System VS Rebirth Chapter 2: 11-20, a 13 tzameti fanfic

Noel gradually opened his eyes after meeting with his spirits, finding the shocked Shale.

"Sir Shale?" Noel was confused by Shale's reaction, not knowing the reason of his shock. After all, he never read anything regarding spirit since he had no desire back then.

Hence, he observed Shale's expression, wondering what his thought was.

When he heard Noel's voice, Shale's body trembled.

"A-ah! Right! Have you met your spirits?" Shale asked.

Since two spirits were something unprecedented, he thought he should hide this fact. At the same time, he realized that the only person that had two spirits in their body was his ancestor, the last wielder of Ardagan. This time, Ardagan helped him, allowing him to have two spirits inside his body.

So, he said, "Yes. I met her."

Shale was speechless. At the same time, he didn't know what happened earlier. At first, there was a dim blue light emanating from his body. But it clashed with the red light as if they were fighting each other.

But because Noel said 'her,' there must be something special to his spirit. And it was already beyond his responsibility. He didn't want to get entangled too deeply with Noel and his secret.

"I see. In that case, there's nothing I can teach you anymore. If you want to wield your power, you can simply talk to your spirit. Just do a simple meditation like earlier and you should be able to connect with your spirit."

"I understand." Noel nodded.

"That's good. How do you feel right now?"

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"I feel…" Noel fell silent and looked down, realizing the exhaustion and discomfort in his body had gone. It seemed that the connection with his spirits had rejuvenated his exhausted body since healing couldn't recover his stamina. "I feel refreshed."

"Mhm. Connecting to your spirit allows you to recover faster."

"By the way, where do spirits come from? Are they truly the personification of our desire?" Noel asked. He was confused about this earlier. Ardagan himself was a sword that suddenly turned into his spirit after the contract. As for Heisk, she revealed herself as a spirit from Northern Plain.

"According to the research, each spirit will give you a different answer. Despite trying to find their exact origin, no one has managed to discover it. So, I can't really give you any answer, since I'm someone who just takes the spirit for granted."

"I see." Noel thought for a moment before nodding. "I understand. Thank you very much, Sir Shale."

"There's nothing I can teach you about spirits, but you should continue training tomorrow. Your physical ability should be reinforced a bit by the connection, so keep training. You're going to face the first test in a week."

"Understood."

"Go back now and have some rest."

"Yes." Noel then rose from the ground and thanked him once again before leaving the training ground.

While looking at Noel's back, Shale was thinking whether he should tell the commander or not. However, he ended up shivering as he thought, 'No, no, no. I shouldn't tell him about this. If the commander knows me knowing that kind of extraordinary talent, I'm afraid he's going to kill me to avoid spreading the information. It's better to bring this secret to my grave.'

He could only sigh and turn around, noticing that there were two extraordinary geniuses in their kingdom: Anna Stargaze and Noel Ardagan. But the Stargaze Family colluded with the Royal Family to crush Count Ardagan.

'There might be a civil war sooner or later. I think fighting against demons are better than getting involved in that civil war.' Shale sighed, returning to his own living quarter.

Meanwhile, Noel returned directly to his room to check anything different from his system since he had met with Ardagan.

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The red sword that he stored under the bed was gone too since Ardagan said he resided inside his body now that they had a contract.

He raised his head and imagined Ardagan appearing in his hand.

The same red sword then came out of nowhere, gently resting on Noel's hand. But the color of the blade remained the same red as if it was before the sword fused with his original spirit.

"Hmm… I guess I need to continue meditating to find out what's happening." Noel nodded with a serious expression. After that, he started checking all the system panels but found no change except for the Status Panel.

Name: Noel Ardagan

Job: Spirit Knight

Weapon: Ardagan Sword

Main Medal: -

"A job?"

"What's the use of this job?" Ardagan tilted his head in confusion. He tried to check it out but to no avail. No matter how he touched the title, it wouldn't give any explanation.

So, he leaned on the wall and started thinking. "Spirit Knight… I think the people who can use both Magic and Sword to fight. Oh wait, now that I understand more about Spirit… I think the Magic they're talking about is the Spirit lending their power.

"By using the Spiritual Energy, one can manipulate that kind of stuff… Fire, water, lightning, oh wait. To put it simply, elements!

"In other words, Magician is also someone who has awakened their spirit to wield the elements. So, that's how it is… I don't know the power Heisk and Ardagan have, since I can't stay too long with them, but I think I should meditate every day to connect with them and learn their power. I still have a few days to prepare…"

After finding out his desire, Noel became even more fired up when training. Just like his past self, he was still whining when the training was too hard, but still completed the training like anyone else.

He had accepted both his current self and past self and combined them together.

He continued his training from swinging his sword and shaping his body. Although they couldn't do much in a week, Noel still felt the difference in his body. The muscle didn't form that easily, but he looked more fit and brimming with energy.

Finally, after a repetitive training for a week, the day of the test had arrived.

The night before the test, Noel opened his system again to check his progress over the past week.

Training: Running 40 Km

Reward: Stamina 0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)

Training: Push Up 500 times

Reward: Constitution 0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)

Training: Swinging a Sword up and down 500 times

Reward: Sword Mastery 0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)

"Hmm. The effect doesn't feel that big, but I think I will feel the effect the stronger I become. After all, I heard that there is a big difference for each individual strength the stronger you are… Well, I will continue accumulating this point, I guess." Noel nodded with a serious expression and opened the other panel.

,m Medal: Excellent Citizen Merit

Requirement: Help 25 Townspeople (3/25)

Reward: Excellent Citizen Medal and 4 Honor Points

"I've got two medals, the Good Citizen Medal and the Great Citizen Medal." Noel opened each medal. "And I'm using the latter right now since it's quite good."

Medal: Great Citizen Medal.

Effect: Constitution 0.5%

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Description: Helping people is a good thing to do. As a great citizen, you need a good health to continue helping other people.

In the past couple of days, Noel found some time after training to help the citizens in need like finding their pets, bringing home a drunken guy, and other miscellaneous stuff.

He'd never done all this stuff when he was a noble. And when he did, he got the warm smile from the townspeople. Some of them even invited him to have dinner with them as thanks.

It was truly refreshing to find another perspective when he was just a mere commoner.

