I’m not logged out? I didn’t die? Am I unconscious? What’s that down in the corner? A timer? First piece of HUD I’ve seen so far. Oh… two days, fourteen hours. Guess that’s when I’ll wake up. Dammit, so much lost time!
Valeriano got out from the capsule. The Gaming Gel™ gently pushed him out, making both getting in and out a breeze. Valeriano sat down at the computer, checking for any news. Unsurprisingly, nothing important had happened. What to do now?
Valeriano spun around in the computer chair, thinking about what to do. This unexpected event completely messed with his plans to stay logged in for the entire day. Valeriano caught a glimpse of dust bunnies in the corner. Normally, he would have ignored them, like always, but after spending an entire day in-game cleaning, something awoke inside him.
Valeriano got up and brought their robot vacuum droid-thing to his room. A flat circular robot that moved around on its own, sucking up all the dirt and dust.
Now, how to start it? “Robot, activate cleaning program!”
“Error! Only Bell may order me around.” The robot unexpectedly denied him access.
Valeriano frowned, and snapped back. “I’m Valeriano, Bell’s master! Do as I say!”
“Voice recognition confirmed. Activating cleaning program!” The robot beeped and blinked, turning on.
Valeriano watched it zoom around in the room. A faint smile spread over his lips. This thing was quite fun to watch!
“Never seen it clean before, heh heh. Bell always does it when we are online or away. Now, while it cleans the floors, I should clean the shelves and desk. Hmm, but with what?” Valeriano went to the bathroom, looking for cleaning items.
“Ah, this brush seems good. Long and sturdy, with a big brush head. Wonder why it’s beside the toilet though… oh well, what do I know?”
While Valeriano cleaned his room, Bell received a message on her smartphone, alerting her about the usage of the robot vacuum, that her authority got overwritten. She rushed to the scene.
“Wh-what is going on?! What are you doing?!” Bell said in a frantic voice.
“Bell? Uh, just some cleaning?” Valeriano stopped scrubbing, seeing the odd expression on their, always so kind, maid.
“I’m the maid! That’s my job!” Bell exclaimed. If you two learned to clean, what would you need me for?!
“Sorry...only wanted to try… Look! Cleaned these shelves, and figured out how the robot worked.” Valeriano said proudly. Just as he was about to return to his scrubbing, Bell shouted out.
“Stop! Stop! You, you’re doing it wrong!” Bell ran up to Valeriano, grabbing his arm.
“Wrong? You can clean wrong?” Valeriano said, eyebrows raised and his heart filled with surprise. Had no idea cleaning was such a complex matter!
“Yes! Clearly! You’re using a toilet brush to clean! Give me that!” Bell snatched the toilet brush from Valeriano’s hand.
“Uwah! That’s what this is?! Had no idea.” Valeriano wiped his hand on the black tank top he wore.
“Well, luckily, I change them after every use, but still. Just leave the cleaning for me, deal?” Bell said.
“Sure... just did some cleaning in-game, and kinda enjoyed it, so wanted to try IRL. Who knew it was so hard!” Valeriano said with a sigh.
“You cleaned in your game? How? Why?” Bell asked, a bit confused. Cleaning was not something one did for fun...in her opinion.
“Oh, it’s a long story…” Valeriano told her about his experiences in the game.
After hearing the full story, Bell’s eyes went wide with amazement. “Wow… sounds really cool! Does it really look like ancient Rome? Always wanted to go there…”
“Yep!” Valeriano smiled a bit mysterious. “Hey, you never played a VR game before?” Valeriano asked.
“No, always busy, and well…” Bell paused, looking down on her maid outfit. “They cost a lot.”
“Heh heh, I’ll order one right now.” Valeriano moved towards the computer.
“B-but!” Bell tried to stop him. Her efforts looked somewhat half-heartedly, though.
Valeriano waved off her concerns. “Don’t worry, you get it for free!”
“Th-thank you, young master!” Bell bowed deeply, her heart filled with a sense of gratefulness.
“No need for such words. Now, let’s go and get something to eat. Just got knocked out, so got plenty of time to kill.”
Bell whipped him up something to eat, and Valeriano ate his food slowly. While he ate, he thought of how to improve his fighting style. Most VR games he played had automatic skills and movements, or made the body super strong, to help the beginners. This game did neither.
To calm down from his loss, he decided to play some non-VR stuff. Just controlling a normal character with keypresses or mind control.
He did that for several hours, until he finally beat the game he played.
George suddenly popped in. “Hey, son! Heard you got your ass handed to you? Heh heh, what a blunder!” The smiling George said.
