"You don't look like you've had an easy life in Eternity." he asked curiously.
Maxi shrugged slightly, carefully avoiding Karad's direct gaze.
"Yeah, I didn't exactly have it easy."
Karad nodded in understanding, who in this room hadn't had several very difficult monts in this room?
So had even died several tis.
But what was more surprising was that this young man seed to have had as much experience as they had, even though they had all lived at least several years in Eternity.
This young man couldn't be one of them.
Karad pointed to another mannequin, this ti several ters away.
"Show a routine.
Maxi did so almost imdiately.
His movents were a perfect blend of power, control and grace. He moved from one blow to the next without the slightest hesitation, linking precise strikes, feints and imaginary parries as if he were facing an invisible opponent.
The soldiers, silent at first, began to murmur amongst themselves.
"He's no beginner, that's for sure." breathed Beret, impressed.
Varek, watching intently, leaned towards Karad.
"Despite his young age, he's had to face death several tis. These moves don't co from soone who just learned in a training room."
Karad nodded, arms crossed.
"Yes, it sure isn't soone who didn't follow the rchant's path or that of training with nobles."
In this fortress, soldiers had seen it all before, and generally recruits weren't very good at fighting.
Indeed, most people in this world would rather earn money slowly and progress steadily than risk losing several years of life.
Especially in the early days, when everyone was very weak.
Only those with a lot of courage, determination and, above all, a lack of educational resources made progress on the battlefields.
Indeed, those with money or a good family could progress almost as quickly as those who put their lives on the line with business and social skills.
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Not being one of these people, Maxi imdiately won everyone's respect.
A person with a lot of combat experience was highly valued in the army, and would not be seen as a heavyweight like many recruits.
As Maxi finished his routine with a clean final blow that would have decapitated a real opponent, Gérard slowly applauded.
"Hey, kid, are you sure you're a rookie? Because you're making us look like amateurs."
Maxi, who wasn't the least bit exhausted by this consequent sequence, sketched a modest smile, but his eyes, dark and serious, betrayed a depth that none of the soldiers fully understood.
He had surely lived for those few months in Eternity, more than many people here.
"I manage a little." he replied calmly with a smile, sword still in hand.
A few soldiers, seeing Maxi still carrying that sword, were a little intimidated.
If Maxi decided to attack them, so of them didn't think they could survive more than 3 exchanges.
But at the sa ti, they were reassured to see that there were people like that on their side of the battlefield.
Karad motioned to a soldier to activate one of the combat robots.
The soldier obeyed imdiately, since Karad was one of the fortress's high-ranking officers.
The robot lit up, its red eyes glinting nacingly. He moved forward slowly, taking up a position opposite Maxi.
"Now, a real adversary." declared Karad.
"Let's see how you do against sothing that fights back."
A murmur went through the soldiers, excited to see what would happen.
Maxi watched the robot adjust. His posture changed subtly: he relaxed, adopting a waiting stance, the point of his sword slightly lowered. This change, imperceptible to most, was imdiately noticed by Karad and Varek.
"He's done this before."
The robot charged abruptly, his movents quick and precise, aiming for a sideways strike.
But Maxi dodged with disconcerting fluidity, slipping out of reach and counter-attacking with a clean sweep.
The blade struck the robot's arm, deactivating one of its chanisms and sending out nurous sparks of electricity.
Spectators held their breath as the fight intensified. Maxi wasn't just defending himself: he was mastering the rhythm, anticipating the robot's movents with an ease that confounded even experienced soldiers.
After a series of attacks and counter-attacks, he executed a final move of deadly precision, striking the robot at the neck joint. The machine ca to a screeching halt, its head tilting slightly before shutting down completely.
A stunned silence reigned in the room.
"Well..." began Beret, breaking the silence.
"I think we've just found a genius."
Karad approached Maxi, who was still holding his sword, his hands surprisingly stable despite the intensity of the fight.
"You're more than just a recruit," he said neutrally.
"But if you want to hide what you know, you'd better not be so good."
Maxi remained silent for a mont, before replying with an enigmatic smile.
