The teen trusted him a lot and because of that reason, Mark was sure he did not feel threatened by the attack, just confused. And as much as it warmed Mark to see, this was not the time to hold back at all.
The teen was trained and strong, his every move proved to be so and his defence was tight. But defending alone would never win a war. That meant that he would have to force the teen to attack him.
He aimed his next kick toward the back of the teen's knee which made him wobble down but unfortunately also dodge the next punch aimed at his face. Mark deliberately created an opening in his attack pattern to allow the teen to counterattack.
The teen would just have to take the opportunity and he was back in the game. But the teen did not and just held back. It made Mark sign in defeat.
"Testing you would not have any meaning if you hold back all the time. You need to counter me too so that I can get to know your level" Mark stopped and dropped his pose into a neutral one as he called out to the teen.
The confusion in the teen's eyes vanished at his words. His eyes were clear now and bright too and yet they seemed hesitant.
"Was that test? Did I fail it?" The nervousness was back in the teen's voice. Mark made his way toward him and picked up the dropped gun near the teen before looking the teen directly in the eye.
"You have a really solid defence but it won't help you out much. What we are against are not humans but monsters with unreal physique and powers. I'm not even sure if hand-to-hand combat would help as much as weapons but some of them may require you to have this knowledge. So show me that you are capable" Mark challenged the teen who no longer looked hesitant.
He did not have to wait long before the attack came his way and he had to go on the defensive.
If the teen was good in defence, he was fierce in the offence. Really well trained and controlled movements caused Mark to react faster than he had ever in a normal situation. The teen was just too fast and accurate for him to fully shut down.
Mark did try to get some hits in but the smaller size of the child and the boundless energy he had made it next to impossible to achieve. This really is turning out to be a problem now. But Mark got a lucky hit which caused the teen to go spiralling down on his back.
"D-did I do alright?" the teen huffed out in a little exhausted breath.
"You did more than good and you don't need my validation to know that. You're good kid" the teen visibly seemed to lighten up at his words and sat up. Mark allowed him to catch his breath which did not take long.
Really, Alan was a natural fighter. Too bad he died in the original game version.
"What do we do now? You never told me before, did you?" Mark was not sure he had mentioned any further plans before the teen.
"We have a safety base set up. For now, we'll journey to reach there in the next 4 days. Once we're there, then we'll see what to do next" Mark informed the teen who nodded at his words.
The two left the building, but not before retrieving the kitten they had left behind. The kitten jumped in excitement seeing them and the noise she made really reached the next level. The pet care lady did not look happy at the noise at all, so Mark hurriedly picked up the kitten and left the area.
The next stop had been the transport renting place.
It was a pain to find because it was not marked on the map at all. It was too new to be added to the existing city map so they wasted a lot of time while searching for it manually. But they did find it eventually.
As soon as Mark entered the place, he felt as if he struck gold on the search. Right in the middle of all the available cars stood an HMMWV from the military. It was the perfect vehicle that he could rent out for the journey ahead.
And he was lucky too that it was relatively untouched by any physical weather. It would be expensive, he did not doubt that at all. But did he care? Not really in his position.
"Can I check this car out for rental?" Mark asked the person at the rental booth who looked at him in an apologetic manner and he felt his heart sink at that. Was it not possible?
"I'm sorry, but it's for sale. They mixed up the placement and delivered it here instead" the person explained and Mark felt the hope return. Perhaps he could buy it instead? Won't that be better in the long run?
"Can anyone buy it?" Mark asked, interest showing in his voice and he could see the other also show interest in his words now as they nodded in agreement.
The process was short-lived since it was not a first buy of the vehicle but reselling. The lawyer was present and the agency assured that they would handle the transfer of ownership in the meantime.
Mark now had a perfect vehicle and he made his way toward it to see Alan and Kuro make a home on its seat.
"This is ours now. Let's take it out for a ride since we need to fill it up and get some fuel for the road too" the teen had stars in his eyes, obviously never having been in such a vehicle while the kitten rubbed against his side as he made his way inside.
The engine let out a healthy sound once he started it which was a good sign in his book. He did not know much about cars at all.
There was a ding in his ears and he opened up the system to check
______________________________
Acquired: Grade A vehicle
Health points: 964/1000 (repair: use monster orbs - 36/20)
Current mission statue: 4 days 16 hours left
Party members: 3
Status: alive
______________________________
So he could repair it? That was a good sign but the monster orbs meant he would have to kill more of them to get the drops. Hopefully, he would be able to get to a level where killing them would become easier.
But also, now he had a companion with him. A companion who was still disarmed and had no useful weapons.
Mark realised with horror that he only had one gun and a katana with him as a weapon which none of them could use effectively. They were dead if something happened to him.
But how could he acquire weapons? He was not sure how to go about it.
Didn't games have shops for such kinds of things? His menu did also have one but it was blanked out so he did not pay attention to it before. Why worry about it when you could not even access it at all?
But now it is becoming a problem. Hopefully, the manual would have a solution to it all. He would check after lunch.
The lunch was another fancy meal but this time the portions were actually agreeable to him for the price range. The food was quickly devoured and then it was time to check the map. The canyon between here and their destination spanned a good chunk of the area.
It was almost 500 km in length but the conditions were much harsher. The place was rocky and the monsters they would encounter were unknown. But it was an unavoidable area they had to make their way through to get to their destination.
While he was at it, Mark decided to check for the information available in the shop and his heart leapt up in joy once he read through it. It was really good news for him and his future survival.
______________________________
Feature: Shop
Opens up: Start of the Grand Canyon mission
______________________________
He would get access to the shop once he was there and it was something he had to do next. He was excited about this feature because shops were almost always the best feature for an upgrade.
Finally, it was something to look forward to and once it came, he would be able to ensure his own survival without much fuss.
The lunch finished in a quiet and happy atmosphere and the time to start their journey toward the canyon was finally here. The tough part was coming and with it all the negatives they will have to face.
The city was but a blur in the distance as Mark drove out toward the destination. Once he crossed a line, he felt the ding sound in his ears and a jingle of 'shop is open for business and he stopped just a little bit into the area.
He looked at the map first and decided to drive into a safety zone first since it could get dangerous out there. The place was pretty similar to the forest with similar rules so that was a plus.
And then he checked the shop. Much to his disappointment, most of the stuff was still locked and the currently available one asked for specific monster material drops he did not have at all.
But there was one thing that caught his fancy. The fancy A - grade gun for sale asked for a specific drop he had - Jude crystal he got from the hidden bosses previously.
Mark did not hesitate to buy the gun and as soon as the transaction happened he had it in his inventory. He had an incredible and useful weapon now.
He bought a few more weapons for emergencies and he was done. All the while, the two others with him slept through the ride till here but it was time to wake them up. Things would get dangerous from here on out.