System vs Rebirth

Chapter 48 Thoughts

Noel gritted his teeth as the pain started numbing his body. If he continued, he would have passed out sooner or later.

ʼHow should I answer this?ʼ Noel attempted to find the answer that could make him escape this situation, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing came into his mind.

ʼAs expected, thereʼs no way to get around this. In that case, I should avoid the worst case scenario.ʼ

Noel had resigned to his fate as he said, ”It can be tomorrow, it can be a few weeks from now on. Who knows.”

Although the system had told him the time limit, two weeks had passed. So, there were only two to three weeks left. Luckily, he could still say a few weeks since two weeks could still be considered more than one. At least, this play of words was enough to make him look like he didnʼt know anything.

As soon as he answered, he could feel the power that attached both Spirit Seals became loose. Without hesitation, he pulled out and glared at her, thinking, ʼAs expected, that woman wants to trap me. Sheʼs truly a manipulative evil woman.ʼ

”So, a few weeks, eh?” Anna smirked. ”How do you even know the time limit? Maybe you know something about the rune?”

Noel didnʼt want to lose to her, so he said, ”What about you? How do you know about Runes? The knowledge itself shouldnʼt be passed on since if the effect is like you said, there will be many people learning it already.”

Anna and Noel ended up glaring at each other, knowing that they were poking each other.

”Since you are not planning to ask another question, then Iʼm going to sleep. Iʼve wasted too much time for this.” Anna harrumphed and returned to the tent.

When she lied down, she thought, ʼAs expected, Noel knows something about the Ancient Demon Tree and the rune. There are many questions that I want to ask, but he wonʼt fall for the same traps twice. How do I acquire the information from him?

ʼAnyway, the Ancient Demon Tree will wake up soon. Its power will be extremely weak, probably only around Mid Level Demon or a bit higher, but it definitely doesnʼt reach Advanced Level Demon. I need to prepare a few things to fight against that tree…

ʼAnd since Noel knows something about the time of the awakening, I should follow him within the next few weeks. I bet heʼs going to fight this demon secretly. Sorry, but the Ancient Demon Tree is a huge temptation even for me.ʼ Anna smirked.

On the other hand, Noel was looking at the tent with a complicated expression.

ʼHow does she know about runes? I havenʼt read any records, but if the world knows about such a technique, theyʼll become famous already. After all, their reputation will become higher than any other Spirit Users. Even the ignorant me would have heard about them.

ʼThatʼs why it doesnʼt make sense. Should I ask her about the author of that book? Was my ancestor the last person to use it? I wanted to ask Ardagan, but I knew that he wouldnʼt give me any answer.

ʼAt the same time, Anna Stargaze managed to turn around the situation this whole time. Whether it was my trap or trick, she somehow used it against me. How smart is she?ʼ

Noel didnʼt realize that he was the smarter one among them. The only reason she could turn around the situation was due to him using that particular trick in the previous life.

ʼAnyway, I donʼt think Iʼll be able to get her to answer that. In that case, I should focus on another thing.ʼ Noel opened the system again. Looking at the Rune Mastery, he was planning to use it because it looked extremely useful.

After making his decision, he stood up and pulled Ardagan out. ”Well, looking out is boring, so I should spend it training. As long as I donʼt lower my guard down, I should be able to see any demons around us.”

Without hesitation, Noel started swinging his sword. Obviously, he couldnʼt run around because of the situation, but swinging his sword wouldnʼt take much movement and attention, allowing him to progress his training faster than his original plan.

After another few hours, Anna woke up. She thought Noel didnʼt wake her up, but it seemed she was a bit too early for her shift.

When she took a peak at the outside, she saw Noel swinging his sword, shocked.

ʼWhat? Did he use all this time to train his body? Does he not know that rest is important as well?ʼ Anna wanted to stop him, not knowing that Noelʼs body followed the systemʼs enhancement instead of natural human bodyʼs progress.

Although rest was good, Noel didnʼt need to bother with it too much.

As soon as Anna came out of the tent, he said, ”Since youʼre up, itʼs time for me to sleep.”

”Y-yeah?” Anna saw Noel passing her nonchalantly without even waiting for her answer. Before he entered the tent, Anna shouted, ”Wait a minute. Wash your body first. You reeks of sweat!”

”Does it bother you?” Noel smirked as if planning to use it to annoy her.

”You donʼt want a good meal, donʼt you?” Anna narrowed her eyes, not scared of Noelʼs threat.

”…” Noelʼs eyebrows twitched as he eventually snorted and walked to the lake.

Before going to the tent, Noel said, ”Listen. I didnʼt wash my body because I was scared of your threat. I just wanted to make you work for me like a chef. It sure feels like youʼre my maid. Hahaha!”

Anna chuckled, not caring about Noelʼs petty thoughts. ”Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

”…” Annoyed by Annaʼs uninterested reaction, Noel went to the tent with a frown. The moment he lied down, a sweet smell somehow entered his nose.

ʼWhat is this?ʼ Noel thought while closing his eyes. ʼThe sweet smell… somehow feels a bit too relaxing… That woman must have used a perfume or something to make her sleep well. Iʼll take advantage of it too.ʼ

Noel didnʼt realize that Anna never had something like that as his consciousness had gradually faded, wandering to the dreamland.