abcnovels
Chapter 74: Time sure flies— but not like a butterfly
Chapter 74: Time sure flies— but not like a butterfly
Chapter 74: Time sure flies— but not like a butterfly
Author's Note: I will be taking a short break for about a week.
***
Third Person POV(Point of View):
'Genova is an urban centre.'
"Ummh.."—Click!—Click!—Noah's fingers danced on the mouse, scrolling through the labyrinth of online shopping on his computer screen.
'Genova is an urban centre'— Noah thought, his mind focused on the task at hand as he meticulously hunted for something amidst the digital marketplace.
His right hand expertly maneuvered the computer mouse while his left hand—...his left , rested a short distance away on the table; index finger dug inside, what looked like a peculiar contraption resembling a gun.
Curiously, from the pores of his index finger, a gooey, silvery substance oozed into the intricacies of the gun-like apparatus.
The silvery liquid moved almost as if it had a life and purpose of its own.
Well the silvery liquid flowing from Noah's index finger was a swarm of countless nanites, intricately weaving together the inner framework of the neuroshock blaster—the gun-like device resting upon the table.
"Ah!... This might work!" suddenly Noah exclaimed with a 'Eureka!' tone in his voice, his excitement reverberating through the air.
***
Noah's POV(Point of View):
My gaze was fixated on the browser which displayed an array of options : Enchanted Arrows—Light Enchanted Arrows & Darkness Enchanted Arrows.
Enhanced Arrows, Mana Trailing Arrows, Explosiv.... The choices were abundant, each arrow possessing its own property.
All these arrows were imbued with magic since normal arrows rarely inflicted any damage upon mana beasts.
I decided to buy 72 'Enhanced Arrows'. Typically, they came in sets of 24x1 quiver, each quiver holding 24.
So technically..., I would need to purchase 3 to 4 quivers, and the cost of enhancing each arrow was 500 Den.
Yes, THAT costly.
And as for the arrows themselves ...they didn't cost much priced around 3 -5 Den per arrow.
If I place the order now, it would take approximately 32 hours for the enhancement process to be completed.
Typically, archers do not invest in enhanced arrows since they can infuse their own arrows with mana. Unless they are going to hunt a high level mana beast nobody, would buy an enhanced arrow.
Coating weapons with mana requires a level of skill, something us first-year students are not taught.
Ofcourse the main cast already knows how to do it, but they are not expert in it.
Unfortunately I have no idea how to use Mana to do such tricks—tricks like Mana coating, Martial aura, Mana possesion and all those bs.
While I did possess some rudimentary knowledge of how to harness mana, my understanding was limited to the fragments of memories I had inherited from Noah--not me Noah, but the other Noah Grey.
Utilizing mana to strengthen my body or weapons remained a mystery to me; I relied on sheer physical strength to overcome challenges.
"Sooner or later, I will require the guidance of a Master..." I mused aloud,Click!— the sound of a click accompanied my thoughts as I placed the order for three quivers filled with Enhanced Arrows.
Why was I buying Enhanced Arrows?
During the Unit Test when I had to destroy those discs, I was only able to hit like 30% of those, not because I was unskilled—well I was but the main reason was because of my weapon of choice—a machete.
Simply put, a machete is not an ideal weapon for dealing with multiple targets in a wide area.
Therefore, I had made the decision to rely on my bow during the upcoming Genova incident.
With countless enemies to face, I needed something that could inflict area-of-effect damage, and a bow seemed to fit the bill.
This realization also shed light on a personal revelation. 'I must expand my arsenal of weapon...a machete though good, not good enough', I acknowledged, reaching for the table drawer with a resounding —Shuk!
[Task Completed—cancelling interlink]—Nano's voice rang in my head.
Gradually, the nanofluids that had connected me to the external source began to recede, absorbed back into my being.
"Yea right... I did give Nano the command to complete the construction of the Neuroshock blaster..."
Nano possessed an intriguing ability known as the 'interlink', initially designed to provide the user with an exoskeleton suit.
But it also had additional properties, such as allowing nanites to emerge from my skin pores and construct mechanical objects, hardware, and more.