"I'm not hiding anything. I'm just doing my best."
Karad sensed there was much more behind that smile and those words.
In his opinion, geniuses didn't co from nowhere, or at least the probability was too low for a genius to be born without the support of a powerful person or a wealthy family.
He himself knew so of the secrets of this world and therefore had his reasons for thinking that.
"Follow ." he murmured before turning around.
Maxi nodded without question, following Karad. With Maxi under his protection, Varek followed as well. The soldiers around them moved aside to let them pass, so casting respectful glances, others curious.
"That guy, he's just arrived and he could be the captain of a squad..." breathed one of the soldiers, a young balding man.
"More than a captain, with moves like that, he could rival the combat instructors." replied a woman in light armor, her eyes still riveted on Maxi.
As Karad led Maxi to a side door, Gérard cracked a joke that drew a few laughs.
"If you change your mind, kid, don't forget that the 4ᵉ battalion is the best!"
Beret retorted imdiately.
"Do a little research and you'll see that the 5th battalion has much better advantages than the4th!"
Laughter erupted as Maxi turned and bowed slightly before continuing to follow Karad.
After walking for a while, Karad opened the door to a smaller, soberly lit room.
In the center was a circular table surrounded by seats, and on the walls were screens displaying tactical maps and real-ti data on outside activities.
Karad sat down and motioned to Maxi to do the sa. Varek, ever curious, stood by the door, arms crossed.
Karad rested his elbow on the table, his piercing gaze fixed on Maxi.
"Listen to carefully. Everyone here has a past. A heavy past. But you, you're... different. Your movents, your mastery... it's beyond what I've seen in most veterans of this fortress. So I'm going to ask you a simple question."
He paused, letting the tension build.
"Who are you, Maxi Valdreuve?"
Maxi didn't answer imdiately. He held Karad's gaze, his dark eyes revealing an unfathomable depth.
At that mont, he felt like answering:
"I'm the man who talks to the gods, and not just any gods."
Mostly because it was the truth.
But he obviously couldn't do that; he'd just t Karad and Varek, and couldn't imdiately trust them.
And even if he did trust them, he wouldn't tell them.
It was his biggest secret, and unless he beca one of the most powerful humans in the world, he wouldn't say anything.
And for the mont, he was just a little stronger than a squad captain, so far from being one of the strongest humans on the planet.
Finally, he shrugged and answered in a calm, almost too detached voice.
"An ordinary player with a little more courage than the others."
Karad squinted, wary, but chose not to insist.
"If you want to stay here, in this fortress, you'll have to prove that you're worthy of our trust."
Varek then intervened, breaking the tension.
"Hey, relax, Karad. He's already shown he can hold his sword. If he wanted to cause trouble, he would have done so from the start."
Karad grunted, but he couldn't help nodding slightly.
"Maybe so. But I'm keeping an eye on you, Maxi. I don't want any surprises."
Maxi, impassive, replied simply:
"You can keep as many eyes as you like. I'm here to fight. Nothing else."
To be honest, this questioning irritated Maxi. He wasn't part of the army and had no obligation to co here.
If he chose not to fight, no one could bla him because he was under no obligation.
He'd only co because of the advantages of the dinsional battlefield.
But for the ti being, he felt it would be better to collaborate with the army and develop good relations with them.
This would be advantageous for his future career, but also in the short term, since he'd be living in their fortress and fighting alongside them for a long ti, so despite his sanguine temperant, he restrained himself.
Karad nodded, satisfied for the mont.
"So get ready. Because here, we don't just train. Very soon, you'll be out in the field, facing enemies far more dangerous than this robot. Then we'll see what you're really made of."
Maxi stood up, his face still calm, but a fla burning in his eyes.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Maxi guessed that Karad's identity must be more than just a chief engineer, or he wouldn't have said such things.
As he left the room, Varek whispered to Karad.
"I bet you he'll be one of the best we've seen in a long ti."
Karad crossed his arms, watching the door close behind Maxi.
"Maybe it will. But for that, he'd have to stay alive."
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