The Original Beefcake

After breakfast Marcus returned to his new bedroom. Russo had given him the day off to catch up on sleep and to get situated. At first Marcus had protested because he didn't feel tired at all. But once he got back to his room and sat down on his new bed, the lack of sleep, the good breakfast and the release of the tension he had felt for days, performed a combo attack against him. It was very effective. Marcus fell asleep with his clothes on.

"I have seen some weird people since I got my class, but that boy takes the cake," Janette shook her head. "Level one Fighter and does not use weapons," Pavel nodded in agreement.

The whole team was still in the canteen, digesting the meeting with their new team member. "I find his age far more problematic. What parent allows their child to become a class holder with 17! I would like to have a word with them." Lars leaned at the wall and looked upset.

"15," Luca dropped into the room. "He was 15 when he got his class." The rest looked surprised and confused. "Is that even legal?" Lars looked at the team leader. "It is all legal and also something in the past. The fact is, he is here now and he is part of our team." Luca got up from his chair and started to walk through the room. "Alright, but what are we going to do with him? I was hoping we would get a proper frontliner, but I have a serious problem with putting the kid out there to get chewed on by monsters," Janette spoke the mind of the whole team.

"He is clearly greatly determined, but he has no experience or training." Luca stopped in the middle of the room. His forehead showed several deep wrinkles. "He can get both here with us. Starting tomorrow we will train him and keep him alive until he can hold his own." After that speech the team went out, but Luca stayed a moment longer in deep thoughts.

He had not told them everything, some things were clearly private information. And then... the kid reminded him of another boy with hopeful eyes and a bright future. Bittersweet memories from decades ago rose from their slumber. No, this time was different. This time he was here to show him the ropes.

When Marcus woke up the clock said 4:03 AM. He felt tired and awake at the same time. He decided to take a short morning shower to get rid of the tiredness. On the way to the communal showers he found a small post-it on his door. '6:00 AM training hall, Spartan training, bring your gear.'

After the shower and some light exercise, Marcus munched on a handful of snacks for energy (left overs from Pavel's treasures) and got his gear in order for the training. He had tried the armor on before and had also removed the gloves. They would only get destroyed once Impulse Hammer got going.

Marcus entered the training facility with his helmet under the arm. The rest of the team was already here, wearing their full equipment. They all looked different as they did not have a uniform. It was instantly clear each of them had personalized equipment and weapons depending on their combat style. Janette had some light armor with (currently) white camo patterns and a slick looking precision rifle leaned against her hips.

Pavel also had a rifle in his hands, but it was more compact. He wore another suit of dark, light armor with a focus on mobility. He turned around and laughed. "Now I know why one of your bags was so bloody heavy. I wondered if you had bricks in there."

Marcus just shrugged his massive shoulders and lumbered into the large hall. "How heavy is that thing?" Janette made her way over and knocked against his chest armor with her knuckles. His full armor suit had a standard urban cameo pattern and was rated to resist large caliber rifle ammunition. "About 35 kilograms, give or take," Marcus answered. "Geeeezz, I wouldn't be able to walk if I had this on," she gave him a smile. "Well, at least you already look the part."

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"Okay everybody come together." Russo waved them over. He wore a more sturdy armor and carried on his back a large quiver with thin, sharp spears. As a main weapon he used a much larger spear in his left hand.

Because Marcus was new Russo had everybody introduce their classes and show off some basic combat skills. "It is important that everybody knows what the others are capable of. Working as a team means trusting each other. And trust comes from understanding," Russo explained.

The team leader put his helmet on and started without any hesitation. "lvl 22, Lancer class". He pulled one of the smaller spears out of the quiver, weighted it in his hand for a moment, and threw it at a humanoid target at the other side of the hall. The spear moved faster than Marcus' eyes could follow. With a sharp sound the spear pierced through the man sized target, made from some sturdy material. Half of the spear stuck out of the back.

