Chapter Forty-Eight: An Old Acquaintance

Marlene's face had turned icy. Never in her life had anyone treated her this way. As a rare spellcasting prodigy in her family, she had always been treated with respect by her parents, her relatives, and even her teachers at the magic academy. She was proud and confident, too, but unlike those good-for-nothings who grew up surrounded by luxury and became arrogant and conceited, she had never forgotten her family's precepts or let herself slack off.

Marlene felt that Rhode's first demand was a little unreasonable, but she could still accept it. His second demand, however, was completely unacceptable!

Marlene had always been confident in her abilities. She had received the finest magical education since the age of six, and ten years had passed since then. Now, she had lived up to everyone's expectations and broken through the limits of the Outer Ring, entering the Middle Ring. Although she had made little progress since reaching the Middle Ring, she wasn't worried. As her mentor had said, what she lacked now wasn't knowledge, but practical experience. When it came to understanding spells, she was already nearly on par with her mentor.

And now, Rhode's words amounted to a blatant denial of all the effort she had put in over the past ten years!

There was no way Marlene could accept that.

"Mr. Rhode, I understand your first condition, but I can't accept the second!"

Marlene lifted her chin proudly and stared straight at Rhode without the slightest hesitation. Rhode raised an eyebrow at her gaze but said nothing.

Meanwhile, old Hank was praying silently. Let it fall through. Let it fall through. Then everything will be fine...

"Why?"

"Because you don't know how strong I am!"

Marlene's words were perfectly justified. This was her first time meeting him; there was no way he could know how strong she was. Besides, she had heard from old Hank that this young man was probably a swordsman, not a mage. If he had been a mage, then, since they were traveling together, she wouldn't have minded letting him offer some pointers. But a swordsman who swung a blade around, trying to direct a mage in battle? Did he even know what he was talking about?

Marlene gritted her teeth. She really wanted to leap up and curse Rhode to his face, but in the end, her excellent upbringing forced her to hold her temper. He hadn't lost his composure, after all. If she made a scene, it would reflect badly on the Xenia Family. As a member of the family, her words and actions no longer affected only her personally.

In response to Marlene's rebuttal, Rhode stood up. Old Hank's heart leaped with joy. Surely the stubborn young man had had enough and was about to show her the door. Thank heavens! The young man had better give her a good scolding. If he could make the young lady so angry that she left Deepstone City and went home, that would be even better... Thinking this, old Hank got to his feet as well, ready to play peacemaker before the two started arguing—but Rhode's next words nearly made him spit blood.

"Then let's put it to the test."

"Fine!"

Marlene was just as straightforward. The moment she heard that, she stood up and agreed. No one noticed old Hank's face turning purple, then black, then purple again, until it seemed to cycle through every color imaginable.

Just then, a voice came from the stairs.

"Mr. Rhode, breakfast is ready. What are you—"

Lize came down the stairs, looking curiously at the two people in the hall. She glanced at old Hank in surprise, then instinctively turned her gaze to Marlene. The moment she saw her, Lize stopped in her tracks and stood there, stunned.

"Are you... Marlene?"

"Lize!"

Marlene turned toward the voice. The stern, icy expression on her face thawed at once, and her smile brightened like the sun.

"Lize! Is that really you? I can't believe I'd run into you here! Where have you been all these years? I've been looking for you, but I could never find you. What are you doing in Deepstone City? Are you all right?"

The girl, who had seemed so composed just moments ago, finally showed the cheerful, lively side that suited her age. Marlene hurried over to Lize, excitedly clasping her hands and shaking them. Faced with Marlene's enthusiasm, Lize looked a little awkward. She even stole a few glances at Rhode, as if she were worried about something.

They know each other?

Watching the scene unfold, Rhode was genuinely surprised. To be frank, although he himself came across as mysterious, Lize had plenty of unknowns of her own: her Half-Angel bloodline, the things she knew that only nobles would understand, and now the fact that she knew Marlene Xenia.

Judging by how the young lady treated people, Lize couldn't have been a servant or a maid. Otherwise, Marlene wouldn't have been so warm toward her.

Who was she, really?

"I'm fine, Marlene."

Noticing Rhode's amused gaze, Lize panicked. She quickly let go of Marlene's hands and deliberately changed the subject.

"What brings you here? Weren't you in Golden City...?"

"I've entered the Middle Ring. My mentor sent me out to travel and gain more battle experience so I could make further progress. Yesterday, I heard they needed more people here, so I came to see if there might be a chance for me... What about you, Lize? Why are you here?"

