Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) by Jez Cajiao (beach books .txt) 📗

responsibility of a leader, and you make those calls, but you also keep telling nearly everyone to just call you by your first name.” He paused, eyeing me as though to verify whether I was listening. I nodded mutely for him to continue.

“You are the Lord of Dravith, Jax. You need to understand what that means, The Legion is loyal to you, and as more and more of our Enclaves find out who you are, your following will grow. We weren’t confined to just Himnel, after all; there are Legion garrisons in each of the great cities. Several hundred in Narkolt still exist, led by a good man who I’ve no doubt will follow you as well, and we aren’t the only cities on Dravith.”

“What? I thought…”

“We lost contact with the cities on the far side of the mountain range after the Cataclysm, much as we did with the greater Empire, but there have been trade delegations, and explorers from other lands. From their tales, we know that the Legion still lives, even if it’s not all that it once was. If you reach out to them, you could bring them into the fold yet.”

“That’s great news!” I said, my mind suddenly full of marching armies, of bringing peace and prosperity…

“But they won’t all accept you as you are,” Romanus cut in, ruining my daydream as we walked up the gangplank, followed by my escort.

“What?” I asked, frowning.

“We in the Legion are trained to obey our rightful lords, and that is you, Jax… for Dravith. You have a claim, as Imperial Scion and heir to the throne for the Empire at large, but until you extend your authority over those lands, their Legions may not respond to you. They certainly won’t if you’re not what they expect from the Imperial Throne.”

“Go on…” I said, listening.

“You like to be one of the team, and to lead from the front, I hear. That’s a good thing in a Legionnaire; taking those risks alongside your men will earn you a level of devotion few can imagine. But Jax, you’re not a Legionnaire,” he said firmly. “You’re the Lord of Dravith; you command the Legions. You can still lead from the front, but the people are used to lords who, essentially, are remote, unfeeling bastards, who insist on their due and more. They claim anything and everything they can, and that’s the normal thing for a lord to do now. The common folk see that as the way, anyway.”

“I’m not doing that…” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“And that’s a good thing. Believe me, that’s not what I’m asking you to do, but the people are conditioned to expect… certain things from a lord. If you tell them not to show you respect, they won’t, and then you’re on a slippery slope…”

“Whoa, I’m not saying don’t respect me…” I protested as we all shuffled to the side to allow a Golem to stomp past along one of the wider internal corridors, its arms full of wood.

“No, I get that, but you are asking them to talk to you as an equal, and frankly, they’re not.” He slowed to a halt in the corridor. “We’ve just met, and this is a bit hard to say, Jax, but because of our roles and where we stand, with the world against us, it honestly needs to be said. You deserve respect from these people. You’ve rescued them. You need to accept it.”

“I… I will.” I nodded thoughtfully, stopping myself before I could apologize. “I can see where you’re coming from, Romanus, and thanks for having the balls to say it. In my… land, we are taught that we are all equal, and that no man should demand respect from others. It’s a bit of a change here.”

“I can understand that, and your land sounds very strange. Hopefully, you’ll tell me about it sometime… but you need to forget that now. You are Lord Jax, the Ruler of Dravith, and one day, the Empire. You need to be that man. I thank you for the right to call you by your first name, but please consider my words… and take them as advice freely offered, not as a criticism.”

“I will,” I said, trying not to take it personally. I’d been damn well doing my best to be the big boss already, as well as getting along with people. It wasn’t easy, but he had a point.

We crossed two corridors and bypassed the main stairwells, as they were full of stored gear and people running everywhere. Instead, we used a series of small ladders to climb the four stories to the main deck, stepping out into a steady wind that cut across the island.

I gazed in amazement at the deck rolling out on all sides. The bridge was an entire raised section to our left, located in the middle of the deck, with bare boards covering most of the surfaces which they’d hastily made safe against the constant breeze during flight. The main deck itself, though, was a patchwork of completion.

Some were almost finished, solid and clean, while other sections were cordoned off or entirely missing, with openings dropping all the way to the lower decks. There were mounting sections for masts, and two great trees, obviously planned to be those masts, were strapped to the deck on the starboard side. Despite those, the ship would clearly be entirely engine powered for a while.

Amongst the various groups that scurried here and there, I caught sight of my team, looking out over the island, and I strode over to join them.

Rinko had already rounded up most of those who had made the Skyking raid such a success, with the exception of Hellenica and Augustus. If I was right, the Legionnaire would seize the opportunity to go and get her personally, if given the chance.

I clapped my fist to my chest, acknowledging the crisp salutes of the Legionnaires, and the hasty, sloppy salutes of Lydia’s squad as they