Chapter 2: Master William

The Longstein Compound consisted of one main mansion, four accessory mansions, 30 hectares of farm land, five barns, and several storage facilities. The servants alone made up a whopping number of about 40 people. Having this much land in a major city's centre just proved how powerful the Longstein family was, its power only being rivalled by a single other family. 

The wealth was also reflected on the dinner table, its long span of 6 metres was covered in a wide array of dishes. From freshwater fish to a fierce bull's hind leg, they lay prepared seven different ways. This banquet was destined to only be feasted upon by three people. Master William, his wife and Michael's mother Felicity, and finally Michael himself. 

"So, Michael, how was your day?" 

Felicity looked at Michael with a soft smile, and served him a plate as she spoke. This was a habit of hers. She was not born into nobility, but was instead the daughter of a small tailor, and due to her immense beauty she was swiftly taken in by William.

"It went well mother, I just strolled around the shops in the Centre again."

Hearing his response, Felicity's smile slowly gave way to a concerned frown.

"Michael, you cannot continue going to the Residential District. Dangerous, scary, things are always going on over there. I just can't let you have the chance to see something like that."

Michael was unmoved, just his unassured nod was not enough this time.

"William. Please, tell Michael to stop visiting that damned place. I don't want him seeing those things, he's still so young."

"Son, your mother is right, you can't go all the time. Only once a week, you understand."

Felicity gave William a stern look as this was not what she wanted, her poor child's innocence was at stake.

"Felicity I know how you feel, but he'll be twelve tomorrow, a young adult. He needs to experience the reality of this world, or else he will suffer more at a later time."

William's stern gaze softened a bit, but he kept his stance as this was the way he was raised and he firmly believed in its importance.

"Huhhh, alright, alright. You guys can do what you want."

She sighed deeply and swallowed her misgivings.

Felicity served them both their plates, then served herself. They ate quietly, each stuck in their own thoughts.

Michael looked at this new family of his. He didn't really treat them as his real parents, but more like an uncle and aunt. He felt it would be a form of disrespect towards his real parents, the ones who callused their hands to give him a brighter tomorrow, back on Earth.

The steak easily gave way under the sharp silverware, the tender slices of meat tasted deliciously perfect while the fruit juice was as fresh as can be. The life here was great, yet Michael still day dreamed about his time back on Earth. This new life seemed surreal and at times it was difficult to swallow. 

About thirty minutes later his father stood from the table and like a chain reaction, servants swarmed in and removed the plates and wiped down the table.

"Alright, William I'm going back up, I'm still working on my master project."

"Okay, I'll see you upstairs in a couple of hours."

William looked towards the end of the corridor as Felicity walked towards her painting room. 

"Alright, hmm, let's see. Why don't we go to your uncle Brute's training ground. We will start the conversation there."

"Yes, father."

William walked uniformly towards a certain direction, and like a little duckling, Michael followed, excitement and worry interwoven.

About ten minutes later they arrived at a small warehouse. Outside Brute was already awaiting. His figure was pretty unsightly, muscles bulged all over, while his face was stuck in a permanent scowl. It was the complete opposite of his father, who had a refined scholarly appearance, but maybe that determination to disregard his appearance is what allowed him to step above the rest and become an advanced knight.

"Hahaha, Brute I'm going to need your help this time around. My son here will turn twelve tomorrow and since you said that was the perfect age to start, here I am with a shameless request. Can you teach this son of mine?"

William walked up and gave Brute a hug of camaraderie.

In response Brute simply laughed loudly and reciprocated the greeting.

"No worry, no worry at all. We're not brothers for nothin' alright. Let me see the talent of your son. As the saying goes "a tiger does not beget a dog son."

William gave Michael a light shove and pushed him towards Brute. Michael stepped forward and let Brute test his talent through his methods. 

"Let me see, give me your hand."

Michael followed his instructions. It was not even a second later that he felt a warmth flow through his body. About a minute later, the once jovial attitude on Brute had transformed into a slight grimace.

"What is it Brute?! Is he not destined for knighthood?!"

William's face instantly became worried, although being the strongest was not a requirement for his son, he still had to be at least a knight to legally inherit his position.

"No, don't worry, although he is not particularly talented he is still decent, becoming a knight is not out of the picture."

