A/N: Yay! A review! And here I was worried. Well, here we go: A bit of history, an off-screen accomplishment of Marcus, a few more accomplishments on-screen, and all that jazz. And by jazz I mean Marcus being wrong about something for once. In front of royalty, no less!

Chapter 3/Showtime

Conversation time. "Say, Derf."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how exactly you were made? I've made some sentient weapons before, but it's nice to know how this world manages."

Like with Adamantine. Marcus would never forget that sword. "Well, I was made by the original Gandalfr. Her name was Sasha."

Louise's eyes widened at the reveal. Was Gandalfr important? He'd have to find out later. "Wait, you mean the Gandalfr?"

"No, I mean a random Gandalfr. Of course I mean THE Gandalfr!"

Clever sword, that one. Witty, too. "That's ridiculous! You're just a rusty talking sword. There are probably dozens of better swords that can talk, and they won't say they were made by the Gandalfr."

Marcus rolled his eyes. Now Louise was being obstinate. "Louise, a bit of rust doesn't make a sword bad, especially if your world has preservation spells. Really, Derf is something to show off, not hide in a barrel of brittle swords."

"Oh, that reminds me. The familiar showcasing is in two days. Do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

Of course he did. "Louise, trust me, and don't worry. You'll see soon enough."

Louise gulped.

Marcus grabbed another towel, as Siesta continued washing clothes. "It's nice here. I haven't seen too much corruption in the nobles. How much have you seen, Siesta?"

"Oh, there's a bit of corruption in the noble families. To them, commoners are just property to be treated as such."

Marcus sighed. Simple, childish nobles. "I guess I can see what you mean. If my world had that kind of thinking, everyone would have died. But I doubt that'll happen here."

"What's your world like?"

Explanation time. NOOOO! "Well, before our first interaction with magic, our world relied on science and technology to survive and improve."

"Science? Technology?"

Had she never heard of those? "Science is basically an organization of knowledge into various explanations and predictions of everything. Technology is the methods or techniques in the accomplishment of objectives and production of goods. So, in a way, science is the theory, technology is the practice in generating a healthy lifestyle."

"What could you do with science and technology?"

Marcus pulled out another shirt to wash. "Well, we have many fields and applications of science and technology. For the most part, we've been able to create humanoid weapons, like Zero, enhance the basic human abilities to unprecedented levels, cure many diseases, and make light, strong, hard, and durable materials."

"Wow, that's really amazing. So, what happened after magic was discovered?"

"Less discovered, more forcefully learned about. We discovered portals to other worlds, then, using science, categorized them, and using technology, distributed the information all around our world very quickly to prevent chaos from erupting. We then set up a system of travel between these worlds, in order to safely transport both people and goods across worlds."

Siesta leaned in a little bit closer. "Then what?"

Bad things. Bad things happened. Very bad things. "Then the magic happened. We were invaded by a powerful race that nearly wiped out our entire world in one fell swoop. Many died, but the few that remained did not take to extinction well. We took up arms, advanced using the enemy's magic, and overpowered the invading race."

"What happened to the invaders?"

Marcus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We killed them all. It was either them or us then."

Well, Marcus killed them all. It only took him several thousand tries. The Purging Flame and the False God were nothing to laugh at, especially with their ability to warp reality at their whim, creating millions of copies of themselves to fight him, and to slaughter the humans. He had found Zero that way, after so many tries, and succeeding against the weaker clones, but not the originals. Zero was an alternate version of the original False God, and that had helped him tremendously in slaughtering the ones who had exterminated humans on his planet. Siesta gasped at the simplified explanation. "That's terrible! Wasn't there another way?"

Of course not. The Purging Flame and the False God wanted that to happen. They had even explicitly said they would wipe out humanity, or be wiped out in the process. Strange beings, those ones. So very strange. "Maybe, maybe not. Our actions aren't always the best, but they're our actions. I'm not proud of everything I've done, but I did what I did, and I won't deny that fact. Really though, it's not like a single one of them existing wouldn't have destroyed much of our world, so I guess it was justified, since we would have died otherwise."

