Victor stepped out of the room, and just like after mana's descent in his original world, the hospital was full of people with mage bloodlines—those best at healing magic, instead of doctors. Doctors had long been replaced by healing mages, since they were far more effective, and injuries caused by mana couldn't be treated by normal medical science.
Shaking his head, Victor walked toward the stairs, glancing at the mages who were tending to the minor wounds of injured patients.
"Hmm? What's that?" Victor frowned as he descended the stairs and noticed a massive glass window reflecting a faint red hue. Curiosity got the better of him, and he approached the window. The moment he looked outside, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
"What the hell is that?!" Victor cried out, eyes widening in shock. Hanging in the night sky was a humongous moon bathed in crimson light. It illuminated the entire world in red. Unlike the moon of his original world, which only faintly reflected the sun's light, this crimson moon seemed to generate its own light, glowing like a second sun.
"That must be the tower Miss Amanda mentioned," Victor muttered, narrowing his eyes toward the distance. There, a colossal black tower stood tall beneath the crimson glow, its height seeming to stretch endlessly toward the heavens.
"So many differences…" Victor sighed, continuing down the stairs.
"I should ask someone where the information center is." He mumbled to himself, scanning the area until his gaze landed on a man in expensive armor. Without hesitation, Victor walked toward him.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where the information center is?" Victor asked.
The man, feeling someone tap him on the shoulder, turned around and saw Victor standing in front of him with a frown. His gaze swept over Victor, noticing his plain clothes, and his own frown twisted into disgust.
"Go somewhere else, peasant. You touched my armor—now I need to wash it," the man sneered before walking away, ignoring Victor completely.
Victor, however, remained calm and didn't take the insult to heart—he was used to it.
"Hah, typical arrogant noble. At least he didn't beat me up for no reason," Victor muttered with a shrug. The moment the man called him a peasant, Victor realized he was dealing with an arrogant noble. In his previous world, nobles often looked down on and insulted people with no background. Of course, not all nobles were like that, but most were—and honestly, this one was mild compared to the extreme types who would beat someone for no reason. Victor had experienced that kind of treatment firsthand when he was weak.
The truth was, nobles only respected or tolerated commoners who were either strong or wealthy. Even if they didn't like them, they wouldn't openly show such disgust. And it wasn't just nobles—sometimes even other commoners would show disdain toward those weaker or less influential than themselves.
"Well, at least one thing is similar to my world," Victor muttered with a wry smile as he looked around for another person to ask.
"Excuse me, can you please help me with something?" Victor approached a group of middle-aged women who were chatting among themselves. Judging by their attire, they also seemed to belong to nobility. At first, they frowned, thinking some man was trying to hit on them, but when they saw Victor, their eyes lit up at the sight of his handsome face.
"Oh, handsome little brother, I'd be glad to help you. What do you need?" asked a beautiful mature woman with a smile.
"I would be grateful if you could tell me the direction to the information center," Victor said with a charming smile.
'Hah, my handsome appearance still has its advantages,' Victor thought with a sigh. His looks, combined with his silver hair, made him especially attractive to women. Even though in his previous life he had been a loner, he had found it a bit easier dealing with women, and later—after becoming strong—many females wanted to be with him due to his increased charm along with strength. But he had never paid much attention, too focused on getting stronger.
"Oh, such a simple request. But before that, can you tell us your age?" asked another mature woman in a charming voice, her heated gaze fixed on him.
"I'm eighteen," Victor replied.
"Oh, you're already an adult. Would you like to come with us? We'll treat you to a meal," one woman said as she clung to his arm.
"Ladies, I would be honored, but I have to return to the academy soon," Victor said, causing the women to look at him in shock.
"Really? You're from the academy?" one of the women asked with admiration.
"Which academy do you belong to?" another pressed.
"Light Academy," Victor answered. That was the academy he was currently attending.
"Oh, Light Academy—that's one of the top three on the lowest floor," one of the ladies said in shock.
"Sigh, it's a shame you're in such a hurry. If you had time, we could've had a meal together," another mature woman added with a charming smile as they pointed him in the right direction of the information center.
"Sigh, if I wasn't in a hurry, I might've gone with them. At least, even if they had ulterior motives, they were beautiful," Victor said with a smile.
He understood their purpose was likely just for a one-night stand. Even in his previous world, those who were single or frustrated from lack of attention from their partners would engage in such acts. His own first time had been in a similar way. Many rankers, constantly dancing with death in order to grow stronger, would simply release their pent-up stress like this, so he did not look down on such behavior.
Of course, there were also older, unattractive noblewomen who would force handsome men into such situations, which was quite common if one lacked strength or background. Victor himself had faced a similar situation once but had managed to dodge that bullet thanks to his own strength.
"So this is the building, huh?" Victor muttered as he stopped in front of a large building with a signboard that read Information Center.