Chapter 28: Rejected Invitation
Judging by how Mark was trembling right now, it was obvious he hadn’t stayed quiet earlier because he was trying to look cool. He had been too scared to speak.
Mark wasn’t a coward, but those teenagers from earlier were dangerous. He had stood up to them before, and the result was a stab wound to his thigh that left a scar that would never fade.
Those lunatics were actually capable of killing someone when they got drunk because they would start stabbing wildly with knives. If he hadn’t reacted fast enough back then, he would have been stabbed somewhere fatal.
And now, even though Mark had awakened, he was still just a pathetic F-rank. Not only had his body not been enhanced, but his ability was nothing more than throwing out a handful of sand.
If an S-rank had the ability to create sand, it would be a weapon of mass destruction, but Mark’s ability was simply shooting out a small handful of sand from his hand.
That amount of sand might scare ordinary people, but against a hunter, unless he got up close and launched a surprise attack the first time, it could maybe temporarily blind the opponent. Otherwise, it was completely useless.
It was because of this overwhelmingly disappointing result that the last bit of Mark’s confidence and hope had been completely worn away, making him easily tremble in fear before a few teenagers younger than him.
"A-Are... are you okay?"
The trembling voice really didn’t sound heroic at all. Nexus could even clearly hear the frantic heartbeat pounding inside his chest.
Without counting his inner thoughts, his outward appearance compared to Bell was like an ant standing next to an elephant.
"Mm."
Mark’s kindness was worth acknowledging, but only enough for Nexus to spare him one extra glance.
That indifferent reaction turned the fear that had just appeared in Mark’s heart into anger.
"What kind of attitude is that? Didn’t anyone teach you how to thank people? I know you’re a hunter too. That screen and that chicken-looking thing are your ability, right? But you’re only an F-rank. Those bastards will really kill you!"
Even though Mark was very annoyed with Nexus, his rather harsh words were all meant to remind Nexus to be careful.
That attitude was enough to make Nexus a little more interested in him.
"Do you want to become my disciple? I’ll teach you cultivation."
Nexus’s calm attitude as he made the invitation left Mark stunned. He felt like there was something wrong with his ears.
An F-rank wanted to take another F-rank as a disciple? That was not entirely unreasonable, but at the very least, Nexus should’ve been an experienced hunter.
Mark’s memory wasn’t so bad that he had already forgotten who Nexus was after witnessing that eventful awakening just moments ago.
"Stop joking. Cultivation is just a scam."
Seeing the doubt in Mark’s eyes, Nexus decided to keep patiently trying to persuade him out of appreciation for his attitude. Besides, Nexus didn’t agree that cultivation was a scam.
"You know Bell, right?"
The moment he asked that question, the hairs on Mark’s arms stood on end. The mix of anger and fear on his face now looked quite ugly.
"Y-You... don’t tell me Bell already allowed you to join the Wolf Guild?"
The wary look in Mark’s eyes made it seem as if the person standing in front of him wasn’t someone who needed help, but his sworn enemy.
He had seen Bell talking about making Nexus pay back his debt, but he wasn’t stupid. Seeing Nexus walk out of the Wolf Guild headquarters completely unharmed and so calm, there was only one possible explanation. Bell had suddenly decided to take Nexus in as his subordinate.
"No. But Bell can testify that I really can teach you cultivation."
The strange confidence in Nexus’s words carried an almost magical charm, making Mark nearly believe that the F-rank hunter standing before him was actually someone dependable and capable.
But his reason screamed in protest. In this world, everyone knew that the moment of awakening was the moment a hunter’s path was decided. Whether someone reached the peak or could only remain at the bottom all depended on their awakening rank.
There had never been a hunter in this world who dared say rank didn’t matter. Anyone who had that idea had already been beaten up by higher-ranked hunters until they came to their senses.
But... what if what he’s saying is actually true? I don’t have any better options left anyway.
Mark’s thoughts were a complete mess right now. He was someone who had lost everything, and now an unbelievably absurd opportunity had appeared before him.
He had no idea whether it was real or not, but the confidence Nexus showed made it clear that, at the very least, Nexus was much stronger than Mark.
He wanted to open his mouth and take the gamble, but when he did, the words just wouldn’t come out. Nexus’s unclear relationship with Bell made him suspect that Bell had sent Nexus here just to humiliate him one more time.
"Sorry. I don’t trust Bell."
Mark actually wanted to add one more sentence: I want to kill Bell’s entire family. But he couldn’t say that.
If he said something like that now, it would be no different from asking to die. If Nexus was one of Bell’s people, there was no way he would survive the night.
As for the conflict between Bell’s family and Mark’s family, Nexus acted as if it had nothing to do with him. He had seen plenty of drama like this before, and naturally had no intention of helping either side.
"Alright."
Since Mark didn’t want to, Nexus naturally wasn’t going to force him and simply continued on his journey to recruit disciples.
Looking at Nexus’s lonely back as he walked away, Mark still hated Bell, but he couldn’t be certain that Nexus was Bell’s subordinate. Mark felt that his attitude just now had been a bit too much.
Only then did he look up at the words written on the banner. Seeing the way Nexus held it up high, Mark had the feeling that Nexus genuinely wanted to recruit disciples.
But that slight feeling still wasn’t enough for Mark to actually follow a complete stranger who might be his enemy’s subordinate like Nexus.
"It’s getting dark. Stay at my place for the night. It’s too dangerous to be out on the streets like this."
That invitation was partly so he could observe Nexus more carefully, and partly for Nexus’s safety. Even if Nexus was stronger than him, he was still only an F-rank. There were even hunters working as street thugs in this neighborhood at night, so safety was still far from guaranteed.