"Was it because of Anna Stargaze?" Damian wondered. He had been observing Noel this whole time, considering he had taken this trip as a part of his training.
Surprisingly, Noel's growth couldn't be compared to the time when he was with the Demon Relief Group. The flame that he had a hard time controlling this whole time gradually took shape and became his foundation. And he did it within a week.
That was why he couldn't understand how Noel managed to do it. Besides, there were other aspects, such as Spiritual Energy and Noel's body, to be considered.
Damian didn't know about Noel's system. He had several missions that would repeat themselves with a new challenge while giving Noel a boost in his physical ability.
Those were the missions in the Training Tab. He had Running, Push Up, Sword-Swinging, and even sparring missions in this tab. There was also a Demon Hunting Mission for his Medal. This spurt Noel's growth to a whole new level since this place was filled with demons.
The trip forced him to run, the demons made him swing his sword, and he also made time for his personal training.
Without knowing this secret, all he could think was that Anna Stargaze was the source of Noel's growth.
'Don't tell me, there is a connection between Noel and Anna? Wait a minute, Noel once said that if we ever tried to make him marry someone from our place, they had to beat Anna Stargaze…'
'If I'm not wrong, Noel should have some interest in Anna. But there is a kind of barrier that is stopping her from acknowledging that feeling. If I think about the politics of this kingdom, I can somehow link them together.'
'I see. I think I can figure out his intention. Since he considers Anna number one, he tells me to bring the challenger to Anna. If Anna remains undefeated, which is more likely to happen, he is planning to marry her. This way, with their growth, they would be able to reach a greater height than no one has ever seen before.'
'But the Ardagan Family should've been wiped out by Anna Stargaze's words, right? Is there something missing? Even Dimitri, the servant of the Ardagan Family, didn't do anything to her this whole time.'
Damian made a weird smile, forcefully connecting all the dots. 'I see. There seems to be a hidden scheme between the Ardagan Family and the Stargaze Family. The Ardagan Family wanted the Stargaze Family to execute them, making them look like an arch-nemesis.'
'However, they let their children rely on each other and eventually become a couple. No one would ever think that an arch-nemesis would become a couple, right? Thus, their union will cause the entire kingdom to shake. I'm not sure about their plan, but with two talented people like them being together, I can't imagine how talented their kid will be… I guess this is the hidden intention of those two families. How sly… I should report this to His Majesty later.'
Nicole didn't care about the complex stuff that would result in their relationship. She actually accepted Noel because Anna had been smiling all this time no matter how rough the situation was.
After a while, they gathered together as Nicole pointed at a spot on the map. "Alright. Hear me out. We have two big problems that we're going to tackle. We're about to reach the mountain."
"After observing the type of demons near this place, I have realized that if we go around the mountain, we'll be tackling a similar problem."
"If we go to the left, we'll meet a lot of cliffs where the demons usually reside. There might even be a Superior Demon in this place.
"If we go to the right, it's going to be a swamp area. When gathering herbs for cooking, you should find a lot of poisonous herbs. I believe that the swamp area will be filled with poison. And the water will surely be contaminated."
"Then, should we take a longer detour?" Dimitri asked while furrowing his eyebrows.
However, both Noel and Anna took the same action. They pointed their finger at the mountain and said the same thing, "It'll take too long. Go straight."
"…" The people were speechless, but it seemed that Nicole was about to suggest this as well.
"Yes. We haven't encountered a lot of flying demons. If we climb the mountain, we might have to face some, but the problem won't be as big as the other two paths. Besides, taking a longer detour will take at least five to seven days with our current speed. Hence, we should go straight!"
…
In the middle of nowhere, a hut was standing tall, not far from a waterfall.
There were two people near the hut. The first one seemed to be a young man. He had spiky brown hair and a robust body. However, one thing that made him stand out. Instead of a pair of human ears, there was a pair of dog ears on top of his head.
Meanwhile, the second person was an elderly man. He looked completely like a human, but there was one thing that differentiated him from a human.
Both of them were sitting underneath the waterfall, allowing the water to beat their bodies. Their faces remained calm, but the water made their clothes wet.
If one took another look at the back of the elderly man, they would see scales that covered his entire back.
While they were training, the young man suddenly opened his mouth, "Master… I can feel your mind getting distracted. Are you fine?"
The elderly man smiled. "I'm completely fine. It's just… I think we'll be having some guests."
"Guests?" The young man couldn't help but open his eyes, staring at the elder.
Surprisingly, the latter also opened his eyes. However, his eyes looked completely lifeless as though he couldn't see anymore. Despite being blind, the eyes still emitted Spiritual Energy, making the lifeless eyes glow.
The elderly man said, "Yeah. They are rather interesting… I wonder if they can reach this place."
He paused for a moment before giving a mysterious quote. "You can reset time, but you are unable to manipulate it…"
