Starting tomorrow, Noah wakes up with the dawn at 5:32 AM. He slowly opens his eyes; his vision is blurry but quickly returns to normal. Noah curls up in his spot and pulls the bed blanket over himself.
"I don't want to get up..." Noah muttered to himself, feeling down about what happened yesterday in the other realm against the Nochtyrs. His arrogance always stands in his way, and after his Ego is now destroyed, he feels a lack of self-confidence.
"Damn this..." Noah mumbled under his breath as he remembered images from his fight against the Nochtyrs, or rather, the humiliation that occurred with the Nochtyrs yesterday.
[Push-ups: 0/100 (Incomplete)]
[Squats: 0/100 (Incomplete)]
[Curl-ups: 0/100 (Incomplete)]
[Running: 0 km/10 km (Incomplete)]
"Damn you, can't you read the situation?" Noah complained in annoyance at the system, but despite this, he got out of bed and stretched his arms.
"According to what Lou Yan said yesterday, classes will be suspended for three days because of yesterday's incident. I don't need to prepare and go to the university, so I think I'll do the mission now," Noah thought to himself, covering his mouth as he yawned.
Noah got ready by washing his face to wake up fully and dressed in casual clothes: black sweatpants and a white jacket with an attached hood. He put his phone in his pocket, placed the hood on his head, and left his room, making sure the door and window were closed.
Noah took the elevator downstairs, and the place was empty when he arrived. The worker, Jarod, was sitting in his seat, watching both the inside and outside, noticing Noah's presence but saying nothing.
Noah left the dorm and began jogging at a moderate pace to conserve energy, intending to finish his daily mission. After a few minutes of running, Noah did not feel tired, despite not having rested. He found himself near the train station.
"...I think... I'll go to Sector 1 to check something..." Noah whispered to himself as he sat on a waiting bench, waiting for the train. The station was completely empty of students, probably because there were no classes for the next three days, or maybe because it was still early morning.
"...Will I find him there at this time? Maybe no... but it's fine to waste time, I have nothing to do anyway," Noah said to himself. He hesitated slightly, but that hesitation disappeared once the train arrived.
The train doors opened, and Noah stood up from his seat and entered. As soon as he entered, the doors closed, and the train started.
"Looks like I'm alone on this train," Noah mumbled to himself under his breath, glancing around but not seeing anyone in his line of sight.
"Maybe there are other people in other cabins..." Noah thought, heading toward the next cabin. Even though everyone hated him, he didn't want to stay in a silent place and remember what it felt like to lose his sense of hearing.
Noah entered the second cabin and found some people inside. There were three people laughing and talking, mocking each other. One of them had his back turned to Noah, but Noah noticed he looked somewhat familiar, with his blonde hair.
The group noticed Noah entering and turned to him. That's when Noah recognized the familiar person—Derek Miller.
"Noah, long time no see, huh?" Derek said sarcastically, a slight smile on his lips.
"Out of 1,000 students, was it inevitable that I'd meet the most annoying one?" Noah cursed internally and ignored Derek's words, sitting quietly on one of the chairs facing the group.
Derek turned to his friends, and they exchanged puzzled looks before bursting into laughter for no reason at all.
"Wow, Noah, you're really funny," Derek said, wiping tears from laughter from his eyes. He then stood up from his seat, sat next to Noah, and put his arm around Noah's neck, acting as though they were friends.
"Noah, it's been a long time since we last met, so let's talk about the past. We have some nice memories together when we were younger, don't we?" Derek said, his smile widening, his eyes gleaming mischievously as he looked at Noah.
"Derek, do you really know him?" one of Derek's friends asked. He had black hair with golden streaks. His eyes were brown, his body was tall, and his muscles were prominent.
"Yeah, he's really close to my younger brother, and that's how I got to know Noah," Derek said, glancing at his friends with a fake innocent expression.
"I thought you were lying at first, I didn't know the great Derek Miller knew the infamous outcast," said Derek's second friend. He had long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and he was slightly shorter than Derek and the other friend.
"Oh, stop flattering me, you bastard," Derek said, acting innocent, which made the group laugh again. Their laughter filled the train and echoed in Noah's ears.
"I regret coming here. I think I might become the killer if this annoyance continues," Noah thought to himself, irritated.
"Noah, do you remember when you were playing with my brother on the school rooftop, and you tripped and fell from the second floor, ending up with a broken arm?" Derek said, smiling but with a malicious gleam in his eyes.
"Yeah, I remember," Noah said quietly, trying to suppress his irritation. The memory of the incident on the rooftop crossed his mind.