After reminiscing the good memory, Noel's focus returned to the medals.

"Well, it seems that the Constitution is giving me an overall boost in my physical ability. My strength, agility, dexterity, and other stuff. Stamina from Running is as it is. The weird one is the Sword Mastery. I don't feel it that much, but it's kind of easier to wield the blade. That's probably the reason." Noel nodded in satisfaction.

Unfortunately, there was no full explanation from the system or Ardagan regarding his power, so he kept deciphering their meanings as he improved himself.

Last but not least, he opened the 'Shop' since that was the only place to spend his Honor Points he gained from the medal mission.

[Shop]

Available Points: 5 HP

1 Skill Point (2 HP)

Disinfectant Bandage (1 HP)

Water Bottle (1 HP)

Torch (1 HP)

When Noel looked at these four items, he believed the current point was barely enough for survival kits.

"Should I spend all my points? No, that won't be wise. If I buy one of them, will it appear mysteriously or something will happen? I think I should try one first." Noel sighed and decided to spend one point in Water Bottle.

Suddenly, a wooden bottle appeared in front of him. The size was perfect for his hand and the length was a little less than his lower arm's length.

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"Hmm… this is the water bottle?" He immediately grabbed this item and felt the heaviness from the water, realizing it was completely filled. He tried to open it and confirmed the water. However, he wondered whether it was edible or not.

Although he was a bit hesitant, he still took a small sip and tasted the water.

"Hmm, it tastes… a little sweet, unlike the normal water. And somehow I get this refreshing feeling. Other than that, I don't feel any change. I guess it's a high quality water or something that can make you feel refreshed. At least, it's not an ordinary water. I guess 1 Honor Point is worth it." Noel nodded with a calm expression. It was perfect for his survival since he didn't need to find a water source.𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Then, I still have 4 Honor Points… For now, I should buy one Skill Point first since the skill intrigues me."

Noel exchanged two Honor Points to one Skill Point and immediately raised his Ardagan Swordsmanship.

Skill: Ardagan Swordsmanship (1/15)

Requirement: 3 SP

"This is…" Noel widened his eyes as his heart skipped a beat when he raised the Swordsmanship. He suddenly moved to the center of the room and swung Ardagan like how the teacher in the camp taught him.

However, he soon found the difference.

"No, no. The swing should be slightly higher…" Noel shook his head and corrected his form. "Wait a minute. Why do I know I should swing a bit higher? Is this the effect of the skill? It seems that my body will learn how to use it instinctively. And I can still upgrade this skill 14 more times.

"I see. I'm looking forward to the effect of all of them. In that case, should I buy another Skill Point to get either Swift Strike or Mega Slash? No, no, no. With this Swordsmanship alone, I should be at the level of the average people in that camp.

"All I need right now is to cooperate with the others to kill the demons since I have a mission to kill ten demons for medal and Honor Points. At that time, I have some to spend to the skill since I need to save a few Honor Points for emergency use. I can't be too reckless and spend it all because a mistake will cost me my life."

With this, he had finished checking all his progress. The last thing he did was to check all the forms of his Swordsmanship. Since his body knew how to do it, he only needed to check the improvement so that he wouldn't make a dumb mistake.

After that, he took a proper rest and headed straight to the camp for the test.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a female riding a horse outside the city.

"Ngihihii…" The horse let out a cry as it stopped in front of the city gate.

The female looked at the tall and sturdy brick walls and smiled. She fixed her blond hair and said, "It's really astonishing. I wonder how's that guy doing since this place should be the start of his journey…"

That smile of her entranced the guards that wanted to ask for her identification. That was why she was the one approaching them while showing an insignia.

"I am Anna Stargaze, the first daughter of Marquis Stargaze. Please let me pass."

In the training ground, all the trainees stood orderly, staring at the instructor in front of them.

"Listen up! We're different from any army! The reason for our strength is because we've fought hundreds of battles and survived!" Shale shouted with a proud look. "That's why today's test shall be a battle between life and death too!

"In this test, you're required to go to the battlefield and kill those demons! The demons are disorganized and often comes separately. That's why your group can surround it and kill the demon!"

Hiss~!*

When they heard they needed to go to the battlefield, everyone sucked a cold breath. Despite their talent and body build, they never directly went to the battlefield to fight them. That was why no one knew what to expect from the battlefield.

"We won't know whether you will die or not, so this is the last time to quit."

The people were shaken when they listened to this offer. After all, no one wanted to die.

However, none of them actually stepped out. They remembered how hard they worked to get to this place. There was no way they would back down at the last moment.

"Good." Shale nodded and took out a purple crystal from his pocket, showing it to everyone. "This is called Demon Crystal! Every demon has this crystal in their head, so after killing the demon, you need to open its head and retrieve this crystal. There are numerous uses of this crystal, but I'll just explain it later in our classes.

"For now, all you need to do is to obey orders. Anyway, each group will consist of three people since this is the minimum number to form a triangle formation to watch all directions.

"Each group is required to bring back ten Demon Crystals! If you complete the mission, you shall become the true cadet of Demon Banner Army.

"You shall go to the Dark Demon Forest to hunt these demon beasts. As for the group, I will call each of your names according to your group. 1st Group: Albion…"

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Shale started calling all the 120 names, dividing them into forty groups.

"If you look at the ground, there is a number for your group. Head there and talk with your group. You have 30 minutes to prepare and immediately head to the Dark Demon Forest.

"Your time limit is three days. If you don't have a tent or any other equipment like weapons, you can acquire it from me. That's all!"

As soon as Shale stopped talking, each person immediately went to their designated spot.

Noel also spared no efforts to meet his teammate, only to find a surprise with his teammate.

The first one was the blue-haired guy that didn't care about his presence on the first day while the second guy was actually one of the people that bullied him previously.

"…" Noel frowned. It seemed his luck was bad to get these two as his teammates.

The bully looked at Noel with hostility while the blue-haired guy said, "I don't care about what you do. Don't hinder me killing those demons. As long as you do your jobs, we can be the first because of my power."

"Is this fallen noble even needed here? He's clearly the weakest guy among the group." The bully tried to ignite a flame to make the blue-haired guy angry at Noel, but it seemed he didn't care..