“Shut up! Was just a training accident.” Valeriano said, a bit grumpy. Dad came to gloat? Just perfect...
“Heh heh, just expanded my Territory to reach the nearby forest. Can finally get a steady supply of wood. First settled near a hill, that I suspect can be turned into a mine, after I get someone to examine it more closely. Whew, got a bit worried, importing wood would be disastrous for my budget. The price is skyrocketing, since everyone wants it. Had to make my Territory really thin and narrow, but now the worst should be over. You got your village yet?” George asked.
“No, still in Rome. Doing some combat training now. Don’t worry, our duel is not over yet.” Valeriano met his father’s gaze with narrowed eyes.
“Tsk tsk, told you to take your martial arts lessons seriously. Now look at you? Getting owned in basic training. I also did the training, but finished it within the hour. Rule 16: Always do your preparations! You never know when something will come in handy, but frankly, when would martial arts not come in handy?”
Valeriano broke eye contact, looking down, saying some half-hearted excuses. “Well, you kept pushing it on me, and I mainly played FPS games back then…”
“Well, you’re still young... Anyway, gonna take a quick nap and eat something.” George said and left.
Valeriano sat in his chair, thinking deeply. Damn, was really stupid and lazy back then. Should pick it back up later…
After that, he took a shower. He calculated the remaining time until he would wake up in-game, setting a timer, and finally getting into bed, taking a nap.
---
Suddenly, his entire bed vibrated! His alarm did not make a sound, it instead shook the entire bed, making Valeriano think an earthquake happened. The best way to get out of bed quickly!
Valeriano yawned, and got ready for spending, at least, twenty-four hours online without stopping.
Valeriano logged back in and found himself in a bed. A small room, with a small desk by the bed, and a simple wooden chair in the corner. Nothing special or noteworthy, except for the iron bars in the window.
Someone carried me here? Or did I spawn in? Normally, I return to the same spot I logged out in.
“Urgh!” An enormous amount of pain suddenly struck Valerian’s head and neck, as he tried to look around. They thumped with an intensive pain, that made Valerian guess this was how the sword felt as the blacksmith hammered it into shape.
Valerian did slow and controlled breathing exercises, trying to think about other things. With a moderate degree of success. After about five minutes of this intensive and mind numbing pain, the door opened, and a middle-aged, dark-haired woman, wearing white, came in.
She said something about getting the doctor. That was about all the details Valerian could take in.
The doctor arrived shortly after. By this point, the pain had lessened a bit, and Valerian could wipe his teary eyes, regaining some of his sight.
The doctor wore a green toga, and his hair had reached the final stages of balding.
“You're awake, good. Was getting worried. You took quite the hit during training. If it hadn't been training weapons, you would’ve died for sure. Do you remember what happened?”
“Ah, yes. Stumbled and fell into a shield bash.” Valerian received no ill effects from the virtual damage, except pain, so his memory was just fine.
“Mm, that’s what they told me.” The doctor scribbled some stuff down in a journal. “The Centurion supervising the training there, ordered some men to carry you here immediately. You should thank him, if you meet again. Ah, right, he must have went through the portal by now, so you probably won’t. How many fingers am I holding up?” The doctor said.
“... Four? And what do you mean by: I won't meet him again?”
“Correct.” The doctor then moved closer, forcefully spreading Valerian’s eyelids apart, taking a close look into the eyes. Satisfied, he then asked Valerian to follow his finger, while he moved it in different directions.
“Okay, you don’t seem to have any obvious brain damage.” The doctor scribbled down some more notes. “Do you have any pain, or other discomforts?”
“My head and neck was killing me, though, it’s a bit better now.” Valerian said, moving his hand up towards his head. He did not feel hair, nor metal. Some kind of fabric. Valerian pulled the fabric lightly.
“Hm, guess that’s normal after headbutting a shield bash. Ah, don’t mess with the bandage. You might not be fully healed yet.” The doctor gently stopped Valerian’s hand from unwrapping the bandage.
“If you want, you can stay here a few more days for observation, and maybe get some morphine if it gets really bad? If the pain doesn’t go away, we can try some Trepanation. Always does the trick.” The doctor smiled, rubbing his hands.
“Uh, what is Trepanation again?” Valerian did not like the look in the doctor’s eyes.
“Oh, it’s a simple and ingenious surgery. We take a drill, make a hole in your skull, relieving you of the painful pressure that built up inside. Haha, just wait right there, I’ll bring the drill right over!” The doctor was just about to rush out, when Valerian reacted.
“Ah no! No need! Heh heh, I’m sure the pain will pass. Already feel much better after your examination. So, can I leave now?” Valerian said, internally wiping his brow.
