Chapter 124: Time To Win
"That’s all I remember. I couldn’t make out what ability he used. It all happened too fast. I woke up after the match," Nectron said, running a hand through his hair. "I don’t think that guy’s human."
"So he usually gives his opponent three chances, isn’t that too risky for him?" Nicholas asked.
"I have no idea why he does it that way, but that’s the only way Miss Mercury managed to defeat him... but it’s gotten harder every year." Nectron said with a shrug, "His ability is just strange"
"I suspect the three trials have to be a condition for his ability to be activated. Some abilities require certain conditions to be fulfilled before they can work at full capacity" Selena said, rubbing her chin in thoughts.
"I just can’t tell what particular ability it is and we don’t really see anything"
’Seeing it would only make things worse’ Nicholas thought with a wry smile. He wouldn’t have been in this condition if he didn’t try.
"But regardless, we can’t afford to lose" Selena said, her hands curling into a tight fist.
"I don’t want to lose either, but if we can’t understand what type of ability that is, then I’m afraid winning is impossible" Nectron said letting out a disappointed sigh.
Nicholas could see the disappointed look in Selena’s eyes as she heard Nectron’s words.
’She still wants to win for her brother.’ Nicholas thought, he found the relationship quite strange that even after his death, Selena still carried on his will.
He could see the pain hidden beneath her gaze, while she was quite good at masking her emotions and desires, for a brief moment he caught onto it.
’Would Marina and Katherine do the same if I died?’
The thought came unexpectedly.
A small smile found its way onto his face.
"Supervisor Selena, we’re going to win" Nicholas said confidently.
Selena glanced at him, "Tsk, your overconfidence is annoying... I don’t even know which one I’d want to see, you getting beaten up or us winning against Tianzun" Selena rolled her eyes at him.
’The one time I genuinely wanted to do something for her’ Nicholas thought, letting out an exasperated sigh inwardly, ’Well it doesn’t matter’
After all, he didn’t particularly care about winning, he only wanted to respect the bond she had with her brother, if anything he’d loved it if Marina or Katie would do the same for him.
Not that he planned on dying.
"...But you know, you always find a way to make it happen, so I really hope we win too" Selena replied as she picked up the handbag she’d forgotten in the room and turned away, pulling out a cigarette.
Nicholas could only see the side of her face, but he could see the small smile hanging by the side of her lips as she stood by the door.
"Well, winning would be amazing. I mean I’ve lost to Tianzun so many times already" Nectron said.
""Besides, it’d be nice if you came to dinner tonight. You’re a shut-in introvert, so I already know you’ll probably try to avoid it." Selena shut at him with a smug grin.
"Coming from a chronic smoker that sounds like a compliment" Nicholas shot back.
The vein on Selena’s neck bulged slightly, but she let out a sigh, "Whatever, you can come if you want to" She said as she left the room.
"Seriously... how did you two even end up working together?" Nectron said as he glanced towards Selena’s silhouette.
"Yeah, it’s quite unfortunate for me that I got paired with her.... Also, I wanted to discuss something with you" Nicholas said his sharp gaze fixed on Nectron.
Nectron looked at him, "Oh, what is that?"
"I want to win Tianzun and I’ll need your help to do that. I have a different strategy that I’d want us to use this year"
"Sure, if it’s going to help us win, then I’ll gladly go along with it." Nectron replied back with enthusiasm but as Nicholas told him the plan, his earlier enthusiasm slowly faded into uncertainty.
"Are you sure? That’s ridiculous." Nectron said with a stern voice, "You might be strong, but I don’t think we should take all the other participants lightly."
"You don’t have to worry about that, I’ll deal with it. We just have to follow through with this strategy, it should give us more chances at success"
Nectron stood still for a moment, his gaze never left Nicholas as he weighed the options that had been presented before him.
He didn’t lose anything by following through with the strategy, but it was a rather risky move.
’I don’t know what he’s thinking... But could he possibly handle all of that?’ Nectron thought, but the memory of the dragon flashed in his mind once more.
How Nicholas had taken down the dragon that they had struggled to contain.
"Alright, we’ll do it. I’ll let Vixen know as well, but if we notice that it’s something you can’t handle, we’ll step in immediately" Nectron said sternly.
"If you don’t think it’s working, we can always fall back on the original plan." Nicholas said calmly.
"Sure, I should get going now, the others will be waiting for me. Try rest as much as you can, we have the crucible coming early tomorrow morning. You wouldn’t want to miss it" Nectron said calmly as he walked over to the door.
"I will be there. Also, let Supervisor Selena know that I’ll be coming for the dinner, I’ll just have to get a shower real quick and put myself back together" Nicholas said as he climbed out of bed.
"Huh? You’re not resting?" Nectron asked, raising a brow.
"I’m fine now, Cho’s ability helped me heal faster. And it wasn’t anything too serious"
’I still can’t get hold of his ability’ Nicholas thought, rather disappointed.
"If you say so. I’ll let the supervisor know, I’ll be waiting as well" Nectron said before finally leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.
As Nectron left, Nicholas stared at the palm of his hands, he wasn’t the type to pique interest in people easily.
But he was the type that loved mystery and also a competition. Another reason why he was a bit thrilled with the event.
After all, he hadn’t become the world’s greatest hitman because there were no rivals.
He’d earned that title by surpassing the very best.
Tianzun was a mysterious hero who piqued his interest and also stood as the strongest opponent in the entire event and Nicholas without doubt was drawn to him.
...Everything was finally in place. Now all that remained was to win.