System vs Rebirth

"Your reward for defeating that spider is… actually something you have to decide."

"Eh? I have to decide it myself?" Noel blinked his eyes a few times.

"Indeed. Whether you want to return or not, you have to make that decision." The Spirit God confirmed it with a nod.

"Then, I want to return," Noel said without hesitation. There was no need to choose. As long as he could revive, he would do it.

However, the Spirit God actually raised his hand, gesturing him to stop. "I know your excitement, but the method is rather special. So hear me out for a moment."

"I apologize." Noel looked down. Still, he was excited that he could be revived. He clenched his hands into fists, determined to go back. But the decision he had to make was rather a hard one.

"The only way for you to go back to the living world is by repairing your body and recovering your life force. I'm sure you are already aware of it."

"Yes." Noel nodded. If he didn't know, he wouldn't say that the pill from the Sword Saint wasn't enough.

"Your body can be repaired with the pill you have. In fact, that lady has done it for you."

"…" Noel looked down. He couldn't really say it was a waste, considering Anna's desperation.

"The question is, how are we going to restore your life force?"

"That's…" Noel didn't know. If he had known such a thing, he would have fought longer and planned it much better.

That was when the Spirit God gave him an unexpected answer. "Unfortunately, it's going to be impossible to replenish human's life force."

"!!!" Noel's body shook. He thought that the Spirit God would give him a solution. But it seemed that it was impossible. When he was about to feel disappointed, he suddenly noticed something in his words. "Human's… life force?"

Noel widened his eyes and raised his head, staring at the Spirit God in disbelief.

"Indeed. I can't replenish a human's life force. But what do you think the Spirit's life force is?"

"Spiritual energy?"

"Indeed. The spiritual energy can replace a spirit's life force."

"!!!" Noel understood what he was trying to say. It was no wonder why the Spirit God asked him to listen first. The only way to resurrect him was by turning him into a spirit. "I see."

"There are two good news and two bad news that you'll have to consider before making your decision." The Spirit God raised two fingers. "I'll begin with the good news. First of all, there aren't many changes if you decide to live as a spirit. You won't have a different body or end up having a spirit child. You and that lady won't face any weird problems during your daily life."

That was indeed good news. It would be troublesome if Anna suddenly gave birth to a child with a horn or something after all. And if his body looked different, the royal family could brand him as someone who had integrated himself with demons. Even if he explained it was with the spirit, they wouldn't believe him. People were afraid of the unknown.

Since this had never happened before, only a small portion of people would believe him.

"The second good news is that this can be considered an upgrade to your power. You will become half-human, half- spirit, meaning you can unleash much more power than before."

Noel fell silent. It was indeed a tempting offer. However, he couldn't help but worry about the bad news. He gulped down, listening carefully.

"Onto the bad news, it will be your age. Because you're going to turn into a half-spirit, your lifespan will increase drastically."

"!!!" Noel widened his eyes in shock.

The Moon Goddess had been alive for more than a century. He didn't know about other spirits, but most likely, they could easily live for more than a few hundred years, if not thousands of years.

For a human, it was like having an endless lifespan. On the one hand, it was good to live for a very long time. On the other hand, living too long would shred their hearts apart.

First of all, Anna would die, while his appearance would look as if he hadn't aged. Then he would witness the next generation, and the next generation after that would die before him. He didn't know how many painful experiences would tear his heart apart.

That was why the Spirit God classified this as bad news instead of good news.

Noel could also choose to take his own life, but… could he?

Noel gulped down. After thinking for a while, he bit his lips while saying, "I understand. This world is vast… I can always travel, explore new areas and find new encounters. As long as I stay true to myself, I don't think I will go crazy."

The Spirit God smiled. "Then the second bad news is… to replenish your life force, your body has to be turned into a spirit so that you can use the spiritual energy to replenish your life force.

"But in order to turn your body into that of a spirit, I will need another spirit to do it."

"Another spirit?" Noel fell silent for a moment. There was only one spirit that came into his mind.

It was the weapon spirit that was said to be crafted by the Spirit God himself. This was the only spirit that was artificial. "Don't tell me…"

Noel's face turned pale as if he couldn't believe the price he had to pay.

"That's right. In order to turn you into a spirit, I will have to reforge your own body with Ardagan. In other words, you and Ardagan will merge. Ardagan will forever be bound to you.

"Your descendants won't be able to inherit Ardagan or the system anymore. They won't be able to turn their lives around like you do.

"You said earlier that you can go around the world. But you have to remember that from now on, once you perish, so will Ardagan."

Noel's body trembled. He wasn't prepared for the second bad news. The Spirit God was telling him that he had to pick between Anna and Ardagan. If he picked Anna, his partner and his family would suffer.

If he picked Ardagan, it meant that he couldn't go back. He had to choose between friendship and love.

When Noel was faced such a problem, his heart sank.