The doors to the training hall swung open.
A heavy, almost suffocating pressure filled the room as rcenary King Yunho Draven and rcenary Queen Mina Draven stepped inside, exuding a commanding presence that made the very air tighten.
Serena and Theresia instantly recognized them—after all, they had once faced the rcenary royalty on the battlefield.
They weren’t alone. Three of their elite guards—the sa ones who had accompanied them to the alliance eting—followed closely behind.
"What an interesting training session," Yunho said with a low chuckle. "Don’t you think so, My Queen?"
Mina’s lips curled slightly, her sharp gaze locking onto Serena. "Indeed, My King... I was particularly intrigued by the power displayed by that white-haired hero during the battle. I see now—it was her familiar’s magic. Kuhuhu... fascinating."
Her eyes narrowed.
Serena’s posture imdiately stiffened. Theresia’s hand subtly moved toward her sword. The tension was undeniable.
I rembered what Serena had told —during the previous war, they had gone all out against Yunho and Mina. Even though we were now allies, old wounds and wary hearts didn’t heal overnight.
I was just about to greet them when Serena suddenly spoke up, voice sharp and calm.
"I have a na. I am not ’the white-haired hero.’ I am Serena von Winterfell. I suggest you rember that, rcenary Queen... Mina Draven."
The queen’s smile vanished. A visible flicker of annoyance crossed her face as the two powerful won locked eyes, their auras silently challenging one another. It felt like they could draw their weapons at any second.
I quickly stepped in, placing a hand gently on Serena’s shoulder.
"Easy, Serena. Let handle this," I said with a soft smile. She t my gaze, gave a reluctant nod, and took a step back.
Yunho raised an eyebrow at the tension, then gave a hearty laugh. "Let’s not make things worse, my queen. We’re allies now. Ti we started acting like it."
Mina huffed but backed down, her fingers easing away from the hilt of her weapon.
I stepped forward to et them, and Yunho did the sa. Now we stood face to face—two warriors, two leaders.
"It’s an honor to et you again, rcenary King Yunho-sama, rcenary Queen Mina-sama," I said respectfully. "But I assu you didn’t co all this way just to watch our training?"
"You assu correctly, Naoki von Blackmore, Strongest Hero of the Braveheart Kingdom." Yunho’s voice was deep and clear, resonating with undeniable authority. "We’re here to uphold the agreent made during the alliance council. Mina and I will be training you."
The sudden spike of pressure from his aura sent a wave of unease through the room.
Even though we had known this was coming... seeing him like this in person was sothing else entirely. That oppressive force—it was crushing.
I swallowed my tension and replied calmly, "Of course. I rember you agreed to train us, and we’re grateful. We’re just... surprised you arrived without any notice. I thought you were still enjoying your tour around Braveheart."
That seed to soften the air around him. Yunho gave a more relaxed smile.
"Oh, we loved it," he said, stretching slightly. "The food here is excellent. And the hot springs? Spectacular. King Aslan really knows how to treat his guests."
For a mont, the terrifying aura faded. He looked almost like a tourist sharing travel mories rather than a war-hardened rcenary king.
"But," Yunho continued, cracking his knuckles, "we are rcenaries. As much as we enjoy the comforts of your kingdom, we get restless without a good fight or so muscle-burning training. So I figured, why not start today?"
Inside my mind, Envi chid in with a whisper:
"This guy... He’s the type who does whatever he pleases. And he’s hiding just how powerful he really is."
I silently agreed.
"I understand," I replied with a polite nod. "As it happens, we’ve just finished our familiar control training for the morning. We can use the afternoon session to train with you."
"Perfect," Yunho grinned. "But hey, drop the formality. Stop calling with all those titles. Just Yunho is fine. Sa with the queen—call her Mina."
Mina scoffed. "Mina-sama, you an."
Yunho laughed nervously. "Ahaha... yeah, she’s particular about that."
"I—uh—I don’t an any disrespect," I stamred. "It just feels wrong to address royalty by na alone."
