Mark opened his eyes, scanning the room. Emily was leaning against the bed, fast asleep. To his right, Asami was also sleeping peacefully. He sat up slowly, careful not to disturb either of them:
'How long have I been out?' he thought to himself, trying to recall the events that had led him to this moment.
Asami felt the mattress shift and immediately realized Mark had awakened. She exclaimed excitedly:
"You've woken up!" Her sudden outburst startled Emily, who rubbed her eyes, yawning, and sat up beside Asami. The two girls seemed to be on good terms, and they bombarded Mark with questions about his health. As he answered, a thought crept into his mind:
'No, wait... Why did I have to wake up?' Emily smiled sweetly and asked:
"Now, Mark, will you introduce her to me?"
Mark's heart raced as he thought, 'Someone, please save me!' It might seem like she smiled sweetly to anyone else but mark had seen this before, she was angry.
"Oh yeah, she is..." Mark started to say nervously, but before he could finish, he was suddenly kicked out of the room through the roof! Remon smiled like a menace he was and jumped up, and punched Mark to the ground with a hammer blow. Just as Mark was about to retaliate, Remon shouted aloud with excitement: "Armorment!" a dark red light appeared blowing mark away, As Mark fell to the ground, he thought to himself with a sly grin spreading across his face:
'Thanks for the save, now let me repay you!'
Asami and Emily ran outside to see what was happening
Remon landed on the ground, fully transformed, and was about to punch Mark, but Mark swiftly kicked him away. After kicking Remon, Mark jumped back a few steps, creating some distance between them. "If you're going all out from the beginning, lend me one of your daggers," Mark said, lacking a weapon.
Remon gazed at his daggers, which were embedded in her dark red, they matched his full body transformation armor, akin to a second skin. After a brief moment, slhe tossed one of the daggers at Mark. He caught it and assumed a fighting stance.
'I want to end this now!' Mark thought, and directed half his energy into the dagger as he readied himself to charge forward.
Meanwhile, Remon was preparing to activate his sword skill:
"Serpent, Umbra!" Remon shouted activating his skill. Mark's speed had increased immensely, and Remon had transformed into a dark red, enormous energy snake that seemed solid. Both Mark and Remon charged at each other, but just as they were about to collide, Zico suddenly appeared, intercepting them. The two attacks clashed, resulting in a massive explosion that created a large hole in the ground. As the dust settled, it became clear that Zico was the one who had intercepted them, blocking both Remon's and Mark's attacks.
"None of you have fully healed, don't cause any more trouble... Remon, your sister is looking for you, don't cause any trouble," Zico spoke firmly. Emily, Asami, Mark and Remon stared at Zico in awe, wondering when he had become so powerful. His energy felt completely different from before, and they couldn't help but be impressed. Zico released their hands and walked out of the crater, leaving Mark and Remon still gazing at him in disbelief. Mark thought to himself:
'How long have I been out? He's now on the same level as that Level One Knight we fought' Mark's mind raced with questions, trying to process the sudden change in Zico's abilities.
After that everyone was invited to have a meal with old man Ginger but only mark accepted
Mark sat opposite Old Man Ginger, eating his meal. After swallowing a mouthful of food, he asked, "How long have I been out?"
The old man replied:
"Twelve days, Remon woke up two days before you did," and continued eating.
Mark's eyes widened in astonishment. "Twelve days? He got even stronger than you and Remon in just twelve days... That doesn't make any sense..." He said and thought for a while then he continued:
"Wait, it does if I think about it. Ever since we came here two months ago if you add the twelve days, he's been getting stronger... But why? Even with training he couldn't achieve this," Mark thought aloud, puzzled.
Old Man Ginger spoke up:
"You've become quite strong yourself, and Zico is even stronger than you think. He's approximately the same as a Level Two Knight."
Mark's eyes nearly popped out in disbelief. "What?!" he exclaimed, stunned.
Remon was practicing his slashes on a tree near the village when he heard a voice behind him.
"I've told you not to trouble yourself, Remon. Stop this." He turned to see his sister approaching him, concern etched on her face.
"Sister, I feel really weak," Remon admitted, remembering the overwhelming feeling he experienced when faced with Zico's energy. He continued, his determination evident:
"I don't want to be weak, I don't."
His sister walked up to him and embraced him warmly. Remon's body trembled, as if he was scared, but his sister's reassuring words calmed him:
"I'm here, nothing will happen to you Remon ."
'if you didn't come in our lives, my brother would have never been like this' she thought as her energy began increasing, for some reason this made remon feel much calmer.
Zico sat cross legged, his eyes closed in meditation , as he reflected on his actions:
'What's wrong with me? Why did I have to butt in...?' He thought, questioning his own motivations. 'I need to keep a low profile, we might leave the Sword grounds soon, and I don't want to go without killing him. I've done a lot to gain his trust... So I won't let anything stop me... For now I'll have to keep calm" His determination was evident, even in the stillness of his meditation.