Noel's consciousness had become fuzzy to the point he would collapse at any moment. However, he still held on while glaring at Anna.
'Well, it didn't change the fact that I still tried to plot the entire execution. I can understand his hatred since I'm the one who caused everything,' Anna thought before saying, "Take a rest. Your condition won't allow you to continue fighting. It's best to retire and get rescued."
Noel gritted his teeth. Although he wanted to leave, he truly had no more energy.
Seeing the stubbornness on his face, Anna glanced to the sky and said, "I won't be the one to rescue you. It's the instructor."
Noel raised his head and found Shale floating in the sky, looking at them. As if he finally found the reason, Noel closed his eyes and fell to the ground.
"What a handful boy…" Anna muttered inwardly.
After that, the rescue team arrived and started grabbing all the trainees they could find before returning to the fort.
Of course, Noel got treated by Evan, the healer. Soon enough, all the superficial wounds had closed and his inner injuries started recovering as well. Eventually, he moved to the normal room to get some rest like other injured people.
And surprisingly, Anna was sitting next to his bed, looking out for him.
Suddenly, Alfred came to Anna. His curiosity got the best of him, so he wanted to ask something.
"Ehm… Why do you care about him? I just checked it earlier and it seemed that you were the one who caused his family to collapse, his parents to be executed, and him being exiled to this place. I can somehow understand his hatred to you, but your action is vastly different from what the record said." Alfred asked while squinting his eyes.
Anna made a small smile when listening to his question. She looked at Noel and thought, 'Why, huh? I was ignorant at that time and thought it was better to cut off the problem from the root.
'However, now that I've regressed, I can't help but want Noel to continue to live. Although I don't want to admit it, he is a natural genius. He has many inventions that can make people's lives flourish. The most famous one is Rune, it's a more effective way to draw the Spirit's power, allowing a normal person to defeat the demon by themselves.
'In the previous life, he helped hundreds of thousands of commoners. I don't understand the reason, but it's clear that he only bears the grudge to the royal family and me, not the people.
'That's why I know he can change in the future. And with that talent… I actually want to see how far Noel can achieve… What if I give him the foundation of Rune Mastery that he'd create in the near future? Maybe, he would achieve an even greater height.
'Now that I think about it, when I suggested to destroy the entire Ardagan Family, my father told me that they had decided the entire punishment… In other words, my words didn't matter. Why did they do it? My teacher betrayed me and the Third Prince backstabbed Noel.
'It seems I need some time to investigate it. Well, getting stronger is my priority right now and this place is perfect for it. For now, I can suppress Noel and hope that I can still do so in the future.
'As long as Noel still lives in the kingdom, there will be many lives benefited from it. I should look for the bigger picture, after all.'
Obviously, she couldn't tell Alfred all that. Instead, she only answered with, "I have my own reasons."
Alfred didn't like the answer, but he wasn't in the position to continue to question her, so he could only say, "Is that so? Well, his life isn't related to me."
"Well, this is enough for now." Anna smiled and rose from her seat. After taking another look at Noel, she left.
Alfred had a complicated feeling but still left without saying anything to the unconscious Noel.
While he was unconscious, Noel actually entered the Spirit Space to meet with Ardagan and Heisk.
"This is…" Noel furrowed his eyebrows and looked around, finding Heisk and Ardagan behind him.
"Master." Both of them greeted Noel.
"Thank you for the help, both of you." Noel smiled. "I don't know how it works, but it seems that Ardagan has helped me with the Spiritual Energy?"
"Yes, Master." Ardagan admitted it without hesitation. "You should have realized the real reason why we wanted you to get stronger first, right?"
"Yeah. You wanted me to get used to it slowly."
"That's right. Using Spiritual Energy takes a toll on your body, so I want you to prepare your body as well as start getting used to it. That's why I give you my swordsmanship as well as those two abilities. They will allow your body to develop and start getting used to Spiritual Energy from small amount."
Noel nodded in understanding. He also reached the same conclusion.
"Master doesn't want to ask me to give you more options? Master should have realized that I can give you more, right?"
"I know. But they're useless to me right now." Noel shook his head. "I know both of you have your own consciousness, especially you Ardagan, since you shouldn't have existed in my body. As long as I understand what you do is good to me, why should I complain?"
"Thank you for your understanding, Master."
"Though, you might want to give me more options if we face the same situation like yesterday. Even if it would take a toll on my body, it's better than dying, no?"
"That's right. However, Master should consider getting more Skill Points first."
"Now that I think about it, why do you make Honor Points and Skill Points instead of giving me one at a time?"
"This is about the promise between me and my previous owner. Challenging the impossible can make you surpass your current limit. However, I can't tell you the exact details, because I want to see what kind of answer will Master have in the future. You might reach another answer, so I'll refrain from saying anything about my previous owner."
"I see." Noel thought for a moment. The previous owner Ardagan said must be his Ancestor. Although he wanted to know more about his Ancestor, he should focus on getting stronger first instead of getting fixated by the story.
"However, I do have one warning to you, Master." Heisk finally spoke.
"That woman is dangerous. Even in the previous fight, she still held back."
"I think I can agree with you. She wanted to get rid of the bystanders so she could face the Mid Level Demon by herself. It means she has confidence in taking down the Mid Level Demon alone."
"Then, I shouldn't say anything if Master is aware of it. I know that there is hatred between you two, but I want to suggest this… You might want to observe her movement, strength, and every little clue you can find from her. You might be able to become stronger just by doing it."
Ardagan added, "Observing her can allow you to understand her. This way, you will know how she moves and take advantage of it in the future when you finally fight her."
"So, you suggest me to get rid of my hatred?"
"No. You simply need to hide that hatred for the time being."
"I see. Learning her strengths and weaknesses so that I can take advantage of them later on." Noel looked down, contemplating.
"If Master can do it, I will also help you," said Heisk.
"Well, your suggestion do benefits me even though I hate to do that…"
"In that case, please, Ardagan."
"Alright." Ardagan then used its power and gave Noel another mission.
Requirement: Spar with people you consider your rival (0/2)
Reward: Spiritual Energy +0.25%
Requirement: Spar with people you consider your rival (0/5)
Reward: Rivalry Medal, 5 Honor Points, and Ice Control Ability