"I've been here ever since..." Lize's voice was very quiet, as if she were afraid Rhode might hear her. But she soon lifted her head and looked at Marlene with concern.

"Have you really decided to join the mercenary group? Marlene, this isn't a game. Our mission this time is very dangerous..."

"I've made up my mind. I'm definitely joining."

Marlene had already forgotten all about her earlier disagreement with Rhode. In her eyes, she had only just reunited with an old friend. How could she let Lize leave? But just then, Rhode poured cold water over the overexcited young lady.

"Don't be so quick to decide, Miss Marlene. You haven't passed my test yet."

At Rhode's words, Marlene's expression darkened. She once again looked stern and proud as she turned to face him.

"Of course. I won't back out. I want to see just how capable you are, too."

"No problem."

Rhode had never been one to beat around the bush, and Marlene was just as decisive. Once they had reached an agreement, neither wasted any more words. They soon made their way to the garden outside—and even then, Lize still had no idea what was going on.

"I won't hold back."

Marlene spoke quietly as she took off her cloak. Now she had become the Marlene who belonged to the Xenia Family again, not the cheerful, lively girl she had been with Lize.

Her luxurious purple Magic Robe accentuated her graceful figure. The patterns on its collar and cuffs showcased the family's glory, and she held a short staff set with a ruby. She looked utterly serious. Marlene stood quietly a short distance from Rhode, her eyes lowered toward the ground.

Elemental mage, seventh tier of the Middle Ring. By player-level standards, she was a little over level fifteen...

Rhode needed only one glance to see through Marlene's equipment and assess her abilities. The ruby was fire-aspected, and there were several defensive magic circles on her Magic Robe. That suggested its wearer had given up entirely on active defense. Taking that into account, along with his first impression of the young lady, Rhode had nearly figured out her fighting style.

As the former leader of the top guild, Rhode had fought plenty of players in PvP and was very familiar with this sort of thing. More importantly, unlike players, who mixed and matched their equipment however they pleased, NPCs tended to use fairly consistent loadouts. To Rhode, the girl before him was practically an open book.

But unlike Rhode, who was confident in his assessment, Marlene felt as if she had no idea where to begin.

Rhode made no move at all. He didn't draw his sword or adopt a stance. He simply stood there calmly, so relaxed that he looked less like he was about to fight and more like he was waiting for someone.

Marlene found that difficult to deal with. She had fought people before, but a battle this absurd... Still, she was a young lady of the Xenia Family. Though she couldn't figure out what Rhode was up to, she quickly stopped dwelling on it. Whatever tricks he had planned, if she simply fought her own way, she was sure to win!

With that thought, Marlene made up her mind.

"Migcl!" (Flame)

With a high-pitched incantation, the girl suddenly stepped forward and raised her Magic Staff. A bright red, searing flame shot from it straight toward Rhode. The air around them heated up, and even the ground began to flicker with tiny sparks. The weeds ignited and vanished in an instant, so quickly it was as if they had skipped the burning stage entirely.

The roaring flames swallowed Rhode's figure in an instant, drawing startled cries from the two onlookers. But unlike them, Marlene's heart sank. She could clearly feel that she hadn't hit her target. She had missed!

But a genius was a genius for a reason.

The moment she sensed something was wrong, Marlene tightened her grip on her Magic Staff and slammed it against the ground.

"Jir!" (Storm)

A fierce whirlwind spun outward from beneath the girl's feet. The air condensed into razor-sharp blades of wind that whistled faintly. What's more, flecks of ice appeared from time to time within the raging vortex, adding a chill to the air.

The favored child really was the favored child.

Watching Marlene's performance, Rhode couldn't help shaking his head with a sigh. In the game, mages had been the strongest class, bar none. And now, here in the real world, they were still this powerful. Strictly speaking, Marlene was only five levels above Rhode, but judging by her destructive power right now—even two Rhod es couldn't match her.

There was a saying among players: when a mage fought in PvP, he didn't even need to look for the enemy. He only had to use all his skills once. Even if he died, he could at least take someone down with him.

That showed just how powerful and terrifying the mage class was.

But as impressive as Marlene was, Rhode could still see her flaws. The most obvious one was that she didn't actually know what was going on. As Marlene attacked, Rhode had already activated Shadow Blink and moved into the blind spot behind her, where he lay in wait without a sound. Marlene's first reaction had been swift. She abandoned her attack and cast Storm Guard to protect herself from a sneak attack. But if she couldn't quickly find the source of the threat, staying on the defensive would only backfire.

Rhode turned his right hand over, then suddenly flicked it forward.