"Three days. After that, they will test you. They will attempt to rank you all. It will happen two or three more times if the staff wishes it. It's not solely based on Skills. The quality of the Skill as much as the capacity means something." The woman in front of him gave him the look that all rich girls had always given him. It was a bit of contempt, combined with a lack of care.

  That was why Tyler had been hammering on the need to not just push out and gain as many Skill levels as possible. To really reach the upper echelon of Skills, he needed to do more. He ended his daily sessions by meditating in his soul about what he had learned.

  Ludere was fired up. This was his ticket.

  He already was able to overpower any normal man or woman in the Empire. Getting to the elite level as a human would give him an edge for the rest of his life.

  Hell, just being able to use the Skills he had acquired during his three weeks would give him a base to work with. The amount that the rich would spend to be guaranteed to get a certain Skill couldn't be factored in. They spent Dinarii like water, when magic was involved.

  There were only so many magical skill gems.

  They couldn't manufacture skill gems. The Empire could only exploit the ones that they found. Every new dungeon only turned over so many, and with the expansion, it felt like humanity might have found all of the available dungeons. If so, what the military was doing meant a lot more. They had held the empire in their hands as they gave out land.

  Hell, his parents had been in talks for the land his father had been owed for his service. That had been the reason that he was meeting with Senator Celisar's daughter. She had his dark complexion and darker hair. Her toga clearly was new, but it didn't have the signs that a normal Prefereti would use.

  "The testing? This is exams and combat?"

  Cire Celisar flipped her hair. "I would hope that you know your way around a blunted spear. That, or any number of weapons. My father says that you worked in the arena, so you should know a thing or two."

  "I worked the betting portion."

  Cire clicked her tongue. "Okay, but you want us to sort through your parents' business before we go?"

  "If you could."

  She was already reading the brief, page-long request. He expected that he would have to redo it again or something. He was tired of redoing paperwork. He would do everything he could to not, which was why this one had been done to a fault.

  "You've got the handwriting of somebody who deals with numbers a lot. Be very careful. Clearly I'm aware that you've worked with ledgers before, but this is immaculate. If I was your Grammarian, I would pass you just on the basis of this, but there's more to the academy than just having good handwriting when it's important. You've also got to be able to walk the walk and talk to talk."

  He almost blushed at that. The idea that she was going to compliment him on his handwriting meant that she knew good handwriting, and that he had surpassed her expectations. To his best guess, Ludere thought that she had a very low opinion of him, just due to his common upbringing, and the fact that he was being added to the academy's rolls so late in a cycle. It wasn't his fault that he had been chosen for this. He just wished that the cat would show up and give him some more guidance. But, so far, it had been elusive and silent.

  "Thank you so much. I'm glad to see that my efforts at least appear to pass muster."

  She smirked. "I know that my father tried to get you here for a lot of reasons, but what are you here for? You didn't need to take this. I know it's a strong imposition on you."

  "You know how it is when you're a young man. The world is wide open, but the only doors you see are the ones that are in the buildings you've been going to before."

  "Quite true. The doorways in the academy might be open to all who can make it there, but rest assured that they are a very picky bunch and if you're not correct for the face, you will find yourself released sooner rather than later."

  Ludere gulped. In the back of his mind, the idea that he might spend all his time preparing for an academy that might kick him out of the first day stung. He didn't want to have to deal with that eventuality, but he had to face the fact that he was lower-class. Even if his father had served in the Legion, that didn't mean he wasn't above that kind of servitude. The Empire liked its men willing to fight and die for it.

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  He would rather have some other poor bastard fight and die than him. All things being equal? He didn't want anyone to die, but in a pinch, he would take somebody else doing it instead of him.

  "I mean, I appreciate all you're doing here. I'm glad that I'm not asking your father about this, because I don't want to get into another arrangement."

  She smiled. "Look, we all know what you did. The Empire appreciates what you've done. But don't forget that you're still a man. A man with great handwriting and good ability to count numbers, but a man nonetheless. You should consider this the best gift you've ever gotten from the government."