He had been beaten by Blake's group for no reason, just for their amusement. Blake had pushed him off the rooftop, and he fell from the second floor, breaking his right arm and a few ribs. He might have died if he hadn't been lucky enough to cushion the fall with his arm. If he had fallen on his head, Noah Grace would not have been in Nova University.
"I remember Blake later pretended to be innocent, telling the teachers I tried to commit suicide because of the bullying and hatred I faced for being skillless, but he tried to save me... Really, that hateful family loves to pretend innocence, huh?" Noah thought to himself, glancing at Derek sitting beside him.
"There were many times Noah was embarrassed, like when he wore torn clothes to school, and he often broke things due to his recklessness, but thanks to my brother, he had a high school life he'll never forget. Hahaha," Derek said, starting to laugh, and his friends laughed along with him. It seemed like they understood what had really happened, but they still pretended to be ignorant and laughed with Derek, maybe because they were scared of him or maybe because they genuinely enjoyed these things.
"I don't think I'll regret when I deal with you soon... Derek," Noah thought to himself, his eyes turning dark with hatred.
Then the train arrived at Sector 1, and the doors opened. Noah didn't waste any time and exited immediately, as this was his destination after all. Before he left, Derek called out to him.
"Noah, let's meet again soon and have lots of fun," Derek said with a fake innocent smile, waving his hand at Noah, but behind that smile stood malice and deceit.
"Yeah... We'll meet sooner than you think," Noah replied with a faint smile that caught Derek off guard, but Derek didn't show much interest.
Noah got off the train at Sector 1, stretched his arms, cracked his fingers, and began jogging at a moderate pace toward the university building, or rather, a place near the building.
A few minutes later, Noah reached the Lovers' Garden in front of the university building. He noticed several black luxury cars in front of the building, but he ignored them and entered the Lovers' Garden.
"I hope I find the old man Eldon here..." Noah thought to himself, scanning the area for Eldon Everyn. But to his disappointment, he didn't see him. Noah sat on one of the benches under a pink cherry blossom tree and took a deep breath.
"Well, this was expected. It's early morning now,also I don't think he works today or any day for the next few days," Noah muttered under his breath, feeling regret and failure now that he had wasted his time coming all the way from Sector 11 to Sector 1.
Noah looked up at the sky, but the dawn sky was covered with cherry blossom trees. A light breeze passed, causing the leaves to fall and drift in the wind. Then Noah heard the sound of sweeping and turned to his right. The source of the sound was the old man Eldon, holding a broom, sweeping the leaves that had just fallen.
"E-Eldon!" Noah said, shocked by Eldon's sudden appearance. Just a moment ago, he wasn't there, but as soon as the leaves fell, he had sprung into action.
"Boy, didn't your parents teach you how to address your elders?" Eldon said in a shaky tone fitting for an old man. His eyes were closed as usual, yet it felt like he was looking right through Noah.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Everyn," Noah apologized nervously, his voice filled with concern and confusion.
"I didn't notice his presence at all," Noah thought to himself silently, wondering if it was due to his own lack of attention or if the old man Eldon wasn't an ordinary old man.
"That's better. Now, why did you come here this time?" Eldon asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the reason for Noah's visit.
"I-I came to ask for your wisdom on something," Noah said, feeling embarrassed, but he quickly realized how silly his request sounded. "Ask for your Wisdom?" What kind of phrase is that?
"My wisdom? Am I your mentor or something?... What do you need wisdom for?" Eldon asked, his voice curious.
"Oh... I don't know," Noah said, realizing that he didn't know how to tell Eldon what had happened to him yesterday in a way that didn't reveal any dangerous information like the existence of the system.
"If you don't know, then leave. I have work to do," said Eldon, turning back to the ground and resuming sweeping. He didn't seem bothered at all by Noah's response, remaining utterly calm.
"…Alright," said Noah, looking at Eldon with surprise. He then rose and began to walk away—until Eldon stopped him.
"Noah boy," Eldon said "always remember—when you find yourself at a crossroads and don't know which path to take, remember: every road leads somewhere. What matters isn't the destination, but who you become along the way."
Eldon then turned his back to Noah and walked off after finishing his sweeping in a flash.
Noah remained silent for a while, then continued walking, Eldon's words echoing in his ears.
"I think… I'll go to Sector 2."
It was on this day, after hearing the words of the old man Eldon, that the boy Noah Grace felt the shackles of fate begin to crack and fall away. The chains of Choice and doubt had broken. On this day, the boy felt as if he had spread the wings of freedom.