Noah stood up, smoothing out his shirt as if the game hadn't even mattered. "Close one,"
The old man looked up, still processing. He let out a long breath, his face softening into a smile. "You're something else, Noah."
"You're overpraising me, old man," Noah said, a sly grin playing on his lips. "Be careful, or this might get to my head."
The old man, still in awe of the skill he'd witnessed, shook his head with a soft, knowing smile. "Underpraising you, actually." His gaze lingered on Noah, the young man who seemed so mysterious, a jack of all trades cloaked in a fog of enigma.
He couldn't help but wonder, "This young man... what kind of life has he lived to possess such intelligence and skills?" The thought gnawed at the back of his mind, but before he could dwell on it, Noah's voice interrupted his musing.
