UNLIMITED SPEED

Noah's figure flickered into an alley, situated between two big buildings.

He let go of the young lady and watched her stagger backward, but ended up not falling.

A sigh escaped his mouth as what he had done dawned on him. Had he been on Earth, he could be charged with a serious crime.

'Thank goodness I won't have to face that,' he rubbed his temples while casually watching the girl pull out a knife she had tucked away into her belt hidden by the black cloak she had on.

"What are you going to do with that?" Noah asked, his eyebrow raised slightly. He took note of her middle-stage tier 1 prowess, but it was nothing compared to him.

He also took note of her stance. It wasn't random, meaning she had some sort of training in combat. Then again, how wouldn't she?

She lived in a place like that, not having combat knowledge would be a big disadvantage.

Her expression however made him want to laugh. It remained clear that she didn't know what face to make in front of him. She probably hadn't expected that turn of events.

Noah watched her rush toward him with her knife aiming for his stomach, a relatively loud battle cry leaving her mouth as she drew near.

He let her land her attack, even if the knife crumbled upon impact with the fabric of his attire. He had long since stopped wearing normal clothing.

To her level, even his attire was like steel.

Noah shook his head and grabbed her wrist quite easily. In truth, her movements were sluggish to him even if she was moving as quickly as an athlete would on Earth.

"Let go of me!" she grunted utilizing her left hand to deliver a punch that made her wince in pain.

"You bumped into me first," Noah stated dryly, bringing her face to his level by raising her with the arm he grabbed.

She kicked the air in an attempt to free herself of his vice-like grip. Noah made sure not to hurt her, however. He only felt amused by the turn of events.

Shaking his head as he watched her struggle, Noah tapped his feet with just enough force to make the ground shatter upon contact.

The sound of shattering earth echoed in that alleyway, and she immediately calmed after voicing a gasp. Her fear was now evident on her face.

Noah sighed again. "I'm not going to hurt you," he stated letting go of her and watching her take a few steps backward.

Her stance was defensive, but they meant nothing to his might.

"Why did you bump into me, young lady?" Noah voiced, cringing on the inside as he understood why higher leveled experts called him young.

She remained silent, and Noah inspected her with the system.

"Erolia?" He stated, and she widened her eyes in shock.

"How do you know my name? Did you read my mind? I heard those above tiers one and two could do that," she stated frantically, her fearful expression now mixed with confusion and curiosity.

Noah couldn't begin to fathom how someone could hold that many emotions on their face, but he needed to address an issue in her words.

"Who told you those higher than tier two could read minds?' He asked taken aback by the statement. He was tier 3 and he definitely couldn't do that.

She remained quiet staring intently at him, causing him to furrow his brows in wonder.

"It seems we've been lied to. This is a great discovery," she suddenly muttered out loud. Her countenance was that of disappointment. "Then how did you know my name?"

It was Noah's turn to remain silent, but he only did so for a few seconds before returning to the main subject.

"If you're not going to tell me why you bumped into me I'll be going now. Sorry for bringing you all the way here," Noah stated coldly turning to leave that place.

His words however alerted Erolia and she immediately spoke.

"Please don't go! And where is here?" She called out moving closer to him even if her eyes still held hesitation and fear.

She was braver than most people Noah had met, however, so he more or less warmed up to her, mostly because she remained a child.

"I brought you to the other side of the town. Can't you tell from the buildings around you?" Noah pointed out and watched her mouth fall open.

"What!" she screamed, making Noah frown in real annoyance.

"I said you should keep your voice down," his tone spoke of his growing annoyance, and she covered her mouth with both her hands.

Noah shook his head and turned to leave again when her figure dashed towards him to hold onto his robe.

An eyebrow rose on his face as her figure stood an arm's length from him, but her right hand held a pinch-full of his attire.

She was short compared to him. Noah was almost a full foot taller, and he was even far stronger.

"Please," her voice had stopped being loud and it was almost a whisper, but he heard her plea clearly.

Noah furrowed his brows. "How may I help you?" He asked unable to even begin to wonder what it was she wanted that he could give her.

"I'll only talk if you take me back to the other side. I'm uncomfortable here," She eyed their surroundings and her words contained a tone that spoke of hurt and even fear.

Noah could only begin to wonder what had happened to make that portion of the town scary for her.

'Maybe discrimination,' he thought suddenly experiencing a burst of anger. Which he calmed, before it could turn into something capable of killing her.

Before she knew it, he pulled her close, leaped unto the roof of the building next to them and directly sprinted towards the slums of the town of Lilua.

In mere seconds Noah stopped moving, and his figure appeared in another alley way, only this time the buildings were short, and looked subpar even from their paint and cracks.

Noah let go of Erolia. She stumbled and fell in a sitting position, hissing in pain.

"H... How do you do that," she stammered seemingly dizzy.

"What do you want from me?" Noah commanded, ignoring her query.

The girl stood up, dusted her clothes and turned serious.

"I saw that you were new to this town, and also noticed that you have no aura," she began, unable to look him in the eyes, but he was okay with it.

"Then I thought you would be useful for my plan and I approached you."

"Go straight to the point," Noah sighed.

"Well... the thing Is," she suddenly went on her knees and placed her head on the ground in a know-towing posture.

"I need you to help me rescue my brother and maybe other people from the bandits!" She announced quite loudly, her words managing to catch Noah by surprise.