Gabriel just finished injecting mana into the last Steel Breastplate when he heard the voice of the startling assassin right behind.

“Good job boy! Here is your reward. I also will give you a key to my workshop. Until you get one of your own, feel free to come here anytime. You need a quiet place to work on Runes too.” [Manius] shouted ignoring his own advice.

Gabriel’s eyebrow twitched at the last part of [Manius] sentence. This smiling old man had snuck up on Gabriel three times to casually comment and almost making him blow up another Rune.

“I will also give you access to another Rune I just finished working on. It's only a basic rune so far. I based it upon that despicable witch's siphon ritual. I simply call it [Siphon] and if you combine it with [Absorption]. Then put it on a piece of armour or shield and you can absorb a little bit of mana from any spells that hit you.” [Manius] explained.

Gabriel accepted the little piece of paper from [Manius] and received a notification.

[Quest Completed! Picking up a Master’s slack]

Rewards:

⦁ 100 EXP for every Completed Steel Breastplate

⦁ New Basic Rune - [Siphon]

⦁ 10x Gold

“I am going to head back to the house now to check in on [Diana]. Make sure to come visit her when you can. Also, I am letting you know now that I will be asking some friends I know to investigate the [Baroness Mengrel]. I will have to mention about your help in the case, is that okay with you [Osiris]?”

[Quest received: Coven of the [Horned God] (Advanced) (Chained) Part I]

Task 1. Find out the location of the local Coven

Task 2. Find out their current plans

Task 3. Report to [Manius] or [Captain Brutus]

Bonus objective. Find evidence confirming [Baroness Mengrel] involvement with the [Horned God] coven.

Rewards:

⦁2000 EXP

⦁Depending on who you report to, you will either receive a profession specific item or a weapon up to [Rare] form the Imperial armoury

⦁If all objectives completed - [Unique] reward

“Of course [Manius]. Make sure you let me know if you find anything and I will do the same. We must root out that Coven as soon as possible before they hurt more people”. Gabriel said.

“You're damn right! I will be off now. Don’t forget to come to the house soon. I am sure [Diana] would want to thank you herself.” [Manius] said before leaving the workshop.

Gabriel left shortly after [Manius]. Ordering a carriage, he headed off to the Merchant District. Looking outside the carriage, Gabriel noticed a couple of players already walking around Roma. In at most two days every player who started on the launch day should be out of the Novice villages and swarming the main cities.

Gabriel realized that he was actually a lower level then all the players in Roma now, as he left early and hasn’t upgraded much. Due to working on his [Runesmith] profession, Gabriel decided he needed to get a move on and craft like there’s no tomorrow. The first City wide Auction will be in three days and he planned to suck all the rich players dry. Not forgetting Gabriel also had to head to the Legionnaire camp tomorrow at dawn.

Gabriel got off at the Merchant district. Along with the Temple district, it was the busiest place in all of Roma. There were people everywhere, Mercenaries escorting trade caravans, Rich Noble in their carriages, Hunters bringing in their skins, traders hawking their wares.

Gabriel was basically skipping with a grin on his face as he headed to a medium sized shop halfway up the main street. The sign above read ‘Draganov’s Armory’.

Entering through the door, it was set up like a normal weapons shop, with all sorts of weapons and armour in cases and hanging off the walls. Barrels of different types of arrows and throwing spears were lined up in front of the counter like a candy shop. Most weapon and armour shops in Roma were run by either humans or dwarves, this one was unique however as it was run by a hulking Northman.

Gabriel smiled ear to ear seeing this gigantic Northman. He was a spitting image of Gabriel’s character [Osiris] except he was bigger and badder in every way.

“What do you want little blood?” The giant Northman shopkeeper questioned.

“Hello Draganov! I need to buy some stuff in bulk. I hope you can give a young blood like me a nice price” Gabriel said with a smile.

Gabriel couldn’t keep the jovial tone out of his voice looking at the gruff Northman who helped him so much when he was solo running in the past. He knew though that it was a bit*h trying to raise your familiarity with this NPC. At that time Gab heard a voice that sounded like heaven to his ears.

[Passive skill – Smooth Talker has come into effect. [Draganov “The Vicious” LVL 110 – [Sea Reaver] familiarity is now [Friendly].

Gabriel was now visibly shaking. ‘Yeah baby!!’ he said to himself.

