System vs Rebirth

Mega Slash.

*Bam!*

With the help of Increase Agility and Strength Blessing Runes, Noel's attack was amplified greatly. In addition of Mega Slash, the moment he struck the trunk, a portion of it was shattered as if he used an axe to hit it.

'It's too shallow. Am I going to dig this whole place?' Noel clicked his tongue and leaped to the side again, avoiding the branches again.

'I can't waste too much time here, so I need to correctly pinpoint the core's location, but how?' Noel furrowed his eyebrows before placing his hand on the ground.

Suddenly, the ice spread from his hand to the surrounding, covering the entire platform with a thin layer of ice.

He then slid on the ice while observing the branches' movements.

Whenever the branches were about to strike him, they decelerated. However, the moment the tree realized there was a thin layer of ice on top of him, it thought he could go a bit more faster.

*Bam!*

The ice cracked when the branches hit it, but it was clear that the ice was able to contain much of the impact, allowing the demon to go all out.

This looked like a foolish plan coming from Noel.

And in addition, Noel even said, "Not good. It seems that the ice is too strong. It can withstand that kind of attack that should be able to crush me."

Noel clicked his tongue and kept sliding around.

After the fight with Azgar, he learned that he should practice how to slide on his ice. If possible, he should continue sliding on top of the ice, allowing him to gain good control in a fight like this.

Although his speed was lower than when he was on a hard surface, his movement was smooth due to the lack of friction between his shoes and the ice.

He simply needed to tilt his body when the branches fell down again. And he managed to avoid all of them without even using his stamina.

Soon, the thing he was looking for appeared in front of him.

He had been moving around for two minutes and the branches had been raining him down with barrages of attacks. The thin layer of ice had been crushed. Some even got shattered and overlapped with each other.

Yet, he found a place where the ice didn't break at all. It was one meter to the side from the middle point.

Anna had been emphasizing how the Ancient Demon Tree had enough intelligence to understand them. And Noel had observed enough to know what she said was correct.

Hence, the foolish provocation he had earlier was actually a way to bring more branches down.

With this, he could see which place the tree deliberately avoided, considering the thin layer of ice managed to withstand its attacks.

This foolish plan was actually a well considered plan. And with all the ice shattered, he managed to find the place where the core was hidden.

Without hesitation, Noel slid to that area before retracting the ice floor.

Mega Slash!"

Noel struck the spot and chipped away the wood. However, it was too shallow. He might need tens of hits to open up the core.

And in the meantime, the Ancient Demon Tree would rain him down with so many branches.

"Tsk." Noel clicked his tongue as he was forced to jump away due to the branches.

However, the Ancient Demon Tree seemed to be able to engage in a mind battle with Noel. The branches that went down this time formed a small circle, protecting everything inside.

'Seriously? A demon can be this smart?' Noel gulped down and wondered how he should proceed this time.

'No. I won't make it this time. If I try to do something else, I am not strong enough to dig this kind of trunk until it's too late. Then…' Noel suddenly remembered one more thing. He had always saved a couple of Honor Points in case of emergency.

To think he would be able to rely on them again, he couldn't help but smile.

He had 9 Honor Points and exchanged 4 Skill Points. Mega Slash needed 5 Skill Points and Ardagan Swordsmanship needed 7 Skill Points. Hence, there was only one more way to fight this tree.

He increased his proficiency in his rune.

Strength Blessing Rune (2/3)

Requirement: 5 SP

Noel smirked and formed another Blessing Rune to increase his strength.

The power surge was even more amazing than he expected. The rune earlier could only increase thirty percent of his strength, but this rune now managed to increase seventy percent of his strength.

With that additional force, Noel struck the tree with Mega Slash.

*Bam!*

Instead of chipping the wood away, it formed a small crack on the surface. If he continued this way, he should be able to reach the core easily.

However, the crystal was still guarded by the branches. So, he went straight to the branches and struck them with all his strength.

Mega Slash.

*Bam!*

​ "What?" Noel widened his eyes when he failed to cut the branches. Not even a single one was sliced. It seemed that gathering in one group increased their resistance.

"Fine by me. If I can't deal with you this way, I'll find another way to strike." Noel started utilizing his Mega Slash next to the wall while avoiding the incoming branches. This way, he could dig a hole near the demon crystal and hit it from the side instead of the top.

And the Ancient Demon Tree didn't have enough branches to cover this large area.

"Haha, come here! I'm going to beat you up." Noel smirked as he continued smashing the woods, gradually digging deeper and deeper.

However, he almost forgot about the time he took to dig this kind of hole.

Even though he managed to do so much with the Strength Blessing Rune, Mega Slash, and Ardagan's sharpness, five minutes passed in a blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Anna's condition was horrible. Her left eye was closed due to the blood running from her forehead to her left cheek. Her right eye had gradually lost its focus due to the amount of injury.

Even so, she still tried hard to maintain her consciousness while fighting against an Advance Level Demon, trying to keep it away from Noel.

"How long do I need to fight again?" Anna panted a few times with her eyes still locked on the demon.