Chapter 149
“What I’m going to teach you today is how to take your aura to the next level.”
As he finishes speaking, the aura spread across his hand converges on his index finger and slowly begins to pale.
And when it’s completely reduced to the size of his pinky.
─────!!!
A piercing, high-pitched shriek began to echo through the air around us.
“Eugene, do you know what happens when you compress ice?”
“You mean ice……I’m not sure.”
“It becomes transparent. As if to prove that there’s nothing inside. And this also applies to aura.”
With that, Mr. Kwak flicks his wrist, and the aura on his fingertip flies to the ground like a splash of water.
At the same time.
Ddddddddddddd!
A deep hole was dug in the ground, and cracks began to form around it.
He watched the scene indifferently before turning his gaze back to me.
“The Ice Qing Jade Crystal. It’s a technique that can be said to be fundamental to the applied stage of the Aura style, and it’s the technique you’ll learn today.”
One of his signature techniques had just been demonstrated before my eyes.
“You mean I’m learning this today?”
“Yes. It’s the midterms, right?”
I had no idea he could teach this skill so easily…….
For a brief moment, I remember all the hardships I went through to learn this skill.
‘You’re an idiot, you want me to teach you the Aura Formula? Go sweep the yard, you idiot!’
‘With that kind of skill, you won’t be able to use it even if I teach you! Get lost!’
‘Do you expect me to teach you a skill for free? You’ll never get it!’
……But I can’t believe how easy it is.
“Eugene?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, I’m just admiring your technique.”
“Haha! It’s certainly a beautiful technique. Let’s start with the basics.”
As they say, it’s all in the blood.
“First, we need to focus the aura in one place, right?”
“Yes.”
The idea of gathering the Aura in one place wasn’t that difficult.
I usually focused my aura in one place when I was in battle and when I used my bloodline power.
I concentrated all the aura in my body into my right hand, and as usual, red aura began to bloom in his fist.
Kwak Chun-sin watched me carefully.
“More.”
“More?”
More compression.
Normally, I would have to force the overflowing power to increase its purity, but in this calm, it wouldn’t be easy.
I begin to feel the remaining aura in my body, and slowly push it into my arms.
It feels like I’m forcing the inside of a full trash can to compress further.
I push, and it swells back up, and I push, and it swells back up again, and it’s back to its original state.
“Didn’t work?”
“Yep. It feels like it’s trying to tell me it has nowhere to go.”
“Then why don’t you try changing the image.”
“……image?”
I wonder what he means by “change the image.”
“Umm……That’s right, this is what it looks like.”
As if reading my expression, he opened his palm and began to make some sort of shape with the aura.
In an instant, an aura in the shape of a drill formed in his hand.
“Like this. You don’t just throw aura, you drill it. It’s like piercing a blood vessel, and then pouring out more aura.”
Is he suggesting that I hold the image differently because I’m not skilled enough yet?
Surely his explanation would make it a little easier to hold the image.
“Let me try.”
I imagine the aura at the blockage and picture the drill slowly rotating.
Then I see the red aura slowly begin to fade.
The color began to fade and transform into a translucent red that reminded me of a gemstone.
That’s how much I compressed it.
“I think that’s it.”
It was dripping, like water droplets on the surface, but it wasn’t floating.
“Well, it’s still the first day, so you should be satisfied with this. If you’re so good at it, why are the other kids frowning at the difficulty of even making a heat plate…….”
Kwak Chun-sik frowns for a moment, then looks at me again and smiles.
“Alright then, let’s proceed with the light duel as it is, with a back-and-forth format. I’ll set the pace, so you’ll have to take it slow.”
“Yes. If you’ll excuse me, then.”
I compressed my aura as much as I could, as I had been taught, and charged toward Kwak Chun-sik.
This was a special lesson from the mentors for the midterms.
Huh? Wait. I could use this.
* * *
~That evening~
It’s a late call, but the kids are all gathered in the club.
“Special lesson for midterms?”
They all had different looks on their faces as they listened to me.
“So what you’re saying is that we should invite our mentors to the club to help us with our weaknesses. Is that it?”
Se-ah looks up in surprise at Jin-woo’s serious expression.
“You understood that?”
“I’m not an idiot, how could I not understand?”
Young-jae and Se-ah nod in agreement, while Choi Yeon stares at me blankly, as if she doesn’t understand.
“Grandpa said learning from a strong man is a good thing, I agree.”
Still, she raises her hand and nods, as if she understands the essence of the story.
“I’m in favor, too. Then why don’t we invite Ms. Han Yeo-eun?”
“Why would you invite that crazy bitch?”
“I told you what I’d do if you insulted our goddess, do you want to look it up?!”
As soon as the idea of inviting Han Yeo-eun, Jin-woo’s mentor, was mentioned, the room turned into a scene of screaming and violence.