Justification: Exceptional. Truth: Less than satisfactory. "I see. That's really sad though."

"Hey, I know it's sad, but it happened, and that's not going to change. Ah, we're done."

The next day.

The professor looked over the class. "Now class, who can tell me the most powerful element?"

Marcus raised a hand, and the professor pointed at him. "Yes, you there."

"Void."

The professor frowned. "Who can tell me the most powerful usable element?"

Marcus raised his hand again.

"Yes?"

"Void."

The professor scowled this time. "Who can tell me the most powerful usable element, with a mage capable of using said element still alive?"

Marcus raised his hand once more, and the professor glared at him.

"Let me guess, you're going to say Void again?"

"Yes."

The class did a mock gasp, and the professor raised an eyebrow. "Boy, there hasn't been a Void mage since the Founder. Who in this room could possibly be a Void mage?"

Marcus leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. "Well, I can think of at least one person, and they happen to be in this room."

The teacher scowled. "So, who is it, boy?"

"Let's go over the facts. A Void mage is usually unable to perform spells of other elements, due to their lack of control, or overuse of power in a single spell of reasonable size. Using that course of reasoning, a Void mage can only perform Void spells, which have lengthy, yet necessary, incantations. The only person in this room not to successfully complete a non-Void elemental spell must be the Void mage, yes?"

The students murmured amongst themselves, with one student speaking up. "There is only person in this room who fits that criteria. That would be you, Marcus."

Marcus shrugged. "Well, if that's your conclusion, then I won't deny it. After all, it's yours, not mine."

The professor glared at Marcus. "Well, let's put that conclusion to the test."

The student looked nervously at Marcus and the professor. "Professor, Marcus has been able to beat even several triangle class mages by himself, using only a hammer. Once, he beat a line class mage with his bare hands."

The teacher paused at this, but looked determined nonetheless. "We will see about that. I challenge you to a duel, Marcus."

Marcus nodded in agreement, and Louise looked shyly down.

The two combatants stood on the opposite sides of the courtyard, ready for the farce of a battle. Really, it was anticlimactic when the winner was already determined.

"You will soon see that Wind is the strongest element."

Marcus cracked his neck. Stiff joints. "I suppose. Maybe it is. You want to find out, right?"

The professor scowled, raising a wand at Marcus. "Air Blast."

A bolt of air shot out at Marcus, who merely raised a hand to block.

The powerful bolt of air dispersed as soon as it touched his fingers, dissipating into wind that blew past him. Half truth time was far more fun than explanation time.

"Did you know, there's a Void spell called Dispel? It was used to negate other magic, and, as a powerful Void spell, could be used to change the course of battle quite dramatically."

The teacher looked on in disbelief, but the students smirked. They had been at least open-minded enough to accept the actual truth, and had seen his duels firsthand. They could figure he wasn't an actual Void mage, but still strong enough to plausibly emulate one. The teacher, not so much. "That's impossible."

Marcus chuckled, a smile forming on his lips. A taunt should prove worthwhile. "Impossible? Maybe you should try again. Maybe something with more power."

The professor raised a wand, chanting, before firing off the next spell. "Air Cutter!"

A sharp blade of wind blew at Marcus, who held out a hand again.

Once again, the spell dispersed on contact with his fingers, slicing into the ground behind him. Strong spells? Easy. He had time to prepare. Also, Louise had demonstrated most of the spells he would have to face. So, even easier.

"You see, even the strongest of magic can be dispelled."

He casually walked towards the professor. "So, is that it? If it's not, keep trying."

The professor raised his wand once more, determined to teach this boy how to respect his betters. "Circling Winds!"

The wind began circling the two, Marcus raising an eyebrow. This was new. "Tornado!"

The circling winds suddenly rose in both power and height, trapping both combatants in a normal, not too powerful tornado.

"A bit impressive, though you need more work on it."

The tornado dispersed violently, and although the students were grinning in full, the professor was flabbergasted. "How?"