Noel only asked sarcastically, "So, do you have any plan, Mr. Noble?"

"Why should I tell you?" He snorted.

"Well, if you expect us to move according to your instruction, it's better to tell us now instead of getting mad when we've made a mistake simply because we're unaware of your preference." Noel shrugged.

He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Noel for a few seconds as if he was angry with Noel's attitude. But surprisingly, the blue-haired guy said, "I'm the strongest in this group. There's no denying it. That's why you two shall stop the demon's attack and I will kill it."

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"That's not possible, right? The demon acts on instinct, so there's no telling who it will attack after it finds us." Noel refuted his words again.

"If it attacks me, I will send it to you, simply because it will be much faster if I kill it."

"Well…" Noel shrugged. He remembered he needed to kill ten demons to complete the mission, so he wanted an opportunity to kill those demons. That was why before anyone killed it, he would deliver a killing blow.

On the other hand, the noble guy simply asked, "What? Do you have another objection?"

"None. I simply wish to know how I should call you."

"You don't need to know my name, you're not worthy of it."

"Well, that's fine. I'll just call you, Mr. Noble then." Noel didn't care about his reaction. Despite his arrogant attitude, this noble still continued answering all his questions. So, he thought the noble wasn't as bad as he thought, like the other guy who had a great prejudice against him.𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝐌

"Then your role is to watch the night for as long as we're there. You also need to bring our equipment since you're so useless. You should be able to do this stuff at the very least, right?" Just like he expected, the bully ordered Noel as if he was above him since Noel had been reduced to commoner.

Noel narrowed his eyes. Although he was displeased, this was actually a chance for him to explore the forest. According to the system, there was an Ancient Demon Tree that slept underneath the forest, so it would be good if he had some time to search for the clue.

Of course, he was planning to do his job. Instead of watching over the tent, he was planning to expand his area so that he could look over the camp and find some clues at the same time.

However, the noble guy snorted and said, "I'm not planning to let an exhausted weak guy to watch over me. We'll use the rotation for the night. We will split the burden evenly. I hate weak people, but I hate idiots, who can't even see that his decision will endanger people's lives, even more."

Noel was surprised that even though this noble guy was arrogant, he was rational and objected anything that would endanger their lives. It turned out he was just stating the fact even though his mouth was quite sharp.

When the bully heard those words, he gritted his teeth and glared at the noble, only to get a cold gaze from him. In the end, he needed to accept it.

While they were talking, Anna Stargaze was staring at the group with an amused expression.

"Oh? It seems that there's an interesting group there." Anna smiled. "Should I sneak into the forest? Anyway, let's meet the commander first."

Because of the blue-haired guy's impartial judgment, Noel managed to escape from all the bullies that came to his way. He even made sure to talk all the important stuff, leaving no gaps for the bully to exploit.

In the end, the group went to Shale to grab their tent, food, and water. The bully had his own armor and weapon while the noble guy seemed to have only his sword.

Noel, on the other hand, thought he needed some pieces of equipment to protect himself from the unknown danger, albeit they were a bit too heavy for him, whose current body had yet to completely develop the muscle.

Even Shale suggested to use leather armor instead. Its protection was far less than iron armor, but they still could reduce some impacts. It was perfect for the current Noel since it didn't affect his mobility.

As for his weapon, he had Ardagan with him. Of course, he took Ardagan out before leaving his room so that everyone didn't think it was a Spirit.

After they had taken care of everything, Shale said, "Your group will head to the forest right now. Just enter and find any Demon inside. I've said this in the class… Demon can be in many forms. They can have a beast form, a humanoid form, or even a fruit form. Before doing anything, make sure to confirm they are not demons."

"Yes, Instructor." Noel and the bully politely nodded while the noble guy asked, "Do we really need to bring back ten Demon Crystals? What if we bring more?"

"That's up to you. As long as you can bring back everything within three days, you're good to go. Of course, we keep a record on the fastest one to bring ten pieces… Just like your brother that is…" Shale smiled slyly as if he knew about the noble guy. Unlike Noel who was protected by the commander, he wasn't that scared against this guy, Alfred Starwood. To him, the commander was scarier than the noble.

Alfred gritted his teeth and turned around as if he couldn't wait any longer to hunt some demons.

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Noel and the bully followed Alfred while Shale looked at Noel's back.

"Oi, wait." Noel panted while shouting to Alfred.

Because of the provocation, Alfred had been rushing to the forest. Even though it was close, the distance was still more than 3 km.

The fast pace made it hard for Noel to keep up.

"You're so slow!" The noble guy snorted. "If you can't keep up, you should just go back to the fort! I don't need you."

"I don't mind, but don't forget that this assignment is a group test. Even with the record that you seem to be aiming at, are you sure you want to get a note about how you abandon the team? What about the probability of someone dying because of you rushing? It will surely not go unnoticed unless you kill all of us right now? But that's probably the worst move you can make." Noel smirked, taunting and reminding him at the same time.

p Even with his eyes, he could see Alfred's body shaking.

There was anger in his eyes. Even his face became extremely cold. However, he still said, "You have a way with words…"

"Isn't noble supposed to have a way with their words?" Noel shrugged.

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"And do you think it will stop you from being the most useless here?"

𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝓶

"Of course." Noel smiled and raised a finger. "With so many people killing the demons, it will be hard for us to find one. That's why this test is luck based."

"…" Alfred couldn't refute it as what Noel said was indeed correct.

However, Noel added, "Of course, I was pretty lucky to listen to something when going to meet up with the group! It seems that the deeper region has more demons than the outer region. There are groups trying to go to the inner region to kill them. At the same time, we'll waste too much time when traveling, so I have a suggestion.

"Why don't we travel to the border between the outer and inner region. According to them, it's around 3 km from the edge… This way, we can travel between the inner and outer regions, allowing us to position perfectly that we can kill many demons and return with the shortest route possible."

"If we want speed, we simply need to kill the demons that other people fought!" The bully snorted. "Not only did they have weakened the demon, but we can also fight without using too much stamina."

Noel smiled. As expected of the bully guy, he truly suggested that option. Even he would say something like that, but after knowing a little bit of Alfred's back story, it was clear that Alfred didn't like a stain in his honor.

Just like he predicted, Alfred snorted coldly. "I compete fairly unlike you who love to do dirty jobs."

