Chapter 160 Not long, Storm

Words : 1666 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

The ride back to school was quiet, but not in an awkward way. Just... peaceful. Noah sat in the passenger seat, arms folded, head leaning against the window as the city lights blurred past them. Sophie drove with one hand, the other drumming lightly against the wheel. Neither of them spoke much. Maybe they didn't need to. By the time they reached campus, the academy grounds were quieter, the day's battles finally winding down. Sophie pulled the Clexus to a smooth stop in front of the dormitories, the soft hum of the hover engine dying out. Noah turned to her, smirking. "Guess this is where we part ways." Sophie tilted her head, giving him that same knowing smile. "For now." He popped open the door and stepped out. Before closing it, he leaned in slightly. "Hey. You better get some sleep." "Look who's talking," she shot back playfully. Noah just chuckled, stepping away as the door sealed shut behind him. With one last glance, Sophie gave a small wave before lifting the Clexus off the ground and taking off into the night. Noah exhaled, rolling his shoulders before heading inside. --- The dorm was dimly lit, most of the students either asleep or still out. But one person was definitely still up. Kelvin. Hunched over his ridiculous tech setup, multiple screens flashing data, fingers tapping at a holographic keyboard. The glow of the monitors reflected off his glasses, but even in the dim light, Noah could see that grin. A wide, shit-eating, proud-best-friend kind of grin. Kelvin slowly turned his chair, resting his chin in his palm. "So, look who's on the leaderboard, huh?" Noah smirked, kicking off his shoes and flopping onto his bed. "Guess so." Kelvin leaned back, stretching. "I mean... I always knew you had some kind of main character syndrome, but dude—video games, pulling the baddest girls on campus, and now fighting?" He shook his head dramatically. "You just wake up one day and decide to be good at everything?" Noah laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "What can I say? I'm versatile." Kelvin snorted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Speaking of impressive feats... Wanna know how that 'little' search is going?" Noah sat up, brow quirking. "Raven's tablet?" Kelvin grinned wider, reaching over to his desk. He pulled out a sleek, matte black tablet and held it up. "You mean... this one?" Noah almost choked on the nonexistent chip he wasn't even eating. Noah stared at the tablet in Kelvin's hand, a weird thought creeping into his mind. 'Did my void storage just start leaking into this dimension?' For a second, he genuinely considered it. The way Kelvin just casually pulled it out felt too damn suspicious. Kelvin, still grinning like a proud lunatic, tilted his head. "Dude, why do you look like you just saw a ghost? Shouldn't you be happy?" Noah blinked, shaking off the stunned look on his face. "I—yeah, I am." He cleared his throat, forcing a smirk. "I totally am." He pointed at the tablet. "So, uh... how exactly did you find it?" Kelvin sighed dramatically, spinning in his chair before stopping to look at Noah again. "Online shopping." Noah blinked again. "Huh?" "I bought another one." A long exhale left Noah's lips. 'Oh, thank god. That made much more sense,' Not that he was about to say that out loud. Kelvin, meanwhile, leaned forward, tapping his fingers together. "Yeah, so... I couldn't find the original. At all. It's like it vanished off the surface of the planet." Noah let out a small, nervous chuckle. Kelvin raised an eyebrow but continued. "Luckily, I already ran through the original with my abilities, so I just replicated the apps and Raven's data." Noah crossed his arms, watching him carefully. "You can really do that?" Kelvin smirked, adjusting his glasses. "I'm a second-gen technopath. There's not much I can't do." Then he paused, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, actually, there's a lot I can't do. But this? This is easy." He beckoned Noah over, and when he got close, he held up the tablet. It was identical to Raven's. Same design, same weight, same everything. Kelvin tapped the screen, showing him a set of menus and apps. "I developed this mimicry code back when I used to steal prototype models from my dad. Basically, I installed the same software onto Raven's old device. Then, with Raven's ID logged in, I pulled whatever data was still on the net." Noah narrowed his eyes. "And the stuff that wasn't?" Kelvin grinned. "Faked it. Made it look like it was there." Noah let out a small breath. "Right. Yeah. I have no idea what half of that meant, but okay." He hesitated for a second before asking, "Did you retrieve the video too?" Kelvin's smirk faded slightly. "Nope. Overlooked that one." Noah frowned. "Wait, why?" Kelvin