Chapter 18: an unknown variable has appeared (1)

Zen's POV:

"Master Markus? Are you awake?"

Zen's voice came from outside of Markus's door, it was that natural business man voice that Markus has come to expect from Zen as if the events that transpired yesterday were nothing but a bad dream.

""...I'll be down there in a sec...""

Markus was completely exhausted from last night thanks to his miniature holy crusade to purge the unholy abominations from the mansion's underground lab, so he didn't even bother to use his fake voice.

This surprised Zen greatly as from his perspective this is the first time he has seen Markus's voice break like that, although since Markus was extremely tired his voice wasn't as frightening as usual so it didn't raise too much suspicion in Zen.

(Did he had an early puberty?...nah, it's probably because there's something stuck in his throat, he did eat a lot at dinner last night...)

Concluding the most logical reason for Markus's change in tone in his head, Zen began to walk away.

(Huh...that's strange...I can't seem to remember everything that happened at the etiquette class yesterday...)

Zen was confused, as his memory is usually very good.

Markus's POV:

((At least the brainwash's working...ugh...))

Markus didn't sleep at all last night as the Andrenaline got to his head a little bit to much.

The Ubermensch sleep schedule that Markus follows entails taking six 20 minutes long naps over the course of a 24 hour day which are spread out 4 hours per nap, at 2 A.M, 6 A.M, 10 A.M, 6 P.M and 10 P.M. This gives him energy by making sure Markus immediately enters REM sleep when he naps which is the period of sleep where you gain the most energy and this sleep schedule basically gives him more time to do other things in one day as he sleeps 6 hours less than normal monophasic sleeper.

But ever since coming to this house Markus had to adjust his sleep schedule to fit in with the environment he now inhabits making the time he sleeps very chaotically arranged causing him to lose some of his usual precious sleep like yesterday when he spent the entire rest of that evening after Zen's etiquette class studying more magic in the library again while waiting for nightfall so that he could sneak into the underground lab and spending the entire night exterminating ghost in that lab causing him to lose not one but two of his very vital naps.

((Should I switch to monophasic sleep? Nah there's not enough time in one day for me...I'll just have to take my naps more seriously or if it's not working, I'll just take on a new polyphasic schedule...))

Markus thought pulling his heavy body up from the bed, groggily making preparations for this morning.

((And it's not like I need to sleep as much as normal people anyway, I can maintain a perfectly functional constant conscious state for about 8.3 years if I really push the Exforia in my veins to it's limit...))

Markus thought about various ways to solve his sleeping problem.

((But nevertheless, sleeping well is still the better choice so I'll refrain...))

""Let's take one of the caffeine pills that I brought from the lab...I can't present myself like this when meeting Aidan Silver after all...""

Markus said, pulling his body that was as heavy as if lead was pumped into his veins trying to find his weapon bag that he brought from Friendrich's lab.

He took out a dark brown pill that looked like a wrapped chocolate candy, ripped off the wrappings and swallowed the pill immediately after throwing it into his mouth.

Although it was called a caffeine pill there were more than just caffeine in that pill such as Andrenaline hormones extracted from magical beasts, Stimulants such as Amphetamines and Methylphenidate combined with a little bit of Modafinil mixed in as well as copious amounts of sugar and even multiple unknown mutagens on top of it all.

Although this pill will most definitely kill a person when ingested, subjects of the darkblood series such as Markus can ingest them on a daily basis without fear of danger to their health.

The pill took effect immediately as Markus could physically feel the blood rushing to his brain and the gas filling his nostrils like when your burping after drinking a large bottle of coke.

""Argh...can't say that feeling is better than sleep deprivation but hey, it worked""

Markus was definitely awake now, perhaps too awake.

((I need to fix my sleep problem...and fast too cause I only have enough pills to last for 3 months and making more would be a hassle))

Markus had the [alchemist] class which would make it easy to make more pills like this if not for how hard some of the ingredients were to find/make, namely the specific type of mutagens and extracted monster Andrenaline hormones needed to make these pills.

