Chapter 306: New rewards

"Alright... no one is here. Good."

Noah finally found himself alone. Amusingly, no one from the Thornveil family had come to see him yet.

It surprised him a little, but honestly, he didn’t care.

Akari had wanted to stay with him for a little longer, but Noah had insisted that she spend the day with her daughter.

After being separated for sixty years, at least sixty years for Akari, while twelve years for Ophelia, they undoubtedly had a lot to talk about.

’What was their first meeting like?’

Noah couldn’t help but wonder.

’Did they cry when they saw each other? Did they spend hours talking?’

He smiled faintly.

He could only imagine what their reunion must have been like.

For the past few months, Noah had grown accustomed to sleeping beside Akari. Having her presence next to him had gradually become something he took for granted.

But now he turned his head toward the empty side of the bed.

There was no one there.

’It feels a little empty.’

If Akari were beside him right now, he would probably have already pulled her into his arms and cuddled with her.

Noah sighed. "Whatever."

He shook his head and looked toward the empty air in front of him.

"I should check what reward I got this time."

A hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

"I hope it’s something awesome."

He had been holding back his curiosity for long enough. He couldn’t wait any longer and decided to check it.

There was no reason to wait anymore.

[A Reward Is Available.]

[Would you like to claim it?]

[ YES ]

Noah stared at the notification for several seconds.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

His movements were still sluggish from exhaustion, but he managed to extend his finger toward the floating button.

Tap.

His fingertip touched [YES].

The translucent screen instantly dissolved into countless particles of light before reforming in front of him.

A mechanical voice echoed directly inside his mind.

[Congratulations, Extra!]

[You have successfully survived the First Act of Chapter II — "Glimpse of Decay."]

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The notification continued.

[Despite encountering numerous dangers within the Labyrinth, you have successfully survived the battle.]

[You eliminated every obstacle in Labyrinth, entered the realm created by the Dragon of Chaos, assisted in the awakening of the Storm Dragon’s bloodline, confronted the Monarch of Decay, protected the newly awakened Storm Dragon, and successfully returned to the real world.]

[For your courage and extraordinary achievements, two rewards have been granted.]

Noah’s eyes immediately brightened.

’Two rewards?’

The excitement in his heart grew.

Then the next notification appeared.

[Rewards Granted:]

[Active Ability Acquired — Puppet of the Frost Dragon.]

[Special Information Acquired — Map to a Mythical-Rank Weapon.]

Noah blinked.

"Puppet of the Frost Dragon?"

He immediately focused on the ability. The moment he did, information flooded into his mind.

It wasn’t merely a name.

He instinctively understood how the ability worked.

Puppet of the Frost Dragon allowed its user to gather their mana and condense it into the form of a massive dragon made entirely from ice and frost.

The resulting Frost Dragon would obey Noah’s commands and could be controlled freely by him.

Its strength, however, depended on the user’s own power. The stronger the user became, the larger and more powerful the Frost Dragon could be.

At Noah’s current level, he could only create a relatively small Frost Dragon.

But as his strength continued to increase... The creature’s size could grow from several meters. To dozens of meters.

And eventually, perhaps even more meters. There was only one major limitation.

Mana consumption.

The larger and more powerful the Frost Dragon was, the greater the amount of mana required to create and maintain it.

Noah’s eyes sparkled.

’So it’s basically an ice dragon that I can create and control.’

A grin slowly spread across his face.

’Not bad. Guess it was for helping a dragon.’

Then his attention shifted toward the second reward.

[Map to a Mythical-Rank Weapon.]

Noah expected an actual map to appear. Perhaps an ancient parchment. Maybe even a mysterious treasure map.

But nothing appeared in his hands.

Instead a strange sensation suddenly spread through his mind.

"Eh?"

Noah froze. Information began pouring directly into his consciousness.

He saw a location. A vast snowy mountain range covered in constant ice blizzard.

An enormous mountain. A particular valley hidden deep within the mountains.

He could visualize the surrounding terrain, the route leading toward it, and even the approximate position of the weapon.

It was as though someone had carved the entire location directly into his memory.

Noah’s eyes widened.

’So... I don’t actually get a physical map.’

The System had instead implanted the information directly into his mind.

He knew where the weapon was. He knew the general route to reach it. He even knew the landmarks surrounding its location.

The information was so clear that he couldn’t possibly forget it.

Noah remained silent for several seconds. Then a grin slowly appeared on his face.

’A Mythical-rank weapon...’

His excitement was impossible to hide. He leaned back against the bed.

"This reward..."

He couldn’t help but smile.

"Is actually pretty damn good."

But then his smile vanished.

"But the place... The Northern Continent, Glaciara... This isn’t going to be easy. Fuck!!"

The system window disappeared from before him.

Noah sighed.

The rewards had been given, and they were great... yet, at the same time, not particularly useful. At least, not for now.

The dragon would certainly be useful, but its true potential would only shine once Noah reached the peak of his current rank.

The weapon, however, was perfect for him. A Mythical-rank weapon—something that could potentially cut through the skin of Sovereign-level humans with ease, even without channeling mana into it.

At least, that was what Noah expected from it.

"But what could that weapon be...?"

He thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Well, it doesn’t matter. With my Combatant profession, I can use any weapon anyway."

Noah exhaled in relief and closed his eyes.

For now, there was nothing more he could do.

It was time to sleep without a single worry on his mind.