The student from earlier spoke up once more, unable to hide his smile. Marcus liked that boy, he really did. "We told you already. Marcus has beaten a line class mage with nothing but his bare hands. You can't win."

The professor scowled. "Fine. I believe you for now. But be warned, Marcus. This is only the beginning for you. A Void mage -"

Nope. Not listening. He wasn't even a Void mage. "Save it for someone who cares. I'm not interested in the politics of who uses what element. Seriously, why should I care?"

"Because, others will come for your power."

Marcus laughed at this. Was he being serious? No more half truths, this time. A boast was in order. "If they want to take my power, then let them try. If they want to use me for my power, let them try. I'm not a weakling that will bend to another's will just because they're stronger than me, nor am I a coward that will be bullied into doing things for others. The things I do are by my own decisions, and the consequences are mine and mine alone to deal with."

He turned around, walking back toward the building the class had been in before. "Now, we have class to attend."

From the main tower, a woman with green hair watched the events unfold, along with the Headmaster.

"Well, Longueville? What do you think of this man?"

The green haired woman, Longueville nodded. "Well, he's certainly strong enough, Osmond. He's also willing to go to extreme lengths to protect Louise from the prejudice of others, while at the same time, showing her that what that prejudice actually is. He's also clever. By using half truths, he can deceive others into a wrong conclusion."

"Exactly, Longueville. We should should keep an eye out on this man. He's not a Void mage, but at the same time, he's doing things no normal mage could ever do."

Longueville nodded. Marcus would be a problem if he caught her in the act. Maybe a hostage situation can delay him if she needed to escape. Maybe.

Marcus rolled his shoulder, cracking the joint as he looked at the poster. "That's better. Now, this 'Fouquet' is certainly an interesting challenge. Let's see, turning the walls into sand, stealing high value items, and leaving a signature behind. The first one is fairly new, but I think I've seen the second two before. Where, though?"

He cracked the other shoulder. "I suppose, that there's an underlying reason for all this. Might just be me, though. Doing things for fun isn't something to be done on the job."

He turned around, walking away, back to the bar, and sat down. He needed a drink. "Sir, your strongest drink, please."

The bartender nodded, pouring a glass of cloudy, reddish liquid. "Here you go. You new around here?"

Marcus took a sip, nodding. Good drink. "For the most part. I've been here three days. Really, this is something good. What's in it?"

"The drink?"

No, the food he didn't have. "Yeah."

"Trade secret, but it has a very high alcohol content."

Marcus grinned. It was their strongest drink. "Well, of course it would."

He placed the empty glass on the counter. "Any more?"

The bartender raised an eyebrow but nevertheless took the glass, and poured more of the drink into it. Marcus wasn't a lightweight. The nerve of some people! "Thanks. You've seen the wanted poster, right? Can you tell me a bit about this 'Fouquet'?"

Louise tilted her head at the large chalkboard Marcus had set up in her room. Most people wouldn't do that, they'd just accept it. Impudent Louise, respect the chalkboard! "Okay, I understand that you don't have a room yet. But do you have to set this thing up in mine?"

Marcus smirked. "Well Louise, I've taken an interest in these 'Fouquet' incidents. I'm using what I know to determine the base of operations. You can help, if you want."

Louise yawned, shaking her head. The wimp. "No, I'm alright. I'm a bit tired from this morning's training."

It was nothing! "You didn't even do that much."

She glared at him. Angry Louise, what else was new? "I had to run around rapidly firing off square class spells at you! That wasn't easy, especially with Derfflinger absorbing my magic to weaken the spells. Although he does help with normal spells."

She yawned again. "Still, I'm interested in what you'll come up with."

So was he. "Of course. You're getting up early, too. Extra training."

Her whining reply was expected. "Why?"

"Because the familiar showcase is tomorrow, and there are still things to finalize."

Louise looked down. "Why is it that the familiar is telling the master what to do?"

"Do you want to get stronger? Then listen to me, and follow my directions."

A knock at the door got their attention. Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Were you expecting someone, Louise?"

She shook her head. "No."

Hmm. Marcus pulled his hammer out, then quickly opened the door.