((Well let's put that aside...for now))

""Let's go over my plans for today""

Although Markus would've like to test out the [eyes of the puppeteer] more by using it every morning before starting his day, he decided to abandon that plan since losing 75% of your total mp before starting a day that had "magic training" in it's usual timetable is a l terrible idea so he decided to hold off on using that ability until he could build up a mana pool that is at least somewhat respectable to his video game counterpart.

""Today is the day I'm going to meet my "father", Aidan Silver, so I'll need to make as good of an impression as possible as to safely install myself into a position within the house...""

Markus intended to get on the good side of Aidan as to ensure that he gets to use the Silver's facilities to improve his stats as much as possible before heading to the Rosewood house.

""I have thought of multiple ways to do this and most of them involve finding ways to improve the house's current state into a better one however, I'll also need to plan for the scenario in which Aidan might find me undesirable...""

In the game that Markus remembered, Aidan and Markus's relationship wasn't really touched upon that much but considering the fact that Aidan allowed Markus to stay in his house despite Markus being a so called "illegitimate son" it can be said that they at least tolerated each other's presence under the same roof.

But still, Markus had to make situational contingencies just in case if their relationship turns out to be hostile even if passively hostile.

((And if that ever comes to pass, I'll use the information found in Ian's journal to blackmail him and the house into giving him what I want...))

Markus looked at the bag where he kept Ian's journal with meaningful eyes.

After exterminating all the ghost in the underground lab last night, Markus took a fast look through Ian Silver's journal finding multiple incriminating evidence that could potentially jeopardise the house and it's reputation among the empire even more severely than it already is.

Markus intends to use that information that he found in the journal as a last resort just in case Aidan needs some "forceful convincing".

((Other than that there's one more thing on my checklist for today...))

Markus thought mulling something over.

((According to what's written in that journal, there are currently 5 outposts in the capital that belong to members of Executor, it might seem a bit early to strike at them but considering all the turmoil and lack of resources the organisation is having right now this is the perfect time to cripple their influence in the capital even if it's only a temporary fix...))

Markus wanted to completely expunge Executor from the capital due to the possible threat they posed not only to him, but to the natural course of the game.

((In the plot of "fires of Valentia 1: rising of the saint" Executor only makes their debut in chapter 2 of the game where they tried to kidnap Sophia and eliminate Reinhart for their own purposes and they were only able to pull this off because the organisation had been reunited under the rule of the council of shadows by then so these outposts don't pose a significant threat to the game's characters now, but the thing is, there's a small chance that one of the operatives at those outposts may make a reckless ambitious move since the organisation is so divided right now...))

Since systematic assassination is kinda Markus's thing it wasn't long before he drew out a plan of action on the map provided by Ian's journal and even contingencies should his first plan of attack failed.

((Friendrich's is not the only one in the organisation that has his eyes on Sophia as it's implied during the game that multiple prominent members of the organisation already had their attention set on Sophia even during and before the infighting of the top brass...))

Markus had to make sure that he could successfully shape Sophia into the ideal protagonist that he made in the game so as to turn her into a useful asset to his goals and for that he had to make sure to eliminate every other person that seeks to interfere with her life apart from him, prevention is better than cure after all.

""Well, that should be it...let's go, I shouldn't keep Zen waiting for long""

Markus said opening the door to his room beginning his second day at the Silver's estate.

Walking towards the lobby as always, Zen was standing there waiting for him in a manner as expected of a butler.

"You took longer than I thought to get prepared master Markus..."

Zen gave a polite and subtle complain to Markus.

""My apologies...I was a bit restless last night...""

Markus said with his fake voice on, telling Zen a half truth as to not invoke any more unnecessary scrutiny from the intuitive butler.

((Although I could just alter his memories again if need be...))

Markus thought, scratching his head and acting remorseful.

"(Sighs)...well please be mindful about your sleeping habits from now on, you are the only surviving heir to our house after all"

Zen whispered into Markus's ear.

""Eh? You never said anything about inheritance before...""

Markus was surprised (not really) by what Zen just revealed to him.

"Oh wait yeah...that's strange for some reason after yesterday I feel like can tell you everything without being reserved"

Zen said confused at himself.

