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n“Shadow Serpentine Lancer…” As he repeated the name of the subclass Noel had mentioned, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh in his mind, a hint of disappointment briefly showing on his face.

nThough such an outcome was already within his expectations, considering that there were rare subclasses like the one he wanted that could also be obtained first by NPCs, hearing the subclass he least wanted from the man that was going to give him the subclass he truly wanted still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

n‘At the very least, it’s still better than just getting Serpentine Lancer again.’ Nevertheless, although he was disappointed by the fact that Noel only offered him to become a Shadow Serpentine Lancer, obtaining it was his bottom line. ‘Aside from the fact that it’s considered a Rare grade subclass, it also gives me access to the Shadow Energy Noel mentioned earlier. That alone makes this worth the while.’

nHowever, just as he had internally accepted the fact that his subclass would be that of a Shadow Serpentine Lancer for the foreseeable future, a spark of hope was soon ignited by Noel’s next few words, prompting Valyr to think that not all hope was lost yet.

n“Of course, being a Shadow Serpentine Lancer is only the start for you,” said Noel to him. “With the ability you’ve shown me earlier, I am certain that you’d be able to go beyond the limits of a simple Shadow Serpentine Lancer, reaching the level I’ve attained without much of a problem.”

n“Perhaps surpassing me isn’t out of the realm of possibility either.” Finishing his statement with these words, Noel looked at Valyr, whose eagerness to accept the subclass he was offering him had increased by at least tenfold just from the words he had uttered. Taking note of this eagerness, he nudged Arves, who was still in a daze, on the shoulder, causing the latter to return to reality as he asked the old man if he could help out in anything.

nThough, instead of obtaining an order from Noel that he could not refuse, Arves instead received something that resembled more of a request from the man, with the former pointing at Valyr as he told him, “I’ll be taking care of Ylvar here from now onwards, alright? Of course, you’re always free to say no.”

nTaking into consideration that he was talking to one of the most important personages within the Spearman Guild, Arves knew that it would be incredibly stupid of him to reject as a slight frown appeared on his face. “I have no problems with that, however…”

n“However?” Noel raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what was stopping Arves from giving Valyr to him.

n“What should I say if one of the attendants asks me about the progress regarding his request?” As this question came out of Arves’ mouth, he pointed towards Valyr, which made Noel stand in place for a while, rubbing his chin as he pondered over the question in silence.

n“I hadn’t really taken that into consideration,” muttered Noel to himself before eventually coming up with an answer. Looking at Arves, he then told him, “Alright. If they ask you where Ylvar is and how much progress you two have achieved in his request, just tell them that I decided to take over the man’s request. You don’t have to worry about anything else after that.”

n“A-alright.” Left with no choice but to agree to Noel’s request, Arves could only nod in response as Noel left the room with Valyr in tow, a wide grin adorning his face as the two of them eventually left Arves in his own devices.

nSurprisingly, it was only a couple minutes after Noel and Valyr had left the room did the situation finally sink into Arves’ mind, causing him to take a deep breath as he wondered if what he had seen and heard earlier was real or not. After all, the First Elder, who was known for being stubborn and didn’t take no for an answer, had gone out of his way to accommodate a person that, from his perspective, had a flashy spear skill involving shadows.

n“Then again, he did say that if we were to come across someone with a spear skill that involved shadows, we were to contact him as soon as possible,” Arves soon muttered to himself as he went over the entire situation, wondering what Ylvar had that made Noel undergo a drastic shift in personality.

nGoing through the various topics both Noel and Valyr had discussed earlier within his presence, Arves eventually stopped his train of thought on the name of the subclass both Noel and Valyr focused on. “Shadow Serpentine Lancer… Shadow Serpentine Lancer…”

n“Why do I feel like I’ve heard that before?” As this question surfaced in Arves’ mind, a thought soon appeared within his mind not long after, causing his eyes to widen in realization as he let out a loud gasp. “Wait a minute… isn’t Shadow Serpentine Lancer Elder Noel’s old subclass?”

n“Then does that mean…” With everything finally clicking in place in his mind, Arves took in a deep breath before letting out a bitter chuckle, which was soon followed up with a sigh. Sometime later, he decided to head out of the room, but not before muttering a few words to himself before leaving.

n“I should really stop myself from meddling in matters like these.”

n…

n“Where are we heading?” As Valyr followed Noel in front of him while they made their way through the various corridors of the guild, a question eventually escaped the former’s mouth, prompting the latter to answer as they continued to move.

n“Training ground.” Coincidentally, just as these words had come out of Noel’s mouth, the man decided to stop all of a sudden, causing Valyr to stop in his tracks as well. Just as he was about to ask Noel what the two of them were waiting for, a man wearing a uniform had appeared in front of them, the emblem of the Spearman Guild emblazoned on the right side of the man’s shirt.

n“Which training grounds don’t have people in them at the moment?” asked Noel, to which the man went silent for a bit before opening his mouth.

n“The second and fifth training ground, First Elder.”

n“Alright.” Noel nodded before deciding to continue walking, with Valyr following behind him. “Tell the others that I’ll be occupying the second training ground for now. Make sure that no one heads there without my permission.”

n“Understood, First Elder.” Nodding back in response, the man politely bowed towards Noel before eventually disappearing from Valyr’s field of vision, prompting him to ask Noel yet another question.

n“Why are we heading to a training ground?”

n“Good question.” Noel faintly smiled. “Hmm… let me put it this way.”

n“The reason we’re heading to a training ground is so that I can show you…”𝗈𝒱𝓁xt.𝒸𝔬𝑚

n“The level beyond shadows.”

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