Signature Traits
"Today is the start of the day of elimination. Those at 14 years old will be kicked out and they can't be a knight in this school. However, if they manage to pass, you will be next in line in becoming a Squire!"
Noah frowned, 14 years make you close to being a squire? He then dropped the question and focused on the man.
"We are having guests for that reason. We want a good performance, if you impress some of them, you might get special support!"
He then guided everyone outside into a training field and asked everyone to fill a bucket and take it to another site.
'What kind of shitty training is this?' But he went ahead and grabbed a bucket.
"Tender, can you take it? Or will your body collapse?" One of the boys popped in.
Noah shook his head and ignored him.
[The moment you use Shifting Steel Technique in movements, they will know and you will be everyone's enemy. They will easily hunt you now that they have your information and can track you effortlessly due to you being in the Pool]
Noah's heart skipped a beat.
'This is dangerous and bad. Very bad' Noah thought as he watched everyone, some had begun, while others were looking at him.
'Am I that spoiled looking?'
[Very. You look. like a pretty boy belonging to a queen in her chamber.]
'Damn it!'
Noah took the bucket and found it light.
[This is a moment of truth. You should mask yourself. If not, they will hunt you and you will surely barely escape. Remember you are a rogue Knight.]
'Hmm!'
He went to where the broken stones were and packed them and then he found them very heavy, not that he couldn't take them but with difficulty.
Noah's strength was exactly how he looked. A beautiful face, tender skin, and soft hands and legs that showed he has never been in hardship before.
What made that difference was when he was using the Shifting Steel Technique.
For a Class 2 Elite Knighthood to be born they must have TWO distinct battle techniques. And some excel at one over the other. The techniques are;
Body Technique
And
Weapon Technique.
The entire Shifting Steel revolved around the Body Technique which was very hard to master. Shifting Steel Body Techniques enable knights to shift their Physical Strength from one part of the body to another part of the body.
That was to say, Noah can shift his physical strength from his right hand to his left hand and vice versa. And If he can only lift 1kg with his right hand and he uses the Shifting Technique and moves his left hand's physical strength to the right hand, the right hand will have double the strength or in some cases tripled strength.
However, the left hand during that strength shift will be weak and powerless with only enough power to move a bit until its strength is returned to it.
Under normal circumstances, like now with no Strength shift, Noah was as weak as he looked. So, lifting the bucket full of stones and taking it hundreds of meters away was going to be tedious.
If Noah was Shifting Steel Squire then, he might accidentally use the technique but being a Master, that meant that every action he made was voluntary and he has the willpower to resist impulses.
"I hate this!"
[You need this. You need to forget Shifting Steel and focused on Floating Feather]
"I wish you have a face"
[I do have a face. The front of the tower]
Noah brought it out and slapped it hard. Before he returned it and took the bucket with difficulty.
"This will destroy my muscles. My Sacred Shifting Strength Muscled!" Noah grumbled
To Noah's no surprise, the tower became silent. He was happy that it shut the damn thing off though.
Noah's strength was above average and that was due to the intense training he has been to. And now he has to test that again. Which was like a drink of water when his body became weaker and he sweats hard.
His will is still strong.
But that didn't mean he was not upset by the arrangement. Noah was a perfectionist, and now he realized that his body will collapse after 2 hours of moving while some kids are just starting to warm up due to their natural strength and stamina disposition.
If he falls now, then he will not be in first place in this contest. Noah cursed in his head and pushed forward for the next 3 hours of intense packing. Until he could no longer move, he fainted.
Sadly, there were still seven people working at that time, out of 240 Trainees.
"A monster. He pushed his body to its very limit until the brain turned it off!" The Rank 10 Master commented to the head of the school.
Noah woke up 12 hours later with refreshed stamina and no aching muscles. He was good to go in another packing lot.
'No matter what others say, my Primary Signature is the best!' Noah approved.
Signatures were Special passive or Active Traits of a Master. Sometimes it appears to be a Superhuman Feat that surpasses other knights or, great Cognitive ability or Healing and Recovery or something unknown.
Noah's Primary Signature he gained from Shifting Steel Knighthood allowed him to recover his stamina within 12 hr, 12 minutes or even 12 seconds.
That was to say, as he had fatigued himself to the point his brain turned off, that means, 12 hours later, he would have recovered all his stamina, as if he had never done those activities.
Unlike other kids that might spend days having sore muscles, Noah won't even have sore muscles.
"You are awake!" The middle-aged woman said with a smile. In Noah's rudeness, he would have asked, 'Don't you have eyes!' But instead, he said, "Yes. Good morning!"
"Ahh, it's around 3 o'clock in the night. You have been asleep for 12 hours only!" She exclaimed.
That was when he saw a tag on her long robe reading, "Aunty Sweat Bark!"
"Here is your food. And don't move very much and be true to yourself. You have outdone your body today and I'm proud of you!" Aunt Sweat said.
Noah ate the food and sighed. Seeing her go out he stood and stretched his muscles and joints as he moaned.
'As a Knight, I'm embarrassed to lose to a bunch of kids!'
In many societies, the moment a person became a Knight, he was an adult from then. He has the right to own a house, wife, and squires and also the right to object to the ruling of a lord.