- Book 4, Episode 19-94. Bekweseta, the Demon God’s Little Lamb (4) “It is a technique that only a Swordsman can obtain. Whether one surpasses a first-class swordsman or not is determined by the presence or absence of Aura.” Garant began his explanation.
“As you saw earlier, it is fundamentally a blue flame. They say it turns white when it reaches its peak, but I have never seen it.”
“Its characteristics?”
“It has a cutting power close to absolute.”
It cuts through steel and splits rock. Nothing that exists in nature can block Aura. What can are magical defenses and renowned swords forged by a skilled blacksmith.
“Can it only be used on swords?”
“It is possible with any weapon. However, it is not without restrictions. You can only use it on the type of weapon you have trained with your entire life.”
One who has trained with a spear can only imbue a spear with Aura, and one who has trained with a sword can only imbue a sword with Aura. It seemed to have its own set of restrictions.
“But… when your level is high enough, you can use it freely. It can be used in various ways, such as imbuing a tree branch with Aura beyond the form of a sword, creating a sword purely from Aura, or attacking from a distance.”
“So it's a matter of proficiency.”
After hearing the explanation, he asked one more thing.
“What about the energy consumption?”
“There is none.”
“None?”
“There is a limit to how much Aura you can produce, but using it for a long time doesn't render you unable to use it. You just get a little tired from having to constantly pay attention, but there is no consumption like with Mana.”
“Hoh.”
There was no particular consumption of Mana or energy.
‘This could be useful.’
It wasn't just limited to a sword. By increasing its proficiency, it could be used like a second weapon. Taesan got to the main point.
“How can I learn it?”
A technique acquired beyond the sword.
Aura.
Taesan had not known about it until now. It was a technique that didn't exist even in the world of ghosts, so the Ghost didn't know about it either. It would be best to hear it from a local.
Garant opened his mouth.
“There is no specific way to learn it. It is the kind of power one comes to realize naturally.”
“Enlightenment?”
“It's a little different from that. In my case, two months ago, I entered an unconscious state while training, and I've been able to use it since then. It's not just me; most who use Aura awakened it that way.”
A technique one acquires suddenly, without knowing how. Taesan frowned at the unhelpful words. Garant's face turned pale in an instant, and he hurriedly spoke.
“Perhaps they might know. Those who have awakened Aura, the Sword Masters, might know.”
“Sword Master?”
“Those who have reached a level of Swordsmanship where they can learn Aura are called first-class swordsmen. Once you start learning Aura, you are called a Sword Expert. And beyond an Expert, those who have perfectly mastered not only the sword but also Aura, those who have reached a higher dimension, are called Sword Masters. They might know how to obtain Aura.”
Taesan looked down at Garant with a peculiar gaze.
‘He's telling me things I didn't even ask.’
All he had done was activate Proof of the Self. With just that one thing, he had become this submissive.
“Are your questions finished?”
“For now.”
“Then I ask you to kill me.”
Taesan hesitated.
Garant closed his eyes and said calmly.
“Please, do not toy with me, and grant me rest. Oh, great one.”
Taesan was taken aback by his attitude of actually desiring death.
‘What is this?’
Of course, he had no intention of letting him live, but to see him give up so completely was a bit bewildering.
‘What did he feel?’
“Fine.”
Taesan thrust his sword forward. A look of relief appeared on Garant's face.
[Your Soul Rank Ascension has been activated. The difference in Soul Rank between you and the opponent is too great. You have obtained nothing from the opponent.]
Soul Rank Ascension did not activate. It was natural, given the difference in level was so great he could kill him with the first blow if he wished. Taesan sheathed his sword, looking on with a lingering discomfort.
Garant's face was filled only with peace.
“This feels strange, too.”
After dealing with Garant's body and waiting for Anetsha to wake up, Taesan checked Proof of the Self again.
[Special Passive Skill: Proof of the Self [What you have accumulated becomes a phenomenon and lingers around you.]]
Taesan activated the Skill. For a moment, the air grew heavy. That's how it felt, but he couldn't be sure.
It was a Skill that the user themselves could not feel anything from.
“Is anything different?”