A hooded figure rushed into the room, closing the door quickly, and Marcus casually waved the hammer at them. A fair warning beforehand was acceptable.

"Just so you know, a hooded figure is hardly inconspicuous."

The hooded figure pulled back the hood, revealing a young girl with violet hair. "Ah, Louise Francoise, it's been too long. Am I interrupting anything?"

Louise's eyes widened. "Princess Henrietta!"

She quickly knelt down, prostrating before the princess. She glared at Marcus. "Kneel."

Marcus gave a mock bow, bending at the waist, before straightening again, his grip tightening on his hammer. "So, why are you here, princess?"

Louise glared at him. "What's wrong with you?"

Okay, now fun time was over. "How can you trust your eyes so easily?"

Marcus lunged at the 'princess', slamming her into the wall, and pressing his hammer against her throat. With his free hand, he grabbed the wrist that held an enchanted knife. Suspicious person, with a knife, and a silence spell. An assassin, of course! "Since I needn't repeat myself, who sent you?"

The 'princess' looked at Marcus pleadingly. An act, of course. "Louise, your lover is quite aggressive. Could you please ask him to release me?"

Louise blushed, looking away. "He's not my lover. Marcus! Release the princess at once!"

No. This was time to be serious, Louise. "Louise, why would a princess go to a second year mage's room at night, alone, and carrying a knife? Furthermore, why would she wear a dark cloak, in addition to using magic to hide her presence, as well as casting a silence spell as soon as she entered the room?"

He let the 'princess' go, gesturing with his hammer. "Explain yourself."

The 'princess' sighed, kneeling on the floor. "Louise, your lover is quite observant. However, he's come to the wrong conclusion."

"Like I said, he's not my lover."

She turned to him, resolve back in her eyes. "Sir -"

"Marcus."

"Marcus, while all the facts are correct, the conclusion is wrong. I am the who I claim to be. This cloak is used to hide my presence, and this knife is little more than decoration, used for intimidation. I've come here because I wish to talk to Louise Francoise, and I needed to hide myself from my guards."

Marcus rolled his eyes. Such false reasoning sickened him. "'Princess', your reasoning is quite flawed. A high ranking political member shouldn't need several guards to consistently and publicly trail her if she's competent enough. You may see my hesitation to be so trusting when you learn that your knife is a little too well made to be simple decoration."

That was a lie. The knife was good enough to kill with a simple nick on the skin. No hesitation, just a simple and complete refusal to believe that this was just a simple knife. "Ah, I see. You're suspicions are quite founded, if I were to be an assassin out to kill. But, Louise Francoise, please call me Henrietta. We are childhood friends, after all."

Marcus looked at Louise for an answer, any answer. "I was selected to be the princess', I mean Henrietta's playmate when we were young."

Marcus nodded. "I suppose I might believe your story. Would you mind if I stayed then?"

It was a test, albeit a simple one. "No, not at all." She passed. Less suspicious.

Louise looked worriedly at Henrietta. "Henrietta, why are you here?"

"Well, I've come to congratulate you on summoning a familiar, Louise Francoise. I heard it was very powerful, capable of defeating mages easily."

Louise looked down. "I'm sorry, Henrietta, but I didn't summon a true familiar. Marcus cannot be a familiar to anyone, and I summoned him. He is a familiar in name alone."

Louise was being bashful. Why was that happening? She was too haughty to normally do such a thing. The 'princess' looked at him with interest. "Ah, I see. So, Marcus, what's it like to be an honorary familiar?"

He'd explain it to her. "Well, Louise is becoming quite adept in her magic. I suppose most of it is from all her studies."

"Ah yes, Louise Francoise did enjoy reading about magic as a little girl."

Okay... "I take it you did as well?"

"Yes. We often sat and read books on magic together. Such memories."

She sighed contentedly, and Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly. That was a little sketchy for an assassin to do. Then again, it could still be a very good, well played act. "Anyway, is there anything important that must be addressed? The familiar showcase is tomorrow, and there are still things to finalize."

