The man could feel someone gently tapping his body. The rough hand made the man think of the hands of an exhausted parent. It was that warm.
"Young master, it is morning."
But the voice was very profound. The man felt chills throughout his body and his eyes subconsciously opened. Rather than the bright sunlight coming in through the window to warm the man's eyes, what he saw was an old man standing there with a satisfied expression.
"It is surprising to see you wake up after a single attempt."
"Huh?"
"The master wishes to dine with the young master since it has been a while. It looks like it will be possible today."
The man could see a mirror past the old man's shoulder. Inside the mirror was a White-haired man who seemed to be confused looking back at him with red eyeslike a demon.
'I guess that guy is me.'
"Young master Noah ?"
The man turned toward the source of the worried voice to find the old man, who looked like a servant, looking toward him. But that concerned man was not the problem.
The man clearly heard it.
Young Master Noah. It was a familiar name. He slowly blurted out the name.
"Noah Bryce?"
The old servant was looking at him like he was looking at his own son.
"Yes. That is your name, young master. I'm guessing you are still a bit drunk."
Listening to the concerned response of the old man, the man naturally thought about a name that was even more important than the name Noah Bryce.
"…Harun."
"Are you talking about my son?"
"…Chef."
"Yes. My son is the chef. Do you need him to make something for your hangover?"
The man felt his surroundings turn dark and he started to feel dizzy. He lowered his head and put it into his hand.
"Young master, are you still drunk? Should I call the doctor? Or will you wash right now?"
The man looked at the White hair that was falling in front of his face. It was a bright white color, much too different from his original black hair.
Noah bryce. Harun. Harun's dad, Arun.
They were the characters that appeared at the beginning of [The Hero's Legend], the novel the man was reading before he fell asleep last night.
He jerked his head up and looked around. He could see the bedroom that was completely different from a typical Korean design. It made the man think about Europe. Every single thing in the room was extremely extravagant and luxurious.
"Young master?"
The man responded to Aryn, the old man who was pretending to be concerned and worried.
"Cold water."
"Excuse me?"
He needed something to clear his mind. He could see the face of Noah Bryce in the mirror behind old man Aryn.
'Still looks normal.'
'I guess Noah hasn't been beaten to a pulp by the main character just yet. '
His handsome face caught his attention.
The man had become Noah Bryce when he opened his eyes.
Noah Bryce. The bastard who was beaten to a pulp by the main character in the beginning of [The Hero's Legend]. That was who he was.
"Young master, I presume you will not be bathing in cold water. Are you asking for drinking water?"
Noah turned his gaze toward Aryn. Aryn may be pretending to be a benign old man, but he was actually hiding his true identity as a cruel and vicious individual.
He made the request to Aryn.
"Please get me some drinking water."
He needed to drink some cold water and clear his mind first.
"I will prepare it right away."
"Great. Thanks."
Aryn flinched for a second and had an odd expression on his face, but Noah did not notice it.
***
Aryn had to leave the bedroom as there was only warm water in the room. Once he was left alone, Noah got off the bed and headed to the bathroom. If he really was inside of the novel, he knew that there should be a large mirror inside.
As expected, the full body mirror was inside the bathroom. Noah Bryce, who had a lot of interest in his appearance and physique, had this mirror set up in here. Nobody else in the household had such a mirror.
The man in the mirror had white hair and a pretty fit body. It wouldn't be wrong to say he had a body that would make any style look good.
"I really am Noah."
The man in the mirror indeed was Noah Bryce from the novel. [The Hero's Legend] was very descriptive about each of the character's appearance. That was why the man had no choice but to agree that he had indeed turned into Noah Bryce.
Do people usually become calmer when they are surprised and shocked? Noah, no, Hyun -Ki, calmly thought about the night before.
It was a typical day off. It had been a while since he had read an actual book instead of on his phone, so he went to the library to check out some books. He borrowed the entire series since he planned to read all day long.
The name of that book was, of course, [The Hero's Legend]. He managed to finish the fourth volume before he fell asleep. But when he woke up, he had turned into Noah Bryce, the individual that the main character mercilessly beat up in volume 1.
'Will things go the way they did in the novel?'
He felt unnaturally calm. Once he got past the point of shock, his mind had calmed back down. He started to remember the contents of volume 1.
[The Hero's Legend .]
This novel was about the birth of the heroes in the Western and Eastern continents, as well as their trials and growth. The main character was, naturally, Korean. He was a student who had been transported into the world when he was a freshman in high school. Furthermore, his lifespan became as long as a dragon's lifespan, making him pretty much never age.
"… This is bad?"
He was going to be beaten into a pulp by such a person. The important thing, however, was that he had not been beaten up just yet.
