Chapter 6 – Noah Darshen (1)

Noah, a disciple of the shaman Azur.

But she has a secret.

A secret she hadn’t told anyone, and never will.
She is not of this world.

‘Yoo Min-ah.
18 years old.
A high school student.’ 

This is Noah’s true identity. 

An ordinary high school student in South Korea, she became a girl named Noah because of a game she used to play and enjoyed.

 

A classic game with a very high degree of freedom and dozens of main characters. 

Players must choose one of them, train them, and then stop the Rulers of the Abyss and monsters from invading the continent. 

And this game was also the game that Min-ah Yu played for over three years of her life. 

‘So I was just trying to access the game as usual…’ 

And when she woke up, it was the world in a game. 

At first, it was strange and she was confused, but now she has gotten used to it.
That’s right, she first woke up in the game about 8 years ago.

In this way, Yoo Min-ah possessed one of the main characters, ‘Noah Darshen’. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

[Name]: Noah Darshen

[Age]: 16 years old 

[Grade]: A+ 

[Attribute]: Blessing of Mana 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Information about the character appears when she blinks her right eye three times in quick succession.
Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Noah Darshen’s status window.

‘It’s not a bad character.’ 

Noah was the one who received the ‘Blessing of Mana’. 

This means that she possessed a tremendous talent for witchcraft and magic.
It was also such a rare trait, with only two in all of the main and named characters.

‘However, her grade was only A + because of her poor physical strength and the difficulty of her initial development.’ 

Noah’s story is truly bizarre. 

She was a character who traveled from continent to continent as a slave, happened to learn magic, and later realized her talent and made a name for herself.

‘But I couldn’t do that this time.’ 

No, she didn’t like that.
The reason was simple. She didn’t want to live like a slave.

So, using the game knowledge she had accumulated over the years, she deviated from the character’s story.
And it was a chance encounter with a named character who had her own part in the main scenario. 

‘The great shaman Azur.’

Noah became her disciple, escaping the fate of slavery.
Over the next eight long years, she learned powerful spells.

So far, so good.

But she didn’t expect this to happen. 

‘But why…’ 

… Is this man next to me? 

Noah bit her lip and looked to her side. 

Roughly tied up reddish brown hair. 

Flaming crimson eyes and an unwavering gaze.
Even in the dead of winter, this young man walks with his powerful, muscular upper torso on display.

Ulan, the Hero of the grasslands.

Noah glanced at him and blinked her left eye three times.
Soon after, Ulan’s information unfolded before her eyes. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

[Name]: Ulan Bator 

[Age]: 16 years old 

[Grade]: SS+ 

[Attribute]: Protection of the God of War

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Ulan, a barbarian warrior character named after the Mongolian capital, ‘Ulaanbaatar’.
He possessed excellent fighting power, enough to be called the pinnacle of a warrior character. 

He was also one of the famous names in for the following reasons. 

‘Ulan is the only named character with limited user play among the seven warriors.’ 

While all of the other warriors are playable as the main character, only Ulan was a character with limited user play.

The reason had to do with his role in the main scenario.

It’s one of the clichés we’re talking about, Ulan is a named character who faces the end in place of his comrades in danger. 

This character can be summarized in a few words.

‘A simple, ignorant warrior character who is strong, courageous, and unyielding in his beliefs.’ 

The point to note here is ‘ignorance’. 

Ulan is the epitome of an ignorant warrior, full of muscles even to the brain.
So it was far from studying, magic, or learning. 

‘But suddenly······.’ 

Why did he become a disciple of Azur? 

Why is he going to the academy? 

Is this a hidden branching point? Or is it the butterfly effect created by deviating from her character’s story? 

Noah was confused. 

But besides this, there was one more thing that bothered her. 

‘Arsene Academy.’ 

An academy is an educational institution, that is, a school. 

And Noah or Yoo Min-ah had no fond memories of school.
Rather, it was full of nightmarish memories. 

When she became a high school student, she refused to attend school and became obsessed with gaming, all because of bad things that happened to her at school.

‘…….Should I just run away like this?’ 

Noah’s face darkened. 

In her mind, a part of her really wanted to run away.

But she couldn’t.

Because Arsene Academy was an opportunity. 

A chance for her to become stronger as a shaman. 

‘I have to be strong to survive.’ 