""what's that supposed to mean?""

((Is it a side effect of the brainwashing? The method wasn't as good as actual mind affecting magic so there might've been some problems caused within his brain...))

Markus was afraid that Zen was going to suffer from the side effects of the mind wipe or even worse, remember what happened yesterday, so he secretly prepared another blood magic spell in his left hand just in case he needs to do another one.

"Oh never mind, I was just talking to myself out loud"

Zen jollily said.

"Let us go master Markus, you will be meeting lord Aidan today, you remember how to greet someone right?"

Zen guided Markus by the hand to the main gate.

""Yes...phew!""

Breathing a sigh of relief Markus followed Zen outside, canceling the blood magic spell he prepared but not completely dropping his guard as per his usual overly paranoid nature.

((Well, it's now or never I'll need to present my best self in front of Aidan...I really hope I don't have to use the journal...))

Markus calmed his breath and went over his game plan one last time before Zen opened the door.

The outside was just as usual, an empty courtyard with a few servants tending to it, this confused Markus as he was supposed to meet Aidan today but there seems to be no one here at the moment.

""...""

Markus was silent unsure if how to react.

And at that moment when his mind was seemingly at it's least focused, something came-

A strike filled with killing intent came in from behind Markus aiming to take his head.

But the thing about Markus is...he's always on edge so even if this opponent strikes him at his most vulnerable point he would still have a dozen plans in place to counter their assault.

You should never try to surprise attack a calm but vigilant man who's constantly being driven by his cautious nature such as Markus who is always on guard as this assailant will soon learn with their own body.

dodging the sword strike with minimal neck movement, Markus ducked down while simultaneously spinning around and used both of his hands to catch the assailant's sword by the handle.

he then proceeded to do a movement similar to the maneuvers of a Russian military martial arts called Systema and applied pressure on the attacker's wrist using the inertia caused by his circular spin and his abnormal muscle strength, disarming their sword and throwing it into his left hand which was his dominant one.

???'s POV:

The assailant was surprised at this young boy's reaction speed as well as his muscle strength and nearly flawless technique with no wasted movement whatsoever.

But she didn't falter at this unexpected turn of events as she dealt it with as or even more flawlessly than the boy did.

Using her superior height and weight as well as reach he pressed the boy down onto the ground breaking his already unstable posture.

Taking advantage of this she twisted her wrist in a way that freed her hand from the boy's powerful grasp and used that new freedom to grab the wrist of his left hand that just caught her sword after he wrung it from her earlier and twisted it.

The boy probably knew that he would only damage his own wrist if he were to resist her twist so he did an entire body flip along with her twist in order to not break his wrist while throwing the sword behind him in order to not let his opponent reclaim it.

(very nice...he's prioritizing his greatest weapon (his dominant hand) over the sword...it seems this kid can learn, process and adapt to situations at high speeds...Aidan wasn't kidding when he said this kid was a genius...no one's ever manage to disarm me in less than a minute before)

Syph thought genuinely praising the boy in her head.

Syph didn't try to catch the blade that was spinning in the air as Markus had intentionally thrown it outside of her reach and instead drove a kick into Markus's body.

Markus successfully manipulated his body in mid air to minimize the damage but that kick still sent him flying.

Performing Ukemi Markus landed on his feet right next to the thrown sword.

(Considering he's this sharp, he must have realized that I could've killed him multiple times just now, let's see how he reacts...)

Syph unsheathed her second blade and assumed her battle stance.

(the battle is not over yet young prodigy!...)

Markus's POV:

((What the h*ll!!?? Who is that woman? Is she an assassin from Executor?...no, if she was, she would've already killed me by now...although her first attack had killing intent, it wasn't at all meant to kill me, if it was she would have concealed her bloodlust more...it's like she's toying with me, like predator playing with their food...))

Other than the woman that's in front of him Markus sensed another presence nearby, this gave him possible hint as to what's going on.

The fact that Zen who is watching this unfold didn't seem to have a strong reaction suggested that this was some kind of plan of the Silver house, perhaps it was to test him?.

