Chapter 34: The First Disciple
The smile on Ron’s face kept growing wider. This overwhelming feeling of satisfaction made him want to sink into it forever.
It was the first time someone had crawled between Ron’s legs, so he was a little awkward. He felt the gap was a bit too narrow for Mark to get through, so he spread his legs wider.
This posture... really looked ridiculous. If someone took a picture of Ron like this, it would probably become an unforgettable dark Chapter of his history.
Mark crawled very slowly, but the slower he was, the more excited Ron became. Ron wanted to slowly crush another hunter’s pride.
"Come on. The faster you go, the sooner you can get home."
Ron lowered his head and leaned close to Mark’s ear, whispering with amusement.
Suddenly, Mark flipped his palm. A handful of sand shot straight into Ron’s eyes, making him jerk backward in shock.
Even though he had closed his eyes and blocked most of it, quite a few grains of sand still got into his eyes, making Ron roar in fury.
"You damn rat! How dare trash like you sneak attack me?!"
Ron’s body was instantly covered in stone, and he wildly swung his arms and legs around because he had no idea where Mark was. Although Mark’s sand didn’t blind Ron, it did stop him from opening his eyes for the time being.
Mark naturally seized the opportunity and immediately ran away at full speed. As long as he could make it back to his room, those people probably wouldn’t keep bothering him anymore.
"Damn it! Faster! Even faster!"
Mark gritted his teeth and pushed his aching legs to their limit. If this kept up, he didn’t even know if he’d still have the strength to go to work tomorrow.
He was getting farther and farther away from Ron, but he couldn’t relax. Ron’s speed was definitely much faster than his.
Just as he was running so fast that he couldn’t stop in time, a man suddenly rushed out from around the corner and slammed his head into Mark’s side.
Caught completely off guard, Mark was sent flying in pain. He crashed onto the road and rolled several times. His face was scraped up, blood poured from his nose, and his dizzy head made him lose his balance.
Mark struggled to get back on his feet, wanting to run, but his trembling limbs seemed to refuse the commands from his brain. The moment he took a step, he fell to the ground again.
"My leg..."
Mark had seriously underestimated his own bad luck. Spraining his ankle at a time like this meant there was no chance left for him.
"Hahaha, I finally caught you."
The man who had knocked Mark down laughed and struggled to his feet. His face was bruised up just as badly as Mark’s. On top of that, his whole body was soaked and reeked of a horrible stench.
The reason he looked so miserable was that he had slipped and fallen into the sewage beneath the underground drain earlier. The burning rage in his eyes was enough to show just how much he hated Mark.
But... why didn’t he just go take a shower and forget about Mark? Could it be that he figured he had definitely caught some disease already, so he just didn’t care anymore?
"Damn it! Are you people all insane? Is beating a complete stranger really worth going this far?"
Seeing the man’s crazed expression, Mark cursed out loud in frustration. Why was he always the unlucky one?
"And you still dare blame me? If you’d just stood still and let us beat you up, I... I... Then I wouldn’t have had to drink sewage!"
Mark unintentionally hit the man’s sore spot again, driving him into a frenzy as he rushed over and repeatedly kicked Mark.
Foul-smelling footprints mixed with sewage covered Mark’s body. No matter how hard he tried, all he could do was protect his head.
"Get lost! He’s mine."
Ron’s roar made the man kicking Mark freeze in shock. When he turned around and saw Ron’s twisted face filled with rage, he almost pissed himself.
Ron’s eyes were bloodshot from the sand. Even now, his vision still hadn’t fully cleared up.
His body could turn into stone, but only the parts covered with skin could be reinforced into hard stone. Otherwise, Mark’s handful of sand wouldn’t have had any effect on Ron at all.
Ron’s heavy footsteps, as hard as stone and filled with fury, left small dents in the road. If Ron stomped on Mark with that much force, there was no doubt Mark would die.
Ron grabbed Mark by the collar, his five fingers squeezing so hard they tore the fabric, then lifted Mark into the air as easily as an adult lifting a newborn baby.
Facing Ron’s bloodshot eyes like a rabid dog, Mark’s body instinctively trembled, but he forced it down with sheer willpower.
If today really was his last day, Mark didn’t want to keep living like this anymore. He could bow his head while living, but when he died, he had to hold his head high!
"You..."
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Mark suddenly spat at him. Ron didn’t react in time and accidentally swallowed it.
Before he could even register the taste, Mark raised his middle finger. His face was covered in bruises, but the corner of his mouth curled into a grin. It wasn’t a good-looking smile, and it definitely wasn’t cool, but at least it carried a bit of unyielding spirit.
"You’re a brainless mad dog. If you’ve got the guts, then kill me."
Ron froze. His brain refused to process what was happening. It took several seconds before his blank gaze finally focused on Mark’s face.
The longer he stared at that bruised face, the more the veins on Ron’s forehead bulged. He screamed into Mark’s face, spraying spit everywhere.
"What gives an F-rank piece of trash like you the right to look down on me?!"
To be honest, Mark didn’t look down on Ron at all. On the contrary, he was very wary of Ron’s strength. But Ron’s behavior made Mark feel that Ron’s life was full of frustrations too, so Mark decided to take advantage of them.
"Haha, I thought you were something special. Turns out you only dare bully me because I’m an F-rank, right? A cowardly dog like you will never accomplish anything. Even if you’re worth more than garbage, you’re still just recycled garbage."
Even though his breathing was ragged and his voice was weak and broken, those words were like fatal blades piercing through the layer of hard stone and stabbing straight into Ron’s heart.
"No... no... No! I’m not garbage!"
Ron’s eyes rolled back. At this point, he no longer cared about reason. His muscular arm lifted Mark high into the air before smashing him down onto the ground.
The violent impact made Mark’s eyes go wide as blood poured from his mouth. His spine was shattered. Agonizing pain spread through his entire body, but almost immediately afterward, he couldn’t feel anything anymore.
The world before his eyes quickly blurred, but at that moment, the image of Nexus appeared in his mind.
Mark was unwilling to accept it. He refused to accept this fate. He refused to accept that everything he had gone through had been for nothing.
He had struggled for so many years, only to end up with what? Despair after despair?
Is it too late for me to become your disciple now... Haha, I didn’t even say it out loud, so how could you possibly hear it? I guess this is where my life ends, but... I can’t accept it...
That final thought flashed through Mark’s mind before he closed his eyes. A voice he never expected rang out beside his ear, but Mark could no longer hear anything.
"It’s not too late. You’re accepted."