7 Chapter 7: the Silver household (part 3)

While still having an idle chat with Zen Markus felt the carriage slowing down so he knew that they were nearing their destination.

After the carriage completely stopped Zen stood up and opened the door, he jumped out of the carriage and stood by the side of it as a servant should when welcoming his master home.

Since Markus wasn't a lady he was supposed to get out of the carriage by himself but despite being as physically strong as an adult he still had the height of a 9 year old and since the distance between the carriage floor and the ground was meant for adults who were doing rigorous physical training every day it took Markus some time to climb down from the carriage.

The mansion of the Silver house was an average 839 square meters (approximately 9000 square feet) with a garden and a training ground included, in terms of splendour and grandeur it was solely lacking when compared to the estate of other nobles but it was still more than enough for Markus and the servants to live, also the practicality of everything couldn't be beat.

((Simple is best after all, besides if it was some elaborate fortress I'd probably nope the fvck out, this is way more than enough for me))

Markus thought, taking a preliminary look at the place he'll be staying at for the next 5 months.

((I mean the air is already oppressive enough I don't need it to be more grand than it already is))

Markus can literally feel his poor man's spirit being ripped apart by the sight of the mansion.

"Master Markus? Master Markus are you there?"

Zen called out to the boy who was spacing out.

""Ahh...yes I'm here""

Markus replied being snapped out of a trance by Zen.

"Are you perhaps feeling unwell? It would be most regrettable if you're not in tip top shape before the test"

Zen asked showing concern for Markus.

""Oh no I'll be fine...I was just a bit overwhelmed by the sight of the estate, that's all""

Markus said attempting to give an uneasy smile, but his stiff, bored expression refused to change so it just came out as sarcastic to everyone but Zen.

"If this is all that it takes to overwhelm you then I'm afraid you won't last for long in the capital, to be frank our old estate was actually about 4 times larger than this"

Zen said to Markus as a matter of fact.

((Are you kidding? 4 times larger? How he h*ll do you expect me to navigate through that? Ugh...I feel like I'm gonna puke...))

Markus screamed out in his head imagining how many times he'll find himself getting lost in such a place, by informing Markus of this Zen had basically just made a nerve wracking scenario even more anxiety inducing.

"Now as I've stated while we were on the carriage, since you'll be living here as the only surviving heir to the Silver house, you will undergo a test in both swordsmanship and magic, though I think this is very unreasonable to ask of you especially after your long and tiring trip, the master requested this in order to gauge your abilities and likelihood of inheriting his position after he's gone. So I do hope you understand"

Zen explained.

((You're asking this of a 9 year old kid who's just been on an airship for 3 hours? Wow the Silver house sure lives up to it's hardcore warrior title huh? I don't mind it too much but I gotta admit, even I'm a bit troubled if you just flat out give me something like this on my first day here))

Markus thought for a bit before answering.

""Yes you said that we would conduct the test immediately after we arrived right? So can we get it over with please? I'm a bit tired so I would prefer if we could end this quickly""

"No need to rush, follow me this way"

Zen said as he began to walk through the gate of the mansion and towards the training ground.

The training ground of the Silver estate was a very plain patch of grassland, with things like dummies and other equipment used for training, it's not much different from an outdoor gym or a track field when it comes to appearance.

Waiting for the pair was a burly 20 something year old man with a height of 2.8 meters at least wearing a leather chest plate and chain mail armor holding onto a wooden greatsword.

He looks like he was expecting Markus because moment their eyes met a wide grin formed on top of his face.

((Hiii!!!!...scary, what's that? A bear?))

((He's gotta be like 3 times the size of me at least))

Markus gulped as he and Zen approached the humongous man.

"Master Markus please let me introduce you to Gail san, he's the captain of our house's security as well as the one who will be conducting your swordsmanship test"

Zen said presenting the muscular, gorilla-like man to Markus.

""Nice to meet you sir, I'm Markus""

Markus once again had to damage his vocal chords in order to not let his real voice out, the sore throat is definitely gonna kill him one day he thought.

"Hmm..."

The man named Gail was deep in thought.

"Considering the fact that you're *his* son you're actually very polite"

The man said, trying to gauge Markus like Zen had done before while on the carriage.

Although the "Kazuki" side of Markus was uncomfortable with the leering stare the "Markus" side of him was as calm and collected as possible.

"Oh my, where are my manners? How do you do bocchama? I'm Gail and I'll be the one "taking care" of you today"

The man's voice turned jovial as he reached out to shake Markus's hand with a bright smile on his face

""...please go easy on me""

Not knowing what to say Markus only accepted the man's handshake and nodded.

"Same same, well I wouldn't wanna keep ya here for too long just for little ol'me so let's get started immediately"

The man said throwing a wooden practice sword Markus's way.

Markus caught the sword mid air because he already knew what was coming.

"Now listen here bocchama, what ya gotta do is very simple ya hear? All chu gotta do is land one solid hit on yers truly and the test will be over, ya got that?"

The warrior explained it, for some reason the way he talked was like that of a hillbilly.

((We define "simple" very differently...and again! You're asking this of a 9 year old child!!))

Sighing Markus stepped up to Gail's challenge knowing full well the warrior wouldn't step down unless he is beaten.

Assuming seigan no kamae (a type of posture when holding a sword) Markus lowered his center of gravity, calmed his breathing and made sure to keep his opponent firmly inside his line of sight.

"Oh...no hesitation whatsoever, that's a good stance!"

Praising the boy, Gail also assumed his stance.

Both opponents stared each other down both trying to get a good grasp on their enemy. As both took note of their enemy's slightest movement and waiting for the other to strike first you can literally feel the air becoming thicker as tension rises.

After 3 minutes the one to take the initiative was Gail as he dashed forward with all of his might breaking the ground beneath his feet.

The distance between the two of them was closed in an instant, the speed and force of this attack couldn't even be matched by a soldier let alone a child, but maybe Gail just knew in his head that because Markus was Aidan's child he'll be able to take it.

Although Gail's speed and power was terrific it was nothing Markus hadn't seen before as he has faced much worse during his time working for Executor.

((A large overhead swing huh? There's too many openings, is it a feint? No, his muscle movements are too precise for it to be a feint...does he intend to overwhelm me with force alone? How quaint, in that case what I should do is obvious))

The great Chinese philosopher Laozi once said:"there is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent" and that couldn't be more true to Gail's situation right now, because even if he didn't know it Markus could've killed him 46 times by now.

Using his dominant left hand that held the sword to block the strike while simultaneously turning and leaning towards it, Gail's greatblade was slide across Markus's smaller blade and plunged into the ground unable to be pulled out without some effort.

By using his enemy's own power against him Markus had bought himself enough time to strike at Gail's Achilles tendon through the exposed part of his armor causing Gail to kneel down in response.

Before he could even register what was happening it was too late.

Stepping on Gail's gigantic sword that was currently in the ground and using it as a platform Markus brought up his blade to Gail's neck deciding the battle that lasted for 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

""Well, by the looks of things, this is my victory I guess?""

With the softest tone he could give Markus declared.