Chapter 157 157. STUNNED
Orders resounded, metal locks clicked, gates were open, and Noah suddenly found himself inside the city.
He had successfully arrived, but now a new issue lay on his hands. It wasn't one that threatened him mortally, but he still didn't want to draw attention to himself.
Doing so in the past had gotten him tortured and almost had his freedom completely taken from him.
Noah would rather destroy the entire city or die, than to let that happen again.
"I really appreciate your kindness," Noah spoke after they crossed the gate.
He didn't even have the time to admire the wonderful scenery the city held. All he wanted was to leave, and fast.
"No worries," Elle smiled, her cuteness returning like it never left. But at this point Noah understood that it could just be a facade.
A series of silent seconds passed, until Noahs voice rang out.
"I'll take my leave now," He quickly announced turning, but he felt a hand suddenly grab him, followed by an intense burst of anger from within the very depths of his mind.
Intense danger spread in the minds of the cultivators around him and even individuals passing by, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
A smile appeared on Noah's face while he turned to face the individual that had grabbed him. Beneath that smile were angry thoughts, he didn't like her touch, heck he could feel his mind slipping under the pressure of the anger raging Inside his mind.
"You can't just leave. Why don't we have tea together," Elle suggested, her voice mixed with tones that Noah struggled to understand, but didn't mind much.
His eyes lay unmoving on the pale and tiny hands that grabbed him, and Elle soon released it, seeing his displeasure.
Noah felt his anger begin to evaporate at a rapid rate at that action. Nevertheless he felt highly disrespected, but managed to bottle it up for the time being.
Sweeping his gaze on the remaining four figures surrounding him, Noah managed to notice their dark expressions flicker off their face at his gaze, but he didn't let it bother him. For now
"Tea.... It's only polite to accept your request, for what you've done for me," Noah spoke with a tinge of warmth mixed with other feelings.
Those present couldn't discern his feelings due to his almost unmoving face. They could mildly sense his displeasure, but it couldn't be noticed on his beautiful face.
"Great! I know a place..." She announced gesturing at them to follow her.
Noah could only sigh inwardly at that sight. 'I could have taken my chances with the guards,' He thought.
During the minutes of walking, He managed to take in the beauty of that highly developed city, and marvel filled every inch of it.
Keriele felt like an entirely different world, as the architecture there wasn't bland like the rest of the settlements he had been to.
There were hundreds to thousands of high rising buildings, constructed with various materials drenched with mana.
Noah could tell that most of the buildings present, would comfortably withstand his strongest attacks. They were that sturdy.
Inscriptions flickered to no end in the city, even the well tard roads had inscriptions run on their materials, creating a scene that pleased the eye.
Noah felt excited to witness the view nightfall would bring, as it would be nothing short of magical. But would he stay that long.
The people moving about the city looked well fed and their power level was rich. Though tier 3's were still hard to come by, which made for the respectful gaze's thrown at their figures.
The city felt immense and probably was, since all his eyes could see were rows upon rows of buildings, making the city almost feel like earth.
Almost.
The last detail that made the city even more special than every other city he ad been to, were the flying beasts moving rapidly above them.
Cultivators rode those beasts, using them as a means of transportation, and the beasts varied in size and power.
Simply fantastical
The flying cultivators seemed to have their own rules, since they flew at a certain speed, didn't soar too high, and didn't move too close to tall buildings, for risk of running into the.
Noah felt his gaze linger on the sky and the flying beasts for a while, before the view began to feel monotonous.
He had to get used to sights like that, as he wasn't on earth anymore, and would most likely get to see more outrageous things.
Nevertheless he found himself snapping his head towards the sky whenever rapidly moving beasts shot past above them.
The group of six eventually arrived at a building, which had a glass wall at its entrance, allowing for those inside to gaze outside, watching the streets, and those outside to gaze inside.
The building was constructed In a position not close to the tall buildings before them, and closer to the road.
The building reminded him of the modern day cafe, and a wave of nostalgia hit him at that realization.
