System vs Rebirth

"To think there is a liquid like this." The commander muttered after ordering Shale. He glanced at Noel and Anna. "Are you two sure you want to give this to the Demon Banner Army?"

"Yes." Noel nodded.

"This liquid might not be losing to the Ancient Demon Tree."

"Yes, we know."

The commander looked at their expressions and finally let out a sigh. "Alright. I'll accept this liquid on behalf of the Demon Banner Army. As for your reward, what do you want?"

Noel and Anna exchanged looks before saying the same thing. "Contribution Points for Demon Crystals."

"!!!" The commander furrowed his eyebrows, never expecting that these two only wanted Demon Crystals.

Even Shale couldn't believe it.

"Haha, this water is enough to gain my favor. Having me as your helper should be a good thing, no? Yet, you only want Demon Crystals?"

"We know that the Demon Banner Army is focusing on Demons and each squad doesn't really treat anyone badly. That's why the commander's help might be a good thing, but for us, it's better to get stronger instead. We believe we're lacking in Spiritual Energy right now instead of your help." Noel explained.

He indirectly implied that if they got stronger, they could produce the same result again and again. And at that time, they could gain the commander's help. But for now, they needed more Spiritual Energy, thus their decision.

The commander thought for a moment and said, "Shale. Give each of them 500 Low Quality Crystals, 300 Mid Quality Crystals and 100 Advanced Quality Crystals."

"But, Sir…" Shale wanted to object, considering this water wasn't worth that much.

However, the commander only stated, "This is my investment toward the youngsters. They are ambitious and have shown the result. Just like Septa, show me that you're worthy of my investment."

Noel and Anna were surprised, never expecting this commander to be so generous.

For Noel, this many Demon Crystals would improve the amount of his Spiritual Energy by three times. Although it wouldn't be as far as becoming a Spirit Master, it was enough to become a solid Spirit Wielder. There would be many more missions that could give him the Spirit Abilities.

On the other hand, Anna had the same thought. Unlike Noel, her capacity in absorbing the Demon Crystals weren't doubled. So, she would have filled the Low Quality Crystal quota with this reward and the other two would be increased drastically as well.

With just a bit more training and Demon Crystals, she might become a Spirit Master. This was a huge opportunity.

Anna and Noel hurriedly thanked the commander for the generous reward. "Thank you very much."

"Mhm." The commander nodded. "That's right. If I'm not wrong, you two should have passed the requirement to graduate, right?"

"Yes. We're planning to graduate after this."

"Which squad do you want to go?"

"Demon Relief Squad." Both of them said the same thing without hesitation.

Even the commander was surprised that they wanted to enter this squad. Unlike other squads, the Demon Relief Squad focused on the people. They were always in the move to solve the demons' problems.

Shale also added, "In their missions, people are singing praises for their help."

"I see." The commander thought for a moment and said, "Tell Clara to put them in the zero squad."

"What? Zero squad?! Are you sure about it?"

"Yeah. That's the best squad for them to grow."

"I understand." Shale nodded. Since he had done all he could, the commander disappeared, returning to his room.

When he sat down, he couldn't help but remember the letter from the third prince. He grabbed it and read it again.

'Commander Oscar. There will be someone entering your Demon Banner Army right now. His name is Noel Ardagan, the son of Luke Ardagan. I want you to take care of him. I can assure you one thing, Noel Ardagan will surely be of help to the Demon Banner Army, so don't waste the precious resource I've given you.'

He didn't understand these words at first, but the Ancient Demon Tree and the Body Strengthening Liquid had proven his worth. He also managed to become a Spirit Wielder from the lowest point in less than a year.

In the future, he might grow even further.

"Luke Ardagan, huh… It's only a merchant family, but their financial power is the strongest in the kingdom. They even have a good public opinion due to the kind count. I guess the son is like the father. I'm pretty sure that he is planning to take back his territory… I guess I'll help him a bit in the future." Oscar smiled.

…

Meanwhile, Shale was questioned by them because Noel and Anna never knew about this zero squad.

"Sir Shale, what is this zero squad?"

"Do you know the structure of our Demon Banner Army?"

"Yes. The commander has fifteen direct subordinates, which are the captains of each squad. Then each captain usually has a thousand people each. The number might not be that big, but each of them is elite.

"And the captain usually have an even elites squads, comprising of less than one hundred people. They're special elite groups that handle all hard missions while the rest of the knights will handle the miscellaneous stuff. That's why the promotion to these elite squads are basically a competition for them."

"That's right." Shale nodded. "There are a total of ten elite squads in our army. Each of them has least than ten people, mostly formed in three groups of three like what you're supposed to have if there isn't an accident.

"But there is one more squad above those squads. This is the Zero Squad. Basically, all these people want to be the Zero Squad because this is where each captain will choose their successor to lead the army in the future."

"!!!" Noel and Anna widened their eyes in shock.

Shale smiled and continued, "That's right. The commander wants to give you two a chance. For Noel, it'll be a good chance for you to reclaim your position as a noble since the captain can recommend someone to be evaluated as a new noble and with the help of the commander, you shouldn't have any problem to become a noble.

"For Anna, it's a good basis of your reputation, especially since we're talking about the Demon Relief Squad. This is a powerful weapon for a noble, I'm sure you know what I mean."