There were few things I knew about Master Wilhelm. His personality was a disguise, he loved his son, and he also loved to fight. He was also rich in gold and opportunities. My dad had been over the moon at having even the slightest chance of connecting with him.

“What kind of business?”

I kept my voice calm, but my heart was beating.

He tapped the table and I noticed he was wearing gold brushed gloves. They were designed so that they looked like skin, and I had been fooled when I wasn’t concentrating on them.

“Silver is a valuable commodity. So is pure stone.” His tone was jovial. “Being able to find both in large quantities is a boon if you know the right people.”

“And I am the right people.” He winked at me.

What he was saying was something I had considered. An infinite supply of stone was valuable, but the true treasure that had drawn master Wilhelm’s attention was my silver manipulation.

When it came to any other metal material, I could hardly lift them, and when I did they would struggle against me.

Separating them from other minerals or earth was beyond my capabilities. I had a hard enough time doing it with earth materials, let alone metal.

Silver was different. I felt a connection with it, and I knew that I could manipulate larger quantities of it.

That skill was valuable for someone that was able to procure a large amount of silver before they had been extracted. Master Wilhelm had teleportation magicians on staff, making it easier to move supplies.

It didn’t matter where I lived, I would be able to go to work.

“Is this an official offer from Zodiac?” I spoke.

Master Wilhelm was a director of Zodiac, and he wore their mask to the event, but that didn’t mean he always acted on their behalf.

He could be trying to poach me, and if he was, I would listen to his conditions.

Now that I was trying to make regents, I could use more money. Materials weren’t cheap. I’d gotten lucky that my dad knew a lot of symbols and I didn’t have to purchase them.

“It is not, but it also wouldn’t interfere with your school activities or your scriber job.” Master Wilhelm smiled. “I simply want to send you a few packages and test your skills. Should they improve or already be at a suitable level, we will talk more.”

I tilted my head. “That sounds reasonable.”

It sounded like he wanted to send me silver ore. He didn’t mention what I should do with the silver once I had extracted it, but I could read between the lines.

It was another gift.

“You guys are making the celebration more boring than it has to be.” William spoke from our side. “How about I spice it up a bit?”

I turned towards him and saw a mischievous grin on his face.

“Dad, did you hear that Andross has started sparring regularly in the academy arena. He’s got the battle fever.” William’s voice held a hint of glee. “What do you think about that?”

Oh no.

I could see the excitement rumble out of master Wilhelm like an unstoppable tidal wave. William rubbed his hands with glee as he saw my predicament.

Now I knew how Gerial felt.

I leaned forward towards William’s father with a smile on my face.

“I’m having trouble getting the ball to even touch my opponent.” I remembered the lava regent bouncing across the ground. “What do you think is the first thing I should focus on?”

I used Master Wilhelm’s enthusiasm to overcome some of the issues I had been facing. Amanda and I had been improving slowly, but I could learn a lot more from an expert in the subject.

It turns out that Master Wilhelm was a dodgeball connoisseur. He instantly exploded into a variety of tactics for different situations.

I got lost after the first minute.

It was like being taught from a professional player’s perspective and they had forgotten how it felt to be a beginner.

The time passed quickly, and William joined in our conversation. Before I knew it the food was in front of me, and we had stopped to eat.

There was nobody else at our table, and master Wilhelm and William had been getting looks from the nearby tables all afternoon.

“You never did mention who you were practising with.” Master Wilhelm had settled down. “A good partner can make all the difference.”

“He’s been sparring with young lady Mitra.” William answered.

“That's correct.” I nodded.

“A wonderful experience.” Master Wilhelm’s eyes twinkled. “The Mitra family were famous on the frontlines for their prowess in battle. I would give my left arm to be the sparring partner of one of their bloodline inheritors.”

“I have certainly found it to be an enlightening experience.” I put it in delicate words.

I didn’t tell him that the majority of our practice was Amanda spinning out of control in the air and cursing the entire time.

I had heard a lot about the battle prowess of Amanda’s family, but I hadn’t experienced it yet for myself. We were considering doing live spars a couple of weeks from now.

