Felix woke up early and looked around for his roommate but found out he had already left for his morning training so he decided to do the same. He had just reached the Origin realm and cultivation had become a lot harder than it used to be, he didn't know why exactly but he thought it had something to do with him having little to no fighting experience. He had always been like this. the type who would know how a printer worked backward and forwards in theory but was not able to figure out how to turn it on if he had to use one.

After he finished training he took a quick shower and started to prepare breakfast. He didn't cook often but he did enjoy doing it. It helped him relax and calm down, and he needed that, especially today. He looked at the sun coming up and knew it was almost time for Purple to return which he did a couple of minutes later.

“Take a seat, breakfast is almost ready,” Felix said as he finished plating the food on the table.

“Thank you for the food,” Purple said as he took a seat and took a couple of big bites of the bread as he was starving after his morning training. He was straightforward and had become one of his most trusted men who he had great hopes for.

“It's my way of making a deal. I feed your breakfast and you don't let me die this afternoon,” Felix said playfully.

“I will do my best,” Purple answered honestly, and the truth was that nobody could ask him for more than that.

Felix went through the plan for a third time sins yesterday and slowly ate his food as he tried to think of any mistakes he made. He should take the kid with him he thought, it will help with the cover-up.

He then said his goodbyes and went outside looking for Kaeso who he hoped would go to work today. He never knew he didn't know how his home situation was but the boy would occasionally miss a couple of day's work for no reason. This was why he was always fired from his jobs until he got the job he had now, the smith was a good friend of Felix and he had promised not to fire the boy if he missed a couple of day's work.

Felix waited ten minutes and with some luck saw Kaeso arrive right on time. He explained to Kaeso that he needed his help with something and Kaeso was glad to help. Felix made sure he understood that he could not talk to anyone about what he was going to see today and that if someone found out it could cost both of them their jobs or even their heads.

Felix took out a handkerchief that had some bread in it and handed it to Kaeso so he could eat something before they reached their destination. They had to walk for two hours before they reached the other side of the city and he knew for sure the boy had not eaten. Not every swimmer was treated the same way but a lot of them had a hard time growing up. Kaeso for example was a textbook example of someone who was neglected by his family and had to take care of himself. Felix felt bad for the boy but knew that there was always someone out there who had it worse. Purple for example was an extreme case.

He had met Purple in Rome six months before returned to Belgica at a slave auction. He had asked his master to help him buy two salved which turned out to be Purple and Maximus. It had taken a long time to learn more about him but the more he learned the more it shocked him. Purple told him how he was born into a noble family and how his mother had died giving birth to him. His grandfather named him Purple Piss which both represented his noble bloodline but also his status in life. There he was beaten and forced to do manual labor until he was old enough to be sold to the Ludus Magnus (1), there he and Maximus were both used as gladiators until their bodies had become so damaged that they couldn't fight anymore, at least not without using expensive medication which was worth more than the slaves themselves. So Felix had bought both of them for cheap and helped them not only recover but grow stronger than they ever could have imagined.

They reached the gate of the noble estate before noon and Felix could not help feel scared but also excited to see if his plan was going to work. He looked over at Kaeso and took his hand in his, and said, “You don't have to worry about anything little man. Just be yourself and let the talking to me oke?”

Felix took a second and got into character, he couldn't just walk over to them and talk to them like equals now could he, his head would be chopped off in a matter of seconds. He winked at Kaeso and walked towards the guard and said, “excuse me, sirs, I have a message for your lord.”

“Get lost,” The guard said not paying him any attention as the man looked like a bagger.

Felix started to shake a little as he took a small scroll out of his pocket and tried to hand it over to the guard who didn't feel like taking it from him. He composed himself and said, “please sir, they said that if I cant talk to your master today they will kill my family.”

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The guard hit the scroll out of his hand and told him to scram but was surprised as Felix quickly picked up the scroll and kneeled in front of him holding his right leg begging for his help. The other guard seeing this took out his sword to hit him but was stopped by the guard. Swimmers knew that touching others was a crime punishable by death and he knew the man was not a fool, he wouldn't have survived and had children if he was.

He reached out and took the scroll and wanted to open it before he saw the blue mark of the two keys on it and his hands froze. He knew a little about these people and knew he needed to deliver this to his master right this instant. He told them to wait here and went inside quickly to report.

