Chapter 126
Damian asked Hainel, “A condition?”
“Indeed,” Hainel replied. “If I am to dedicate my precious ti to you, wouldn’t it be unfair if I did so without any aning?”
Though Damian wasn’t entirely sure what Hainel ant by “unfair,” he nodded.
“I’m listening.”
“Just one hit. If your spear manages to touch my body, then I will allow you to leave.”
“…”
Damian felt montarily speechless, but not because Hainel’s condition seed unreasonable.
‘…This man…’
Damian instinctively swallowed.
When Hainel spoke those words, his eyes glead with an intensity that was hard to miss.
‘He’s enjoying this.’
Was he amused? Or was it that he had the luxury of being this confident in front of Damian?
Damian couldn’t tell.
“One hit, you said?”
“That’s right,” Hainel replied with a sly smile.
Damian’s gaze turned cold, and he nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
One hit.
No matter if Hainel was an Aura Master, if Damian couldn’t even graze his clothes, returning to his unit would be aningless.
‘…This won’t be easy.’
Recalling Hainel’s earlier movents, Damian knew this would be anything but simple.
But that didn’t matter.
Regardless of the difficulty, this was sothing he had to accomplish.
“When would you like to begin?” Hainel asked.
Damian answered without hesitation, “Let’s start right now.”
“Good,” Hainel said, a wide grin forming on his face as he stepped outside.
* * *
Before dawn had fully broken, Damian woke up and imdiately stepped outside the mansion, sitting down wherever he could find space.
There was no need to hide his mana-training techniques here, nor was there any reason to seek a safer location.
The air was rich with mana, and this place was more secure than anywhere else.
Inhale… Exhale…
Damian took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled for twice as long as he had inhaled.
Though the breathing was long, it wasn’t difficult for Damian, as this had beco routine whenever he perford his mana training.
Feeling the magic circulating inside his body, Damian began to rotate it throughout his system.
After reaching the fifth star of his training, the magic within him had grown wild, rampaging like a frenzied stallion, beyond his control.
The stronger the magic, the more precise control it demanded.
But now…
‘…I’ve gotten better at it.’
Controlling the circulation of his magic had beco more natural.
Of course, there were monts when, if he lost focus for even a second, the magic would try to go out of control again.
Damian clenched his fists, concentrating intensely, and spread the magic throughout every corner of his body.
“He’s quite the remarkable young man.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, and not just because of his skills,” Villipt said.
Before Damian’s arrival, Villipt had conducted extensive research on him.
It was only natural—understanding the person wishing to et Hainel was part of his duty.
And the more Villipt uncovered about Damian, the more amazed he beca.
At the re age of thirteen, Damian had enlisted in the army.
He had graduated at the top of his class from the training camp and, instead of avoiding it like many others, he requested a transfer to the Neokalitz Unit of Erkal.
Could this even be real?
The Neokalitz Unit was one of the five most dangerous units in the kingdom at the ti.
And that wasn’t all.
“After just one year in the Neokalitz Unit, he managed to completely resolve the problem in the Bronselian Forest.”
Villipt had even sent a letter to Baron Wilkis Diel to confirm this, as it was Baron Wilkis himself who had recognized Damian’s contributions.
“And is there more?” Hainel asked, clearly intrigued.
He found Damian’s life story fascinating, as if listening to a wandering bard tell a tall tale from the streets.
Villipt smiled as though he had only just begun.
“With his achievent, the boy requested to bring a trading company into the Bronselian Forest to secure the exclusive rights to the herbs found there.”
“Exclusive rights?”
That single phrase summarized it all.
It ant Damian had a sharp business acun as well.
Villipt nodded.
“The trading company in question is the Hal Trading Company, which now supplies all the provisions for the 6th Legion. Rumor has it that soon, they may be contracted to supply the entire military.”
“…For such discussions to take place, despite inevitable opposition, they must be highly competent,” Hainel mused.
