System vs Rebirth

Noel muttered inwardly, 'Another '???' reward. This is the fourth mission I have encountered such a reward. It seems that every time I have this kind of reward, the reward will always be related to the result of the mission completion.'

'In other words, it feels like Ardagan is withholding the reward and giving the reward depending on my circumstances. Like Rose's Revenge, if I don't make such a ruckus, I don't think Rose's affection will become that deep. The same applies to the Sword Saint. If I end up having an unruly personality, he might not impart me the technique.'

Noel looked down, falling into deep thought. His guesses didn't seem to be that far from the actual answer. He might be able to use this information to receive something that suited his needs in the future. Then again, he would rarely do this since Ardagan had been supporting him to the best of his ability.

Meanwhile, the other mission piqued his interest for another reason.

Even though their relationship had gone better compared to the past, Noel still had the desire to make her owe him. This way, he would have the advantage whenever they were trying to reach an agreement.

However, Ardagan seemed to have taken Anna's kiss and their bet into consideration. By helping Anna so suddenly like this, Anna would feel a bit indebted to him. There was a chance that he would get some clues about her secret.

In addition, he would also receive a reward from Ardagan. He didn't know what this Force Control was all about, but the former reward was already enough for him to take it.

Though, there was another problem. Since Anna was having a mission in Creek Village, he didn't know how to go there.

Luckily, he remembered the possibility of Ardagan having a clairvoyant ability. It seemed that Ardagan had taken a peek into the future and knew that he would be nearby.

'Well, I can dispatch some people from the brothel to find out about this Creek Village. This way, I will have some more information before the mission starts…' Noel thought.

There were a lot of things he could do after understanding Ardagan's power.

Now that he had discovered everything, he was going to make preparations for the next step.

…

Just like Noel, Anna had also begun her preparation.

Instead of returning with her father, she took a detour to visit a certain house.

In the city called Draeam, there was a small alchemy store within a narrow and dark alley.

A person covered with a black robe entered this alley and opened the store's door. Surprisingly, even though the door looked run down, and the alley was giving an eerie feeling, the interior of the store completely gave a different feeling.

The orange light warmed the store and the neat decoration made one feel like they had returned home.

The floor was clean and there didn't seem to be any speck of dust on all shelves.

Because of the location, the store was pretty much deserted. No one seemed to be looking around the store.

There was only a middle-aged man sitting on the counter, who seemed to be sleeping.

If they looked at his face, they would find a huge black bag under his eyes. His complexion was also pale. He looked like he hadn't slept for a few days.

Yet, when Anna stood in front of him, she said, "I know you are awake. Why bother pretending to be asleep?"

"…" The middle-aged man didn't give any response as if he was completely asleep.

"Spirit Awakening." But the moment she called out a name, the middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes.

He suddenly rose from his position and looked at her. There was no drowsiness on his face.

Anna may have covered her body and head, but she didn't cover her face, allowing him to find out about her identity.

"Well, well… never in my wildest dream will the famous Anna Stargaze appear in my store…" The middle-aged man frowned.

Anna smirked. "It's an honor for the former Royal Alchemist of the Zaecuria Kingdom, Sir Khalid, to know my name."

"As expected, you already know my identity. I thought I had erased all my traces completely. I simply want to live the rest of my life peacefully, you see… So, what should I do with you…" The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became cold.

Anna remained calm. She raised her hand as if asking him to stop while saying, "I'm sure you know about my purpose here…"

The middle-aged man remembered what Anna said to wake him up, but he didn't say anything as if he was allowing Anna to elaborate on her words.

Anna continued, "I know that you are researching a drug that can awaken one's Spirit forcefully. I have a clue that might interest you."

"Hoh?" Anna seemed to have figured out about him, so Khalid didn't even bother to hide it anymore. "There is nothing such as a free meal in this world… I'm assuming you want something from me, right?"

"Yeah." Anna closed her eyes for a moment, recalling all the past events where she took someone's future possession.

She muttered inwardly, 'Alchemist Khalid. The name that will shake the world in the future. In my past life, he managed to create a drug that could awaken the spirit forcefully. But this drug didn't awaken the Spirit for those who hadn't discovered them.'

'Instead, his drug stimulated the Spirit's potential and gave a lot of benefits to its users. It was similar to the benefit of the Spirit Link. At that time, he wasn't affiliated with anyone else. He found the drug in the mysterious facility through his own strength.'

'In other words, he was a free man in the past life. But to solve the problem that would occur in the near future, he has to complete his research sooner than in his past life.'

"I want to propose a deal." Anna smiled. She also remembered that Noel was the one supplying the drug and she was there only to be the third party that connected them. So, she didn't plan to take all the credits. Hence, she added, "In exchange for providing you a huge lead to your research, I want you to be my… no, our allies."