Noah blinked at the door, his mind swirling with disbelief.

 'Did I just receive a Blood Crystal and a membership badge?'

' Am I dreaming? Maybe I should pinch myself… but what if I woke up and found out it was all a joke? Oh man, what if I wake up to find myself still in that wretched city?'

'Sure enough! The universe loves messing with me!' 

"Oh! I didn't even ask him his name," he muttered, the realization striking him like a cold wave. That thought nagged at him; how could he trust someone whose name he didn't even know? 

 He had brushed the idea aside, knowing the name of the white-haired man would undoubtedly be well-known to him in the future.

He felt it in his bones since no one would give a random commoner something as significant as a badge for joining the Adventurers Association casually.

With a sigh, he slowly got off the bed, a strange expression settling in his eyes as he stared at the hospital's bed, as if it held secrets he dared not uncover. He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as he placed the two items he had been given into the pocket of his clothes.

It was time to return home, to the world he had left behind. A vague sense of unease washed over him, as if something greater awaited him there. The outside world was fraught with dangers and challenges he would have to face.

 He chuckled nervously to himself, feeling an odd mixture of excitement and anxiety flooding through him. 

"Okay, Noah, deep breaths. You've got a Blood Crystal, a badge, and now a chance at an adventure! Just don't trip over your own feet on the way to the Adventurers' Association, or you might end up as the laughingstock before you even start!"

As he steeled himself for what lay ahead, he felt a flicker of determination igniting within him. This was his chance to escape the mundane and step into a life full of possibilities, but first, he had to overcome his doubts

**

Luckily for Noah, the hospital was close to his home—just down on Third Street—so finding his way back wasn't difficult. They had even offered to escort him home, but he declined, insisting he could manage the walk on his own.

As he walked through the familiar streets, he couldn't help but sigh again. The thought that he might not have woken up at all still haunted him. "What would I have thought if I hadn't received that bronze badge?" he wondered, his mind a whirl of what-ifs.

"If only I'd woken up earlier... I could have used the Blood Crystal to charge the alliance slot, maybe even become stronger, enough to survive whatever comes next... If only..." His thoughts drifted in a mix of regret and hope.

Without thinking, his hand instinctively moved to his right pocket, where he had stashed the Blood Crystal and the bronze badge. Feeling the smooth texture of the crystal between his fingers, he sighed softly, as if it somehow offered reassurance amidst the confusion of the day.

Since his house wasn't far from the hospital, it didn't take long before he found himself at his front door. He stared for a moment at the old, familiar building.

 "I'm back," he mumbled unconsciously, though he knew no one was there to hear him.

He bent down, lifting the worn red mat by the door and retrieving the set of keys hidden underneath. After fumbling for a moment, he found the right one and unlocked the door. 

Stepping into the dimly lit living room, Noah took in the familiar sight. The place wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't exactly shabby either. A small two-seater couch sat to the left, with a larger three-seater on the right. The windows were shut tight, keeping out the light, and giving the room an empty, hollow feeling.

He made his way through the room quickly, heading for the door on the right side, opposite the dining area. He wasn't planning to stay in the living room for long.

Opening the door, he walked down a narrow hallway, stopping at a brown door that led to his bedroom. He entered his room, a small, simple space.

 Aside from a small dresser in the corner that held a few clothes and other essentials, there wasn't much to it.

Without wasting any time, he sat on the cold floor of the balcony connected to his room, leaning his back against the wall. The events of the previous day kept playing through his mind.

Only he knew how lucky he had been to survive the attack from that massive brown monster. Even now, thinking about the creature sent a shiver down his spine.

"Yesterday was such a long day... None of this would've happened if I'd joined the alliance earlier," he whispered to himself, staring up at the darkening sky. His mind was heavy, but deep down, the desire to move forward stirred within him.

**

Two men stood in the middle of the road, one tall with jet-black hair, and the other of average height with short blonde hair.

 Both wore long black coats and matching black gloves, their outfits nearly identical save for one detail: a small golden badge pinned to the left side of their chests, engraved with the words "Adventurers Association."

The road they stood on was the very same one where Noah had been attacked by the beast, the same place where that monster had met its end.

The man with black hair crouched down slowly, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the ground. Closing his eyes, he pressed his right hand against the earth.

 His eyebrows twitched slightly as he channeled his skill into the ground.

The earth trembled softly under the strange energy pulsing through it, and his brow furrowed deeper as he expanded his ability further.

 'Come on... anything… just a trace,' he thought, pushing his senses to their limit. Eventually, he opened his eyes with a frustrated sigh and stood up again.

"Were you able to sense anything, sir?" asked the blonde man beside him, a slight edge of anticipation in his voice. The black-haired man, known as Watson, glanced at his companion. 

If Noah had been there, he would've recognized Watson instantly as the same official who had come to meet him at the hospital after the incident.

"No... nothing," Watson said, shaking his head. "No traces of any ability use, not even a single lingering aura. My skill can't pick up a thing. It's as if... nothing happened here at all. If it weren't for the mark on that beast's head, there wouldn't be a single clue for us to follow." He sighed, the weight of the situation sinking in.

 The Adventurers Association had been called in too late, only arriving after the monster had already been killed.

The fact that no civilians were harmed was sheer luck. Only one beast had emerged from the rift; had there been more, many innocent lives would've been lost. 

From the way the creature had been killed, the Association had assumed the attacker must've been an Awakened—one of considerable strength.

But something even stranger had occurred, something more unusual than the beast's death. There was no trace of the attack or the dead monster. Typically, when hunters used their abilities, some energy or signature would linger in the air for nearly a day before finally dissipating. Any experienced hunter would be able to sense the remnants of a battle long after it had concluded.

Yet, in this case, there was nothing—no residual energy, no trace of the fight. It was as if the battle had never taken place.

'I hate this... all I wanted was to rest and not worry about a stupid dead monster,' Watson complained inwardly. The Association found the whole situation strange enough to warrant a deeper investigation. 

They wanted to know more about the person who had killed the beast so easily and whether this individual was an ally to humanity or something far more dangerous.

Watson, typically lazy and uninterested in such affairs, wouldn't have bothered with this case at all if not for the fact that Herald Knight had personally requested him to lead the investigation.

 Initially, Watson had been overjoyed to learn he wasn't needed to clear the rift.

 If he had known he'd be roped into a leadership role for this case, he might've considered jumping into the rift himself.

While the mysterious death of the beast piqued his curiosity, it wasn't enough to motivate him to dig deeper into the matter. 

With another heavy sigh, Watson shook his head. "I must've sighed a million times today," he thought, a hint of exhaustion creeping into his mind.

"Let's head back..." he said, preparing to leave, his mind in need of a break from the puzzling mystery.

The other officer simply nodded as they both turned away, their thoughts consumed by a singular question: "Who—or what—killed the beast?"