For the Glory of Rome: Chronicles of an Isekai'd Legion-Chapter 2B : Stonewalling

B2 Chapter 2: Stonewalling

It took an effort of will for Quintus to maintain his posture, with his head held high and his shoulders back. Before anything else, he was a centurion, the first among them all, and that meant he had an image to maintain. All of the enlisted legionnaires and even young officers needed to know for a fact that he was made of steel, that he could chew iron and spit it out with unbroken teeth. They needed to know that he could be relied upon in any circumstance or trial, no matter how dire.

But now, the intensity of the day was finally taking its toll. He was pushing his limits to maintain that image, to keep his back straight and suppress his yawns.

His men had taken shifts, resting or even taking brief naps while they waited for the city to finish burning and he rest of the Legion to join them. But he hadn't. He hadn't needed to at first, given the influx of fresh energy that buoyed both him and his men. Not to mention that he refused to let his guard down at this point.

But now, even his second wind had petered out into little more than a sorry wheeze. It was still nowhere near the exhaustion he should have felt given the circumstances, of course—but it certainly was enough to make him crave some respite of his own. Not that he'd ever admit it.

But despite the front he put up, that old bastard had seen right through him. Still, Quintus couldn't help but be grateful for the quick dismissal. He had no doubt that there were, in fact, areas where he could be of use with the cleanup, but Tiberius was right—he wasn't needed. The other centurions were competent enough to handle things without Quintus looking over their shoulders. And so, he would sleep.

Quintus reached up to wipe at his face, only to notice the dirt coating his gauntlet. A further inspection of himself revealed that most of his armor was similarly tarnished, his entire body seemingly sheathed in debris from the mines.

He winced. Perhaps a bath would also be in order, too. But sleep first.

He continued his mechanical walk toward the edge of the city, he took a brief moment to reflect on events. At this point, he had all but confirmed his suspicions that the Legion had leveled up, though he still didn't know exactly what that meant. At minimum, it seemed as though they'd gained some of those stat points the bard had mentioned—likely in constitution and strength, if not others as well.

Quintus found himself impressed by the effects. If this truly was the case, then stat points and levels were even more important and useful than he'd realized. Skills had already proven their use many times over. But stats? If they could continue to accumulate permanent benefits like this… Perhaps he should advocate to prioritize leveling as well.

For now though, skills would likely be more of an immediate concern. Maybe there was one that would reduce his need for sleep. He'd have to check the lists when he got back to Habersville. At this point, it might be worth giving up one of his skill slots for it.

His eyes fixed ahead toward the gates, making it out of the city and all the way to camp without having to deal with any problems. However, it couldn't last.

"Primus Pilus! A word!"

Quintus turned to address a centurion that seemed to appear out of thin air. The man saluted him as he approached. "Now that the battle is over, there have been questions about how to distribute the remaining pila…"

After settling that matter, Quintus continued on, only to be stopped again. And again. And again. As it turned out, there was no shortage of people who had some issue or another that needed his input. Clarifications on how he wanted the camp to be run, decisions about who to delegate certain tasks to, and even a few contentious disputes about rations. Most of them were fairly reasonable, of course, or only required a brief word from him. But the sheer number of these tiny interruptions made the last hundred feet to his tent feel like a mile.

"...This is a question for the Praefectus Castrorum," Quintus remarked at the latest centurion to bar his path.

The man shook his head. "Drusus has his hands full with managing our new captives and what remains of the town. I thought it best not to bother him unless it's a major issue. However, it does have potential to become one."

Quintus sighed. Many times over his long career, there had been attempts to promote him to that position. Who wouldn't want to be third in command of the entire Legion? Only, after seeing the kinds of things the man was responsible for… as much as Quintus was being pestered by questions now, that was practically a permanent fixture of a camp prefect's life.

He had no desire to add that brand of administrative stress onto his plate. He'd much rather be leading from the front.

"...The men with [Camping] skills should not be tasked with setting up tents for everyone," Quintus informed the centurion. "Even if it is more efficient, it is every contubernium's responsibility to see to their own needs."

"I understand, sir, but when they can manage it in mere seconds…"

"Then perhaps it will be incentive for the others to train a similar skill," Quintus said with finality. "Though I do expect those 'effiient workers' to still do something productive with the time they saved."

"Yes, sir!"

