Decision

"Do I only have to choose one? Or can I ask for my two Arts, [Memorization] and [Identify], to be upgraded?"

Noir really had no shame. It was to the point where his shamelessness made the Sovereign shake his head and sigh defeatedly.

[Very well.]

The Sovereign nodded.

[I'll impart the knowledge about [Stormbringer] evolution and upgrade two of [Truth Seeker]'s Arts if you accept my offer. What is your answer, Resonant?]

"Say... If I didn't accept the upgrades, does it mean you will owe me a wish?"

[Yes.]

"Hmm..."

Noir contemplated. It was an important decision that could change the course of his life as a Resonant and the pursuer of a peaceful and buoyant life.

He had decided to take up the offer because the rewards could be beneficial for his growth. However, the problem lay within the choice of whether he should take the upgrades of his Arts or get the Sovereign's favor.

Both were essentially helpful for Noir. The upgrade would make him start ahead of the other Elite Resonants. Meanwhile, the favor would prove its use in case of emergency.

'I don't know why, but I feel like I will need the favor sooner or later.'

Noir's Instinct.

Noir didn't know who started giving him that nickname. But he remembered it came when he was living in Earthium, along with other people whom he had forgotten their names and features.

His ears twitched a few times when Noir accidentally recalled the six people who fought together with him in Earthium.

'Hmm?'

Noir raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand; if the memory of the 11 months surviving in the ruined world was still clear in his mind, how come the people who were with him during that time appeared blurry?

They seemed like important individuals.

However, if Noir deliberately wiped them from his memory, they might not be that relevant to him.

Shaking his head, Noir put the less important topic aside and focused on what was present in front of him.

When Noir asked the Sovereign what would change in his Arts after they were upgraded to the second phase, the Sovereign said there would be changes to several aspects, like lifting a flaw and increasing its strength point.

To his surprise, the Sovereign was kind enough to tell him about [Memorization]'s and [Identify]'s changes in the second phases.

When [Memorization] reached its second phase, it would gain a 'temporary storage' to store the removed files (memories) for two weeks before they were automatically deleted. During that period, Noir could recover the memories.

On the other hand, the second phase of [Identify] increased the power of his Art to be able to inspect someone's status above him by one rank. In addition, Noir could also use [Identify] on monsters and items, which wasn't possible in the first phase.

'Come to think of it, I haven't seen the description of [Identify]...'

Noir checked his Art.

//[Identify]

Your knowledge knows no bounds, making it possible for you to identify your target with just a glance. Nothing can escape from your sharp eyes, after all. Sadly, you aren't ready to see things beyond your level.//

'Hoo...'

After a few minutes, Noir concluded his contemplation. It shouldn't have taken this long if he didn't have an internal conflict concerning his too-good-to-be-true goal.

But in the end, as if he already had the answer in the beginning, Noir accepted the offer for the sake of obtaining information about [Stormbringer] evolution and an upgrade to his [Memorization] and [Identify].

Pleased with Noir's choice, the Sovereign giggled internally, proceeding with Noir's inquiries about the compensation for accepting the offer to become the support of his proxy.

It didn't take long for the process to be finished. In fact, it was done before Noir could even blink.

The method the Sovereign used was the typical finger-snapping action, like how Djinn granted Aladdin's wishes.

At that moment, information flooded Noir's brain. Fortunately, he didn't experience an overload.

'Oh!'

Finished, Noir processed the new information and checked the changes to his two Arts, confirming whether the Sovereign truly gave him what he wanted or not.

While Noir was inspecting his Resonant Status excitedly, the Sovereign swiped his hand to the front from left to right. Immediately, a system display screen materialized.

The Sovereign faked a cough before he said:

[Now that we have come to an agreement. Let me show you what the proxy looks like.]

He paused for a moment.

[You might have known who it is.]

The Sovereign showed Noir the screen that displayed the information about the proxy and what they looked like.

"Huh? Wait a minute! She's the proxy?!"

***

"Ha!"

Crack!

A silver-haired girl, Argent Silverstar, looked at her hands after that last swinging struck the training dummy, sealing its fate like the other dummies surrounding the girl.

The silver around the upper blade gradually lost its color, transforming into its original color, a wooden brown. That was the work of her Resonance Art [Silver Plating].

Basically, it was similar to weight manipulation. That was also explained why Argent could break that many dummies in the training room.

Argent's [Silver Plating] was a flexible Art. She could apply it to anything. And the object that had been plated with her silver would have increased in its weight.

Unfortunately, it couldn't control the weight but instead increased it. But as long as it was the result of [Silver Plating], Argent could wield the silver-plated object no matter how heavy it became.

Argent shut her eyes for a moment, then released the grip on the wooden sword. She clenched her palm, and in an instant, silver color engulfed her whole fist to her wrist.

"I can't expand it anymore... I guess it is the limit for the first phase... No, that's my limit."

Argent muttered as she hid her disappointment. Even after practicing to control and expand her [Silver Plating] range area to make it so it could cover her arm or an entire sword's blade, the limit was eventually blocking her from improving her strength further.

And with the Dimensional Rifts disappearing from the world, it was no longer possible for the Resonant to become stronger as those were their sources for getting the Essences.

"No," Argent bit her tongue until it bled. "I still have a chance."

But, with the rumor about the reappearance of Nightingale Gate haunting the world, Argent might still have a hope to strengthen herself.

"Ah!"

Then, as if remembering something, Argent pressed the reset in the control remote to empty her clan's training room and hurriedly ran to her room.

'There's no way.'

Argent arrived in her room, closing and locking the door from the inside. She strode toward the bookshelves and began dropping certain books in order.

'It is just like that tree lady said.'

After dropping the last book to the floor, the bookshelves trembled and slid to the side, revealing the hidden passage behind the shelves.

Argent, not wasting time, explored the secret passage and arrived in a dark chamber that had become a habitat to nature. Thick roots crept in every corner of the walls and floors.

However, instead of a tree, the roots stemmed from a beautiful woman with blond hair. When she noticed Argent's presence, the woman revealed her enchanting eyes of blue and pink, like the flowers that sprouted on her head.

Smiling, the woman greeted Argent with a smile and a voice rekindled an angel, sweet and comforting.

"Oh, Argent. You've come. Does that mean the situation is going according to my words?"

Argent nodded, her face solemn.

"The return of the Nightingale..."