Hero of Rome 2: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure, page 1
G. A. Jensen
Hero of Rome: Book 2
First published by G. A. Jensen 2024
Copyright © 2024 by G. A. Jensen
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
G. A. Jensen has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Megan Jensen, who has been my most faithful supporter in my writings. I love you.
“The first and best victory is to conquer self. To be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.”
Plato
Contents
Acknowledgement
Prologue
I. PART I: THE SEA
Chapter 1: Alone
Chapter 2: Swimming
Chapter 3: Crazy Cucumber
Chapter 4: Sirens of the Sea
Chapter 5: Aqua Virgos Refugium
Chapter 6: Beautiful Death
Chapter 7: Rome
II. PART II: THE ARENA
Chapter 8: Caesar
Chapter 9: Old and New Friends
Chapter 10: Night Life
Chapter 11: Dusty Books
Chapter 12: Blast to the Past
Chapter 13: Pompeii
Chapter 14: Gladiator Training
Chapter 15: Round 1, Fight!
Chapter 16: Pomegranates
Chapter 17: Lion’s Den
Chapter 18: Jaws of Defeat
Chapter 19: The Sun God
Chapter 20: Familiar Face
Chapter 21: Catacombs
Chapter 22: Puzzling
Chapter 23: Spartacus
Chapter 24: Domus Aurea
III. PART III: THE COMING NIGHT
Chapter 25: River Styx
Chapter 26: Coffee Cures Everything
Chapter 27: The Great Fire of Rome
Chapter 28: Bookworm
Chapter 29: Forged in Shadow
Chapter 30: Are You Not Entertained?
Chapter 31: The Wannabe Hercules
Chapter 32: Massacre
Chapter 33: Triumph
IV. EPILOGUE
The Labyrinth
V. ‘HERO OF ROME: BOOK 3’ SNEAK PEEK
Chapter 1: Morning Surprise
About the Author
Also by G. A. Jensen
Acknowledgement
I would like to first thank my beautiful, beloved wife, Megan Jensen, who has continued to support me in everything I do. The countless hours I have spent writing were only possible by her encouragement. Thank you, truly, for everything. And thank you for bringing our baby girl into the world and taking such good care of her. My heart has never been fuller. I love you.
I would also like to thank my sister, Madison Jensen, who has always stood by and encouraged me to keep pushing forward. She has always known when to call me out and when to edify me.
I also want to thank Mike Duncan, author of ‘History of Rome’, whose podcast I binged before writing this series. Thank you for detailing the rise and fall of Rome. It helped me through many days of early parenthood and it’s such a fascinating tale.
And as always, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has saved my soul and blessed me far more than I ever deserve.
Prologue
Camilla
The Colosseum roared in frenzied excitement as the latest batch of criminals fell to the joyous harpies. Their blood soaked the dusty sands that simmered under the oppressive sun above. It was a sun that should not shine and that would soon extinguish.
Camilla watched amidst the horde of people who cheered in the stands. Her cloak shrouded her face as she leaned against one of the arches that allowed the crowds to disperse. She had been calm up until this point watching the deaths of the men she did not know. It was all the more evidence that these structures of power needed to fall.
Until the one she hated most stumbled against his will into the arena to thunderous applause.
The announcer proclaimed his name, how he and his bandits had been a nuisance to the Roman Empire, even killed the beloved Cetus. With joy, the announcer proclaimed how the man was to meet his end today, given the royal audience. The bearded man remained calm, stoic even, as he became a mere pawn for Commodus’s games. He walked out to the middle of the arena with only trousers and a gladius.
Bulla Felix.
The once great thorn in the Empire’s side was now surrounded by three heavily armored gladiators. Each of his opponents wielded powerful weapons that glowed with magic. The match was not supposed to be even. His ensured death was an appetizer for the larger games ahead.
Camilla relished the sight.
She could only see the hypocrisy of men like Bulla before her. How he fought for freedom against tyranny and oppression. Yet, at the same time, he allowed men like Horatius, whom she passionately slew protecting a servant girl, to satiate their own tyrannical lusts upon the innocent. All under the guise of plunder. Living with him and his bandits further solidified her allegiance to the Cult of the Eternal Night. All would be reborn once the empires and the entire world were cast into darkness, to rise to a new dawn.
“So many leaders have promised utopia throughout history,” Max had said, his brown eyes full of surprising wisdom. “Most of them brought war, oppression, and desolation instead.”
The thought of Max was a punch in the stomach.
Unconsciously, she fingered the pouch on her neck that contained a lock of his dark hair. She had cut it from him while he slept the night of her revelation to him when he learned that she wasn’t Camillus, but Camilla. Vulnerability was something she wasn’t used to. She wanted to remember that night when she could dispel her disguise and be real with him, this boy from the future. Her heart ached for him to join her in the vision of the cult. He knew countless things about history. Max had entertained her and Titus on numerous occasions around the fire of his favorite leaders and battles. They could have changed the world together, brought peace and order that it so desperately needed.