Sighing at the scene, I tapped my fingers on the table and released the power of the Ancient Berserker’s Ring.
At the same time, a black aura spreads from me to the surroundings and the children stare at me in astonishment.
“──Be a little more careful.”
“……Ah, I’m sorry.”
“……Sorry. Boss.”
This quieted them down a bit.
“To continue, I actually have an idea of who I’d like you to meet. The important thing is that you get to meet them now.”
The Academy’s midterms are three days long.
With such a vast array of subjects to be tested, I chose people I thought would be helpful for the rest of the semester.
“There are two people I would like to invite. One is Sword Saint.”
“……Huh, my grandfather?”
As soon as the word Sword Saint is mentioned, Choi Yeon reacts.
“Master Sword Saint knows how to use most weapons, and he’s been cultivating talents for many years, so I thought he might be of great help. Choi Yeon, can you convince him?”
Choi Yeon seemed to ponder my question for a moment, then she nodded.
“Yeah. My grandfather seemed to be very interested in the club, so I think he would listen if I asked him.”
“That’s great. And the next person I’d like to ask is ……Guild Leader Han Yeo-eun of the Artemis Guild.”
“Boss, I’d rather you killed me!”
“The goddess is descending on our club!”
The two had opposite reactions.
“Boss, do you really intend to invite that crazy woman, do you want us to die!”
Jin-woo is shaking in his boots, while Se-ah, who silenced him, looked in my direction and smiled.
“You really don’t think Mr. Eugene would want to invite Guild Leader Han Yeo-eun for no reason, do you?”
“You’re right. Guild Leader Han Yeo-eun may be an assassin or a rogue, but she’s actually more of an all-rounder, and learning things like her weapon techniques and situational judgment would definitely help us.”
After all, it was Han Yeo-eun who founded the giant guild Artemis with those skills alone.
“I’m also going to ask Master Kwak Chun-sik and Instructor Ji-hyun for guidance, as they’re world-class in auras and mana control, and they’ve been training students for a long time.”
There were two things I wanted to accomplish with this opportunity: to make connections with other mentors and to quickly fill in the gaps where I was lacking right now.
Of course, the process would be painful and difficult, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to customize the lineup of the world’s strongest teachers.
In fact, when Master Kwak Chun-sik heard of my plan, he thought it was a great idea.
If this were a game, I could say that I had taken the cultivation hell route, but this was definitely an operation that would make our club stronger.
“So, boss, when are we supposed to contact the mentors? It’s a little late today, isn’t it?”
Jin-woo, who has moved to sit next to Young-jae, asks cautiously.
“Right now, of course.”
“What? Right now? But that’s crazy—- our mentors must be pretty busy right now, right?”
“No matter how busy they are, I doubt they’ll refuse a disciple’s request for help, so why don’t we try for now?”
It’s not like I don’t know Han Yeo-eun’s personality, but I doubt that excuse would work.
Hearing my gentle tone, Jin-woo took out his cell phone as if he had given up.
With a few swipes of his finger, his cell phone beeped and a moment later.
-Hello.
A female voice came from Jin-woo’s cell phone.
“Ah. Uh…… mentor? I…… have a question for you.”
-You have a question? You?
“Uh, yeah. It’s…….”
Jin-woo glanced over at me so I moved my mouth, urging him on once more.
‘Is that right?’
Jin-woo narrows his eyes as if he’s been successful in reading my mouth shape.
“Uh, look. I know it’s a little late, but I was wondering if, just in case, you might be able to help me with my club’s midterms. I mean, if not, I’d appreciate it………?”
-…….
A moment of silence.
-I’m on my way.
“Oh. You’re busy, aren’t you? You’re busy…… What? You’re coming now?”
-Why? You asked for help.
“No, it’s not that, it’s just that you’re busy this week…….”
-It’s okay, I’m coming to the academy now.
And then, with a bang, the call was disconnected.
Jin-woo, who had been staring blankly at the now blackened screen, slowly lifted his head and raised a trembling hand, giving a thumbs-up.
“It’s solved……right?”
His voice was trembling and transparent tears were rolling down his cheeks at the same time.
I heard a voice behind me say, “No, really. I thought you said you were busy!” I walked over to Jin-woo and patted him on the shoulder.
“Yeah, it was hard.”
“I don’t know why the hell you’re calling Han Yeo-eun, boss. I’m sure I got stronger because of her, but I don’t know what you’re calling her for.”
For some reason, Jin-woo is asking the right questions.
The other kids were all looking at me, wondering if that was what he was asking too.
“No, I didn’t mean to ask for anything too big. I just wanted to ask her to share some skills that could help everyone. By the way, Jin-woo, you’re probably good at this now.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
──How to get hit without getting hurt.
“Let’s start with how to get hit without getting hurt.”
It was the first lesson in Ms. Han’s cramming curriculum.
