*ok, last chapter for the day. We're slowly coming closer to the Xianzhou arc, and I gotta see what I have in stock for it. For now, however, I realized I'm in for my own training arc, just like Mark. So yeah, I'll go out to touch some grass and do some exercises (I sure hope so)
Meanwhile, have fun reading this. Let me know what you think. Peace out, and Deus vult.*
March looked at him as if he told her that the sky is red—well, it was true depending on what world they were on. Some of them had that trait.
"Wait, what do you mean 'learn together'?"
Stelle was just as confused, and Mark had to put a lot of effort into focusing his power. It moved through his body, along his muscles, strengthening them in the process, but it also led to a little something. In his hand, he had made a chunk of ice.
"Phew, this shit took way too much of a toll on me. I sure need to train it a lot. It's like training a new limb, similar to what you said."
He tossed it aside, and to his surprise, it had remained materialized.
"You can make ice now? You're just 'some guy' my ass," grunted Stelle, skepticism in her eyes. Mark sighed, moving on with the topic.
"Well, March, here's my experience with this, even if it's little. You can make arrows, so try to shape it into something different. Maybe they come across as natural, but then again, it's like a totally different limb, so you need to train it. Focus on making something else. Rather than a large sword, focus on making just a tiny blade or something."
She listened attentively, trying to put her mind at it. Other things were easy for her to make, but when it came to precision, it was difficult. She focused, slowly watching as the ice grew along the way she wanted, until it didn't and just spiraled out of control.
"It looks like it didn't work," she said softly, a pang of disappointment in her tone. Mark grabbed the piece of ice and inspected it. The first part was actually pretty well done, and it even had an edge that he managed to cut a lost string from his shirt.
"Well, well, well... it was a success, March. Sure, it's not a full blade, but it holds an edge."
Still, the ice she had made slowly vanished from his palm.
"I see, yours is a bit different. How peculiar," he mumbled, taking a mental note of that. March's history was a secret, and more thought put into it sent his mind spiraling down into a vertigo, turning his stomach upside down.
"Different? Miss Himeko did tell me something about my ice being different from the normal one."
Mark nodded, aware of her Six-Phased Ice. It held a different structure from the normal forms of ice, which made it stronger.
"Well, March, from now on, you should try to train it whenever possible. It shouldn't be something grand, just do whatever you wish. Focus on precision work on things you can't make, tho. It should be of much more use."
She listened intently, while Stelle took in Mark's advice as well for some reason. No one could wrap their head around where he came from, thinking him similar to Welt, whose story of choice is that he had worked at some animation studio.
"You know, Mark, you remind me of Mister Welt. Whenever we'd ask about his past, he'd simply say that he was a concept artist for an animation studio. The same goes for you. You just keep saying that you're 'just a guy', even if you know things and do things that defy the norm."
Mark was faced with facts, facts that he knew about, so he chose to joke about it in a way.
"Sure, if Welt is a concept artist, then I'm the janitor for that studio. That's all I can say."
Both Stelle and March exchanged glances, unsure of what to make out of that information. Before they could ask more, Mark had already begun walking to the door.
"Sorry, but I gotta go wash my face. The blood sort of dried up already, and it sucks a bit."
He dashed out to the bathroom, cleaning himself up and focusing on disinfecting the wound. The two were left behind with more questions, yet Mark had a bit of a clue as to who he should talk with.
Heading back to the parlor, he noticed Welt sitting quietly in a corner, sketching something. Mark leaned against the wall next to him, looking down at what he was drawing.
"No wonder you tell people that you worked as a concept artist, Mister Welt."
He looked up at Mark from the corner of his eyes, his walking cane resting at his side.
"Please, just call me Welt. As for this, yes, that's my story. I was just a white-collar employee."
Mark chuckled, feeling his heart pick up as he spoke.
"If you say so... man with the name of the world."
He shot Mark another gaze, his hand already resting on the cane. Mark motioned for him to hold his horses, simply lifting his palm a little, fingers pointing up.
"No worries, I'm a friend. I'm aware of your past endeavors, and I think we share a common goal."
Mark's eyes moved over to Himeko, who was reading something in silence.
