"Other rewards? Then, why did you agree that we'll split the money?" Noel narrowed his eyes. "If you already knew about this, you should have talked about this."
"Why? I had no reasons to give any explanation? In fact, if you didn't ask, I would have just allowed you to absorb the Demon Crystal. Won't it be good for me if you die?" Anna shrugged. "Don't forget that we're at odds, Noel. I have no obligation to tell you unless you ask it yourself.
And even if I tell you, I know that you're not going to believe me that easily. So, why should I take extra effort to tell you?"
Noel couldn't refute her. As she said, he was still trying to kill him. So, there was no way Anna would help him easily. Even though she didn't want him to die for the time being, she didn't want to stop him from courting death because they were enemies.
Noel pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Alright. Your suggestion is quite good. By exchanging for another reward, I can get something good at my current level. At least, they'll be beneficial for my current state."
"That's right. Do you think what are the most important things someone like us need? Powerful weapons? Durable armors? No! It's Spirit Technique… precisely Ancient Spirit Technique.
"If you learn about history, your mind will be blown away when you realize that every single person in the world was born with Spirit. There is no need for awakening!
"And Spirit Techniques… the current Spirit Techniques are the result of the optimization that suits the current situation. Their power has been toned down to match our body. On the other hand, the Ancient Spirit Technique is an extremely powerful technique! They can release a far more powerful strength compared to the current Spirit Technique.
"Most people can't use Ancient Spirit Techniques right now because they don't have what it takes. But it'll be different for us… or me? My conversion rate is close to one hundred percent like the people in the past. I have enough qualifications to learn the Ancient Spirit Techniques.
"I'm planning to use the reward to exchange the Ancient Spirit Techniques to strengthen myself. That's what I'll suggest to you as well. Instead of courting death, why don't you take a bit of the tree to make an armor for you? Though, it'll be hard to process it. You might need a skilled craftsman and they might not be humans.
"Either way, this is my explanation and suggestion. Whether you want to believe in my word or not, it's entirely up to you."
Noel paused for a moment. What Anna said made sense. He couldn't question the logic at all. Although his knowledge about Spirit was low, he had read a few books regarding this topic, so he could still make judgment whether what she said was good or bad.
As Anna said, he realized that it was better to trade the reward. However, he still said, "But we have agreed that I'll have the demon crystal and you get whatever that covers it. I'm not going to take what is not mine."
"You're so uptight, eh. For better or worse…" Anna chuckled. "In that case, how about I propose you a deal?"
"Yeah. In exchange for a part of my possession, I want you to follow me to a certain place. At least, find a group mission that is around that area, so that we can visit a place together."
"What are you plotting?" Noel's eyebrows twitched.
"I need to hear the deal first to know whether I should agree or not."
"Sure. Eight months from now, I want us to go to the border between this kingdom and Vrueniel Kingdom. In that place, there is a ruin I want to enter. It's said that the ruin comes from a thousand years ago. Many explorations have been done, but none of them could find anything. I want both of us to go there."
"It seems that you know something." Noel narrowed his eyes.
"What do you think?" Anna ignored his statement. "I mean, this will benefit both of us since whatever is inside can increase our strength tremendously."
Noel thought for a moment. However, his fate was sealed when Ardagan started speaking like he knew every single information, even the future.
[Mission: Explore the Sword Saint Ruin]
[Description: A Soul of the Sword Saint Enzelgal has been buried under this ruin. Meet him and pass his test.]
'Sword Saint Ruin? Sword Saint Enzelgal? How does Ardagan know everything? Now that I think about it, a thousand years ago… Isn't it the time when my ancestor started making a name for himself? Does that mean my ancestor lived in the same era as this guy?' Noel narrowed his eyes.
'Still, there is no penalty when I fail to do it Ancient Demon Tree mission. It seems that the penalty is simply a way for Ardagan to test me whether I'm qualified to wield him or not. If I can prove that I'm qualified, there is no need for penalty because he's going to fully support me. If that's the case, I'm truly grateful. There is no reason for me to reject this offer.'
After contemplating for a few minutes, Noel nodded his head. "Fine. I agree."
"Great." Anna smirked while thinking inwardly, 'Hehe, you've fallen into my traps, Noel. In the previous life, Noel entered this ruin alone and received everything inside. This time, I'm going with him so that I can leech off him.
'Well, Noel was the only one that could open this ruin in the past. There were two theories back then. First, Noel was actually related to the person inside the ruin. Second, Noel had talent that piqued the ghost inside the ruin.
It seemed to be the latter, so it might be related to his conversion rate… It seems that Noel's Conversion Rate is above me… He might even have a perfect conversion… Either way, I'm going to leech off his opportunity. I'm so awful but I need it so that Noel doesn't get too strong that fast and I don't get left behind.'
Just like Anna, Noel had also his own thought.
'The mission only benefited me, so there's no reason for me to reject. Thanks to her, I can discover something this good.'
Noel and Anna looked at each other smiling as if they had come to an agreement. However, they both had an opposite thought.
'I'm going to use her knowledge to discover more missions.'
'I'm going to leech off his opportunities.'