[The simulation is over. You can choose two of the following.]
[1: Increased Sexual Stamina (Seedling Talent)]
[2: Strengthened Soul (Slightly Recovered Soul)]
[3: Strengthened Physical Strength (First Stage of the Blood Refinement Path)]
[4: Crimson Body Manual]
[5: Wood Law (Inherited Fragments)]
[6: Memory of this Simulation]
Breathing in and out slowly, Noel — without giving even a glance to the choices in front of him — was still seething with anger, trying to calm himself down.
That last message from his simulated self... from his future self... had actually helped in calming him slightly. Otherwise, Noel felt that even with all the patience he’d built up, he would’ve lost control — and started breaking everything around him to vent.
Even then, that didn’t mean he was fine.
Being tortured by someone who had feelings for Selena...
Becoming an experimental subject for a crazy woman...
Facing an unprecedented, degrading humiliation...
Those were entirely different from being imprisoned by Selena or Lilith.
Even if he had died while being caged by one of them, no matter how many times — it would’ve been tolerable.
But this kind of shit?
This kind of outcome wasn’t something he could accept.
Not the faint emotions returning to his hollow chest.
Not his very existence.
Nothing in him could accept it.
Many thoughts ran through Noel’s mind, fast and tangled —
But still, he reminded himself:
It was just a future that could happen. Not one that would.
He had the Codex Null.
And he would continue to grow stronger.
As long as he continued walking his path...
So, Noel chose to think more positively.
In one way or another, this simulation had given him more than it took.
He’d lived until the age of twenty-four.
He’d survived past the imprisonment phase under Lilith.
And most importantly—
He had found a way to grow stronger.
The Blood Refinement Path.
With those thoughts, Noel finally turned his attention to the choices for this premium simulation.
And he could only select two.
That was the first thing that caught his attention. But then, as he read the first choice, his expression twisted.
Were the rewards not supposed to be better?
Then why... was the first one still just a seedling talent?
A useless one at that?
Noel couldn’t help but frown, the image flashing through his mind of that moment in the simulation... where he had failed to keep up with Selena in bed.
Is it because of that?
But in the end, he decided to pretend that choice didn’t exist.
As if it had never been written there in the first place.
And so, he read the true five choices.
Noel found himself wanting them all.
Memory — normally, he wouldn’t care.
He hated remembering the kind of pathetic life he lived in these simulations.
This time, he wanted to engrave it.
He wanted to carve the face of Coren into the back of his mind.
To burn in the name of Liora.
To remember the rage — the humiliation — that his simulated self had endured.
If possible... he wanted that hatred to remain with him.
So that he would never forget what kind of future awaited him, if he wasn’t strong enough.
But the other options were equally alluring.
Especially the Wood Law.
Noel still didn’t know much — or anything — about laws. But instinctively, he felt their value. Even if it didn’t provide immediate power, it would likely become precious in the future. Something that could open a door others couldn’t even knock on.
That’s why, the Wood Law, was a given!
And then there were the last three:
Strengthened Physical Body
Which one should he choose?
The logical answer was the Crimson Body Manual.
But Noel — the current Noel — was done choosing with logic.
He was choosing with emotion.
He had spent twelve years chasing the missing memories of his blank nine-year past.
And now, finally, finally, if he selected Strengthened Soul, he would recover a part of it.
Wait for the next simulation?
He had waited long enough.
And more importantly...
He already knew the place the Crimson Body Manual came from.
If needed, he could go there.
If he didn’t have the strength to get it alone, then he could ask Selena.
She had already acquired it in the simulation, after all.
And so, with the decision made, Noel finally reached out... and made his choice.
[You have selected: Wood Law (Inherited Fragments).]
Immediately, Noel felt something change inside him.
Something had awakened... or arrived.
But what it was exactly — he couldn’t tell.
So instead of dwelling on it, he turned his attention to the second choice.
[You have selected: Strengthened Soul (Slightly Recovered Soul).]
And just like before, that familiar clarity washed over him — the same clear-headed sensation that he’d felt during his last soul recovery.
But this time, something was different.
A sudden, sharp pain surged through his skull.
Noel clutched his head tightly, his fingers digging into his scalp as his teeth clenched.
He was confident in his ability to withstand pain.
This was unlike anything before.
A growl escaped him — pained, hoarse, but still restrained.
His bloodshot eyes flickered with agony. Veins bulged around his temples and neck, pulsing with pressure.
Anything — just to distract himself from this pain that came from somewhere deep inside.
Somewhere beyond flesh.
But in the end, he didn’t lash out.
He just... shrank into himself.
His body trembled, locked tight, curled like a wounded beast.