Stella walked over to him and said, "Everything is good. But do you mind if I suggest you something?"
"Yes. Tell me everything I've done wrong." Noel nodded without hesitation. This was a chance to improve after all.
"Then, I want to talk about your ability to envelop your sword first." Stella paused for a moment. "You should feel your it like a blazing fire, right?"
"Yes. I call it Sword Aura. The name is inspired by Spirit Aura Breathing." Noel lied a bit to smoothen the conversation.
However, Stella didn't care much about the name as she continued her explanation. "That's good for explosive power, but what you're using right now is a sword. What is a sword used for?"
"Mhm? Everything?" Noel tilted his head in confusion. His Everchanging Sword Style allowed him to wield the sword like a bat or even a shield, so there was nothing wrong with his answer.
But Stella facepalmed and said, "I mean, in general. Your case is unique."
"To cut and stab the enemy." Noel corrected his word this time to match what she wanted.
"Exactly. What you should focus on right now is your control over Spiritual Energy. Imagine if you can tame that blazing fire and turn it into a calm Spiritual Energy that sharp the edge of your sword? The claws earlier will be sliced like butter.
"As I said earlier, you are kind of unique who used a sword like everything. If you can control your Sword Aura precisely, you could turn that sword into anything you like."
"Ah!" Noel finally understood what she wanted to say.
"As for Spiritual Energy Control, Paul and Jonathan can help you with it."
"I'll help him." Jonathan nodded, excluded his own Spiritual Energy, and formed a ball purely made of Spiritual Energy from his palm. The ball then transformed into a sword, a shield, and a spear. "See this? I'll be helping you in controlling your Spiritual Energy to this level."
"I understand. I'll be looking forward to it." Noel thanked him, excited to grow even stronger.
"Then, I'll take care of your Swordsmanship. Spare some time in the morning to spar with me."
"Mhm… But I always have a spar with Anna." Noel politely declined. It wasn't like he didn't trust Stella. He just felt Anna had more refined swordsmanship, and there was also a mission involving her. There was no way Noel wanted to throw away all those free benefits.
"Hmm…" Stella narrowed her eyes. There was actually another reason why she set up this punishment game. Whoever won, she wanted to see their orders. She tried to discern the relationship between Noel and Anna.
If they hated each other, Noel or Anna would surely give an absurd order. At that time, she would be wary of Anna because she was a threat to Noel.
But seeing how Noel preferred Anna over her made her doubt her decision.
She thought for a moment and said, "In that case, what about the normal physical training? Do you run?"
"Yes." Noel nodded.
"Then, I'll join you. I'll also bring some equipment to develop your body further."
"If that's the case, then I'm fine with it." Noel nodded.
"That's all for now, I guess. I can't really comment on those different sword strikes because I still can't understand the concept behind them. At the same time, it seems you know how to improve them, so I'll focus on your foundation instead."
"Alright." Noel agreed with her.
"Good. For now, you can continue with what you're doing and win this game. We'll be taking care of the corpses for you." Stella nodded and gave a thumbs up.
Jonathan waved his hand once and the Demon Crystals came out of their bodies, flying toward him. This was his way of telling Noel not to worry about the rest.
With such reliable people behind him, Noel started going to the peak to hunt as many demons as possible.
Of course, Anna was also doing the same. She also had reliable people beside her like Rose, who could inform her of the location of the demons near them.
That was why the competition between the two was fierce. No one wanted to lose.
Paul, Stella, and the rest of the people had gotten used to Noel and Anna's extraordinary strength. They kept showing their power to let them know they were reliable.
Although they were not Spirit Masters like them, they indeed could rely on them in some easier tasks.
This was extremely useful for Rose, who was in charge of the group's movement with her illusion ability.
They didn't know Clara was actually watching their game from the peak. No one even realized she was there this whole time.
She smiled, knowing there were two talented people in her group.
"Anna is like a polished diamond. She is talented and seems to be experienced. The thing she needs is probably Spiritual Energy, and from the looks of it, she isn't that good at helping people. So, I guess her purpose in staying here are those two.
"As for Noel, he is a rough diamond. Although he isn't as good as Anna, the fact he reaches this level alone in less than a year shows how talented he is. He'll learn in the group and gain more experience. And from the report, it says the people love him more than Anna, so I can expect a lot of things from him.
"Either way, there are two talented children coming to my Demon Relief Squad. I'll surely develop them." Clara smiled and disappeared as if she had satisfied her curiosity.
…
And finally, the sun had reached the top of their heads and the competition had finished.
Rose informed them not to go back to the lake to show the result of their hunt.
Noel and Anna were standing next to each other with their Demon Crystals lying on the ground. From one glance, they seemed to be accumulating the same amount of Demon Crystals, but they had to calculate it carefully to know the result.
Jonathan stepped forward and said, "I'll be counting your Demon Crystals. Are you ready?"
