After seeing the new mission, Noel couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.
Instead of talking to Ardagan, Noel actually bowed his head to Anna and said, "Thank you, Anna. And I'm sorry. I won't be talking about the True Spirit Body anymore."
"Eh?" Anna was confused since this came out of nowhere. But considering there was a momentary silence earlier, she knew that his spirit must be talking to him. It seemed that there was no need to convince him anymore. "Well, it's alright."
"If you don't mind, I want to have time alone for a bit." Noel gestured that he wanted to move away for a bit to talk with Ardagan.
"Sure." Anna agreed. While looking at Noel's back, she couldn't help but wonder, 'What kind of spirits are inside of him? Considering it can easily talk to him, I guess he should have a Humanoid Spirit. Then again, the one-hundred conversion rate… and double the limit of a normal person. It seems that the conversion rate is artificial, but…'
Anna was engulfed in her own thoughts. However, if they let Noel grow even further, he would definitely become the strongest man in the world.
'If the Royal Family knew about this, they would have killed Noel no matter the case. No, wait… They would definitely forgive the Ardagan Family previously and used the political situation to force Noel to marry into their family. In fact, I might be thrown away.' Anna let out a long sigh, realizing that one move was all it took for them to exchange positions. She wondered what would happen if she ended up in Noel's position.
Noel would be favored as the greatest genius and married into the royal family. Meanwhile, she would be exiled to the Demon Banner Army.
While she might not be strong, she was extremely talented. Her rise would just be a matter of time in the army. However, Noel managed to overcome all the hurdles with his brain. If she was in his position and Noel had that kind of power in his hand, it was obvious that she would die no matter how hard she worked.
Of course, she was imagining things from her previous life. Everything changed the moment her 'rebirth' took place.
'If I'm in his position with all this experience and knowledge… Maybe I can somehow put up a decent fight, but that's all. He can keep up with my progress this whole time, so…' Anna looked up, contemplating. 'I still can't find the reason for this rebirth… the unique reason for me. Why would Noel give me this rebirth? Is there something I can achieve that he can't?'
Anna clenched her fists. She refused to just do whatever Noel wanted. If this continued, she would just become someone's pawn for the rest of her life.
That was why her determination to find the reason and overcome it grew stronger the longer she contemplated her rebirth.
'Noel must be trying to achieve something, but I'm still me. Our visions are different. Whether it's for better or for worse, I'm going to find my own reason… So that I can stand as equal or even surpass that.' Anna took a deep breath.
…
While she was thinking about her rebirth, Noel checked the mission again and asked, 'Ardagan. This mission is weird… How come it's suddenly revealed? I mean, the previous mission too…'
[This chain mission's purpose is to let you know more about the spirit world, including their system and unique power. So, letting Heisk evolve will definitely expose you to this kind of system.]
'Yes. It's just… I had never thought the mission would be like this. Even in the previous mission, all it took was me questioning the spirits.' Noel frowned.
[Have you seen me making an impossible mission?]
Noel fell silent. Even from the first mission, it looked plausible. Yes, fighting against an Ancient Demon would definitely be beyond everyone's imagination, let alone for a young man who just awakened his spirit not long ago.
However, the fact that the Ancient Demon's strength was extremely weak made it possible for him to fight the demon alone. And having Anna's cooperation just made it easier.
Even during the two failed missions, he realized that it was still possible to clear the mission.
Unfortunately, the first failed mission was caused by his arrogance in his planning. If he retained Dimitri and fought Laufey with both Damian and Dimitri, the mission would have succeeded.
As for the second mission, if he had tried and somehow forced the two captains to stop the mission due to the danger, he would have evaded the ambush.
In fact, he still had one favor that the Demon Hunting Squad's Captain owed. Just using it to stall time was enough since Anna would have told them the danger.
That was why when Noel saw Ardagan's words, he couldn't help but agree. Ardagan never gave him an impossible mission. Yes, it was hard, but not impossible.
Noel took a deep breath. "It seems that I'm overthinking everything."
[Please don't forget that I'm a Spirit. Whose Spirit I am?]
'Mine.' Noel answered firmly.
[That's right. I am your Spirit, not the other way around. You are the one in control while I'm here just to support you. There's no way that I'll try to harm you.]
