_ Volume 4, Chapter 18. Bekweseta, the Demon God’s Little Lamb (3) A blue light flowed over the sword. An energy, shimmering like a flame, covered Garant's sword.
“Is that what they call an Aura?”
[What. How do you know about that?]
“Because I've seen something similar.”
Since magic existed, there was no reason for Aura not to exist as well. Taesan's curiosity was piqued.
“Come at me.”
Taesan beckoned with a curious expression. Garant twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Die!”
Garant swung the Aura-coated sword. Taesan calmly moved his sword, and Garant scoffed at it.
‘Foolish barbarian!’
Aura boasted absolute cutting power. Unless it was a legendary sword, an ordinary sword could never block it.
Kaang!
But the sound of blades clashing rang out.
“What.”
A sword with not a trace of Aura clashed with the blue sword. The blue light roughly swallowed Taesan's sword, but the sword was completely unaffected, without a single scratch.
Kagak.
Garant hastily retreated. He stared at Taesan's sword with eyes full of astonishment.
“What...”
“It's not strong enough to shatter my sword.”
[It's a legendary sword among legendary swords from my world. Do you think it would shatter from a mere Aura like that?]
The Ghost grumbled.
[Even without that, weapons influenced by the Labyrinth's system are unparalleled in hardness. It would be difficult to even scratch it with Aura.]
“You, you!”
Denying the phenomenon before him, Garant charged again. The blue Aura growled like a beast. Taesan did not block.
[Absolute Nullification of the First Attack has been activated.]
“Huh?”
Anetsha's pupils, who had been covering her mouth, widened. In her eyes, it seemed as if Garant had stabbed Taesan's body, but then he returned to his pre-attack stance as if time had rewound.
‘A Mage?’
Her thoughts naturally drifted in that direction.
‘...Magic that touches time?’
It was a level of magic hard to find even in the great Magic Tower. Garant, the one fighting, was even more bewildered than Anetsha. He had clearly stabbed Taesan.
But when he came to his senses, he was back in the stance he held before stabbing Taesan.
“Th-this...”
He stabbed with his sword again.
[Absolute Nullification of the Second Attack has been activated.]
And once again, he returned. Garant's face became wretched. Taesan moved his arm indifferently.
Garant reflexively moved his sword.
[Absolute Nullification of the Third Attack has been activated.]
Even that reflexive attack was erased.
“Getting rid of the Attack Nullifications is a pain.”
From the looks of it, it seemed the people here couldn't see the System Window. The life was draining from Garant's face. His attack, his movements, all of it was erased.
Garant could tell, having experienced it with his own body that the result itself had vanished. A being that touches time. As far as Garant knew, only the Great Mages of the Magic Tower, those who had approached the secrets of magic, could do such a thing.
No, even they couldn't do it. Limited interference was possible, but erasing the result itself like this was something not even a Great Mage could do.
‘He's a monster!’
No matter what he did, death awaited him. Overcome with Fear, Garant screamed and swung his sword.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
A sword swung wildly, without even a hint of Swordsmanship. Taesan lightly dodged and extended his arm.
Piik!
The Aura-infused sword grazed his arm.
[You have taken 63 Damage.]
“The damage is fine.”
It was damage that had pierced his Defense Power. By simple calculation, it meant that weapon had an Attack Power close to 200. Garant's sword looked good, but it wasn't a legendary one. In other words, it was damage purely from the Aura.
“I should test a few things.”
[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]
Taesan rushed at the despairing Garant. Taesan fought Garant while using all sorts of Skills. Not wanting to die, Garant forced his helpless body to respond.
By activating Deflection, using Counter, and various kinds of Magic to deal with the Aura, he was able to gather a lot of information.
“So it can't ignore skills.”
Deflection, Counter.
Both representative attack-response skills activated normally. Fortitude also reduced the damage normally. This meant that Aura had no Judgment beyond its attack.
“Doesn't seem like it can change form, and there's no mental or physical enhancement either? It's just strong cutting power. Nothing really new.”
For now, at this level, that seemed to be its limit. Still, the cutting power was quite useful. It could effortlessly slice through the Frost Arrow Taesan fired as a test, a magic with a coldness that froze the air itself, meaning it could cut through most attacks.
“Not bad.”
Taesan muttered, and Garant had completely dead eyes. The trajectory of his attacks would suddenly twist, and his sword wouldn't connect properly. Arrows of cold that froze his entire body just by being near flew at him, and all sorts of mental interferences occurred.
On top of that, he couldn't even follow his movements. Even while using Magic, Taesan was faster and stronger than him, a Swordsman.
‘Beyond a Sword Master... There's no way I can win against someone like that.’
Garant asked with a groan.
“Who... are you...?”
“Let's talk about that later.”
Taesan pressed on Garant's neck. His breathing cut off, Garant fainted. Anetsha, who had been watching, quickly came to her senses and approached.
“Y-You're strong...”
“What level is this guy at?”
“...He's a swordsman acknowledged by the King, well-treated wherever he goes.”
