Noel and the others were standing near the exit. They had finally finished their training and had to leave.
"I hope that you have trained to the level where you won't feel disappointed by your own progress." Old Ru smiled.
"We are extremely thankful for your help, Old Ru." Noel nodded with a serious expression. "Thanks to you, I now have the confidence to tackle the problems I will face in the future."
"Indeed. Besides, we can finally move forward." Anna agreed while glancing at Noel. "This time, we're going to face the problem head-on. There will surely be a lot of bumps ahead, but we're not afraid anymore."
"In that case, I'm glad. I wish you luck."
"By the way, I left the book in the room. Please take it later." Noel added.
"Of course. Thank you."
"Then, it's time to leave." Anna began to turn around.
"Ah, before that…" Old Ru stopped them for a moment and pointed at Noel. "If you would like to listen to this old man's rumbling, then once you return, you should go south… much further south until you meet a fateful person."
"A fateful person?" Noel tilted his head in confusion. "South… wait a minute, you're not telling me to go to another kingdom, right?"
"I don't know the geography of your kingdom, so I can only say that much." Old Ru shook his head helplessly.
Meanwhile, Anna looked down, recalling the information about Noel. She wondered if there was someone from another kingdom who helped him or not. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anyone that fit the description. So, there were only two possibilities, either the person helped him from the shadow or he didn't exist in the previous life.
"I understand." Noel nodded. "Then, it's time for us to go. Thank you very much for taking care of us, Old Ru."
Old Ru smiled while waving his hand.
The group finally turned around and entered the tunnel that led to the outside world.
While walking, Noel couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Dimitri, do you have any information about the scattered forces of the Ardagan Family?"
"Unfortunately, no. However, if you want information, you should go to Harley." Dimitri shook his head helplessly.
"I see." Noel thought for a moment before raising four fingers. "I might look foolish by stating this, but there are four things that will happen soon. First, it will be me becoming a noble. Second, there will be news that will shock the entire kingdom."
"Third, the Ardagan Family will be facing a lot of problems after its reinstatement, but please pay no mind to it. Last but not least, the Supreme Devil Organization will make a major movement."
"Mhm?" Damian raised his eyebrows before realizing what Noel meant. "I see. The time limit imposed by my king will be up soon… It seems that you have calculated it."
"Yes. I don't know what you will do afterward, but I can guess some possibilities." Noel nodded. "At the end of the day, I don't plan to have the Greenwood Kingdom as my enemy. No more like, can you tell this to your king…"
"I don't mind having a mutual relationship, but I don't have any plan in joining the Greenwood Kingdom, especially the throne fight."
"…" Damian closed his eyes for a moment. Looking at Noel's ancestry, it was clear that Noel had a shot for the throne. After all, Noel was linked not to the family but to the one that built the kingdom. By giving his words to his king, it should influence the decision that would be made later.
It might look like Noel was talking big, thinking that he was at the level that could suggest such a thing to his king, but the rune made it possible. In addition, he was also a master of a lot of techniques that he didn't know about. It was clear that he would lead the Ardagan Family to its peak if nothing bad happened to him.
Damian nodded. "Alright. I will pass your words to His Majesty."
"Thanks." Noel nodded and turned to Dimitri. "By the way, Dimitri. It seems that we have to kill multiple Superior Demons on the way back."
"Huh? Why? Although I don't mind, we shouldn't recklessly put ourselves in danger." Dimitri frowned.
"I'm planning to advance my rune…" Noel smirked.
Dimitri might not be an expert in runes, but he still didn't find any link to the Superior Demons. "I'm not sure I follow you in this matter."
"What I need is not the Superior Demon Crystal or their bodies. What I need is their blood."
"Blood?" Dimitri widened his eyes in surprise.
"Yes. What I'm planning to do next is the Rune Body!" Noel smirked while pointing at his body. "Basically, I'm embedding the runes on my own body. Once it's done, I can simply pour my Spiritual Energy to activate the rune instead of drawing it from scratch like how I usually use my rune."
