'A sword, a partner, and a spirit, huh…' Noel muttered inwardly, contemplating his reply.
Ardagan had been supporting him as a spirit and accompanied him like a partner. At the same time, Noel had been wielding him as a sword.
The question itself confused Noel a bit. While he could define Ardagan with three of those, was there a reason to actually define him with only a single one?
'Was it because I have never seen Ardagan purely as a sword that it has been hindering my progress? I learned Ardagan Swordsmanship thanks to Ardagan. Not long after, I created the Everchanging Emotion Sword Style.'
'So, Ardagan has been the foundation of my sword. In that case, can I say that this achievement is mine?'
Noel had realized that while he could actually define Ardagan with all those three, he couldn't say that his current expertise came from himself.
'No. It's not about that.' Noel suddenly remembered the conversation with the Sword Saint when he visited his tomb.
Back then, the Sword Saint said, "If not for Ardagan, I could beat your ancestor."
His ancestor had been using Ardagan, so how would he define him? And the fact that Ardagan was the one helping the ancestor becomes stronger than the Sword Saint made it clear that there was something fundamentally different.
The Sword Saint also told him that the Ardagan Swordsmanship would be different for each person. Ardagan would adjust its own form in order to match the contractor.
In other words, he could pursue his own swordsmanship and that Imaginary Battlefield would be his first step.
'That's right. I was asked about my goal regarding my swordsmanship by the Sword Saint. And that goal…' Noel turned silent as if he was on the verge of a realization.
'Yeah. I told him that I wanted my sword to be free. I want to be free from hatred, from revenge… I want the freedom to choose whatever I want.'
However, Noel also knew that to be free from everything was close to impossible. It was such an arduous path that no one dared to walk on.
Yet, the Sword Saint supported him and even told him that he could do it. He only warned him not to ever waver and see it through, no matter how painful the path was.
'Yes. Why do I have to be fixated on everything? If my sword can be free, why am I not free to consider Ardagan as my sword, partner, and spirit at the same time? Why am I not free of my emotions? No, it's not that I'm not free… It's just that I'm involuntarily restraining myself.'
'Emotions are bound to come to my heart, so instead of letting my heart free from emotion, I should control which emotion's coming out. I'm free to release my anger, I'm free to be surprised… I'm free to release that emotion.'
Noel took a deep breath before gradually opening his eyes. Anna had been waiting for him this whole time and smiled after seeing the change in his expression. It appeared that Noel had found his answer.
"Anna. There is something I'd like to try. Do you mind helping me for a bit?"
"Of course. You're going to teach me about other things like strategy and stuff later."
"I will." Noel nodded with a serious expression. He raised his sword as the Spiritual Energy enveloped every corner of his sword.
Anna could sense there was something different from the flow of the Spiritual Energy. In fact, this was similar to one of Noel's abilities.
That was right. Noel was actually using the Spirit Weaponry. It was the ability that he got from the Sword Saint.
The concept of Spirit Weaponry was to assimilate the Spiritual Energy into the sword and allow the latter to actually cut the Spiritual Energy itself. In other words, the sword could match the Spiritual Energy, which was the most versatile form.
If there was something that could match the freedom that Noel desired, it would be the Spiritual Energy, not the sword.
'I'm free to release my emotions. And that emotion will be anger. This anger shall be directed to the world for trying to chain me down.' Noel thought before jumping toward Anna, swinging his sword downward.
The Spiritual Energy on his sword began to erupt, creating a malicious intent. There was anger and resentment contained in the Spiritual Energy, causing her to be alarmed.
She hurriedly released all her Spiritual Energy and struck Noel's sword.
The instant their swords collided, Noel's Spiritual Energy exploded, not only giving a boost to the sword but also sharpening it.
"!!!" Anna hurriedly used both hands to stop this strike, which actually caused the ground underneath her to begin to crack.
It seemed like the energy was about to release another eruption, but the flow of the energy became so disrupted that it ended up dispersing into the air.
"Ha…" Noel exhaled all the air in his lungs. The process took a toll on his mind since he never controlled his emotions like earlier.
Anna, on the other hand, felt a bit terrified by what he showed earlier. She looked at the ground and thought, 'If Noel had actually mastered this ability, this area would have turned into a crater. In the future, his blade might be able to cut even a mountain like his ancestor… no, this time, we're going to do it… Both of us.'