The bully glared at him for a moment before clicking his tongue and looking away. Instead of getting angry at Alfred, he directed that anger toward Noel, who obviously ignored it.

'To be honest, I really want to accept the offer to go back to the castle so that I can go alone, but I have never fought against a demon, so I need them to measure their strength first before gaining some confidence to fight them alone. So, I will cooperate with you guys for now.' Noel thought as he still had the mission to kill ten demons.

Meanwhile, Anna had finished all problems with the commander and immediately headed to the forest, finding Noel's group standing in the open.

'Mhm? Why did they stop? Did they notice something?' Anna furrowed her eyebrows. 'If I remember correctly, the Ancient Demon Tree was going to wake up soon… Due to that problem, the demons started acting strangely… I'm not sure about this but there's a small horde coming out of the forest to attack the fort during the test. Half of the trainees ended up dead, including Alfred Starwood, the younger brother of the sword genius, Helzhen Starwood.

'Still, why did they stop there? Did Noel notice that something is going to happen? It seems that Noel's secret is bigger than I thought. Should I follow him silently?' Anna thought, assessing Noel. Little did she know, she was completely misunderstanding Noel since she couldn't get close enough to listen to their conversation.

"Fine. Let's do it your way. You are pretty useful even though you are annoying and weak." Alfred had made his decision.

Noel's answer came in the form of a smile. That was why Alfred thought he had nothing left to say.

"Since we've been talking here without doing anything, it should be enough for resting, right?" Alfred glared at Noel.

"Of course." Noel smiled. In fact, his stamina was still enough to run for a while. After all, he had been running for tens of kilometers for his training. The only reason he stopped here was to conserve his stamina a bit, allowing them to have a perfect condition to fight against the demon.

After getting what he wanted, Noel then followed the group entering the forest.

The trees in the forest were mostly 20 feet tall. They had different types of trees, but their heights were roughly the same. The difference was in the size of the trunk.

If all trees had big trunks, it would make it hard for them to see all the things around them. However, because their size varied, it gave a hallucinating effect that confused them in discerning things.

But it seemed Alfred was overconfident with his ability that he ignored the terrain and continued to move forward.

Noel wanted to advise him, but they still had enough stamina to go all the way to their destination. Hence, it was better to hold back.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Alfred suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at the front.

"Huh?" Noel was confused for a moment and found a small sphere on the ground. If it was just a small sphere, he wouldn't be that worried. But this ball had six legs.

This small creature wiggled on the ground and turned around when it noticed Alfred's gaze.

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The black ball turned out to have a big eyeball. When their gazes intertwined, the creature immediately jumped to the side, leaping for over one meter contrary to its small size.

"!!!" Alfred widened his eyes in surprise before his body rushed forward. "Kill it!"

Noel and the bully hurriedly followed him, but the black ball attached itself to a tree as if it was getting swallowed by the tree.

The ground started trembling as there was a faint sound coming from underneath.

Alfred continued to charge at the tree, but Noel stopped, observing the sound movement.

It turned out the sound was gradually moving toward him before stopping right beneath his feet. And the next thing he realized, a spike came out of the ground, aiming for his neck.

"!!!" Noel gritted his teeth and threw himself to the side. "Spike? No… It's…"

Noel took a closer look at the object and realized it was a tree's root.

"It's dangerous!" Noel wanted to warn the others, but it seemed they were attacked by the roots as well. Even Alfred stopped to block the root while the bully had his lower left arm pierce by it.

But his decision to warn the others actually bit him on the back.

Three more roots emerged from behind and looped around him, trying to strike him from above.

Noel followed the sound and turned around, waving his sword toward the three roots.

Unfortunately, it didn't go like he expected, Ardagan cut through the first root, but stopped in the middle of the second root.

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"I can't cut it?" Noel widened his eyes in shock. Ardagan's sharpness was beyond his imagination. He had tried to cut a rock with it and it was able to cut it like a butter.

'Is this root harder than a rock?' Noel gritted his teeth while leaning his body to the side. Although Ardagan cut one root and stopped the other one, there was still one root moving toward him. And he wasn't in the position to reach it.

Luckily, with that last ditch movement, the root missed his arm, only grazing the skin.

"Kh. It hurts." Noel hurriedly pulled Ardagan back, raised it to the top of his head, and swung it down, cutting the root that injured him earlier. "Ha!"𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Surprisingly, the root was cut so easily that he felt no restriction from it, unlike the first one.

"Eh? I can cut it like cutting the stone…" Noel was surprised by the revelation. But his mind soon tried to figure out the reason.

It was said that a sword master could cut more than a normal swordsman. And what was the reason?

'Is my technique lacking?' Noel was bewildered by what he found. 'But if that's the case, why did the first slash have the restriction while the second didn't?'

While thinking about this problem, Noel leaped back to regain some distance from the roots.

"Wait a minute. Sir Shale is training us to do only three movements… A vertical slash, a diagonal slash, and a stab." Noel figured out the reason. The first slash wasn't among the three he practiced, so his technique, even with the help of Ardagan Swordsmanship, was still lacking compared to the three techniques he'd learned.

As if giving Noel an opportunity, two roots emerged behind him. The roots were pretty straightforward, so Noel didn't even need to look at it before jumping to the side, avoiding the roots that always aimed for his body.

'Let's try it.' Noel thought as he raised his sword to the side, making a diagonal slash that perpendicular to the root. "Ha!"

Surprisingly, the two roots were cut cleanly that he felt no restriction unlike the first swing.

"This is…" Noel gasped. It turned out a sharp sword wasn't everything. He also needed a proper technique to handle the sword.

"So, that's how it is. Although it's only three techniques…" Before he finished his words, he heard a scream from the side.

It turned out the bully got his right thigh pierced by the roots.

'Tsk. Although I hate him, he's still useful when he's alive. It's clear that the demon can release more than ten roots… and if all of them go to me, I would be dead. I'm not strong enough to defeat a demon by myself right now, so…' As the thought appeared in his head, Noel's body had reached the bully as he struck the root that hit the bully, cutting it down. He muttered inwardly, 'You need to live until I get stronger.'