She stared blankly up at Taesan. Having watched the battle from right beside him, she could calmly judge Taesan's strength. He was strong, literally.
An excellent swordsman. Physical abilities that even an Aura-wielding swordsman couldn't keep up with. And a mage of a level that could control time and freely handle extreme cold.
Even one of those would be enough to make a name for oneself in the world, yet he handled both.
“I've been tasked with being your bodyguard.”
Taesan said calmly.
“My role is to protect you.”
Protect.
At those words, Anetsha's expression wavered. She had lived alone for the past eight years. Every living being she met was her enemy, showing her nothing but greed.
To her, Taesan's words seeped deep into her heart.
Kkoreureuk.
“Ah...”
The tension momentarily broken, Anetsha's stomach rumbled. Her face turned red.
“Are you hungry?”
Anetsha nodded slightly. Taesan waved his hand in the air.
[You have activated Food Production.]
A bowl of gray porridge appeared. Anetsha's eyes widened.
“Eat. It doesn't taste good, but it will fill your stomach.”
“...You can create food as well?”
“Yes.”
Anetsha let out a small gasp of admiration. Even she, with her limited knowledge of magic, knew it wasn't an easy feat. Unless one had delved deep into creation magic, it was difficult to summon even the simplest water, so being able to produce proper food was unbelievable.
“Let's go inside and rest for a bit.”
Taesan led her into the cave. Anetsha followed him like a little lamb. Taesan started a campfire and brought in more bushes to make a simple bed.
“You must be tired, so get some sleep.”
“...Where are you going?”
“Not far. I'm just going to keep a lookout.”
Taesan waved and left the cave. Staring blankly, she put a spoonful of porridge into her mouth.
“...It's bland.”
But it was warm. The warmth of the campfire relaxed her tense body. Sleepiness came over her in an instant.
She slowly closed her eyes.
“This is going to take a while.”
He knew it was a difficult situation, but it was worse than Taesan had expected. To think that it was hard to find a living Demon. To think that the Demons were nearly extinct, with a bounty on their heads.
The Quest Taesan had received was to take her to a safe place. But at this point in time, a safe place did not exist. It wasn't something that could be done overnight.
It might take months. Perhaps it meant that Taesan had to create a safe place himself. It would take time, but Taesan's expression wasn't so dark.
The Reward was substantial, after all. On top of that, he could earn some side income. Taesan approached the unconscious Garant.
Aura.
The blue flame contained in the sword. If he could learn it, it would be very useful.
“Did you learn Aura too?”
[No? There was no such thing as Aura in my world.]
“So there are worlds with it and worlds without it.”
[Isn't your world like that too? No magic, no Aura, no monsters. It's similar. I don't know much about it either. It was rare for anyone to come down to the Depths, and even rarer for someone to wield Aura.]
“I can just ask him directly.”
Taesan flicked Garant's forehead.
“Aaaargh!”
With a scream, Garant clutched his forehead. Excruciating pain spread from the point of impact.
“Hello?”
Coming to his senses, Garant bit his lip upon seeing Taesan.
“So, what should I do...”
He had no intention of keeping Garant alive. This guy wasn't someone who would disappear quietly like the previous bounty hunters. Since his life couldn't be bartered, Garant wouldn't easily give up information.
After pondering for a moment, Taesan belatedly remembered a skill.
“Why isn't this activating?”
[Special Passive Skill: Proof of the Self] [What you have accumulated becomes a phenomenon and swirls around you.]
It was a skill similar to an aura that he had obtained by clearing the 20th Floor, but no one he had fought here had felt any pressure from it. After a brief inspection, Taesan realized.
“This is an on/off skill. If so, it's an Active Skill, why is it a Passive Skill?”
After complaining for a moment, Taesan activated the skill.
“Ugh!”
The sound of a choked gasp rang out. Taesan looked down at Garant. Garant's face was pale as he panted.
It went beyond feeling pressure; it blocked his breathing itself, leading to death. Taesan stopped the skill's activation. Garant roughly exhaled the breath that had been stuck.
“I can't use this.”
He had intended to scare him with the pressure to make him talk, but if he died before that, it would defeat the purpose.
“Hah, hah.”
Fear was etched in Garant's gaze as he looked up at Taesan.
“Who... are you...?”
The moment Taesan activated Proof of the Self, Garant saw something immense. It wasn't a small concept like human or Demon. It was something absolute that could subjugate everything just by existing and choke the breath out of the living.
Garant desperately opened his mouth.
“Wh-what do you want from me?”
“Oh?”
A look of interest appeared on Taesan's face.
“I have something I'm curious about.”
“P-please ask anything. I will answer everything.”
Garant said with a terrified face. He looked ready to confess even things he wasn't asked.
‘What is this?’
It's not a skill that can be kept active. It wasn't just a level of pressure; it literally suffocated him to the point of death, so it was a skill that had to be sealed. But as if he had felt something else, Garant, who had been keeping his mouth shut, was now desperately trying to talk.
‘I wonder if I can use it for this purpose?’
Taesan opened his mouth.
“Everything you know about Aura. Spill it all.”
Leveling up through battle