"I get it," Yunho said, more serious now. "But I’ve never liked formalities. I hope you’ll understand."
I gave in with a smile. "Alright then... We haven’t officially introduced ourselves, have we? Once again, I’m Naoki von Blackmore—but just call Naoki. It’s an honor, Yunho."
He stepped forward and took my hand in a firm shake.
"Good to et you, Naoki."
But in the next second—he smiled thinly, and suddenly—
His aura exploded.
"!!"
The whole room tensed. His Forced Aura flooded the air like a tidal wave. Serena, Theresia, Cain, even Lyra all instinctively backed away, visibly struggling under the pressure.
They tried activating their own Forced Auras to resist—but it wasn’t enough. The difference in power was overwhelming.
I felt it too. My body felt like it was being pushed down to the floor. Runa, wide-eyed, took a step toward , panic in her eyes.
But I quickly sent her a telepathic ssage:
"Don’t interfere. I’ve got this."
Inside , Envi spoke again:
"That’s not just a normal aura, Nao. That’s Forced Aura on a level beyond anyone in this kingdom. It’s even stronger than Supre-tier!"
My heart pounded, but I’d already suspected as much. Both Yunho and Mina had long surpassed human limits. Their power was on an entirely different scale.
"But listen—" Envi said, sharper now."—You’ve already broken your limit. Even if he’s far stronger, you can still stand your ground."
I exhaled slowly, grounding myself.
Then I released my own aura—Forced Aura: Supre Level.
It surged out of , stronger and sharper than it had ever been. Since breaking my limit, I could feel how much my aura had evolved.
Yunho’s overwhelming pressure t mine in the air. They clashed invisibly, but the weight of it was enough to make sweat drip from everyone’s brows.
The entire room held its breath.
Then—Yunho let out a deep, satisfied laugh and withdrew his aura.
"Ahahaha! My apologies, Naoki—I just wanted to see for myself." He stepped back, his smile more genuine now. "As expected... you are worthy of your title. The strongest hero of Braveheart. I’m impressed."
I forced a breath and smiled back, my hand still tingling from our handshake.
"...I’ll take that as a complint."
We had officially accepted them—rcenary King Yunho and rcenary Queen Mina—as our instructors.
All of us, the heroes of Braveheart Kingdom, expressed our gratitude to them.Well... almost all of us.
There was one exception.
Cain.
He hadn’t taken their arrival lightly—especially after being overwheld by Yunho’s Forced Aura earlier. The sting to his pride was still fresh.
"I’m not training with a bunch of barbaric thugs," Cain muttered sharply, his voice low but full of venom.
I turned to him, trying to calm him down. "Cain, don’t start—"
But soone else had already overheard.
"What did you just say, Red-Haired Gorilla?!"
The voice was gruff and loud.
It ca from one of Yunho’s escorts—a broad-shouldered man with a tightly cropped, dark red short hair, his arms and neck covered in tattoos. Muscles flexed as he hoisted a massive claymore from his back, glaring at Cain.
"Yunho-sama ca here out of goodwill to train your sorry squad, and you’re gonna spit in his face? Shaless brat!"
Cain didn’t back down. In fact, he stepped forward, his eyes flaring with heat—literally.
"If I said no, then it’s no. You gonna force , glorified errand boy?"
Flas danced around Cain’s sword and body, the air around him sizzling.Freya and Serena stepped in, trying to defuse him—but it was too late. His temper had flared.
Ahh, great. Here we go again.
Just as the tension neared its boiling point, Yunho’s voice bood across the room.
"Well, well... Looks like we’ve got ourselves a warm-up match," he said, grinning. "Dragen seems fired up too. What do you think, Naoki?"
I nodded. Turning this into a proper sparring match was better than letting a full-blown conflict erupt.
"Alright!" I called out to everyone. "Today’s session will begin with a sparring match—Cain von Flamore versus Dragen Skullblood. Since this is focused on Forced Aura mastery, the use of magic is forbidden. The match ends when one of them can no longer stand or voluntarily yields."