Together.
Camilla blushed, the memories of how Max began to look at her the more time they spent together.
Yet, despite his wisdom, he was so utterly foolish, like the rest of the world.
It would destroy a piece of her soul to see him die in the arena.
Bulla’s sword clanged off of a gladiator’s armor, capturing her thoughts again. It was quickly followed by three successive strikes, two of which cut into the gladiator’s arm which held a large net. Each of Bulla’s attacks emanated with ferocity, a sign of his blessing from Mars. His opponent responded with a lunge from his trident, pronging the bandit in his ribs. Bulla staggered in pain as blood poured from his wounds. He barely dodged an attack from behind him as another gladiator cleaved his broadsword inches from his face.
The bandit leader evaded another attack from the trident gladiator. He swung his gladius down onto the man’s hand, severing it completely.
Another excited roar from the audience at the grisly sight.
Bulla snatched the net of his defeated foe. As the broadsword gladiator rushed to end his life, Bulla danced out of the way and threw the net over him, capturing him like a rat. The third gladiator wielding a gladius and shield was too late to help his brethren whom Bulla cut the Achilles’s heels from. The captured gladiator could do nothing about the sword that Bulla sheathed into his neck.
Now the odds were even.
Camilla’s bow rested in her hand, an arrow already notched. Bulla would not survive this day if she had anything to say about it.
Bulla spoke no words as he gaged his opponent, the two of them encircling one another. He was still gushing blood out of his stomach, more than likely fatal if it punctured his intestines. Yet he remained calm nonetheless.
The last helmeted gladiator, huge in size, roared before bashing his shield against Bulla. He received a gash across his legs as he knocked the bandit off of his feet.
Camilla’s heart thumped with anticipation as he fell.
“Finish it,” she whispered, anxious to see his fate.
Bulla rolled to avoid the next attack. The gladius sang in the air, sticking into the sand mere inches from where his heart was. The gladiator grunted in frustration as his body grew faintly red with the power of Mars. His attacks hit with tremendous power as Bulla scrambled to his feet and dodged the blade. In a move too quick to see, Bulla snapped his blade against the gladiator’s exposed knee as he moved. Blood exploded from the wound. The man yelled in agony as he threw himself onto Bulla, removing the bandit’s advantage of working legs.
It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand as the two punched, kicked, and scrambled to strangle each other on the sand. This final death struggle seemed to please both the cheering crowds and the royals who laughed from their theater box at the display.
The airy voice of Elagabalus, as he joked with Nero and Commodus, made Camilla cringe with fury. What he did to her and Octavia… The cult had promised she would get to personally destroy him once they had fulfilled their goals with Rome. Camilla counted the days with zeal.
A gasp stifled the crowds. Bulla screamed with rage as he rolled away from the other gladiator who lay still beside him. It was hard to tell from here, but it appeared he had one in his death match, perhaps strangling him.
He was not supposed to have lived.
The crowds muttered in confusion. They were silenced again by the hand of Commodus, the Western Caesar, who had thrown these games for Elagabalus and the System.
“Quite impressive, this bandit king. Wouldn’t you say?”
The crowd cheered with approval now that they were allowed to.
“However, this dog has caused Rome too much trouble as of late. Cetus lies dead because of him and his thieves!”
An angry boo poured out from the crowds, though it was doubtful they actually were upset.
“Let us treat him like the dog he is, and let the games begin! The prizes are enormous, including this beautiful Cleopatra!” The crowds cheered in a frenzy as Commodus yanked a young courtesan to the front of the box. She was indeed beautiful, but she was merely an imitation of Cleopatra. The real one had been tortured to death by snakes for the Emperor’s amusement. Camilla felt a twinge of sorrow upon seeing the slave girl who was being awarded to the victor.
“We will avenge you, sister,” Camilla said beneath her breath.
“Quite a beauty!” Commodus said, handling her inappropriately before moving her off to the side. “Let us start with a dedication to our Emperor and System! Farewell, Bulla Felix, and thank you for the show!”
A wicked smile flashed across the young Emperor’s face who sat behind the Caesar.
Gates opened simultaneously around the arena. Dozens of wild dogs were let out, pushed out in some cases as they snapped their teeth at their masters. They were hungry.
Bulla shook his head. He would die, torn apart by beasts, as he was in his previous life. History would repeat itself for him.
“Death smiles at us all; all we can do is smile back,” Bulla said, quoting Marcus Aurelius who had died at Commodus’s hands after Camilla betrayed their group to the Emperor.
