Chapter 43: Superhuman III

  Kim walked through the office, obviously distressed. “I have reached level 135 and I have not yet unlocked the fourth ability. I have tried everything I can think of, for months and years now, but to no avail.” Marcus listened to him and his brain started to work at full speed. Kim looked seriously frustrated as he spoke and Marcus got a feeling he understood why. “You want to be the first to find and master it. Because it is your class. You are the Grand Paladin.” Marcus said and only afterwards realized that he had been far too direct.

  Kim laughed. “I knew, I was right about you. You are correct, my own stupid pride drives me into madness. The thought of somebody else figuring it out on a coincident kills me. I should have enough crests and I should have the best understanding of the class too. At least this is what my pride wants me to believe.”

  Marcus was dumbstruck, did Kim actually believe Marcus could somehow figure this out even so he himself could not do it for years? “Why me? There must be many capable Paladins or other class holders. Why reach out to a low level Fighter, with no name or achievement?”

  Kim laughed again and looked happier somehow. “You sell yourself short Marcus. You have already achieved more than most class holder do in their life. And I’m going to help you to go much further still.” He gave Marcus a short smile and went on. “Why you? Because you are like me. I saw it in your data and since you came here this feeling has only grown. The way you look at things, question things and walk your own path. You remind me of my younger self.”

  Marcus turned red, that was too much praise. Him the same as Kim? No way, half of Marcus’ achievement came from an alien device. The rest was work and persistence, nothing even close to the superhuman achievements Kim had claimed. “I think you are overestimating me, sir. I had access to exclusive information that allowed me to walk this path.” He said and tried to rectify the situation.

  Kim looked serious and walked very close to Marcus. “I do not. You are just lacking the experience and insight to see it yourself. And so what, if you had some knowledge from some source? Maybe connected to your parents? Many people have opportunities but few ever even try to take it and even less have the strength to pull it off.” Marcus watched Kim and realized this man had thoroughly investigated him and had made the right assumptions just based on some random information. What a scary human being.“Alright. What can I do for you?” Marcus gave in, this was way too cool to fight it.

  They started a mega brain storm session. Kim told Marcus everything he had tried, all the ideas he had and about various situations and encounters over the last years. Marcus asked questions and made notes on a giant interactive screen that had been hidden before. Coffee and sweats fueled them for hours but at the end Marcus looked at the board and admitted that Kim had tried everything.

  “Could it be that I still don’t have enough scaling crests? I ask myself that often.” Kim said but Marcus shook his head. “No, it is very clear you need 70 scaling crests for the fourth ability and no matter how you look at your attributes you have that for sure.” Kim smiled on Marcus’ words. “So what is left?” Marcus did not know. They finally ended it for the night and Marcus was shown to his gigantic room. It was a suite with several bedrooms and baths. Against his own expectations he fell asleep in minutes and the sun was already shining brightly when he woke up.

  Marcus got a lavish breakfast on a terrace at the 37th floor and enjoyed the view over the ocean. Nobody bothered him, even so many people shared the place for breakfast. He spotted several people he had only seen on screen and spent most of his time thinking about Kim. As soon as he had finished he was told Kim was waiting for him in a training room. And what a room it was, large, filled with any and everything you could want for class training and a few things Marcus had never seen before.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Welcome to my private training room. I thought some activity would be nice. I have some spare clothes for you.” Kim said and Marcus quickly changed, unsure what would happen. They warmed up and Kim looked about ready to go. “Okay, show me your attack Marcus. And don’t bother to hold back.” Kim said and Marcus followed his words to the letter. He took his stance and gave it his best shot, he landed a full power hit against Kim’s chest and the man was blown back two meter but did not fall or looked damage at all. “That is a great attack, the power alone is already on the level of mid-level class holder. But it needs a lot more refinement.”

