System vs Rebirth

Noel looked down for a moment, confusing the commander.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Do you have some information about them?" The commander furrowed his eyebrows.

Noel didn't answer him immediately as if he was considering something.

"I don't have the information. But I might have a way to find some clues…" Noel paused in the middle as if he was expecting something from the commander.

As if seeing through his intention, the commander narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems you want my cooperation…"

"Exactly. Nonetheless, you should be aware of how wide the Ardagan Family's network is, right?"

The commander couldn't help but acknowledge that fact as well. Although Noel's father had been executed, there was no telling whether Noel still knew some relations or not.

This could be a bluff from Noel, but there was nothing wrong if he cooperated with him. It was true that his uncle might be one of the people from the Supreme Devil Organization, but his father was not.

In fact, Luke Ardagan was one of the people who didn't mind helping people who got affected by the organization.

So, Noel might be inheriting Luke's determination and want to continue his father's work to fight the organization.

The commander fell into deep thought. He had to consider the pros and cons first before deciding whether he would cooperate with him or not.

After three minutes, the commander agreed. "Alright. You have my cooperation. So, what do you want?"

"Maybe I can help you investigate them. Though, I hope that the commander can understand my circumstances as well. If I'm too focused on them, I will have no time to get stronger. So…"

The commander's expression was darkened. "So, you want me to tell you about the Supreme Devil Organization information around your destination?"

"Yes." Noel nodded with a smile.

The commander pinched the bridge of his nose. It would be easy to just order Noel around. But as he said, Noel would waste too much time doing this mission.

It would affect his training speed. He couldn't help but remember Noel's state when he first came here.

He was a powerless guy without basic knowledge about spirits. Yet, one and a half year later, his power was at the peak of Spirit Wielder. If he allowed Noel to continue to grow his strength at this pace, he would be able to reach the Spirit Master soon and eventually become the youngest Spirit Grandmaster.

He pinched the bridge of his nose before asking, "Where are you going?"

"I am planning to go to Styxcanva and the area around it, like visiting Countess Christina."

The commander looked down, recalling the information he had about that area. After a while, the commander told him. "There is a suspicion around Tamworth. I am thinking about sending people over there.

"Since you are nearby, I want you to visit that place as well and check whether the suspicion is true or not. Considering you have limited time to travel this time, you only need to look around for three days.

"After that, whether you find anything or not, you are going to send that report directly to me. Understood?"

The moment he finished his words, Noel received a notification from Ardagan.

[Mission: Commander Investigation Request.]

[Description: The City Lord has a shady deal with the Brothel. Get the information related to the shady dealing, including their involvement with the Supreme Devil Organization.]

[Reward: ???]

[Penalty: Your Life.]

Noel wanted to be happy when he found out he could trick the system into giving him a mission.

But he couldn't help but be shocked the moment he saw the description as well as the penalty.

'What? The City Lord and the Brothel? But if I'm not wrong, the Brothel should be related to my father's subordinate, who is skilled in getting information.

'Don't tell me, my father's subordinate has defected to the Supreme Devil Organization? Or has he become one of them from the start?

'Is there any connection between him and the execution of my parents? Maybe he betrayed them?'

Noel couldn't help but feel shocked. He couldn't answer his doubt, but it didn't change the fact that the suspicion was lingering in his heart.

And the fact that the penalty of this mission was his life meant the opponent this time was strong enough to take his life away. If he didn't play his card right, he might lose his life here.

Though, there was one more possibility for such a penalty. It was Ardagan giving a penalty out of spite.

But Ardagan never cared about him tricking the system. In fact, he was thankful because Ardagan could perfect the system he had. So, there was no reason why Ardagan would act this way.

So, he concluded that it was the former.

'It seems that the situation is far more dangerous than he originally thought. But I have promised Dimitri to go there, so I'll personally check it myself, I guess. If I'm not taking this risk, I'm afraid that I'll escape whenever things go rough.

'I am going to challenge myself here and make sure to overcome this challenge.'

With this determination in his heart, Noel bowed. "I understand. I accept the mission. Since I am on their watch list now, it's better to confront them directly instead of letting them approach me and end up sneaking on me."

"Alright then." The commander nodded. "I will entrust this mission to you. However, you have to remember that Septa's subordinates will also come to that city. If you ever encounter a problem, you can reach out to them to get the necessary reinforcement."

"I understand. Thank you for your concern." Noel was glad that the commander didn't just leave him to die. He should know that this mission was a bit dangerous, so he mentioned Septa's squad to remind him that they could take over if Noel decided to stop.

Noel then looked at the commander as if asking him for the third thing he wanted to talk about.

The commander's expression darkened the moment he saw this gaze. It seemed the third topic was something hard to discuss even for him.