Chapter 6 – First Days

Max groaned as he finally got up from his seat on the hard wood seating of the wagon.

The train traveled for nearly seventeen hours, kept track of by multiple legionaries that shouted every hour of travel to keep record of it. None of them had shifted from their seating or considered allowing Max or any of the other kids a chance to stretch their legs or relieve their sore behinds.

But now they finally arrived at a new location.

“Follow along and don’t stray,” Samson said to him as he went down first. They were the first two down the wagon and into the camp from their group.

Max stayed close.

This place was far larger than the teleporter camp. There had to be a hundred buildings and many times more than that legionaries stationed everywhere. Each person carrying out a task or drilling. Not a single person wore anything beside the lamellar armor.

Samson slowed down and got behind him, grabbing his shoulder. “Keep your head down until we clear the Patron Mage.”

Max nodded and allowed himself to be guided.

All the other kids were in the same position with a legionary by their shoulder, keeping them moving.

While he kept his stride even, regardless of how sore his backside was, the others all subconsciously fought the hands holding their shoulders. Some were shaking in fear while others postured because that was the only thing they could do in a situation like this.

Max was more concerned with how he was going to hide his system and inheritance from the Patron Mage. He looked back toward Samson. “Will we see our status pages today?”

“Status pages? What do you know about status pages?” Samson frowned.

Shit…

Max did not reply.

“No. No you won’t. Someone will be speaking to you about that. Wouldn’t have been a topic until you were taught by the Record Keeper of our legion.”

I messed up… I shouldn’t have said anything.

Max kept his face blank and as stoic as possible without saying another word. He had already put his foot in his mouth with a single sentence. Any more and he would be eating his dirty, shredded boots. He cursed in his mind one more time for asking when he should have been more careful.

The group stopped before a massive platform made out of wood.

One by one, they were led up to an old man in a black robe sitting by himself with a few legionaries behind him. An orb of murky red glass rested before him on a low table. The old man looked bored as though he was ready to leave as soon as the kids were done, but Max couldn’t be sure. A maroon banner with golden claw marks snapped back and forth behind him; this legion’s banner.

Max kept his head down and did not directly look at the proceedings. Captain Samson had told him and he was not about to challenge the man’s suggestion or stand out until he figured his system out and the Skill Shard currently resting in his Inventory.

He was the last one up.

By the time it was his turn, the sun had already begun to set, not that all the boy before him had taken long. Nothing more than an hour. The wagon train had arrived late in the day already.

Captain Samson nudged him once the boy before him finished.

Max moved forward, up the stairs and stopped directly in front of the Patron Mage. The old man said nothing as he watched him from behind bushy white eyebrows.

“Your palm,” Samson said with an extended hand out to him.

Max complied.

The one eyed man held his wrist tight and pulled a dagger from its sheath on his hip belt. He cut Max’s hand without warning.

Max hissed, but was pulled forward before a single drop could escape his palm. Samson pressed his hand onto the red orb. The thing flashed once in a brighter hue of the same color and then went dim. Max felt the wound knit itself in seconds. The feeling made his skin crawl like ants or spiders were running along the cut.

System already activated…

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Patron Inheritance already selected…

Samson released his hand. “You have thirty seconds to choose. Don’t just select the highest tier and hope for the best. Pick the one that calls out to you.”

The Patron Mage looked up at the Captain with a deep frown that made his wrinkles more prominently. He tilted his head in confusion.

“He invoked the Cursed Legion…”

Max zoned the two out and acted like he was considering the system before him. Both would have reacted if they had seen those two lines or got a rejection of any sort from the orb. But they hadn’t and that was perfect for him.

More importantly, he didn’t want to hear the same exact conversation and receive the same looks for the hundredth time. Each person had that same reaction and Captain Samson was happy to repeat it a dozen times.

I’m going to get sick of this story. I just know it.

“…brass balls!” Samson laughed.

“The Record Keeper would be interested in writing this story down.”

“About that…” Samson paused and looked back toward Max. “The boy comes from an orphanage and knows more than he should about the System. Asked me about status pages and when he’d get to see his own.”

“He knows how to read?”

“I am assuming so.”