Marcus had expected Russo to be a Lancer the moment he saw the spears. Marcus loved the Lancer class and was actually quite familiar with it. The Lancer could manipulate the momentum of objects, even their own, with higher levels. They were one of the hybrid classes with high mobility, rank 52 if Marcus got his numbers right.

Next up was Janette. "You already know, lvl 4, Hawkeye." She moved past Marcus and raised her rifle as if she was just playing around. Without using scope, or any other targeting help Marcus could see, she unleashed three fast shots and the hands and head of Luca's target vanished instantly. "If I can see it, I can shoot it." She made it look really easy. With rank 125 Hawkeye was branded trash like his own Fighter class, for the same reason most low ranking classes suffer. They had no innate powerful attack ability. A Hawkeye was just a better shot than an average human. That was not good enough anymore.

"I will go next." Lars suddenly moved up and Marcus realized he had not really noticed the man until now. Lars wore yet another light armor and his face was hidden beneath his helmet. He walked to the target with no visible weapon in hand. He just placed his palm on the target for a moment. Nothing seemed to happen. "It is not flashy, but if this was a normal human, they would be dead now," the blonde man said, without a hint of humor.

Lars turned and said, "I have the Channeller class, level 8. I can channel electricity through my body as a base ability. I'm a close combat type like you, and I might be able to teach you a few things." Marcus believed him when he said the light touch would have killed a normal human. Channeler, rank 71, a lack of large-scale power and range did cost the class in ranking, but it was well suited for stealth and infiltration.

Lars and Pavel shared a high five and Pavel made his way to the target and suddenly seemed to vanish. He appeared left of the target and pumped a burst of bullets into it. Then he vanished again only to appear behind it. The pattern repeated three more times before he stopped and took a deep breath.

"POSER!" Janette heckled, followed by laughter from the rest of the team. Pavel just waved it off, "Windwalker, level 8. I can move pretty quickly for short periods of time and distances, it also takes the wind out of me," he added with a smirk. It was the first time Marcus had seen a Windwalker in action. There were several classes with comparable abilities, but the heavy endurance drain and the range limit put this cool class on rank 101.

Now, everybody was looking at Marcus, who took a deep breath, put his helmet on and walked to the targets. After Pavel's performance there was not much left from the first target, so Marcus went to the one next to it. He felt super nervous with everybody watching. "Fighter, level 1." He turned around for a short smile, and then got into his stance. Marcus prepared to strike the chest of the target. He was not sure how much power he should use, even as he started his punch he felt unsure. In his panic he just went for it, and pumped more energy into it than he first had planned.

The target was more sturdy than a tree but it was not enough. Half of the chest tore apart and rained down on the area. This time Marcus anticipated the recoil and the blast was not as heavy as with Mr. Tree. Marcus stayed upright. His hand was hurting again and his skin was torn and red. Clapping filled the hall and Marcus turned around. Everybody looked surprised and clapped for his performance. Pavel who was still near the first target came over to give him a high five too. "Wow, I did not see this coming! Is that the Heavy Strike?" Pavel asked.

As Marcus was about to answer, he noticed the red trail of blood on Pavel's cheek. He pointed at it and Pavel looked surprised as he touched it with his own hand. "First blood, I guess," Lars commented, as he gave the gush on Pavel's head a good look. He saw Marcus' look and reassured him, "It's nothing, it will heal quickly enough. It was Pavel's own fault for not clearing the area AND not wearing his helmet."

In the meantime Russo inspected the destroyed target. "So, is that Heavy Strike?" He repeated Pavel's question with an inquisitive look. Marcus was not sure how to answer this and decided to go with a half truth. "It is my own version of it," Marcus said, and tried to keep his voice firm. Russo looked him into the eyes and nodded. "Not bad for a start. How often can you do it and can you pull it off in combat?" The team leader asked. After that Marcus learned why they called it Spartan training.