The woman in front of him was a young maiden seemingly at the spring of her life, with illustrious black long hair that flows down to her waist and amber eyes that look like actual jewelry grafted onto her face which has graceful and beautifully crafted features which only serve to enhance her beauty even more.

((wait, isn't she...))

Realizing who's standing in front of him through his memories of his past life playing the game Markus figured out what's going on.

((Oh I see how it is, fine...if that's how you wanna play then bring it on, I won't let anyone get in the way of my goals!!))

Markus picked up the sword that he disarmed from the woman off of the ground and assumed his stance, holding his sword in front of his Navel and dropping his center of gravity while keeping his opponent firmly within his sights.

Syph's POV:

(He assumed a stance with the intention to fight huh? incredible, he seems to have an incredible will to live and also an unwavering fearlessness only present in veteran warriors...as expected of "his" child)

Syph thought as she also assumed her stance, keeping her sword near her face while pulling it backwards in a stabbing motion, a very aggressive stance.

Markus's POV:

The lack of dialogue accompanied by the uncomfortable whistling sound of the wind seemed to last forever as both stared the other down intently, refusing to let a single movement get pass their sights.

After a long stressful minute a pebble was blown by the wind fell on the stone paved road.

At soon as that small insignificant *kek* sound rang out-

Both Markus and Syph charged at each other at full speed.

There was no friction, no sound of the wind being torn asunder, the ground underneath their feet didn't seem to be broken in anyway, they both simply vanished, appearing a quarter of a second later with their swords locked together.

A metallic sound like that of a bullet hitting a metal wall reverberated all throughout the mansion, the sound only appeared a full 5 seconds after they locked swords with each other giving onlookers a taste of the kind of speed based exchange happening between them.

Syph clearly took the initiative, as she bombarded the younger boy with graceful yet impactful downward strikes, side sweeps, upwards slash and more...

Markus kept his calm despite this being the first time he has fought an opponent this powerful in a 1 on 1 death match, he parried, dodged and countered her blows with supreme calculated precision although this clearly stressed him out.

((This power...no doubt about it, she's Sypha Clariet, Reinhart's and Markus's sword teacher in the game and also a playable character...))

Markus was shocked and glad to have met an essential character here.

Syph skilfully slided her sword down on Markus's blade intending to take off his arm.

In response to this Markus spun his wrist, moving his sword in a way that parried her attack out of the way.

((But why is she here now of all times? She's only supposed to become Markus's teacher after she's taught Reinhart in chapter 4 of the game...we're not supposed to meet yet))

Markus was confused as to how this new development came to pass.

The torrent of blades intersecting with each other was like a typhoon, it was so fast and chaotic that people would probably mistake it to being a mini natural disaster the blades of both opponents seem to fade in and out of reality as they were completely unseeable by anyone.

And yet both Markus and Syph kept complete control of their side of the exchange clearly showcasing how ahead of the curve both individuals were when it came to swordsmanship.

But because Markus still hadn't regained his complete composure yet, small cuts began to accumulate on his body.

((No, what am I thinking? I need to focus on this battle right now, if everything I've inferred is right then she won't kill me if I lose...but something tells me that if I don't at least put on a good show then I'll be in trouble))

Markus started focusing more on the battle in front of him, activating the Exforia to suppress his feelings, polishing his skills and fixing any slip ups in his defence while carefully waiting for a chance to strike back at Syph.

As result of this the battle became less one-sided as no cuts were appearing on Markus anymore, in fact it was the opposite as a few thin scratches appeared on Syph.

Syph's POV:

(Impressive! I was right to take Aidan's request, this boy has nothing but potential as far as I can see)

Syph's breath was utterly taken by Markus despite only meeting him for a few minutes.

Although she should be on an adventure slaying monster and bounty hunting right now she was suddenly asked by Aidan to become the teacher of his long lost son who's just returned, this development would've never happened in the game as the old Markus would've hidden his true abilities in order to more easily blend in and execute Executor's orders however, this new Markus who's looking to raise his stats as much as possible during his time staying at he Silver's mansion, opted to reveal all his capabilities in order to received the best education for himself, little did he know, this action would ultimately lead to him unknowingly drawing Syph here, altering the plot of the game, although it's only a minor change.

