Mark hummed and nodded in understanding after some time.
"Well, I guess it's not the worst way to spend your free time. Sometimes, people just like being alone."
Mark did not expect the look on Luna's face to suddenly change from her blushing embarrassment to a contemplative look that made her appear very downcast. Her eyes clouded over, and a mask of sadness appeared on her face as she was transported to another place inside her head. Mark leaned forward and called her name, but she did not answer him the first few times.
"Luna!"
"Huh?"
Mark finally shouted her name loudly, and Luna seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had gone into as she looked up at Mark in shock. She saw the worried expression on his face, and she smiled.
"Oh, sorry, I... I must've zoned out for a moment there. I just remembered something from before, and I couldn't get it out of my head. About what you said: I don't think anyone wants to be alone. I just think they haven't found someone they are willing to let into their space yet. There are scary things that can only get to you when you are alone.
No matter how much of a neet I might be sometimes, I always think that it's better to be with others."
Mark could see the sincerity in Luna's tone as she spoke about what she was thinking, and Mark knew at that moment that this was the way Luna lived her life. Is that why she was so desperate to have so many people in her guild? Is she afraid to be alone? Mark had no idea who Luna had been before she became Luna.
The system gave Luna the name Rose Snow, so Mark knew that she was someone else before becoming a superhuman and taking on the name Luna, but he did not know anything more than that. There was one more thing that Mark figured out from seeing her status in the system earlier.
Mark looked back into Luna's eyes and spoke up.
"I don't know why you feel like you have to hold back, but I just think you're going to regret it. There might be a situation where you have to protect others, and you won't be able to because you lack the power you need. Or you might be under attack, and you lose your life because you are holding back. No matter how much power you have, it never hurts to have a little bit more."
"You would know all about that, wouldn't you? I can tell you enjoy fighting. You don't care how strong or how weak the opponent is; you just want to fight like a fucking gladiator with no reasoning. Don't you think that will eventually put you in trouble?"
This was the first time that Mark was ever going to hear Luna cursing, and it lit a fire in his heart that he had never felt for her before. He grinned at her in pride.
"Trouble? I don't care what sort of trouble comes. I'm only going to keep getting stronger. No matter how strong the opponent is or how impossible it might seem for me to win. I'll keep moving forward until I win. As far as I am concerned, there is no alternative.
Either I get stronger, or I force myself to become stronger. I love the thrill of battle. The feeling of blood pumping through your veins as you exchange blows with an opponent and the ecstasy of figuring out an opponent's weakness in the midst of battle. There is really nothing more exhilarating."
A small smile tugged at the edge of Luna's face for a moment as she heard Mark's response, and she finally relaxed back in her seat with a sigh as she was unable to form an argument against what Mark just said. What can you possibly say to someone who is as deeply rooted in their beliefs as Mark?
"You're nothing but a brute through and through. There is nothing that can be done about that. Maybe you are a stronger person than I am in that regard. But I cannot let go of what I believe in either. Tell me, why did you join the Artemis guild?"
Mark raised a brow.
"That is only temporary."
"Temporary, yes, I know. But it is dangerous."