"You…" The bully widened his eyes, shocked to find Noel helping him. He thought Noel was weaker than him that needed some helps, but it turned out to be the other way around. Even when he glanced at Noel's previous spot, he knew Noel had cut them down with only a graze.

However, Noel didn't care about his opinion and immediately turned around, finding Alfred getting surrounded by five roots at the same time. He seemed to have a hard time fighting against the roots.

Noel rushed to Alfred without hesitation and took the demon by surprise, cutting down two roots in rapid succession.

Their reaction was the same. Alfred never expected Noel could achieve all this.

On the contrary, Noel simply said, "Kill the demon!"

Alfred's body trembled before he recalled his confidence and goal. Without hesitation, he ran to the tree demon and let Noel take care of the roots.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that Noel was using him to check the demon's capability.

The tree demon could indeed manipulate the roots to attack them. It would be extremely dangerous if it ambushed them out of nowhere. However, the roots were not the only part of the tree.

Even a human could punch, kick, and even headbutt their enemy to inflict damage. Hence, he believed the demon that had been described as scary creature would have more capability than he thought.

Just like he predicted, the branches started moving and expanding not only from the width, but also the wide.

The roots came out of the ground and began to turn the trunk around, showing a huge craved face on the trunk. The giant branches looped around, surrounding Alfred from all directions.

"Tsk." Alfred clicked his tongue and jumped to the side, trying to avoid the encirclement before moving to the tree side.

When he was about to strike the tree with his sword, the leaves fell on top of him.

Because he had seen roots and branches, Alfred stopped in his track and went to the other side, avoiding the leaves that turned out to be just a distraction.

The moment he reached the other side, the demon sent its branches to strike Alfred. Although he blocked it with his sword, the demon was stronger than him and eventually pushed him back.

However, the demon had one miscalculation. It was Noel.

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After cutting down the roots, Noel immediately headed to the tree, planning to chop it with a single strike while its attention remained on Alfred.

"!!!" Alfred was surprised that Noel always appeared to handle the situation.

His sword already reached the trunk, trying to cut it down. But surprisingly, the sword stopped in the middle.

"What?!" Noel widened his eyes. He had used the right technique, but he still failed to chop it down.

It turned out the demon had a stronger body than a rock.

'No. That small ball must be the demon and the tree is just its host… Still, it doesn't change the fact that the tree becomes even sturdier. No wonder the demon is scary.'

While he was thinking, the tree spun its body, especially its root to smack Noel.

"Watch out!" Alfred shouted.

Noel could tell the movement and immediately pull his sword, but… the result wasn't like what he envisioned.

"Huh?! It's stuck." Noel couldn't pull his sword. When his vision moved slightly to the right, he saw the trunk started regenerating.

"Stop!" Alfred roared as he struck the tree, albeit he couldn't do as much damage as Noel. Even his sword only went through several centimeter, not even half of Noel's reach. "Kh. Hurry up and pull that sword. If you don't pull your sword right now, you won't be able to pull it out later!"

"I'm trying!" Noel gritted his teeth, pulling it as hard as he could. Unfortunately, it was useless.

"Tsk. I don't like owing someone anything." The bully suddenly reached them and swung both of his swords, striking Noel's sword toward the opening.

This force was all Noel needed to break free from the restraint, allowing him to pull out his sword.

However, due to the injury he sustained, the bully dropped to the ground while clutching his arm that was injured earlier. He overstrained his muscle and widened his injury from that strike alone.

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"Gh." As if getting angry at the man who ruined everything, the tree aimed at his life next.

However, Noel once again struck the tree at the same spot, cutting the other half of the trunk with all his strength.

"Haaaa!" Noel roared, mustering every ounce of his strength.

The sword had a hard time slicing the trunk, but with Noel not thinking about conserving his stamina anymore, the sword ultimately cut the rest of the trunk.

Bam!*

Due to the diagonal cut, the trunk slid down and fell to the ground.

"Ha…" Noel panted a few times before looking at the two who also felt relieved that the demon was dying.

Unfortunately for them, they still didn't know the demon enough. The branches started moving again and rushed to the bully.

"!!!" The bully widened his eyes as he thought he was going to die, but Alfred already appeared in front of him, stopping the branches with his sword.

He didn't forget to shout at Noel, "Go to that face! The small creature earlier must be controlling the tree from there. The head!"

𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝑀

"!!!" Noel recognized his goal and immediately rushed forth, finding the tree craved face.

Without hesitation, he stabbed the area on top of the eyes, since it should be considered the forehead in human's anatomy.

Although he didn't know the exact position, he just hoped that was the case since their group was in a bad situation after this fight alone. They didn't want to make it worse.

"Die!" Noel shouted.

When he was piercing the tree, he suddenly felt a sudden change in texture as he ultimately pierced through the trunk.

The branches stopped for a moment before falling to the ground, signaling the end of the battle.

Huft!*

Noel dropped to his knees while secretly touching Ardagan's mark to open the system. He had tested it in the past week and knew that no one could see the system other than him. He opened the mission and confirmed that he managed to kill the demon.

Medal: Military Service Merit

Requirement: Kill 10 Demons (1/10)

Reward: Military Service Medal and 3 Honor Points

Pant!*

Noel was quite exhausted even though the enemy was only a single demon. And it didn't seem to be a high rank demon either.

Even Alfred couldn't say anything after challenging the demon.

Before talking to them, Noel cut the wood carefully and found the small creature inside the trunk. The sensation on his hand felt like as if he was squeezing a wool that he could crush with his hand. There was a purple blood coming out of the stab wound, so he avoided touching that area.

After taking a closer look at the demon, he used his sword to cut open the demon, specifically in the head's area, finding a small purple crystal.

'So small…' Noel thought as he used Ardagan to scoop it out and poured some water to wash the blood away. Only then he returned to the group while handing the purple crystal to Alfred.

"Here, the purple crystal."

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Alfred frowned, pondering something in his head. After a while, he said, "I apologize for being so arrogant. I take my words back. It turns out I can't handle the demon by myself. So, I want to ask you two to cooperate with me so that we can finish the task as soon as possible."

"!!!" Noel and the bully widened their eyes as they didn't expect the proud and arrogant noble actually apologized.

When they were about to say something, Alfred explained the reason. "I am here as a trainee of the Demon Banner Army, not a noble. Even I will die if I can't cooperate with both of you. So, this time, I want to renew our agreement."

