"How are you feeling champ?" Grace boxed Marcus against the chest. "Sick to my stomach," Marcus said with a dry voice. "That will go away once the fight starts. Concentrate on what we have trained and you will be fine," Grace said and gently pushed him out of the villa and towards the duel arena.

"Grace, why are you not telling me who the fifth challenger is?" Marcus asked while they walked. "Hmm? I think you should worry about the first guy, not the last. Stay focused," Grace deflected his question and Marcus worried it was one of Janette's insane ideas. From the start the whole gauntlet was a PR event to improve his public profile. The fact that the last challenger was a secret was more than suspicious. Marcus hoped it was just a cheap trick from Janette to increase the hype on the internet.

They stepped outside and into the morning sun. It was a beautiful day, and a stark contrast to the violent things that would happen here soon. Marcus's opponent was already there, getting ready for the big fight. His name was Carver, at least that was his stage name. A tall, middle aged man from the USA with a mixed bloodline. Most of his body was hidden beneath an impressive looking heavy armor. but Marcus had seen a few of his videos and knew he was not all talk.

The name Carver came from his signature weapon, a Zweihänder sword, which was larger than the man himself. He wielded the weapon with great speed and strength, and Marcus had seen him carve monsters apart in one stroke. "He really brought that thing," Marcus muttered under his breath. "That is his signature, he has to bring it. His fans want to see it in action against you," Grace whispered as a reply. "But it is a bad choice against me. He must know that a powerful weapon like this will be a detriment to him," Marcus argued but Grace had no time left to answer, because they had reached the combat arena.

The training field had been cleaned and prepared for the duel. Cameras had been placed, but they would not live stream the fight, both sides agreed on that. The whole clan and some people from Carver's side sat on chairs, benches or boxes, a bit away from the combat arena. Marcus stepped up to the man who was only a bit smaller than him. They shook hands and measured each other. "No armor? Do you underestimate me that much, or are you going half naked again?" Carver said but Marcus did not fall for the taunt. "I spent the last years fighting without armor, and I have not yet adjusted to using one again," he said without a hint of emotion. Carver's face changed a bit but he just nodded. "Don't blame me if you end up dead," Carver said, but it did not sound convincing. They moved away from each other and Marcus' heart started to beat faster and faster.

The rules for the duels were simple. The arena was 50 meters in diameter, leaving it on purpose was a loss. The fight had no time restrictions, and would only end if somebody is no longer able or willing to continue or both sides agreed on a draw. Marcus took his position about 10 meters away from Carver and took a last look around. His clan was watching him right now. Cherry was also here, holding a silly transparent saying "Go, Titan Go!". It was so stupid it made Marcus chuckle, and release some of his tension.

His eyes moved over the still unknown faces of his clan members, and he spotted an unusual onlooker. First, Marcus thought it must be one of Carver's people, but the guy sat somewhat alone, far away from the Carver troop. It was a suspicious man with average street clothes, a long gray hoodie and very large sunglasses. His face was hidden beneath the setup, and somehow he managed to look utterly uninteresting. Was it a reporter that had sneaked in without anybody noticing?

"Are you ready?" Grace asked both contestants. Marcus gave the man one last look and it finally made clicked in his head. He was here to watch him, of course. It was the duty of the teacher to bear witness to the duels of the disciple. Marcus clenched his teeth and focused on Carver, who had already readied his tremendous weapon. Both his weapon and armor were exquisite, and enchanted too. Marcus was not surprised he had such a large fan base given his style and persona. "FIGHT!" Grace shouted.

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Marcus focused on the man in front of him, now he was his enemy and his instincts kicked in. All unnecessary thoughts vanished from his mind, and Marcus moved with deadly intentions. Carver's blade glowed golden as Channel Light turned it even more deadly, and a set of swings left the illusion of golden streaks behind. The Paladin used his blade to take control of the area between them, and slowly advanced threatening to cut Marcus apart. Marcus wanted to use Burst Charge, but for more than one reason he had to hold it back. Instead he rushed right into the deadly blade with his body in a defensive posture.

