Noah arrived home later in the evening to find Nolan and Mark sitting in the living room watching the news, while Debbie prepared dinner. Noah glanced at the scene and couldn't help but sigh. How he wished this setting and atmosphere would remain unchanged, monotonous, boring, but without conflict.
But he clearly knew it was wishful thinking. This peace wouldn't last much longer, so he would cherish it as much as possible while preparing for the worst.
"I'm home," he said, announcing his presence. He walked into the living room, attracting everyone's attention.
"Welcome home, sweetie," Debbie said, still focused on preparing dinner.
Nolan, on the other hand, mumbled something under his breath. His arms were crossed over his chest, his gaze intently focused on the news.
Noah sat down beside Mark with visible exhaustion, exhaling as he crumbled into the couch. With his head laid back to rest, he was suddenly interrupted by a shoulder bump from Mark.
"So, I saw you with Eve today," Mark said, a grin forming on his lips as he gave Noah a side glance.
"Yeah, what about it?" Noah said, already knowing what Mark wanted to ask. For a second, he regretted not retreating to his room; there he would've had peace and quiet without interruption. But he decided to indulge Mark anyway.
"Are you guys a thing already?" Mark asked, excited to get the gist of things, his smug smile being a clear indicator.
"A thing? No, we're not," he said, sitting straighter, his gaze now fixed on the news that clearly had Nolan's full attention.
Mark's grin disappeared almost instantly, disappointment replacing his earlier excitement. "Dude! The signs are there, very obvious signs," Mark said, his subtle tone almost slipping before quickly reining it in.
He sighed. "At this point, I'm beginning to question your orientation." Noah's gaze sharpened instantly, his glare trained on Mark, who quickly buckled and took back what he said.
"But seriously, at this rate, you'll miss your chance with her. She's gonna fall for someone else, and you're going to end up alone," Mark said, only to receive a sharp glare from Noah that made him shut his mouth.
"There's more to life than that," he said, more to himself than anyone. He couldn't help but sigh deeply, Mark's words having triggered memories. Just like his current principles, he'd lived his past life in much the same way, too focused on research to care about those around him as they slowly drifted away.
The memories were vivid, as if they had happened just yesterday, the unfortunate benefit of photographic memory and his intellect. The way his brain dissected his interactions, the facial expressions of disappointment after constant effort, and the exact moments they gave up on him.
He'd ignored it all the same way he did now. His apathy and strong drive to distance himself from people around him made him see them as obstacles to his goals in the long run. That thought process was what had distanced him from her to a breaking point.
Before he knew it, she got married to someone else, and later, their family grew while he was left behind, lonely, frustrated, and burdened with one unachievable goal. The day he reflected on his choices was the day he did something for someone other than himself, saving a child from being hit by a truck, even though it was with much regret.
Most of that reflection hadn't followed him into this life. His previous beliefs remained rigid, and now he was heading down the same path he'd once walked, the path of loneliness. He remembered the words she'd once told him, the exact tone, emotion, and hope behind them. The words replayed in his ears as if he were hearing them directly from her.
'The path we take in life may lead to an end goal, yes, but the experiences, connections, people, and emotions we build along the way are just as important.'
Perhaps it was true in a sense. His goal in this life was safeguarding those around him, but did that mean keeping them at arm's length? The answer he had to that question was maybe.
While it was true, the stakes and risks he would soon face far outweighed the life he once had, preparation was necessary.
Mark's grumbling voice snapped Noah out of his thoughts. "...If only I awakened my powers."
"Relax, Mark. It's only a matter of time. You'll have them any day now," Nolan said, his words doing little to rekindle Mark's hope and expectations.
"I've been waiting seventeen years," Mark said under his breath, his expression slumping.
"You'll have it in due time," Noah said, his gaze shifting between Mark and Nolan for a brief second.
"I hope so."
The rest of the night passed without much event. Dinner went by with only basic conversations exchanged, and Noah occasionally participated in between.
Afterward, Noah retreated to his room and waited until everyone had gone to sleep. When everything went silent downstairs and he was sure no one was still awake, he left his room and made his way to the basement.
Entering his lab, Noah locked the doors behind him. After making sure everything was in place, he walked toward an inconspicuous wall and placed his palm on it.
The wall vibrated for several seconds before it opened up to reveal a smaller room. As he stepped inside, cold air wafted out, chilling to the bone. The room was filled with an overwhelming stillness.
