Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"Yeah, I thought army vets looked pretty weak, so I came to see if my guesses were true."

Despite the surrounding noise, everyone heard what Maxime had said correctly.

No one here had a physique inferior to that of an apprentice knight, so it was a no-brainer.

His arrogant words provoked a slight silence in the audience before people burst out in anger mixed with much laughter.

"Who does he think he is?

"hahaha it's been a long time since we've had such an arrogant youngster!"

"I like him! It'd be a shame if it was all just talk, though."

"Warrick! You'd better not lose, that's the face of every army veteran you're wearing there!"

...

Warrick, who was his opponent, gave a cold smile.

"Here, take your holographic weapon, it displays directly the weapon you imagine in your thoughts, in reasonable sizes." he said, tossing him a small gadget in the shape of a sword hilt.

Maxime grabbed the holographic weapon with a curious look; he'd never used such things before.

Following the veteran's advice, he imagined a sword, and as expected, a kind of laser was projected from the little gadget.

At the same time, he felt his body strengthen ever so slightly.

"As expected, as long as it's in sword form, my class bonus applies," Maxime thought calmly.

"Do you think he'll win?" asked Lena, looking at Maxime who was facing Warrick on stage.

"From what I've seen, he's got a good chance." Varek replied simply, without getting too involved.

Lena was a little surprised that the famous Varek could have such a high opinion of Maxime.

After all, despite his appearances, Varek wasn't just a simple squad captain. He was known as a veteran of many dimensional battlefields.

Few could say how strong this guy was or how many talents he possessed.

Compared to Varek, Warrick was a complete rookie.

As Varek and Lena chatted while drinking, a floating countdown began on stage.

[The match starts in:]

5

4

3

Maxime watched his opponent, analyzing his movements from the very first seconds.

2

1

[Duel begins]

Immediately Warrick launched a swift attack, aiming at Maxime's flanks, but the latter dodged with a fluidity that made his opponent frown.

Simultaneously, Maxime counter-attacked, a simple but precise move that forced the soldier to step back to avoid being hit.

The crowd reacted immediately, some whistling with excitement, others laughing at the veteran's dismay.@@novelbin@@

Varek, at the foot of the stage, crossed his arms, clearly amused.

"I'll bet you a metre of shot that Maxime finishes it in under five minutes."

"Bet's on." replied Lena immediately with a smile.

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She didn't believe that someone so young could stand up to a veteran.

From the look on his face, she even thought Maxime might be the youngest person in the fortress.

There was no way in hell that such a young person could defeat an elderly soldier who had been through many battles.

The fight continued, and each exchange revealed a little more of the difference in level between the two adversaries.

While the soldier tried to catch up with more aggressive movements, Maxime remained methodical. He exploited every opening with disconcerting precision, his face remaining impassive throughout.

He applied all the advice he had received from Alaric, Langus and Kaite.

Alaric was one of the best knights in the Kingdom of the Frost Eagle, while Langus and Kaite were knights specially trained by a ducal family.

They were all much stronger than average knights, and above all they had superior knowledge and fundamentals to most knights.

Few people could claim the good fortune to be taught by such people.

So Maxime's mastery of the sword could already be considered exceptional, even if he was still lacking compared to a knight at peak stage.

But from what he could see, Warrick simply had to be at the level of a knight in the entrance stage.

So the difference in skill between the two became more and more glaring.

"Am I dreaming or is Warrick really going to lose to a kid?"

"You're not dreaming, it's happening right before our eyes, it's crazy."

"Have we been practicing badly all this time? How can someone so young be stronger than a veteran like Warrick?"

The fight continued, and finally, after a subtle feint, Maxime disarmed his opponent in one clean motion, his holographic weapon stopping just inches from the soldier's throat.

A stunned silence fell over the room before a thunderous applause and enthusiastic shouts broke out.

"I... I demand a rematch!" stammered the soldier as he straightened up, but Varek intervened before Maxime could reply.

He shouted from the bar a little way off:

"A veteran can't admit defeat!? Don't shame the army and get off this stage. Maxime doesn't need to prove anything after dominating you for so long."

Everyone around heard Varek's words, but no one dared reply. His prestige was far too high, and Warrick simply walked off the stage with his head bowed.

Maxime also stepped down from the stage, attracting admiring but also complicated glances.

He returned to Varek and Lena at the bar and sat down.

He saw the 10 shots on a board, and immediately felt the urge to take one.

Varek noticed and laughed.

"Take several if you feel like it, it's free anyway!"

"Free my ass." replied Lena immediately with an angry face.

At the same time, she looked at Maxime with fierce eyes.

"We don't even know each other, why is she looking at me like that, that crazy woman?" wondered Maxime, but he didn't care and took a glass of shot.

He toasted with Varek, and the two did shot after shot under Lena's burning eyes.

"I'm the one who's getting paid! Leave me a few, you birds of prey!"

The first metre of shots was over very quickly, and more were ordered one after the other.

The party was in full swing, and Maxime let himself be carried away by the contagious energy of the evening.

He didn't stay at the bar, but began to socialize with numerous soldiers from various battalions.

Unwittingly, he began to build a small reputation for himself in this fortress.

"The hard-drunk kid."

That is to say, everyone could see how stoned he was, but somehow he managed to keep a trace of clarity in his eyes and in the way he spoke, impressing in the process many soldiers proud of their resistance to alcohol.

And above all, this guy won every game of strength, dexterity and so on that the soldiers offered him in fun.

Somehow, Maxime had blended into this raw camaraderie with surprising ease.

He felt as if he were with his mercenaries, although his mercenaries seemed even more unbridled than these soldiers, perhaps due to their much lower average age.

But in any case, he felt really good.

At one point, a woman in a uniform adorned with silver embroidery approached him.

Her short, black hair was impeccably coiffed, and her icy-blue eyes shone with acute intelligence.

Directly, this woman seemed to shine in Maxime's eyes.

She had a wry smile and an assurance that left no room for shyness, as well as a temperament both gentle and fierce.

Many of the soldiers standing next to Maxime at that moment didn't even dare to speak, as this woman exuded something intimidating for them, and above all they knew her identity.

However, Maxime didn't care at all; he'd grown up mentally in the world of Eternity, and under the circumstances, he'd need a lot more to feel intimidated.

The two began to exchange a few pleasantries while making a few innuendoes.

Tension mounted as the evening wore on, and the two grew closer and closer as the evening reached its peak.

As the first people began to leave, the two also took the opportunity to disappear.

The next morning, Maxime opened his eyes in confusion, at the same time as a slight headache attacked him.

Daylight pierced the curtains, and it took him a few seconds to recognize that he was in a rather luxurious room.

Especially considering that soldiers normally slept in barracks with each other in this fortress.

He turned his gaze and saw a beautiful young woman, her relaxed face in stark contrast to the imperious aura she'd exuded the night before.

Maxime smiled slightly; despite his headache, he remembered everything, especially that he'd had a very pleasant evening.

But he still didn't know who she was, except that her first name was Leïla.

Trying not to wake her, Maxime straightened up and quickly got ready.

To his astonishment, Leïla opened one eye and said:

"Are you planning to leave without me? That's not very gallant."

"I didn't want to disturb a sleeping beauty." Maxime replied with a slight smile.

"You talk pretty good. Wait till I get ready and let's eat together."

At the same time, she rose from the bed, revealing her bare body before Maxime's amazed eyes.

"Is the view pleasant?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Maxime with a charming smile.

"Very pleasant." Maxime replied sincerely.