"That's…" Damian gasped. "Are you sure it's alright to tell me about it?"
"Of course, there are methods to paint the runes on one's body. You can draw the runes as you like, but without the correct method, you won't be able to activate it. Also, because the runes will have to stay, the blood should also mix with something."
"…" Damian made a wry smile. It seemed that even if he heard everything about it, without proper experiments that would probably last a few years or even decades, it was impossible to replicate it. So, his only choice was to learn it from Noel.
On the other hand, Dimitri noticed something. "Master. It seems that you're planning to use the blood to paint the rune on your body… And the fact that you ask me to kill Superior Demons means the grade of the blood matters. Is that right?"
"Yeah." Noel nodded. "Is there something wrong?"
"In that case, why do you have to use Superior Demon's blood instead of an Ancient Demon's blood? The blood should be able to conduct Spiritual Energy better!"
"Well… is it even possible to acquire one?" Noel sighed. "It's not that I don't want it. I just don't have the option to choose."
"Does the freshness matter?" Dimitri asked.
"Not really. As long as the blood hasn't coagulated yet, it should work just fine."
"In that case, let me handle this matter. I will bring you an Ancient Demon's blood." Dimitri nodded with a serious expression. "You should know that an Ancient Demon is one rank above the Superior Demon. They are equal to a few Spirit Transcendence Level Experts… No more like, they're equal to that Old Ru who is near the peak of Spirit Transcendence Level."
"Although I want to procure a Demon King's blood which was above the Ancient Demon's blood, Demon Kings are simply in legend. So, there's no record about them appearing here."
"Still, how are you going to get that kind of blood?" Noel asked with a frown.
"Did you forget about the one you killed one month after joining the Demon Banner Army?"
"Ah?!" Noel dropped his jaw. So many things had happened to the point where he forgot about this. "Wait a minute, Trees don't have blood… No, no, no… There is one more thing that can be used as blood replacement… If we use the tree fibers and sap, it's possible."
"That's how it is…" Dimitri smiled. "The commander must be putting a high contribution point for the price, so no one should be able to get it for a while."
"Still, I don't have enough contribution points to exchange it." Noel frowned.
"Please use your contribution points to create elite soldiers for the Ardagan Family… maybe using runes and purchasing Demon Crystals in bulk with those points. As for the Ancient Demon's parts, I will take care of it." Dimitri smirked while taking out the token he had from the Demon Banner Army. "I was once a commander's candidate and never spent a lot of points for myself. So, I can spend it… If he dares to forget about these contribution points, I'll simply haunt the commander for a bit. It should be fine."
"Now that I think about it, I should visit those kids as well." Noel nodded. "Let's go to the headquarters first before the journey then."
"What headquarters? Did you forget about me?!" Anna glared at him. "You promised to go with me to visit that man. I have prepared a medicine to help your spirit, you know!"
"Of course, we can go to that place first. And I think you should follow me. I will teach you about the method, so you can paint the runes on my body. In addition, Dimitri should be able to purchase enough for two people. So, I will do the same… if you don't mind." Noel looked away, indirectly mentioning that he would have to see her body for that.
Anna blushed before angrily speaking, "If you're the only one, then I can't reject it. Having runes on my body should improve my safety and combat prowess after all. Besides, you're using an Ancient Demon's materials… so I feel like I owe you."
"You don't have to worry about that. I need your help after you become an Arbiter." Noel smirked.
"Well, fine. Let's settle it that way."
Nicole didn't know what to say. Anna actually said that she didn't mind Noel seeing her naked body? Their relationship was already beyond what friends would have.
'Don't tell me… These two are going to… Maybe I should tell Master about it?" Nicole had no jurisdiction over this, so she could only tell the current head of the Stargaze Family regarding this matter.
After finishing their discussion, the group finally sped up, planning to reach their home within a month.
