Hero of Rome

The Roman Empire buzzes with excited terror as Eastern Emperor Elagabalus increases the number of scouts searching for mythical beasts, leading to rising ticket sales at the Colosseum.

Before I could see what happened next in these futures, my heart dropped from the ominous Doomsday Tracker from the System that told me how many deaths away we were from the Cult of the Eternal Night’s dream takeover of the world.

Doomsday Tracker (+6): 29/1,000,000

“Cleopatra!” I yelled, leaving behind a frustrated Caesar and Sulla who called for me to stay. I kept on my Shadowmail Enhancement until I was inside, and by then, I was flying up the stairs with my Boots of Mercury past a still frightened Umbra.

Sure enough, upon reaching the upper room where they were stationed, Cleopatra, along with Gaius, Valerius, and the archer, lay dead and torn apart on the floor while being swarmed on by the birds. The sight was so viscerally repulsive that my mind became numb with fury and disgust. I was so distraught that I didn’t even question the Doomsday Tracker’s miscalculation of deaths.

The futures re-arranged where I had the archers outside to keep attention away from the villa itself. But in these, we would lose close to a thousand men by their vicious swarm, all of the archers would be killed, and several thousand more infantry wounded until the fire potions were ready, but that wouldn’t be until close to the forty minute mark. Only then would the birds fly away with me throwing it at them on Umbra’s back in the skies. That would leave us crippled for Elagabalus’s army.

There has to be a way, I thought, my mind burning with a sea of possible decisions. Think, think! I just need more time. Time…

That’s it.

The futures shifted again. This time, after impaling the three birds in the initial attack, I immediately pivoted and flew up to the open window of the villa, flying over the archer stationed at the window. I landed quietly next to the three of them huddled over their brewing station. It was a mess of ingredients, cauldrons, flasks, and so much more. Valerius was there between Cleopatra and Gauis, in his black robes with white symbols and grey streaked hair. He was in the middle of grinding some ingredients together when I made myself invisible.

“Valerius!” I yelled, catching everyone’s attention. We had seconds until the birds would come crashing in. “Write down the recipe. Now! Gaius, fetch Umbra.”

Cleopatra saw the desperation in my eyes and must have understood, as did Gaius who ran downstairs. Cleopatra immediately grabbed some parchment and an inked feather for him to scribble the directions down. Although Valerius was floored by the interruption, Cleopatra’s stunning charisma left no room for argument. I was already flying to them by the time the birds broke through the window behind me.

He finished just as I landed.

Without a moment to waste, in these futures I activated my Saturn's Hourglass Ring, at the cost of glory for one hour of time where the entire world froze still.

Glory (-100): 1,900

Thankfully, I was standing at the center of the brewing station, as I would not be able to move in this paused reality.

“Thank you, Cleopatra,” I said, snatching the hastily written recipe from Valerius.

Item: Fire Potion of Pyroclasm (Rare)

Description: This potent alchemical concoction is crafted using rare ingredients, creating a burst of intense flames capable of incinerating enemies and causing widespread panic. When thrown, it engulfs the target area in flames, dealing substantial fire damage and causing lingering burns.

Ingredients:

Pyroclasm Herb: 3 handfuls, dried and ground.

Dragon’s Breath Oil: 500 ml.

Salamander Scales: 10 scales, crushed.

Phoenix Feather: 1 feather, burned to ash.

Inferno Blossom Petals: 5 petals.

Hellfire Essence: 50 ml.

Directions:

Heat cauldrons over enchanted fire pits.

Add Pyroclasm Herb, stirring with a wooden rod.

Pour in Dragon’s Breath Oil, let sizzle.

Mix in crushed Salamander Scales.

Burn Phoenix Feather, sprinkle ash into the mixture.

Add Inferno Blossom Petals, let dissolve.

Drip in Hellfire Essence drop by drop, stirring and chanting incantations.

Use pilum’s fire to rapidly heat and complete the potion.

Effect: When thrown, the Fire Potion of Pyroclasm explodes on impact, dealing 120-150 fire damage in a 5-meter radius. Enemies are set ablaze, taking 30 fire damage per second for 5 seconds.

Uses: 10/10

Weight: 0.50 kg per flask

Worth: 10,000 Denarii

I stood for too many minutes staring at the ingredients and directions. A dark realization came over me.

I’m not going to be able to do this, I thought with despair. My Alchemy was only at level one, which only let me brew simple potions with common ingredients without a master. I would only be able to do this if I had instead upgraded my Alchemy skill to level three, rather than my Battlefield Tactics. But in the futures where I did so, we would lose a thousand men and be left crippled, our rebellion dying before it ever began.

Unless…

The futures shifted to where I was flying through the window again, but this time instead of asking Valerius to write down the instructions, I tossed him my Saturn's Hourglass Ring.

“Turn the ring and make the potions!” I said as he caught it. Valerius nodded and did as I asked. In a blink of an eye, he had ten bright orange vials in his arms, all bundled up in a transparent bag.

“Take these and throw them at the herd!” he said, handing them to me carefully.

“Go downstairs and close yourselves in a windowless room,” I said just as the window behind us burst with a torrent of birds and as Gaius emerged with a not so happy Umbra.

“I love you!” I said, kissing Cleopatra while leaping onto Umbra’s back. “Fly!”