Noah took his eyes off the mirror and walked into the tub that was full of warm water. He leaned against the tub and looked up at the ceiling. It was that expensive marble that was described in the novel. The estate that Noah lived in was actually full of marble.
Noah started to mumble as he looked toward the ceiling.
"It's not like there's much I'll miss."
His life as Hyun -Ki. There really wasn't much to it. He was an orphan and didn't have much money. He also didn't have a person he loved to death, nor a friend he would give his life to save. He only continued to live because he could not die.
Yes, he could not die.
He completely hated the thought of death or pain. He became an orphan after both of his parents passed away from a car accident when he was little.
He didn't like pain or death. No matter what it was, even if he was rolling in a pile of dog sh*t, it was still better than being dead.
'For that reason, I need to first make sure I don't get beaten up.'
Noah did not know what day it was in the novel right now, but he was sure that he had not met with the main character just yet. The reason was simple.
'I don't have the scar on my stomach.'
Noah Bryce, the Bastard of Duke Bryce's family. A few days before meeting the main character, Noah was drinking and causing a ruckus. He was flinging things around and got stabbed on his stomach by a broken desk leg, resulting in the scar.
What an interesting character. He didn't get the scar from fighting someone else. He got it because he got angry that the alcohol didn't taste good and threw a tantrum. He meets the main character a few times after he gets the scar, and, in a refreshing cider-like scene, gets beaten to a pulp.
"Mm."
Noah crossed his arms and started to think.
He did not know what happened to Noah after getting beaten to a pulp in volume 1. All he knew was that the main character, kang - Dae, has many fateful encounters and overcomes a lot of trials to grow into a hero along with his party members.
Thus the era for him to prove that he is a hero will begin. The salome Kingdom that Noah currently lives in, as well as many other locations in the Eastern and Western continents, will be filled with war. It truly will turn into the time for the heroes to show their full potential. It's really ironic because salome means peace and new war will begin.
Noah started to frown. HYUN - KI, the man who became Noah. His life motto was pretty simple.
Living long without pain. Enjoying the small joys of life.
Living a peaceful life.
"… As long as I make the story proceed like normal while taking out the fact that I get beaten up, the main character will take care of the rest."
For some odd reason, he could recall every single line in the book without any issue. Noah relaxed in the warm water while coming to a final conclusion with his now clear head.
"It's worth trying."
It was worth trying to avoid the continent's war and living peacefully. This Bastard situation was much better than when he was Hyun - Dae . The location of this estate was also in the corner of the Northern Continent, making it an ideal location to avoid the war. In the novel itself, there were many nobles who managed to avoid the influences of war. Even if he could not completely avoid it, he should be able to at least reduce the damages to a minimum.
"Young master, are you inside the bathroom?"
He could hear Aryn's voice coming from outside. Noah thought about Aryn's true identity. Aryn was an assassin who crossed over from the Eastern Continent by sea. He pretended to be a benign old man, but the true Aryn was a cruel and merciless man.
"Yes. I'll be right out."
His natural response was to talk informally to the old man. Noah realized what he was doing and made up his mind about what to do in the future.
He needed to push that old man to the main character and send him away.
That old man could easily kill Noah with a single blow, but treated Noah like a puppy you left alone because you felt bad for it. He was smiling gently, but there was not an ounce of care about Noah on the inside. In the novel, Noah leaves with the main character and his son after Kang - Dae beats Noah to Death.
Noah put the bathrobe on as he quickly exited the bathroom. Aryn was standing there with a smile on his face and a tray with a cup in his hands.
"Young master, here you go."
Noah picked up the cup and walked past the old man. He did not want to make eye contact with such a dangerous old man.
"Great, thanks."
Aryn's expression turned odd once again, but Noah had already walked past him. Noah took a drink of the cold water as he started to think.
'There are too many strong people here.'
In fact, there were too many of them. No matter where the main character went, there were either strong individuals or individuals with hidden secrets. These individuals were both human and other races.
'I at least need the strength to protect myself.'
In order to live long without pain in the continent that will soon be filled with war, you needed a decent level of strength. Of course, you could not be too strong. Then other complicated things will happen.
Noah thought about the different fateful encounters that occurred in the beginning parts of the novel. The powers that strengthen the main character and his party members. He was thinking about the ones that would help him live long without pain. There were a couple that came to mind. He just needed to pick one of them.
"Young master, we will start to dress you now."
"Oh, right. Thanks."
The door soon opened and couple servants entered to help Aryn dress Noah. Noah did not notice that Aryn had a stoic expression unlike his usual self as he looked at the clothes the servants were bringing in.
"Ah, something simple today."
He hated really complicated attires. Simple clothes that let you relax comfortably were the best.
"Yes, young master."
