The man stepped fully into the room, the door sliding shut softly behind him.
He looked to be in his late twenties. Short brown hair rested neatly atop his head, slightly damp, as if he had just come in from the rain.
His emerald-green eyes were calm and clear, carrying a quiet confidence. His expression was relaxed, neither overly friendly nor cold.
He was tall and well-built, his broad shoulders filling the doorway with ease. Even without armor or weapons, there was no mistaking it. This was a man who had fought many battles. The same man who had pulled Noah back from the edge of death in the forest.
He walked closer to the bed, his footsteps light against the polished floor.
"So," he said, his voice steady and composed, "how are you doing?"
Noah blinked and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly but managing it without much trouble.
"I… I'm alive," Noah replied after a moment, his voice hoarse. "So I guess that's good."
The man gave a faint smile, clearly relieved.
"That's more than good," he said. "You were in a bad state when I found you. I wasn't sure you'd wake up this soon."
Noah studied him carefully. The calm demeanor, the lack of arrogance. It all felt oddly reassuring.
"You saved me," Noah said quietly. "In the forest."
The man nodded once, as if it were nothing worth mentioning.
"I did what I needed to do," he replied. "Rest easy. You're safe here."
The word safe lingered in Noah's mind longer than it should have.
He felt relieved. And yet, deep down, he knew this calm wouldn't last forever.
"But… I couldn't save your companions. The one who was supposed to guide your group safely was able to send an emergency signal to me about being chased by a Rank C monster. It had just newly broken through to C rank. I am sorry for not being able to go and save everyone." His eyes dropped as be sigh.
Sigh
Noah did get some memories of this body. They were scattered, but he did remember how he had been in the forest.
He had come here with the intention to practice, killing monsters in the forest, learning how to do exploration. With the help of a guide given by the guild.
There were other young men with him. Just like him, they had also come for practice and to gain experience.
They were exploring an area where only weak and low-level monsters roamed. It was nearly impossible for a strong one to exist in that area.
But the worst thing happened. There was a high-ranking monster. It killed everyone… except Noah. Maybe Noah did die… and Aron took his place.
Noah just nodded while listening to the man in front of him.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault… also, thanks again. You still saved me in time," Noah said.
In truth, those other men were strangers. He didn't know them. Their guide being a D-rank adventurer was enough for the exploration. No monster stronger than D-rank was supposed to be present in that area.
But it seemed their luck was not good.
The forest belonged to a mid-level guild named Ironfist. Noah had paid them for this to train here and get some experience.
He could remember that much.
The brown-haired man studied Noah for a while. "You are different from what I heard."
Noah raised his eyes and looked at the man in confusion. "What do you mean by different?"
"Noah Eldritch… exiled son of Duke Eldritch. You don't have any vile or bad personality as the rumors say."
That information shocked Noah.
'What the heck? Son of Duke Eldritch. Exiled son! What in the name of the gods! This is the worst cliché possible now.'
Again, he didn't receive the memories all at once. They were slowly coming, so he still didn't have much idea about himself.
'So I was a retarded young master… who had done vile things… and in the end got exiled from his family. Damn! This is the worst thing possible.' He thought bitterly.
Noah started to curse his situation while the brown-haired man continued to observe him.
Knowing that this man was still watching him, Noah replied, "Well… I have changed a lot since getting exiled. Now I understand how wrong I was." He gave an awkward smile.
Without having much knowledge, Noah started to spout some nonsense.
"Oh… I can understand that. Situations do change people, either for good or bad. It seems it had a good effect on you."
Noah didn't respond and just nodded. He decided to change the subject. "By the way, what's your name? You saved me, yet I don't even know your name, sir."
The man crossed his hands over his chest and chuckled. "Haha. No need to call me sir. My name is Cedric Winston. You can just call me Cedric."
"Okay. In that case, I'll call you that. Thanks again, Cedric."
"You should rest more. Your hospital bill will be paid by the guild. Also, you will get back your money for this training plan, and we will give you compensation as well."
Noah's eyes lit up at that. "I appreciate that."
"We can only do that much for you, since you faced near death because of us. Okay, I'll get going. See you later."
"Yeah. See you."
Saying that, Cedric left Noah alone.
Once he was alone, Noah closed his eyes.
"This is too much. It's a more dire situation than I thought."
He did remember where he currently lived. He also had some money. It seemed his family didn't seize his accounts or money.
The real problem now was what Noah had done till now. Because whatever disastrous things the previous Noah had done, now it was his responsibility to face them.
"At least I'll get some money and compensation. But why did I decide to take the exploration training plan… was I really someone who trained hard and wished to get stronger?"
Noah rubbed his temples, trying to remember as much as possible.
Just then, his eyes widened.
'Academy! It's starting soon! I was trying to get stronger and gain experience before the academy starts.'
Noah's expression turned ugly. He was an exiled, notorious young master. Then there was the academy. He could already guess, this wouldn't be easy for him. Despite having little knowledge, he had a few assumptions about his character's role in the game.
Noah looked outside the window. It was raining.
'It's raining outside of its season… since it's early spring.'
He continued to stare outside while mocking his fate.