"Our first agenda should be to get you clothes. Fill yourself up because it's going to be a big day" the day had just started and Mark felt refreshed after the good sleep he got last night.
The breakfast was food but unfulfilling for him. The restaurant they were currently at was considered as one of the best ones in the area. And it did deserve its reputation because the fool was delicious and the plating was beautiful.
But the portions were too small to actually fill him up.
One look and he could tell that the teen has not had enough but he was obviously holding himself back. The rudeness and openness from yesterday were almost gone at that moment and the teen was once again a shy specimen in front of him.
Maybe because they were in the company of others that the child felt like he had to behave?
Anyway, it was not Mark's duty to look after him in this sense too when he was already looking after him in other senses. He ordered a few more dishes and fed the kitten the food he bought for her yesterday.
Once the breakfast was done, they needed to hurry. They had wasted enough time already and the daylight was wasting away at this rate.
The first agenda had been to shop for supplies for the teen which was an almost quiet affair. The teen did not question him at all when he vanished them into the storage at all, but just gave him a look.
Mark did not explain himself and ignored the look.
That being done led to the important part of the day. To evaluate the skill level of the teen. Generally speaking, he would like to take the kid out and have him be evaluated in the field since the actual fighting was much different from ranged practice.
But Mark was not willing to take the risk at this moment, so field evaluation would have to do.
Thankfully this town had a public shooting range they could visit for it. It was located in a well-to-do neighbourhood which made it much more legit in his eyes.
He entered the front door only to be stopped by the guard at the front door. He gave him a glare but the guard did not bulge at all. He just returned Mark's glare with one of his own. Specifically, toward his arms where Kuro was held by him.
"Animals are not allowed inside. Leave it in the pet care" the guy seemed uninterested in anything and everything going around him and it made Mark tick. Mark was sure his Kuro had more intelligence than this low IQ NPC.
"Animal safety law. Let's leave her with them for the time being" Alan's voice was the voice of reason over his irrational irritation and Mark calmed down somewhat at that and thought back on his actions.
He was being foolish, wasn't he? But the kitten was just too young to be left alone and it did not feel right to leave her with strangers.
But he had to evaluate the teen's level as well and he could not do that with the kitten in his hands so he relented and allowed a worker to take her away. The kitten protested the move but a few pats from him calmed her down enough to see this as not a threat.
"Please fill out this form. You are the kid's guardian here? I would need your identification proof" another worker gave him the form and a pen to fill. He nodded at her and filled out the form for the shooting range usage.
He decided to pay extra for a private room and put down himself as an expert to have a little more freedom. The money would be useless anyway after this, and no one was going to question him anyway.
They could not be bothered because of the interference by the system. It was really handy in these types of situations at least.
"Please come this way. Which type of gun would you prefer? I'm sorry to say, but we only have a limited quantity available for most of them" the lady who was leading them informed them.
Looking at her, she fulfilled the criteria of a random host NPC, sexy and helpful, kind and quite popular with the male audience. Mark, however, had no interest in that at all. He had other important things on his mind at the moment.
He turned toward the teen to ask his opinion on the topic because he himself had no idea. He could shoot a gun and a gun was a gun for him. But that was just him without any prior experience. The teen was different from him.
"I only ever shit with a 4.5 mm caliber air gun before. I don't know if they have it here" The teen sounded anxious now, his tone breaking at a few points. The nervousness was showing on his face which made Mark sigh.
"We do. Shall I bring it for you gentlemen? Would you like one or two? Are both of you shooting?" the lady looked worriedly at the teen at his side, obviously not expecting such a young kid to actually participate.
Well, she would know soon enough that the kid was the one who would be shooting and not Mark.
"One should do. Please hurry up as we're in a hurry" the lady complied, looking much more relieved now. When she came back, she had the pistol in her hand.
"Is this the one?" Mark asked Alan who nodded. Of course, Mark himself could not recognise the gun with the teen at his side could recognise it. Mark took the gun from the lady and passed it onto the teen.
The room was already set and the ear covers had been provided at the entry to the part of the building itself, so the shooting could be started immediately if one wished to do so.
"Show me what you can do" Mark called out to the teen as he took a few steps back in precaution. The lady was opening her mouth in protest, clearly not expecting him to hand the gun over to the teen instead-but Alan fired before she could.
And the shit hit just a little outside the bullseye circle which made Mar whistle out in appreciation. There were two-three more shots in succession which made their way into the target.
The lady at their side visibly showed the effort it took to close her jaw, not expecting the teen to show such a dominant display of skills and it reassured Mark that taking the teen in had been the right choice after all.
The teen was a good shooter and would likely surpass him with a little more training. Now he just needed the teen to shoot the system's gun so that he could get used to it. But the lady must leave before that.
"As you can see, we have everything handled here. Can you give us some privacy here" Mark asked politely and he expected the lady to follow but she hesitated.
"I can't. According to the rules, someone needs to accompany you at all times while you are in possession of weapons inside this facility" her words gave Mark a pause. This was something he could work around with since he technically did not need the gun anymore.
"You can take the gun since we're done here. We'll take our leave in a few minutes. I just need to rest for a while and I paid for a full hour already" the lady looked relieved at his suggestion of leaving them without any firearms.
Once she was gone, Mark locked the door and turned toad the teen who was looking at him with interest.
"Now that we are alone, we can start on the real test. Try shooting my gun kid" Mark took out his gun and looked on as the teen's interest shifted to focus on his gun. He did not even question where the gun originated as he took it with shaky hands.
"Are you sure?" the teen asked, his voice suspiciously heavy and hinting at something. All this time and the teen decided to get stubborn at this time?
"I'm sure. Now try and shoot" the teen mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'gullible fool' under his breath and Mark allowed him to. Mark watched as the teen visibly had trouble holding the gun but he did manage.
And then he shot.
Even with all the trouble the teen was having, the shit still connected with the target with a bang. The accuracy was not that good but it was far beyond Mark's expectations. The teen was also handling the recoil much better than Mark himself did at first.
The teen really did have talent in this department.
"You really are good, now drop the gun down" the teen dropped the gun at his world and Mark jumped at the teen with a punch which he dodged. The teen looked visibly confused but Mark did not stop to explain.
He just followed with a kick combo which the teen caught with his hands before Mark freed himself.
Mark himself felt surprised since he did not know where these moves were coming from. His body did not feel in his own control but it was following his orders in a sense.
The teen was good too. A little too good for a mere beginner since he was parring Mark's every attack with expert moments. But he was only defending and that won't do at all.