The servant in charge of the attires quickly pulled out some simple clothes and Noah changed into the simplest of them all. He lightly frowned after finishing getting dressed. Even this, 'simple,' attire was extremely extravagant and not to his liking.
However, the reflection in the mirror was quite handsome.
'He really is handsome and makes any clothes look good.'
The face really was the final piece to fashion. He looked in the mirror and fixed his sleeves before turning around to look at Aryn.
Aryn was once again smiling like a gentle old man.
"Aryn, let's go."
"Yes, young master."
Noah walked behind Aryn. It was nice that he did not need to know the layout of the estate. He just needed to follow Aryn wherever he needed to go. All of the servants that Noah saw flinched and bowed respectfully before they seemed to run away.
'Why are they so scared? Noah never hit people.'
He just liked to drink and play. Sometimes, when he was drunk, he did break things. But that was why he was the Bastard of the family. He also did not treat people like people, other than the few people he liked.
'Well, it's better if nobody talks to me.'
Noah thought about it peacefully. It would be more difficult if he was in the body of a model citizen. A Bastard can do as he pleases without worry. It was only possible because there was no desire to live as a model citizen.
"I will now open the door."
"Sure."
Noah nodded his head toward Aryn. The book mentioned that Noah treated Aryn, someone who raised him like he was his own grandson since he was little, as nicely as he treated his own father. It mentioned that he always responded to Aryn treated him like a person. Of course, Aryn did not really think that way. That was why it was easy for Noah to talk to Aryn. He just needed to answer Aryn's questions and treat him like a human being.
"I hope you enjoy your breakfast."
"Thanks. Aryn, make sure you eat a good meal too."
Noah walked past Aryn and into the dining room. He could see his family sitting there. His father and the current head of the Bryce household, Adem. Next to him was Noah's step mother, the Countess, as well as her son and daughter. The four people looked toward Noah.
"You are late again, today."
Noah's gaze turned toward his father who spoke. [The Hero'sLegend] described Noah's feelings for his father like this.
'His father was the one person that Noah listened to. The reason the Bastard did not leave the area and got everything he wanted inside the Duke's territory was because of his father, Duke Adem Bryce.'
But, unfortunately, Noah's father was unlike the other strong fathers in this novel. He did not have any special skills or influence. He just had a lot of money. However, Noah liked this a lot. It was the perfect family environment to live a simple life.
Then there were the other three individuals.
His stepmother who knew that he did not like her and avoided him.
Her smart first-born who found it difficult to deal with his much older brother.
And the cute youngest of the family who avoided her older brother.
But it wasn't like Noah bothered them or they bothered Noah. They just treated each other like strangers.
Noah thought this was such a great environment to quietly live alone.
"Take a seat."
"Yes, father."
Noah looked at the feast on the table that did not meet his definition of breakfast and sat down on his seat. He then felt something was odd and lifted his head up.
"Is there something you need to say, father?"
"… No, I do not."
Adem was staring at noah. The rest of the family was doing the same. Noah made eye contact with each of these family members. They all quickly turned away whenever he made eye contact and continued to eat.
'I guess they find me really difficult to handle.'
Noah turned his head toward the table as well. This luxurious feast that was different than the breakfast he used to eat just to fill his belly made him start to smile. He first started by cutting the sausage in half with the knife.
'It is so juicy.'
He didn't know if juice flowed out as soon as he cut into it because it was handmade or because it was cooked well, but the color on the sausage made him hungry. Noah started to smile without realizing it.
Clang.
He heard something fall down and made eye contact with his younger brother Ethan. He could see that Ethan had dropped the fork in his hand.
"My apologies."
Ethan calmly apologized like the personality described for him in the novel. The servant in charge of the meal quickly came over to hand Ethan a new fork and picked up the fork on the floor. Watching that made Noah think that it was nice to be a noble, before he focused once again on the food in front of him.
Noah had found the first good thing about coming into the novel. This breakfast was extremely luxurious and so tasty that his stomach was completely happy.
The smile on his face could not disappear.
"…Ho?"
That was why he did not hear his brother Ethan's shocked proclamation.
Noah looked around at all of the dishes in front of him. He then moved his fork towards a salad made of fruits that he did not recognize. After filling his stomach with meat, soup, and bread, he wanted to try something new.
The fruit looked like an orange, but the color was closer to that of grapes. Noah put the fruit in his mouth and took a bite.
"Mm."
In that instant, sweet fruit juice filled his mouth. He really hated sour fruits, so this extremely sweet flavor in his mouth made him subconsciously start to drool.
At that moment, he made eye contact with his father Adem, who was looking at him.
"Noah."
Adem quietly called Noah's name before hesitating. He then started to frown and move his mouth. Noah did not like that awkward atmosphere and started to speak.
"It's delicious."
"Yes, it tastes like trash...huh? Did you say it is delicious?"
