Chapter 63: What Do You Think Of The Night?
[And what about you? You're too old?]
"Huh?"
[Aren't you just 16 yourself?]
The system said to Nolan, referencing to the fact that Nolan was calling Adrian a very young and inexperienced person when he himself was just 16 years old, if not even younger than Adrian.
A strange expression settled on Nolan's face.
Truly, Nolan might be occupying the body of a 16-year-old, but he was 25! There was no way he was young or could be classified as such.
It surprised him a little that the 'all-knowing system' didn't even know he was a reincarnator, but Nolan himself didn't explain.
It was always good to have a few secret cards up his sleeve, and being a reincarnator was definitely one of them, so he simply replied:
"The godly ten, or Adrian himself, are the academy's favorites. They are properly nurtured by the academy, protected, and well-fed."
"This might be a good thing, and they might really grow fast, but does their mentality really grow?"
"I, on the other hand, have needed to survive in a world where everyone wants to have nothing to do with me, and the world is satisfied with me being dead at any time."
"No matter how you say it, you can never compare the maturity of us both..."
Nolan gave a valid suggestion, and the system agreed with him.
Truly, a child raised on the streets and a child raised under the comfort of a large mansion would each have their own differences...
The three years of constant harshness were probably what led to Nolan being so smart.
[Also, has anyone ever told you that you can fight pretty well?] the system asked Nolan, whose eyes flashed in perplexity.
"I can?"
[Yes, you can. You can really fight. Especially with your dagger. You're incredibly skillful with it. At least, for a guy who gets bullied all the time] the system said, and Nolan's eyes widened.
He could confidently say this was the first time in his life he had been given such a good compliment from the system itself.
Even after he completed the trial, the system wasn't much concerned about it, yet it praised his dagger skills.
That must mean they were incredibly good.
But Nolan knew well that this wasn't his own handiwork.
In his past life, he had never fought before—not even a single time!
But he truly did play around with one strange art in his previous life that he found on TV, which he thought was incredibly cool.
It was some strange Tai Chi art from some old monk that Nolan used to demonstrate to himself all alone.
Apart from that, he wouldn't say he was any skilled combatant, and yet it seemed he was very good at fighting.
That could only have been the handiwork of the previous Nolan, and Nolan himself probably only knew how to do that due to natural muscle memory that had been built up by the previous Nolan.
Since the previous Nolan lacked Divine Essence, he must have thought that knowing how to fight well could perhaps save him, and therefore he trained his skills and body to their absolute limit to allow for easy combat ability.
Unfortunately, without Divine Essence and a weak physical body, he still couldn't handle the might of a single punch from a Celestial Heir, and therefore his skills were, in the end, useless—never seeing the light of day.
The same couldn't be said for Nolan, who was able to complete quests and therefore improve his physicality.
Only now was the previous Nolan's handiwork able to truly shine.
And it shone so much that even the proud system had no choice but to compliment him.
'Now, I feel like I owe everything to him. I wish I could have helped him live in one way or another,' Nolan mused silently to himself, but he soon shook off the melancholy.
The previous Nolan was already dead, and nothing could bring him back.
The only thing Nolan could do was at least help him fulfill his vengeance and hopefully pray his soul would rest in peace after that.
Getting sad over what had already occurred would do nothing and might even make him fall into guilt, so he was quick to flush that out of his mind.
"Thanks for the compliment."
[Yes. But you're still a peasant, though, so don't let it get to your head. You're nothing but a weakling!]
The system was quick to rub it in, and Nolan rolled his eyes.
"Of course. How could I forget that?" Nolan asked, resulting in a satisfied humph from the system.
If System-sama wanted to be a grumpy oldie, who was Nolan, an ordinary peasant, to dare cough out loud at it?
[You're being tracked!]the system suddenly said to Nolan, whose eyes flashed in shock.
He stopped, looking around him, but soon his gaze settled on who it was as he watched a dark-robed figure quickly disappear into a dark alleyway at the corner of his eyes.
"How long have I been tracked for?" Nolan asked, furrowing his brows.
He couldn't believe someone was following him and yet he remained oblivious to it, even with his incredibly high perception.
"About a minute now..." the system said to Nolan, whose eyes slowly turned upwards, seeing that the sun had completely disappeared, leaving only the stars peeking through the dark night sky.
"Hey, system?" Nolan suddenly called out.
[What?]
"What do you think of the night?"
[The night? The stars seem more brilliant than normal, and the clouds are less cloudy.]
[A good night to spend with someone you love. If you have one, that is.]
[I don't think a peasant like you would even have one, would you?]the system mocked Nolan, whose expression remained relaxed.
[You know what I'm thinking instead?] Nolan asked the system instead.
[Uh-uh?]
"I'm thinking, the color of flowing blood would be even more beautiful under this beautiful starlight, wouldn't it?"
[What!?]
The system asked, yet Nolan had long gone as he faded away from where he stood, a dark flash of light speeding into the dark alleyway.