"It's our duty to ensure she doesn't... yeah, you know what I mean. You're aware of that world, I'm aware of it too, even if you're unaware of mine. Welt, the deal is simple... should the situation become way too much to carry alone, we team up. I might be weak now, but I sure plan on growing stronger, strong enough to protect her."
Welt looked at Himeko, the emotions in his gaze hidden even better than Mark could hide his own at times. With a soft exhale, he returned to sketching.
"Fine... I won't ask more questions for now. However, keep this in mind... should you harbor any ill feelings towards the Astral Express and its members, brace for gravitational disintegration."
Mark nodded, wiping away the blood that came out of his nose as Welt had said the line. It felt familiar, it WAS familiar, and yet trying to think more about it only hinted towards the worst headache ever.
"I understand. No worries. Also, nice sketch. Drawing Pom-Pom from memory sure is something."
With that, Mark walked away, hands in his pockets, thinking about what to do next. Suddenly, Himeko spoke up, not even looking up at him.
"How was the training room?"
Mark glanced down at her and sat next to her, relaxing in his seat.
"Good. It was good. Sturdy, holds well, I sure will try to use it even more in the future."
She put a bookmark on the page that she had reached, closing it before putting it aside. Her palms rested in her lap as she turned to face Mark, her black jacket rustling softly as she moved.
Suddenly he had become extremely self-aware. He noticed the way her eyes trailed over his body, looking him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Uhm... is there any problem?" asked Mark, his cheeks already rosy.
"Oh, it's no problem; I was just thinking about what sort of clothes would suit you. You might have noticed that we tend to wear the same things since they're 'uniforms' in their own right. Missions don't really allow for too much relaxation, so our clothes of choice are a mix of fashion and practical uses."
Mark nodded, glad to have finally received some explanation that made sense about them using the same clothes most of the time.
"So the issue is...?"
She chuckled, and in that moment both March and Stelle had walked in, their timing perfect.
"The issue is that we should go shopping and buy you something that would suit you nicely. I see that you like wearing oversized outfits, which is pretty good, but in battle they might be a nuisance."
March's excitement was through the roof.
"We're going shopping? When, Miss Himeko?"
Mark gulped, his eyes a bit too intent on the door.
"Oh, we'll probably make a stop along the way before reaching our next destination. After all, we need our members well equipped, right?"
Mark used the window to bolt for the door, only to find that someone was holding him by the collar. It was Himeko.
"Well now, dear, where do you think you're running off to? Don't you want to go shopping with us? Come on, it will be a fun experience."
Mark looked over to where Welt was, asking for help from a fellow man, only to notice that the seat was empty. He barely caught sight of him as the door closed behind him.
"Traitor."
Seeing that he had no other choice, Mark whined silently, way too aware of the fate that awaited him. Countless hours of waiting for them to buy whatever, having to try on every outfit that they wanted, and worst of all... he'd have to carry the luggage.
"I'm cooked."
In that very moment, he wished that Kafka would just randomly appear in their midst and send them to the Xianzhou, yet for some reason the thought caused him to bleed a little.
"Wait a damn minute... did I manage to finish the Belobog disaster sooner than the actual timeline? That means that we have some time, and thus... I'm not safe..."
As the cogs spun in his mind, unbothered by the endless chatter between March, Stelle, and Himeko, he found himself blurting out.
"Where are we even going to find some random mall in the middle of space?"
Himeko chuckled, having forgotten that Mark lacked experience with that sort of thing.
"Don't worry, we have time for that. Once we find a reasonable stop, we'll go shopping. Until then, try not to abuse your clothes too much. We do have some spares, but I'm not sure you'll like them."
Mark nodded, glad that his peril was delayed until some other point in time. Until then, however, he had to find a way to avoid it at all costs.
"Well, since this was settled, I think I'll just head to my room and do whatever I feel like doing."
Himeko slowly let go of his shirt, gently fixing it back in place for him. The little gesture brought a smile to his lips.
"Take care, and make sure to come back here later in the evening. We'll be announcing our next stop."
That soon, huh? Still, he had managed to buy one extra day or something. His steps took him to his room, where he sat on the ground and simply focused on those powers of his for a few hours, despite his mind requiring some sort of stimuli. Instead, he chose to try and hone his abilities, since he was lacking. Theory was one, but actually using them felt like hell.