"What do you think?" Noa asked Thalia, looking closely at her. "Are you excited? Or are you sure you won't regret coming with me?"
The maid also peered into him.
She spent the next ten seconds staring into his gray eyes, trying to read his mind.
But after finding nothing, she sighed and gave up. "Of course, I won't. I would gladly spend the rest of my life with Young Master."
Despite speaking loudly with confidence, the moment she completed the words, her cheeks reddened.
Noa quickly ignored his blushing maid and shifted his attention back to the horizon.
"Do you know about the beast I bonded with?" he asked, gently poking Ashe with his index finger.
The girl nodded.
"I have seen it in my dream. That's why I tried to leave as soon as possible. I even have the essential items for the trip packed and ready in my bags," she declared proudly, puffing out her chest.
"Give them to me," Noa gestured and extended his hand.
Thalia eyed him briefly before complying, then showed him the packed suitcases at the back of the carriage.
She wanted to question what Noa intended to do with them but closed her mouth.
He, however, turned his gaze to the worm resting on his shoulder and gave the quiet command for her to use one of her abilities.
The very first power Noa activated was the Shadow Storage.
[Shadow Storage]
[Description:]
[Stores additional shadow mana within her body. The stored energy can be added to your reserve and used freely when needed.]
At the thought of the suitcases disappearing, they blurred and faded into the shadows, vanishing completely.
After that, directly into his mind, a new world emerged.
It was dark. Empty. Cold. Vast, like a familiar nothingness.
Then, in this new world, shadows flowed deep inside, bringing the same bags Noa had put into the darkness only moments ago.
This new world acted like an infinite storage room.
It allowed him to bring almost everything, including Ashe. And to his surprise, she enjoyed the coldness.
Thalia watched the scene with surprise.
The dreams only showed the useless beast Noa had made the contract with. But now he was using strange magic she couldn't even understand.
As for the shadows, they went beyond her perception, staying hidden like always.
"What's that, Young Master?" she questioned, her voice steady. "Where did it go? How are you doing that?"
Noa shrugged at her. "Who knows?" he muttered and eyed her. "And call me Noa."
The maid's lips trembled.
Countless ideas surfaced in her mind. She blamed herself, thinking she was of no use to him as a maid.
"Why?" Thalia asked, her voice going even deeper.
"I want you to treat me like your friend, and you are asking me why?" Noa answered, his expression changing to look hurt by her words.
He paused, looked at her with an unreadable face, and mumbled,
"And here I thought we were close. Who knew you could be this cold? I should have seen it coming—my bad."
"No, no, no." Thalia immediately shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Young—" She was about to complete the sentence but saw Noa's raised eyebrows and stopped.
Only after sighing to her heart's content did she continue.
"You meanie! I am going to call you whatever I want. Do you have a problem with that?"
This time, she sounded more confident, but the trace of awkwardness was still present.
Noa merely shook his head.
And instead of looking dejected, his lips curled into a thin smile.
This relationship was the closest thing he had to friendship, and now he was about to step into a world he didn't know.
The trip itself felt peaceful.
There was no one and nothing around him, except Thalia and Ashe, who, to his delight, were amazing partners for this journey.
The former didn't ask much about the beast.
Yes, she was curious to learn more about it, her mind filling with questions—especially after realizing the Graveworm wasn't as useless as others had made it out to be.
However, she could also tell that it was because of Noa.
Her young master seemed strangely talented and different since the day she had her first prophetic dream about him.
Ashe, on the other hand, turned out to be just a simple, adorable creature.
Noa had told Thalia her name and allowed them to get close to each other. She even befriended Luna, who occasionally revealed herself.
'I wonder how this shadow manipulation can affect my fighting capabilities,' Noa wondered after leaving the Elderglass City behind.
The road had stretched for hours.
Now, ahead, half-hidden by the drifting night, rose one of the busiest cities in the surrounding regions.
People called it Redmark, and it was an old merchant city supported by trade.
The deeper the carriage went inside the city, the more littered it became, showing rows of streets with old, paved stones and rough buildings.
Noa wanted to learn more about it.
However, he was even more impatient to see what his new senses could do.
So he let the curtains fall.
The shadows became deeper. Colder. Alive!
But only for him.
Thalia and Luna watched him in silence, not knowing what he was planning to do.
[Shadow Invincibility]
[Description:]
[Can briefly merge her presence with the nearby shadow and act like an invincible support.]
This was the first ability Noa activated.
Instantly, Ashe dissolved into the nearby shadow, vanishing completely. Her presence was no more, but Noa could sense it still, feeling her company even from the darkness.
Then he flexed his fingers and willed to use something more.
[Shadow]
[Description:]
[Strengthens your innate shadow affinity by letting you weave shadows like never before.]
The knowledge he had gained over the past few days was with him.
The words Haric had told him over and over.
Everything he had to do to control mana was within his head, guiding energy from his heart to somewhere he wanted.
Just then—
The shadows at the far end of the carriage trembled.
It reminded Noa of the first time he had controlled mana subconsciously. Now he was doing it on purpose.
Shadow particles bent.
They twisted. Shifted. Rushed… and slowed.
All of it happened because they listened, obeying his commands.
As the tiny particles moved around according to his wishes, the system rang in his head, announcing something Noa had been waiting for almost a week now.
[Ding!]
[Second Mental threshold unlocked]
[Mind development progress]