Syph agreed to become Markus's teacher under one condition, she would like to test out Markus's rumored "prodigal" abilities and if she finds it satisfying, only then would she agree to teach him.

(He's an extraordinary sparkle, maybe even brighter than Aidan was at that age)

Syph, who's opinion of Markus is being raised higher and higher by the second decided to get a little serious.

(Let's see how you fair against this!)

Markus's POV:

((That posture...oh sh*t! She's about to...))

Recognizing the change in Syph's pace that seems to overlap with a certain fighting style Markus saw in the game in his past life as Kazuki, Markus switched to complete defense as he knew that his usual "offense is the best defense" philosophy will not work here as even if he tried to interrupt her with his attacks it will only make him even more vulnerable against what's coming.

Syph threw her blade from her right hand to her left and stabbed at Markus by circulating her left arm over her back.

This might seemed like a strange and impractical movement to most but Markus knew better than anyone than to underestimate it as he dodged the stab rather than parried it.

The stab caused a 3 meter long fissure to form in front of it, turning the stones that pave the road they were standing on over and the crazy thing is, it did this with just the wind pressure caused by friction between the air and the sword.

Markus broke out in cold sweat as he imagined what would happen if that hit him.

((No doubt about it, that's the Arend sword style that Syph was so famous for in the game))

The Arend swords style is a unique school of swordsmanship that seeks to combine the chaotic unpredictability of free self taught swordsmanship with the patterned strategic control of a disciplined swordsman.

Syph constantly switched her sword between two hands as she danced around like a ballet completely dominating Markus as deeper and deeper wounds appeared on him and black blood began to spill out from those wounds.

Markus was completely defenseless as he could only avoid the strikes to his vital spots, even then Markus knew that he couldn't last for long like this.

Her speed, strength, reach, height and technique were now in a completely different dimension than his.

((In the game, this was what gave Syph the position as the hero party's secondary vanguard even though she's only a member a certain points in the game as her proficiency in close range combat was matched only by Markus and Reinhart...unlike other main characters who start out at level 1, Syph's the only character who starts out at level 34 when you unlock her...and considering the time difference between then and the time period in which the Markus DLC takes place and also her current skill level...she should be around level 19 right now, and I'm only level 2 right now...))

Markus considered his options as his brain went into overdrive mode in order to find a solution to this current conundrum.

((There is no way in h*ll I'm beating her!))

The obvious answer came to Markus.

((No matter how high Markus's stats are compared to others of his caliber, there is no way you can beat a 12 level wide difference in power...))

Markus slowly felt the despair creep up to him as the hopelessness of his situation sets in.

((Should I give up?))

That question inevitably came up.

((NO! No way! Not in a trillion, billion years! I will be the one to decide my fate! Not anyone else! She wants to stand in my way? So be it I'll just remove her from the equation!))

Markus was fired up as this was the first time someone has successfully cornered him in his life.

For the first time in forever he stopped holding back both mentally and physically as every cell in his body starts to scream for blood!

Even though he knew that this was probably only a test and Syph won't actually kill him he still had an infernally burning desire to win, after all if he couldn't win against her than what was all that effort he put into gaining freedom from the jaws of cruel destiny even for?

(([Physical Enhancement]: [strength enhancement], [speed enhancement], Apathy: [nullify pain], Blood Mage: [Blood manipulation (self)- sub skill: body puppetry], Alchemy: [transmute object], Wind magic: [float]))

Using his full mental capacity Markus analyzed, formulated, calculated, and structurally designed every one of those spells before actualizing them in less then 1/50 second, a feat that would require a supercomputer level of processing power and speed.

Gripping his sword tightly, Markus's muscles began to tense up as the black blood in his veins began to boil.

A beast will always be more powerful when cornered and the more desperate a man is the closer he is to his inner demon, if you push on someone too much, they'll push back and it's an understatement to say: Markus pushes back hard!

((Let's fvcking go!!!))

With that the battle between Syph and Markus entered its climax.