"... Are you being serious right now?" Natalie asked with a raised eyebrow.
She was sitting behind a desk befitting someone of her position, a stack of papers waiting to be signed in front of her. She seemed to be in a state of extreme boredom until Mark barged into her office a few seconds ago.
In her mind she believed that he came to her with more questions, momentarily saving her from the hellish paperwork trapping her behind that desk. To her utter disbelief, it turned out that he just came to inform her that he was leaving.
"What? Don't tell me you plan on keeping me here forever." He said. "I'm thankful for everything you've done for me, but I have already wasted too much time lazing around."
Her frown deepening, Natalie stared at the youth for a few seconds before sighing.
"Do you even know the state of your world right now? We might've pushed the CDC back a few days, but there are still Rifts opening everywhere. There are monsters crawling at every corner. Do you seriously think I will just come save your ass if another Malarak gets its eyes on you?"
"Then that's all the more reason for me to go out there." Mark retorted. "I need to get experience and raise my level. I also need a lot of Aether for when I summon my other maids."
Natalie shook her head.
"We already discussed this. You will be going to the Overworld where you can focus on your training and growth without having to worry about any Demons hunting you." She grabbed a paper that was placed on the side and tapped it twice. "The old sacks over there are losing their minds over the news of your existence. They wanted me to send you over while you were out of it!"
There was no trace of the humor and smugness in her voice. The muscular woman was being completely serious, and faced with that seriousness, Mark didn't know how to react.
"I never agreed to join the Peace Keepers," Mark said in return, but the Head General just scoffed then looked up and pierced him with a glare.
"You probably didn't hear me so I will repeat myself: you are too valuable, Mark White. Your potential makes you one of the most important Awakened not just in this world but in the entire multiverse. We were lucky to have found you first and we will spare no effort to ensure you stay on our side."
Mark had expected some resistance, but now that he came face to face with it, he once again wished he had a way to hide his abilities. It would've been much easier to separate himself from them if they underestimated his potential.
Nevertheless, what exposed him were things outside his control. He couldn't hide the fact that he had a Level 05 LRGS when they already discovered Lara's existence.
'Damn it!' He cursed inwardly. 'I like the idea of being an overpowered MC, but having the eyes of some big shots on you from the start is just a pain…'
His conversation with Rebecca led him to believe the mechanics of his Maids vs Apocalypse System on their own could turn him into a powerhouse even in the Higher Realms, and the fact that he could use them so soon after Awakening meant that he was capable of much more.
It was only natural that an organization that deals with Awakened would want him in their ranks.
'They better give me a good reason to join them, though…'
Mark didn't mind joining the PKs at some point; his world was doomed and he didn't want to deal with the horrors lurking in the Underworld. The offer to leave for a less dangerous world was rather appealing, but unfortunately, he couldn't leave for safety just yet.
"My parents aren't responding." He said after a while. "I need to go check on them."
A while ago Mark was surprised that the internet was still working despite the apocalypse taking place, but then he learned that the PKs were the ones keeping it going despite the interference from the Dimensional Rifts, allowing people to stay in contact so they have better chance at getting to safety.
Natalie stared at the paper in her hand for some time then heaved a long sigh and put it down.
"Your parents are in Amberwood, right?"
Mark wasn't surprised that she knew. He answered with a nod.
"We lost contact with our base in the area not that long ago. The satellite scans show that CDC has progressed quite a bit over there." Fixing him with a stern glare, the General added in an even tone. "Your parents are most likely dead."
She chose her words deliberately to get a reaction from him, but the young man's expression remained the same. A greenhorn like him was too inexperienced to be able to control his emotions to such an extent, which made her suspect that he had long since predicted her response and had something else planned.
"My parents might not be alive, but my illustrator is," Mark spoke in a calm tone. "I need to retrieve him so I would have a better chance at improving my System."
"Improving your system?" Natalie gave him a doubtful look. "The hell you talking about?"
As he prepared to explain why, Mark's mind went back to the conversation he had with Rebecca earlier.