"Don't you want to introduce yourself to your new junior brother?"
That was the first thing Marcus heard as he started to regain his consciousness.
"I don't mind. But I have a feeling that you would like to say a few things to him." Margret replied with a light on her face.
"It's not like I'm going to reveal something you don't already know. Stay, your presence will be good… helpful too."
Marcus opened his eyes upon hearing the familiar voice and stared at Nexus.
"Captain," He uttered dryly, however, his eyes said something else.
There was a light in his gaze that seemed to want to learn.
"I heard you did well," Nexus folded his arms as a smirk appeared on his face.
"Did I? The rewards better be worth it." Marcus uttered as he propped himself up. Looking at Margret, he acknowledged her presence with a nod.
She was in a lab coat, with no uniform in sight so he couldn't see her rank, now could he sense anything from her. If anything, all he could tell was that she had a calm and lovely air about her. Moreover, she looked frail.
"Hi, I'm Margret. The nurse, doctor, and healer of our team." She smiled cheerfully at him. "For a level 0, you did well to survive the pressure of an awakened well in the eight hundreds."
What?
"Don't tell him that much. It's still too far for him to imagine." Nexus interjected.
Margret smiled and shook her head, knowing fully well how her captain liked to operate. "Alright then, Marcus, I'll be seeing you again in the future." She turned and looked at Nexus, "Captain, don't burden him too much."
With that being said. She left the room.
"So, what do you think?"
"About Margret?" Marcus arched a brow at him.
"Oh, I didn't know you liked them older." Nexus laughed. Seeing that he was the only one pleased with his joke, he changed the topic.
"What do you think about Calvin?" He asked seriously.
Marcus leaned onto the headrest of his bed and looked at the ceiling. "He could have killed me with way less effort… that's how I felt beneath his gaze. I have never been in a more terrifying situation before in my life."
His mind went towards the vision he experienced, however, he couldn't compare the two as one was just a vision, and the other was his reality.
"And how long do you think it would take you to reach his level?" Nexus pushed on.
His question made Marcus confused, nonetheless, he replied; "I don't know. There are still a lot of things I don't know about Awakened, Cultivators, Savants, and the like. Right now, I can only hope to become stronger. As for how strong, I can get… I guess it depends on how much effort I put into my strides."
"Good." A wide and somewhat proud grin appeared on his face. "If you had chickened out, or lost your drive, I would have left you to fend for yourself. In this world where power dictates all, if you want to be powerful, you have to fight like a dog for it. Calvin is strong, yes, but he is not the strongest in Nile, or his branch."
Around the time the other auras appeared in the Western Mansion's Palace Barracks, Marcus and the girls had already left the area. So this information shook him a bit.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Nexus. "I think I understand why you sent me to represent you. You wanted to rile them up, however, I have to ask… something still feels unsettling to me. Why did you send me there?"
"Well," Nexus dragged a chair closer and sat down. "Let me ask you this in turn. How far are you willing to go after finding out who it was that framed you?"
Marcus remained silent, not having a response for Nexus.
"Vengeance? Justice?"
Still.
No response.
"Either way, you would at least have to have the mind to stand firm against someone like Calvin who is many times stronger than you. The people involved in your case, are at least his level and above… even the Imperial Family is involved in it." Nexus revealed.
It was somewhat fine to hear that the people involved might be on Calvin's level and above, however, it was very discouraging to hear that the Imperial Family also had a hand in it.
He's already got some answers from his investigation?
Seeing his expression, Nexus continued. "You didn't know?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Then why have you had so much vitriol for the Imperial Family all these while?"
"Just… like that." He uttered, not willing to cry out his heart to anyone.
A few minutes of silence graced the room as Nexus allowed Marcus to gather his thoughts. And then finally, he spoke. "What do you think would be the most appropriate path for me to take, Captain?"
"You can give up on finding out who it was that framed and focus on becoming stronger throughout your sentence. Not a lot of people dare to come attack my people in my turf, so you don't have to be worried about that for now.
Or, you can decide to take your revenge. Hunt them down and make them face similar straits. Or just kill them."
"I know that those are my options, but I don't know which one to take."
"If you don't know then why are you asking me? Of what use would my opinion be to your heart? On the path to greater power, one needs to just follow their heart. Only then would your road to power be smooth."
Marcus could understand what Nexus was trying to say to him, and yet, he was annoyed by the way it was said.
Seeing the frown on his face, Nexus burst into laughter. "You and I are not much different."
It can never be. Don't lump me in the same trousers as you. Damn bastard.
"We might have different outlooks on life, but our personalities and hearts… to me, they're not much different. I trust that you would make the best decision for yourself."
With a snort, Marcus stretched his hand out. "Where's the cultivation art?"
"Quite impatient I see." From his pocket, Nexus retrieved a vintage paper and handed it over. "The Cultivation Art is incomplete, however, a good part of my current strength is because of this incomplete art. I came across it during one of our expeditions. With it, I was able to become a Pseudo cultivator alongside being an Awakened."