Of course, even though Noel had spent a lot of time absorbing the energy, he still continued until he absorbed all the crystals needed to break through to the Spirit Master.
When he reached the requirement to break through, Noel stopped absorbing the energy for a moment since he had to refine the energy to make it his own.
During the refinement, Noel felt some changes in his body.
The first was related to his senses. Even though he was sitting in a lotus pose while closing his eyes, he felt like he could sense the tent completely. He could measure the distance between him to the side of the tent as if it touched his hand directly.
It seemed that the Spiritual Energy had become a part of his body. So, his sense was linked to Spiritual Energy, allowing him to feel everything around him.
He didn't know how far the sense could reach, but the change was truly important. Even without the Moon Blessing that allowed him to see in the dark, he could still feel the surroundings and avoid some ambushes.
The second change was related to the Spirit Marks. Before, he could only sense the Spiritual Energy coming from these two, not the elements. This time, he could feel the heat and coldness from the Spiritual Energy.
He realized that the two different energies had been circulating inside his body the whole time. If this conflicting energy wasn't managed by the two spirits, they would clash inside his body and Noel would have died before he realized what had happened.
He was thankful for the spirits who had been taking care of him.
The last change was related to the Spirit Link with Heisk. The Spirit Link was an advanced version of the Spirit Mark. He could sense the chill in his surroundings because it was how Heisk perceived the world.
But when he became a Spirit Master, he started feeling something different from those Spiritual Energy.
After some moment, Noel finally opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was the bluish light in the air.
'Hmm?' Noel narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had worked so hard that he started hallucinating.
Though, due to the familiar feeling he got from the light, he soon realized what they were.
'These blue lights are Spiritual Energy in the air. Thanks to Heisk, I can sense the coldness. And with becoming a Spirit Master, I can now see the ice element within the Spiritual Energy.
'It seems that the Spiritual Energy contains all the elements. I can only see the ice element in it. That's why I can only see blue light.'
Noel fell silent for a moment. He still had some Demon Crystals left, but since he had broken through, he should share this joyous news first.
Without hesitation, Noel reached out for the tent's cover, opening it. He saw Dimitri and Rose boil some water and cut some meat outside.
They both looked at Noel, surprised. But they soon realized the reason he came out.
"Congratulations, Young Master." Dimitri was the first to react, congratulating him for his breakthrough.
"Congratulations, Noel." Rose smiled.
"Thank you." Noel nodded. He was also happy about his breakthrough since he was one step closer to his goal.
Dimitri couldn't help but drop all his matters and come to him. "Young Master. Do you mind if I check the flow of your Spiritual Energy?"
"Sure. You are such a worrywart." Noel chuckled while extending his hand. Dimitri often did this because he was worried that his extensive effort might cause some problems in the future.
When Dimitri grabbed his hand, he started pouring his Spiritual Energy to sense the flow in Noel's body.
It lasted only for a minute before Dimitri showed a relieved expression. "There is no problem in the circulation. It seems that you have created the Spirit Heart as well."
"Spirit Heart?" Noel tilted his head in confusion.
"Yes. Well, this is not normally taught. But do you know the evolution your body undergoes when reaching a higher rank?"
"Isn't it to build the Spiritual Energy reserve? I mean, right now."
"You can say that way." Dimitri nodded. "When you become a Spirit Apprentice, your body will be introduced to the Spiritual Energy. So, you might have a hard time using your ability since your body doesn't know how to handle it at that time.
"After becoming a Spirit Practitioner, your body finally is adapted to the presence of Spiritual Energy. At this stage, your body starts normally using your Spirit Ability or Technique.
"Then, the moment you reach the Spirit Wielder Stage, the body starts to evolve according to the Spiritual Energy inside your body, refining your muscles, organs, heart… everything! This way, you can use your Spiritual Energy effectively.
"And right now, you have become a Spirit Master. At this stage, the Spiritual Energy reserve starts to manifest in the form of your heart. We call this Spirit Heart. The reason for that name is because this heart becomes a bridge for us and the Spirit. You can say that it's a step where we can utilize the energy like the Spirit.
"Then, if you reach the Spirit Grandmaster stage, you will refine a Spirit Mind, which is in the shape of your brain."
"I see." Noel nodded. "What's about Spirit Transcendence and Spirit King?"
"The former will turn your body into a whole Spiritual Energy reserve. As for the latter, this is only a legend. But it's said that you become a Spirit yourself. Even I don't know much about it."
"…" Noel looked down. It was great to know about what came next. But he knew he had to focus on the matter at hand. He muttered in a low voice. "Spirit Heart, huh? The bridge…"
Noel couldn't help but look at the surroundings.
"I see. It seems that this is the Spirit Heart…." Noel muttered while waving his hand.
"!!!" Dimitri widened his eyes in shock because a single wave of Noel's hand covered the entire area with ice. This was truly amazing. Even he couldn't do it when he became a Spirit Master.
Contrary to his surprise, Rose, who was boiling the water, was annoyed, looking at the fire that had just been extinguished.
"If you want to show off, please do it somewhere else. I'm boiling water here, and because of your ice, the fire is now gone, and the water has turned to ice!"
"…"
