Chapter 79: If Fate shows you a Door I
“I know I have said it ten times already, BUT show respect and good manners when you are around Alistair. The man has a strong sense of morality and dislikes rude or incompetent people.” Grace said and for some reason she looked at Janette while they walked down the main road towards the large manor. Manor might be the wrong word, castle was more fitting, Marcus thought. It was indeed an old English castle with everything you would expect. Large perfectly trimmed lawn, lively fountains and servants who tended to the estate. But it was also more, a modern glass and steel construction rose behind the old building and combined modern technology with old English ruggedness.
They moved closer to the entrance and Marcus was actually nervous. This job was important but based on all he had heard, the level of the other class holders was significantly higher than the average of the Colors. Grace was of course an exception. Memories of the “hellhole” came back to haunt Marcus and he hoped the whole thing was not a mistake. A servant greeted them and guided the whole group through the old building. They passed by large oil paintings, expensive vases and sculptures. Lord Cromwell was not short on money, that was clear. As they moved up a large wooden staircase a tall man in a fine suit with well trimmed white hair and beard awaited them on top.
“Grace it is a pleasure to see you again, I hope you had a pleasant journey.” He said and Marcus could net help and think, that the man had just jumped out of one of the paintings. Lord Cromwell looked so much like an English aristocrat it was uncanny. Grace greeted the man and introduced the clan members beginning with Marcus. Lord Cromwell had stern eyes, that moved from person to person as their names were called out. “I hope you forgive me, normally we would sit down for tea but under the circumstances I am eager to see how your clan members perform, Grace.” The old man said and Marcus tried to guess his age. 60? 70? maybe even 80, it was unclear thanks to the rejuvenation effect of the high level, he had already achieved.
The lord guided them out of the building and continued his polite discussion with Grace but Marcus could see that the eyes of the old man were inspecting his team members. They moved behind the venerable building and walked past rows of ancient hedges and came to a large circular area covered with gravel. A small woman with short gray-white hair was waiting there for them. She wore functional civilian clothing but it was clear that she was a class holder, a strong one too.
“Might I introduce you to Rita Sorn, a permanent member of my personal group and year long friend.” Mr. Cromwell said with a smile and the woman gave the group a look too. “Rita Sorn, Metal Master level 85” she said and there was something military about her posture and speech. Metal Master! Marcus was suddenly excited. This was a very rare class for sure. Class rarity and power are not the same, Elemental Mage was fairly common and also a top ten class while Metal Master was maybe 100 times less common and rank 18. Still, it was a fascinating class and Marcus could not wait to see her in action. With level 85 Rita was a true powerhouse even exceeding Grace by over ten levels.
“I will evaluate if you are ready to join us.” Rita said without any more pleasantries. She was the very opposite of Alistair Cromwell. “One by one you will face me and I will decide if your performance is good enough.” She said and Mr. Cromwell added “Ms. Russell is of course excused. Nobody is expecting her to join battle.” he said with a smile and a light nod. Candis barely acknowledged the gesture and concentrated on the events in front of her. “I think your clan leader should go first, not?” the regal old man said to Grace, as if she was the one calling the shots. “That is up to him.” She said with a faint smile.
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Marcus was wearing a simple suit and had hoped to change into his armor but as it seemed the test was meant to be taken without any special equipment. He was sure that Achara and Janette were armed in some way, so they would be fine, but he felt a bit naked with only his civilian clothing.
He stepped forward and started to warm up his muscles while the white haired woman moved in the middle of the circle. Parts of her attire suddenly floated up and transformed from thin sheets into two separate floating blades. Only two? With her level she should be able to control more metal at once.
The fundamental power of the Metal Master was to freely control a certain amount of metal (shocking, I know). But it had nothing to do with magnets, it was far more interesting. They go through a ritualistic binding process with a piece of metal that involves their own blood. Afterwards they can move the piece of metal like their own body, including floating or flying. The stronger they are the more metal they can control at the same time, and as they gain new abilities they can change the form of the metal and even its physical state.
“Don’t be intimidated by the level difference, come at me with your full strength.” Rita said and Marcus nodded. “STOP!” Grace called and Mr. Cromwell looked surprised. She walked over to Marcus, while Rita furrowed her eyebrows and watched Grace whisper into Marcus’ ear. After Grace had returned to her place next to the lord he leaned over and whispered “Last minute tactical advice?” She leaned in too and said “I told him to use only 30% of his power. No need to cripple a raid member on the first day.” Alistair Cromwell blinked and tried to figure out if Grace Taylor was making jokes now. He had already picked up that she had changed since their last meeting, a few years back. She had a far more lively air around her and there was a dangerous light in her eyes he had only ever seen when she was in battle.
Marcus took a deep breath. “Marcus Freimann, level 38 Titan class.” and went into his combat stance. Rita looked surprised for a moment but then one of her blades shot forward aiming for Marcus’ left shoulder. Her goal was not to hurt the young man but to carefully determine his limits. Marcus did not stand still but charged at her with full speed and as such ran right into the flying weapon. The sharp blade connected with his shoulder and “What?” Rita exclaimed. The blade had cut through his shirt and left a red streak behind before it suddenly shot away and through the hedges.
Rita was still unsure what happened as Marcus had nearly reached her and she had to use her other blade as a shield. A heavy swing of the young man was blocked by her metal fragment and it went flying. He must have a huge amount of strength crests, Rita thought backing up while she waited for her fragments to return. Marcus tried to reach her but only his finger tip touched her shoulder. Her body was violently pushed back and she tumbled to the ground.
As pain rushed through her shoulder, her combat instincts kicked in and she came up again with her fists held high. Her first fragment turned into thin spear accelerating at ever greater speed towards the back of her enemy. Too late her rational brain reminded her what she was doing and the metal spear punched through the arm of the young man without slowing down much. Blood sprayed over the white gravel and her own clothes. Marcus did not stop but moved forward again ready to deliver a kick against her raised arms as the Mr. Cromwell shouted “This is more than enough.”.
Marcus relaxed and so did Rita. “I’m terribly sorry. You completely surprised me and I acted on instinct.” She said visibly distressed. “We need to tend to your wound quickly.” and Rita was about to ask the Priestess to help as something really weird happened. Marcus pulled his shirt on the arm back and besides a bit of blood, no wound was to be found. “I heal quickly.” He said.
Alistair Cromwell had problems believing what he saw. Of course Rita had held back against the young man but that did not explain what happened. “What is a Titan class?” He said, remembering that Fighter was the official class of Marcus. “Fighter is not fitting the true identity of my class as such I call it Titan.” The young man said and Alistair slowly turned to Grace. Is this what you found? Is this the reason you joined a tiny clan nobody had ever heard of? He wanted to ask her but Grace just smiled. “I take it Marcus has passed?” Grace said and Rita nodded.