Though Camilla looked forward to watching his death, she couldn’t help but feel anger at Elagabalus who pleasured himself with such sadism. She even surprised herself as she drew her bow in the shadows, an arrow already notched.
A strong hand darted from the shadows and pushed it down back into her cloak.
“Now is not the time, sister,” a soft but firm voice said.
“Forgive me, Octavia,” Camilla said to her older sister.
Octavia emerged from the darkness in her black robes, her stature taller than Camilla as she stared with zeal at her. She displayed natural beauty being in her late twenties. She had long dark hair kept in a ponytail, and hazel eyes like Camilla’s that beamed with dedication. Though clothed, Camilla knew of the rippling muscles beneath and the series of tattoos that colored her skin. And though she rarely smiled, she gave Camilla a slight grin and rubbed her shoulder in love.
“His time will come soon enough,” she said, both of them returning to watch the bloody scene unfold. The dogs had descended on Bulla and were tearing him apart.
“Did you find Max?” Camilla said, her words hopeful.
Octavia shook her head. “He must still be on Medusa’s Island or he escaped whenever the ships arrived. We will continue on as planned. I confirmed the presence of the prisoner within the gladiator slaves. We will use him for what’s to come.”
Camilla nodded, but a storm brewed in her mind. Where are you, Max?
I
Part I: The Sea
Chapter 1: Alone
Witness Caesar Commodus’s desperate bid for my favor, your beloved System, as he stages a grand gladiator tournament that is sure to drain Rome’s treasury, featuring one of Rome’s deadliest rulers (or soon dead again ruler).
Never in my life did I think I would be hunted by giant crabs.
They seemed to know I was alone on Medusa’s island. I only had her severed legs and the colossal stone corpse of Cetus for company. Over twenty of them emerged from the sands immediately after I accepted the System’s quest to save my bandit friends from the gladiator fights. They were the size of large dogs and moved just as fast. Their shells even had Latin words etched into them.
Are those children of Karkinos, whom Hercules faced? I thought, my eyes scanning the sea with anticipation. I don’t want to face a giant crab right now.
The Pilum of Mars hummed with power in my hand as I summoned it, the golden weapon glowing with a red aura. Given it dealt ninety-five damage, I quickly spent two skill points on my throwing skill, adding seventy damage to the god’s spear.
I could easily deal with these as long as the King Crab didn’t arrive.
The ocean seemed to sense my confidence. It coughed out another thirty crabs, all clicking their massive claws in anger and completely ready to destroy me.
Stamina: 140/140
That will drain fast, I thought. I tapped into my Historical Insight ability, looking into the web of potential futures for the next ten seconds. I tried to ignore the futures where I slipped from throwing too hard, which resulted in being mauled to death by dozens of crabs. Instead, I focused on the one future where my aim was precise with every throw, choosing to mimic that future to the best of my ability.
To the letter, I activated my Piercing Rain ability for my pilum as I threw it at the closest group of crabs. This transformed my weapon into three that skewered the same amount.
Stamina: 120/140
In quick succession, I summoned, threw, and repeated the cycle for the next seven seconds. The Pilum of Mars burned with rage as it whistled through the air with godly power, even turning one of the crabs on fire. Its burning corpse was the only light on the now darkened sands as the sun disappeared. In total, I brought down another seven crabs, a testament to the awesome throwing weapon from Mars.
Stamina: 70/140
Strength (+100): lvl 8 (20/90)
Glory (+165): 2,830
Level (+1): 22 (110/240)
Skill Points (+1): 3
My victory was rapidly overturned by the other forty crabs that clacked their way across the sands towards me. Considering I had half of my stamina left and ten seconds until my prophetic gift was recharged, I did the only reasonable thing.
Oh my gosh run! I thought, bolting from the horde of angry crabs. “Did you send them?” I accused the System.
There was a deep chuckle in the sky.
System Message: “You truly are a prophet, Maximus.”
“I thought you wanted me to destroy the Cult of the Eternal Night? Why are you trying to have me killed?”
No response came as I sprinted across the sands. My stamina diminished every second I ran, giving me precious little to use the longer I moved. Making it worse, it didn’t recharge as I ran; I would have to stand still for it to replenish. Not only that, I needed to figure out how I was going to survive these crabs and get off of this forsaken place immediately. Time was of the essence if I was going to save my friends from Commodus’s gladiator tournament.
The looming shadow of Medusa’s cave appeared ahead as I put distance between myself and the crabs. I gave a quick look to see if they were still on my tail; sure enough, I had maybe given myself a few extra feet of space at best. These creatures were fast.
Given there might be other nightmares on this island, the wisest thing to do would be to wait till dawn in her cave.
“There better not be any other monsters in there,” I said to Medusa’s severed legs before turning myself invisible with the blessing of Pluto.
