Reborn as a side character with a system

The Chosen One

'Chapter 27 -

"Young Master Nolan!!! Are you injured?!"

One of the knights rushed over, his boots crunching through leaves, his face pale with worry. He reached out a hand, then stopped, his whole body freezing in place.

Nolan slowly turned.

His expression was dark and serious, his purple eyes glowing brighter than ever before, two burning embers in the shadow of the forest. He stared at the knight for a long moment, silent, assessing, seeing something the others couldn't.

The knight took one step back. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A silver piercing on his right ear catching the dim light. Young. Maybe seventeen. Scared but trying to hide it.

"I'm alright. Tell me... what's your name?" Nolan asked, his voice calm, cool, controlled.

"My name is Xavier, my lord." The knight gave a slight bow, his hand trembling at his side.

Nolan's heart skipped a beat. His blood turned cold.

"It truly is him..." he thought, his mind reeling. "Why is he appearing so early in the book? And in this family's house of knights?"

In the novel, Xavier was supposed to appear two hundred chapters later, a hidden ace, a divine hero who would change the course of the war. But here he was, standing in front of him, young and unproven, his power still dormant, his destiny unwritten.

"Xavier..." Nolan's voice was steady despite the storm inside him. "I bestow upon you the rank of commander of this group. Look after things when I'm not around."

Xavier's eyes shot up, wide and disbelieving. He stumbled back a step. "Apologies, my lord, but I don't think I'm the right person for..."

"Are you saying my judgment is inaccurate?" Nolan cut him off, his tone sharpening like a blade.

"Not at all, my lord, but I'm of no family status. Learning knights of higher class than me... well..." Xavier looked to the side, his jaw tight, his pride wounded.

"Anyone who opposes his word will be disobeying my will!" Nolan's voice rang out across the clearing, his eyes sweeping over every knight around him. Some faces filled with anger at the promotion of a low-born. Others looked away, ashamed. A few gripped the hilts of their swords tightly, their knuckles white. "Have I made myself clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" They all replied in unison, the sound echoing through the trees.

Nolan looked up at the sun, still climbing, still early. "It's still early. We can still push forward," he muttered to himself.

"Gather round. I have information to hand over." His voice was calm again, commanding without shouting. His men gathered in a circular formation, pinning him in the middle, their faces turned toward him like flowers to the sun.

"Now that all of you are here..." Nolan paused, his eyes scanning each face, measuring, memorizing. "Can anyone tell me what that monster I just slew was?"

"What you've slain there was a Shadow Lizard, my lord," one of the knights said, his voice steady. "They are known for their incredible ability of stealth."

"That's correct. And can anyone tell me what their weakness is?"

"Light, if I'm not mistaken," another replied.

"Correct yet again." Nolan picked up a stick with a leaf from the ground, twirling it between his fingers. "What are the downfalls of stealth as a whole?"

"Agility lowered and strength is cut in half," Xavier replied, a small smirk forming on his lips. "I see where this is going."

Nolan side-eyed him with a smile, approval flickering in his purple gaze. "Now, here is how we're going to do it. We only have an hour to prepare this, and once it's done, we'll have only ten to twenty minutes to execute the move."

He explained his plan, drawing in the dirt with his stick, mapping positions, timing, movements. Each knight nodded as they listened, their eyes growing sharper, their spines straighter. This was not a lord ordering peasants. This was a general briefing his soldiers.

"And lastly... Xavier, your ability will be important."

"Yes, sir." Xavier sat up straighter, showing respect, showing pride, showing something that looked like hope.

---

An hour passed. Preparations were made, positions taken, weapons blessed with light enchantments.

"Alright, time to take off!" Xavier shouted, his voice carrying a new weight, a new authority.

Nolan and his men pressed forward until they reached the grounds of the lizards. They hid behind bushes, splitting into teams of five again, each group finding their station, their angle, their kill zone. Once all were positioned, they waited, hearts hammering, breaths held.

Nolan slowly raised a hand, his eyes locked on the lizards' movements, tracking their patrol patterns, their blind spots, their rhythms. Without another word, he thrust his hand forward.

The battle began.

His men stormed in with force, swords gleaming with light, cutting through the darkness. Except Nolan and Xavier, who stood in one place, cross-legged on the ground, Xavier's sword shimmering with divine light, killing most of the lizards before they could even react. Some began fighting back, adapting, dying as they tried to adjust to the blinding assault.

The lizards, seeing themselves at a disadvantage, began using their abilities, sinking into the shadows, becoming one with the darkness.

"Now's the time!" Nolan shouted. "Xavier, do it!!!"

He stared at Xavier, who didn't even flinch from the command. Nolan watched him with worried eyes, his heart pounding hard, sweat beading on his forehead.

But Xavier didn't move. Didn't speak. Didn't react.

His eyes were open but unseeing, his body rigid, his sword still raised, frozen in mid-swing.

"Shit..." Nolan's mind raced, panic clawing at his throat. "I forgot. The ability he's using at this stage isn't in his command. In this novel, there are those who are chosen by the divine, and those chosen are called heroes. Unlike heroes like the ones I've faced before, chosen ones hold power that far exceeds normal heroes and have divine angels with them. And Xavier is one of them. Right now, he must be in the trial state, and until he comes back, it's up to me to hold the front line."

Nolan lifted a hand toward his men, his voice ringing with authority despite the fear gnawing at his gut.

"Wind magic, Wind Shield!"

He chanted the spell, and a massive amount of wind surged over his team, swirling into a translucent dome that shimmered with faint blue light.

"I've created a barrier around all of you! It should buy us time until Xavier awakens! Until then, hold on!!!"

His men nodded, their faces grim, their movements defensive. Everything they did now relied heavily on defense, on survival, on buying seconds that felt like hours.

Nolan stood at the center of the barrier, his hands raised, his mana draining fast, his whole body trembling with the effort of holding the shield against the shadows that pressed against it from all sides.

"Damn it..." he muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes darting to Xavier's frozen form. "Hurry up, kid. We don't have all day."

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