Chapter 4 – Planning
2 weeks passed.
Septimus had a headache. Originally, he had planned to give only 2 clones to the ludus each week, but he underestimated his ability. If he kept generating more clones, in a year he could have thousands, a force difficult to overlook for a small baker.
In two weeks, Septimus had already accumulated 39 clones in total, including the clones at the ludus. His small house was somewhat overcrowded.
"I need to speed up the training process at the ludus," Septimus said to himself.
That afternoon, Septimus headed to Gaius' ludus with 30 clones.
When the guards saw so many people in the distance, they went on alert and tightened their grip on their gladii.
"Stop right there, what do you want?" one of the guards shouted at the group.
"I am Septimus. I've come to deliver volunteers to become gladiators," Septimus said with a smile.
The guards felt relieved. Although the ludus was close to the Capua garrison, it was better to avoid trouble.
While the guards informed Gaius, he approached with two slaves. Upon seeing the number of people, he was somewhat surprised. It was rare to see so many foreigners in Rome willing to serve as volunteers to become gladiators.
At first, he did not think much of this deal, nor did he give it much importance. In the end, it was only a small profit. But seeing so many people willing to train and fight as gladiators sparked some interest in him.
"Hahaha, young Septimus, the agreed deal was two gladiators per week," Gaius said with a smile.
"That was the deal, but some inconveniences arose. I've come to bring you the remaining 23 volunteers. I hope it's not an inconvenience," Septimus said with a smile.
"That's fine, young Septimus. I'm just curious—what do you gain from this deal?" Gaius asked with a smile.
At first, he did not give importance to this deal, believing he was only a naïve young man who did not value his money, offering a few slaves at his doorstep. But seeing that he had fulfilled the agreed arrangement sparked some interest in him. No matter how much he thought about it, he could not see the profit in making this type of transaction. The volunteers he offered were not very skilled in combat either, which made him somewhat curious about this young man.
"I'm just doing a favor for a friend," Septimus said, offering a superficial excuse.
Gaius did not ask further, accepting the 23 volunteers out of the 30 Septimus had brought, along with 230 denarii for maintenance.
Septimus looked with reluctance at the lost money. He had to think of new ways to make money. This time, he had not only come to deliver volunteers; he had also brought 7 clones with the intention of looking for opportunities to earn money.
He had to spend 300 denarii monthly for maintenance and pay 30 denarii in taxes. He needed to find ways to make money.
Septimus felt somewhat frustrated. Although he was a transmigrator, his only ability was cloning through mitosis and his knowledge. Every step he took had to be premeditated within this corrupt society, or he would be incriminated or looted without even knowing who his enemy was.
With that in mind, Septimus, along with his clones, took a walk through Capua. Being a typical Roman city, Capua could be considered disorderly and diverse, filled with Romans, slaves, and people of different ethnicities.
After walking for a while, Septimus heard shouting from a secluded area. As he approached, the strong smell of blood and sweat, along with the crowd's screams, made him frown.
Inside, Septimus could see that it was a place for underground fights. Unlike the arena, in this place all kinds of dirty tricks were allowed, as long as only one person remained standing.
Septimus watched as a burly man with bruises on his face inserted his fingers into his opponent's eye, and the people around screamed in frenzied madness as they saw the man groan in pain and blood flow from his eye socket.
These fights are brutal, Septimus thought to himself.
While watching the spectacle, Septimus had a sudden idea. Currently, he had to limit the number of his clones due to lack of space and where to place them. But if he could send them to this place, even if they died, they would gain combat experience.
Septimus watched as they removed the corpse of the man with crushed eyes and frowned again. Although it did not matter if the clones died, the shared connection meant that every type of pain the clones suffered, he would also feel.
Septimus thought about the idea of having his eyes burst, or dying painfully countless times, and began to hesitate. Making the determination to suffer that kind of torment was not easy for a modern person. He was not a masochist.
As the next fight began, watching the two men fight fiercely, Septimus slowly armed himself with determination. He was destined for great things with the ability he possessed.
He approached the manager with determination.
"Sir, I would like to ask about what requirements are necessary to fight," Septimus said to the man with smallpox scars in charge of the underground fights.
"Young man, as long as you are willing and pay 2 denarii as a fee for them to remove your corpse, you can fight," the man with smallpox scars replied without taking his eyes off the bloody combat.
"Thank you, I will take it into consideration," Septimus said to the man, turning toward the exit with his clones.
Seeing him leave, the man with smallpox scars paid him no attention.
Septimus returned home with his clones. Although he had not found ways to make money, he had found a way to improve his combat skill. Also, during these two weeks, he discovered another trick of his ability: before replicating, he could change the age of the clone, although it was limited to a range of years.
Septimus could create clones with a minimum age of 16 years and a maximum of 40 years. He discovered that in this way he could achieve immortality. It did not matter if his original body died; as long as he had a living clone, he could replicate indefinitely.
Having made a decision, Septimus currently had 39 clones in total: 30 at the ludus and 9 divided between the forge and the bakery. He planned to use 10 clones for weekly replication and in underground fights. He could also withdraw his clones from the ludus if he obtained the combat experience he would need.
He would leave his original body in the role of leader, without the need to undress weekly to replicate, using 10 clones for that function.
If in this way he could improve his combat skill, it would no longer be necessary to spend 300 denarii monthly on the maintenance of 30 clones.
Septimus felt somewhat regretful about his hasty decision regarding the ludus. At first, he only thought about formal gladiator training, avoiding the cruelty of the era. But after this time, he realized how naïve he had been. To improve, he had to be cruel to himself.
With an established objective, Septimus decided to take advantage of the 30 clones in the ludus and push himself in training. Although he had only been at the ludus for a month and a half, one must not underestimate the effort of 30 clones learning and sharing experiences. Even though the time was short, the improvement in the use of various weapons and techniques was noticeable.
Septimus concluded that at that pace, in another two months, he would be an expert gladiator. Whether he became a champion or a legend was only a matter of time and how many clones he sacrificed in the arena or in street fights.