Michael looked into Brute's uncertain eyes, and he felt his last wisp of optimism vanish.

"Alright don't worry, the kid still has a future, why don't we get to teaching then?"

Brute tried his best to appease William, but he still ended up walking away, his mind drifting to a new plan.

As William walked away. Michael looked towards the pastures in disappointment and embarrassment.

'I fucking knew it, I knew some shit was going to happen. Fuck!'

As Michael wallowed in despair, he heard Brute's brute words.

"Alright, little fella, although your talent is straight shit, there is still hope. Everyone can technically become a knight, as every living being has life force, so don't get stuck on the idea that talent is everything. The only difference between one who is talented and one who is not is the work required, you will just have to work double. Keep this in mind, people who mention talent are either trying to find an excuse for their laziness or they are trying to limit your growth, where there is a will there's a way."

Michael began to nod in accordance, he had been fed the lie of inborn limits his whole life in this world, and the first person to break that shitty supremacist ideology was this supposed brute uncle of his.

"Alright, alright, it looks like you understand, you're young, but I heard you're quite smart. You're going to need that if you want to avoid mistakes. Here come in, your father has already given me permission to teach you the Longstein family's secret knight art."

They walked into the warehouse. It was built plainly on the outside, the wooden panels made for solid walls and a sturdy roof for the coming winter.

The inside was a different story. The walls were made of stone covered in a certain amber sap, while the floors were similarly made of a reflective grey stone. The southern wall worked as a supply area, hand weapons of all kinds were stored there as were accessories such as leather mats, changes of clothes, food supplies and herbal tonics.

"Michael, grab a mat from the corner right there and bring it over."

Brute pointed to a specific corner on the southern wall where all the mats were neatly arranged.

"Okay."

Michael moved quickly as he had found a new wave of inspiration. He placed it on the floor and sat as he waited for the lesson to begin. 

"Michael, I will begin with some general knowledge. You have probably never heard of this, since it is bad practice to share knowledge relating to knights to the general population. Knight is the general term used to address people who have harnessed their life force and an official knight is a person who has successfully formed a life seed. As soon as it is formed one can expect an increase in life expectancy, an overall increase in strength, and by far the most important, the ability to manipulate life force energy."

"The Longstein family technique is called the Longevity Art, and its main focus is on the nurturing of the cardiovascular system, to attain a long lifespan. I also have my own personal art, Fiend's Day, which you can choose instead, but that will be really up to you. I recommend you choose the Longevity Art as it excels in the control of energy, which will be important for you since you are not as talented. My Art excels in pressuring the body into growth, which is why I also look like this, but…"

"You have to be more physically talented for it, right?"

"Yeah. It has higher requirements and your body may not be able to handle the transition into knight."

"What if I practised both, wouldn't I get the best of both worlds?"

Michael looked on excitedly as he felt as if he figured out something important.

"Whoah, there bud. I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Look at me, I'm quite talented and yet I have been training for thirty years and yet I can't jump out of the advanced stage. This stuff is time consuming, if you really want results you have to stick to one, that's the only way, alright? I don't want to see you waste unnecessary time just to not get the results you wanted."

"Alright so do you want to practise the Longevity Art or risk it and practise Fiend's Day?"

Michael ruminated on the techniques in his mind and he couldn't decide, he had a faint feeling that he had to practise both to get the results he wanted.

"Uncle, I think I'll choose the Longevity Art, but can I take a look over Fiend's Day? It's not that I want to practise it, but I'm just curious about its inner workings."

Brute looked at Michael for a second, thinking about the possible issues with it, but in the end he chose to give them either way. 

"I'll give you a copy of the Longevity Art, but for Fiend's Day, I'm going to give you the original and I want it back in a week. It's only for perusing, I don't want you practising it, alright?"

"No, I won't practise it, I give you my word, Uncle."

With that explicit promise, Brute became more lighthearted and easygoing, his worries vanished and he continued with the lesson. Although Michael was only 12, in this world they are deemed to have a certain level of maturity and plus it was well known that a man's word was worth more than its weight in gold.

"Okay, the different attributes of the techniques we spoke about lead to my next lesson. All techniques come with a certain characteristic, through images or wording, or sometimes both, they are able to instil the characteristic into the life force."