Finishing procession

Mark ensured that Sam was ok at her bench as he took a seat at another nearby bench. He closed his eyes and sat meditatively as he focused on processing all the leftover knowledge he had learned from his Skills.

Since his <Martial Art> Skill had leveled up quite a few times, the amount of knowledge had increased, which was why he wanted to take care of it before adding even more.

Processing all that knowledge was weird because of the difference between different subjects that each of his Skills that he had some unprocessed knowledge of. It felt like he was watching a tv show, but now and then, someone changed the channel to another show of a different genre, actors, etc.

He tried to organize how he processed that knowledge per Skill, but he failed no matter what he tried. He only could slow or make faster the rate he received that knowledge from the part of his brain that something temporarily stored it. He wasn't sure how long it could stay there, which was another reason he wanted to hurry on finishing with all of them.

The first Skill that he finished processing all info about it was the <Beginner Driver>, surprisingly enough, since he had the most levels of knowledge to process. Still, since he was familiar with some subjects already, the amount of knowledge to process wasn't that huge.

He then finished processing any knowledge gathered by his <Appraisal> usage, followed by his <Martial Art> knowledge, and finally, his <Beginner Mechanic>. He hadn't used his <Beginner Hacker> that much during his time here, so there was no unprocessed knowledge.

That was more or less the order he finished them, but he couldn't take every bit of knowledge per Skill at the row, so there were some changes now and then. Whenever he noticed a sudden change in the type of knowledge, he slowed the rate he let them out and slowly made it faster. Otherwise, he was getting a headache and could even pass out.

He wasn't sure how long he was in that state, so as he finished with them, he checked the time on his phone. It was late at night, and considering that he arrived here a bit before noon and had spent little time in each Department, briefing, and rematch with Sam, he had spent almost half a day on it.

Surprisingly, Sam was still at the bench she had left her, but someone had brought a blanket to cover her.

'Are people that afraid of waking her up? '

Mark wouldn't have any trouble sleeping on a bench, as he had slept on his truck many times, which could be as uncomfortable. But he found it strange that nobody tried to wake her up or even moved her to a more comfortable place.

Now that Mark could focus on different things, he checked her Energy Aura. He had studied it before, but he couldn't examine it thoroughly because he had other things that needed his focus back then.

Most of her aura was green, which Mark was confident had to mean her compatibility with the Green Realm was higher than the others. Sarah's aura, in the end, was almost entirely red, and her compatibility with the Red Realm was perfect.

He doubted that Sam's compatibility with the Green Realm was over 90%, but it should be over 50% for certain. He noticed some yellow color and a bit of red also to her aura, but green looked the greatest in amount.

He looked around to check the auras of others, but possibly because it was pretty late, almost nobody was around. But then a simulation station's door that was near them opened. Mark was confident it wasn't there when he started his meditation.

Jack came out of it, and seeing Mark 'awake,' he walked towards him.

"You really are great at zoning out. People tried to get your attention for hours, and you didn't even more than a finger. Is everything ok? "

Mark nodded as he turned his gaze toward Sam.

"Shouldn't she be awake already? Did anyone check on her? "

Jack looked at Mark with a broad smile as he turned his gaze to Sam again.

"You have nothing to worry about. She is going to be more than fine soon. But for her to get so much time to process everything is surprising. Did you hit her with the same punch as the one during your test? "

"Not exactly, but they had some similarities. After all, it was sparring; I didn't want to break any bones, "Mark exclaimed, although he found how Jack said some things a bit weird.

"Well, you don't need to worry about it. She has a Talent that makes her bones and skin tougher, increasing her natural defense. It also improves itself every time it receives a hit over its threshold, and your attack has done so. But it usually takes less than an hour to get back on her feet. Don't tell me you were holding back on your test. "

Jack looked at Mark with an intense look, waiting for his answer.

"I was just improved since then. I am still early in the states of my 'powers,' but with her help, I have improved quite a bit. "

He said it wasn't far from the truth, as even if his <Martial Art> Skill was at its Advanced State, it was still a D-Tier Skill. After all, d-Tier was the mortal Tier, and even if he reached a state that would be considered inhuman, that didn't mean he was all-powerful.

After all the punches he used during his first test, it wasn't one he could use during combat, as it took too much focus and time to prepare it, even if he didn't make it look like that. However, during actual combat, seconds are something you can't waste, so any move that took a couple of seconds to prepare while he fought alone was as good as now using it.

Also, the power of his punch wasn't the power of his standard punch, which was many times weaker. Actually, the boost was more than he thought, probably because Trucki contained the energy of the Universe, too, not just his.

He still didn't have a perfect understanding of Trucki's nature, even after processing all the knowledge of his <Martial Art> Skill, as it was more about how to use it properly, not what it was. Still, it clearly improved his punch more than a dozen times, which had its disadvantages.

The first time he used that tactic, he didn't notice, but when he used it on Sam, even if it was on a smaller scale, he noticed that his hand was hurting for a couple of seconds after the punch like something pressed it from different angles.

The first time he didn't notice, it excited him to watch the number on the monitor getting higher as time passed. But when he hit Sam, he noticed it, and even if it wasn't something that caused actual damage, it was something he had to keep in mind. After all, pain was never a good sign, especially if it appeared without some actual damage.

As Mark had these thoughts, he realized something else from what Jack had just told him.

"Is Sam… a candidate to become a Transcended? "

Jack's smile widened as he nodded, expressing that Mark's assumption was on point.

"She is in the top 10 people with their Godly Talens for the longest time. According to our research, she has had those abilities since she was six. As for how she got them… it is something she has to share with you. But I wouldn't ask about it if I were you. It isn't a pleasant story, "Jack explained, with a bit of sadness in his last sentence.

Mark had a rough idea what he meant, as the nature of her 'Skill' didn't seem like one that was pleasant to acquire. Of course, he was still how people came to gain them, and from his understanding, neither were Ava and her Organization, but it certainly wasn't something simple.

Mark and Jack had some more small talk, with the latter giving some tips on Mark. Even if Mark had overpowered almost all of his opponents, that didn't mean he was unbeatable. After all, power wasn't the only way to beat someone.

Those tips didn't cause any change in his <Martial Art> Skill, as they were unrelated, but still, Mark learned a few tricks for future battles.

Then Mark noticed some movement underneath the blanket that covered Sam as the latter started to wake up.