The man scurried off. His question did bring up an interesting point, though. They may well reach a point where putting such tasks in the hands of a handful of specialists would be more efficient than divvying up tasks by contuberniums or centuries. Would the tradeoff of increased efficiency be worth the changes in culture and discipline that came with it?

Quintus didn't know, and he certainly wasn't going to meditate on it now. After what felt like hours, he finally retreated into the confines of his tent. He barely managed to pull the straps of his caligae off his feet before he was falling into his bedroll. Even the

When he ducked in—even though it was still light out—he barely managed to unstrap his sandals before his head hit the bedroll and his eyes closed. Even the hard earth beneath felt like the softest of beds in his current state, and it only took a moment for sleep to claim him. Finally, he could rest.

***

It took the Legion a little bit of time to find the class stone. According to Marcus, every town had one—it was one of the requirements for becoming one—so it was just a matter of locating it.

Fortunately, there were precious few structures with any significant height remaining. The black stone monolith was unearthed from beneath the remains of a collapsed, burned building and quickly put to use. In fact, by the time Tiberius arrived, there was already a queue of Legionnaires waiting for their turn to update their stats and skills.

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At the Legatus's approach, they all moved aside, letting Tiberius walk right up to the obelisk and place his hand on it. The familiar glow of gold rushed up his arm, and text materialized before his eyes.

Information:

Name: Tiberius Rufius Maro

Age: 54 (LIV)

Class: Legionnaire: Legatus (Legendary)

Level: 2 (II)

Experience: 24,095 / 1,200,000 (X̅X̅I̅V̅XCV / M̅C̅C̅)

Stats:

Strength: 10 (X)

Dexterity: 9 (IX)

Constitution: 11 (XI)

Charisma: 15 (XV)

Wisdom: 11 (XI)

Intelligence: 11 (XI)

Free Points: 4 (IV)

Titles:

Born to Rule

Born to Conquer

Bonds of Brotherhood

Conqueror of Towns

Roman Emperor

Bane of Cats (I)

Bane of Spiders (II)

Bane of Ghouls (IV)

Boss Slayer (I)

Craftsman (I)

Blood on Your Hands (I)

Skills:

[Logistics] (Uncommon) - Lvl 35 (Individual)

[Voice of Command] (Uncommon) - Lvl 9 (Individual)

[Rallying Cry] (Uncommon) - Lvl 9 (Individual)

[Keen Eye] (Uncommon) - Lvl 12 (Individual)

[Strategic Warfare] (Uncommon) - Lvl 22 (Individual)

[Marching] (Common) - Lvl 35 (Legion)

[Shield Wall] (Uncommon) - Lvl 8 (Legion)

[Military Leadership] (Uncommon) - Lvl 24 (Officer)

[Oration] (Uncommon) - Lvl 29 (Legatus)

[Commanding Presence] (Uncommon) - Lvl 16 (Legatus)

He had leveled up. He'd already been told as much, but now he could confirm it for himself.

As expected, the level came with an increase in stats. Each of his six stats had increased by a single point, and it appeared he also had four to distribute as he saw fit.

The number honestly surprised Tiberius. They hadn't known what to expect in that area, given that their class seemed to be unique in more than a few ways. However, the number of stat points he received seemed quite high—especially considering how dramatic an effect each point seemed to have individually.

Regardless, he certainly wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He'd have to ensure that they investigated whether all of the Legionnaires had gained similar benefits. Another System matter for Gaius to investigate—though given the way things were going, he might need to assign his second-in-command more resources and men for the task.

Tiberius didn't hesitate to put two points into Charisma. It was by far his most important stat. Being a good leader was his most important responsibility, so anything that would assist with that—either by improving his people skills or his ability to effectively communicate—would take first priority. A mediocre plan executed well was better than a good plan executed poorly. As such, being able to convey his intent to his men and have them willing to follow it was key.

That being said, having a good plan executed well was even better. So he put his last two points into Intelligence and Wisdom. As tempting as it was to put them into one of the physical stats, Tiberius simply couldn't justify the decision. His place was as a leader and administrator, not on the front lines. The points he'd already received had done wonders for his health. That would have to be enough. Until their next level, at least.

After confirming the changes, another flash of gold traveled from the class stone up Tiberius's arm and suffused his entire body. Warmth tingled across his skin for a brief moment before fading. He felt his mind move a little more quickly than before, and possibly even a bit more confident.

