Chapter 36: Wiro, The Strange Bully
Wiro asked as Nolan walked to the side of the single living room, where there was a small holder.
He brought out two canned drinks, throwing one of them towards Nolan, who caught it in his right hand.
He unbottled the second one, taking everything down with a single gulp and delivering a satisfied smile once he finished the can.
"I made it with my hands. The Academy dorm is nice and all, but this is the safest building," Wiro explained, taking a seat to the side and calming his beating heart.
Nolan could still see his hair standing on end, so he understood the fat bully had yet to completely let go of his fears, unlike Nolan, who had been able to bring himself back to normal.
And so, he decided to give him his space.
He placed the drink he was given on a side table and headed outside the house, taking a seat before its small stairs while looking at the night sky with furrowed eyebrows.
[Congratulations, Host has successfully completed the Quest!]
The system notification panel appeared before him, but Nolan wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.
He just had a close encounter with death, and it was clear that there were people really faster in this life.
Dark and strong people.
"You said that you scanned the power level of those who were chasing me, right before you delivered the quest to survive. How strong are they?" Nolan couldn't help but ask the system.
[hey are strong enough to kill you without you being able to fight back at all. That's why the feature gave you a survival mission.]
[You should thank that fat bully because they are also faster than you and would have caught up to you if they had sighted you, and you would most likely be dead right now.]
The system said to him as Nolan's eyes flashed.
"I just came into this world, and now I was incredibly close to soon leaving it. There's no doubt about it, this is my only chance. And I almost fucked it up! How? How?" He pondered to himself, his fingers digging into his palms as his eyes flashed a red light.
Yet all dimmed when he heard the sound of the door creaking and a figure walking out, coming to sit on the stairs just a few meters beside him.
"I have a lot of questions..." Nolan said as he turned to Wiro, who nodded while opening up a can of juice.
It was the juice that Nolan had left on the table.
"Go on..." Wiro said, taking a big gulp.
"How do you know some people are coming for me?" Nolan asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Because I know Quinn very well. If there is anything that he isn't, it would be a liar. I was sure he was going to kill you once I sighted you in the class, still alive..."
"Then why did you help me?" Nolan asked, the really worrying question.
According to what Wiro had said, he had been pretty sure that Nolan would get fucked the instant he had sighted him, and he had not even worried, even bullying him right after.
But then, just before his death came, he appeared in the form of his door and warned him.
That brought about the confusion. Why did Wiro, his past bully, save his life!?
"Because you saved mine..." Wiro said with a shrug, but seeing the confused expression on Nolan's face made him delve deeper into his explanation.
"When you spared me from your dagger, you did me a help. Not just physically but mentally. If I heard you died tomorrow morning, my memories of you would be me bullying you ceaselessly through the years, and the end of it being you sparing me."
"Such a thing would haunt me for the rest of my life. I couldn't let it happen, so I ran up at the last second to your dorm room, and just happened to find the Shadow Ones flying above the roofs."
"Such a large number of them meant they were after a target, and to be safe, I guessed it was you, and sprinted after them taking shortcuts to appear first."
"Guess my intuition was right, as it always has been..." Wiro explained lengthily as Nolan's eyes flashed.
What Wiro did should be enough to melt someone's heart, but not Nolan's.
He was aware of the gross harm he had suffered from Wiro and his goons all these years and wouldn't forgive him just because of a single good act.
But what surprised him was that the Wiro before him seemed... free.
Almost like he had nothing bothering him at all, and it was clear he was at peace with who he was. I
It was an upright change to the Wiro he knew and expected.
And Nolan knew it could be a sign of a good mental change in the young man.
He didn't understand how his simple act of leaving him alone had triggered such a change, but it was also undoubtable that it was only because of Wiro that he was still breathing right now.
So, at least for that, he was grateful...
"Thank you..." he whispered to Wiro, whose dark eyes flashed for a while, before a small smile appeared on his face, but got wiped out when he saw Nolan's tough look.
"Hmm-hmm," he coughed out embarrassedly, and Nolan finally stopped looking at him.
"So, can you explain to me who the Shadow Ones are? And why are they chasing me?" Nolan asked, another critical question that was bothering him.
Truth be told, he also didn't have memories of those shadow people in his head. He had never met them before.
So why were they chasing after his life?
Just how many pieces of his memories were missing, or did they suddenly take a liking to him in less than three days that he had been active in the academy?
He couldn't say for sure...
And now, he was starting to become aware of his most powerful enemies.
Quinn!