A New Stat and Party Mode

Good thing that Mark was on a bed already as he had almost overloaded his brain with all the knowledge of his new Skill. Still, since he expected it to happen once more, he slowed down the process so that his brain could keep up.

Because his <Beginner Hacker> had reached its Max Level also, the rate at which he could process information had increased. It shouldn't take him more than a couple of hours to finish with all his knowledge, or at least he assumed it to be if the amount of information was similar to the rest of his Skills that he had maxed out.

But it took him much less time than he thought to process everything, as he was over within one hour. Then, surprisingly, as he finished processing everything, a set of notifications appeared.

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The user met the requirements for <Charisma> Stat.

Starting value: 9

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The user met the requirements for <Party Mode>.

Possible Members: Kiran Miller, Sarah Emberly, Samantha Taylor, Lylah, Emerald, Ruby, Claire, Jack

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This time Mark wasn't surprised like usual as he started expecting his every move to lead to a notification from now on. Still, he didn't expect to get a function like that and a new stat, but the more he thought, the more it made sense.

From what he learned about his new Skill, it wasn't about helping him develop tactics in battle or ordering people easier. Instead, it allowed him to boost the abilities of the people that he worked with, making it possible to reach new limits they couldn't before. But for his Skill to work, a bond had to exist between him and his target, which most times had to be formed from their trust in him.

It surprised him that Julian and Max weren't on the list of people that could join his Party. But thinking over it more, it made sense, as he had rarely met Julian these past weeks and seemed quite busy.

As for Max, even if he was impressed by Mark's abilities, he didn't trust him with everything, as he had restricted what he could access. He said this was a standard recruit protocol, but it didn't take Mark long to find out it wasn't the case. Of course, there was some restriction for everyone, but the ones put on Mark were more than usual, but Mark could access what he wanted in time using his abilities either way.

Mark could tell that using his Skills could quickly help Sam get stronger at a much faster rate, but he wasn't sure how he could help others, as most would not be part of fights.

As Kiran's and Sarah's names were on the list, he didn't find it weird as it wouldn't be impossible for him to go to the Realms they were sending, just not now. Because he was the one who sent them there and how trucking worked, a part of their strength had stayed behind, which had taken the form of <Truck Points>.

That was why there were no names of the other people he had trucked these past days, as they gave him zero <Truck Points>.

As for Lylah's name being there, he hadn't considered it weird either, as they had become close those past weeks. He had met her a few times and learned that she wasn't part of the Organization precisely but was more like an outside contractor. She knew little about the Organization, but he had met Erinne quite a few times to become familiar with her; actually, she considered her a friend.

Mark wasn't sure why he enjoyed Lylah's company, but he was sure that it wasn't on a romantic level. Instead, it was more like having the sister he had never had, and she also acted similarly, or at least that was how Mark saw things.

As Mark cleared his mind, he checked how things went around the base using any camera he could access. He mostly wanted to see what Rubes was doing, but unfortunately he didn't find him. Mark knew that he still was no match for Rubes as he was sure that he hadn't used his full power even in his last attack.

But even if he could defeat Rubes, he didn't plan to do it yet. After all, he still had some use for the discount that came with <Revenge Mode>. He just needed to truck people higher than him to earn some extra <Truck Points> to get Skills in the max level.

He still wanted to get the <Stealth> Skill, which he could afford to earn it usually, but not to get it at max level right away. He had 10 <Truck Points> lefts, which he could use for any other Skill, but he kept them until he had enough to get <Stealth> at Max Level, as he needed 11 more.

Another option he had was to use <Truck Coins>, as the discount also affected that option and was the same amount. But he couldn't use both for a single Skill, and earning 21 <Truck Coins> wasn't that easy for Mark yet. His only source of income was by selling <Small Healing Potions>, but he earned too little out of them and had already used up all materials.

'Where is Truck-kun when you need him? 'Mark thought to himself.

Other than some random messages at random times, Mark had heard little of Truck-kun these past few days. He wasn't sure if he was that afraid of being found out by Ava or if there was another reason, but there was nothing Mark could do. Still, with his current Skills, he could, at a point, replicate what Truck-kun could do to a degree at least.

Mark entered the Darkroom to practice his <Martial Art> and <Minor Sword Mastery>. But as he entered the room, he noticed something, specifically someone, being there. The existence of someone other than him in this place which, from his understanding, was a place within his soul, it really surprised him.

But as he stared at the figure and noticed more details of the still body, what he saw surprised him.

'Is that a puppet? Why does it look like Rubes? Is it part of the <Revenge Mode>? 'Mark thought to himself as he couldn't speak in this place.

In the Darkroom, he didn't have an actual body, more one made of energy, which allowed him to move around by walking and also practice his <Martial Art> moves, etc.

The figure looked like a wooden puppet, which was very similar in appearance to Rubes. However, it didn't wear any clothes; instead, they were colored on its body, and one could clearly see that the arms and legs were different parts connected by wooden spheres the size of Mark's fist.

Mark moved closer to inspect the puppet, which was down on the ground in a weird stance like its legs and arms were broken. But as Mark got just a couple of steps from the puppet, the latter stood up at an incredible speed.

Mark took a defensive stance, ready to fight it, but then he saw the puppet do the same. It actually took a similar stance as Rubes had just looked to be less relaxed and more formal in the way expected from a Martial Art stance.

'Is it here for me to get more familiar with fighting Rubes? '

There was only one way to find out, so Mark decided to make the first move once more. But he only took one step forward as the puppet disappeared, and in the next instance, the puppet pushed Mark's face to the ground.

Its speed was even faster than what Rubes showed at their battle.

'How do I make it release me? 'Mark thought, and as he did so, the puppet ended its grip.

Mark stood up and tried something else as he thought --- the puppet to fight him with half its strength and speed. It didn't take long for the puppet to move, and it was much slower than its previous attack. Still, its speed was more than Mark could cover and more than what Rubes had shown him, but not by much.

Mark once more gave a thought command for the puppet to stop fighting him. Then he gave it a different command, trying to test its limitations. However, it didn't take him long to come to another breakthrough as he ordered the puppet to use a move that Rubes shouldn't know, as it was one technique of Trucko. Nonetheless, the puppet followed the command and used that technique, which was flawless, unlike what Mark had reached.

After more tests, it seemed the puppets could use both combat abilities he and Rubes had but nothing else. It also could use them at a level over that he could use them, and maybe even Rube could use them, but he couldn't be sure for the latter.

Even if Mark wasn't in his actual body, his consciousness was still active, and he could feel excitement as a grin formed on its energy-made face. He had found the perfect training partner, after all.