Walking down the same hall he had stepped on before heading to the Western Mansion's Place Barracks, Marcus kept on thinking of the possibility of Nexus sending on a mission.
He said that he wouldn't disturb me for a while. It's only been a day or so. Is he going to go back on his words?
At the same time, he wished that he could return to cultivating. He was planning on researching how to create or core, or something similar to it.
Even after opening his acupoints, Marcus could understand now why they said that leaving unrefined Wilder Force in the body could be harmful. His acupoints were sore from trying to contain an unrestrained or untamed Wilder Force.
He had to purge his body of the foreign energy and his mind began to wander.
Why then, could I find Wilder Force in my body that time? In those threads… what could they be? They don't seem to be harming me in any way, or at least to the best of my knowledge.
Without even knowing it, Marcus was already standing in front Nexus office. The door was ajar and a few other people were in there with the Captain.
Two of which he recognized.
The identical faces that he had stumbled upon a day after he arrived in the camp. Johnny and Tommy. The two of them smiled when they saw him, but Marcus wasn't paying attention to them.
He was looking at the two others in the room, faces he hadn't seen before. Two men with a dangerous aura that frightened Marcus to the point where he couldn't move. These two had dried blood on their bodies that smelled a bit.
One of them was leaning on a nine-foot spear, and the other held a huge axe in his hand. While the spear looked clean and well taken care of, the axe was the opposite. Its blade had been in multiple areas, making it look jagged and barbaric.
"Frank, George, meet our newest member and junior brother, Marcus Brown." Nexus got up with a smile.
Frank was the one leaning on his spear. He acknowledged Marcus with a slight nod, while also sizing him up. He remained uninterested and unbothered when he realized that there was nothing special about Marcus… well, to him.
The same could be said for George, he out of the two looked more unkempt. He had more dried blood on his clothes than Frank did. He didn't even act like there was anyone behind Keeyah by the door.
Silence filled the room.
"George, I said, meet our newest member," Nexus repeated, however, George still didn't respond.
Seeing that he wasn't going to acknowledge Marcus, Nexus ignored him and walked towards Marcus, putting a hand over his shoulders. "Marcyy, how have you been? Don't mind George, he's a shy person at heart. His face just looks like a dead frog. It's not his fault, that's just how he was born."
"I don't acknowledge weaklings," George uttered, still not glancing at Marcus.
"I also don't like dead frogs," Marcus uttered and the room went silent before everyone but Frank and George burst into laughter.
Frank looked over to his friend, to see his reaction.
Blank, as though no one had spoken.
"And also, Captain, my name's Marcus."
"Potato, potato. Come with me, I have something good to share with you." Nexus pulled him into the office and sat him in his seat.
"Yes, this position would fit you better," He rubbed his chin and walked around the table as though he was trying to take in more angles of Marcus in the chair.
"Captain, what is the meaning of this?" Marcus said as he attempted to get off the chair, only to find out that his body was being forced to remain on it by an invisible force.
"I was thinking of who I'd let take over my position and duty, and after much deliberation, I see that only you fit the role. Everyone else in our squad is just too extreme or unsuitable… even useless," he added lightly at the end.
The feeling he got when he was given the medal a few days ago, resurfaced, and Marcus couldn't help but panic inwardly. "I don't want your position, Captain."
Marcus exerted more force in his limbs, but he was still unable to get up. On the next attempt, he drew in Wider Force into his acupoints to support his muscles and then—
Boom!
The chair broke from the bottom.
"When did you…" Nexus paused, only just noticing that Marcus had changed since the last time he saw him. Which wasn't even that long.
He could sense a feeling of familiarity from the young man, one that felt more like kinship.
"You have already begun cultivating my Art?"
Marcus didn't respond, as he too could feel some sort of kinship from Nexus. They didn't have to say it, once one of them could sense it, the other could too.
Nexus's fingers twitched as he felt like he couldn't properly understand the perspectives of the person he recruited.
I thought he was unsuitable for Cultivation. I was expecting him to give and come beg me for assistance. Now that one bargaining chip that's been thrown into the gutter… I guess I'll have to dangle the acupoint locations I just bought from Logan.
He thought with annoyance.
If it weren't for those old monsters forcing me to remain in the barracks, I wouldn't have to resort to these tactics again. And Mark… oh, why tempt me like this? Nexus sighed internally.
"Marcus, I have a job for—"
"I don't want it." Marcus stopped him mid-sentence, shaking his head, making Nexus's finger twitch even more.
"If you decide to help me do this, I'll give you the locations of three new Major acupoints I just found today." Nexus offered.
"Captain, you paid big bucks for those acupoint locations and now you want to give to this weakling for free. What's the job, I'll do it for two." George interjected, clearly attracted by the rewards of the job.
"Shut your mouth, Georgy," Nexus snapped.
There goes his bipolar tendencies again. He must be desperate this time to get Marcus to do this for him. Keeyah thought.
His offer tempted Marcus, though he wasn't even halfway through the ones he had on the cultivation art, he didn't think it would hurt to have more.
"What's the job?" Marcus asked curiously.
"So you'll do it?"
"I don't know yet. I'll decide after hearing what it is."
"Oh Marcus, from the moment I met you," Nexus cupped his face in his hands. "I knew that you would be generous to this—"
"Let go of my face," he shook the man's rough hands away and his cheeks itched a bit, as if they had been filed with metal. "Just tell me what it is,"
"Attend a conference for me… It's a peaceful conference, and don't worry, everyone in this room at the moment will be going with you. One of the seas connecting to Nile has something that the Mansion Palaces want. And as a branch of the Eastern Mansion Palace here in Nile, we have to attend. The old fogies in the camp don't want me going there, and they said that I should get you to represent me."
"Why though?" Asked Marcus.
"According to them, every other person in my team is aggressive. I've rubbed off on them too much. They're troublemakers."
Johnny and Tommy chuckled in unison, while Keeyah sighed, feeling as though her reputation had been damaged. As for Frank and George, they felt proud to hear such words. It was a compliment to them.
"You are still green and more likely to be, diplomatic."
Marcus thought about it for a few seconds and said; "Then they should have some rewards for me, right?"
Everyone but Nexus froze. The Captain began laughing. "You all hear that? The kid wants some rewards." Nexus yelled out and his voice reached every corner of the barracks.
"Name what you want," Nexus added with a mischievous grin.
"Blood Essence… lots of it. Of beasts in level 70 or above. Any beast, except a simple fish's blood."
"Done!"