"Ahh, that…"
Noah's face fell a little, and something akin to a sad smile added to his clouded countenance.
His tale wasn't particularly a sad story. Many Adventurers in the City had more tragic experiences to share.
However, for Noah, a sixteen-year-old teenager who had been living a pretty mundane life on Earth until three months ago, his story was just as heavy.
"I think… I realized that I had no other choice but to become strong." His smile broadened as he uttered those words.
Many would agree with him, but most were probably going to miss the point. No one could really understand the depths from which he uttered those words.
People desired to get stronger for various reasons.
Some wanted wealth.
'I already have more than enough money to retire to some countryside and live the rest of my life without worrying about sustenance.'
Some craved power.
'I have enough strength to be in the one percent of humans in this world.'
Some lusted after influence.
'I find attention annoying, and most of the time… I like being left alone.'
Women.
'I don't think most of them are anything special.'
Thrill.
'Nothing about fighting Monsters thrills me. It's a dangerous job.'
Noah didn't qualify for most of the reasons why most people desired to be Adventurers. He wasn't like the average Adventurers, and he didn't relate to most of the things they valued.
Things like the ideal of freedom were lost concepts to him.
While he admired the sentiment, he found the whole thing too abstract and a little childish. In any pragmatic setting, there had to be established rules.
Restrictions molded society.
The only reason why the Adventurers were still coexisting pretty well within the City, despite the lack of solid rules and sufficient regulations, was because there were already unspoken rules that existed within the Adventurer Culture.
As much as they tried to deny this fact, it was true.
As an outsider, Noah could see patterns in their behavior which informed him that there were unwritten regulations that bound everyone together.
'That's why they're still together.'
If those rules didn't exist, or maybe the population of this city grew to an absurd degree—to the point where control became difficult—then the cracks would begin to show.
… The status-quo would crumble.
And so, the true reason Noah chose this path—despite a lot of easier options—was due to a much more primal and selfish purpose.
It was engrained within him; to the point where he could not escape or deny it.
"I wanted to change."
For a moment, there was silence in his tone.
"What?" Jet's inquisitive voice caused Noah to smile even more. Of course, no one would get it if he just said it like that.
"I used to be a very weak and cowardly person. I hid behind stronger people and always looked for ways to benefit without taking the most risks."
For the most part, he hadn't gotten rid of the latter part of his statement. He didn't think he needed to, considering how that was the hallmark of pragmatism.
Less risks, more reward.
The problem was with the former.
"I think I hated myself." Noah's solemn tone oozed through the still atmosphere.
"I had a friend before moving here. Before we became friends, I used to comfort myself by thinking he was more pathetic than I was. He was average in every way, and I always told myself—
anytime I felt shitty or sad—that at least there was one guy who was worse than me."
There was a reason Noah spoke in past tense.
"I came to realize that the guy was secretly a lot better than I realized. He was stronger, smarter… better. He was better than me, than most people around us." A little smirk formed on the boy's face.
"I liked that."
"So what happened to this friend of yours? Why did you part ways?"
Noah shrugged as he rested his back on the chair that he sat on. "I wanted to run away. That guy was a monster who wanted to keep getting strong, and I knew he would drag me with him. I wasn't ready for that."
Jet chuckled a little, and Noah did the same.
He didn't know why he was revealing so much about his past to such a stranger, but somehow… he felt like going on.
He didn't want to stop.
"I left the Capital and initially wanted to travel South, since things are a lot safer there than in the North. But apparently, all the land there has been taken."
It was no surprise, considering how most people wanted to be as far away from the war as possible. If anyone could afford it, they would instantly leave for the South.
Sure, the cost of living there was ridiculously high. Many would consider the quality of life incredibly low for the amount they were paying.
But, at the very least, they were alive.
"I decided to settle down in any quiet town close to the Adventurers City, since having Adventurers nearby would guarantee some kind of safety."
That was when Noah began his journey to the North.
"My journey was cut short when I encountered a couple of Adventurers fighting a group of Monsters." Noah remembered the entire scene as if it was just yesterday.
He had been told of a shortcut by a traveler, so he passed the route and ended up getting lost.
That was when he stumbled on the fight.
His first instinct was to hide—then the next thing that came to his mind was to run.
But… he found himself refusing to do so.
Right in front of his eyes was a Monster he knew he could defeat if he truly tried. It would be difficult and dangerous, but Noah knew he would win.
At that moment, he felt something awaken within him.
'What if… I fight that thing?'
It wouldn't cost him anything. He would probably gain some money and thanks for his efforts too.
However, that wasn't his main incentive for doing so.
Right there and then, Noah simply wanted to change who he was.
"I didn't want to be that cowering bastard anymore."