“I am sure I could do something for you ‘young blood’. What’s your name lad? And what do you need?” [Draganov] said with a friendly smile.

“The name is [Osiris] I have just recently become a [Runesmith] and would like to make some runed weapons and armour. I need the following” Gabriel explained his reasoning for coming to the shop.

Gabriel handed over the list that contained:

⦁ 5x Steel Breastplate

⦁ 5x Steel Greaves

⦁ 5x Norman Nasal helmet

⦁ 5x Steel Heater Shields

⦁ 5x Steel Long Sword

⦁ 5x Steel Daggers

⦁ 5x Steel Bearded one-handed Axes

⦁ 5x Steel Short Spear

⦁ 1x High-Steel long sword

⦁ 2x High-Steel Kite shield

[Draganov] raised his eyebrows at the list Gabriel handed him.

“You know this will cost a pretty penny. I like you boy but you’re sure you’ve got the gold for this?” [Draganov] asked.

“Don't worry I definitely have the gold; the real question is do you have the gear?” Gabriel replied with a cheeky smile.

[Draganov] scoffed at Gabriel and went in the back.

Gabriel really couldn’t get the grin off his face, while his eyes roved around at the random assortment of weapons and Armour around the shop. Some were [Rare] exquisite pieces and others were complete trash. One sword with a ridiculous price tag looked about one swing away from snapping in half. A loud slam of a crate hitting the counter made Gabriel turn around.

“Here you go boy. All of excellent quality and I chucked in one extra High-steel long sword in for you free of charge. The total comes to 230 Gold. I will give you a discount of 10% which brings the total to 207 Gold” [Draganov] said while gesturing to the crate.

A trade window appeared in front of Gabriel and he clicked Transfer. He now only had 16 Gold left which put a frown on his face for only a moment.

“By the way young blood, you're now a V.I.P. If you have any hot items that you need to get rid of quick, come visit me, okay?” [Dragonov] said with a toothy smile.

The reason for there being such a wide range of gear in the shop, was all in [Draganov]’s class [Sea Reaver]. They were better known as Northman Pirates. They usually raided coastal towns on their long ships. [Draganov] ran the shop for his Reaver crew that sold all their stolen gear. Gaining [Friendly] status with [Draganov] then gave you access to sell your stolen items to him.

“Thanks [Draganov]! I am sure you will be seeing plenty of me in the future” Gabriel declared as he walked out of the shop.

Gabriel ran down the Merchant district, like he had the “golden ticket” and jumped into a carriage heading straight back to [Manius] workshop.

Once entering the workshop. Gabriel checked his levels before he started.

[Osiris – LVL 7 Medjay – 8500/16000 EXP to next level]

[Novice Runesmith] – LVL 2 –500/1000 EXP to next level]

Gabriel needed to get to LVL 10 in his profession before he could advance to [Apprentice Runesmith] and unlock more Runes.

As he was working with mainly items made of Steel, they could only handle 2x Basic Runes worth of mana.

Gabriel got to work, he put [Lightweight] and [Toughness] runes on the Steel armour pieces. Making them have next to no weight and doubling the durability. The shields were given [Toughness] and [Absorption] which absorbed up to 20 DMG extra. Steel weapons all had [Armor penetration] which gave a 45% chance to ignore armour. Making them all (Uncommon) weapons which was great at this stage in the game.

Gabriel then used the combined Runes of [Siphon] and [Absorption] on the High-Steel Heater Shields. The High-steel long sword had [Armor Penetration] and [Siphon]. Turning them into [Rare].

Gabriel was rewarded with 50 EXP for every successful Basic Rune. Raising his [Runesmith] Level by 1 and over halfway to Level 4.

Checking the time Gabriel's eyes widened as he realized he had been Engraving for the last 6 hours (GT). He needed some real rest. After going back to the Inn and logging off, he got out of the capsule and went straight to bed.

Gabriel was woken up by his alarm and grabbed a quick bite before jumping back in the capsule.

It was 5am (GT). Gabriel left the Inn with a spring in his step. Gabriel may not have realized it but ever since getting a second chance, he started to radiate a confident and carefree gait. Like he had the world in the palm of his hand.

Gabriel caught a Gondola towards the entrance of the Legionnaire district. It was only one of two places that was walled off from the general public in Roma, the other being the Imperial Palace.

Gabriel walked up to the two stone faced guards.

“I am here for the Legionnaire recruitment” Gabriel announced.