"It seems that you're on the verge of understanding this new perception. Then, I'll push you further!" Anna smirked and stepped forward, counterattacking.
Seeing the incoming blade from the left, Noel waved the sword again. But this time, the Spiritual Energy kicked in first and formed a barrier. Anna managed to break it apart, but it still reduced her power and even bought enough time for Noel's sword to block her.
Cling!
"Blocking with Spiritual Energy first before containing the impact with your sword?" Anna smiled, believing it was the 'Surprise.'
After that, Noel rotated his sword and released another strike, far faster than anything he had done so far. This time, he used the 'Fear' to enhance his speed.
Even Anna had to release her lightning to match Noel's speed, barely blocking it.
The two continued clashing as Noel kept changing his emotions. All the emotions were still incomplete, but Anna could see the latent potential that this swordsmanship had.
However… It didn't last long. Just after ten minutes, Noel had dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
"Time out. I can't do it anymore." Noel had a hard time even opening his eyes. Even with his good control of his energy, it was still impossible for Noel to easily manipulate that emotion.
For the others, they would only feel the change in his sword. But for Noel, that emotion would fill his heart and keep changing, causing him to be mentally unstable.
"I think you've got a good grasp of your path. All that's left is just to get accustomed to it."
"Yeah. It won't be easy though." Noel nodded.
"I know you can do it. Anyway, it's time for me to leave."
"By the way, how did I do?" Noel tried to glance at the balcony again and realized that the two were still there.
Anna understood what he was trying to ask, so she bent her knees and moved closer to his ears. "I'm not going to tell you. Just forge your own path without caring about that… because I know that you will always be the coolest."
Anna gave a little peck on his cheek before walking away.
"Ahaha… I still can't handle her, I guess." Noel chuckled before waving to Livia and Tristan. "We're done here. Go back and continue with your training. I'll be leaving this place in two days, so I'm going to intensify your training later."
…
Anna continued the exploration during the day. But because she couldn't say anything regarding Noel's mother, they had to thread the exploration far more carefully, watching for the 'imaginary' Supreme Devil Organization.
Meanwhile, Noel had to make a couple of arrangements, considering he had to leave this city.
"So, what do you think?" Noel asked Dimitri and Charlotte.
"I don't really have any problem with you going out, but don't you think it's a bit too dangerous? The enemies aren't attacking us because they know that there are four Spirit Grandmasters in this place. And three of which can handle multiple Grandmasters at once. But once you're out, you will be isolated." Dimitri raised his concern.
"I don't have any problem internally. I can handle the rest of the problems, but you will definitely need to complete a lot of paperwork once you return. But I believe Dimitri's concern is justified. At least, you have to bring someone else with you and Dimitri won't be the person." Charlotte explained.
"Then, who should I bring? I mean, I can understand Dimitri since he is taking care of the migration. Howard and Anna are still busy with their exploration." Noel sighed, explaining the problem.
Dimitri knew that Anna was with the soldiers to get their trust. This was extremely important for the future.
"Still, you have to bring her if you wish to go. In the past, Madam and I always accompanied Master Luke during expeditions like this. The people seem to like it, considering the lord and his wife are going personally. If you are worried about the soldiers, how about bringing a couple of soldiers with you?"
"If that's the case, the progress of the exploration will be reduced significantly."
"It's going to be two days from now, right? They should be able to clear the river by that time, so it shouldn't be that bad. I will also help Howard now and then." Dimitri suggested.
"Hmm…" Noel fell into deep thought. The progress in this city was the most important, considering it would be the first line of defense. But he needed a lot of honor points to progress. If he didn't go on an expedition, he might not be strong enough when the enemies came.
"Master. Do you remember the idiom saying the most dangerous place is actually the safest one?"
"Huh?" Noel frowned. Even though there was a possibility that the enemies would come to attack them, they wouldn't be enough to cause the worst case scenario as long as Anna was with him.
But he suddenly understood what Dimitri wanted. He actually wanted to cause a conflict that was big enough to make it dangerous, not only to him, but also to his enemies.
In other words, he should find a method to bring that danger to his destination so that he could repel his enemies without fighting them.
"I think there is one way…" Noel smirked. "I'm going to send a letter first. I hope that no one is going to tell me that I'm crazy."
