Septimus sat in a wooden chair, doing calculations on a Roman abacus and writing Arabic numerals that were difficult for the middle-aged Greek slave standing beside him to understand.
Septimus put down the abacus and frowned, rubbing his temple. After confirming that he was not dreaming, he sighed.
It was the second week after his transmigration. He had previously been a 37-year-old history teacher. After going on vacation to Italy and visiting some ancient tourist hot springs, he died unexpectedly after tripping and hitting his head, transmigrating into the body of a 16-year-old boy named Septimus Novius.
He was a Roman citizen with a small bakery in ancient Rome. He currently had a father named Publius who spent all day in brothels or taverns.
Septimus was terribly confused about his future in this era. As a history teacher, he knew how turbulent the Roman Republican period was.
The bakery his family ran in Capua had three slaves and an income of between 150 and 200 denarii with 105 denarii in expenses per month, barely surviving.
On the other hand, Septimus also thought about his father, a hopeless drunk who only showed up every now and then to ask for money.
Luckily, Septimus transmigrated with a skill, which he plans to try out after this long week.
Septimus gathered the three slaves from the bakery and ordered them to go to bed early.
Septimus' father's bakery served as both a bakery and the family home.
The slaves were surprised by their young master's change in personality during that week. In ancient Rome, the slaves of ordinary citizens were very close to them and were often considered part of the family, unlike the slaves of the elite or nobles.
Previously, although young Septimus was introverted, the slaves had still seen him grow up and knew his personality. Now this young master was very different, like a stranger in their eyes, which caused some panic among the three slaves.
If this young master did not look exactly like the one they remembered, they would think he was someone else.
Septimus locked himself in his small room and began to take off his clothes. He had a vague feeling about his ability. If it was just his imagination, he had nothing to lose by trying, but inside he wanted to believe that he really had an ability that would help him survive these chaotic times.
After taking off his clothes, Septimus felt part of him detach in a state of mind that was difficult to understand. He could see himself in the third person and, with a thought, touch every part of his body.
While Septimus was in this state, he realized that he could only make changes by feeling his face, so he began to try to model a face close to that of his previous life.
After 30 minutes, feeling satisfied, Septimus, increasingly tired, came out of this state of lethargy and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next day, Septimus felt different, finding the other Septimus he had modeled the face next to him.
Ultimately, this was his ability, similar to mitosis: every time his body gathered enough cell mass, he could generate a person identical to himself, with the advantage of being able to change the face of his clone.
"Hahaha, with this ability, the sky's the limit,"
Septimus said with a smile as he looked at his other self.
He could feel, observe, and think with his other clone.
They were one.
"I can accumulate enough cell mass every week. Now I just have to experiment to see if I can speed up the accumulation by eating more food."
Septimus' clone stood up and began to move. He could feel that they shared a close bond that was difficult to explain.
Everything the clone felt, he could feel. They shared the same mind and the same thoughts.
"From now on, I will take on the identity of a freedman named Cayo. I need to get rid of the slaves before they start to suspect something."
Septimus does not consider himself a saint, even though the slaves were close to the owner of his former body and had nothing to do with him. If he had transmigrated to medieval times, he would probably have been burned alive by the Inquisition.
Now Septimus needed to maintain complete control of the bakery.
"Luckily, the drunken father of this body doesn't spend much time managing the business."
Another week passed.
During this week, Septimus was a little frustrated. He discovered that his cloning ability could not be accelerated by eating. At first, he experimented with various types of food, from fruit, meat, grains, fish, insects, etc.
Septimus sighed.
"What does it matter as long as I have this cloning ability? I can increase my chances of survival in this era."
Following the same steps as last week, Septimus and his clone Cayo undressed and modeled the faces of the two clones.
It was necessary; it would be very strange and difficult to explain if the clones had the same face as him.
Although Septimus discovered that he could not accelerate cell accumulation, he also discovered that his clones could replicate themselves and that he could use them to learn knowledge and experiences shared with the clone.
As Septimus watched a 16-year-old detach himself from him and his clone, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, with this almost divine ability in this day and age, they consider me a monster or a god, hahahaha."
Previously, he had been a little fearful, even though Rome is considered one of the greatest civilizations of antiquity.
It is still full of barbarism. The era in which he transmigrated is in the year 87 BC, when Cinna and Marius were consuls. Within a year, Marius would die, and within four years, Cinna would begin a purge against all relatives, elites, or nobles who supported Sulla.
Consequently, Sulla would unleash a purge of revenge against the followers of Cinna and Marius by controlling Rome.
Septimus was not ambitious; his goal was to make money with his knowledge, control a piece of land, and be surrounded by beautiful slaves from different parts of the world.
As Septimus contemplated his ambitions upon receiving his two new clones, he thought about the slaves.
"Originally, I thought about killing them or selling them to avoid suspicion, but in this era without human rights, the words of slaves are worth little."
Septimus also pondered another idea. Although he had considered killing his transmigrated soul from the future, he still resisted the idea of taking someone's life. He needed to temper his will.
"The best way to temper the will is through experience. I can use the clones to gain experience in fighting with bladed weapons."
While Septimus thought about his next steps, the clones under his control began to get dressed and leave the room.
Now what Septimus needs is to take control of the bakery by replacing the slaves with his own clones, using the bakery as a safe place.
At first, the slaves did not pay much attention to the freedman named Cayo doing his usual work, but with the addition of two new freedmen, perhaps sensing that their young master was planning to get rid of them, they worked with little enthusiasm.
Although this young man was very different in personality from the introverted young man they had known before, after so many years they considered the bakery their home.