On the training grounds, the early morning sun shone on me and fellow legionaries who were practicing our breathing exercise.

  Every day, we went through a routine. First, we inspected the equipment. Second, we ran for about 3 miles and did some exercise. And after the warm-ups, we practiced our breathing exercises for an hour.

  After that, we had a quick breakfast before our weapons training and formation drills. We then had a big lunch at midday, and then, in the afternoon, we focused on bor work. In the te afternoon, we rotated between training and guard duty.

  In the evening, we gambled, bathed in town, cleaned our equipment, and went to sleep. We also had weekly marches and monthly mock battles. Of course, if we had night watch duty, our schedule changed accordingly.

  On a side note, some of the men frequented the brothels nearby, and they even invited me once. But I declined them. Although the multiplier is tempting, I doubted it would be high with just a casual exchange with a whore, and I didn't want to get sick.

  Although, as the Warrior Realm progresses, we develop resistance to poison and disease, we are not immune. I didn't want to get sick, and paying a whore every day sounds expensive. If I have that much money, I should save up and get myself a proper wife!

  Well, distracting thoughts aside, I was in the training ground, practicing my breathing exercise, slowly feeling a wall blocking my energy, preventing it from growing.

  However, this wall, though firm, somehow felt brittle and full of holes. All I did was follow my instincts, slowly focus on those holes to soften and enrge them, and then-

  Hum*

  Legionary Breathing Technique(Bck Grade): lvl 49 -> 50 (250)

  Tempered Energy Pathways lvl 49 -> 50 (250)

  Warrior Realm: 2 -> 3

  Current Time Progression Speed: 4 -> 8 Simuted Years/ 1 Real-Life Day.

  Realm Multiplier: 4 -> 8x

  I felt a rush of energy flowing through my body, feeling more energetic than ever!

  "Huff*" I breathed out a long breath of steam, my eyes bright.

  "I am now a Veteran Warrior! Most Legionaries get stuck in the General Warrior realm for their entire lives, unable to pass the bottleneck, but I passed it so quickly! But more importantly..."

  "Apollox, you broke through?!" I heard a deep yet astonished voice call out.

  Looking over, I saw my Centurion, Erock, who was training like everyone else, perhaps even harder, looking at me with shocked eyes.

  I immediately calmed my excitement and saluted.

  "Yes, Sir! I reached the Veteran Warrior Realm!"

  "Good!" Erock had a rare, satisfied smile on his lips. "After lunch, head to the Camp Prefect."

  "Yes, Sir!"

  This small exchange, however, was heard by the rest.

  When I looked to the side, I saw a mixture of envy, doubt, and dissatisfaction. They were not stupid, so they probably guessed I was getting promoted.

  After all, being promoted was something all soldiers wanted, but many were barred due to academic barriers. While not completely illiterate, most of these men, who came from very humble origins, cked proper schooling. As a result, even after receiving some education during their training period, most of them didn't progress much. This meant that they could be powerful warriors, but couldn't get promoted to a non-commissioned officer, such as a Tesserarius.

  I, on the other hand, while not at the top of my group in academics, scored around the top three, which put me head and shoulders above the majority of soldiers. Even if they performed great acts of valor on the battlefield, they would only get a bonus or medals, not a promotion.

  Since I had enough literary skills and potential, getting promoted was only a matter of time. That little wager with the camp prefect was merely a shortcut that saved me a year or two.

  Holding back my excitement, I trained even more enthusiastically, and after lunch, I went to the Camp Prefect's office. After knocking on the door, I was let inside and saw the old camp prefect sitting behind his desk.

  "Commander, Sir!" I saluted.

  Primanus's eyes turned sharp, eyeing me up and down. I almost felt naked before his eyes, despite being fully armored.

  Moments ter, Primanus rexed his gaze, having an appreciative smile on his lips.

  "Not bad. Not bad at all." Primanus nodded before gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. "Take a seat."

  I did as ordered, sitting in front of the desk, and once I got seated, the grizzled Camp Prefect spoke.

  "First, congratutions on breaking through to the Veteran Warrior realm within a month and winning our little wager." He congratuted.

  "Thank you, Sir!" I smiled, feeling satisfied, and replied.

  "As promised, I will reserve the spot of the Tesserarius of the 1st Cohort for you..." Primanus slowly said.

  Hearing this, I felt eted. But the next words poured cold water on my mood.

  "Which will be vacated in... 11 months. And only if you are eligible."

  When I heard this figure, I immediately understood what was going on.

  "He tricked me! He used vague words to trick me! Near promotion, my foot!" I thought, trying to hide the wronged look on my face, but failing.