Possibly sooner if Amanda wanted to get in some practice before her fight against Alexis.

The practice games helped us with our individual skills, but actual spars would help her with getting used to battle.

We could juggle both at the same time.

“I was tracking the progress of young master Mitra.” Master Wilhelm frowned. “I was quite excited after watching a recording of the fight he had with William. He has potential.”

He dug a knife into his food, and I could see his mood dampening.

“The young man hasn’t used the arena since then.” Master Wilhelm sounded disappointed. “It is good to hear his sister is putting in her due diligence.”

“It wouldn’t be bad for our trio to start using the arena ourselves.” I spoke to William. “If you’re up for it.”

William shot me a look as his father dragged him into the conversation.

When we finished our lunch Master Wilhelm stood up and put his mask on.

“I believe it’s time for me to do business.” He turned to me. “Do say hello to your father, I’d much like to speak with him again.”

He turned to the crowd of nobles that had started to mix and mingle and walked into them. Unice had broken away from her parents, finally free of the duty of greeting everyone that had arrived.

William and I stood up. Officially, the formal celebration was going to continue until the night ended.

We didn’t plan to stay that long. Unice’s friendly get together would be at her own house.

“Unice’s house is in the noble district.” I turned to William. “We’ll start heading ther-”

A hush fell over in the gathered crowd. I paused as well, following the stares of the people around me to the front of the hall.

A regal man in a long robe strode across the red carpet, his back straight with confidence. By his side was a young man that didn’t spare a glance towards the people around him.

The headmaster and Gerial had arrived.

They made their way towards Unice and the crowd parted to let them through. I could see several of the guests raising their hands to their chests and making the symbol of prayer.

One or two even reached out with their hands, but an invisible force swatted them away. I wasn’t sure if it was Gerial himself doing that, or his guards.

Each step forward that he took was watched by hundreds of eyes. He didn’t look nervous on the outside, but I could see tension in his expression.

The people watching him had different expressions on their faces. I saw Amanda‘s family, and her father looked ready to faint. His face was pale and showed awe at the same time. Her mother stared at Gerial, following his every step. Intensity burned in her eyes, and then I saw something else. A flash of worry. After a few moments she smiled lightly, grasping the oubliez flower necklace in her fingers.

Unice bowed to Gerial as he drew closer. Her parents flanked her sides with giant grins on their faces.

“Congratulations on your attunement.” Gerial took her bow in stride. “Your household has been given a great blessing this generation.”

“Thank you, Marked one. I’m honoured by your words.” Unice smiled.

I could see a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

He smiled at her, and I saw a faint blush touch her cheeks. Then he took a step back, and his dad walked forward.

“I look forward to your continued success.” He smiled. “Don’t forget to keep up with your other subjects.”

Unice smiled. “I promise to do my best in all my endeavours.”

The headmaster nodded and then gave his son a pat on the back. Gerial turned around and started walking towards the door.

“That’s it?” I stared at Gerial’s back. “He was here for two seconds.”

From the message he had sent me, I had imagined he would stay for longer and even join the party for Unice’s friends.

“Are you kidding?” William whispered. “This will be talked about for weeks. Do you know how many people want to be in his presence for even a moment?”

He was right. The nobles around me had immediately broken out into conversation, and Unice herself looked stunned. Her decorum was gone, and her knees were wobbling. Gerial had told me he was coming, but I don’t think he had told anyone else.

I saw William making a prayer sign with his hands as Gerial left.

“You don’t treat me with that much respect.” I spoke.

“He doesn’t roll around in the dirt.” William rolled his eyes.

“I only do that every night. The daytime is all about stone and metal.” I stepped forward. “We should head out. We might be able to catch him.”

I made sure to whisper so nobody else could hear me.

A flash of blue and red crossed my vision and I saw Amanda across the hall, Alexis beside her. They gestured towards us, and we all made our way towards the exit.

Amanda patted down the crinkles in her dress as she stepped beside me.

“He doesn’t seem that bad.” Amanda spoke to me. “I still haven’t formed an opinion though.”

