Ten Promises

I used to be a bard, a member of a hero's party.

We fought the demon race together.

The heroes were responsible for fighting fiercely at the front, while I was responsible for playing music and singing in the back.

Ahem, I mean, I was responsible for buffing the heroes.

Alright, alright, I mainly acted as their hype man, and incidentally recorded the heroes' grand glory to promote them in the cities, seeking sponsorships from nobles and wealthy merchants.

To be modest, my silver tongue was quite smooth.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many beautiful and wealthy noble ladies specifically requesting me to tell bedtime stories on their beds.

Don't misunderstand, they were all poor divorced or widowed women; there's nothing wrong with me helping to comfort their parched souls.

Besides, without my hard work, where would the heroes get the money to maintain their weapons and armor, let alone replenish critical supplies like potions and food?

Being a hero isn't just about strength.

You not only need money, but you also need people.

Otherwise, after you've worked hard to kill the Demon King and no one knows about it, the Demon King would have died in vain.

It's just that in this era of racial integration, the demon race has started to clean up their act, and heroes are gradually finding themselves out of work.

Indeed, not long ago, the hero's party officially disbanded.

Those damn bastards either went home to inherit noble estates or married princesses, leaving me behind all by myself.

As Chen Nuo thought of this, resentment rose in his heart, and he cursed out loud while holding the elf girl beside him.

“I just wanted to be their stepdad, what's wrong with that? We're all brothers, we could have just worked it out separately.”

Sitting opposite him, Stanke's expression turned a bit strange upon hearing this.

He originally felt a bit of sympathy for Chen Nuo being left behind, but now it seemed those heroes were already being quite loyal to their friendship by not hacking Chen Nuo to death.

Sitting alone between the two was a blond, pointed-eared elf named Zel. He was somewhat short, and his palm-sized face wore a look of displeasure.

The three were old acquaintances with a very solid relationship.

They had not only split loot together but also... ahem.

Don't be fooled by Stanke's current scruffy, dissolute appearance; his strength was actually quite good, a proper high-ranking Adventurer. The difference between him and Chen Nuo's heroes was simple.

One charged for their work, the other did it for free.

The name 'Hero' was actually just the name of Chen Nuo's original adventure party; the true Hero had honorably retired a hundred years ago.

After the three had drunk their fill, they stepped out of the elven tavern.

It was only after they arrived that they realized this newly opened tavern was actually 'plain' (non-sexual). Why make the sign so flashy then? Wasn't that just deceiving consumers?

If it weren't for the fact that the elven hostess had a very good attitude, Chen Nuo would definitely have complained to the city management.

“I really don't understand you two. What's so good about drinking with that kind of old hag? Just thinking about it makes me feel disgusted,”

Zel said to the two with a face full of disdain.

“How is she old? She's clearly young and beautiful.”

“Nuo is right.”

The two looked at each other and high-fived in tacit agreement, showing their mutual approval of each other's tastes.

“Those two are already over five hundred years old. I really don't understand what you humans are thinking.”

Zel's mouth twitched.

Perhaps because elves are a long-lived species, his tastes were very different from ordinary people. Zel thought Chen Nuo and the other had heavy tastes, and Chen Nuo and the other thought the same of him.

At that moment, a slightly thick female voice called out.

“Oh my, isn't this Zel?”

“Ah! Miss Guanghui!”

Zel's body jolted, and his originally cold expression instantly became enthusiastic, even bordering on perverted.

In Chen Nuo's eyes, the Miss Guanghui he spoke of was just an elderly hag. Perhaps she was a great beauty when she was young, but now the wrinkles on her face could crush a fly.

Well, strictly from the perspective of age, Zel, being an elf, should be much older.

As the two spoke, they embraced.

From Zel's practiced movements, he was also a veteran of the pleasure quarters.

“I can't take it, I feel a bit like throwing up,”

Chen Nuo whispered to Stanke beside him, and the latter nodded in deep agreement.

After a good while of interaction, Zel wiped the liquid that didn't belong to him from his lips, looking full of aftertaste, and couldn't help but sigh.

“Human girls who will never exceed a hundred years old are truly the best.”

“...”

“...”

To Chen Nuo and his friend, the ancient Miss Guanghui was, to Zel, just the right amount of tender.

Although the three had different tastes, the frequency of their nightly visits to Succubus Street was about the same; otherwise, they wouldn't have become such like-minded friends.