Felix brushed off the dirt on his clothes and walked back to Kaeso who just stood there in shock. “Don't worry son, the Lord will help us,” Felix said as he hugged him and tried to console him. They waited another five minutes before the guard returned and told them to follow him and not to touch anything.

Felix followed the man and made sure to look around like he was looking at the inside of the heavenly palace. “What's that yellow stuff sir?” he asked as he stopped moving and looked at it with wonder in his eyes. The guard told him to keep moving and that it was a statue of Apollo made from gold. Felix could not help clap his hands together and said, “So that gold, I have never seen it before. Remember this day son, you may never get the chance again.”

The guards could not help feel smug and elite as they laughed at this poor full. They felt a deep pride as they worked for one of the most powerful noblemen in the whole of Aduatuci. They soon reached the entrance to their master's study, turned around, and said, “remember, only speak when you're asked and make sure not to offend the master. It could cost you your head.”

They headed inside and Felix bowed to greet the Lord and said, “greetings your majesty.”

“You can call me lord Tullus,” the lord said in a cold voice. Part of him did felt grand that there were people who thought that he lived like a king. He told the guards to leave them as he didn't fear being alone with these peasants at all and then asked Felix to explain who had given him the scroll.

“Well I was working on my rice field sir and this god came flying like the god Apollo himself and told me to come and see you and give you a message. He also told me that he would punish our whole village if I didn't. Please don't let that happen lord Tullus, the last time we made a god angry he cursed our lands for the next ten years. Only when we sacrificed a hundred pigs did they finally forgive us,” Felix said as he made a flying sign with his hands trying to sound like a country bumpkin.

“Then tell me,” Lord Tullus said not really in the mood to explain to this fool that everything he knew was wrong.

Felix quickly went into his pocket and took out a small ring and held it up to the lord and said, “They gave me this ring and told me to deliver it to you with a message. They told me to tell you that either you give them your ring or they will give you theirs.”

Lord Tullis held out his hand and Felix ran towards him and handed him the ring as he made a bow. The lord took the ring and instantly knew it was a storage ring and used his spirit force to look inside. What he found shocked him to the core. He tried to hide it but he couldn't stop his hand from shaking, this was simply too savage, even for him.

The lord took a couple of seconds to calm himself down and asked how these men wanted him to deliver the ring to them. Felix explained that they wanted him to give him the ring and that they would come back and collected it when the time was right. The lord nodded his head in agreement and took out a small storage ring that shined brightly and handed both rings to Felix. He didn't want to do it but he didn't have a choice. He wanted to preserve the legacy of his family but it was better to survive, besides, there was no chance of his house surviving with that bastard son of his anyway.

Felix took the rings back and looked at them in confusion and asked, “you sure lord Tullus? Your ring looks so much more expensive, I think the god is trying to hassle you.”

The lord not in the mood called in the guards and told them to take them away. The guards tried to remove them from the estate but Felix kept begging them for feed as they had not eaten in a while. The guards tried to kick them out but eventually gave in and fed them some simple bread and olive oil before they kicked them out. “May the gods protect you for helping us sir,” Felix said as he kept bowing and eventually left their estate with Kaeso by his side.

Felix quietly walked back for ten minutes before he stopped and looked up at the small building where Purple was standing. Purple nodded his head and quickly disappeared which was great news. This meant that they didn't follow him or that Purple had killed all of them. Felix stopped for a second and took a deep breath as he could not believe it had worked. He didn't want to do it but he had no other choice, he needed the ring. He turned around and looked at little Kaeso and said, “let's go home little man, the food is on me tonight.”

Kaeso looked at him and asked, “are you back to normal again big brother?”

Felix could not help smile and feel a little smug at how good an actor he was. He kneeled next to the boy put his hand on his head and said, “Yes I'm, sometimes, People like us need to be someone else to survive in this world. Do you understand?”

Kaeso nodded his head and asked, “what is that ring you gave him big brother?”

“Let's just say it's something I brought back from Rome to remind me why I'm doing this,” Felix said as he stood back up and touched the ring on his finger. He still reminded the day he arrived in Rome and watched those men collect the bodies, how he had never seen something like that before. He also made him feel good knowing the deaths of thousands had been useful to the cause that could one day help free their children and grandchildren.

1* The Ludus Magnus (also known as the Great Gladiatorial Training School) was the largest of the gladiatorial schools in Rome.