System vs Rebirth

"You… are like a Spirit Ability Thrower instead of a true Spirit Master."

"Huh?" Noel raised his eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean?"

When he saw Noel's face, Damian rearranged his words. Without context, his words were an insult. There was no way Noel would take it lightly.

Noel was a genius that was hard to come by. Such a genius usually had a kind of pride that would be hurt when someone insulted them.

However, when Noel heard his words, there wasn't a single trace of pride. He was purely confused. Let alone pride, all that he wanted was a way to get stronger.

So, he had to rearrange his words to match his personality. He thought he would beat Noel with his words, but since there wasn't a need for it, he cut straight to the case.

"Literally. You have a lot of powerful abilities. Although I haven't seen everything about you, I have witnessed a few of your abilities."

"I can say that your abilities are top notch, but that's all there is to it. It feels like you are utilizing them according to the textbook."

"A textbook?" Noel frowned, looking down and falling into deep thought.

He had felt something different whenever Damian utilized his ability. But this was the first time he heard someone telling him like this.

Seeing Noel's confused look, Damian continued, "For example, this Enhance Forward Rune you're going to give me. It can move an item forward, right?"

"Yes." Noel nodded with a serious expression. That was what the rune was all about after all.

However, Damian added, "In that case, what would happen if I draw this rune in reverse? Doesn't that mean it's not forward anymore?"

"!!!" Noel widened his eyes. With his brain, it was easy for Noel to understand what he wanted to say.

And it completely dumbstruck him. He had never thought about it.

It was true that he could use the rune with different weapons and items, changing the purpose of the runes or his approaches.

However, he never thought about drawing the rune in reverse.

He imagined himself turning his body around and drawing the Enhance Forward Rune normally. But before activating it, he turned around again so that the Enhance Forward Rune was aimed in his direction instead of the other way around like it was supposed to be.

What if he could draw the rune in reverse so that he didn't have to turn around to draw it in reverse? That would mean the Enhance Forward Rune could become the 'Enhance Backward Rune.'

However, his thinking was still limited since he could actually draw it sideways, changing its direction again.

This might be what Damian meant by Spirit Ability Thrower instead of a Spirit Master.

He covered his face with his hands as if he had just got the shock of his life.

'I see. What Damian means by Spirit Ability Thrower is that I have been using my ability too literally. If it's Enhance Forward Rune, I have always thought about making an item go forward instead of the direction of the rune itself.'

'Now that I think about it, I have been using everything too literally. The Ice Ability, the Fire Ability, and even the Runes…'

'In that case, the Enhance Forward Rune can easily become the Falling Rune if I want it. How come I never thought about this?'

'No, wait.' Noel suddenly took a deep breath as if he had just realized a big problem. 'Since when… Yeah, since when did I rely too much on Ardagan and Heisk?'

After that realization, Noel noticed how much he relied on his spirits. It was true that he should rely on his spirit, but the spirit would always be his supporter and he would always have the initiative.

Ardagan and Heisk had already told him that they would always support him. They gave a lot of abilities and the system allowed him to work on his ability swiftly just by taking advantage of the system's Honor Points and Skill Points.

When he wasn't that reliant on Ardagan, he managed to create a lot of original things with the help of knowledge that he attained. He could form his own Swordsmanship with the help of the Ardagan Swordsmanship. He could make the Sword Fall make a parabolic movement instead of a simple falling movement.

But after getting stronger and stronger, he realized that he had a bit too reliant on the system. He took advantage of the system and his overwhelming abilities to win in every battle, but he had stopped thinking about what he could do to make that technique an original ability. His personality was the one that made things unique after all.

'This…' Noel's body shook. 'Now that I think about it, can I use the Flame Scale on an object that is connected to me as long as I think it's my own body? Can I use the Ice Mirror on a shield or something to strengthen its foundation?'

'There are a lot of things I can do…' Once he realized everything, it seemed that the door that led him to a completely new world was opened for him. 'An infinite combination… an infinite number of possibilities… Since when did I limit myself? Ardagan and Heisk have told me that they are going to support me, so I, as the head, should take the initiative to choose the direction. I'm a fool…'

Noel gritted his teeth. He never thought he would be this angry and disappointed in himself.

Damian saw that change of expression and closed his eyes. It seemed that he didn't have to tell him everything since he could figure it out himself.

Damian only added two more things. "It seems that you have realized what I'm talking about. That's actually one of the possibilities of becoming a Spirit Grandmaster. I don't know if someone has told you or not, but a Spirit Grandmaster is like a different world. That's because of what I told you earlier."