Senses literally sharpened them. While there were no immediate effects, I felt that my senses were indeed steadily growing. This allowed me to see further at night and hear softer sounds. Their levels were still not high, but they had potential!

  Of course, this was merely a bonus. What was truly important was that I was going to break through again!