Noel looked at Alfred weirdly. Just like Alfred said earlier, he was someone who stated all the facts. If he was in the wrong, he would say so and choose to lower his pride to survive.

At the same time, the bully looked at Noel and said, "In that case, I'd like to apologize as well. If not for your help, I would have died earlier. I acted earlier because of my prejudice against noble, but it turned out you're different than them. So, If you want to hit me to pay back for what I have done, do it. I won't fight back… as long as we can cooperate. The better the group ranking is, the bigger chance I can grab for my life."

Noel became even more surprised. Even though the situation compelled for such an action, they were still not that bad. At the very least, they didn't cling to their useless pride and cause the group to be defeated by a demon.

"Once again, I'm Noel Ardagan. You can call me Noel… Hitting you here is the worst move I can make, but if we can finish the mission and return to the base, let me hit you once… we will call it even." Noel smiled.

The bully closed his eyes as he said, "Sure. I am Lezlev."

Alfred thought for a moment before finally introducing himself. "I am Alfred Starwood. You can call me Alfred. Before we continue, we need to tend to our wounds first."

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"That's right." Noel agreed without hesitation.𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝗆

Alfred immediately covered his hands with white cloth while Lezlev bandaged the wound on his arm and thigh. Since Noel's wound was only a graze, he finished first and helped Lezlev bandage his thigh.

Lezlev felt embarrassed because the fallen noble that he had bullied in the past week was actually far different than his imagination. He regretted to fall for cheap provocation and bully him.

In the end, he apologized over and over again even though Noel said, 'It's fine.'

After they finished, Alfred said, "According to my family teaching, an introduction is a must for a group, especially about their specialty and what you can expect them to do. I thought you guys were useless, so I didn't do it. But I'd like to talk about this now.

"To show my sincerity, I'll tell mine first. My sword is a slightly heavy sword that can deal a lot of damage. It can crush a demon if I put all my strength to it, but it seems that I've underestimated them. That's why I'm planning to change my role… considering Noel's sword seems to be sharper than anyone else here."

Lezlev thought about his quality before explaining it to them. "I use a normal sword and armor. My technique is so-so, but I have some confidence to execute some tasks like earlier. I can move around to help when needed."

Since both of them had revealed their strength, Noel also showed a bit of his power. "I'm just a fallen noble and I've never held a sword in my life before my family was ruined. I'm relying on my sword right now, but I think I have improved quite good in the past few days… I don't know about my specialty though."

"That's enough." Alfred nodded. "After listening to both of you, I think I'll be the one taking the attack from the demons. Noel can attack the demon with your sword. Even if you can't take down the demon in a single strike, make sure to wound the enemy. Lezlev will move between us and cover our backs.

"We might have a grudge between us, but I'd like to ask you to forget about the grudge when we're in this forest. At the very least, we need each other to survive in this mission. What do you think?"

After listening to Alfred, Noel and Lezlev exchanged looks as they were the bully and the bullied. Noel had recognized this fact before they talked, so he nodded. After another round of apology, Lezlev also agreed to the arrangement.

Just like Alfred said, the group might have a grudge between each other, but their cooperation would be better until they finished their mission.

'Well, the situation has improved I guess… It seems that I'm pretty lucky to have this teammate over those who will only continue with their prejudice even in danger…' Noel thought as he expected more in the next fight.

"I spotted another demon!" Lezlev shouted. After enough rest, they started hunting for another demon and soon found it not long after.

This time, they had strategy and understanding to each other. So, they wanted to do better than the previous hunt.

The demon Lezlev found turned out to be a beast. It was standing on four feet and its fur looked like spikes with both sharpness and hardness. It had a sharp claws and long fangs that could shred them apart.

Its height reached Lezlev's chest and its length was twice of its height. Although it was smaller than the tree, a demon beast like this would be even more troublesome.

As soon as it heard Lezlev's shout, the demon leaped forth, pouncing on him.

Luckily, Alfred was close to Lezlev and immediately appeared between them, striking his sword to the demon's claws.

"Go!" Alfred shouted.

It was the signal for Noel. Taking the advantage of him stopping the demon, Noel looped around them and hit the demon's body.

Clang!*

A clicking noise resounded in the area as Ardagan actually failed to cut the demon's body.

"It's not strong enough?" Noel widened his eyes.

"Haaa!" Lezlev also came to Noel and struck Ardagan, giving an additional force to it. However, the spikes had no sign of breaking. Only the body slightly tilted to the left.

p As if the demon started getting angry, it roared and used all its strength.

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In the instant he pushed Alfred, the latter moved for several meters.

"What strength…" Alfred gritted his teeth and hurriedly charged forward, trying to grab the demon's attention again.

But the advantage of being a demon beast became apparent as the demon spun its body and struck both Noel and Lezlev with its paws.

"!!!" The duo was shocked because they almost lost their swords from the strike alone, showing the raw strength the demon had. If not because they gripped it firmly, the swords would have flown away.

Even though they managed to hold their swords, their bodies were pushed back for several meters as well.

"It is agile, quick, and strong. The demon is far different than the demon tree we fought earlier." Noel squinted his eyes, wondering how to kill this kind of enemy.

"You seem to be smarter than any of us here in dealing with the demon… I'm going to help Alfred to buy you time. Come up with something," said Lezlev as he moved toward the demon.

Although they had some understanding from the previous talk, it was still surprising how much a person could trust you after you had a conflict with them.

Even so, Noel couldn't care less about it in this situation.

'A spike covering the whole body, the fang that can protect the front, the sharp claws to attack, and the agile body that can move to a desired position.' Noel squinted his eyes, finding a way to fight this monster.

While Noel was coming up with a strategy to take down the demon, Alfred struck the monster with his sword but ended up getting blown away by their difference in strength.

"This demon is too strong." Alfred gritted his teeth. "It's far stronger than the demon tree."

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"Should we run away then?" Lezlev asked while cutting the demon from the side, only to be stopped by its spikes.

"It's impossible to run. Can't you see that it's faster than us? If we don't kill it, we won't be able to escape from this place alive," Alfred replied. Although he had expected the demon to be this strong, he never thought it would be this strong.