Just as there are no wives in a 'Wife Cake', there are no succubi in Succubus Street.

Everyone came here to have fun, not to find death.

Playing with a succubus was no joke; they could literally drain you to death.

“Clearly, elven ladies who possess ageless beauty are the best.”

Stanke fiercely rebutted Zel's claim.

“I cast my vote for Stanke.”

Chen Nuo raised his hand to vote.

“Two votes to one, you lose.”

Stanke pointed at Zel triumphantly.

“How can you compare like that? If we're voting, we should find different races to vote together.”

To defend his aesthetic taste, Zel shouted and expanded the scope of the problem.

Zel dragged the two to the Adventurer tavern they often frequented. Most of the Adventurers here were also regulars of Succubus Street, and it gathered people of many different races.

However, the final result of the evaluation left Chen Nuo utterly speechless.

A fifty-year-old human middle-aged woman was actually more popular here than a five-hundred-year-old elf.

Compared to humans, who are visual creatures, other races seemed to care more about other sensory experiences.

“How about it? You two have nothing more to say now, right?”

Zel crossed his arms with a smug look, not giving Chen Nuo and the other a chance to win back the score, and waved his hand dismissively.

“I still have an appointment with Miss Guanghui, goodbye.”

“...I'm going to continue looking for my elf lady.”

Chen Nuo didn't pursue the topic further. Every race has its own preferences; there's nothing wrong with being a sensory creature.

“I agree.”

Stanke wiggled his eyebrows vigorously.

To properly wash his polluted eyes, Chen Nuo called two elf girls for himself this time.

“It still has to be elves... hehe.”

After his hard work, a somewhat exhausted Chen Nuo lay on the elf girl and fell asleep. Consequently, his consciousness drifted out of his body uncontrollably, and when he opened his eyes again, a different world was before him.

“Where has this taken me? Transmigrated again? Don't!! ”

Playboy Chen Nuo had a face full of pain. He clearly still had so many unknown races left to explore, and his great work was just about to be written; how unfair was heaven?

However, as a hand patted him from behind, he realized what was going on.

“Good, good. My grand vision almost became a regret.”

“You're certainly enjoying yourself.”

The one meeting with Playboy Chen Nuo was a half-grown youth.

This one was also a newcomer, though Playboy Chen Nuo had arrived a bit earlier. He wore avant-garde clothes with a thick, unique texture—that was the style of Piltover.

“Yo, two more newcomers. Let me see.”

Titan Chen Nuo was the last to arrive, speaking with some surprise. However, as soon as he stepped forward and completed the interaction with Playboy Chen Nuo, the expression on his face instantly froze.

A surge of emotions churned within him, finally turning into a shout that was almost a roar.

“Beat him up!!”

“We're all on the same side, calm down.”

Playboy Chen Nuo didn't understand. Weren't we here to share benefits?

...The commercial street of Piltover.

This was an ordinary prosthetic shop.

Store Manager Colin Levick was a skilled mechanic. The prosthetics he constructed from clockwork and gears were quite popular.

Store Manager Colin was relatively introverted and not very good with words, but he had a kind and sensible daughter who was very well-liked. She had golden long hair and was like an exquisite doll, often hosting customers in her father's stead.

This little girl had a beautiful name.

Orianna.

Recently, it was heard that Store Manager Colin had also adopted an orphan from the ancient land of Ionia.

Sorry, that black-haired, black-eyed child's name was a bit of a tongue-twister, so the surrounding shopkeepers liked to simply call him Nuo.

“Nuo.”

Orianna lay by Chen Nuo's bedside, calling him softly, while playfully curling her hair and gently tickling the tip of his nose.

The usually obedient and well-behaved Orianna rarely showed her lively and mischievous side in front of this 'brother'.

“Don't mess around, Little Anna.”

Chen Nuo said, pulling the blanket over his head, not yet having broken free from his dreams.

Seeing that she couldn't wake Chen Nuo this way, Orianna simply reached her cold hands directly into the blanket and touched Chen Nuo's warm belly, which indeed woke him up.

But Orianna, unable to pull her hands back in time, was also firmly caught by Chen Nuo, and her slightly chubby cheeks were gently pinched.

“I was wrong.”

Orianna immediately gave in, showing a pitiful gaze.

“Too late.”

Chen Nuo 'viciously' kneaded Orianna's cheeks until Store Manager Colin's call sounded from downstairs.

