System vs Rebirth

"Mhmm…" Noel let out a soft groan as he gradually opened his eyes. The place was dimly lit but strangely warm.

"Kh." Noel felt his body was a bit too stiff. 'Is this the side effect of merging with Ardagan? I have a hard time moving my body. Does my body turn into a sword or something?'

Noel lifted up his head, trying to see the rest of his body.

However, he soon found out the answer to why his body was like this. Anna was sleeping on top of him. They were both naked and covered with a big blanket on top so that they could warm each other up.

Noel couldn't help but smile, knowing that Anna was worried about him. In addition, it didn't seem that a day had passed. The sky had turned orange, but they should still have an hour before it was fully set.

They were actually inside a cave and there was a fire pit next to them. It seemed that Anna had moved them to a different spot after saving him.

At the same time, he noticed her pale face. It didn't seem to come from worries.

Out of curiosity, Noel tried to release his spiritual energy to see whether he could use it or not. The Spirit God only forbade him from using the fire element after all.

Once he saw the spiritual energy, Noel channeled it into Anna's body to check her condition.

Noel couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows.

'Hmm? Something is wrong with her body… Did she bleed profusely?' Noel explored her body with his spiritual energy and ultimately noticed the multiple cuts on her wrist. 'This is… Her True Spirit Body is related to blood as well… Don't tell me, she used her own blood to help me?'

Noel bit his lips. It seemed that Anna had suffered much more than he originally thought. With a sad smile, he just patted her head and stroke her hair. "Thank you…"

All of a sudden, his hand suddenly glowed with a beautiful, purplish white color.

"Huh?" Noel was confused, not knowing what his hand was doing.

However, this color exuded some spiritual energy that gradually moved toward Anna's forehead.

"This is…" Noel noticed that the spiritual energy condensed and formed a lightning mark on her forehead.

When it was done, the spiritual energy started to react to this mark and enveloped her in a translucent white sphere.

"What is happening?" Noel could only remember what the Spirit God said. "Is this the reward? Or is it something else?"

He thought the transfer was a failure, but it seemed that he was wrong. The light sphere floated two meters above the ground. Not only her spiritual energy, but her condition improved much further. Her pale face gradually regained its color, making Noel slightly relieved.

While he was worried about her, he was also curious about his current condition.

He rose from the ground and started moving body.

"There is nothing weird with my body. I can move just fine. The spiritual energy…" Noel suddenly fell silent. Now that he thought about it, he could sense something weird this whole time.

It was as if numerous needles were poking him. Surprisingly, these needles weren't hurt. Instead, they acted like a funnel for the warm air enter his body.

"Is this what it means to be a half-spirit? Sensing the spiritual energy will be much easier with this… And there is still that spider. It might still be recovering, but it'll be bad if the spider decides to attack humans.

"In that case, I have to become a Spirit Transcendence as quickly as possible. My wounds have been closed as well…' Noel fell silent for a moment.

He tried to open the system, which was still functional. Even the mission that allowed him to return was still there.

"Ardagan…" Noel muttered. His face became even more determined. He would simply reach a level that wasn't possible in the past.

"There might even be strength above the Spirit King. I can't find it right now, but in the future… when I begin traveling around the world, I'll definitely discover it."

Noel clenched his fists, but he had to shift his attention back to Anna when he sensed the spiritual energy around her had become less concentrated.

Noel raised his head and found out that the sphere gradually vanished into thin air. The sphere popped like a balloon as Anna fell down.

He swiftly caught her and looked at her forehead. The lightning mark gradually disappeared into the skin like the Spirit Seal.

He didn't know the purpose of that mark, but he knew that it would be extraordinary. The one who gave it was the Spirit God after all.

"Mhmmm…" Anna let out a soft moan as she gradually opened her eyes. The first thing that appeared in her vision was Noel's face. "Noel… Am I… dreaming?"

Noel put on a gentle smile. "No, you're not dreaming. I've recovered thanks to you."

"!!!" Anna's fuzzy eyes instantly turned clear. Her voice was shaking, but her lips gradually curved. "Not dreaming… you're alive…"

"Yes."

"You're still alive!" Anna just hugged him tightly, her tears welling up in her eyes. "You're not dead. You're not dead. You're not dead!"

Noel could feel the pain of her losing him in this hug. It tore his heart apart.

"Yeah. I'm still alive. I'm with you here." Noel picked up the blanket with his spiritual energy, covering her body so that she didn't feel cold.

"Ah!" Anna shivered when she felt the blanket. She looked down, realizing that they were still naked. She hurriedly wiped her tears while saying, "Put me down. Put me down. We need to get dressed first!"

Noel chuckled and gently put her down. It was already a miracle to be able to be with her again, so he didn't ask for more.

Anna just felt relieved and began to put on her clothes. "I thought I would lose you forever…"

"Me too."

"You're not going to do that again, right? Promise me."

"There's no way I can promise something like that. For you, I don't mind sacrificing myself. You know that."

"Are you going to leave me alone?" She bit her lips.

"I don't. But the only thing I can promise you is that… I'll definitely consider our safety a top priority. I'll definitely not let the same thing happen in my plan. Is that enough?"

Anna let out a long sigh. "Fine. That's enough for now. But know that I'm going to follow you to death if you dare to die again… and I'll bring down some demons with me."

Noel just smiled. He didn't know how to explain to Anna his current condition.

Fortunately, Anna was actually the one who mentioned a matter related to it. While touching her forehead, she couldn't help but ask, "Noel… I'm feeling weird right now. I don't know why but I feel like there is something on my forehead. I also think that certain knowledge is added to my brain. It's a foreign feeling… I don't know what is happening…"

"I can explain that. I think I should tell you about what has happened since I died." Noel paused for a moment. "But I think there is one more thing we should take care of before we have time to discuss that matter."

"A problem?"

"Yeah. It's Dimitri. Has a day passed yet?"

"Ah!" Anna almost forgot that Dimitri was supposed to arrive soon. If they got intercepted by those demons, the ship would fall and even Dimitri might die in the process.

"There you have it. Let's go to the rendezvous point or even further than that to avoid another clash with those demons. The spider seems to be recovering from its wounds, so we still have some time.

"During that time, we will somehow become a Spirit Transcendence with this new transcendent path and eliminate them. What do you think?"

Anna nodded with a serious expression. She was also curious about this new knowledge. And from the way Noel worded it, something amazing must have happened after that.

Even she thought that it was impossible to bring Noel back when she discharged lightning to pump his heart.

"Alright."

"How is your condition? I can carry you if you feel too weak. Just point out the direction." Noel asked.

"I'm… strangely filled with energy. I'm not at my peak, but I can still move around at high speed. Is it related to this weird thing on my forehead?"

"Yes. But don't push yourself too hard, alright? Tell me if you feel uncomfortable or tired."

"En." Anna nodded with a smile.

"Let's go then." Noel extended his hand.

Anna just held his hand tightly as if not wanting to let it go once more.