  At those words, he shuddered. He did not want the government to give him any gifts. They always came with strings, just like the ones that he knew they were going to try to pull up at the end of the time he spent at the academy.

  "I know he's got plans for you. And no, I have no idea what those are. He just wants you to do the best you can, and I know he's asking me to be the number one student I can be, even though I'm pretty sure he wants me to win it all."

  "Thanks. It's good to know that I can be counted on to be some sort of Legion fodder for the Empire when the date arrives."

  Her smile was nice but it definitely had something mischievous. It was almost like she knew what her father wanted him to do.

  "Is it weird to ask what part of the government you want to join after this? Or are you intending to do something else with your knowledge?"

  "Most of the students at the academy are trying to figure out which positions they're going to benefit from the most, and of the people ahead of them—you're pretty limited to that faction. Doesn't really matter what you think. The military is not going to try to convert you from the government. Any of the religious orders are not going to mess around with anything there, unless you are an incredibly strong candidate to become a grammarian."

  Ludere might have been the strongest candidate to become a grammarian in a generation, but then that would require him to reveal his Skills, and he would turn into a strategic asset for the Empire, instead of just being a man. That didn't have a lot of appeal for him, as he wanted to be happy and independent. Though, if he had to deal with that, just to stay with the Oracle for the long-term, he might want to do that anyway. He couldn't tell what the future-him would want, or how many times he would have to be called back into doing time loops again.

  He didn't want to have to go through a series of short loops if he could avoid it. Just the idea… He brushed that away.

  "What else should I know about the academy? I've heard everything that Tyler has to say about this, but… He hasn't been there in forever."

  "Just because he looks old, doesn't mean that he is. I mean he is old, but he visits often. He likes to speak about history and politics to all the students, and he is often a guest lecturer."

  That had been a new piece of information. He was very interested in pursuing that line of inquiry later. Someone had to, and he was going to be the one.

  "Tyler?"

  "Yes, I train with him, too. He has visited me every other day, talking about you, so I understand his pain. I also understand your pain, now that we are having this discussion."

  It made sense that she was training with Tyler. It also made sense that she was not taking the morning session, as Tyler had told him that he was the one that needed more work. The fact that he had just met her now, with a few days left to go, meant that he could have trained with her this whole time. But then she might have figured out something from his Skills. He wasn't sure if she would pass on any knowledge she received straight to her father, or if she was going to try to gain his confidence and not feel anything.

  He didn't want her to pay for the sins of her father. She could have her own sins in her time-frame.

  "I mean he's told me a lot of things, but despite all that I just don't feel like I have a good sense of what's actually happening there. I know I'm supposed to study a lot and learn a lot, but…"

  "Trust me when I say that the things that Tyler had you doing, and the things you're going to be doing within the academy, are going to be wildly different. You are very prepared, because Tyler told me so, even though he will never tell you that. Do not repeat that. Are we agreed?"

  Ludere put his fist on his chest in a salute. "I would never."

  "Good. Now, let's talk about this. There's something that happens on the inside that you might want to be aware of. I'm only telling you this because I wanted to help you out, but there are a lot of cliques, and you're going to be put into class based on your standing. I think they will start you at the Octavi level. We haven't had many many late additions."

  Ludere was all aware that the school ran for eleven months. He would be missing a substantial portion of the instruction, coming in this late, and he wondered why they hadn't added him to the next cycle, but this was how the Senator wanted it, so this is how it was going to be. If it's time he wanted, he would get it.

  Conversely, if Ludere wanted it, he needed to push his feelings down. So what if he was going to have to leave the Oracle where she was? He would miss her for sure. She would miss him. He wasn't sure what he should do in the situation. Clearly, she wanted him to go, but the academy was not on the mainland.

  He wasn't going to be able to come back until he graduated or died. Either way, he couldn't worry about it.

  "Out here? We're friends. But inside? Everyone's going to know that my father sponsored you. They're going to know that you're going to be a Regnicus, probably confirmed while you're there. They're going to be looking for you."