A burning noise echoed in the garden. The fire seemed to be burning the grass, but surprisingly, it didn't spread like a normal fire.
The fire only moved toward a specific area and drew a pattern on the ground.
After the last crisp sound vanished, the guy, who was sitting in the middle of the pattern, opened his eyes.
He was none other than Noel. In the past three days, Noel had been adjusting the characteristics of his flame so that he could define it with precision. It was surprisingly harder than he thought, but Noel could see that the missing part he had felt before was getting filled up.
"As much as I want to continue, I don't think I can focus any further. I have to consider a few other things as well, so let's continue tomorrow." Noel took a glance at the sun's position.
Fortunately, there were still two hours before dusk, so he stood up and gave a nod to the soldiers who had been protecting him the whole time.
After seeing Noel leave the area, the soldiers made sure that there was no more fire before dispersing.
"It's been a while since Anna has become an Arbiter. She should have made some foundation in her new post.
"As for me, I think I still need a few more days to finalize the concept of my flame. After that, I can begin my breakthrough to the Spirit Grandmaster, which shouldn't take more than three days.
"I have to teach Tristan as well. Wait, there is also a Spirit Link and those awakening pills. If I have to sum everything up, I might need another two weeks before completing everything. And another week to help Grandfather. After that, I will return to the Muivell Kingdom and become a noble."
Noel nodded in satisfaction.
Since he had finished his training earlier than he expected, he wondered what he should do.
"Tristan should be in his room reviewing his works. Should I go to Grandfather?" Noel muttered while walking down the garden.
On the way, he heard an energetic voice from the side.
"Oh! Is this it?"
As those words resounded, a fluctuation of Spiritual Energy occurred. This fluctuation was something Noel was familiar with.
'Rune?' Noel raised his eyebrows and turned around. He didn't expect that someone from the Ezenholm Family had practiced a rune.
Still, the Ezenholm Family was famous for producing an exceptional Spirit Magician. And with the fact that the author of the rune book was related to the Ezenholm Family, it was obvious that they would ask the people from the house to learn runes.
So, Noel couldn't help but follow the voice, wondering who managed to use the runes. He might be able to teach her a little bit to repay everything that his grandfather had done for him this whole time.
After walking for several meters, he took a sneak peek from behind a tall bush to see who managed to use runes.
The woman appeared to be 16 to 17 years old. She had long, wavy green hair. Surprisingly, there were a few ivy rising around her. Those ivy formed a Strength Blessing Rune.
Noel observed her a bit further. She was wearing a one-piece light blue sundress that reached up to her knees. It was normal for someone of a noble family, making Noel think that this person should be his cousin.
Still, there was one thing that piqued his interest. The ivy was covered in thick energy, and the Strength Blessing Rune, the simplest rune in the book, made the success more convincing.
"But… she is using the plants? Her spirit should be a Plant Spirit." Noel frowned. "The Strength Blessing is the easiest because the thickness in all strokes is basically the same. So, using ivy to form a rune is easy. But that method will cause problems if she attempts more advanced runes."
Suddenly, the ivy was trembling and gently brushed the person's forehead.
"Mhm?" The woman immediately turned around as if she could tell what the ivy was trying to say.
Even Noel was surprised that he was noticed by her. While he didn't erase his presence, he had made sure not to take any actions that would alarm her.
It seemed that her plants could get the help of the ones around them to locate their target.
When their gazes met, Noel made a wry smile while scratching the back of his head. "Sorry. Did I disturb you?"
"No, no. It's my fault for doing it here." The woman smiled gently.
"Is that rune?" Noel asked.
"Yes. I have been into it for a while." The woman grabbed the book on the table and showed it to him. "Do you have any interest in it too?"
"You can consider it that way." Noel nodded and walked slowly. As expected, it was his rune book.
"That's great. I have been doing this by myself, so it would be great to have another person who has the same interest."
"Is that so?" Noel finally arrived at the gazebo. "I'm rather perplexed though."
"Is there anything I can help you with? I don't know much about runes, but please don't hesitate to ask. I'll answer if I can."
