The meal Noel had with Selena came to an end, though the air between them lingered, heavy with words left unsaid.
Both wore a regretful smile as they parted ways.
Selena, supposedly to her afternoon classes.
Noel, to meet Avery for their scheduled workshop.
’The façade is nearly torn now... yet you still can’t throw away the act? Still can’t be honest?’
Noel paused in his steps, a faint gleam flickering in his eyes as he turned back, catching a final glimpse of Selena’s retreating figure.
In the end, he shook his head lightly and walked on, following his schedule.
And when nothing remained in his schedule, Noel finally called Selena again.
They were supposed to meet up and go out together.
But he couldn’t find her silhouette anywhere.
[Yesterday, I couldn’t make time for you. But today, I’ll make up for that.]
That was the message she had sent him this morning.
"Sorry, something suddenly came up, and I already left."
"I’m really sorry... I’ll make it up to you later, I promise."
Selena’s voice from the other side of the call was apologetic, soft.
Noel narrowed his eyes slightly, but still replied in a gentle tone, "Well... it happens."
He exchanged a few more words with her, ending the call with a calm farewell.
Then, with a strange feeling twisting in his chest, he turned his feet toward Charles Street once more.
To secure more Null Points.
A polished bronze pocket watch, its hands frozen at 3:14. Slightly bent casing, but still operable. The back reads: "Time is not your enemy — but it does keep score."
Noel held the pocket watch in his hand, reading its description once again as he stepped out of the antique store.
The words written there seemed to stir something inside him.
If his situation with Selena, and with Lilith, was also the result of choices.
Choices he could no longer remember.
In the end, he didn’t linger on these things he couldn’t change.
Instead, after slipping the watch into his pocket — rather than placing it in the bag with the other items — he moved on to another store.
He had bought items worth 8 Null Points from the first store.
And he hoped, in the next one, that he would be able to acquire even more.
But this time, his harvest was worse.
He found only two items — each worth a single point.
Noel sighed as he bought them and stepped back out.
Raising his head, he looked up at the gray sky, at the clouds hiding the sun.
And a thought occurred to him.
Maybe he really should start thinking about alternatives for gathering Null Points inside the simulation.
Inside the simulation, he couldn’t appraise items the same way he could in reality.
And how the him in there would behave — he couldn’t guarantee that either.
He still hadn’t tried to search the terms Soul and Law Power, the ones he had written down in his notebook the very first time.
Furthermore, Noel’s attitude... and his approach... were starting to change.
Now, after acquiring the Codex Null, he was changing.
He was becoming more confident—
He was regaining his confidence.
And because of that, he was starting to become more bold.
For example, today, he had nearly shed all pretense with Selena.
But would the him in the simulation have done the same?
Noel didn’t think so.
Because the him inside the simulation... didn’t have the Codex Null.
In there, his actions and the traces he left still remained—
But the foundation behind them didn’t.
After all, he wasn’t relying on his own strength.
It was the Codex Null.
And without it, everything was different.
Holding nearly the same memories didn’t mean anything then.
With complex thoughts swirling inside his head, Noel once again stepped into another store.
There, he began appraising the items like usual, taking notes whenever he found something that held a Null Point value.
Already used to the process, Noel didn’t rush himself, not even after the disappointment of the previous shop.
Instead, he calmly went about his business.
And while he was at it—
Suddenly, the sound of the door clicking open echoed through the small space.
A man entered the store.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing a faded trench coat over a high-necked shirt, his expression unreadable.
Noel caught his appearance from the corner of his eye—
He was someone related to the Hidden Society.
Noel could tell instantly.
After all, he already had Selena and Lilith around him.
He had grown used to their unique presence.
And now, after obtaining the Sixth Sense Talent yesterday — along with his increased strength — his perception had sharpened dramatically.
That’s how he was able to sense it.
The man’s presence was nowhere near the level of Selena or Lilith.
Let alone Linda, whom he had met earlier today — someone who gave him an even more unfathomable impression.
And so, he had to be someone from the Hidden Society.
Many thoughts went through Noel’s head. Even then, he didn’t give the man much mind and simply continued with his business.
And that’s when something different from usual appeared in front of him.
First rank relic, now heavily damaged and in a broken state beyond repair.
A small, rusted blade wrapped tightly in old, stained bandages. The edge is chipped and dull, and the metal feels cold to the touch.
It’s a man-made relic, once imbued with the Penetration Law — the relic now holds only faint traces of that power.
Noel’s eyes lit up as he read the first three words: First rank relic.
But then came the next: broken state beyond repair — and his mood dropped.
When he reached the final line, 90 Null Point Value, he let out a quiet sigh.
The ups and downs of his mood finally settled, but even so, Noel didn’t continue browsing the rest of the items like usual.
He didn’t wait until he was finished.
Instead, he extended his hand and picked up the knife, heading straight for the counter.
Or at least, that’s what he intended to do.
But as he was passing by the man—