“If you feel well enough, go ahead. Can’t really stop you.” The doctor said, a bit disappointed he did not get to use his favorite technique. Oh well, another patient complained about tooth ache, he probably won’t mind trying some Trepanation!
Valerian climbed out of the bed, his legs unsteady, but he managed to take a few steps. He stopped by the door, remembering something.
“Oh right, you never answered, why can’t I just meet him on the other side?” Valerian asked, not that he had any intention of doing so, but the way the doctor said it, made Valerian curious.
“Well, you’ve been here almost three days now. Everyday a Centurion leads his eighty men through the portal to patrol the villages. The Legionaries must do some final tests in the training hall before they leave. Don’t want to accidentally take any rookies to the New World.” The doctor chuckled a bit, probably thinking back on all those rookies that got injuries, and he had to treat. Valerian was a shining example of a rookie. Headbutting a shield bash, what would they think of next?
The doctor cleared his throat and continued. “Not sure if you know this, but recently the amount of villages in the New World exploded in numbers. And what’s worse, some of them fight amongst themselves! Romans killing Romans! So, the Centurion, and his men, walk around, spending a night or two at a village, before moving on. If they spot any threats, or actions that they deem to be against the will of the Emperor, they will strike down the enemies with the full might of the Roman Empire behind them!” A patriotic fire burned in the doctor’s eyes, as he spoke with a clenched fist.
“However, only the Centurion himself knows the route they are taking, so finding a specific patrolling unit is next to impossible.” The doctor calmed down and said.
Huh, interesting. Some kind of PvP protection? Though, the patrols seem to be randomized. Makes sense to restore order, at least, from the Empire’s point of view. They don’t gain anything by users killing each other.
Valerian thanked the doctor for the treatment, and the useful information, and slowly made his way out from the hospital.
Finally back in business! Time to find some of those hidden treasures.
Valerian brought out the notes, and after sorting them, he picked the closest one. After a bit of searching, he seemed to have found the first target. The bandage got placed into the inventory at some point. He stood out in the crowd, skulking around with a wrapped head simply attracted too much attention.
“This is it, I think…? Third brick from the ground, on the warehouse in front of the great tree.” Valerian mumbled to himself, scratching his head.
Kinda vague… There are several ‘third bricks’, but probably only one loose.
Valerian started his search. He took a small stone and tapped each ‘third brick’, looking for any movements. It took a while, but he finally found one suspicious. Getting the brick out was even harder, but with the help of a thin stick, the stone, and his trustworthy fingers, he managed to free the brick from its prison.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“It’s… something in it!” Valerian exclaimed.
Valerian quickly looked around, making sure no one saw him doing this suspicious activity. Thankfully, the whole area was completely deserted, and the warehouse built out of sight. Probably, why the person picked this spot in the first place.
Satisfied, Valerian took out the item. The hollow brick contained a small brown bag. Valerian fished the bag out, clenching it gently. Yep, this feels like a treasure!
Valerian slowly opened the bag, and saw two things inside. He took them out one by one. First, a golden snake ring, made of gold, with no gems. Second, another snake item, but this time a golden bracelet that coiled five times around the arm, with green emeralds as eyes. Both were masterly crafted handiworks, with details like each individual scale carved in, and the ring snake had it’s tongue out.
Probably worth a lot.
A small problem remained; they might be stolen goods! Why else would they be hidden inside a brick?
Valerian returned them to the bag, which he put inside his inventory. Heh heh, if the one that hid these knew of my inventory, he would be so angry and jealous.
Valerian continued on with the treasure hunt. A thumb-sized, uncut diamond inside a hole in a tree, three more rings under a loose stair step, an actual bag of denarii buried under another tree’s roots, and so on. However, not everything was a hit. Twelve of the locations were empty. Or maybe Valerian just went to the wrong place? Impossible to know.
Thanks to the inventory system he could avoid looking like a thief. The inventory was the same size as his body, if one removed all bones, organs, blood and so on. He did not have to play the 'loot-Tetris', that was common in loot-heavy games, because all items automatically sorted themselves into their optimal position. Naturally, nothing larger than himself could be stored. So, no surprise siege equipment plopping up outside the walls during a siege.
Now, how do I turn this into money?
Except the money bag, that contained enough money to feed him bread for a lifetime, the others were useless to him. Unless he wanted to wear them all, and get robbed the instant he entered a dark alleyway.
Go to some auction, hope I get lucky, or sell it directly to some jewelry store?