Doomsday Tracker (+21): 44/1,000,000

The archer had already died as Umbra began galloping towards the window. Although I was immune from the feathers that were shot at us with my Shadowmail and resumed invisibility, I held my Barnacle Shield before Umbra’s face and activated Harpy’s Eye Amulet again to encourage him. The metal arrows were like bullets against my shield, prompting it to spray out a burst of sea water at the angry birds as Umbra leaped out of the window. For the brief moment that I looked, the testudo defense was holding well, but the metallic birds were being relentless in their onslaught against them, crashing into their shields and using their overwhelming numbers to break through the weakest parts of the shield walls. The screams of several dying men filled the air.

Doomsday Tracker (+3): 47/1,000,000

“There!” I said, pointing to the thickest concentration of the flock. We needed to move faster. Every man we lost was detrimental.

Umbra was cursing as he obeyed, taking us higher to the dark cloud of birds.

Using my Historical Insight, I surveyed where it would be most effective to throw the fire potions. And like the god who created my Pilum, I unleashed burning war upon the Stymphalian Birds. As soon as the glass vials made contact with the metal birds, they exploded in a cloud of fire. Even if the vial only hit one or two, the five-meter radius ensured plenty more would be cooked instantly. After chucking the last vial, the black swarm that was the Stymphalian Birds was now replaced by a raging inferno in the sky. Even Umbra, who was bleeding from various feather cuts, had to reel back from the heat of the flames that was everywhere.

Strength (+500): lvl 16 (130/170)

Intelligence (+10): lvl 7 (20/80)

Glory (+1,080): 3,080

Level: 39 (50/410)

Skill Points (+3): 3

Health: 80/120

Stamina: 50/180

The relief of seeing the surviving dozens of birds flee the villa was short-lived. For in my decision to napalm the birds, the only future that would repel them with the least amount of soldier deaths, the ones that had caught fire, fell to the military tents around the villa as they scrambled to escape. It would have been merely a logistical nightmare if it was only tents and equipment that were set ablaze.

Doomsday Tracker (+10): 57/1,000,000

Doomsday Tracker (+12): 69/1,000,000

Doomsday Tracker (+16): 85/1,000,000

“Dear god,” I whispered, seeing the fiery carnage unleash.

What is it? Umbra said to my mind as we watched from above.

He was soon answered when the first people stumbled out of the burning tents. Slaves, cooks, camp followers, and some of the artisans like blacksmiths and carpenters screamed as the burning birds and the Pyroclasm Fire turned most of the tents ablaze. I watched in horror as the death toll continued to increase.

Doomsday Tracker (+15): 100/1,000,000

No, I thought, not wanting to accept this future. There were so many innocents in that camp. They were not soldiers. Many of them were slaves, unwilling participants in this high stakes rebellion. They did not deserve to burn to death.

The futures shifted a million different times. I tried luring the birds out away from the tents and the infantry before throwing the fire potions, but they wouldn’t bite. It wasn’t until I started unleashing the fiery bombs that they began to flee. I was so desperate that I even tried using my Barnacle Shield to help douse some of the flames, but it was not enough to stop the inferno.

It truly seemed that I had no right choice. Each of these options resulted in death. I immediately ruled out the first one, where a good amount of the birds swarmed into the villa and killed Cleopatra, Gaius, and Valerius. Even though the explosion Valerius set off at the last moment would help drastically reduce their numbers, I could not afford to see Cleopatra dead on the floor. No, she was far too valuable to me to die. I couldn’t let her down.

That left me with two. If I chose not to use the fire bombs, instead opting for Cleopatra and the others to seek protection while we fought, we would easily lose a thousand men from the fast and ferocious attacks from the birds. With their insane agility that dodged a good amount of the archers’ arrows, their deadly claws, feathers, and beaks, it would be a battle of bloody attrition till they fled. Our men would be too exhausted, including myself, to finish them off fast enough. No matter the choice I made, people were going to die.

In reflection, a wild idea struck that I desperately attempted in my Historical Insight. As risky as it was, I had to try.

“Caesar, get me every stamina potion you can find!” I screamed, in the future where I had kept the archers out of the villa. Caesar complied, ordering his men to cough up any vials they had. Surprisingly, there were dozens of bottles available. What came next was both terrifying and awesome on display.

I became a storm of pila as I hurled them faster than Jupiter did his lightning bolts. My pila hit every bird, every time, missing not a single shot as I myself was invisible and impenetrable. Whenever my stamina was down, I would simply chug another potion while my men hid beneath their shields. I was unstoppable. The sheer power I possessed could not be matched by monster or man.

I didn’t realize my voice was becoming hoarse from screaming as I finished off the last of the birds. The entire villa was silent at the carnage that lay at my feet.

Caesar and Sulla emerged from the shield wall, concealing their surprise at my enormous display of power. The rest of the men did not. However, such glory was overshadowed by the fatal message from the System.

Active Curses:

Stamina Dependency: You are addicted to stamina potions and will no longer generate stamina naturally.

No, I thought, remembering Valerius’s words from so long ago when he taught me of health potions and the risk of overconsumption. Stamina, like health, could not be abused, lest you suffer serious consequences. Knowing that I was the most formidable threat to Elagabalus and his empire, crippling me to the state of an addict would be a death blow to the rebellion, to a true Pax Romana.

I fell to my knees amidst the carnage in this future. The present soon came roaring back to life, everything waiting to unfold as I had seen. I sighed a heavy, terrible breath.

There was only one choice that I could make.