Carver did not hesitate and the weapon moved through the air like the reaper's scythe, aiming to cut off one of Marcus legs. The powerful attack connected without a problem, biting through Marcus' tough body to the bone. The sudden hit made Marcus flinch and stop, but as predicted that powerful weapon was a bad choice against Marcus. Carapace had already reduced the impact of the carving blade, but the full backlash happened about 0.1 seconds later. Carver screamed in surprise and lost control of his weapon, his hands looked twisted and blood dripped from his gloves.

Marcus pushed the blade away and hobbled closer to his enemy, who was still in shock. A younger Marcus would have hesitated, but that was before his odyssey. He planted a palm strike on the chest of Carver and gave him 100%. Raw force moved through the Paladin and the man flew backwards rolling and tumbling over the floor. It had been a full hit against an unprepared enemy, even Amy had problems getting up from that kind of hit, and Carver was only half her level. The Paladin did not move and Grace declared the fight over. Five seconds was all it took. Even with their great powers and fancy armors, combat between class holders was extremely deadly.

Cheering from his clan and utter disbelief from team Carver followed. Candis was already next to the fallen Paladin and Rian administered some potion to the aching man. "Winner, Marcus!" Grace shouted and the cheering intensified. Marcus waved and walked off the field and into the villa to refresh himself.

He made a very stupid choice and paid for it. Do not blame yourself for the outcome Marcus.

I humiliated him, and I knew it would happen. Janette knew it would happen when she agreed to the duel. Going after a Titan with physical power attacks does not work!

And now the whole world will understand that.

When Marcus came out again, Carver and his team were already gone. Only a few blood splatters in the sand were proof the battle ever happened. The spoils to the victor, for the loser nothing.

Marcus got congratulated by his friends and clan members, but he still felt like acid on the inside. "It never gets easier," The hooded man said after most people had left. Marcus looked to Ye-jun. "Never?" He asked, and the other man shook his head. "You will face a lot of people who think they can take you, but you know better. May it be in a real battle or in a duel, you will only rarely meet opponents who have what it takes to challenge you for real. Beating down some people in public prevents others from making the same mistake," his teacher said. Marcus accepted the wisdom and nodded. "Will you come back tomorrow?" he asked and Ye-jun nodded. "I will be here for all your duels."

An hour later Kou and Janette had already made a video and uploaded it to the internet. The interest in the video was massive, and soon the scene of Carver getting annihilated was all over the net. More controversy, more experts and lots and lots of reaction videos and threads followed. Marcus stayed away from it, and concentrated on his next problem.

"Why a Berserker? Of all classes, why did you have to bring a Berserker?" Marcus complained but Janette had none of it. "Exactly because they are the 'big bad'. As long as you do not show you can take one, Berserkers will always claim to be superior," she said and Grace agreed with her. "Instead of wailing like an old woman, you should prepare yourself. We have less than 24 hours before you have to flatten that guy." She held up a tablet with a screenshot of a massive man from India. "Arjun Singh, level 67 Berserker, not much of a celebrity. Still, he has a reputation for beating people in duels, and being a bit of a rough guy. Killing you would give him instant fame." Grace said without batting an eye. And that scenario was exactly what Marcus wanted to avoid.

"Time for some serious anti-Berserker training Marcus," Grace said with a wide grin and dragged her clan leader out for more training. He was thankful for her dedication, but why did she have to enjoy the whole thing so much? They trained until after midnight, and all his hopes he would find time to spend with the rookies went down the drain. Of course the rookies got to see him, most of them joined Luca watching him getting ready for the next fight. But that was not what Marcus had in mind. He wanted to get to know them, talk to them and understand what made them tick. When Grace finally let him rest, he worried more about getting killed by her than the Berserker.

"Good. The foundation of the Berserkers is the fear caused by the Rage Strike. If you are more afraid of me than the Berserker, then we have already won," she said and Marcus accepted his cruel fate.

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