Meanwhile, on the southern part of the Muivell Kingdom, Noel and Dimitri were walking with their backs drenched. They didn't meet any mishaps on the way, so they didn't appear to be rushing.
However, once they were near the border, the temperature had increased drastically.
"I thought that I had prepared for the temperature, but this is much hotter than I imagined." Noel sighed. He had covered his entire body with thin clothes. Even his head was covered with a shawl to avoid direct sunlight.
Dimitri wore similar clothing and said, "This is not everything, Master. If we continue this way and reach the Atrecaeca Kingdom, it will be much hotter."
"Are you serious? The breeze that has been brushing our skin right now is already hot air." Noel frowned. Although he could shield himself from the heat, Dimitri had suggested not excessively using it because they would need their Spiritual Energy in the dangerous zone.
They hadn't reached the desert area, but they could see that less and less trees were around.
Dimitri saw a city in the distance and pointed in its direction, saying, "Master. That's the city, which is supposed to be the border."
"Then, we're going to enter the kingdom illegally."
"If we don't do that, we will be in great trouble since we're leaving our trail around."
"Alright then. I'm counting on you." Noel nodded in agreement.
Dimitri placed his hand on Noel's shoulder as he waved his hand. His shadow seemed to be following his hand and started to come out of the ground, forming a half-sphere to cover them.
After that, the sphere shrank until it reached the ground again, leaving only a black circle behind. The black circle suddenly moved at a fast speed. Unless they were searching for it, it was practically impossible to find this black circle.
They moved past the city pretty easily. There were multiple guards standing on the city wall, but none of them noticed their movement.
With this, they safely crossed the border and reached another kingdom.
As one would expect from the border, there was another city from the Atrecaeca Kingdom's side that watched over the area. Dimitri continued using his ability to hide them while slipping past them.
As soon as the cities disappeared into the horizon, Dimitri finally released his ability, allowing them to return to the surface.
"Ha…" Noel let out a sigh, his face was a bit pale. "I don't really like entering that shadow."
Dimitri chuckled. He knew that Noel could only see the darkness inside. And with him floating around, his senses would be confused, causing motion sickness.
Unlike Dimitri, who could get all the feeling from the shadow, Noel definitely felt awful when entering the shadow.
"In any case, we have entered the Atrecaeca Kingdom peacefully." Dimitri pointed forward. "Please take a look at that, Master."
"Hmm?" Noel squinted his eyes. The scenery changed so much that they couldn't see any trees anymore. They could see some roads ahead, but it was soon devoured by the presence of sand. And beyond that point, they couldn't see anything other than sand. "So, this is the famous desert…"
"Yes." Dimitri took out the map and said, "According to the map, we have to cross this desert for three days before we can encounter a city. Or we can loop around this place since the border is a bit suitable for living. We should encounter multiple cities."
"How are our supplies?" Noel asked.
"I have prepared enough for a week. But I think it will be troublesome for the water supply since this is hotter than I originally thought." Dimitri explained.
"Unfortunately, I can't melt my ice." Noel sighed. He had tried it in the past for survival. But because the ice was made of Spiritual Energy, it returned to its original form when it melted. "Well, we can cool down with the ice, which should take care of a bit of the heat problem."
"Yes, but we can't use our Spiritual Energy easily. While I know that looping around is the best action, it will take a lot of time. In addition, Old Ru told us to go south, so while we might encounter a lot of people while looping around, we may not be able to find our objective."
"Indeed. But the desert is quite dangerous as well, right?"
"Yes. The desert is said to be hot during the day and becomes extremely cold during the night. In addition, because of the harsh living conditions, the demons are rarely exterminated in this area. They can even hide underneath the sand."
"I can take care of the one underneath the sand." Noel had his Demon Hunter Medal, so it wouldn't be a problem.
"In that case, we could go there immediately. We don't have a lot of time in any case."
