With the fight of the day over, Marcus could allow himself to relax. Even better, Achara and Kou had organized a BBQ. Not much later he sat on a bench and munched on several fried sausages with mustard. But the peace did not last long, again. Grace walked into his direction and he made plans to run away. "Stay calm. I'm just bringing you something to look at," she said and sat down close to him. Grace stole some of his food, while he looked at the electronic tablet she had given him. It was a video showing his next opponent, a woman named Natalie Thorn.

She was fighting a Guardian, a melee tank like the Titan, protected by a powerful glowing shield. Natalie used a fancy looking bow and her arrows punched right through the shield, piercing the man underneath. The battle ended quickly, when she put an arrow through the eye socket of the fallen Guardian. Marcus swallowed hard and Grace nodded "She is a bounty hunter specialized in class holders. She does not fuck around."

Can you rewind the video please when she shoots for the first time? Marcus did so and re-watched the scene in slow motion.

That bow is a real problem. I doubt you would be able to draw it.

Marcus furrowed his brow and said "That bow must be wicked strong, and so is she." An Arcane Archer with high strength and hardened arrows would be able to turn him into a pin cushion in no time.

Marcus ate the pitiful rest of his sausages and Grace watched him. "How do you want me to help you?" She asked and Marcus smiled, "Not at all. Thank you for all the help, but I think I will need Janette this time." Grace nodded but looked a bit unhappy. "I'm sure there will soon be another opportunity for you to harass me," he said in jest and she grinned. "I will hold you to that." They understood each other rather well.

Marcus spent most of the day training his Burst movements while Janette threw stones at him. It was not about the stones, but the timing of attack->dodge he was looking for. Marcus had no illusions that he would be able to completely avoid her but that was not his plan. He wanted to avoid her getting vital shots in, and instead turn her arrows into grazes. Over time Janette increased the speed and frequency of her attacks, and Marcus had to accept that he was nowhere fast enough to react to her attacks.

"You are a sitting duck," she said and Marcus remembered Azaa's words. He was just too slow to do anything. A nagging fear started to grow inside of him, that his strategy of all vitality was slowly but surely running into a wall. But he was not yet willing to give up. He only needed three more levels and he would have 70 vitality, and that meant a new ability. He was 100% certain it would be an active, offensive ability. Marcus hoped it would help him overcome his slow speed, somehow.

As they trained, Marcus spotted a certain blonde young man several times. The youth watched Marcus from afar and Marcus whispered to Janette, "Do you know who the blonde guy is?" She hit him with another small stone and said, "That is Fin, one of the rookies. He is a great fan of yours. Even before you came back, he ate up all the stories I told about you." Janette said with a grin. Marcus was suspicious, "What stories?" And she laughed. "All the heroic and stupid things you have done. Fin has chosen you as his idol. Interesting choice, given that he is made out of cardboard and a Warlock (rank 77?, four years ago at least)."

Marcus was positively surprised, not about the idol thing- Are you sure Marcus? It looks to me like you do not mind a bit of attention. Okay, it is flattering, he thought. Warlock or Playdoh-Man (they don't like that name) was one of the very rare classes and an interesting one too. They manipulate a "shadow mass" and use it for attacks and defense. "Who decided that he could join the clan?" Marcus asked as they continued to train. "I did," Janette said in a challenging tone. "And why?" Marcus drilled deeper. "It is hard to say. Fin looked lost and in dire need for direction. I thought Luca might be able to help him find his way like he did for us. Besides that, just my gut feeling," Janette explained and Marcus nodded. I might have to take a closer look at Fin, Marcus thought. But first… I need to survive tomorrow. I know.

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Marcus tried to make it sound easy but in truth, he felt completely lost. Until late at night he would lie awake and stare at the ceiling of his room, thinking, debating, worrying. Eventually he gathered up some courage, and took out his special black phone and called Ye-jun. After three rings he answered. "Marcus, is everything okay?"

