Chapter 83

【83】82.

Aura.

It is the word that describes the power generated when the mana accumulated in the body is ignited.

The most basic use is physical enhancement.

As one becomes accustomed to handling aura, it becomes possible to imbue it into weapons, increasing their strength and sharpness.

At that stage, individuals can imbue their aura with attributes based on their own traits.

A representative example was Celia’s flame.

While all the students focused on Ain’s class, Leo thought to himself.

“‘Breath of the Hero’, that’s quite a grand name they’ve given it. Aron just called it breathing.”

But considering Aron’s stature in later generations, it was not surprising for such a name to be attached.

Hero Aron.

The most courageous and greatest warrior in history who made the impossible possible.

“…or so it is said.”

Leo chuckled.

In later generations, only Aron’s immense courage was highlighted, but in reality, Aron was a very timid beastman.

“He was so timid that he was incredibly cowardly.”

Compared to other beastmen, he was small in stature, and seeing him terrified could make one doubt if he truly was a hero.

“But in battle, he was the bravest of all.”

Aron’s ability to confront enemies boldly, overcoming his fear, was the driving force that turned the impossible into reality time and again.

“The greatest coward would always put himself at risk, claiming he would protect us.”

Thinking of Aron, Leo smiled.

“‘Breath of the Hero’… it suits him.”

While Leo reminisced about his previous life, Ain was explaining the principles of the new technique to the students.

All the students were intensely focused on the term “aura amplification effect.”

“What I’m teaching you as ‘Breath of the Hero’ is different from the original. In any case, the ‘Breath of the Hero’ itself is a technique exclusive to beastmen. If humans use it as is, they’ll hardly achieve the desired effect.”

Professor Ain had brought a small blackboard to the training ground for the lecture.

With a drawing of the human body, Ain detailed how to breathe and how to manipulate aura in accordance with that breath.

Seeing this, Leo squinted his eyes.

“It’s fundamentally different from Aron’s breathing.”

It wouldn’t be strange for it to be so.

In his previous life, Aron had tried to pass on his breathing technique to other beastmen.

However, not a single beastman had mastered it properly.

Instead, it was Leo, a human, who had learned Aron’s breathing.

“The technique itself is not difficult. But…”

Ain raised his hand.

Szzzzzt-!

An icy aura gathered in Ain’s hand.

Despite the small amount of aura, a powerful force emanated from it.

“You can’t immediately aim for a powerful aura amplification effect just by learning. As you all know, practicing aura skills is of the utmost importance. The same goes for ‘Breath of the Hero.'”

Seeing this, Leo’s eyes lit up.

“It’s not just about unleashing power beyond limits; it’s about maximizing aura efficiency!”

The breathing Leo learned from Aron was a power that drew out beyond limits.

While it had the same effect of increasing aura output efficiency, the current ‘Breath of the Hero’ had the difference that it could amplify aura even when not at maximum capacity.

“It looks like extensive research through aura studies led to its advancement.”

As Leo marveled, a question arose in his mind.

“Given this level of development, why do beastmen still only transform under the full moon?”

Transformation is a racial trait of beastmen.

On nights of the full moon, the beast bl**d flowing within them awakens.

During transformation, beastmen gain significantly greater strength than usual.

Aron was the only beastman who could transform whenever he wished, regardless of whether the full moon was out.

“If Aron’s breathing has been inherited as ‘Breath of the Hero’, then there shouldn’t be a reason for that. Furthermore, one more thing…”

Leo looked at Ain.

“Why doesn’t Professor Ain experience any side effects?”

As Leo pondered, Ain spoke.

“Now, let’s begin practicing. If you can manifest aura using ‘Breath of the Hero’, you’ve succeeded.”

With Ain’s words, the students began to concentrate on their breathing exercises.

“Hah! Cough?”

“T-this is pretty difficult just with breathing, huh?”

Amidst the flustered voices of students practicing as Ain had instructed, it was only natural.

“Breathing is the most important aspect of this technique.”

The principle of ‘Breath of the Hero’ momentarily increasing aura output is incredibly simple.

The principle of using aura is similar to how flames ignite.

“What’s needed most for flames to ignite is oxygen. Conversely, to ignite the aura curled up inside your body, you need the mana in the air.”

