BXBX NOVEL Chapter 173: Serious Trust Issues
[The fact that he said you have trust issues. I think he\'s right, don\'t you?]
[Like, I mean, you chose to bury yourself underground when you wanted to undergo your first tribulation instead of believing in anyone or even the academy itself to keep you safe.]
[You literally buried yourself, Nolan. That\'s some serious trust issues.]
[So, why do you even have such deep trust issues?]
The system asked, and Nolan remained silent for a while before responding.
"It\'s just who I am…"
[It\'s fine if you don\'t want to talk about it, but that\'s a lie.]
"Why do you think so?"
[Because everyone is born with the ability to trust.]
[Kids at birth trust anything—they even trust the flames, and that\'s why they put their hands in them.]
[They only stop trusting fire because they\'ve been burned.]
[The only reason you\'ve lost trust in almost everything but yourself is because you\'ve been burned before.]
[And you\'ve been burned quite badly, Nolan.]
[I wonder who burned you so badly.] The system\'s words hit home, and Nolan had to admit it was right.
The reason why Nolan trusted no one in the academy was because of the lesson he had learned from the previous Nolan.
He had been bullied to by his own classmates, beaten to death, and thrown into a pit to rot.
And yet, no one cared whether he lived or died—not even the academy.
How could Nolan place his trust in anything, knowing full well that the body he now inhabited was that of someone who had been killed by his own classmates and discarded by the academy?
But it was more than just that.
Nolan had never struggled with trust issues only because of the academy—he had seen hell in his previous world too.
He had been turned into a slave for the rest of his life.
Where was the trust in that?
The company he worked for was corrupt to the core, his father was a rotten man, and his mother couldn\'t be said to be too far from that.
He had trusted them all, and yet, how had they repaid him?
Even now, although Nolan harbored no prejudice toward them, he hadn\'t forgotten the sting of their betrayal, if it could even call it that at all.
Perhaps that was how the world worked.
He couldn\'t erase that from his memory.
"There\'s no trust in this world, system. Not even in this one. The word \'trust\' doesn\'t exist..." Nolan said.
If there was any sort of qualification to say that, perhaps he he could be part of those qualified.
He, who had lived for two lifetimes, should be able to understand better than most.
[That\'s a ridiculous thing to say, don\'t you think?]
[I mean, how can there be no trust in the world?] The system asked, but Nolan only smiled before falling into an unresponsive slumber.
[If there\'s no trust in the world, don\'t you want to put it back into the world?]
[Don\'t you want to give the world what it lacks? If the world lacks trust, then give it.]
The system\'s words floated through Nolan\'s subconscious.
"You misunderstand me, system."
[What?]
"Why should I bother myself with giving trust to the world?"
"It\'s rotten to the bone already. Why should I ever bother myself with the task of fixing it?" Nolan said with a snort.
[Maybe you\'ll find a reason soon.]
"I won\'t," Nolan shut it down before closing his eyes, forcing himself into sleep.
"You\'re awake while I\'m sleeping, right?" Nolan suddenly asked the system.
[Yeah.]
"Good. Then keep an eye on that boy."
[You really don\'t trust him, do you? I mean, what can he even do?]
[I mean his eyes are impressive, but It\'d be a miracle if his light beams could even pierce through your iron skin...] The system teased.
"Just keep an eye on him. Wake me up if he stands up from that sofa.]
[No matter what happens, wake me up once he moves. Do you understand?" Nolan asked.
[So, you trust me, huh?] The system quipped with a teasing tone.
"If I die, you\'ll wait for millions of eons before you find another host like me."
"I don\'t know how isolation feels, but I\'m pretty sure it can\'t be fun even for someone like you."
"So, you wouldn\'t want to return to your endless years of slumber just because some naive boy drilled a hole through my skull with his light beam, and you were too \'tired or simply feel\' like not waking up, you would you?" Nolan asked.
[Tch, and here I was starting to feel good about myself.]
[Snore off, go away.]The system muttered, seemingly offended, but Nolan only rolled his eyes before slowly succumbing to the sleep that had been pulling at him.
He finally fell into a deep slumber.
His body wasn\'t in the best state due to his relentless training, and thus when he slept, it was as if he were a dead man, save for the soft snores ringing from his mouth.
His completely relaxed state allowed his body to recover.
His torn muscles mended themselves, growing even stronger due to the constant strain from training over the past week.
The small cuts on his body also slowly mended.
---
Hours passed quickly, the only sound in the room coming from the two boys\' gentle snores.
Surprisingly, Norgomodev\'s snore was as loud as an elephant\'s, booming throughout the room.
The poor boy even fell from the sofa at a time in the night yet continued snoring away.
Night passed, and soon the early morning light shone on Nolan\'s pale face.
[WAKE UP!!!]
The system\'s sudden shout jolted Nolan from his bed, causing him to land face-first on the ground, his butt poking into the sky.
"Will this happen every time from now on?" Nolan couldn\'t help but grumble as he slowly rose, rubbing his red face.
Then his eyes snapped open.
"Finally!" he exclaimed, skipping to the bathroom.
Today was the day they would be going to the Ascendants\' area of the academy.