Chapter 241: Mission
Since there was nothing they had to do in the mansion, they immediately returned to the Demon Banner Army headquarter. Due to the distance, it took them two weeks to reach the army.
On the way, Noel focused in sorting out his emotions because it completely confused him in the mansion.
Of course, after leaving the mansion, Noel reminded her of something important.
"By the way, aren't you supposed to tell me about the Fire Bird Nest and Body Strengthening Liquid?"
"Ah, you're right." Anna nodded with a serious expression. "Fire Bird Nest is like the name implies. It's located in the Demon Territory and you should be able to go there to find the Fire Bird Nest.
"There is one thing that you need to prepare against the Fire Bird. Do you know about Spirit Levels?"
"Yes."
"Then, to put it simply, you have to reach Spirit Master to fight the Fire Bird since it is a Peak Level Demon. So, I guess you have to wait for another year to go there."
"What's the specialty of the Fire Bird? I don't think the Sword Saint asked you to give away that information for no reason."
"I know. Aside from the Demon Crystal, you'll like to have the bird's heart because it contains a ferocious flame. That's the most important thing if we're talking about the fire bird." Anna explained but didn't say anything about why Noel needed fire bird's heart, considering it was only good for a spirit with fire element. From this alone, his identity as someone with two elements had been revealed.
But the Sword Saint had seen Anna's memory, so he was already aware of Anna's reincarnation. There was no need for them to hide it anymore.
"I see. So, there is such a thing." Noel nodded. "What about the other one?"
"The Body Strengthening Liquid?" Anna thought for a moment. "There is nothing much about this Body Strengthening Liquid. Even if you go now, you should be able to get it. The Body Strengthening Liquid is a concentrated liquid that has been compressed naturally. I don't know about the specification of the liquid itself, but if you bathe in it, it can strengthen your body.
"As for the location of those two, the Fire Bird Nest is located Northwest of Lelelei Fort and the Body Strengthening Liquid is hidden underneath the Geolythic Mountain. There should be a cave leading to that area."
"I see." Noel narrowed his eyes and asked, "What if we fight the Fire Bird together?"
"Fighting the Fire Bird together? But this is your reward. I don't intend to take part in it." Anna shook her head. "Besides, fighting against the Fire Bird is hard, even for me. I don't think we'll be able to do that before you're moving with your second identity. So, I don't think I'll go with you this time."
"Fair enough. Then, let's go to the Body Strengthening Liquid."
"Listen here... I have—"
Noel shook his head, stopping her words. "I should bath in this liquid, right? It means the liquid itself won't lose its efficacy after a single bath or you can say, it will still give that effect even after someone using it. Hence, it's better to bring an additional person."
"But that's your reward!"
"Yeah. That's why I'm inviting you here."
"Huh? Why would you invite me?"
"Although it makes me smile to get stronger than you, overpower you, and bully you continuously, I have thought about the bigger picture. If you get stronger, you can help me more when searching about the truth."
"..." Anna felt silent, never expecting Noel to ask her personally. After all, this was unthinkable to the previous Noel who had been burying that hatred in his heart. It was also the sign of Noel's change. It might be forced, but Anna actually didn't mind the current him.
It was quite awkward to see Noel like this, but everything could be solved with time.
"So, are you going or not?"
"Of course, I'm going since you've gone all the way to invite me." Anna accepted it without hesitation.
"Alright then."
[Mission has been registered.]
[Mission: Defeat the Fire Bird Demon]
[Description: Go to the Northwest of Lelelei Fort and kill the Fire Bird Demon]
[Reward: 49 SP and One with Flame Medal]
[Penalty: Someone gets it.]
[Mission: Body Strengthening Liquid]
[Description: Go to the Geolythic Mountain with Anna Stargaze and bath in the Body Strengthening Liquid]
[Reward: Sword Aura +3 Level and 20 SP]
[Penalty: Someone gets it.]
Noel could see that the mission had been finalized after his will. It seemed that Noel could understand the mission system a bit.
When Anna first told him about the information about the Sword Saint Tomb, it was clear that Anna had placed herself as one of the explorers. That was why the mission would be together with Anna and immediately notified to him.
The Ancient Demon Tree mission was similar. It was finalized and given to him directly. He went there with Anna because Anna was an anomaly at that time. Now that Anna wasn't a stranger anymore, Ardagan could update the system accordingly.
With this, he had confirmed that he could put some conditions before Ardagan finalized the missions. If he simply accepted the information for himself, the mission would be given just for him. But Noel had asked Anna to go with him, so the mission became related to her. That was why the Fire Bird Mission was only for him and the Body Strengthening Liquid mission was together with Anna.
Noel couldn't help but smile because he indeed had some influences in the system itself. Depending on how he used it, this system could perfectly match his preference.
Though, he wondered whether his ancestor had known about this or not, considering he didn't tell anything in the book. Considering the ancestor considered Ardagan as a living spirit, he should have found out about it. The reason why he didn't tell anything about it because he wanted the later generation to find it out themselves, making a system unique only to them.
Thinking about this couldn't help but put a smile on his face.
However, Anna was unaware of his thought and misunderstood his smile. She thought Noel was just happy that they could go together.