With that done, Tiberius moved on to his titles. The list was becoming quite long—if things kept up like this, it would soon become rather unwieldy. He'd gained another "Bane" title—a high level one, too, surely due to the sheer number of ghouls his men had felled.

He also saw that his [Conqueror of Habersville] title had changed to just [Conqueror of Towns]. Whereas before the title had provided a increase in resource quality for Habersville, that bonus now extended to any towns that fell under his rule, which was quite fortuitous.

The last item on his list of personal tasks was reviewing his skills—something that left him pleasantly surprised.

[You have new skill evolutions available. View available evolutions? WARNING: After viewing, unassigned evolutions will be permanently lost!]

Tiberius had been warned about this prompt. Evidently, a small number of his Legionnaires had begun to see it when checking their skills—mostly ones that had shown standout performances in one area or another. Curious, he continued.

Available Skill Evolutions:

[Strategic Warfare] (Uncommon) -> [Paths of Victory] (Rare)

That was certainly a welcome development. He'd always prided himself on his tactical prowess even before this skill had augmented it. Receiving an evolution simply seemed like a recognition of his efforts.

[Congratulations! You have assigned the skill [Paths of Victory] (Rare) - Lvl 0.]

Tiberius also wanted to replace his [Voice of Command]. As much as it should have been a perfect fit, he found that in practice it left him wanting. The skill required one to issue direct commands to others that were nearby. Given that most of Tiberius's orders were passed on by intermediaries, it hadn't seen nearly as much use as he'd expected. Its use in battle was more of an indication that things had gone terribly wrong.

With a thought, he pulled up the skill menu and sorted it by rarity. There were a surprising number of rare skills available to choose from and even a few epic ones as well. Evidently, more Legionnaires had exhibited noteworthy talents than expected. Perhaps he could harness that somehow.

One in particular caught his eye. It wasn't exactly something he planned to use much. But perhaps it would be useful in a pinch.

[Congratulations! You have assigned the skill [Swordsmastery] (Rare) - Lvl 0.]

Tiberius allowed himself the smallest of smirks. He had no intention of becoming a front-line fighter, of course. He was more curious about what the skill would do for him than anything. When there was more time to review the options, he'd likely change it out. He also considered making adjustments to the two Legion-wide skills he'd assigned, [Marching] and [Shield Wall], but decided against it for now. He wanted to get feedback and advice before making any major changes.

He quickly saw a problem. If everyone simply picked powerful skills without actually having the ability to push them further, then they wouldn't be able to earn more levels and evolutions. That would cause them to stagnate. Perhaps he'd need to institute a policy to avoid that. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Finally, with more than a little reluctance, Tiberius eyed the Territory Management tab. He'd been putting it off for as long as possible, mostly because he knew what waited there.

[You have successfully razed the town of Stonewake! You may rename the settlement to stake your claim.]

He rubbed at his temple. Naming things was not his strong suit. He was no a poet. He was a soldier, a leader, and—regrettably—a politician. Worse, this place was not significant enough to bestow a title like New Rome on it or even name it after himself if he'd wanted to. No, Tiberiusium would have to wait for a more suitable location. Though the town was nowhere near large or important enough to even warrant the -ium suffix, anyway.

Tiberius considered the issue. This would be an important outpost, so he'd be well within reason to use the -ster suffix. But as for the first part of the name… what would fit?

He shook his head. He had other things to do, bigger responsibilities to see to. He couldn't waste time on this.

With a thought, he entered the name, and the menu updated accordingly. Now, instead of Stonewake, it displayed the town's new name—Stonester.

Satisfied, he began browsing through the menu. It showed a map of his territory—currently just Habersville and Stoneester. Habersville was apparently back under the Legion's control, which was great news. He'd been confident that Gaius could take care of things in his absence, and that confidence had proven well-founded.

The menu provided a decent amount of information on populations, resources, production, and so on. However, none of the information was particularly unique. These figures, white useful, were nothing that he couldn't already find out from a decent quartermaster. Though he did have to admit that the accuracy and speed of the information was quite nice.

Tiberius shook his head, pulling away from the class stone. With that all done, he focused back on the matters at hand. They would spend one night here, camped out on the hills, before the bulk of their forces would return to Habersville. He aimed to make it back within a day or two, depending on how hard they pushed. But given their new stats and skills… Well, it may be even faster than that.