Unfortunately, I cannot utilize the exoskeleton suit aspect of the Interlink. According to Nano, I lacked a sufficient quantity of nanites to materialize a complete Nano body armor.
Well I will see later how I can fix this issue.
Tucking the recently purchased archaic headphones into my pockets, I made my way towards the gym.
***
Currently I was in the gym, which happened to be practically deserted due to the late hour of 2 A.M.
For the past few days, I had made a habit of coming to the gym at this particular time to hone my archery skills...
And truth be told, part of my motivation to train during these late hours was to avoid...something.
Reaching into my pocket, I retrieved my earphones and inserted them into my ears, ready to drown out the world with the music of my choosing.
Click!—
? ?
?l?.l?ll?l?.?ll?.
??? ???????; [??????????? ??.1]
1:07 ——?———— -4:05
????? ???? ? ?????? ? ?????
?????? : ?????????
? ?
With an arrow securely placed in the bow string, I pulled back.
Krrrrrk!—the bow creaked in response.
Taking a step back and positioning my trailing leg behind me, I followed a particular archery form...someone taught me.
Aligning my gaze with the target, I released the string, and the arrow soared through the air with a satisfying —Chuck!
The sound of the arrow slicing through the air, Swiiissssh!—echoed around as it found its mark.
Though it didn't hit the bullseye, it was much better than the last time.
'And yea...this time I was wearing a proper armgaurd so...the string didn't hit my forearm.'
'For whatever reason...', I pulled back my string once again with an arrow on it.
Chuk!—I let go of the string, and it hit the target once again.
'For whatever reason I am feeling a little uneasy in the chest'
Swiissh!—It hit again. I drew another arrow on the string and let go of it—Chuk!
Swiissh—Thuk!, it hit again.
It kept hitting, but I wasn't feeling any better.
Swiiisssh—!!!
Swiissh—!!—this time it hit the bullseye..unexpectedly.
.
.
.
The first step in consecutive archery is consecutive draw. After achieving 30% mastery, I should be able to perform a specific technique as said in the description.
.
.
.
I'm not sure how long I've been practicing, The passage of time eluded me as I immersed myself in my training.
The music continued to play in my ears, the rhythm guiding my movements.
I had lost count of how many times the song had repeated, 30 times... perhaps? or even more.
It didn't matter; the music served as an escape, drowning out any lingering emotions in my heart.
Swiiish!—Tuk!
Pant!—Pant!—Pant!
Breathing heavily, I gasped for air, feeling the exertion from my intense practice session.
"T-hat's enough for today...fuuuu" I managed to utter, relishing a much-needed moment of respite.
Cleaning the gym, I carefully placed the arrows and bow back into my dimensional bracelet.
Leaving the empty gymnasium behind, I took a moment to catch my breath and allowed the door to close behind me.
***
Strolling along the corridor, Noah's mind became inundated with rush of thoughts and plans.
'Just one day remained until the Genova incident', he contemplated, ....his mind swirling with anticipation.
Unease welled up inside him, but there was also one other emotion that gnawed at his core—a sentiment he had suppressed for far too long.
An intense anger welled up within him, a force that threatened to break free from the restraints of his unwavering resolve.
The demise of a certain someone felt inevitable.
To the current Noah the concept of mercy seemed distant and elusive, only time would unveil its presence, if it existed at all.
For the first time he felt like he should stop holding back.
***
(Unrelated to the chapter, just for extra info)
Note:
InterLink:
- InterLink is a cutting-edge technology that enables the user to release nanites from their skin pores in either liquid or powder form.
- The nanites released through InterLink can be utilized to create a protective nanite suit capable of enveloping the user's entire body, providing enhanced durability and defense.
- These nanomachines possess the remarkable ability to not only generate software programs but also construct physical hardware components as well.
- In Noah's case, his bloodstream currently contains approximately 3 trillion nanites, falling just short of the required threshold of 4 trillion nanites to activate the InterLink Nano suit.
- Once the necessary quantity of nanites is achieved, Noah will be able to seamlessly integrate with InterLink and harness its vast array of capabilities for various purposes.