Valerian decided to visit a store, sell off some of the more common looking things. He asked a few rich looking people, each wearing a fancy toga, if they knew any good stores willing to buy jewelry.
However, the ones they suggested did not want to buy the suspicious goods. The shops gave Valerian an estimate on the value, though. The last one of the suggested shopkeepers had a friend that dealt with the more shadier side of trade. Located smack center of the slum area, close to where Valerian started.
“This one, huh.” Valerian said. He looked over his shoulders, checking if anyone watched him. Valerian was no expert spy, and everything around him was new and unknown, so he could not have detected them if that was the case, but it felt appropriate, especially considering the shady business deal he was about to take part of.
Valerian entered the shop, that looked more like a normal house, than a place where people traded. A slightly overweight old man, wearing a red toga, stood behind a waist-high wall of, what looked like, crates, the only furniture on the floor. The old man examined a piece of jewelry, and failed to notice the newcomer. The shelves inside the shop did not have any wares on them. The whole thing looked very weird. Most people would not look twice at it, assuming it was just an empty building.
Valerian tapped his feet on the wooden floor. The sound alerted the old man of his presence, and the piece of jewelry quickly slid down into a pocket.
“Ah, where did you come from? Haha! Must be getting old! Anyway, what can I do for you?” The old man straightened himself out, looking like a nice and honest citizen.
“Got some jewelry I… inherited. Was wondering how much it’s worth.” Valerian walked up to the crate wall and took out a few items.
The old man’s eyebrows jumped up in surprise, but he quickly returned to normal. He stroked his chin, thinking for a bit.
Valerian thought to himself: He probably thinks I’m desperate, willing to accept a deal far below market value. There’s some truth in that, though.
The old man took out a balance scale, weighing each item. Satisfied, he then took out some kind of magnifying glass item, and begun to closely examine them one by one.
“Hm... Yes, this is quite the find you...inherited.” The old man said, once again stroking his non-existent beard, pretending to think hard about what to offer. “Good quality and nice details. How about... three thousand denarii for all?” The shopkeeper said, a professional smile on his face.
The other shops had estimated the jewelry’s value to be around eight to ten thousand denarii.
Valerian frowned at the lowballing offer. “Hey, are you trying to scam me, old man? This is worth, at least, three times that much!”
“Me? Scamming? Absolutely not!” The shopkeeper grabbed his stomach and chuckled. His laughing stopped abruptly, his face changed into one full of seriousness. He looked around in the room, making sure they were alone. Then he leant forward, and spoke in a low voice. “However, the risk of selling these items are quite high, so I have to lower your price. After all, you have clearly stolen them!” The shopkeeper said, as he looked at Valerian’s simple, and a bit dirty, clothing, devoid of any decorative items.
Valerian got a bit taken back by the response. This shopkeeper was smarter than he looked! Valerian took a few seconds to think up a good reply. “Hmph, judging people by their clothes!” Valerian snorted with some amusement and slowly shook his head.
“Tsk tsk, if I had walked into this area, wearing my usual fancy clothes, you think I would’ve left with them still attached to my body? No. Considering the nature of this sale, I also came alone, not taking my usual guards with me. I did not steal them!” Valerian said, radiating an aura of wealth and that of a spoiled and rich senator’s kid. Valerian was not aware he gave off that impression, since that was his true, in real life, nature.
“Well…” The shopkeeper scratched his head, a bit surprised over the sudden speech. He was also no longer sure about his first instincts, even though their accuracy was enough to shock the vast majority of people. Risk offending this, potentially rich, person, over a minor profit? Every time!
The shopkeeper cleared his throat, resetting his facial expression back to his usual shopkeeper face. “It hardly matters to me, now does it? But, I’ll be nice, and give you thirty-five silver denarii for them. Final offer. Take it or leave it.” He crossed his arms over the chest and took a step back, carefully observing Valerian’s reaction.
“You drive a hard bargain, but it’s better than nothing… I guess.” Valerian was not really upset about it. His acting classes had once again paid off, increasing the sales price with five hundred.
Three thousand five hundred denarii may not sound like a lot, but just that made him one of the richest users in the game, with just a few hours of work. Well, that only took in account for the money on hand. The ones that invested heavily into their villages could technically sell of some stuff and get even richer.
But most importantly, he still had the really valuable items left. Like the bag of denarii! Valerian had not carefully counted them yet, but he was sure no one else could rival him in wealth. For now.
Valerian finished the deal, accepting the thirty-five silver denarii, and left the shop.
With some spending money acquired, Valerian now turned towards the shopping streets. He headed back to the richer areas, the shops he browsed in before. His aim? A nice clothing shop.