“Very well. Head straight through here and walk for two blocks and you will see the other recruits in the Parade Ground. Do not stray off the main road, if we catch you snooping around the other areas, you will suffer a serious punishment. You have to also hand over all weapons and armour, you can collect them on your way out from the Guard post” One of the guards explained.

Gabriel made his way in after he handed over his Amror and weapons.

Shortly arriving at the Parade Ground. There was a couple of lines of young men heading towards a large tent in an orderly fashion. after a short time lining up, Gabriel arrived in front of a small table with a couple of Legionnaire's processing people and handing out gear to them.

"State your name, Level and what type your class is, Melee, Ranged and or Mana user" An older Legionnaire asked while looking down at his papers.

"Yes sir! [Osiris] LVL 7. Melee based class" Gabriel reported.

Living with Kristof, Gabriel learnt how to respond to military command and to show them the proper amount of respect.

The Legionnaire looked up from writing down Gabriel's information and gave him a discerning look.

"Good response recruit. Keep up the attitude and you will go far. Now take your gear and move over to my left. Over at the fighting rings, find a Legionnaire in a purple cape. His name is [Sergeant Titus] he will be continuing your assessment from here and putting you into your squads" The Legionnaire said.

"Yes Sir" Gabriel responded.

Gabriel saluted with an arm across his chest. Before taking the gear and inspecting them.

[Steel Segmented Armour (Uncommon) - Req. Strength 20]

⦁ Armour value 85

⦁ Includes Breastplate with shoulder pads, Arm guards and red cape.

⦁ Special effect: +2 Strength. +2 Endurance

[Steel Gladius (Short sword) (Uncommon) - Req. Strength 15]

⦁ Damage 30-45

⦁ Special effects: 15% chance to inflict [Bleed] - Stackable 0/5

[Steel Scutum Shield (Greatshield) (Uncommon) - Req. - Strength/Endurance 20]

⦁Block value 30-60

⦁Special effects: 45% chance to ignore status effect [Stun] or [Knockback]

The gear came with a pair of hardened leather saddles and dark maroon full body tunic. Gabriel equipped everything and shortly arrived in front of a muscular Dwarf with a magnificent red beaded beard and a flowing purple cape.

"Recruit [Osiris] reporting for assessment sir!" Gabriel said.

"At ease recruit. Now line up there and wait for the rest of the recruits" The bearded Dwarf replied.

It took 15 minutes before all Melee based recruits were lined up. There were 30 recruits all NPCs, except for one. Gabriel could tell the difference straight away as most of the NPCs had a look of determination or nervousness on their face. The one guy near the end of the line, stood out as his eyes were darting over everything with an excited gleam in his eye. He was of an average height, with a hooked nose and short orange curly hair.

"My name is [Sergeant Titus] Now you have all joined the great Imperium Army for different reasons. Some searching for glory, money, adventure or even a safe harbour. There is one thing you must all hold above any of your personal reasons and that is to defend the Imperium Empire and its glorious Emperor with all of your might! Understood recruits!?" [Sergeant Titus] roared.

Besides Gabriel and the hook-nosed player who answered with a "yes sir" everyone else answered with a mix of "yeah", "yes", "okay" and silence.

[Sergeant Titus] stared down all the recruits with the lame replies.

"I said Understood Recruits!!??" [Sergeant Titus] roared again.

"SIR, YES SIR!!" The recruits finally all replied together.

With a nod at the acceptable response. [Sergeant Brutus] paired everyone off and sent them into the fighting rings. Which were just a hardened earth area with a rope circle marking the boundaries.

[Quest received! The Imperium wants you! - (Basic) (Chained)]

Task 1. Complete assessment and join the Imperium army

Rewards:

⦁ x1 Gold

⦁ Sub-profession [Novice Legionnaire]

⦁ 500 EXP

Gabriel was paired up with a young dwarven recruit, who held his sword so tight you his knuckles turned white.

"Now you will fight to take down your opponent, you are not allowed to deliberately mortally wound your opponent however don't hold back too much either. We have priests stationed who can heal most injuries. Just don't cut each other's head off. Now.... Begin" [Sergeant Titus] explained what they will be doing next.

Gabriel's opponent charged him, leaving many openings, it was hard for him to choose. He decided to not be too rough. Not because he was a softy but because he was aiming for Squad Leader and harming your potential squad members early on would lead to disaster.

