B4 Chapter 11: Paperwork and Administration
Tiberius and his retinue followed Claude to the class stone. The excitable old mage’s initially wobbly gait soon gained confidence and had him sprinting at full speed through the city. Tiberius, however, maintained a more sedate pace. At first, the speed was simply for appearances’ sake, but soon it was enforced by the people who flooded the streets and strained to see the procession.
Thankfully, they’d planned for this. Tiberius didn’t even have to order his Legionnaires to manage the crowd. They simply knew. Nor did he have to wait until they reached the class stone to learn about some of the changes wrought by Claude’s joining.
“Lucius.” Tiberius addressed his aide as they walked. “Report on the Third Legion’s skill list.”
“It has grown significantly.” The man answered without hesitation. “Quintus’s officers are compiling a revised list as we speak. But preliminary reports indicate the addition of dozens, possibly even a hundred new skills, many of them Rare or above. Evolutions of many foundational [Mage] skills have already been identified, as well as a couple Legendary skills.”
Tiberius nodded. It was just as expected. That windfall alone made inducting Claude as a Legionnaire worthwhile. He considered whether it might be worthwhile to trade Claude with the First Legion in order to grant the mages there access to such skills, then trade him back. Tiberius intended to let Quintus keep the man and the advantages that his experience afforded, but there was no reason they couldn’t do both. Something worth considering.
“What of the spells themselves?” Quintus asked from beside him. “If I recall, mages often slot one or two spells as skills, allowing them to be used for a stamina cost rather than mana.”
“They are terrifying, to put it mildly. Many are low-level ones clearly taken for convenience’s sake. But I recognize the names of some from the reports of the First Legion’s mages on their tutelage. [Meteor], [Teleport], and [Diamond Skin] are particularly of interest. From prior conversations with the man, [Meteor] may well be capable of leveling an entire city on its own.”
The emperor allowed himself a small smile. “I see. Continue to compile a list.” He turned to Quintus. “I expect to see a complete report of the new skills and their proposed applications by the end of the day.”
“Sir.”
Though he tried to hide it, Quintus clearly recoiled at the prospect of such a report. Paperwork and administration had never been his favorites. But given his new position, they were necessities. But given the man’s increasing inclinations toward strategy and devising more clever tactics, perhaps this kind of thinking would suit him just fine.
Tiberius watched from afar as Claude reached the class stone and slapped his palm onto it. The familiar golden glow travelled up its length as the old mage—no, the old Legionnaire—read through golden text visible only to him. His already childlike grin only broadened as the moments slipped by. After a second, he held out his free hand with palm upward and muttered a few words.
A pillar of flame erupted skyward, its intense heat washing over Tiberius even at this distance. The gathered crowd cried out in alarm and scrambled to retreat. A moment later, the flame subsided, retreating down to a more manageable height. Its intensity and size began to shift and change as Claude continued muttering, his eyes sparkling with undisguised glee.
“...Claude.” Tiberius’s voice rang out across the now considerably emptier plaza. The mage’s head whipped up.
“This is incredible! The sheer amount of mana at my disposal… I’ve never felt anything like it! I’ll need to work on bringing my skills back up to speed, of course—my mana manipulation and casting aren’t nearly what they were before. And I won’t be able to channel as quickly until I get a few levels. But even with that—”
“You will not experiment here,” Quintus commanded, his arms crossed sternly. “Not where there is danger to the populace.”
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Claude’s eyes narrowed at the order. “With all due respect, sir, working near a class stone will be the most efficient method. There are simply too many skills that I will need to test in conjunction with one another.”
“Then you will relocate to a class stone outside of the city.”
The two men stared at each other for a long moment. Claude’s eyes flicked to Tiberius before he remembered himself. With a slight sigh, Claude bowed. “As you will… Legatus.”
The Ex-Grand Mage was an independent agent no longer. Now, he was subject to Quintus’s orders—and Tiberius’s.
