One after another, transparent neon blue screens appeared before Ethan, covering his vision. The level-up notification at the side, his status in the front, his health bar, his charge bar.
For a second, he felt he was in a game. Then he realized, with his healing wounds visible to his naked eyes, that it was not.
This was real. Too real.
He waved his hand, and the pop-ups disappeared. The world came back into view, and the noise of rain seeped through again from the buzz of that lightning strike.
Before him, the beast that was ready to gnaw its teeth at him was gone—only its feet remained. Everything else was turning to ash.
Even the grass, branches, and most of everything around him had turned dark, like a whole asteroid had blasted more than just lightning.
And at the corner of his eye, he saw him standing up once more.
"Marcus..." he whispered with contempt. But that contempt and rage turned to confusion as he saw in Marcus’s eyes something more than jealousy, something more than bloodlust.
Fear. Pure fear while watching him. What Marcus was seeing wasn’t a human, but something else.
Ethan’s eyes were glowing bright, his hair turning white from black, blazing with electric currents, and his body was rippling with lightning, conducting with the ground.
"What... what are you?" Marcus asked.
Ethan raised his hand, pointing his finger at Marcus. The current and electricity concentrated at its tip.
[Charging...1%]
That’s enough... Ethan thought, as his lightning struck Marcus at lightning speed.
"WAIT!" Marcus beckoned, but his chest was already struck. The small lightning passed through his many gears to his heart, knocking him unconscious right then and there.
He wanted to kill him. Oh, how much he wanted to. But in the end, his memories held him back.
Ethan walked closer, but not too close, as his body was still spewing so much current. He was afraid he would hurt him even more.
Seeing that dark hair, which he himself had helped cut. The badge they shared. All those years he had shared with him.
I thought we were rivals. We were best of friends, but...
He didn’t finish. He just stood there, then walked away. As he finally calmed down, his powers calmed down with him. And with that, he took all the papers Marcus was carrying.
The forest was now silent again. Ethan’s shoes, which he had been wearing, were burned off, along with most of his clothing. He needed to find shelter.
As he had leveled up, his feet felt much quicker than before. He moved through the forest like it was just a jog.
Eventually, he found a cave and electrified the giant bear inside it—not killing it, just knocking it unconscious. "Let’s see what this is all about," he said, bringing the papers near the fire he had just made.
One of the papers showed every little detail about himself.
Name: Ethan Grooves
Allegiance: Roman Empire
Division: Legio Fulminata (auxiliary attachment)
Rank: Auxilia Nova – Tier II (Second Lowest Rank)
Level: 8 / 100
Profile Overview
Ethan Grooves serves at the lower end of the imperial war machine, positioned just above raw recruits. His rank reflects limited battlefield authority, but his assigned level indicates he has already surpassed most within his tier.
While still considered expendable in large-scale operations, Ethan has begun to show signs of accelerated growth—something closely monitored within the empire.
Combat Role
Support infantry (midline reinforcement)
Battlefield runner (message relay under fire)
Emergency shield deployment (basic defensive formations)
Ethan is not deployed as a frontline breaker but rather as a stabilizer—plugging weak points, carrying orders, and holding positions under pressure.
Capabilities
Physical Conditioning: Above average for rank; endurance exceeds standard Auxilia baseline
Weapon Proficiency: Gladius (intermediate), short-range energy pila (basic)
Tactical Awareness: Developing; reacts well under command but lacks independent decision-making
Classification
Status: Low Rank – High Potential
Priority: Passive Observation
This profile positions Ethan as underestimated but unstable in trajectory—someone the system has not fully accounted for yet.
Ethan read it all. The words said everything. The words which must have fueled Marcus’s jealousy even more. But if the empire had thought of him as having great potential, then why?
Why are they after me all of a sudden?
He thought as he checked another paper. The same paper that had the termination letter signed in.
Imperium Divinum – High Command Dispatch
From: Office of the Legatus Maximus
To: Praefectus Titanis, Legio Fulminata
Classification: Obscura / Eyes Only
Subject: Termination Order – Ethan Grooves
By authority vested under the dominion of the Imperium Divinum and in accordance with sealed directives originating beyond standard military jurisdiction, the individual designated Ethan Grooves (Auxilia Nova – Tier II) is to be located and eliminated without delay.
No public record of this action is to exist.
No tribunal is to be convened.
No insignia is to be carried.
Preliminary observations, though incomplete, suggest irregularities inconsistent with mortal classification.
These deviations do not yet warrant formal designation; however, their pattern aligns with archived incidents previously attributed to entities under the influence of @#@#$ or lineage of the !@#$.
This matter is not to be interpreted as disciplinary.
It is not to be questioned as strategic.
Seal of Command, Legatus Maximus
Imperium Divinum
These papers made him even more confused, most of the important words being redacted. And the way he looked before in the images, and the way he looked now—his dark hair turning white, and his eyes which were brown and normal, now... something he didn’t know.
Roar....
The bear beside him started to move again. Ethan was ready to electrify it once more, but the bear seemed afraid, still full from that one shock already. It wasn’t even willing to look at Ethan, backing away.
Ethan smiled a bit, then let the bear be. Even if it attacked, it would again be electrified if it came in range.
With a sigh, he threw the papers in the fire, his mind churning, thinking about what he should do next.
Let’s check what this is all about.
And with that thought alone, all the notification bars and screens came back. One by one, he waved away the annoying notifications, focusing on his own interface.
[ SYSTEM INTERFACE]
Name: Ethan Grooves
Affiliation: !@#$
Tier: Awakened Mortal
Rank: Auxilia Nova – Tier II
Level: 15 / 100
STR: 25
AGI: 32
END: 21
VIT: 24
PER: 15
INT: 15
Blood: 100% Compatible
Source: UNKNOWN (Divine Flag)
Trait: 100× Reward System
→ All rewards ×100
[Status: Stabilising]
Hmmm... interesting. This means I will get 100 times the reward. But reward for doing what?
[Main Mission Granted]
[Make the Roman Empire fall, and bring balance to the world]
[Reward: $#$2%^&*]
[Will you accept?]
[Yes] or [No]
[If you click No, the powers and all of its capabilities will be redacted.]
What? Make the Roman Empire fall?
"What in the name of Olympus is this system buzzing about?"
THE Roman Empire. The empire which stood high and mighty for centuries when it started. The empire which dominated the world with military might and conquering geniuses.
The greatest of the greatest had been born from the system of the Roman Empire. From Alexander, to Caesar, to Napoleon, to Hitler.
All conquering geniuses, with the might of fifty-plus nations. An empire blessed by the god of war, Ares himself.
Ethan felt nauseous as he fell back. The weight of those words written on the so-called mission weighed him down.
He looked at the cave ceiling, and the bear looked down on him, its teeth gnawing in his direction, but it got scared instantly as he pointed his finger at it.
He looked at the Yes and No options. He didn’t know what the system was capable of. He didn’t know if it was worth making the whole world his enemy.
But for some reason, he was already the enemy of the empire. The words on that letter signed for his elimination. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the atrocities the empire had wrought on this world. The cruelty needed to make it what it was today.
Following that glorious mission. The unification of the world. So they say. But he knew, as most everybody knew, the empire wanted only one thing: war.
A naive thought passed by: if he should be the hero who would save the world. Change it for the better. But...
"Nah... I ain’t capable of that," he said, standing up once more. As he pressed the button on the options he was given.