System vs Rebirth

While holding his shoulder, the farmer was the first one to move, enduring all that pain. He couldn't help but remember what Noel had done so far, so all he wanted was to make sure that he didn't bring more weight on his shoulder.

Seeing the farmer, the guy behind him immediately followed.

Luckily, the two managed to escape from the dam safely and Noel stood in front of the woods, making sure that the beaver didn't chase after him.

As expected, the beaver demon was angry that its friend died in Noel's hand. It rushed in anger, pouncing on Noel.

Noel glanced at the two guys to check their conditions. It seemed that they managed to escape, so he didn't need to hold back anymore.

The Spiritual Energy covered his sword, enhancing its sharpness and power.

The beaver also raised its claws and rapidly attacked Noel. The latter also did the same with his sword.

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

In just three seconds, they traded ten blows with none of them planning to back down.

Noel didn't want to use too much of his Spirit Abilities for one reason.

'My Spiritual Energy has been running a bit too low since yesterday due to fighting multiple Mid Level Demons. I usually didn't care much because Anna always helped me, making the Spiritual Energy consumption low, but this time, I am alone. I have been exerting the Sword Fall and Ignition Sword too much.' Noel knew that these two Spirit Abilities consumed much more Spiritual Energy than Mega Slash or Runes.

Assuming that there would be more beaver or fish demons, he began to save as much Spiritual Energy as possible.

'I see. So, this is how Anna has been fighting this whole time. She kills the demons by using Spiritual Energy as low as possible. Focusing on efficiency instead of overwhelming power. I can understand that now… After all, your stamina can be recovered with just some rest but Spiritual Energy will take a few days to recover.'

Noel took a deep breath and calmed his mind. He wanted to defeat this demon while maintaining his consumption low.

After understanding the tactic, he used his Sword Aura as well as Muscle Strengthening alone.

The beaver seemed to be planning the same. It charged toward Noel and struck him with its claws.

Noel focused on his Ardagan Swordsmanship this whole time.

He swung diagonally to the left, repelling the claws. After that, he made a spin to go past the beaver's defense while striking its other claws.

Seeing such a difference in Noel's fighting style, the beaver demon was startled and tried to move away from Noel.

On the other hand, Noel kept closing their distance and started overwhelming the demon with pure swordsmanship.

Every time he struck the demon, a thought appeared in his mind. That thought gave birth to a realization. One realization gave birth to two more and continued.

'I see. It seems that I have been too focused on my Spirit Abilities as well as the Ancient Spirit Techniques. I have forgotten how I fought Anna for the first time. Back then, I didn't have any Spirit Ability, let alone the Spirit Techniques. I purely relied on my swordsmanship to defeat her, but to no avail because her swordsmanship is far better than me.

'In the recent spar, I wasn't as overwhelmed as I was back then. I forgot the fact that my pure swordsmanship itself is a weapon.

'Now that I think about it, every time I swing, I also increase the count of my Swinging Practice, right? If that's the case, not only can I lower my Spiritual Energy consumption but I can also practice this way.'

This realization opened a huge door in Noel's path as a smile appeared on his face.

Noel kept striking the beaver to overwhelm him with all these swift and precise strikes. Even a Mid Level Demon had a hard time to follow Noel's movement this time.

Little did Noel know, this action of his caused a huge misunderstanding to the two guys who had managed to escape and hide behind the bushes. While wrapping up the wounds, the two guys took a peek at the battle.

They saw the beaver and Noel exchanged blows so quick that they couldn't even imagine their power.

"We never really saw him fighting the demons, but now that I think about it…" The farmer's face became pale, realizing the hardship Noel had to endure in this mission. "He is fighting the demon this hard, and yet, he already killed a dozens of them yesterday. Including the wound that stops him from using that left hand, I can't imagine how hard has he been fighting for this village.

"Do you know anything about the Mid Level Demon?" The farmer asked.

"I don't know much, but it's said that normal soldiers can't go against a Low Level Demon. They need to undergo a harsh training before they can fight against a Low Level Demon. And Mid Level Demon is beyond that…" The guy explained everything he knew.

"I see. Look at him, he's so young… I think he's just around 14 to 15 years old. Yet, he has been fighting for us this hard without complaining. Not sleeping, not taking care of his body… he keeps fighting. I feel ashamed of not doing anything." The farmer bit his lips.

As soon as the wound had been wrapped up, the farmer immediately rose from the ground and tried to reach the gallon that they failed to fill earlier.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to go back to fill this."

"You're injured."

"Even if I can't use one hand, I still have my other hand. I can't lose to a kid like him." The farmer shook his head, determined to go back after the dam was safe.

"You…" The guy was speechless but understood why the farmer was so adamant. Noel's action had truly inspired them, showing that if a kid this young already worked this hard and endangered his life, why would they fear?

He ended up taking the gallon from the farmer's hand.

"Oi, that's my gallon!"

"You're injured, so you should rest there. Although it'll be hard, I'll fill both gallons and bring it back to the village. I'm stronger than you." The guy snorted as if the farmer's spirit had been transferred to him.