She must attend the academy in order to do so, and she has no choice but to hone her wizarding skills.
In order to survive in this game world!

Noah’s eyes gleamed with determination. 

———————❖———————

Meanwhile, around that time. 

As Ulan walked down the road, he glanced at the girl walking beside him.

‘Noah Darshen.’ 

Hair as black as the night sky.
Blue eyes as clear as a lake, and a small body like a rabbit.
Ulan glanced lightly at Noah’s appearance and narrowed his eyes. 

‘I’ll have to talk to her soon.’ 

Ever since he left the meadow. 

He did not have any conversation with Noah. 

It was because he had nothing to say.
But he couldn’t remain silent any longer, so Ulan decided to speak first. 

“Did you say your name was Noah?” 

“Huh? Ah, Nenet!” 

Was it because he suddenly spoke to her? 

Noah answered, looking flustered.

Her slumped shoulders and her voice trembled slightly, revealing her tension.
Ulan continued to speak without hesitation. 

“I’ll be honest with you.
I don’t know you.”

Or the name Noah.

And that she’s a disciple of Azur. 

He just found out all about it today. 

So he began talking to her with the intention of making a grand gesture.
However, the reaction was unusual.

“That, that! I am, that, so…!” 

A look of utter befuddlement.

Why are you doing that? Is what I just said so embarrassing? Ulan tilted his head. 

“So introduce yourself.”

“········huh, introduce myself?” 

“Yep.
We’ll be together whether we like it or not, until we get to Arsene Academy.” 

Shortly after answering, Noah breathed a sigh of relief.

Noah then managed to calm her heart by placing her hand on her chest and opening her mouth.

“I am Noah.
Noah Darshen.
Eight years ago, I was taken in by Master by accident and became her disciple.” 

It’s a story he has already heard from Alk. 

There was one part he hadn’t heard.

“Then what were you doing before that?” 

“I don’t know.
I don’t remember.” 

An awkward smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

She appeared to be hiding something.
But Ulan didn’t bother to inquire.
He didn’t bother asking because has a story or two they can’t tell.

Ulan was no exception.

“But I think my last few memories are good, just rolling around in the woods, picking up berries and mushrooms and stuff.”

Noah responded bluntly, bringing up more stories from her past.
About how she’d spent the previous eight years, what she’d learned as an Azur disciple, and so on.

Ulan realized after a while of listening.
Why has he never heard the name Noah? Why doesn’t he recall her existence?

“I see.
I understand.” 

“Huh? What?” 

“You are not from the grasslands clan.” 

Ulan’s eyes softened. 

Noah said.
She said that she had spent the previous eight years living in Azur’s cabin.
It is said that the number of people who have visited her village is so few that she can count them. 

‘So, of course, I don’t know.’ 

Because Ulan had never stopped by Azur’s cabin in his last life either.
And above all, Noah was different from the other clan in appearance. 

She looked more like a human from the outside world rather than from the clan of the grassland.
Meanwhile, Noah nodded her head in affirmation of Ulan’s words. 

“Right.
Master often said something similar.
I am not from the grassland, but from outside the meadow.” 

Noah laughed softly. 

It was a bit of a wistful laugh.

“However, she told me that I am also a clan member of the meadow as long as I became Master’s disciple and as long as I live while receiving the grace of the meadow!”

But that too, for a moment.

As if wondering when she’d looked so wistful, she replied in a cheerful tone.
If Azur is the case, then it must be so.
When she quietly nodded her head. 

“Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“Nothing.” 

“I suppose that concludes my introduction, then.”

Noah smiled brightly. 

As if to say it was Ulan’s turn next.

Ulan had gotten the hint, so he began to introduce himself just as Noah had.

“I am Ulan Bator.
A warrior of the clan in the grasslands, and I passed the Trial of a Hero half a year ago.” 

After the introduction, Ulan closed his mouth. 

And the silence returned again. 

After a few moments, Noah asked bluntly.

“Is that it?”

“That’s it.”

What else do you need?  Ulan looked at her with his imposing eyes. 

Meanwhile, Noah had an awkward expression on her face. 

“Um, can I ask you a few questions, then?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.
From what I heard, you’ve been studying with Master for half a year, and I was wondering what you’ve learned thus far.”

“I learned basic common sense and academics.” 

For the past half year.

Ulan rattled off a list of things he’d learned.