  In the next minutes Kim deconstructed his Impulse Hammer step by step until Marcus felt he had done everything wrong and was a failure in every way. “Don’t worry too much. When I first used Channel Light it was nothing more than some mediocre weapon enchantment that caused some burn damage. Your ability has a lot more room to grow, that is good.” Kim said and he then walked over to something that looked like a thick gray wall standing in the middle of the training room. “Hit it with your Impulse Hammer.” Kim said.

  Marcus looked at the strange gray wall and slammed his attack into it. On impact the wall deformed and froze, showing exactly how much and where Marcus had dealt damage. Kim explained some basics about Marcus’ attack and had him attack again and again, with punches, kicks and other strike techniques. Marcus could see the differences quickly. “Right now you only use large scale attacks, I think you should try to focus your power on a smaller area to achieve greater damage.” Kim taught Marcus for two hours and Marcus knew this was an invaluable experience for him. Kim was truly peerless, his insight, quick thinking and ability was just beyond normal. It was hard to believe he could ever lose. Marcus stopped in the middle of his strike motion.

  “Have you finally run out of steam?” Kim asked with a smile but Marcus turned and looked at Kim with different eyes. “You are peerless. You never lose.” he said and Kim looked embarrassed “Thanks.”, but Marcus shook his head. “No, that is your problem. That is why you can not find the fourth ability…”, “...because I never lose.” Kim said and hit his forehead. “OF COURSE! Marcus you damn genius.” He laughed from his heart and stomped the ground. “You are thinking of a conditional passive ability connected to defeat or suffering damage.” Yes, Marcus thought, and you grasped that from a few words, you monster. Kim stood there thinking for a moment and a wide smile appeared.

  He started to work on the controls of the wall and also activated a com link in his ear. “Jura darling, would you please come to the training room. I might need you in thirty seconds.” As he said the last words he pushed a button on the wall and four needle like spears shot out of the wall piercing Kim’s body at critical points. Marcus watched Kim drop to the ground and a silent scream left Marcus’ mouth. He ran towards him but after two steps a bright light engulfed Kim and forced Marcus back.

  “WOOHOOO!” Kim jumped up as if nothing happened, no he looked even more energetic than before. “YES. Marcus you were right! It is some form of self resurrection ability.” Kim exclaimed and the door jumped open as a woman came charging in. “You moron what did you do this time.” She seemed to be of Indian descend and had tattoos over her face, she was pretty too.

  “All is well, love. Marcus just helped me to find out what my fourth ability is.” Kim said and explained what it was. “So you basically just killed yourself based on the hunch of a boy you have just met.” She said and slapped the back of his head. Kim just shrugged his shoulders. “I never told him to kill himself.” Marcus said, still shocked about the events. “Of course not, you still have common sense.” Jura said and left after giving Kim a kiss. The news of the breakthrough quickly spread through the building. Many amazing people from the clan showed up to congratulate Kim and Marcus felt his duty here had come to an end. In the evening of the same day Marcus flew back to the Philippines deeply in thought.

  Kim had talked with him before he left and the impression of that talk was still on Marcus’ mind. “Before you came here, I pulled some strings and made your videos invisible Marcus. Believe me, it is too early for you to tell the world. As somebody who got famous early, I promise you it is not worth it. It will hinder your growth in more than one way. Eventually and far sooner than you would like you will get fame and all the problems that come with it. For now concentrate on your own growth and find people you can trust and work together. Maybe join a clan or better make your own clan. Do not make the same mistake I did at the start and try to do things solo. Nothing good comes from it.” He said all this and then also promised to give Marcus a reward later. Marcus would need time to think about his words but right now he wanted go back to his team.

  When he landed at the military base, he was welcomed by his friends and couldn’t tell his story quickly enough to satisfy their curiosity. Later that night, they had some food (this time from Kou) in their small kitchen and discussed the crazy events of the last days. After going over all the impressions, Marcus also mentioned Kim’s idea of founding a clan.

  “I’m in.” Kou said. “Me too.” Achara was next and Janette just smiled “Of course and Marcus is the leader.”, “Agreed.” the rest said and looked to their new leader who was not prepared.

  “Wait, what?”