[I'm not sure. I'm a dead guy. I might not know about strength, but I can't discern presence either.]
“Hoh.”
Taesan knew about the Proof of the Self Skill. It was because Lee Tae-yeon always had it activated. But hers stopped at the level of intimidation.
The players from Easy or Normal Mode were scared and followed her, but there wasn't this feeling of seeing something absolute.
“Something is different.”
The description says that what you have accumulated becomes a phenomenon. Lee Tae-yeon, who had cleared up to the 100th Floor, should have been stronger, not weaker. There's no reason for her to be weaker.
“I'll have to look into it later.”
It wasn't an urgent matter. Taesan turned off the Skill.
Time passes.
The sun that had been high in the sky had vanished, and darkness arrived. And Anetsha wakes up. Opening her eyes, Anetsha sits up.
She stumbles out of the cave. Anetsha looks up at the already darkened sky. Normally, due to tension and fatigue, she would have woken up after just an hour of sleep, but she had slept for well over ten hours.
“You're awake?”
“...Hello.”
Taesan poked at the campfire. Anetsha stared blankly at the sight. She was currently being protected by someone else.
It felt like a baby bird that had found its nest. A sense of relief washed over her, and her entire body began to relax.
‘No.’ Anetsha quickly shakes her head.
Taesan may be protecting her, but he was a stranger. She couldn't let her guard down, not knowing when he might leave. Her vacant pupils slowly regained their focus.
It was obvious what she was thinking, but Taesan didn't bother to point it out. Her thoughts weren't wrong, either. Once the Quest was complete, he would return to the Labyrinth.
Taesan got to the main point.
“Do you know a safe place?”
“...There is no such place.”
Anetsha muttered gloomily. Harmon had paranoiacally tried to erase all traces of the Demons, so all the lands that were once the Demons' had been trampled and burned.
“Everyone is trying to kill me.”
“Yeah. I suppose so.”
Move her to a safe place. It was still difficult to understand what that meant. Taesan stood up.
“Let's get moving for now. There must be a place safer than here, at least.”
Taesan went into the mountain valley with her. Since he didn't know the geography, Anetsha guided him while he cleared the path. The hunters targeting Anetsha appeared consistently, and Taesan dealt with all of them.
As time passed, he learned that Anetsha had still not let go of her faith in a god. Every night, she offered prayers to someone. The object of her prayers was likely the Demon God.
And three days pass. Taesan swings his fist with an annoyed expression. A fleeing hunter falls flat on his face.
“Where in the world is this safe place?”
No matter where they went, enemies pursued them. It didn't take long to defeat them, but it was annoying to death.
“I don't even have time to train.”
Taesan grumbled and held his sword. He closed his eyes and quietly calmed his mind. Garant had said he suddenly awakened Aura during his training.
Following that, he planned to train with the sword from the beginning. The training he was doing now was the process of refining his own sword that the Ghost had mentioned. It was a training method of controlling the body by governing the mind rather than moving the body.
He recalled memories to examine his movements and corrected any errors.
[Proficiency for the Sword of the Storm Scar has increased by 1%.]
He continues to train, along with this small additional income. Three hours later, Taesan opened his eyes.
“Not yet, I guess.”
There was no sign of him learning Aura. As Taesan licked his lips and stood up, he felt a gaze. Sitting in front of the cave, Anetsha was watching Taesan, her eyes shining.
“...How long have you been watching?”
“For the past two hours.”
“You're not sleeping?”
“I'm feeling better now.”
Anetsha smiled.
For three days, as if to relieve all her accumulated fatigue, Anetsha had slept the entire time except when they were moving. Now that her fatigue seemed to have lifted, her face was full of life.
“I was in such a state that I couldn't even thank you. Thank you so much.”
Anetsha stood up, made a gesture of holding the hem of her skirt, and bowed.
“In the name of the Demon Princess, Anetsha Brihite, I say this. Thank you very much, Master Taesan.”
Taesan shook his head at her neat and proper etiquette.
“I'm getting paid for this, so it's fine.”
“Still, it is proper to express gratitude.”
She smiled and expressed her thanks.