"Wait a minute." Noel stopped him and called Ardagan inwardly, 'Ardagan. Don't you think this is a perfect time for a mission?'
Noel had gotten quite strong in the previous training session. He had even absorbed a lot of crystals, allowing him to be around the peak of Spirit Master.
[While you might have become this strong, your Spiritual Energy Reserve is only enough for one or two more missions. After all, I have been preparing for your career advancement.]
'I see.' Noel remembered the Career Advancement, which required him to master a lot of runes. Although he had a lot of Skill Points to spare, he couldn't immediately raise their levels and advance to the new path. After all, he saved Skill Points so that he could use them to tackle any problems that he couldn't handle. If he didn't have any Skill Points to use, he would be in trouble soon enough.
So, Noel only fulfilled half of the condition while saving the rest of the Skill Points. It seemed that the burden of career advancement was higher than he expected.
'It seems that I can only solve that problem by breaking through to the Spirit Grandmaster, no?'
[You're correct. However, if there is an unprecedented situation, I might give you a mission.]
'Huh? You can see what's going to happen in the future, no? Why can't you just give me the mission like usual?'
[You should have learned about the concept of time.]
'Is it because something is fated to happen and something might change… I see. Places won't change, but people will. Every time there is a mission about the mission, it's either too vague because the people might leave a certain place or it's extremely detailed because that person is bound to remain in that place.'
Noel had come to a realization. He asked another question. 'In that case, do you mind giving me a mission to meet that fateful person?'
Ardagan didn't reply to him immediately. It seemed he was pondering the pros and cons. While it would give Noel some clues about this person, Ardagan didn't want to do something that would influence Noel's opinion about that person.
After a minute, Ardagan rejected the request.
[Unfortunately, I couldn't give you any mission about that fateful person. But I could give you another mission related to Heisk. Do you want it?]
'I want it.' Noel answered without hesitation.
[Mission: Heisk's Evolution.]
[Description: There is a mystical ice crystal underneath Ricoral City. The crystal will resonate with the Ocean Pearl Necklace and be extremely beneficial for Heisk's Evolution.]
[Reward: ???]
'It seems that you don't know what Heisk will get from this. But this is good enough.' Noel nodded in understanding. He took out the Ocean Pearl Necklace that he had been wearing this whole time.
He got this necklace from the Third Prince. It was said that the necklace could boost ice element spirit ability.
Although it worked, the boost wasn't as big as he expected. Even Heisk couldn't absorb it, saying it was incomplete.
Since there was a mission like this, it seemed that he had to make a trip to this so-called Ricoral City. With this mystical ice crystal, Heisk could take one step further.
"Dimitri. Is there any city called Ricoral on the map?" Noel asked.
"Wait a minute." Dimitri scanned the map and said, "I've found it. About a week from the next city, there is a place called Ricoral City."
"That's good. That will be our first destination."
"Understood." Dimitri didn't know the details, but it seemed that the living spirit guided him into that place.
Before leaving, Noel asked another thing. 'Ardagan. I have one last question for you. Though, I just want to confirm this… We're going to form Spirit Link as soon as I become a Spirit Grandmaster, right?'
[Yes. I've promised you. However, if you would listen to this small request of mine, please master your foundation. Listen to your surroundings and you will be able to do it.]
'Master my foundation.' Noel knew the foundation he was talking about. Damian had taught him about the secret of Spirit Grandmasters, so he tried to master his ability. But what he wanted to master was actually the control of his Undying Fire, which was the very foundation of his fire element.
Still, Ardagan's last sentence piqued his interest.
'Listen to your surroundings and you will be able to do it…' Noel didn't think he was talking about Dimitri. And it would be a long time before he could find another companion. So, he believed Ardagan was talking about the environment.
This was the clue that Ardagan had given him.
'I understand. Thank you for the advice.' Noel took a deep breath before signaling to Dimitri. "Let's go."
"Yes."
Noel and Dimitri began to cross the place called the desert.