“Stop fooling around, you two, and come down to eat.”

Only then did Orianna get the chance to escape the 'devil's hands', scurrying down the attic stairs, not forgetting to give Chen Nuo a cute face at the corner.

“Little brat.”

Chen Nuo shook his head slightly, got out of bed, and pushed open the window to air out the slight cyber-playboy scent on him. He was now a proper little boy, not even fully grown.

The fierce winter wind instantly enveloped him, yet it couldn't bring him even a hint of chill.

The power of ten Nuos added to his body gave Chen Nuo's young frame extraordinary strength.

Don't be fooled by this small size; one punch could hammer an adult troll into meat paste.

However, this surging power was not at all out of Chen Nuo's control; it was as if he were born with it.

Originally somewhat apprehensive about the future, he now had plenty of confidence to face it.

“Nuo! Are you ready yet?”

Store Manager Colin's voice rang out again, pulling Chen Nuo, who was still immersed in his own strength, back to reality, and he quickly responded.

“Coming.”

The breakfast Store Manager Colin prepared was ordinary milk oatmeal porridge, paired with a small piece of white bread and half a sausage.

Although he ran his own shop on the commercial street, Store Manager Colin wasn't a very wealthy person. His mechanical prosthetic works weren't exactly best-selling products.

They only had some audience among the lower and middle classes, so the profits were naturally not very high.

Usually, he couldn't even make a few orders a month, mostly relying on performing maintenance for previous customers or selling some interesting clockwork gear toys to generate income.

However, his life wasn't exactly tight, otherwise he wouldn't have adopted Chen Nuo.

Moreover, the status of a mechanic was still somewhat respectable on this commercial street. Piltover was a City of Progress that advocated technology and highly respected those with knowledge.

As for why Store Manager Colin adopted Chen Nuo, besides providing a companion for Orianna, more important was Chen Nuo's own effort.

Having awakened memories of his past life, he was definitely a genius among his peers.

His learning ability and self-discipline both made Store Manager Colin's eyes light up.

Even if Store Manager Colin hadn't chosen to adopt Chen Nuo, with his performance in the orphanage, it wouldn't be long before he was scouted by other families; these people loved adopting such geniuses.

He believed that such a choice would surely have brought more abundant material wealth.

But he knew his own situation.

Compared to children in their early teens, Chen Nuo was of course a genius.

But in a few more years, without the head start, how could he compete with true geniuses? So, the ordinary-background Store Manager Colin actually became the best choice.

At that time, Chen Nuo didn't know he would gain a sister.

But the past was the past, and now was now.

If Chen Nuo were to still say he was just a genius, it would be an excessive display of modesty.

After enjoying breakfast, it was time for work.

Although Chen Nuo was adopted, at his age, he was actually more like Store Manager Colin's apprentice.

Mechanics had always been a mainstream discipline at the Piltover Academy, and gears were even used as a symbol of the city on its currency.

It was just that Store Manager Colin's clockwork mechanical prosthetics were relatively niche and had great limitations; they had gradually declined, and few students of the new generation were willing to take this as an elective.

Orianna had extraordinary talent in this area.

But Store Manager Colin himself admitted that clockwork mechanics had no future.

“These gears need to be polished again.”

Store Manager Colin picked out the substandard parts and pointed out the flaws within them, guiding Chen Nuo on how to perfect them.

To be honest, Store Manager Colin wasn't a very good teacher. His terminology was mostly obscure and difficult to understand; without some talent, it would probably be very hard to follow.

The previous Chen Nuo indeed found it difficult to listen to, and privately had to ask Orianna for tutoring to maintain his persona.

But the situation was different now.

Those who have never been a genius might not understand this feeling.

Before the brain even starts turning, the body already instinctively responds, digesting and absorbing the knowledge taught by Store Manager Colin, and syncing it to his nimble fingertips.

“Is it like this?”

Chen Nuo held up the gear in his palm. Its precision had far exceeded Store Manager Colin's expectations, even reaching his own usual level. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

After a good while, he shook his beard and nodded.

“Yes, very well done. It seems you've taken my words to heart. I'll leave the rest of these to you as well.”

“No problem.”

Chen Nuo looked at the gears on the bench that still needed polishing.

The originally cold metal seemed to have life; various edges and shafts were combining with each other, clashing with the knowledge in his brain that didn't belong to this world to create endless sparks of inspiration.

Damn, I really am a genius!