Lezlev could only leave everything to his fate and continue swinging his sword. Alfred said the truth. Even if they tried to run, the demon would chase after them. So, it was impossible to run.

While they were keeping the demon at bay, Noel furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the demon.

"The Demon Banner Army required us to kill ten demons. If all ten demons were similar to the demon tree we defeated earlier, it wouldn't be that hard to achieve it before the sunset.

"Yet, the Demon Banner Army gave three days for the time limit… Why?" Noel muttered inwardly before coming to a realization. "Don't tell me… They know that we're going to face trouble like this… It's a fair point because we've trained only for a week before hunting a demon. It's not enough training.

"In that case, their aim is something else. It's true that we need to kill the demons, but killing a single demon will take us most of our stamina and time… That's why the time limit is three days. Then, how do we kill a demon far stronger than us?" Noel's mind started to recall all the things they taught in the classes other than the physical stuff.

At that time, Shale said, "The demon has a far superior physical ability than us and they're also versatile. That's why it's hard for a human to kill a demon by themselves. However, why do you think we're still standing here instead of getting killed by the demon?

"Because we are smarter than them. Our brain can use everything around us as a weapon to kill the demon. Whether it's a trap, combining our power, or anything, we will make sure we have enough advantage to kill the demon. This is our way to kill the demons!"𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝑚

Noel suddenly got an inspiration. "That's right. Combining our power is not enough right now, in that case, I should create an advantageous position with something… And what's that…"

After a minute, Noel shouted, "Alfred, Lezlev! Do you trust me?"

Alfred looked at Noel in confusion while Lezlev replied, "Do you have a way to kill this demon?"

"I do, but I need preparation! If you can hold for ten… no, five minutes… I will be able to kill the demon."

"Then do it!" Alfred shouted.

"Fighting against a powerful opponent like this will drain our stamina and it's also extremely dangerous. Five minutes, huh…" Lezlev ultimately nodded his head.

As soon as he got their approval, Noel ran away, stunning both Lezlev and Alfred.

"Is he running away?"

"What are we going to do now? That guy must be running away, leaving us here to fend for ourselves." Lezlev gritted his teeth, looking at Alfred. Even though he could cooperate with Noel and trust him a bit, this was already beyond his ability.

p "Nothing we can do." Alfred shook his head. "Even if we run, this demon will hunt us down. We need to find an opportunity if we want to run…"

"An opportunity?"

"Yeah. If there's another battle around us, we can drag this demon there to get some help from others. But… let's wait for five to ten minutes first. If he doesn't come back, we'll do it." Alfred nodded in agreement. He also wanted to escape right now, but the situation didn't allow him to.

Seeing there was still a trace of trust in Alfred's eyes, Lezlev could only grit his teeth and endure this battle for another few minutes.

The battle continued as the demon continued to overwhelm them. Alfred had exhausted most of his stamina while Lezlev was covered with bruises. The hope became dim as these few minutes felt like a few hours.

The one they expected to come back never appeared.

But when the situation couldn't get any worse, they heard a shout from the side.

"Lezlev, Alfred! Run toward me!"

"!!!" Lezlev and Alfred turned their heads, finding Noel on the side with his shirt completely soaked with sweat.

It seemed Noel had been working hard on his own.

After exchanging a nod, Lezlev and Alfred hurriedly ran to Noel.

As Alfred said earlier, the demon chased them. Its speed was quicker than them, so the demon caught up to them soon.

When the demon was about to leap and pounce them, Noel leaped forward and grabbed Lezlev and Alfred's shoulder and pushed them to the ground.

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The three suddenly dropped to the ground, making the demon miss them and falling to the bushes behind Noel.

Even though falling to the ground was painful, Noel still stood back up and thrust his sword.

Surprisingly, the moment the demon reached the bushes, it stopped in mid-air as if he was stuck in that position. And Noel thrust his sword to the area that wasn't protected by its spikes, the butt.

Huft!*

Noel panted a few times as he dropped to the ground, smiling. "Finally. It dies."

"What is happening?" Lezlev widened his eyes. There was a shock and confusion reflected on his eyes.

On the other hand, Alfred opened the bushes and found a few sharp spikes planted on the ground. Two of them impaled the demon's face, making him stick in that position.

"Spikes from woods… No, they're roots." Alfred gasped.

"That's the roots from the demon we killed earlier. This demon beast is protected from all sides, so I thought about using a surprise attack to impale him. This way, the fangs won't be fast enough to stop them." Noel explained while panting.

"The demon tree?"

"Yeah. I noticed that the demon tree was sturdier than normal trees. At the same time, we didn't have enough time to carve a spike made of its trunk. Hence, I chose the roots that had pointed tips. They were perfect to pierce our body, so I thought it was at least better than a normal tree trunk to impale him." Noel nodded.

"So, the reason why it took you so long…" Lezlev looked at Noel in shock.

"Yes. I ran there and came back here before planting these roots." Noel nodded.

"Still, why did you think about using a trap?"

Noel smiled and recalled the lesson from Shale. "Let's admit that we're weaker than the demon. Even if we combine our strength, we can only take down a demon tree earlier… The time limit and the difficulty don't match up. So, I thought this is a test to apply all the lessons we've learned so far. In other words, our adaptability.

"We can use everything as our weapons, even the parts of a demon's body. That's why they only want us to bring the crystal back. They want us to use their parts to kill them. Just like these roots, if we use those sharp fangs as a dagger, won't it be able to cut the enemy if we place a trap like this?"

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"Now that I think about it, there are two superior weapons other than a weapon made of metal. And one of them is a weapon created by a demon body." Alfred nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. The time limit is too long. So, I figure out they're the time it takes us to create traps and strategy to kill the demon. And the other reason is…" Noel looked down, hesitating to say the other reason.

"What is that?" Alfred frowned.

"It's to join hands with other groups. Although we need to kill two or three times the number, it's going to be far easier to kill the demon with that number." Noel looked at Alfred. "It's just I don't think you're fond with this idea."

"…" Alfred remained silent. It was true that getting another three people in the group would allow them to kill the enemies easier. However, he didn't like the fact that he was taking advantage of other people. After all, they could simply leave after achieving their objective. It was basically the same as Lezlev's previous strategy.