"Yes everything is okay," Marcus said and took a deep breath. "I need your advice. Do you know who my next opponent is?" He asked and Kim answered. "I do, Janette told me." Does that mean he also knows my mystery challenger? Marcus thought for a moment, but then concentrated on the problem at hand. "Do you have any advice on how to tackle this challenge?" Asking him was difficult for Marcus, because he had to admit that he was not able to solve this problem on his own. The Korean man thought for some time. "In some cases you have to toughen it out. There is no trick or grand strategy, only grit and your will to win." Marcus thanked him for his words and ended the call.

The new day started and Marcus was awake early. It drizzled and the sky was overcast, both things did not increase Marcus' mood. He had no appetite and skipped breakfast, besides an apple and two chocolate bars. Time moved slowly and yet unstoppable, until it was after nine in the morning and Natalie walked into the estate. Like Arjun, she came alone but she had a completely different feel to her. She was cold, professional and not interested in small talk.

She was tall for a woman, with long dark hair in a ponytail. She already had her light armor on, hidden under her street clothing. It was a special design to be worn hidden under normal clothes, perfect for a bounty hunter. Marcus was already warmed up, his heart was beating fast and adrenaline was rushing through his body. After the talk with Ye-jun Marcus had finally understood what kind of battle this was going to be, and his body was afraid. It would be supremely painful.

Before the match started Natalie drew her bow a few times and Marcus could basically feel how much draw weight was behind that weapon. It was made from advanced materials and monster parts, and her arrows were all customized too. When she took one out Marcus could see that they were hooked.

That woman knows what she is doing. If those arrows are stuck inside you, you can not heal.

I expected something like that. Marcus took deep breaths and walked to Janette to ask her something. She whispered to him the answer, and he got back to his position under the watchful eyes of Natalie. The Arcane Archer had only eight arrows, because they were so large, and two daggers. Eight, that was the number he had to survive.

They got into position and Natalie stayed 20 meter away from Marcus. He got into a defensive stance and protected his neck and head with his arms. "FIGHT!" came from Grace and in the same moment Natalie had already an arrow drawn and ready. Marcus used Burst to move to the side, the arrow still hit and sunk deep into his right leg. He did not scream or hesitate, knowing that the pain would come helped in suppressing it. He turned his body to the side, reached down with his hand and with clenched teeth. Marcus pushed the arrow through his leg and pulled it out on the other side. The audience gasped, and before he was done another arrow pierced his arm and even entered his chest.

Marcus stayed on his spot, broke the first arrow and pulled the second out. Wham, wham two arrows pierced his shoulders and now he gasped in pain. Two broken arrows and two to remove. He continued his bloody work while Natalie watched, drawing her fifth arrow. Marcus ensured his Head was protected and pushed out the third arrow, tears ran over his face. He broke the third and started to work on the fourth when Natalie suddenly moved with great speed around him. She circled around him, and soon she managed to get in his blind spot. He ducked out of instinct, and arrow number five actually missed his head and hit the wall of the villa. An explosion tore out a part of the wall that might have been enough to knock him out, Marcus thought.

A second later, Natalie was next to him using her bow as a blunt object, aiming for his head. She was strong and the bow was sturdy. The one handed blow threw Marcus to the ground and he blacked out for a fraction of a second. As soon as his body allowed it, he threw himself around only to see Natalie descend down on him with a long sharp dagger in one hand. Her other arm hung lifelessly down her shoulder, the price she had to pay for tempting Carapace.

She used her strength and weight to drive the dagger into Marcus's throat, who shook in pain and shock. He tried to breathe out of instinct, but no air reached his lungs. Panic took hold of him and he flailed his arms at her. She blocked his strikes with her good arm and used her body to keep the dagger in his throat. Marcus' vision started to turn black, and he pushed his knee against her back and finally Impulse Hammer grazed her. It was not enough to get her off him, but the moment of instability allowed Marcus to get his hand on her head. The hit from Impulse Hammer made her fly right off him, and Marcus pulled out the horrible dagger. Blood and pain made him shake while he crawled on his knees. Every second was an eternity until he could draw breath again.

He ached and gasped and slowly came back to his feet. Sticky blood was on his chest and hands, but his pain faded away with every breath. Marcus turned to find his opponent. Natalie was still on the ground with her head unnaturally turned, her neck broken. "The winner is Marcus," Grace said in a dead silent arena.

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