“Is your training finished?”
“Yes.”
Taesan answered briefly to her blank stare. He had basically lived alone. He had never had someone watch him train from the side.
The Ghost was a dead guy, so he could let that slide, but it was the first time he received such a curious gaze, and it felt a bit awkward.
“What kind of training are you doing? Ah, you don't have to say if it's an imposition.”
“It's not an imposition. I'm trying to learn Aura.”
“What?”
A look of bewilderment appeared on Anetsha's face.
“You're learning Aura?”
In her eyes, Taesan was a monster. Not only his magic but also his Swordsmanship was top-notch, so she naturally thought he would have already learned Aura. Taesan answered her question.
“I'm a guy from another place.”
“Another place...?”
Just as she was about to ask where with a curious face. Taesan drew his sword. Anetsha quickly shut her mouth.
“They're here again?”
He felt a presence in the distance. Taesan complained with a fed-up look on his face.
“What the hell is it now?”
For the past three days, they had been chasing them continuously without a single day's break. Even though Taesan had dealt with all of them and they had moved quickly, they consistently approached, as if they knew their location.
“A revelation has probably been handed down. Harmon wants to erase us, after all.”
“What a persistent bastard.”
Taesan jerks his chin.
“Stay inside.”
“Yes.”
Anetsha hides her body inside the cave. Soon, the presences reveal themselves.
“Hmm. Is that where the Demon Princess is?”
“Yes, Master.”
An old man wearing a robe with a long beard speaks. There are many others wearing robes around him.
“Mages?”
Interest appeared on Taesan's face.
“This will be more fun than dealing with bounty hunters. And there's something to gain.”
The old man sees Taesan and lets out a light laugh.
“The princess's dog? You have no manners.”
Taesan had killed everyone who came. The bounty hunter he had let live at the very beginning had kept his mouth shut and left for his hometown, so no information about him was known. But seeing that the bounty hunters were not returning, people realized.
Someone, a strong person, was protecting the princess. That he was killing all the bounty hunters.
“He looks somewhat useful, but he's just a mere swordsman. Make him kneel before the secrets of magic.”
In other words, from now on, all who came would be those who could handle the bounty hunters.
“I am a Mage of the great Magic Tower's Malbrei school. Barmondor. Lowly swordsman. Kneel before me.”
The old man raised his staff. A magical light began to gather. A sword embeds itself in the chest of a man in a robe who, face filled with terror, was about to scream.
Barmondor screams and shouts.
“Everyone, keep your distance! We will all cast magic at once!”
His initial confidence is gone. All that remains is a desperate aura bent on killing Taesan at any cost. The Mages begin chanting and manifest their magic.
Small arrows of fire rise up. Frozen icicles are manifested. Taesan bats away the magic with an indifferent face.
The flames and frost made of mystery crash against his mortal body and are erased.
[You have activated Frost Arrow.]
Extreme cold is drawn in the empty air. The nearby trees cannot withstand the cold and die off. Puffs of white breath come from the Mages' mouths.
A Mage is horrified.
“How can he use Frost One. Without chanting!”
“Is this thing called Frost One? What a grand name.”
Taesan fires the Frost Arrows. The Mages try to block them by putting up magical barriers, but they are mercilessly torn apart, like trying to block arrows with a thin tent.
“What is this!”
Barmondor could not believe reality. A magic of frost that even he, a Mage of the Magic Tower, could not approach! Taesan kicks off the ground.
His body flies through the air, and he cuts down someone who was chanting atop a tree.
“Eeek!
The old man swings his staff. A magical arrow cuts through the air. Taesan steps on the air.
[You have activated Air Leap.]
He kicks off the air and dashes forward. The magical arrow futilely passes through the empty space as Taesan deals with another Mage.
“Now it's just you.”
Taesan points his sword at Barmondor. Barmondor takes a step back, his face pale.
“Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you right away.”
Taesan steps on the ground. Barmondor quickly tries to cast a spell, but before he can even utter the first phrase, Taesan grabs his head and slams it into the ground. Having subdued Barmondor, Taesan mutters.
“Tell me about magic.”
Leveling up through battle