Maids VS Apocalypse

Startled, Mark almost jumped away on reflex and he would’ve done so if he hadn’t recognized the object at first glance.

A 14x7 rectangle with round corners, black in color with a greyish reflective surface. It was an ordinary-looking smartphone, no different from the ones he had been checking a couple of minutes ago. If he hadn’t seen it manifest and fall into the box right in front of him he would’ve thought someone placed it there by mistake.

’Wait...’ Squinting his eyes at it, Mark noticed something else about the device. ’Isn’t this...’

Mark quickly opened his inventory and checked something. Though it had gotten a little messy after he filled it with all the stuff he looted, it wasn’t too difficult for him to find what he had been looking for. Even if he didn’t, the confusion he felt at that moment wouldn’t have been any less severe.

His mind raced to find an explanation, but no matter how much he squeezed his brain nothing seemed to make sense.

He saw Lara walking toward him with brisk steps, her gaze telling him that she had noticed his sudden alertness. At that moment the phone’s screen lit up with a notification.

~[ ]~

"Master, did something happen?"

Lara scanned the surroundings and found nothing out of the ordinary. The storage room was quite cramped with barely enough space for one person to move. It was far from the most optimal place to launch an attack so she was confused as to why her master would suddenly be on edge.

"Ah, I thought I saw a mouse." The young man heaved a long sigh, seemingly relieved to have been mistaken.

"A mouse?"

"Yes, a mouse." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed again. "I’ve been up for too long. Maybe it’s time to get some rest."

With a hand on his mouth, he yawned while walking past her and out of the storage room.

"Today has been especially stressful," Lara asked after taking her place right behind him. "Would you like to return now?"

"Yeah," The young man shook his head. "I don’t think I can keep going at this rate."

"Newbie! Did you find what you were looking for!?"

The blonde Peace Keeper met them right at the door.

"Yeah, they had the exact model I’ve been looking for." Her master produced a small round object and tossed it to him. "You can have one. It’s on me."

"I don’t listen to much music, though." The blonde one examined the object then tossed it back right away. "If you’re done here then let’s get going. I want to rob that ice cream shop down the road."

"Is that a joke?"

"He’s serious." Elya’s voice came from the entrance.

"C’mon, why should I joke about something like this? If you’re going to take something then it gotta be ice cream!"

"Well, the city still has electricity so it should still be frozen."

Lara kept her silence, seeing no reason to join the conversation. Her eyes remained on the young man she called master, but no matter how much she looked, nothing seemed to be out of place.

~[ ]~

[

Quest: Seal the Rift

Difficulty: D

Natalia Greenhorn, the Head General leading the Peace Keeper Delegation sent to your world, has tasked you with sealing a number of category E Dimensional Rifts that have appeared around Stonegate city.

Status: Cleared.

Clear Reward:

Subject Mark White has been awarded 100 AP

]

"I can’t believe it’s done..."

Mark slumped on the couch and relaxed his body entirely. He was back in his apartment, feeling exhausted more than ever.

He had been ready to call it a day after looting that phone shop. Unfortunately for him and the others, Their sergeant drove in just as they were having an ice cream party—and on his motorcycle, no less.

His mood didn’t seem to have improved since he left after the fight against King Scorpion and so he decided to take it out on them by ordering that they finish the quest within an hour and prepare to depart for Hope’s End.

Mark didn’t get the chance to ask how he was going to do that. Without attempting to argue the matter, Ben had slung him over his shoulder and leaped across the city for the third time.

By the fifth, Mark learned that no amount of complaining would stop the big guy so all he could do was keep his mouth shut and wait for it to be over.

"Can’t believe he still has his motorcycle..."

"You never noticed him put it away, did you?"

Mark raised his head and glanced at the kitchen. The big guy was preparing some sandwiches for them to eat on the way since they had yet to have lunch.

"No one told me I can store entire vehicles in my Inventory."

It should have been obvious the first time he stored the carcasses of the Stone Rhinos. Even if he had realized it beforehand, Mark doubted that he would’ve put away the truck Natalie lent him every time they made a stop.

"Don’t worry about it, lad. It’s not like any of us thought to do it." The big guy chuckled. "And that bike is a little special. Of course he would take care of it."

"Special, huh..."

Mark took a deep breath then slowly exhaled. He was waiting for Lara to finish bathing so he could take one. Elya was using the shower in the neighboring apartment while Ramsay and Alex went to get proper vehicles for them to use.

After staying awake for two days straight Mark had been looking forward to sleeping in his own bed. He was told to suck it up and rest during the Eight hour drive to Hope’s End.

’Why the rush all of a sudden?’ Mark rubbed the bridge of his nose. ’What changed?’

Technically speaking, they would’ve been out of Stonegate by now if King Scorpion hadn’t melted their vehicles. That didn’t stop Mark from suspecting that something happened in the short time the Sergeant was away. It didn’t help that the other never questioned the decision.