The recruit made a stiff overhead swing with his shield pointing to his side. Leaving his chest wide open. Gabriel flicked his gladius, deflecting his opponent's sword wide effortlessly, performing a lighting quick thrust straight at the Dwarf's throat and stopping just before contact. The dwarf froze with a wild-eyed look at the blade's point against his throat. Gabriel retracted his blade.

"Relax the grip on your sword; It'll make it easier to displace the force of a parry also will keep your shield tight to your body and pointing closer to your opponent so you have the chance to deflect a follow up attack like just now." Gabriel explained.

The Dwarf visibly relaxed after listening to Gabriel's instructions and tried to follow what he just told him. [Sergeant Titus] was watching from the side nodding his head at Gabriel's instructions.

Gabriel continued to instruct the dwarf until they had to switch partners. Continuing this for the next 4 partners before the Hook-nosed Player entered his ring.

"Hi! My name is [Maximus], you're a player too, right? You have some amazing skills. What's your name?" [Maximus] excitedly said.

[Maximus] has a naïve smile on his face and had an air of a starry eyed optimist on him. Gabriel decided to tell him his name as he was bound to find out soon.

"The name is [Osiris]. Nice to meet you" Gabriel introduced himself.

"Oh Oh. The [Osiris]!? You're the guy who broke out of the Novice Village. You're awesome! I, like many, thought it was a fluke but after watching you fight you are clearly very skilled. I have always loved Roman history to the point of obsession. Once I heard D.O had an empire based on the Roman Empire, I grinded like the devil was on my tail and have just reached here today. Luckily the Assessments for new recruits has started today or else I would have had to waste a week. Isn't this place amazing, it is exactly like ancient Rome I have seen in photos and books" [Maximus] exclaimed.

[Maximus] seemed to not care too much about anything else besides Roman history. He rambled on until Gabriel raised his hand to stop him.

"We better get to fighting or else we might fail the assessment" Gabriel said to halt the deluge of questions from [Maximus].

That seemed to snap him out of his rambling. [Maximus] held the Gladius and the Scutum shield like a professional. He has clearly practiced with these weapons. Given his obsession with Roman history it shouldn't be surprising.

They swapped a couple of quick exchanges with neither landing a hit. Gabriel realized that [Maximus] had good technique but lacked fighting experience. Gabriel started to put in a little more effort and had him beat in a couple more exchanges. Gabriel began to instruct him just like the others before.

"You have good technique and know how to wield the shield and sword. What you lack is situational awareness. You are focusing too much on my sword, if I chose to do a feint in the last exchange and changed to a shield bash you would have been knocked on your feet after the one move. Don't rush it though, it takes time." Gabriel instructed.

As Gabriel was just finished telling [Maximus] some tips and tricks. [Sergeant Titus] called all recruits back to attention. Some of the recruits were carrying bruises and cuts and a couple were missing. They were off getting healed by the priests.

"Now besides two recruits who have already been sent away, you have all passed this assessment. I believe all of you still require a lot more training, but the Imperium believe in real life and death fights is the best training to mould you into Legionnaires quickly. Now I will announce two people who will be squad captains. They will be leading their squads on separate missions. On the mission you must obey all their orders as if they came from the emperor himself. Obeying the chain of command in the Imperium Army is a must. Now when I call your name step forwards and receive your missions before I split the remaining recruits into your squads." [Sergeant Titus] explained.

"[Maximus]" [Sergeant Titus] called.

[Maximus] stepped forwards and accepted the mission off [Sergeant Titus] before he returned to line.

"[Osiris]" [Sergeant Titus] called.

Gabriel also went over and saluted [Titus] before he received two notifications.

[Quest completed! The Imperium wants you! - (Basic) (Chained)]

Task 1. Complete assessment and join the Imperium army

Task 2. Bonus objective: Become squad captain

Rewards:

⦁ x1 Gold

⦁ Sub-profession [Novice Legionnaire]

⦁ 500 EXP

⦁ Bonus reward: 1000 EXP

[New Quest received! The Imperium wants you! Part II (Advanced) (Chained)]

Task 1. Clear out Goblin encampment - 0/50

Task 2. Slay Goblin Chieftain - 0/1

Task 3. Must have 50% of squad survive - 13/13

Rewards:

⦁ x5 Gold

⦁ Sub-profession promotion: [Legionaries Squad Captain]

⦁ 1000 EXP

⦁ High-Steel Segmented Armour (Rare)