A group of Legionnaires escorted the mage away to continue his work. Meanwhile, Tiberius turned to the new Legatus. “I will return to the castle. Contact me should you require anything.”
“Yes, emperor.”
With that, they parted ways. Undoubtedly, Quintus was already working on the implications of his new recruit and how to best use him for the Legion. He’d never been a particular fan of mages, but considering Claude’s credentials, even he wasn’t fool enough to squander those abilities.
Tiberius returned to the castle to await his reports and tend to others. Fortunately, they didn’t take long to arrive. Already, the mages in the Third Legion were working to swap out their own skills for upgraded ones from Claude. The Grand Mage had switched specialties many times throughout his long life, meaning that he had multiple suites of abilities that could be leveraged. They could theoretically create armies of Claudes, different ones with different expertise.
Of course, the new recruits wouldn’t have the same theoretical understanding or experience as their senior mage. But such shortcomings could be mitigated given their other advantages.
The whole list of new skills also graced his desk before long. Most of them were understandably magic based, meaning they wouldn’t have implications for most Legionnaires. But they were just as impressive as he’d been led to believe. Some were esoteric enough that Tiberius couldn’t begin to guess what they actually did, like [Sky Serpent's Dancing Embrace]. Once the man had calmed down a bit, they would need to interview him.
Tiberius set the matters aside for now, leaving his men to their work. He would provide his own feedback once some of the dust had settled. For now, he had plenty of other matters to tend to.
Reaching toward the edge of his desk, he retrieved a thick tome from a stack. Its cover was made of wood, its details not carved so much as grown into the bark itself. Across its front were the words A History of the Tactics and Strategies of the Roman Legion, Volume 1.
It was not the original volume, of course. That was being kept under guard by the elves, too delicate to be transferred. But they did make a copy for his perusal, with copies of the other volumes on the way.
Since Tiberius’s visit, there had been a renewed effort to trawl through the elven histories for any records and histories that might be of use to the new empire. He’d already gone through many texts on the elven laws and government and compared them to what he knew in his old world. But this was a new find—one that had been irrelevant for so long that it had been all but forgotten.
He began flipping through the pages to skim through the text. Most of these tactics were specific to the [Legionnaire] class and took advantage of their unique abilities. Many were ones they’d already developed themselves. But Tiberius was not prideful enough to believe that they all were. If another Legion truly had come before them, then perhaps they had unique insights into this world and how to best adapt to it. Especially given their comparatively long time here to learn.
Time passed. He continued reading, tending to matters of state when necessary and thinking in the back of his mind about when next to visit the elves, when a knock came at his door. At his wave, a guard stepped inside.
“Sir. Legatus Gaius wishes to speak with you. He has brought the Guildmaster and another woman as well.”
Tiberius marked his place in the tome. “Send them in.”
The guard nodded and ushered them inside. Gaius was the first to enter, the young man holding his helmet under one arm as he stood with a straight back. Guildmaster Hyde, leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, followed behind. The last of their group was a tall, broad shouldered figure, her arms and face crisscrossed with scars. Her head was partially shaved, and the sheer amount of muscle packed onto her stocky frame would have made Tiberius assume this was a man if not previously warned. Her arms were even thicker than some of the Legionnaires’.
“Emperor Tiberius,” Gaius saluted. “Thank you for your time. The Guildmaster wishes to put forth new recruits for the Legion.”
Tiberius frowned. “I hardly see that as a matter for my consideration. There is already a procedure in place for such potential recruits.”
Gaius hesitated. The boy seemed nervous somehow, as though he didn’t entirely want to be here. Something else was going on.
He kept his attention sharp as the Guildmaster spoke. “There is indeed, emperor. However, that process excludes no small number of potential assets to your forces.”
Before Tiberius could respond, the woman stepped forward. Her eyes were alight with the flame of determination, expression as stony as a mountain.
“I want to join the Legion.”
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