Somewhere within the floating castle where all the masters usually converged, was a large area that would be termed a training area.
The area was painted a light yellow shade and featured a gigantic mana bulb at its very center, and it emitted a yellow light that illuminated the entire place.
At one side of the area, far above the ground was a transparent booth by which one could sit or stand and watch the events occurring in the training area.
And that was all Noah did.
As of present, the masters were performing tests with Elder Sarah, and they made her unleash as much as she could on the environment, even if none of her attacks made a dent.
She got tired quickly after unleashing a few rounds of purple flames and crackling discharges. The tier 4 elders, Dan, Von, and Anna, stayed a safe distance from her to not get injured or anything.
They had her test her strength on tier 4 dummies too.
She did her best but due to her only recently crossing over, she couldn't properly utilize her martial arts.
A lot of training would be required to get her techniques under control in the fourth tier.
Even with all of those, Elder Sarah still made a spectacular show.
Her attacks were potent. So much so that she could burn through dummies with single attacks. Though apparently, their material stood at the very bottom of the fourth tier.
Noah could barely see anything, honestly. The explosions were constantly blinding and it felt annoying to not completely witness all that occurred.
So anytime things became heated and too bright, Noah found himself thinking about what the cyan-haired lady had said. Apparently, her name was Ezra.
He could either call her Grand elder Ezra, or Master Ezra. Or simply master.
The idea that a spirit followed him felt stunning, which made him curious about who would even do that.
Whether or not it was from hate, he wasn't certain. But he would keep them anyway. Still, he believed it was one of those children.
He had guesses.
About three hours had to pass before the Grand elders stopped the tests, but they made another announcement.
Apparently, Elder Sarah would be staying with them for a while. They would push her to her limits, however, but she was okay with it.
Noah wondered what would happen to his training at that point, but he remembered that he had other things to worry about. like the upcoming tour.
Nevertheless, Elder Sarah assured him that she would return as quickly as possible, all he had to do was continue to practice what he knew.
During his many days outside of the guild and mostly during the time Riveta had left her tower he had practiced like hell.
The first form had practically become second nature to him.
The second form wasn't too far back. He could utilize the entirety of his body's prowess to accomplish wonders with it.
The third form was simply based on how much he could slam his palms and how quickly. He still didn't know his limits. He had gone over a hundred, one time.
In truth, there wasn't much he could do now that he was in the pending state.
Thankfully only a bit over three weeks were left. He could only wonder what he would do when he advanced. The matter slightly bothered him because at that point he would most likely become famous. Too famous for his liking.
Noah bid his farewell to the grand masters and was led outside of the castle with elder Von, Dan, and Anna.
Their return to the outside world was silent and Noah liked it.
He was eventually returned to Elder Sarah's mansion, where Dan and Anna departed. Elder Von spoke with him a bit before leaving.
Noah was once again left alone, to do whatever he wished.
He decided to leave the center region and approach his room in the inner region.
His passage through the gate had been met with shock. Lots of it.
The guards there now found that he had become far stronger than they were. Still, he simply waved their queries when they asked.
After no activity for more than a month, most people had let him fade into the backs of their minds.
Some even thought he had died since it wasn't exactly a rare occurrence in the world.
Needless to say, When Noah showed up in the area closest to the building that housed his room, rumors spread quickly
The a-famed white-haired man had returned with even more power than before.
Noah's level was unsuitable for that area, he would need to be moved closer to the walls, but he didn't care. He wouldn't be staying there much, to begin with.
As long as he had not been told to move, he would stay there.
Unlocking the door to his room made nostalgia hit him. It felt nice to walk into a place he hadn't been in, in over a month.
Heck, it felt like over two months or more to him since he had spent a lot of time in the dungeon.
Standing before the window and gazing at the beautiful city, he recalled his first time getting there.
"How long has it been," he giggled. "It feels like ages."
Noah lay on his bed feeling bored. A lot had already happened that day. But he was beginning to get used to them. Or at least events on such scales were becoming relatively normal.
His mind fell on the spirit issue again, but he pushed it to the side.
He felt like getting into something. He considered approaching the guild hall. But he didn't want to.
Noah felt confused about what steps to take next now. He hadn't felt this without purpose in a long while.
Muttering a curse he left his room for the guild hall. He had no real friends in the guild. He suddenly wished he did.
He arrived at the guild hall, and his presence caused the air within the room to go stale.
Noah approached the bar table and saw a new face there.
He asked about Lina, the lady who had attended to him the last time he took a mission and stumbled upon the Exalted imp.
"Lina?" The young man who attended to him asked, an eyebrow arced at Noah's odd question.
"Yes," Noah replied. "Long black hair, small face, and a welcoming demeanor. She's also nice," Noah tried to give details, even if they ended up sounding vague.
Thankfully the man understood, but his expression went dark. Noah fell a bit anxious.
"You really don't know what happened to her?" the man asked, his eyes now holding sadness.
Noah nodded in a positive answer. 'If I knew I wouldn't be asking!' he ranted inwardly. Even if his worry spread like wide fire.
The expert heaved a sigh at his response. "She died during a group mission, a few weeks ago," the expert explained shaking his head in sadness.
"It was an incident that was even announced," the man continued, but Noah had already stopped listening.