Mark's New Journey Begins

Mark sat on the floor, catching his breath as Rubes' punch and Erinne's slap still affected him. Meanwhile, Ava watched him with a cold expression, which was her usual expression. He knew she was the leader of the company he worked for, but he never imagined she would be so powerful. He had never seen her in action, but with Rubes and Erinne working under her, he couldn't imagine how strong she truly was.

Also, even if she hadn't stated that she was indeed a person sent to another Realm and had returned. But either way, Mark could tell that she wasn't a weak person.

"You should be more careful, Mark," Ava spoke in her cold, monotone voice.

"Rubes and Erinne are some of our best agents, and they are not to be underestimated. They were only testing you, but next time, they may not hold back."

Mark nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. He knew he had to be careful from now on, and he couldn't let his guard down around Ava and her' agents.'

"I understand," he responded, still catching his breath.

"Good," Ava said, her expression softening slightly.

"You have potential, Mark. That's why we recruited you. But you need to be stronger if you want to survive in this organization. So take a rest and then come to this address," Ava said as she threw a card in front of him and walked outside the room.

Mark nodded, determined to become stronger and prove himself to Ava and the rest of the organization or whatever she was part of. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he knew this was the best way to get stronger. As for trucking her, he was confident he didn't have any chance of even starting an attempt. At least for now.

Ava watched him for a moment longer as she stood by the door she opened before turning and walking outside the room.

"I'll have Erinne send someone to tend to your wounds," she said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Mark sat in silence, processing everything that had just happened. He expected a visit from Rubes at least, but he never thought of Ava making a move that soon. He wasn't stupid to not consider it weird for Ava to give him a job like that out of nowhere.

Even if he had considered at the beginning that it could be because he increased his <Luck>, he didn't think the stat had that kind of effect. Especially the more he researched about Ava, and the least he found about her, the more confident he was that she had some plans for him.

But no matter what he tried, he couldn't find anything as the security system of Bellot's Company, which he could access from the 'junkyard ', was beyond the level that even his Skill could affect. That was another reason he found everything strange, as he didn't expect that top security at a place that simple looking.

Some time passed as Erinne, and another woman entered the room. It surprised Mark to see that person as he wasn't ready to see her.

"Hello… Mister Mark, "Lylah said in a low voice.

"What…. what is she doing here? "Mark said as he turned his gaze towards Errine.

"You dare speak to me like that? If my Lady didn't send me to treat your wounds, I would gladly add to them. "

Her response didn't surprise Mark, as that was how it went when they spoke with each other. After all, every time he met her, he wanted to see Ava, which Erinne was against.

"I don't know how you two are connected, but you just treat the worm's wounds. I will wait outside but make it quick. My Lady awaits me to return with him after all. "

As she finished her sentence, Erinne stepped out of the room, leaving Mark and Lyna alone.

Mark noticed that Lylah had her right hand over her chest with a fist like she was trying to clasp something under her clothes.

"I… I am sorry, "Mark exclaimed, with a tone filled with awkwardness.

Lylah turned towards him but then looked away.

"I… I actually have a gift for you. "

Lylah turned towards him with wide eyes, shocked by what she had just heard.

"A..a gift? "she asked in a way that made it evident that she was trying to understand if what she heard was true.

Mark nodded and moved towards his desk, where he grasped a gift bag. It arrived just two days ago, and he planned to give it to her later tonight, as he was too busy to do so before. But it seemed that it was not a better time to do so.

He left it in front of Lylah for her to open it and bring out what was inside.

"Be careful; it is a bit fragile, "he said as she was ready to check it out.

It didn't take her long to get it out of the bag, and tears started running from her eyes as she did.

"You… you remembered? "Lylah said as she tried to keep her tears from running further.

Mark brought her some tissues nearby to clear her eyes off those tears. He also helped her put down the bottle containing her present, as he didn't want her to accidentally break it, as it wasn't that cheap.

In the bottle, there was the model of a ship, but not just any ship—- it was the same cruise ship that Mark and Lylah had met at. Or at least the same model, as the person that had Mark create it couldn't find the same ship, just its type. But those ships were identical, and since it was a much smaller model, minor details weren't as important.

Mark thought this was the perfect way to show that he didn't mean any harm to Lylah and he didn't just forget about her just like that. He wasn't sure how much it would actually work, but from Lylah's reaction, it seemed it had quite some impact on her.

'How important was that moment to her? 'Mark asked himself.

He helped Lylah to clear her tears and could feel her breath getting heavier as he did so. He could even hear her heartbeat, which he wasn't sure was because his senses had improved because of his <Beginner Tracker> Skill, or because it was getting louder, or both.

"Are you feeling ok? "Mark asked her, as he didn't want her to be like that.

Even if those seemed to be tears of happiness, Mark never enjoyed seeing people crying, especially women.

"I am fine. Thank you. Both for the gift and your time, "she said as she gripped the bottle and carefully put it back in the gift bag.

"Oh… I should check you up. Miss Erinne is still waiting. "

Even if Mark didn't like being that close to Lylah, even if she wasn't completely his type, he was a man, and she was a beautiful woman. He was also scared of Erinne, so he wanted to end with the examination so that he wouldn't have Erinne waiting for longer than needed.

Mark needed to take off his top so that Lylah could examine his body easier, which he did so. Lylah seemed surprised when he saw his body, as even if he didn't have an athletic build with the training he was going through lately for his <Martial Art> Skill, he wasn't far from it.

Fortunately, it didn't take her long to examine his body and be sure that he had no broken bones or ribs. Some had been broken by Rubes' punch but healed before Lylah started her examination, as he wasn't in combat, and his HP was restoring at a noticeable rate.

He was still not at full HP, but the two attacks had left only some bruise areas he received, and even those would disappear soon at this rate.

Lylah left the apartment, as Mark wanted to get dressed and would join the two women that waited for him outside. But before he could leave his apartment, the sound that he received a message came from his phone. Mark checked it right away, and it was a very short one — Don't tell them about me.

The one who sent it was Truck-kun, and once Mark finished reading it, the message got deleted. Actually, all the messages that truck-kun had sent him were gone, as also his number from the contact list. But Mark could still feel Truck-kun's aura on the phone, but it seemed harder to detect than before, meaning that he was extra careful in covering himself from now on.

Mark made some mental questions to himself, or more precisely to Truck-kun, who could read his mind, but there was no response. It seemed Truck-kun wanted to keep a low profile for now, which made things trickier.

But Mark was excited to see what Ava's Organization was about as it could provide him many opportunities. Or at least he hoped it would.

And so he joined Erinne and Lylah into a taxi to take them to the address on the card.