"Do you enjoy your second life?"
That question struck Anna's heart as she couldn't help but shiver in fear. She looked at the old man with a horrified expression. "You…"
The old man ignored her reaction and simply walked to the cave as though it wasn't important. He asked them, "You come all the way to this place to meet me, right? Are you going to enter?"
"…" They were confused. On the one hand, this would be their only chance to escape. On the other hand, there was completely nothing they could do once they followed him.
That was why Noel instantly made his decision. "You may stop here."
Even though he said those words, the first thing he did was actually step forward, following the old man. At the very least, he knew that the Affection Medal was not lying. Even if he entered, there was a high chance the old man wouldn't kill him.
Dimitri and Damian looked at each other. Dimitri had a clear conscience. Since he was here to protect his master, there was no way he was going to return. Meanwhile, Damian was interested in what it entailed. He had entered so deep that it would be a shame if he retreated.
Hence, both of them followed Noel into the cave.
The only one who remained confused was Nicole. She came here for the sake of Anna. Yet, Anna had a pale expression as if the old man was threatening her.
'Is he going to kill us?' Nicole muttered inwardly, thinking about the danger and Anna's reaction.
Little did she know, she completely misunderstood Anna's reaction.
Anna wasn't scared because the old man wanted to kill her. She was terrified because the old man knew about her secret.
'What did he do? How did he know? I hadn't told him anything. Don't tell me, he has something to do with my reincarnation?'
'Now that I think about it, Noel has received a great power up from this place. No, wait. He told us that he hadn't met someone and I reacted… Is that how he determined the reincarnation? He actually lied to find me?'
'But why? No, that's not important. Instead, I should be asking why Noel did all that. If the old man was related to reincarnation, he should give something to Noel so that the ability could exist.'
'Noel should have been the one to use it. With his talent and brain, if he ever received the memory from his previous life, he would be able to grow exponentially.'
'In fact, Noel should have been far closer to the truth of this kingdom instead of me. He should have figured out the Supreme Devil Organization as well as other problems in this kingdom.'
'Yet, he actually chose me to reincarnate. What did he want me to do with this knowledge? Unlike him, I had no important information other than the fact that I wanted to change him. Why… Why did he sacrifice that great chance for someone like me?'
Anna clutched her head, not knowing what to do. On the one hand, she felt unworthy to receive this much treatment. On the other hand, she might be overthinking this.
She had to get the answer.
Gritting her teeth, Anna began to walk forward, chasing after those people.
"Anna?! Wait. Are you going in? Is the old man going to kill you?" Nicole tried to stop Anna.
Unfortunately for her, Anna's focus remained on the old man and the reason why Noel gave this important chance to her.
"I have to know about the truth," Anna said while entering the cave.
Nicole didn't know what to say. Since the person she wanted to protect had entered, she had no choice but to follow her.
In the end, all five people entered the cave.
The cave was dark and long. They seemed to be moving left and right like a maze.
Luckily, both Anna and Noel had the Moon Blessing, allowing them to see in the dark. However, the old man managed to traverse in the dark without any problems. There wasn't even any fluctuation of Spiritual Energy coming from his body.
"Damian… Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Dimitri asked while gulping down.
"I think we're thinking the same thing." Damian nodded.
"This old man is far beyond the Spirit Transcendence Stage. That bastard from the Supreme Devil Organization can't hold a candle to him." Dimitri and Damian muttered in a low voice. They never thought that the hermit would be this strong.
In fact, they couldn't tell who would win if this old man fought against the commander of the Demon Banner Army and the strongest Arbiter in the kingdom at the same time.
However, their question was redirected to Noel, the man who knew the information about this old man.
'How did he know about this information? How could he know about someone like him?' Damian asked himself while looking at Noel.
Meanwhile, Dimitri had no explanation other than the famous Ardagan Sword. In fact, he began to change after making contact with the Ardagan Sword.
He was supposed to kill Noel and failed to do it because of Luke Ardagan. But the reason he chose to serve the Ardagan Family was because of Noel.
In the end, he chose to believe in Noel no matter how ridiculous things would become.
'I'm glad that you can become this strong, Master. I hope that you can continue this way and become the strongest person in the kingdom. I shall pave the road for you.' Dimitri took a deep breath as if he had just strengthened his resolve.
Suddenly, their attention was taken by the light at the end of the tunnel. They were about to reach their destination.
Even Noel slightly increased his pace, wondering what kind of place was so bright within this tunnel.
But the moment he exited the tunnel, it felt like the world had changed. Dark tunnel? No, there was a light blue sky in this place. Stone cave? Let alone a rock, this place was surrounded by fertile soil filled with flowers and wheat.
"This is…" Noel gasped.
"Welcome to my humble abode." The old man smiled.