shrugged. "Think about it. Having the video gone actually helps us. First, it makes Albright less suspicious, meaning they won't be breathing down our necks. And second... Raven doesn't get everything he wants." A slight edge crept into Kelvin's voice at that last part. He might've been helping Raven, but that didn't mean he forgave him. Noah sighed. "Guess I'll just return this to him tomorrow then." He glanced at the tablet again before looking at Kelvin. "Hey, is there any way I can contribute? Maybe chip in for the cost?" Kelvin smirked, shaking his head. "Nah. I got it." Then he leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. "Dude. I'm the son of Pithon Webb. Remember?" Noah let out a dry chuckle. "Oh yeah. How could I forget? World-famous weapons manufacturer for the military and other... 'organizations.'" Kelvin winked. "Exactly." Noah stretched his arms over his head, letting out a long exhale. "Alright, I'm calling it. I need sleep." Kelvin barely looked up from his setup, still grinning. "Big day tomorrow?" "Yeah. Got to prep for my next fight." Noah leaned against the doorframe, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hoping it's a lot easier this time." Kelvin suddenly perked up. "You know..." He glanced at Noah with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I could hack the randomizer. Make it 'randomly' pick an opponent you'd crush." Then he let out a loud, hysterical laugh. Noah gave him a deadpan look. "For one, humanity should be really, really glad you're not a Harbinger." Kelvin waved him off, still chuckling. "Come on, it's just a little harmless fun." He turned back to his monitors, fingers dancing across the keyboard as the glow of his screens illuminated his face. Noah watched him for a moment before tilting his head. "By the way, what do you always work on?" Kelvin paused, then smiled— "The same thing I told you back then." Noah blinked. His mind immediately drifted back to the entrance exams a few months ago. That was the first time he met Kelvin. A scrawny kid with a ridiculous amount of confidence, sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes buried in some blueprint while the rest of the applicants stressed about their evaluations. Noah had asked him what he was working on. Kelvin's answer? "I'm gonna find a Void Stone and save humanity from the Harbingers." A Void Stone. Noah hadn't wanted to laugh at the time, but seriously—a Void Stone? The odds of actually finding one were insanely low. It was the kind of thing that existed more in myth than reality. And yet... If there was anyone crazy enough and smart enough to figure it out, it was Kelvin. Noah closed his eyes and summoned his system prompt as he laid on his bed. A familiar translucent screen materialized in his vision, displaying his current status. --- [Name: Noah Eclipse] [Level: 10] [Class: Void Oracle] [Health Points: 290/320] [Void Energy: 450/450] [Experience: 1,950/2,000] [Talents:] Void Summoning [SSS RANK] Perfect Echo [Sealed] Self-Regeneration [B RANK] [Enhanced Skills:] Void Blink (Level 4) – Short-range teleportation with a moderate cooldown (10 seconds) Null Strike (Level 3) – Added entropy damage, higher energy cost (Void Energy - 100) New Skill: Void Absorption (Level 1) – Absorb basic energy attacks New Skill: Entropy Touch (Level 1) – Single-target decay effect (Void Energy - 50) [Updated Attributes:] Strength: 37 Agility: 43 Vitality: 38 Intelligence: 50 Wisdom: 43 --- Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire Noah scanned through his stats, pausing when he reached his HP. 290 out of 320. 'Huh. I definitely took damage during that fight.' His ribs still ached faintly, a reminder of the hits Riku had landed. Yet, his HP was nearly full. 'So the healers really did patch me up. But why isn't it maxed out?' He considered a few possibilities. Maybe the healers only restored critical injuries, leaving minor ones to recover naturally. Or maybe his Self-Regeneration (B Rank) had done some of the work. 'Or it could just be sleep and food doing their thing.' Either way, it wasn't worth overthinking. He was in good enough shape for his next fight, and that was all that mattered. While he was at it, he might as well check on Storm. --- [Evolution in Progress: Azure Storm Wyvern] [Incubation Process Remaining: 26 days] --- Noah's lips twitched. 'Still 26 days, huh?' It felt like time was crawling. He knew evolution wasn't something that happened overnight, but damn, the wait was brutal. When Storm finally hatched, he was going to be a whole different beast—stronger, faster, and hopefully just as loyal. 'Just a little longer.' Noah exhaled and dismissed the screen with a flick of his thoughts. For now, he just had to focus on what was ahead. And that was winning the next fight.

Chapter 160 Not long, Storm

Comments (0)