Chapter 122: A spar with the protagonist?
Noah's POV:
What is a feeling?
For me, feeling is understanding.
No, understanding might not be a very appropriate word here.
Contact? Yes, contact. Contact is feeling.
When your consciousness comes into contact with your emotional state or your physical sensations makes contact with your consciousness and 'you'—not your body, but 'you'—experience it, it's called feelings.
But that raises the question, what is an emotion?
Yes, I have felt emotions, and I can, to some degree, explain what an emotion is.
But I have never fully understood what emotions are in an analytical sense.
Aren't emotions what makes a human a human?
What would happen if a human was born without emotions? 'Having desires, but lacking emotions,' it was a practically strange concept.
'If such a human were to exist, how would he live his life?'—This was the question I tried to tackle while creating the first character of my novel.
This character was the soul of my novel, Aeravat Indrath.
Now, Aeravat does have emotions, but it's not like your everyday human kind of deal. Sure, he feels those primal emotions, like, the ones that come naturally: survival instincts, curiosity, happiness, fear.
But there's something about him that sets him apart from your average Joe. He's not quite human, not in the traditional sense at least.
At one point while writing Aeravat, I realized that emotions were like mysteries to him.
And that's where I got the inspiration for mysteries.
Now that I think about, his story is actually sad.
'Aeravat Indrath... such a pitiful existence', I shook my head while entering the training gym.
'And perhaps that's why, the eighth, the strongest and the last mystery of my novel was...'
***
Third person's pov:
One could hear the sound of chains clinking followed by consecutive dissonance of beats that resembled a bat mercilessly pounding on a cushioned surface.
It was the sound of Aeravat punching the sandbag. It was no ordinary sandbag though; it was a magically reinforced polyfibre bag. And Aeravat was not using mana but only physical strength.
His petal-shaped brown eyes shone brilliantly. His tanned complexion— it was a unique fusion of colors — not exactly black, white, or brown, but something in between. Almost ethereally pale, yet mysteriously distinct.
His physique was a masterpiece of chiseled curves.
His hair, a wild tangle of curls cascaded in every direction, yet somehow it exuded charm.
In the midst of his training, Aeravat abruptly paused, one hand stretched to catch the sandbag and bring it to a gentle stop.
Without even turning around to face the intruder, he demanded, "What is it? Just gonna stand there?"
"Well no, but I thought I should wait till you are done with your training,"
came the reply.
Aeravat turned his gaze behind him, only to be met with a piercing pair of eyes so dark, they seemed to swallow up the light. Not your regular dark brown eyes, no. These eyes were black, like a never-ending abyss in outer space. It was Noah.
"Hey there!" Noah greeted with a casual nod, extending his hand with the palm facing Aeravat. He was leaned against a nearby pillar.
"Noah Grey, what brings you my way? I thought you wanted to avoid me?" Aeravat greeted back, his voice carrying his curiosity.
"I realized that what you said that day was true. I was indeed mean by coldly cutting off any attempt you made to initiate conversation, in the past. So, out of the pure goodwill of my heart," Noah placed his hand on his chest as he said that and continued, "I have decided that I should probably apologize to you for being a hypocrite."
During their previous encounter, Noah stated that Aeravat and others were the ones to always ignore him. So, for them to suddenly approach him and ask about his life was strange.
And that was true for most, but not for Aeravat himself. After careful consideration, Noah realized that he had given a hypocritical response to Aeravat, who simply tried to greet him with a casual "hi" that day.
Noah's reply was accompanied by a smile that could fool almost anyone. Keyword here is 'almost'. "Of course I didn't come here to initiate senseless talk-no-jutsu. I came here to train but then boom, there you were. So, hi? "
Aeravat looked at Noah with skepticism, unsure of how to even react to that comment.
Noah took his silence as an opportunity and continued, "Of course, I also have a selfish reason to approach you. A little help, if you would."
"Help?" Aeravat tilted his head to the left, taking a swig from his flask. "I'm listening."
