System vs Rebirth

"…" Noel narrowed his eyes. This Undying Phoenix was one of his strongest techniques. Even though he had just acquired it not long ago, it didn't change the fact that the Undying Fire was overwhelming.

Yet, the guy managed to stop it. It was clear that the Undying Phoenix wouldn't be working more effectively next time. He knew he could simply extend his blade to stop it.

This wasn't looking good for him.

'I guess this is the current gap between a Spirit Wielder and a real Spirit Master, unlike the one I met in the town. Even with two elements, Rune and my swordsmanship, it's impossible to close the gap between us.'

Even though Noel couldn't reach the Spirit Master's level, he would probably win against the Spirit Master he fought with Anna if he went all out. Unfortunately, he still hadn't reached the level of the Spirit Master before him.

He never thought that a single rank had this big of a gap.

Noel had to find another way to close the last gap. But it seemed he could only take advantage of the terrain or his teammate.

"I have told you earlier, no matter how hard you struggle, you won't be able to defeat me!" The guy stated coldly, asserting his dominance. He had acknowledged Noel's strength and talent, so the only thing he had to do was to use his ability to capture Noel and present him to the organization.

Noel should be valued a lot, so it wouldn't be so strange if he got a huge promotion after this.

Since he had seen a lot of his abilities, he wasn't afraid of Noel anymore. He jumped toward him while extending his blade.

Noel hadn't found any weakness to exploit. Despite getting provoked multiple times, this guy wasn't even angry.

In the end, he was forced to run away, trying to get into a place where he could get some advantages.

The guy kept chasing after him, thinking Noel had no more options left.

He didn't realize that the terrain had changed. The woods had become denser and the ground had become a bit wet, making his step go a bit deeper than earlier.

The instant they arrived at this terrain, Noel immediately formed his Phoenix Wings.

A pair of black wings appeared on his back. This fire would surely burn the trees if touched, but Noel didn't care much about it, considering the ground was wet enough to stop the fire from spreading.

At the very least, it wouldn't become a forest fire.

"!!!" The Spirit Master felt something different from this area. It looked like Noel had been planning to lure him into this area the entire time. He was only biding his time so that he thought he had enough advantage that he didn't need to fear anything.

He scanned the area hurriedly while seeing Noel flying around with his wings. He didn't fly up high since he wasn't running away.

Noel just didn't want to be hindered by the wet ground.

While flying around, Noel released a couple of fire feathers into the air. This was the third ability he received recently, the Undying Fire Feathers.

These feathers stayed afloat for a while before they flew toward the Spirit Master.

"!!!" The Spirit Master found a difference between Noel's Undying Phoenix and these Undying Fire Feathers. They might be formed by the same fire, but they had two different approaches.

The Undying Phoenix used the Hard Approach, while these feathers utilized the Soft Approach.

He expanded his blade and turned it into a shield, blocking all these feathers.

Unlike the Undying Phoenix that would burn everything, these feathers actually melted his shield.

This was where Noel's control was tested. The first wave of Undying Fire Feathers melted a portion of the shield, creating a few holes in the surface.

Then, he sent the second wave to slip through that gap and reach the Spirit Master.

"!!!" The Spirit Master was startled because he couldn't protect himself now that the Undying Fire Feathers had gone past his shield.

He hurriedly threw his body to the left, trying to avoid the feathers. However, one of the feathers grazed him on the arm.

"Arghhhh!" He screamed in pain. The feather actually scorched his skin the instant it touched. Although the feather was blown away by the momentum, it was still extremely painful.

Noel finally saw a gap in his defense. He hurriedly flew toward the guy while covering his weapon with the Spiritual Energy, ready to choose either fire or ice depending on his needs.

However, chills suddenly went down his spine. Noel was astounded when the guy actually stopped screaming.

He endured all that pain while raising his blade. The Spiritual Energy on the tip of his sword flared up as it got extended far further than the previous blade.

"!!!" Noel gritted his teeth while waving his sword to the left.

*Clink!*

The extended sword hit his blade and cut all the trees within thirty meters radius.

With that length and momentum, being struck by this blade felt like he was crushed by a huge man using a warhammer.

That slash actually knocked him to the ground and continued to cut all the trees in the area, preventing Noel from taking advantage of the terrain.

Noel used his arm to support his body and immediately returned back up. But before standing, he placed his hand on the ground, placing another rune.

Everything was so smooth that he believed the Spirit Master didn't even see him planting one, since he was using the falling motion to cover it up.

As soon as the Spirit Master came in, Noel hurriedly jumped forward as if abandoning the rune he just made.

However, the Spirit Master knew that Noel was out of options and struck him so that he could get some time to think.

He smiled and took this opportunity to take down Noel, releasing all the anger he had after Noel almost melted his arm.

The sword was covered with Spiritual Energy to form a hammer.

Then, he struck Noel's blade and blew him away.

*Bam!*