The winds brushed across Rainer's face, ruffling the white, bristly crest of his stolen helmet. The approving warmth of the morning sun came like a warm nudge against his back, urging him on as his heart pounded.
His muscles tightened, and his breath came hot and heavy.
He ran without care for his safety, rapidly sprinting past steadily advancing formations. He dashed around defensive palisades, where Roman archers exchanged fire with rebel archers.
Suddenly an arrow whizzed past his head, grazing his helmet in a burst of sparks. This near-death experience sent a pleasant shiver travelling down his spine, and he had goosebumps.
He raised his head, face plastered with a wide grin, then laughed.
He laughed with such abandon that one would think he was crazy, and maybe he was. He believed.
'This thrill! How long!? For 500 years have I waited! To run! To feel this adrenaline! To live!'
He delighted in himself. But then an arrow whizzed past, grazing his neck and drawing blood.
The sting sent his sense of self-preservation rolling back in full force, and his eyes dilated, rapidly scanning the approaching wall.
A few Roman soldiers had advanced to raise the heavy ladders lying before the walls.
Rainer's eyes swerved to the right; two ladders lay on the ground left of the thick, but damaged wooden gate. However, it was the lone ladder on his left that caught his attention. He found that there were fewer rebels on that side of the wall.
Seeing that the ladder was closer to him and was currently being raised, he smirked and quickly arched left, away from the battering ram and straight toward the ladder.
He unslung his small shield and tightened his grip on the spear.
Licking his lips, apprehension momentarily flashed across his eyes at what he was about to do, but he steeled himself.
'Come on! You've done this before, Rainer! Focus!'
Rainer let out a huff and increased his pace, quickly sprinting past the Roman formation closest to the wall.
As soon as the ladder hit the wall, Rainer leaped onto it before the soldiers could react.
Slowing down on the ladder, he let out a hard huff, taking a split second to center his weight and adjust his balance before pushing up again without using his hands.
This placed a solid strain on his untrained legs.
*Nok!* *Khat!*
Above, arrows connected to his raised shield even as wardrums and horns orchestrated the din of battle. However, his focus wasn't on anything other than his feet. The strain of his rapid upward push was taxing, and he needed to focus.
But then he caught a whiff of something, something familiar but dangerous in this setting: oil.
He slowed down and paused, trying to detect where the scent came from, and then he peeked up, across his shield.
'Above?' He wondered, squinting with suspicion, and then he frowned.
'I should head up fast!'
He moved again but slipped.
"Ah!"
The inevitable had happened—
His untrained legs, weakening due to the overexertion, gave way.
Rainer gasped, flailing desperately in his attempt to grasp the ladder.
'Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!'
He had tilted too sharply, too fast!
Just as he felt falling was inevitable, a strong palm supported his back from below. Rainer instantly exhaled in relief, and he looked back with a grateful smile.
"Thank you— Oh?"
Rainer was shocked and confused to see that it was Commius who helped him.
Commius looked up at him with a malicious smile.
"Never had it been heard that a slave received the Corona Muralis."
He muttered in a hard tone, slowly bundling his armor in a fist.
"It would be wasted on you."
Commius slowly pushed him aside, and Rainer felt a chill as his face twisted, morphing into something between a grimace and a frown.
Soon, he completely lost his balance, and gravity took over.
"Farewell, Son of Mars." Commius snorted, watching him fall.
Rainer stared into his eyes with an unreadable expression, but then he smiled faintly, impressed.
'Well played.'
He inwardly mused, then frowned.
'But I'll remember this.'
Rainer felt the rough wind on his skin, noticed the rapidly rising ground, and closed his eyes.
*Bang!*
-
–
—
*Beep!*
White light flashed brightly, shining and encompassing from up above.
Suddenly, a round robotic head, streamlined with a glossy metallic finish, partially blocked the light, forming an odd silhouette with a pair of neon blue eyes staring down at him.
"The 12,238,971,327th human of planet Flourish has been born. Glory to our creators, the founders of chatGPT."
It droned in its sweet feminine voice with a robotic edge.
He felt himself being gently carried up.
"This one doesn't cry. He is strong, and yet, a spank is needed. Don't you think, doctor?"
The robot droned, turning to the side.
Rainer turned as well, and there, within the pristine white room with decorative floral works of silver and gold. He saw a man seated on a comfy-looking, levitating, high-tech, lounge chair.
He was round, with pudgy limbs; short and diminished from lack of usage.
"Oh, look." He smiled, deep blue eyes gleaming in delight. "He's also a curious one—a smart child. He will definitely be like me when he grows up."
"All humans are like you, doctor."
The robot joked, and they both laughed.
Immediately, Rainer gasped, realizing where this was.
All at once, disregarding the faint smell and taste of antiseptic in his mouth, he cried and fought.
Anything to get out of this hell.
'I refuse to relive this nightmare!'
He cried loudly.
—
–
-
His eyes popped open, and he roused with a woeful groan, feeling the burning ache in his back and waist. For a moment, he felt dizzy. The top of the wall, a myriad of hazy activity, a shadow, and then his eyes cleared.
A rebel archer was aiming down at him!
Without thinking, he pulled his shield arm over him.
*Twack!* *Crat!*
The arrow punched slightly through the shield, sending splinters into his eyes.
"Effing! F@cks! Ducks!"
Rainer cursed, shaking his head. His eyes reddened and watery from the dirt.
He peaked over the shield just in time to see an arrow hit the rebel archer. The archer tilted over and fell down the wall, hitting the ground beside him with a sickening crunch.
Rainer let out a relieved sigh and glanced up.
Commius was still halfway up the ladder, and he realized that he had merely been unconscious for a brief moment.
Soldiers had already agglomerated around the ladder, shields raised as they steadily climbed.
Rainer caught a whiff of oil again and his nose momentarily wrinkled.
'What the—that smells nice, though. Someone cooking? Wait!'
His mind connected the dots.
'A lackluster resistance against my climb, a suspiciously low amount of defenders on this side of the wall, the smell of oil.'
"I've got to get out of here!"
With a groan, Rainer drew himself to his feet and picked up his spear.
Above, a heavy clang was heard; the tip of a large, wide pot was about to be tipped over. His face ashened and immediately, he turned to the clump of soldiers.
"Boiling oil! Disperse!" He warned at the top of his voice.
That said, he quickly turned and ran the other way without turning to see if they listened.
The next moment, there were screams and outcries of fear and panic.
*Sshhh!*
The sound of sizzling meat, harmonized the angst yelps and bloodcurdling cries filling the air behind him.
A few drops splashed onto his calf and he winced with a regretful frown.
'Well, it turns out this is hell too!'
He thought, sprinting past the gate, across the ponderous, rolling, battering ram.
'...But this is my kind of hell!'
He smiled, watery red eyes already set on the isolated ladder ahead of him.
'I've waited 500 years for this level of excitement!!!'