The basic principle of ‘Breath of the Hero’ is to absorb more mana from the atmosphere to enhance the explosive power of the aura.

In simple terms, it’s about increasing the compression ratio of mana absorbed during breathing.

Because of that, it was impossible to manifest with standard breathing.

Leo attempted to breathe as Ain had taught him.

Since he was already using Aron’s breathing, he could easily follow ‘Breath of the Hero’ even if its form had changed.

“Now, I just need to manipulate the mana.”

Leo’s aura began to stir.

“Now, if I just manifest it…”

Just as he was about to manifest the aura at his fingertips, it scattered.

Leo showed a flustered expression.

“What the?”

He repeatedly tried ‘Breath of the Hero’.

But he could not use aura with the ‘Breath of the Hero’ that Ain taught.

“What’s going on? Is my method wrong?”

It was rare for Leo to be stumped in class.

Swoosh!

Swish!

Zzzzzt-!

Aura manifested simultaneously from three directions.

“Ahhh— so this is the feeling.”

“I succeeded, but the aura amplification effect is pretty minimal.”

“It’s not that hard at all.”

Admiration burst out here and there.

“Did they do that in one go?”

“Truly the monsters of the Department of Knights…!”

“Hey! Don’t call me a monster! Who called me a monster?”

Celia snapped back.

Watching this, Ain smirked.

“Celia, Chen Sia, Duran… Indeed, if we’re speaking in terms of talent, this generation stands out.”

Such extraordinary talent, rarely seen across entire grades, was present in one class.

“This first-year class is truly a blessed generation.”

Thinking this, Ain cast a glance at Leo.

“On the other hand, surprisingly, Leo is struggling unexpectedly.”

It was surprising that Leo, who usually had a high understanding of the class, was unable to manifest anything.

“That can’t be helped. While the other students are wholly devoted to practice, Leo is juggling both magic and summoning.”

For Ain, it was regrettable that Leo, who he thought had talent comparable to or exceeding Celia, Chen Sia, and Duran, was balancing with other studies.

As an hour passed, most students succeeded in manifesting aura with ‘Breath of the Hero’.

Ding dong ding dong—

As the class bell rang, Ain crossed his arms.

“After a break, we will move on to the next class. In the next lesson, we will test various aura amplification effects using ‘Breath of the Hero’. We will measure the recordings, so everyone should take ample rest.”

The students gathered in their respective groups to relax.

While Leo was drinking water at the sink, Celia approached him.

“You’re only human after all. I see you’re stumbling in class.”

Leo was the only student who couldn’t manifest aura using ‘Breath of the Hero’.

“Lord Leo, would you like me to teach you some tips?”

At Chen Sia’s question, Leo shook his head.

“No. I’ll practice a bit more on my own.”

Leo smiled and shook his head.

Watching this from a distance, Duran spoke with his typical arrogant face.

“That Leo Flove. To think he can’t even manage something this simple. How disappointing.”

“Hey, Duran? This isn’t simple at all.”

“Why can’t you consider our feelings when you say that? It hurts. Boo hoo.”

A female student from the Department of Knights clutched her chest, wearing a sad expression.

“Cut the lame act.”

“Tch.”

Most of the followers of Duran were students from the central region.

“Anyway, Leo Flove is attending three different departments, right? There’s bound to be a limit, isn’t there? By the second semester, he won’t even compare to you in the Department of Knights grades.”

When a male student spoke casually, Duran narrowed his eyes.

“I have no interest in that.”

“Huh?”

“Whether that guy’s grades in the Department of Knights are worse than mine doesn’t matter. I won’t rest until I take him down.”

Duran gritted his teeth.

“I will defeat him and become the representative of my year. That’s my only goal.”

The deadly aura emitted by Duran caused other students to shrink back.

Meanwhile, Leo was still lost in thought during the break.

Once again, he tried to manipulate his aura as Ain had taught.

But still, just before the manifestation, the aura scattered.

“Hmm… I see. So that’s it. This isn’t for me.”

Professor Ain had stated that he adapted ‘Breath of the Hero’, originally for beastmen, for humans to use.

But Leo had already learned Aron’s breathing.

“In the end, my method is the original. The aura is adaptable to my way of doing things.”

It was a fundamentally problematic issue.