Cain looked a bit taken aback by the restriction on magic, but he didn’t falter. Instead, he stepped confidently toward Dragen, sword in hand.
"Tch, I don’t need magic to flatten him," he muttered. "Aura alone is enough."
That’s right. I’d almost forgotten—Cain was a total battle junkie. Nothing thrilled him more than a good fight.
Dragen let out a sharp breath through his nose, drawing his massive claymore. His aura flickered like stormlight.
"Begin!" I announced.
The two fighters launched forward, a clash of titanic force echoing through the training hall.
Blades t in a violent storm of pressure, their Forced Auras crackling against each other like thunder and lightning.
From the sidelines, I leaned closer to Serena and Theresia.
"Just how strong is this Dragen guy? Can Cain beat him?"
Serena narrowed her eyes, watching every movent. "I’ve fought him several tis on the battlefield. Dragen’s tough—relentless. His endurance is incredible. I’d say he’s around the upper tier of Knight Rank A."
"But still not quite at Cain’s level," Theresia added. "Cain’s a true Rank S. Back then, we could only defeat Dragen and his squad with magic. Without it, he’ll be more trouble."
Serena nodded in agreent. "Cain might win, but it won’t be easy."
On the battlefield, the two n clashed again and again. It was relentless—almost chanical.
Their Forced Auras collided in furious bursts, pushing and tearing at each other.
But slowly... I started seeing it.
Cain was winning.
Using my skill, [Eclipse Foresight], I could tell it was only a matter of ti before Cain broke through.
Then—
"Damn you! Take this—[Mountain Cleave]!"
Dragen unleashed a massive, sweeping slash of Aura—a crushing horizontal wave.
But Cain didn’t flinch.
"[Vertical Strike!]" he shouted.
It was a basic technique, but fueled by a Supre-level Forced Aura, it beca monstrous.
Cain’s blade carved through Dragen’s attack like it was paper and sent him flying across the room, slamming into the wall with a violent crack.
Dragen couldn’t continue.
Victory: Cain.
He looked pleased—but only for a mont.
Then he did sothing that made my stomach drop.
He pointed his sword at Yunho.
"You’re next, rcenary King! Fight !"
Oh no...
Inside my head, Envi was laughing. "Oh this is gonna be fun. That hothead’s asking for it."
I groaned. "Cain, you idiot..."
I moved to stop him, along with Serena, Freya, and Theresia—but he ignored us all and charged at Yunho without hesitation.
Yunho... didn’t flinch.
Instead, he grinned.
"I like your spirit."
He stepped forward, casually removing his sword and shield—he wasn’t even going to use weapons.
Cain burned with fury. "Are you mocking ?!"
He lunged forward, his Aura flaring as he slashed at Yunho with everything he had.
BAM!
Gasps echoed through the room.
Yunho caught Cain’s sword—with one hand.
His left palm, bare, held the blade in place effortlessly. Not a scratch.
He had completely enveloped his body in a dense layer of Forced Aura.
Cain’s eyes went wide in disbelief.
Yunho gave a calm, almost amused smile. "Impressive—but not enough."
Then, in a flash—
BAM!
Yunho slamd Cain into the ground. Hard.
Cain didn’t move.
I sighed. I had seen this coming from a mile away.
Yunho’s aura was stronger than anyone in Braveheart. Stronger than mine.Even stronger than King Aslan’s—or my father’s.
Cain lay still, silent. The realization hit him like a second impact.
The rcenary King... was on another level.
Yunho stepped back, releasing his grip, then turned to face all of us with a calm smile.
"This is the difference in our Aura. Study it well. Learn from it. And grow stronger—heroes of Braveheart."
We all felt the sa thing in that mont.
A fire.
Not of defeat, but of determination.
We, the heroes of Braveheart Kingdom, would rise.
And one day—we would surpass the wall that is Yunho Draven.
....
..
.
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