With the addition of two new clones, Septimus began by getting rid of the slaves.
Slave Market of Capua
Septimus, together with two clones and the three slaves, stood before a slave trader.
"Give me 2000 denarii for the three slaves and I'll sell them to you."
Septimus said this to the fat slave merchant.
"Young man, with the current political situation in Rome, the price of slaves is dropping every day," said the slave trader with a fake smile on his greasy face.
"Take it or leave it. If you're not interested, there's no deal," Septimus said. He was already offering a low price. Skilled slaves usually sell for between 600 and 900 denarii each.
Setting a price of 2000 denarii for the three slaves was already low.
Seeing that Septimus turned around and refused to negotiate, the slave trader changed his expression and hurried to stop him, quickly recovering his fake smile.
"Hahaha, young citizen, I was only joking. 2000 denarii it is."
Septimus received the money while the guards led the three dejected slaves away.
One of Septimus' clones noticed a group of gladiator slaves nearby.
The same idea came to Septimus and his clones at the same time. They could use gladiator combat to gain experience with bladed weapons and harden both his clones and himself in real combat.
As he finalized the deal, the idea began to take shape in his mind. But then, like a bucket of cold water, he remembered that for this plan his clones would have to become slaves.
Although Septimus longed for combat experience with bladed weapons, the idea of being someone else's slave and obeying their whims did not appeal to him.
Letting out a sigh, Septimus returned to the bakery with his clones.
With three clones in the bakery, Septimus assigned one as a miller, one as a flour mixer, another as a baker, and he himself took charge of sales and accounting.
Although the bakery business generated little income, at least it was a stable source of revenue.
Another week passed.
During that week, four more clones were added to Septimus' bakery. The idea he previously had about turning some of his clones into gladiators resurfaced.
Being in ancient Rome, in this society where the fist of the strongest was law, Septimus increasingly distrusted the protection that his Roman citizenship could offer him against criminals or against Roman elites and nobles.
With this thought in mind, Septimus went to the nearest lanista's ludus along with three of his clones.
As he approached, he was stopped by two guards at the entrance.
"I wish to speak with your dominus. I am a Roman citizen and I have a proposal for him," Septimus said to the guards.
"Wait here. I will inform my dominus," one of the guards said as he went inside the ludus, while the other remained watching Septimus and his clones.
Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man approached along with the guard and two slaves. When he saw Septimus and his clones, he frowned. The former Septimus, as the owner of a small bakery in Capua with a spendthrift father, did not have much income or fine clothes. His clones wore simple linen garments commonly used by slaves.
As the middle-aged man approached, he spoke.
"My name is Gaius Ofellius Rufus. I am the lanista of this gladiator ludus. What is your offer, young man?" he said with a hint of impatience on his face.
He had thought it might be a business opportunity when the guard informed him, but upon seeing a 16 or 17-year-old boy in simple clothing accompanied by three young slaves, he quickly lost interest.
"My name is Septimus Novius, and I have come to propose an offer," Septimus said seriously.
"These three beside me are foreigners who work for me. I want them to train and serve as gladiators in your ludus," Septimus explained.
"Volunteers? Foreigners? They look young. Do they have combat experience?" Gaius asked with mild interest.
"They have no combat experience, but they learn quickly," Septimus replied.
Gaius frowned.
"Young man, gladiator combat is not a game. Training a novice to become a gladiator takes six to nine months before he is ready for the arena. Do not waste my time," Gaius said impatiently as he turned to leave.
Seeing him walk away, Septimus quickly thought of a solution.
"Wait," Septimus called out.
"I can offer two volunteers each week until reaching thirty, and I will pay for their monthly food," Septimus offered.
Gaius stopped and considered the idea. Having more gladiators for free, working for free, benefited him. And if this young man paid for their food, he would lose nothing even if they all died in the arena.
"Very well, I accept. The monthly food cost of a gladiator is 10 denarii. If you return next week with volunteers, you may inform the guards directly and leave the money with them," Gaius replied as he turned to leave.
"Wait. First, I want to clarify that they are volunteers. They are not slaves and cannot be treated as such, or the deal is canceled," Septimus said firmly.
Gaius looked at the young man before him with amusement. His words seemed entertaining to him. Although they were volunteers, they were foreigners. If he treated them as slaves, there would be nothing this young man could do once they were inside the ludus.
Even so, he went along with the arrangement. He lost nothing from the deal and gained a small profit.
"Very well, young Septimus. I will give these volunteers the same treatment as gladiators in training."
With everything settled, Gaius, along with his slaves and the clones, headed into the ludus.
Watching them leave, Septimus sighed.
There was nothing else he could do. He was a modern man; he had to adapt to the cruelty of this era, and the fastest way was to be ruthless with himself.
At first, he had considered selling the clones to the ludus as slaves, but the idea of enduring the humiliation of slavery was unbearable.
The second-best option was to offer his clones as volunteers in a ludus. Although they would still have to endure hardship, if you want to forge good steel, you must strike the iron many times.
In Republican Rome, some citizens who could not make ends meet and had military experience offered themselves to a ludus as gladiators to earn money, avoiding becoming bandits.
It was rare for foreigners to do so. If the lanista had ulterior motives, offering oneself as a volunteer in a ludus was the same as giving oneself away as a slave for free. Septimus had no other option. Each day in this era without the ability to defend himself increased his stress.
Although he could clone himself indefinitely, his clones were weak . If they faced any average thief in Capua, they would not stand a chance. He could only be ruthless with himself and offer his clones as volunteers to a ludus.
Septimus thought coldly: with my cloning ability, I do not care if all thirty clones die. As extensions of my body, if they are treated unjustly, I will take revenge on this ludus in the future and inflict the cruelest torture on those responsible.
Just thinking about the idea of commanding an army of clone soldiers experienced in combat excited him slightly.