After the door closed behind him, Noah calmly walked to another section of the wall. With another quick biometric scan, he retrieved a vial of blood—Mark's blood, to be specific—then walked out of the hidden storage.
Dropping a drop of blood under the microscope, he examined the cell activity with tightening eyebrows. He couldn't help but sigh deeply. He had already expected the cell activity in the blood to have spiked sharply, but he hadn't expected it to reach such a level.
At this point in time, Mark's Viltrumite blood purity was likely as high as eighty percent. When it reached ninety, Mark would likely awaken his Viltrumite heritage. At this rate, Noah estimated he had only three months at best before Nolan went berserk.
The time frame of three months might not leave him enough time to fully prepare for what was to come, especially since his presence in the timeline had likely already caused changes to the future.
Maybe in this timeline, Nolan wouldn't see his wrongdoings and would beat Mark to death, leaving Earth without any means to defend against the Viltrumites.
There was only one reason Noah didn't panic. Using an opportunity that would soon present itself, he might just be able to prepare.
Days passed by without much happening, turning into weeks, and weeks turning into months. In the days that passed, Noah had accomplished a lot. The training site had been completed in the first few days, allowing him to train his abilities without holding back.
In the time that had passed, Noah's view on life had taken a turn. It wasn't a drastic change, but a subtle one that wasn't difficult to notice if one were sharp enough. Now his interactions with people around him were not just surface-level. He was no longer in a rush to round up conversations.
It was hard and tedious at first, but it got easier with time. Now he could confidently say he wasn't as much of a prick as he once was. In the weeks that passed, he had gained a lot of abilities—many useful and many useless. Out of the nearly thirty abilities he'd gained, only about ten were useful enough to keep.
The rest were quickly discarded in exchange for ability points, which he used to level up the auto-train feature. With seventy-five ability points received per ability discarded, he was able to level the function to level three.
Now, a level one ability could reach level two in about ten hours, level three in twenty, and level four in just over a day, especially now that he had five slots he could use.
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[Name: Noah Silver]
[Age: 17]
[Gender: Male]
[Height: 185 cm / 6'1"]
──────────────
[Abilities]
— Parallel Processing — Lv.2
→ Status: Novice | 97% XP to Lv.3
— Frequency Manipulation — Lv.2
→ Status: Novice | 54% XP to Lv.3
— Astral Projection — Lv.3
→ Status: Proficient | 11% XP to LV.4
— Extrasensory Perception — Lv.3
→ Status: Proficient | 56% XP to Lv.4
— Bioluminescence — Lv.3
→ Status: Proficient | 12% XP to Lv.4
— Hypermotility — Lv.3
→ Status: Proficient | 87% XP to Lv.4
— Telekinesis — Lv.4
→ Status: Adept | 91% XP to Lv.5
— Genius Intellect — Lv.6
→ Status: Master | 81% XP to Lv.7
──────────────
[System Functions]
— Ability Synthesis-Fusion
— Ability Upgrade
— Auto-Train (5/5)
— Mission
──────────────
[System Data]
— Daily Ability Refresh: 6h 10m
— Ability Points: 675
————————
The night air was thick with mist and the distant hum of city life, honking cars, chatter, and the occasional wail of a siren. To most, it was an ordinary night in downtown Chicago. But to some, it was a make-or-break moment.
Huff, huff, huff. The sound of heavy breaths echoed down an alley as a man dressed in black, with a ski mask covering his face, sprinted through a deserted passage, desperate to escape.
Just a while ago, their operation had gone smoothly, just as planned. They would go in fast, rob the bank quickly, and make their exit in the shortest time possible.
They had taken a huge risk, especially in a city crawling with supes, but it was something the crew had done multiple times without complications. However, tonight proved different.
Not only had the operation gone astray, with a guard shot in the neck after trying to pull his gun, but now he had the city's new supe on his tail. The infamous dark knight, the prowler of the city's underbelly, known for leaving his victims with broken bodies, teetering on the edge of life.
The moment the knight appeared, he and the crew had scattered haphazardly, hoping to increase their chances of escape. But the knight just stood there, watching the scene with cold detachment.
He could swear he felt that gaze behind the dark mask, a gaze full of indifference, as if their attempt to flee was nothing more than a futile effort. And perhaps, it truly was.