But Alfred found one more thing. "There is a difference between your words and Lezlev's previous plan. It's to have an equal cooperation. We can't go back until both groups have achieved their objectives. So…"

"Are we going to cooperate with another group then? But we don't know where they are…" Lezlev reminded them about the problem.

"That's…"

Swish!*

Before Alfred could reply, the bushes started moving before a beast leaped above the bushes, trying to pounce Noel. The demon had the same appearance as the one they killed earlier.

"Noel!" Alfred shouted while Noel turned around, thinking, 'There's another demon around us? Not good, I can't dodge this one..'

Noel closed his eyes for a moment, knowing he would be heavily injured by the monster.

However, the pain he had expected never came, confusing him. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the demon's head flying.

The one who beheaded the demon was a woman. Her blond hair had some yellow lightning spark on it, making the hair shine like that of a gold. When she turned around, she smiled warmly and asked, "Are you alright?"

Noel instantly recognized this face. How could he forget about it? She was the woman that planned the entire execution of his parents and the downfall of his family, Anna Stargaze.

Despite her having saved Noel from the demon, the blood rushed into his head as veins started bulging on his forehead.𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝑚

Gripping the sword tightly, Noel had no hesitation to swing his blade to her with a shout full of anger.

"ANNA STARGAZE!"

"ANNA STARGAZE!" Noel waved his sword toward the mastermind who caused the downfall of his family.

Clang!*

A green-colored sword stood in Noel's way, blocking Ardagan easily. Anna's body had tilted to the side with her eyes staring at Noel.

"I just saved you from this demon and now you want to kill me?!" Anna asked with a shocked expression. However, she already knew that Noel wouldn't be able to control himself.

With just a single glance, it was clear that Noel would continue to attack her. So, Anna used both hands to push Noel's back before letting the sword slide downwards, allowing her to avoid it with a leap.

In the air, she spun her body and sent a kick right at Noel's arm. Even though she didn't look that strong, a single kick from her launched Noel away.

Rolling a few times on the ground, Noel finally stopped a few meters from the group.

"!!!" Alfred and Lezlev dropped their jaws, shocked. Anna just showed a strength similar to the demon they fought earlier. However, she had a small build and her arms didn't look it had muscle.

Yet, they couldn't deny what they had just witnessed either. They didn't know how Anna could release that much power with that body.

On the other hand, Noel was gnashing his teeth as he was trying to endure the pain on his right arm.𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕓.𝕔𝕠𝞳

With all that pain, he somehow managed to stand up and prepared to attack her again. How could he wait anymore? The person that destroyed his family and killed his parents were in front of him. This kind of chance might not come again.

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"I don't come here to fight you, Noel." Anna sighed. Even though their current age was the same, she had regressed. Her soul was much older than her current age, so she couldn't help but call Noel with his name like an older woman calling a small kid in the street.

"Don't call me with that poisonous mouth of yours!" Noel rushed toward her and thrust his sword.

"You're not strong enough to fight me, let alone killing me." Anna shook her head helplessly and struck Noel's blade, letting it slid on her own blade and causing Noel to continue moving forward.

When they were only half a meter away, Anna grabbed Noel's shirt and twisted it before throwing Noel to the ground with his own momentum.

"Gah!" Noel coughed a few times as his whole body felt hurt.

But before he could do anything, he suddenly felt something pressing his back. Soon, two shoes stepped on both of his hands, pinning his body and hands to the ground to restrain him.

"!!!" Noel glanced to the back and saw Anna sitting on his back with her feet restraining his two hands. "You!"

"You have been a smart guy since the start… Why do you become a fool right now?" Anna let out a long sigh. "Do you think you can kill me now? Just give up. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. But I'm not here for your life."

"I don't care. No matter what I'm going to kill you." Noel roared before Anna's hand grabbed his head and pinned it down, completely restraining him this time.

"Kill her!" Noel then looked at Lezlev and Alfred.

"This…" Lezlev and Alfred exchanged looks, wondering what they should do. On the one hand, this was the first time they saw Noel this angry. On the other hand, they knew Anna had just saved his life.

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As for the story between them, they were completely unaware since they didn't participate in the throne war.

"She must have been hiding since she could appear in such a perfect time! In other words, she has been following us this whole time. Are you going to trust her?!" Noel tried to convince them. And it was indeed a good argument, considering Anna's appearance was perfect.

Anna lowered her head, thinking, 'I start regretting my decision to choose this group instead of others… At first, I want to observe Noel further because of his potential, but it seems that I'm too rash. Ugh, even in my past life, I'm not that good in mind battles like this. The only good thing from my past life was the techniques I learned as well as my experiences… What should I do now?'

After thinking for a while, Anna explained to Lezlev and Alfred. "I have been following you three. That's true."

"…" The two guys remained silent, but they still furrowed their eyebrows because it was truly unpleasant to know someone tailing them like this.

"That's right. Don't trust this woman! If not, she will ruin your family!" Noel didn't forget to add some flames.

However, Anna added, "I won't deny what I've done. However, all that is for a good reason. I am trying to find a team that can help me with something and your group is actually the first one to figure out the essence of this test. So, I think you guys are the perfect fit."

"Help you with something?" Alfred asked, "What is that?"

"I'm not pretty sure right now, but there's been a strange movement lately. I'm afraid this movement might cause a small outbreak and endanger the people here, especially you trainees."

"What? Demon outbreak?" Lezlev dropped his jaw to the ground as his face became pale, terrified.

"Yes. Although this is not confirmed yet, I'd like to prepare something in advance. At the very least, I want to save as many people as possible. Though, this means you're going to give up the record… Of course, I'm going to talk to the commander about this, so your contribution won't go unrewarded. What do you think?"

"I'm not going! I won't trust you!" Noel shouted as he was shaking his body to throw her away but to no avail. "Don't trust her! If you trust her, she will ruin your life!"

"Sure. I'll help you." Alfred suddenly answered. He didn't even need to think for long.

"Yes. I agree." Lezlev nodded in agreement.

"What?" Noel looked at them in horror. Lezlev aside, Alfred seemed to have some conflicts in his family that required him to clear the mission as soon as possible, but it didn't take too long for him to accept the request.

He felt the little trust that he had built with Alfred and Lezlev just broke apart.