"After all, you, humans, are the descendants of the people the Spirit God holds dear."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Noel widened his eyes in shock. His body was trembling because he didn't know how the Spirit God was connected to the humans.
"Do you remember this mission?" Ardagan asked while using his power to generate a system panel, reminding Noel about a mission he once had.
[Mission: ???]
[Description: ???]
[Reward: Spirit Information Part 1]
[Penalty: None.]
"This is…" Noel gasped. He was trying to get some information about the spirits along the way, but because he had to prioritize strength over information, he forgot about this mission.
"That's right. I have this mission…" Noel looked at Ardagan before realizing what he wanted to say. "Don't tell me…"
"Yes," Ardagan confirmed while revealing the true mission.
[Mission: Doubting the Spirit]
[Description: One never gets an answer if they don't ask a question.]
[Reward: Spirit Information Part 1]
[Penalty: None.]
The mission was actually like the way of a scholar. They kept asking and doubting until eventually they reached an answer.
And this time, Noel's doubt actually cleared the mission.
"Because you have cleared the mission, I'm going to give you the reward." Ardagan's tone became serious. "I'm going to tell you about four things. The first one is related to your ancestry, but beyond what you know."
"Do you know anything about the previous civilization? Not, right?"
Noel squinted his eyes. "You already have the answer, so why ask?"
Ardagan didn't answer him. Instead, he continued with the explanation. "Humans once ruled the world. They conquered the land, the sky, and the sea. Their power was massive. Even without Spiritual Energy, they could do all that.
"And our Spirit God actually had a close bond to one of the humans. I couldn't tell you any details about their relationship.
"However, what I could tell you is that the Spirit God actually forged me so that he could give it to this human."
"!!!" Noel became even more confused. He couldn't help but feel this was a romantic story.
But Ardagan seemed to understand his thought and added, "It's not a romantic story."
"…" Noel looked away as if he was embarrassed that his thought was that easy to understand.
"The current humans are actually the people that managed to escape the destruction of humanity."
"So, we're the remnant of the people from that time? But you said that the world was ruled by humans. Didn't that mean the humans managed to spread their population all around the world? In that case, what kingdom were we derived from?"
Ardagan's tone became sad as if he was disappointed that he couldn't tell Noel. "Unfortunately, that's not a part of the reward. What you need to know is that you are coming from the remnant of an ancient civilization. However, because you're trying to hide from the demons while maintaining the resistance, there are a lot of resources that are lost."
Noel looked down for a moment. "In that case, do you know how the situation was back there? You were supposed to have lived through the age, right?"
"Yes. But that information will come with…" Ardagan stopped as he started releasing energy as if he was trying to do something.
After that, a system panel appeared, showing a different mission.
[Mission: ???]
[Description: ???]
[Reward: Spirit Information Part 2]
[Penalty: None.]
"So, I have to finish this unknown mission again to be eligible to know that information?"
"Yes. Though, I think you have some ideas about how great they are."
"Well…" Noel scratched the back of his head. Of course he understood. Just from the way Ardagan spoke and the relic of the previous civilization, it was clear that the humans somehow managed to use technology, like the one he had seen inside the academy, to rule the world.
Yet, despite such a strong foundation and power, civilization had ceased to exist. It showed how strong the demons were.
Noel thought for a moment and asked, "If that's the case, why haven't the demons annihilated us? They could destroy humans back then. So, we should have been exterminated with the power we have now. After all, humans couldn't conquer the world again."
"That's the third thing I want to tell you. Though, it's connected to the second one, so I'll start with it. It's about my origin.
"As you already know, I'm an artificial spirit, made by the Spirit God to be gifted to a human. And that human was actually your ancestor's grandparents.
"She was my first wielder, Ardagan. And because of her, the demons couldn't enter this world, causing all these destruction. However, it changed when she passed away.
"Now that this world didn't have someone who protected them from the invasion, the demons finally emerged and invaded this world.
"That was the beginning of the destruction. The demons started swarming the worlds and I, the previous beacon from the spirit world, was activated at the price of your ancestor's parents.
"That was why your ancestor wielded me and fled from the swarm of demons and established the new kingdom with the people he fled with. And this was the origin of your kingdom."
"!!!" Noel was taken aback because he never expected that the situation would be like this.
"Does that mean my family has been the one protecting the world?"
"Well, your ancestors did protect the world, but after that, no one was qualified to protect the world again, including your ancestors."
"…" Noel looked down for a moment. "Since it's like that, doesn't that mean humanity is doomed? But how come the demons have been so passive in the past thousand years?"
"Well, I can't tell you at the moment. I know that you might grow curious about it and I won't stop you from getting the answer. However, you have to know that the reason I don't tell you right now is because I don't want to divert your attention. I want you to maintain your focus on your current goal."
Noel narrowed his eyes as if he had picked up something amiss. "Then, that's probably related to the last thing you want to tell me."
"Yes."