In particular, when he said that he could do addition and subtraction of more than two digits without a finger, he had a strong sense of pride. 

On the other hand, Noah had a subtle expression. 

‘Ignorance is the same as a game…’ 

She wondered if he’d lost his ignorance setting, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So, why do you really want to study? She was even more confused.

“Is there any problem?” 

“Oh, no! it’s nothing.” 

Noah waved her hand in surprise. 

Immediately after she got out of her thoughts, she let out a short cough and asked a second question. 

“Hmm! Next, have you ever been outside the grasslands? I mean not for hunting or exams, but more like visiting a village or something.” 

Of course, he has.
However, that was a memory of his past life. 

The sixteen-year-old Ulan has never left the grasslands.
He hesitated, unsure of what to say, and then shook his head. 

“No.” 

“Hah, I thought it was the case.” 

She sighed as if expecting it.

Noah said in a serious tone. 

“Then I need you to promise me a few things!”

“Promise?” 

“Yes.
Because out here, unlike the grasslands, the laws and regulations are clear.
So there is a clear distinction between what to do and what not to do.”

Noah held up three fingers.

To summarize the three things she wanted to say, it was roughly this. 

First.
Do not use violence recklessly. 

Second.
If you ever need to use violence, the first thing to do is to ask Noah.
If Noah is not there, then think carefully and decide. 

Third.
Don’t steal other people’s things. 

“There’s a lot more, but for now, I need you to promise me these three things.
Then there will be no trouble at all.” 

Ulan nodded at Noah’s request.
They were things he already knew.

“Are you familiar with the world outside the grasslands?”

“Not as familiar as I’d like to be, but I’ve traveled with my master from time to time, so I have some basic common sense.”

There’s a hint of pride in her voice.

Then she returned to the point.

“Anyway, can you promise me that?” 

“I get it.
I promise.” 

“On your name of a warrior?”

“Yes, I swear on my honor.”

Name, Honor, and Oath. 

Noah looked relieved at the mention of those words, and she smiled brightly, letting out a short sigh of relief.

“Thanks for your cooperation, Hero Ulan.” 

“It’s Ulan.” 

“Huh?”

“It’s just Ulan.
Since you are a peer of mine, I will allow you to call me by my first name.”

Noah’s eyes widened.
As if she had heard the unexpected. 

After a moment, she blinked in confusion, then smiled softly.

“Yes, I understand.
Ulan.
Then please feel free to call me Noah.” 

“Okay, Noah.” 

Finally, an agreement.

At the same time, the mood lightened. 

Noah looked more relaxed and pointed down the road.

“Well then, hurry up.
One more hour and a blizzard will come.” 

“Hmm? How do you know that?” 

“The smell.
When the scent of the icy powers intensified, it usually rains snow.” 

She sniffled. 

That’s the only way you know when it’s snowing? Seeing Ulan look at her curiously, Noah smiled sheepishly. 

“Anyway, we’d better find a cave or something before it snows, although the best thing would be to spend the night in town——“

Noah trailed off.

She had a slightly troubled expression on her face. 

“Is there any problem?” 

“No matter how fast we walk to that village, it will take more than half a day.
The road is rough.” 

Noah pointed to the village below the cliff.

Ulan looked towards the village.
Then he asked again in a dry tone. 

“Can’t we just get there in an hour?” 

“Um, yes, but…….” 

“Okay.
Then let’s go.”

“······Huh?” 

Just as she asked the question blankly, Ulan grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled her away.
Pulled by an immense force, Noah stammered.

“What, what are you going to do?” 

“I thought this high might be enough.”

Enough for what?

Then an ominous thought flashed through her mind.
Noah made a hopeful expression. 

“Ah, no.
You are not thinking what I think, right?” 

“What are you thinking?” 

“The crazy idea of jumping off a cliff.”

Noah answered honestly. 

Ulan chuckled. 

“I guess you’re a shaman after all.”

“Huh? What do you mean……” 

“I’m surprised you can read my mind so well.”

“···············!?” 

Noah’s face turned pale. 

And at that moment, Ulan’s muscular arms wrapped around Noah’s slender waist.
A force so powerful it took her breath away.

Ulan whispered softly. 

“If you don’t want to fall, hold on tight.” 

“No, wait! hey! Aaaaah!”

At the end of her feeling of body stiffening.

Noah’s scream echoed loudly.