“What’s this?” Alexis looked from her to me.

“Our opinions on the Marked one.” Amanda spoke.

We walked out of the glass doors, and past the tapestries on the walls. Alexis looked thoughtful as we entered the elevator. Amanda clicked the lowest button.

“I mean, he seems nice, but wouldn’t it be better if it wasn’t random?” Alexis leaned against the elevator wall. “I think it’d make more sense if the divines chose specific people to inherit their powers.”

“You don’t think the Marked ones are divines in human form?” I asked.

Alexis’ opinion wasn’t rare, but it did surprise me considering his father’s religious viewpoints.

“I don’t.” Alexis’ tone was firm.

“Me neither.” William added. “I’ve thought a lot about that recently, and I think most people believe it because they don’t talk to the Marked ones themselves.

We looked at him in surprise and he looked back at me pointedly.

“Exactly!” Alexis nodded. “People project their own expectations onto them. But they’re probably just like you and I.”

The elevator opened in front of us, and I felt a cool breeze against my cheeks as we walked outside the guild.

I was finally free to activate my mana sense.

“Hey, wait.” Alexis stopped us. “My friends are gonna join me soon. Can you wait with me? It sucks to wait around here awkwardly by myself.”

I didn’t mind and the others didn’t either.

“I’m not going to ditch my little brother in the middle of the city.” Amanda grinned.

“Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you from all the way up here.” Alexis gave her a pat on the head. “Woah. I might have to start bending down to do that.”

She smacked his hand away and I chuckled. His words inside the elevator crossed my mind.

“You said you don’t like the randomness of the Marked ones.” I spoke. “What do you mean?”

I hadn’t taken much consideration into the normal process of being chosen as a Marked one. I knew that my process was different from the others.

I hadn’t heard anyone complain about who was chosen as a Marked one. Each Marked one was so secretive that nobody had gotten to know them.

“I think there are people out there that can use their abilities better.” Alexis shrugged. “And I think the world would be better for it.”

“Imagine if Marked ones were chosen from people that had experienced hardship and pain and could value the powers they were given properly. Not children that grow up with everyone worshipping them because they lucked out.”

“I wouldn’t call their lives lucky.” I frowned. “Dying at twenty-five seems like a pretty bad deal to me.”

I could hear Gerial’s warnings floating through my head. There was a reason he didn’t appear in public, and it wasn’t because he was stuck up.

“If the price was a few less years to be able to change a few more lives, I think that’s worth it.” Alexis was resolute. “And I don’t think I’m the only- hey!”

His expression transformed as he waved towards the Guild entrance. I followed his gaze and saw his two friends walking towards him. They stopped as they saw Amanda and William and gave them both a curt nod.

We were all in the same class, but I hadn’t talked to them.

“I’m going to hang out with my friends for a bit since Unice hasn't left yet.” Alexis turned to us. “I’ll catch up with you guys over there.”

“Have fun with her.” Amanda winked.

His hair flared bright red and we chuckled.

We made our way towards the noble district and William admired the wall as we drew closer. I wondered how Gold and Agni were doing.

I slowed down my pace as Amanda and William got to know each other.

“What do you think of that?” I whispered beside me.

A blur walked beside me through the streets of Koshima.

Gerial had been waiting for us outside.

“I think he wants all of the power, and none of the hardship.” His voice floated into my ear. “He doesn’t know that it’s not our situation that defines us, but we who define ourselves. Put anyone in our position and they’d agree.”

I nodded. Gerial was smarter than most kids his age and he had faced hardship not in spite of his Marked status, but because of it.

I don’t think anyone could imagine the things he’d gone through. Not even me.

As for pain, I knew how much he had hurt over the years. We had both felt pain beyond description as our bodies were forcibly changed.

I caught up to Amanda and William, Gerial walking beside us, but my mind lingered over Alexis’ words.

Parts of what he had said resonated with me. Gerial had been chosen at random, but I don’t think I had. There was too much coincidence around the circumstances of my death for me to think that my Marking was random.

Was I the Crijik’s attempt to try something new?