Frela rushed forward to push the door for her lady, and the rest didn't hesitate to walk in.
Upon entering, Noah felt multiple eyes lock unto his figure, but he easily shrugged them off.
The design of the inside also resembled the cafes he had visited during his time on earth. Only that this time, the chairs and tables were hovering above a fixed point!
Hundreds to probably thousands of inscriptions ran along the cafes floor creating an even more beautiful scenery.
Multiple rows of those inscriptions then converged at the various positions the chairs and tables were, suspending them a few tens of inches above the ground.
Noah tried to hide his surprise at that new sight, but his efforts crumbled when illusory animals floated out of the inscriptions to dance near the ceiling before vanishing, another set of illusory animals jumping out immediately after.
Thankfully, the others apart from the silent girl; failed to see his shock at that marvel. He felt embarrassed knowing that someone saw his excited expression, but soon moved on.
The red haired girl, whose name he still didn't know, noticed that he noticed that she noticed his expression, but didn't react in any way, why would she.
The air in the relatively large room, turned stale when the individuals sitting behind different coloured tables saw the figures that entered.
Not only did the groups' power level leave them uncomfortable, but the stunning individual at the forefront left them scared.
'Who exactly is she,' Noah found himself wondering while being led to a table by one of the male staffs.
Noah watched Elle and Frela walk towards the bar to order something, and he felt disrespected for not being asked what he wanted, but also happy, since he wouldn't know what to say.
A few minutes passed, and silence reigned among the four individuals around the floating green table.
The man who had called Noah a criminal shot suspicious and disdainful glares at Noah, while the other simply did his own stuff.
The girl on the other hand, had her dark brown eyes fixed on him for whole minutes.
Noah obviously didn't understand her reason for doing so, and quickly felt his uncomfortability reach maddening levels.
That was; until Elle and her guard's maid, arrived. The noble daughter immediately sat beside him, but he didn't let it bother him too much.
"Allow me to apologize for not enquiring of you for what you desired, but I felt to treat you with the best they had," Elle's voice rang out.
Noah's peripheral vision picked up the flicker on the groups expression, and noted it.
Something definitely wasn't right.
"There's no need for your apology," Noah replied, cringing from how he sounded, and how the whole situation felt.
A smile bloomed on her face at his words, then she gestured at the cup before him, taking hers and sipping it.
Noah's mental waves instantly barraged the brown liquid within the cup with multiple rounds of inspections. The event with the royals was still too fresh in his mind for him to loosen his guard.
And soon enough he sensed something within the drink that excited his senses.
Still unsure about the drink, Noah waited for the others to take sips of theirs, before deciding to take his.
Although he felt stupid, he didn't totally have a choice. He couldn't pour the tea away as it would probably be too expensive for him to compensate. And he couldn't announce his distrust, it would only get him into more annoying situations. He could only trust his body.
With one gulp, Noah downed the brown liquid. And a tingling sensation rushed through his body.
The tea tasted sweet and creamy. Its texture made him keep a bit in his mouth to savour it, and he regretted it not.
At least that was until a series of panels popped up.
[You have ingested an aphrodisiac]
[Your arousal has increased by 200%]
[Your body is battling the foreign substance...]
[Your body has successfully neutralized 70% of its effects]
[You will now experience a 60% increase in arousal level for 30 minutes]
[During this period you will experience heightened sensitivity to touch, smell and seductive gestures]
[You will also experience a decrease in the function of your mental waves]
Half expecting poison, Noah felt utterly stunned to find that he had basically been given a love potion!
His thought process quickly crumbled when a wave of heat sent shivers down his entire being.
Noah felt his expanded mental waves tremble and crumble in multiple spots, but most of all, he felt his breath go hot.
So hot, it felt like flames had been ignited in his chest, and was half certain he would breathe fire if he didn't control his breathing.
He felt aroused beyond reason, and his string of rationality inevitably broke when he laid eyes on Elle's figure.