"Nice... Well, I have been recently thinking of visiting a specific area of dungeons. I thought you would make a good partner to accompany me," Noah proposed.
What Noah said was a fabricated lie.
It was true that Noah wanted to visit a particular dungeon for many months now, but he could have done it even without Aeravat's help.
Following that, I shared information with Nathan about Laboratory 1817.
Slowly, I was preparing myself to infiltrate the laboratory in the near future.
After all, I need to gain control over Ketsueki.
***
???????? ??????:
In the morning, like everyone else, I took part in hand-to-hand combat drills. These drills typically lasted for an intense one and a half hours.
Following that, I had a few classes to attend. Yes, classes are still ongoing, and one of them focused on the complex mathematical magic formulations that always left my brain feeling scrambled.
Later on, as always, our unit had to meet with Ahmya Xinzumi.
She assigned us the task of visiting the outskirts of a monster colony or something like that. I must admit, I didn't pay much attention to what she was saying.
But damn, she was looking hella thicc today, I can't deny.
For some reason, she was eyeing me more than usual.
'Well, can't blame her for falling for my charms,' I smirked.
Currently I was in the cafeteria. Usually I would eat with my unit but today I decided a change of pace and besides, Aeravat was gonna come any moment now.
Seated at the steel table, I pulled out an envelope. I tore it open revealing three photos sent to me by Leo Dostoevsky, accompanied by some fascinating documentaries.
Just as I was about to dive into the contents of the envelope...
Clap!—The sound of a metal plate landing on the table snapped me out of my focus.
I lifted my gaze, and my eyes locked with a captivating pair of golden eyes.
"You're gonna eat alone?" Emily asked, placing her tray on the table and taking a seat next to me.
I eyed Emily, a perplexed expression on my face. "Why did you come here?" I asked, genuinely confused.
Emily returned my gaze with a bright smile. "Well, obviously to eat with you," she replied. "I saw you sitting alone with an empty seat from afar."
"Jeez... shouldn't you be with your own unit?" I asked.
"Hmm, hmm, nope" she shrugged dismissively. Then, her eyes darted towards what I was holding. "Hey, what's that?" she asked curiously.
"None of your business," I retorted swiftly, returning the photos and documents back into my dimensional bracelet.
"Don't be so rude!" Emily commented, pretending to be hurt.
I couldn't help but gaze into her eyes, admiring her flawless smooth milky skin and flowing black hair. Her eyes were a medallion of lemon-gold.
She was undeniably stunning.
But, regardless of her beauty, it didn't matter.
Refocusing my attention, I scanned the cafeteria, searching for any sign of Aeravat's presence. Simultaneously, I tried to spot Svetlana, because...she was my friend.
It's natural for me to look for my friends...
But to my dismay, all I could see were envious glances thrown my way, most likely fueled by Emily's presence.
"You've changed so much," Emily remarked, gazing at me intently while propping her head onto her hand.
"What do you mean?" I inquired, redirecting my attention towards her.
"It's just... you're different now," she answered, her tone tinged with a hint of sadness. "You don't seem to shy in my presence like you used to be."
"Well... yes?" I tilted my head, unsure of how to respond.
Emily crossed her arms, staring at me intently. She demanded, "Did I somehow become ugly in your eyes?"
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused by her sudden question.
However, my eyes couldn't help but wander, searching for any sign of Aeravat's presence. We had important matters to discuss. Once he obtained the blood Beads-
"Why are you ignoring me, Noah? For goodness sake, at least look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Emily exhaled, her brow arched in frustration.
"Hmm... Well? sorry? Anyway where is Aeravat?"I asked her.
She shook her head, "Who knows?" she muttered.
"Isn't he your friend?" I inquired.
"Who knows?" she ejaculated, closing her eyes and continuing to eat her food.
"What kind of answer is that?" I asked, puzzled by her response.
Still chewing her food, she responded nonchalantly, "Who knows?"
Is she angry?
But I didn't have to wait for long as the main character abruptly approached our table.