The old shopkeeper gave me an unimpressed look, and looked down on me, thanks to my...rudimentary clothes, and he was only a simple shopkeeper. No, even worse; he dealt with stolen goods and other illegal things! If I tell people about my plans to become a village Governor, dressed like a beggar, they will think I’m crazy!
Valerian entered a suitable store and began to browse.
“Ah, Mister Customer! What can I do for you, this wonderful day?” The clerk did not leave Valerian to browse alone, immediately offering his help.
Valerian liked to shop alone...undisturbed, but this time, some help might be a good idea. “I want some normal clothes, nothing fancy. Durable, but also not the type the peasants wear.”
“Excellent choice, Mister Customer! Come here, we got some fine tunics.” The clerk picked up a white tunic. “This is a normal wool tunic, durable, but also great quality. Will last you a long time. Each cost you only a hundred denarii!”
“Ugh, call me Valerian if you must. Sure, those look better than mine. I’ll take three. Now, I want some pants... got any?”
“Pants you say… you mean like these braccae? Hm, a barbaric piece of clothing, but I guess it has some uses.” The clerk said, clearly a bit disappointed in Valerian’s taste.
“Barbaric? How so?” Valerian asked.
“Well, some of my best friends are from Gaul, but I’m just saying, they are still quite barbaric, even after being conquered by us. Real Romans use the tunic and toga! Maybe you want some leg wrappings instead?”
“Hm, I see. No, I’ll take two pairs.” Valerian said with a smile, not letting the clerk’s narrow minded view stop him from getting some pants.
“Oh. Sure. They are hundred-fifty denarii each. Anything else?” The clerk gathered all the clothes Valerian bought in a bag.
“Hm. Need a belt. Another pair of shoes, perhaps something more suitable for the cold? Some socks. A dark green cloak, with a brooch to fasten it, if you got any of those.” Valerian said.
The clerk lit up, so many orders at once! This customer would be a profitable one! “Yes! Follow me!”
Valerian bought a plain leather belt. A pair of proper winter boots with fur to keep the cold out. Four pair of socks. He also got a nice brooch to go with his dark green cloak, which also came with a hood.
“So, Mister Valerian, you keep picking these winter items? You going up north? You in the army?” The clerk asked, wanting to get to know this big spender a bit more.
“Through the portal. Who knows what kind of weather they got over there.”
“Oh! The New World! Wow! Wish I can go there one day. Imagine having a clothing store on the center street in New Rome!” The clerk looked up into the distance, falling into a daydream.
The store the clerk worked in was not exactly the top of the line quality, and a bit from the most expensive streets, but still, it was inside Rome. For the Romans, Rome was city number one in fashion and art, and only New Rome could threaten its reign as the greatest city under the heavens. However, unlike Rome, New Rome grew with an unprecedented speed, meaning unlimited potential for any new business.
Valerian waited for a few seconds, before he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I wanted one more thing…”
“Ah! Yes, what would that be?” The clerk said, looking a bit embarrassed.
“A toga. Not sure how they work, but maybe you can…”
“Oh! Of course, let me help you with that!”
The clerk happily spent the next few dozen minutes going over various kinds of togas and how to wear them. Valerian also got to try several. In short, a pain to both put on and wear. The clerk called in slaves to help out.
In the end, Valerian decided on a simple white toga. He did not really plan on wearing it, but incase he got some fancy NPC visitor, it would be embarrassing to not have one.
“So, the total is…three thousand four hundred denarii!”
“Heh heh!” Valerian laughed to himself, as he handed over thirty-four silver denarii.
“What’s so funny?” The clerk asked, while he, as casually as possible to not offend the customer, counted the coins.
“Just sold some things before I got here, and only got one silver denarius left now.” Valerian said. He, of course, still had the bag of money, making him the richest user in the game.
Valerian accepted the bag with the clothes in, and left the store.
“Welcome again!” The clerk waved goodbye.
Valerian entered a nearby alleyway, and placed everything in his inventory, except for the belt and pants, which he already put on inside the store, after finishing the toga ordeal.
Not used to running around with bare legs. Well, except for when I’m home...where I’m always doing just that… Hm. What I meant is, not used to run around with bare legs in public!
Valerian decided to return to the training hall, finishing up the basic training. He also wanted to practise with the pila.
When Valerian got there, he changed into the training gear again. The same guy sat at the front, but this time, Valerian did not need his help. The training grounds looked the same as last time; soldiers trained and a few users practised the sword.
Valerian spoke shortly with the Centurion, but he told Valerian to just keep practising with the sword.
Maybe I need to win a few spars, before I’m worthy to continue?