Noel sighed while scratching the back of his head. He almost forgot that all the missions, the training, and even the information he shared were for the sake of him. Due to all those he received, he could become this strong and keep up with Anna's unprecedented growth.
When Ardagan revealed the mission, he thought that Ardagan was only using him to evolve Heisk. In the end, the humans would be living under the Spirit's control.
However, it was wrong to think like that. It was true that the spirits wanted the best of their own. But Ardagan suggested doing so because it would bring more merit to him.
If he followed this mission, he could get Heisk's True Spirit Body and understand more about spirits to the point where he got a connection with their Spirit God. Since the Spirit God gave Ardagan to his ancestor to protect the world, there might be a time when he wielded Ardagan to once again expel the demons from this world.
It seemed that having the Ardagan Family get back-stabbed by a lot of nobles to the execution took a huge toll on his heart.
Noel opened his mouth. "I'm sorry. It seems that I haven't thought this through."
[After experiencing more than a thousand years with humans, I can understand your feeling. It might be a lot to ask, but please trust me.]
It wouldn't be enough if he just said he would trust him. So, Noel used his action to prove it. "What do you want me to do?"
[As you might expect, the Spirit God created me. And I'm still connected to him. He gave you a mission. First, you have to evolve Heisk to Humanoid Rank. After that, there will be one more mission before he gives Heisk the True Spirit Body ability.]
"Then, what about you? You are a Unique Rank Spirit that is comparable to or even stronger than a Humanoid Rank Spirit, right?"
[If you're talking about my ability to use the True Spirit Body, then yes, I have it. However, I have to wait for you to become a Spirit Grandmaster first. Body and mind, I'm sure you understand the importance of them.]
[If you don't have the Spirit Heart and the Spirit Mind, the moment I begin releasing my Spirit Link in your body, you will definitely get incinerated alive. My Spirit Link will intertwine with your blood vessels. If you have the Spirit Mind, you can somehow control my Spirit Link so that it doesn't incinerate you.]
"I see. So, all I have to do is to become a Spirit Grandmaster…"
[Yes. Though, that's only for the Spirit Link. If you wish to perform the True Spirit Body, then you might need Rune to do that. Your body alone won't be able to withstand my power, so you need Rune to bear a portion of the pressure.]
"Wait a minute. You gave me a mission with Empowerment Rune and even the Secret to Career Advancement for the reward. Don't tell me…"
[That's right. It should make you closer to the new Rune System you haven't explored yet, the Rune Body. And Career Advancement will definitely help you with it. Unless you achieve those two, I don't think you are strong enough to contain my power.]
"I see." Noel sighed. It seemed that Ardagan had been preparing him to accept his power. He would proceed even if Noel didn't realize it. "I'm such a jerk…"
[You don't have to apologize. I understand your feelings. If you keep apologizing, it will just make it mean less. Besides, there is one thing I have to warn you about.]
Noel furrowed his eyebrows. "What is that?"
[The True Spirit Body can't be used easily due to the risk it carries, much so when a Spirit Master uses it. She might look like this, but she should be experiencing pains all over her body the entire time. After all, she is not a Spirit Grandmaster who can heal those injuries completely. In addition, her Spirit Link must have given her all kinds of things that would make her mind go insane. Hence, you need to know that if she ends up with heavy injuries this time, it might put her life in danger.]
'Huh? Seriously?' Noel's body shook. Anna had never shown him something like that, but it seemed that he didn't know how strong Anna was.
[I have a medal that can show you three states of people. It's similar to the Affection Medal, but it measures people's health value, mind value, and status ailments such as poison or other things. But I haven't given it to you because I believe it's useful when you're a noble.]
Noel couldn't help but agree. Having that medal and the Affection Medal would allow him to understand his subordinates better and make sure that he didn't employ a spy.
"I understand. You can leave it there. It won't be long before I become a noble, but Anna's condition is a more serious problem. It seems that the situation doesn't look as favorable as before." Noel sighed. He knew he had to come up with a new plan, one where Anna wouldn't suffer such injuries.
After sorting his thoughts with Ardagan, he returned to Anna, bringing a revised plan that looked aggressive in nature but turned out to be conservative. This was the only way for Noel to repay her.