Noel paused for a moment, choosing words so as to not hurt this woman's heart. It seemed that she wasn't aware that he was the author of that rune book. But he didn't plan to brag either.
He asked, "Your Spirit… must be a plant type spirit, right? I'm wondering why you chose to create a rune with your ivy?"
"Oh?!" She pointed at her ivy and explained, "That's because I've been controlling my ability for a long time, so I'm more confident in handling it."
To make her point, she waved her hands. The ivy began to spread, grab a few items, and stack them with precision.
She must have used that plant for a few years, he thought. Still, it didn't change the fact that the ivy would have a problem replicating the more advanced runes.
"Yeah. That's what confuses me. I can see that the ivy is creating the runes, and you infuse your Spiritual Energy into the ivy to create the runes. In other words, it's not the ivy that is used to form the rune, but the energy within that ivy."
She was dumbfounded. This was the first time someone managed to see through that trick. "Is there a problem?"
"Ah. I'm not trying to attack you or something." Noel shook his head and raised one finger. "I'm just thinking, what will you do once you become more adept and create more advanced runes? For example, this rune…"
Noel raised his palm and controlled his Spiritual Energy to draw a Muscle Enhancement Rune.
The strokes were delicates, but if one took another look, there were a few strokes that almost touched each other. In other words, if she used the ivy, the ivy had to cross each other as the Spiritual Energy matched its shape.
The contact between the stems would cause a disruption in the flow of energy.
"That's…" The woman didn't have the answer to that problem.
"Of course. I'm not saying your method is wrong. Look." Noel started infusing his ice element to freeze the Spiritual Energy. This way, his ice would create the same rune. However, it couldn't be activated because the Spiritual Energy had been frozen. "At first glance, you won't be able to activate the rune this way. But if you look at it from another perspective, don't you think that this ice can be used for training?"
"Hmm?" The woman was confused, but upon looking at the pattern again, she understood his words. "So, you're saying that the ice or plants can form the rune. Well, I can see that it's very effective for practice, especially drawing. But ultimately, the Spiritual Energy will be the one forming the rune?"
"Yes. I have thought about the possibility of using my ability to form a rune, but the more advanced runes are stopping me from that. So, I chose to get used to the original method as soon as possible." Noel nodded.
"I see. I have never thought about that." The woman nodded in agreement. "You're very knowledgeable about runes?"
"Is that so?" Noel smiled humbly.
"Yeah. You seem to be only one or two years older than me. But this is the first time someone has given me this suggestion."
"Well, I've been researching runes for a while, but I don't think my skill is that high." Noel chuckled.
"If I'm not wrong, the rune you created earlier is the Muscle Enhancement Rune, right?"
"Yes."
"You're definitely more skilled than me." The woman's eyes flashed as she couldn't help but ask, "If you don't mind, can I ask you a few questions about runes?"
"Sure. I'll give you the answer if I know about it."
Without hesitation, the woman began talking about runes and showed the problem in her understanding.
Noel took his time to learn about her mastery and offered some explanations for her problem.
She was shocked because Noel felt like a teacher who taught her everything about runes. There was nothing she could refute in his explanation.
Without them realizing it, the sky had turned orange. It was time for them to stop.
Since the woman was a part of the Ezenholm Family, he thought that they would meet again. Hence, Noel stood up and said, "I guess we'll have to stop here."
"Eh?!" Her body trembled as her eyes looked watery. She was reluctant to end their conversation here.
But Noel only said, "I have other things to do. Well, we can meet again at this place tomorrow, around the same time."
"Ah!" She realized that she had been rude earlier. She hurriedly nodded her head, agreeing to the meeting. "I'll definitely be here tomorrow!"
"Then, see you tomorrow…ehm…" Noel had just realized that he hadn't asked the other party's name this whole time.
"Maria. You can call me Maria." She immediately introduced himself to spare Noel from the awkwardness.
"See you tomorrow, Maria." Noel waved his hand and just walked away.
Maria was silent for a while before realizing something important. "Ah. I haven't asked his name either. I was too engrossed in the topic… Never mind, I'll meet him again tomorrow."
