Chapter 8 – The Optio Arrives… Giantly

“What are you doing?”

Max started.

The chubby cheeked boy was staring at him with wide clear eyes. “You’ve been looking at each person like you’re planning to steal their coin pouches.”

Max considered the boy before him. He was, much like Max, one of the late stragglers that had not ended up in any of the posses that formed during the long wagon ride and however longer it took for them to reach the camp after being pressed into the gangs.

Should I try to make friends with him? He doesn’t give off a bad feeling either. Having someone watch my back when I’m locked in will be a massive benefit. More importantly, I won’t get caught unaware just like how he startled me. With this Joel, the eagle eyed boy, the other posses, and the rest of the dangerous people… I need someone I can rely on…

“I’m trying to find out who’s dangerous and a threat.”

The boy gave him a wide smile. “Joel and Ion are the biggest groups and the meanest. Kelvin, Ricardo, Austinius, Pratheous, and Olir might be the scariest. Oh and,” the boy nodded toward the eagle eyed kid, “Caleb over there has terrifying eyes. I think he might be the smartest person here… other than you. Caleb has been… well.. He’s been Caleb. Learning everything he could from a distance ever since I saw him two weeks ago. That’s when I was–”

Max stared in awe as the boy rattled off every single person’s name in the entire barracks one by one. Each one with a few sentences about them ranging from ‘bootlicker and slow’ all the way to ‘I suspect he got a B+ tier Patron Inheritance’ when he mentioned Olir.

All while taking a single deep breath the entire time.

“…honestly, Joel is just a bully. Not sure why. Oh! I never got your name!”

Max blinked at the expression of expectation he had been leveled with. It was intense enough that he wanted to step back.

I can see how he got all this information. It’s hard not to respond.

Max climbed over his bed and came to stand before the seated boy, who also hadn’t introduced himself, and extended his hand. I’m Maximilian, Max for short.”

The boy’s eyes widened as he stared at the proffered hand.

Maybe I’m not being welcoming enough? I should smile.

He did so. It wasn’t anything special, or he hoped not at least. Just a small thing.

That seemed to break the ice.

“I’m Arnold! Arnie for short!” he grabbed Max’s hand with both of his and shook vigorously.

Max laughed genuinely at the reaction. Arnie joined him.

Arnie sat back down, his eyes began to shine. “You think they’ll give us armor. I mean the legionaries. Do you think the legionaries will let us wear some of that armor they had on. It looked awesome. Especially the helmets with the thing on the head, the horse hair thing–”

“The plume.”

“Yeah, that! Imagine becoming a Captain and getting to wear one like Captain Hector. My da would have been proud to see me wearing a legion’s banner and armor…” Arnie paused, losing a bit of the bright edge he seemed to have at all times. “Well… having shiny armor would be awesome, wouldn’t it? And probably very important, don’t think we would be any good in a…” he looked around conspiratorily and whispered low. “…in a Cursed Legion without them.”

It’s that term again. Cursed Legion. Should I ask…? Screw it, not like Arnie is going to change how the legionaries treat me anyway. Captain Samson probably told the same story and got the same reaction a hundred different times.

“What makes this legion a Cursed Legion?”

It was a gentle prod, hoping Arnie would catch it and run. He did exactly that.

Arnie kept his voice a low whisper, eyes scanning the surroundings one more time. “They’re frontliners, vanguard, and even do things behind enemy lines and within enemy territory. They fight the very first waves of greenskinned, any beast tide, monster rushes, dungeon breaks… and worse things. You can’t find a legionary without a scar of some kind or a missing limb, yet they serve without an ounce of fear. The Emperor’s blade is what the wagon train leader said. The scariest legionaries and the most courageous.”

“You spoke to the wagon train’s leader?”

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Arnie nodded.

How the hell did he talk his way out from sitting next to the legionaries and even had a full blown conversation with the wagon train leader? More importantly… I need to lock in. I can’t be too weak to survive. My Patron Inheritance makes no sense, but it has potential. I’m still not sure what it does, but once I figure out how to use the Skill Shard in my System Inventory without catching attention, then I’ll figure it out. I hope…

“Max?”

“Yeah?”

Maximilian did not look up as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to sneak the Skill Shard out.

That lady he crunched his nose against said the Class Shard was like a bonfire. The Skill Shards might not be as impressive or powerful, but they would still be obvious to anyone who was strong enough to sense it. And he so happened to be in a massive camp full of the most powerful, experienced, and supposedly courageous legionaries in the empire.

“Do you think we’ll die? A-Against the GreenSkins, I mean.”

Max snapped his head up. Arnie wasn’t smiling anymore, nor were his eyes as bright as when he was imagining himself wearing armor.

Maximilian gritted his teeth as he locked onto Arnold’s face.

He still remembered what the Praetor had said about his betters. His oath to become someone whether they liked it or not and he meant every single letter uttered in that gathering hall. Everything he had done so far had been to do something with his life and prepare…