“This technique is not compatible with me from the start.”

Having found the cause, Leo’s eyes lit up.

“Then I need to incorporate only the necessary parts of what Professor Ain taught into my breathing.”

After all, the breathing technique Ain taught was optimized for humans.

The hero’s breath reborn by Ain was appealing to Leo as well.

“Obtaining the power to maximize aura manipulation efficiency is appealing to me. Plus, I might be able to overcome any side effects.”

The side effects Leo was experiencing were indeed the recoil from the aura amplification.

Though Kyle and Aron both used the same breathing technique, there was a crucial difference between the two.

“Fundamental differences… the species.”

Leo looked down at his hands.

When exerting strength beyond limits, Aron, who reinforced his beastly form, was different from Leo, a human.

He had to bear the recoil from drawing out power beyond limits in full.

The burns he received while using Zerdinger’s aura until now were for that reason.

“Now, let’s begin measuring. Students whose names I call, step forward.”

As Leo was lost in his own thoughts, the measuring began.

There were three measurement methods.

Attack, speed, defense, evasion.

Zzzzzt-!

“Fast!”

“I lost to Leo in the aura step match at the beginning of the semester… but now, it seems like there’s no one in our year who is faster than Duran?”

The one who scored highest in speed was Duran, smirking as he looked at Leo.

The fastest in the Department of Knights was Duran.

Next were Celia and Leo, both having similar speeds.

However, unlike usual, Celia, empowered by ‘Breath of the Hero,’ ranked second.

Next was defense and evasion.

In these categories, it was Chen Sia’s solo showcase with water attributes.

The second place fight for defense and evasion was a battle between Leo and Duran.

“Duran wins!”

“Ah, in the end, the gap is widening.”

“True. The previous performance was the exception; this is just natural, isn’t it?”

The students from the Department of Knights whispered.

“What’s Leo doing?”

Even Celia was slightly taken aback by Leo’s failure to keep up with the class.

The students of class 5 looked at Leo with worried expressions.

“Lastly, we’ll measure attack power.”

One by one, the maximum attack power was measured.

Boom-! Whoosh!

During Celia’s turn, a tremendous storm of flames surged.

“It definitely feels stronger than earlier, right?”

“It must be the effect of ‘Breath of the Hero.'”

The students clicked their tongues in awe.

Although the change wasn’t glaringly obvious, Celia’s flames were undoubtedly stronger than before.

Celia, having sheathed her sword, looked at Leo, who was up last.

In terms of attack power, Celia was undoubtedly first.

And second was Leo.

“This is what happens when you neglect your knight studies.”

As Celia frowned at her cousin’s shortcomings, it was finally Leo’s turn.

Seeing this, Ain glanced down at the measuring panel.

“Leo Flove. This might mark a turning point in your school life.”

Once again, Leo held the top ranks in all measurement values.

But in today’s measurements, he was falling behind compared to the competitors.

More accurately, he was just running in place.

“No matter how talented he is, there’s a limit to balancing three departments.”

Ain looked at Leo’s back.

“Now, it’s time to make a choice.”

As Ain scrutinized Leo, he sighed in relief.

“Ah— I did it.”

After adjusting the technique throughout the class, Leo finally completed it.

“For now, it’s optimized for me.”

He could now manifest aura more naturally than before.

Leo took a deep breath.

“Let’s see how this goes.”

Whoosh-!

Imbuing maximum aura into his sword, Leo inhaled deeply.

The mana in the atmosphere compressed and was drawn into Leo’s body.

“I’ll swing my sword!”

Swish-!

Breathing, Leo swung his sword.

The mana that entered his body was compressed strongly.

“Eh, wait. Why is this so effective?”

Leo was flustered.

A stronger aura amplification effect than usual was generated.

“Wait! If that’s the case, the recoil will be…!”

Whoosh-! Boom-!

A wall of flames shot up high.

Everyone gaped at the firepower that soared far above Celia’s.

Thud-!

Ain dropped his fan without realizing it.

“What on earth is that… that guy.”

He felt chills all over his body.

“How should I even describe this?”

The only question in his mind was what appropriate words there were to assess the student before him.

It was now beyond merely being called a genius; it had transcended that realm entirely.

“Yes. This is like… a monster.”

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