"Ah, you're right. I apologize for intruding. I simply wanted to have a few words with Louise Francoise."

Louise yawned. "I'm sorry, Henrietta, but it is getting late, and I would like to get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow?"

Henrietta nodded, smiling sadly. "Of course, Louise Francoise. Tomorrow then."

She donned her hood once more, leaving the room silently.

"Marcus, what do you make of this?"

"I still think she's an imposter. Maybe Fouquet has an accomplice?"

Louise looked at the chalkboard. "Perhaps. If she does, impersonating the princess is a grave crime, punishable by death."

Marcus smirked. "Of course, Louise."

His summoner was becoming everything he wanted her to be. Slowly, but surely.

The next morning.

Louise opened her eyes, seeing Marcus writing on the chalkboard. It was early morning, yet he hadn't woken her up. "Marcus. You didn't wake me up."

"It's still early. Don't go back to sleep, just get ready for the familiar showcasing."

He put the chalk down, then stepped aside. "When you're fully awake, you can take a look at this."

Louise rubbed her eyes, then looked at the chalkboard. "Fouquet's base of operations happens to be at this school, given the location of the robberies, and the time needed to travel. Based on physical appearance, we only have one person who matches, however, that may not be the case, given the possibility of an accomplice that can change the appearance of a person. In addition, the pattern of robberies conclude that this academy is the next location for her theft. But the vault is near impenetrable. It would take at least four square class mages to break in."

He nodded his head. "Which is why the imposter came to your room last night. If they managed to take you hostage, they might have forced me to break into the vault as ransom."

"Could you?"

Marcus shrugged. He could, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "I might. I've never tried anything like it in this world. I'm sure Zero could, though."

"Where is Zero, anyway?"

Marcus shrugged again. Somewhere out in the forest, slaughtering helpless dragons, orcs, and whatever else happened to be nearby when he got hungry. "Not killing everything, I'm sure. Probably only the forest animals. Maybe a dragon or two."

Louise paled, and Marcus rolled his eyes. Time to try a different topic. "Don't worry, I've talked with the main suspect last night, after the imposter left."

Louise nodded, her expression serious once more. Good.

"That was Kirche and her fire salamander Flame! Next, Louise Francoise, and her familiar, Marcus!"

Louise and Marcus walked out, bowing in front of the crowd. Meh, crowds. Boring.

A voice shouted out with a touch of pride, "Hey, Louise, what kind of familiar is he?"

Louise's eye twitched, before she smiled. Good job Louise. Good job. "He's a commoner that managed to beat the majority of the nobles here in every duel he fought in."

Marcus nodded. Louise had some pride as a mage, it seemed. "Now, to prove that fact, along with the fact that I am quite a good teacher, I will be conducting a one-on-one duel with Guiche de Gramont, with restrictions, of course. Please, follow me."

He walked off the stage, and the rest of the crowd followed him, including the 'princess' and her entourage.

Guiche and Marcus stood on opposite sides of the clearing, and Marcus cleared his throat. "Attention! This duel will be a single combat duel. Each party may place one restriction on the other. My restriction is no more than five dot class constructs at once."

Guiche nodded. "My restriction is no using your hammer."

Marcus nodded, and a girl whispered to Louise, "Those are very loose restrictions, yet does Guiche even have a chance to win? Last I heard, he was only a dot mage."

Louise whispered back, "With both theory and a lot of practice, and his father drilling him constantly, Guiche managed to go from dot class to line class in four days."

The girl nodded, looking back at the combatants in wonder.

Marcus sheathed his hammer, raising a hand.

"Duel, begin!"

A/N: And now we move on to the obligatory Guiche fight. Let's see how well Marcus can do against a named character (Since the whole 'beat a line mage with just his bare hands' was off-screen.), and technically, it should be possible for a dot mage that's close to becoming a line mage to do so in semi-Spartan conditions.
Any thoughts as to Marcus' ability of completely tearing apart complex spells are appreciated in a review *cough*.
And one final note: Marcus' ability to tear apart complex spells does, in fact, have two weaknesses, though they're not quite obvious.