  Primanus had an amused look and continued speaking.

  "You probably think I tricked you, right?"

  "I dare not, Sir..." I wryly replied.

  "Of course I do, you old fart!" I cursed in my mind.

  "Well, there is reasoning to this, you know." Primanus slowly said with a serious look. "While you are undoubtedly talented, likely the best this legion has seen for the past decade, considering your poor background, it still doesn't erase the necessary qualifications for a Principales(NCO)."

  After he said that, I calmed down. I understood what he was getting at.

  "Despite your previous ck of proper education, you have proven smart enough to reach sufficient literary levels within a short 4 months, which is impressive. Your fighting ability is also undoubtedly comparable, if not superior to, a regur legionary of the 1st Cohort, now even more so. And I hear you showed diligence and effort, and the soldiers accepted you, which is a start.

  However, you ck both experience and merit. How am I, as Camp Prefect, supposed to promote you to a watch commander when you didn't really earn it? Even those on a fast-track promotion path need at least a full year of service. And even then, you would usually be pced in the 6th-10th Cohorts first to gain experience, not directly in the 1st Cohort! So, for now, you need to accumute experience and merit." Primanus said with a solemn look.

  "So in the end, it is a matter of service time and merit?" I understood the problem, feeling bitter, my fantasy bubble popped.

  And then, Primanus smiled again.

  "However, I can give you an opportunity."

  "Opportunity? I love that word!" I immediately perked up as he continued speaking.

  "Since you have proven yourself already to your fellow soldiers as a genius of sorts, I can now reasonably give you some preferential treatment, giving you some extra responsibilities. You will assist with guard rosters. You will be a trainee clerk. You will sometimes act as a file leader. You will supervise bor duties. Naturally, you will still need to perform all the duties expected of a regur soldier, and spotlessly at that. Endure it for 5 months, and I shall promote you to a Clerk, enjoying Specialist treatment. You will then be a clerk for 6 months, and if you prove yourself worthy, you will be promoted. Oh, and I hear Erock will also personally teach you, so you are well on your way to becoming a Tesserarius." Primanus slowly expined.

  Once he expined all that, I really had no room to compin. A Specialist received simir treatment to a Tesserarius, having 1.5 times the pay and not needing to do menial bor after lunch. The chance to become a Specialist was excellent, not to mention the promised promotion path! Being a Watch Commander was the real first step on the path to a Centurion.

  And indeed, if I immediately became a Watch Commander, I might not even perform well in that role. I was actually troubled about that point.

  Seeing me still silent, Primanus tilted his head and asked.

  "Are you satisfied with that arrangement?"

  "Satisfied! Very satisfied, Sir!" I immediately replied.

  "How could I not be satisfied?! This is the real fast-track promotion path! This is my opportunity!"

  Was I afraid of hardship? Never! I was afraid of a ck of opportunity! Now that I was given one, how could I waste it?!

  "Good. Report to Erock, and he will arrange for you." Primanus instructed.

  "Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" I saluted and left the room.

  .

  .

  .

  Primanus, who watched the door close, had a strange smile on his old face.

  "Oh, he was pissed at the start, alright. At least he was tactful enough not to say it in my face. Good. Tact and patience are a must for a Centurion, especially when dealing with those useless spoiled brats." He muttered, amused.

  Of course, the ones he was referring to were the tribunes, the pencil-pushing noble sons and daughters of the politicians, who were after military experience for their track record. Being noble scions, they were both figuratively and literally sitting on a high horse, and their noses touched the sky. And if they screwed up, he needed to clean up their mess!

  He could barely tolerate the thin-strip tribunes, ironically called the Junior Tribunes, despite their higher experience compared to the joke that was the thick-strip Tribune, an 18-20 year-old, inexperienced brat who barely did any work despite being a so-called Senior Tribune and technically outranking him. The legate was also, in his eyes, a brat who came from a senatorial background, seeking to elevate his career, and his competence was a dice roll.

  Either way, regardless of opinion, a Centurion needed to learn how to tolerate, ftter, and, if need be, steer an incompetent tribune in the right direction, lest they do something utterly stupid that could compromise the operations of the legion. When the centurions failed, he needed to step up and scold them himself. He would even scold the Senior Tribune and the Legate if necessary, which he did on numerous occasions throughout his long career.

  And then, Primanus's thoughts shifted.

  "Since his talent is the real deal, I will continue observing him for now. If he proves himself and gets promoted, I will feel confident in entrusting that poor girl to him."

  After muttering that, he continued his work.