Chapter 220 Nolan's Determination
It was clear she was more than satisfied with the feast, and Nolan was even a little skeptical about how she was supposed to walk after such a long meal.
"Hey, I'm sure you're more than okay now, and your hunger has been well taken care of." Nolan began as he got on his knees and looked into her bright eyes.
Formerly, her gaze had been dead, but now he could see her eyes had a bit of direction to them. They looked more filled with life, compared to their soulless state from before.
"Now that you're well filled, it's time for me to do what I also have in mind, which is to find a trace of intelligent life on this planet."
"So, for my plan, we need to get onto that tree. You see that tall tree?" Nolan said as he pointed to the distant tree.
Surprisingly, she also turned her gaze, following his finger, and she sighted the tree he was pointing to.
"Good. That's the place we're going, and I can't leave you here alone. So, we have to go now..." Nolan said, rising to his feet.
A small smile appeared on his face when the girl actually rose to her feet, but his smile quickly dropped when she crumbled back to the ground like a spaghetti string, her huge stomach jiggling beneath her dress.
[HAHAHAHA!]
[You stuffed her up to the point where she can no longer walk, and then you say you want her to walk a distance of 100 kilometers. Have you gone fully nuts now?]
[MUAHAHAHA!] the system's mocking laughter rang out, and Nolan felt his eyebrows quivering a little.
Truly, he had messed up. He shouldn't have let her eat so much until she was unable to stand. Now he needed her to walk, but it was clear she was too exhausted from feasting to do so.
In the end, there was only one choice.
In a blink, Nolan grabbed onto her pinky finger, and in the next instant—
GASSSPSS
This chapter upload first at NovelUsb.Com
A small gasp escaped the girl's lips as the world suddenly zoomed in, and in the next moment, she found her hands holding on tightly to what she was placed on, which was none other than Nolan's head.
In the end, he had made up his mind to place her on his neck.
Even though she had filled up her stomach space to the absolute limit, she still weighed less than a flower to Nolan, and so he didn't feel like he was carrying anything.
[Jokes on you, system,] Nolan said with a grin of mockery as he burst forward with speed, moving like a swift arrow through the forest and rapidly heading towards the tall tree.
[Hmph. I'll see how long you can keep this up. In the end, you'll have to abandon her, and I see that coming real soon...]
The system replied before quieting down, and Nolan only shrugged before quickly making his way forward.
---
What should have taken him just 5 minutes ended up taking 25 minutes before he finally arrived at the tree.4
The reason was due to his cautiousness. Not sure what was lurking around, Nolan had decided to grow more careful. He would be in quite a pinch if he had to fight a beast while also having her on his neck. That was the risk he knew well he was taking.
But still, he was able to avoid the gaze of many predators, special thanks to the fact that he didn't possess Divine Essence that would have attracted the attention of every lurking beast due to his anomaly.
Quickly, he arrived at the top of the tree.
Above his head, he could see someone taking in a deep breath, and he looked upwards, finding the girl taking a deep inhale of the wild breeze atop the tree.
Taking a breath himself, Nolan had to agree, it really was worth it.
It seemed the 25 minutes was enough for the girl to get back her metabolism as she crawled off Nolan's neck, sitting down on a tree branch, her back relaxing on it while rubbing her stomach with the same satisfied expression.
Nolan simply looked at the weird girl for a long while before he chuckled and then turned his gaze to the distance.
Looking around the area, he was quickly disappointed when he saw nothing but an endless forest.
As far as Nolan's perception could take him, all he saw was the deep green forest, and he sensed no sign of anything unusual.
The birds were flying across the trees, and occasional distant roars of incredibly powerful beasts echoed through the vast plain of green.
[It would take you three months of relentless running day and night before you get out of the forest.]
[And if you remain adamant and try taking the girl, it would take you around 8 months minimum,] the system said, and Nolan's expression dropped.
It wasn't because it would take him three months; it was because, even after three months, he wasn't really sure of his direction. It could either be three months of getting even farther from civilization or three months of getting closer to one.
"SHIT!" Nolan cursed in anger.
Right now, he should have been working on completing an important quest, yet here he was stranded on a world, with no idea of left or right, all because of this stupid feud that the body he possessed had.
He was essentially suffering another person's burden right now.
The sight of the distance could also be observed by the tree girl, who was quick to notice Nolan's downcast expression.
With a gaze filled with slight interest, she watched as Nolan retreated back to her, crashing down close to her while muttering,
"I'm lost in this god-forsaken world..."
And then he went silent, closing his eyes and remaining unresponsive.
For a second, her eyes flashed with a hint of pity, and she stared into the distance, her gaze narrowing and skipping through many areas before resting in a particular spot in the distant forest.
But then, her eyes soon went back to normal, and she continued rubbing her huge tummy.
"So, what do you plan on doing now?" the system said to Nolan, who stared blankly into the distance.
In the end, what should he do?
Begin another aimless journey of wandering around uselessly?
He had no idea where he was even going, and from this distance, he could already sense powerful auras that were strong enough to probably crush him in a single move.
There was no way he would delude himself into thinking he could cross this vast forest without battling beasts, and many of these beasts were no doubt stronger than he was.
In the end, he would have to sneak around everywhere just to avoid their gazes.
And if he had to do that with a helpless five-year-old girl in his hands, the chances of him never reaching outside the forest, or doing so but having no choice but to have left the girl behind, were high.
Both choices were something Nolan couldn't swallow.
He would never be able to forgive himself for leaving a helpless little girl behind in such a dangerous forest, and he would probably die from the guilt one day.
Even if he crossed through the forest and somehow found an intelligent race, who knew if they would welcome him at all? Why wouldn't they just kill him at first sight? Who knew if they were advanced enough to throw him outside their world entirely?
How long would it take for him to even achieve that? Who knew if there was just another endless swarm of ocean just beyond the forest itself, and he would have spent no less than three only to arrive before an endless expanse of water?
Then what would he do?
He would have no choice but to return to the forest and try finding another way out. There was North, South, East, and West, and he had no idea which was the best to follow.
In the end, Nolan was lost. The plan of finding an intelligent race was now starting to look like a stupid plan that, even if it worked, wouldn't be worth the suffering.
"If I go out to try and find an intelligent race, I will either lose my life or lose her life. A life will be lost for sure. And that's not something I can sit with."
"Besides, there's not even a 1% guarantee that I'll find an intelligent race in the first place."
"All there is, is a higher possibility that I could spend years traveling and still find nothing..."
"Irrespective of what it is, it's not a decision I would be proud of, no matter the outcome..." Nolan thought reasonably, and soon he rose to his feet and stared into the cloudy sky before he moved to open his eyes and look at the girl, who had already lumbered off into sleep.
She slept so beautifully that Nolan felt his gaze softening, and soon they lit up in determination.
"I won't go on anymore!"
"WHAT!!!?"