Leave The Monster Alone

Once the shots were out, Mark cursed his ignorance of the situation. Since these basic guns had no silencers, the shots produced a small sound when fired.

Since the distance between him and the monster was large enough to be of significance, the other dodged. 

The monster was fast, faster than any of the common ones which could be found in the area and it;s features varied too greatly for it to be a common and local vegetation. There was no doubt in Mark's mind that this was an abnormality.

The monster took off in fight, the gunshot now a variable he had no knowledge of. 

When Mark reached the spot it had been, he could not find anything of significance just what had attracted the attention of that creature to make him stop right here?

"H-hello. T-thank you for saving my life" the bush rustled at his side which made him aware that he had not been as alone as he had thought before. 

Mark had not noticed anyone in the vicinity, even now he could not find out anything but there must be someone here who had produced that noise.

"You're safe now" perhaps, this approach would be the best. The other sounded young, far younger than he would have expected anyone to be out there but with the world in such a situation you could never be sure.

The base had enough children who were too told to rehabilitate but young enough to not be adults. 

The bush once again, ruttled and Mark tensed involuntary. This time, footsteps could be heard which made him aware that someone was approaching him but he could not see anyone.

Was he hallucinating? 

"Thank you" the voice filled with gratitude reached him once again but this time he felt a touch on his hand and he aimed his gun over the direction without thinking.

There was a terrified yelp and he could hear something moving away and running. Mark followed without hesitation, his gun on ready.

Just what on earth was going on?

He followed those steps all the way to the lower base. He could see a shadow on the round of a girl who looked just a little older than Maya and followed her inside. The actual body was still not visible but now he could be sure that there was someone actually there.

Once he entered, he could hear the whispering start. Many people had recognised him from yesterday and they did not look happy at all to see him. 

He had lost account of that shadow a way back but at least he was where he was supposed to be. He could also make the local petrol aware of the danger of the best out there and he would not have to do anything in return.

This was the ideal situation for him,or it would have been had he not been stopped.

"You, stop there. Follow behind me. There is someone who wants to meet you" the one who stopped him looked like an intimidating figure at the first glance and had Mark met him beforehand, he would have been frightened.

But Mark did not feel anything of that sort currently. 

Firstly, between both of them, Mark was the one who was actually armd and had experience in using the weapons. 

And secondly, he could tell that the other had no fighting experience just from the body language alone. He would not be able to take Mark down anytime soon anyway so it was useless to try and frighten him.

But even still, Mark decided that making other grief was not worth the effort on his part. The other was likely following orders too and it did benefit Mark to follow them.

"Lead the way. I'm interested to meet this person too" his words made it seem like Mark knew exactly whom he was being led to but it was a bluff on his part. He would likely be respected more if they thought he knew the authority they respected.

It was a tactic often used in psychological welfare which was something he had studied as a side hobby during medicine practice. Who knew it would come in handy like that.

The grunt looked somewhat pleased and did not make any more trouble. Mark followed behind him and deeper into the base.

Just when he thought that they could go no further, the other knocked on a few tiles and it was clear that one sounded different than the other. Even now, he could tell that it was a test of trust. He was being led into an unknown location all alone which could be dangerous.

So, did he trust them enough to be led like this?

_________________

Side mission discovered: Changing the sides and filling in the missing blocks in the rebellion.

Parameters: Make sure the rebellion takes place at the right time and succeeds. Do not become  a main force yourself, but assist the main party

Reward: updating ??

Failure: updating??

Note: beware of your affiliations and the members. Not everyone you see is how they appear

_________________

And there went his option to choose.

This was the first time he did not know the stakes he was taking but did it really matter? If it was something issued then it was likely important.

Besides, this was just something he had thought of doing anyway and he was genuinely curious about the rebellion and its forces. 

There were stairs below the tiles which went deep inside. Mark could not see the end in the dark and all he could do was to follow the other. He could not even take a flashlight out in case he was thought to be dangerous.

So, he followed the other down deep and it seemed like the stairs would not end at all.

And then they did, right in front of the iron door which stood cold and foreboding in front of him. He looked at the grunt for a clue who did not look at him when he knocked the door.

Somehow, the atmosphere made it seem like he was about to enter a forbidden place which would have no exit but surely this place had enough supply of air to last people days.

The grunt did not enter after him and the door closed behind him and there was him, alone in that room and it did feel like he had been tricked.

Had his intentions been discovered? Surely not, because that was impossible to guess without reading his mind.

And that power did not exist.

"Please keep your weapons to yourself or you'll scare the children away" that was a very familiar voice, coming from his side. The man from yesterday stood very near him with a girl clinging to his leg.

The girl looked tiny in front of the massively buff man but that was not what Mark observed. From the height to the features, the girl looked like a copy of the child he had seen the shadow of but surely not?

Did the other know anything about this?

"Go ahead. Don't you have something to say to this nice uncle?" The child looked hesitant, her eyes not looking at Mark at all but rather, eyeing his gun. 

This was the same child from before, not a hallucination at all.

"T-thankyou for saving my life. I'm s-sorry I ran" the child was nervous and her voice shook. Mark just felt confused and a little tilted.

"H-how is that possible?" he asked, looking at the man who likely had the answers needed. The other was not looking at him, but at the somewhat scared child. Mark could not read his face but the child obviously could.

She nodded and left them alone with each other.

"I'm sure you have questions and so do we. Please follow me inside but remember - if you tell anyone our secrets then everyone will suffer equally. We won't spare anyone who becomes a threat to us" the other sounded like he would carry out that threat and Mark gulped down in a little fright.

The voice was cold and unyielding, far too terrifying than yesterday's but most importantly, this was a human as his opponent.

A smart and cautious opponent who could adapt and had support on his side. It was best Mark did not invoke him at all.

Mark put his weapon away back into his storage which did not surprise the other. So he did know about the existence of the system. Then he followed him toward the backside and came face to face with another familiar face.

"I did tell you that we have met before right? Do you remember me now Mark?" The familiar features of the teen who had caused this mess met him and he felt something familiar from him now.

The same feeling he felt from a divine beast and Kuro and the abnormalities.

This person was not a human but he was not entirely a monster either. So was this an abnormality?

And Mark did the logical thing, he aimed a gun at his head and got several aimed at his person at the same time.