Corruption related to military supplies had long been an entrenched evil.
For years, countless individuals had been involved in shady dealings and corruption within the military.
And the ones who suffered were always the soldiers risking their lives and the kingdom’s citizens.
To cover the military budget shortfalls, the kingdom squeezed its people for funds, which inevitably ended up in the wrong pockets.
Many soldiers had perished from poor supplies.
This was a deeply rooted problem in the kingdom.
“Hal Trading Company, you say?”
“Yes.”
“A remarkable feat. And this company is connected to the boy?”
“Indeed.”
“Anything else?” Hainel asked, his curiosity piqued.
Villipt nodded, confirming there was more, and Hainel’s gaze wavered slightly.
What kind of path had this boy walked?
As Villipt continued his story, Hainel listened intently.
The more he heard, the less he focused on Damian’s accomplishnts and more on the reason behind why this boy had walked such a path.
“And finally, after repelling the Rose Knight Order, the na of the Caion Unit has spread across the entire continent.”
“And then he ca to find ,” Hainel mused.
By the ti the story ended, Damian had finished his mana training and opened his eyes.
The magic surrounding his body had cald and was faintly shimring.
Hainel approached him.
“Who taught you that mana training technique?”
“…My late father taught .”
“It’s a good technique. Continue to refine it. However, your thod of handling magic is quite inefficient.”
“In what way?” Damian asked as he stood, his voice filled with curiosity.
Sensing Damian’s thirst for knowledge, Hainel began drawing on his own magic as he explained.
“Magic has an inherently free nature. Those who understand the concept of magic typically think of it in this way.”
“Are you saying that’s incorrect?”
“No, it’s not wrong. In terms of basic characteristics, that’s true. But…”
Swoosh
The magic in Hainel’s hand began flowing smoothly, and then—
Crackle!
It suddenly sparked and jumped wildly.
As the magic danced like a fierce spark, Hainel explained further.
“The mont magic is controlled by a person, it begins to take on that person’s nature. In my case, it manifests as sothing quick and volatile.”
His magic had an elasticity to it, as if it might burst outward if not tightly restrained.
It wasn’t so much free as it was wild and unpredictable.
After dissipating the magic, Hainel asked Damian, “And what is the nature of your magic?”
“…My magic,” Damian began but hesitated to answer.
Lately, he had felt that his magic was becoming increasingly unruly.
‘But it doesn’t feel quite like Lord Hainel’s magic,’ he thought.
It felt more like trying to have a conversation with a stubborn child.
Noticing Damian’s hesitation, Hainel smirked and said, “You’ll need to continue pondering that. But when you discover the answer, the path forward will beco clearer.”
“Thank you for your advice,” Damian said, bowing his head in gratitude.
Hainel nodded but added, “But pondering alone won’t be enough. You must keep using and experinting with your magic to find that answer…”
Hainel glanced at the spear resting on the ground.
“Pick that up,” he instructed.
“Yes,” Damian responded eagerly, grabbing the spear.
As Hainel raised his wooden sword made from ironwood and pointed it at Damian, he gave him a calm but firm warning.
“You’ll need to fight with everything you’ve got.”
Damian nodded in acknowledgnt.
Hoo…
Taking a deep breath, Damian gripped his spear and focused on Hainel.
The concept of ‘level’ or ‘rank’ that Hainel had ntioned still wasn’t entirely clear to him.
But there was one thing he understood for sure: his attacks didn’t work on those called Aura Masters.
‘I must abandon my certainty,’ Damian thought.
Confidence and certainty were crucial in battle.
But in this mont, he needed to let go of certainty.
He had to constantly doubt—question whether his spear would land, and if it didn’t, what his next move should be.
In a single movent, he had to consider dozens of scenarios and imdiately transition to the next one.
Swoosh
Damian began organizing the countless thoughts racing through his mind.
He would stay aware but move fluidly, adjusting to the situation with the best possible response.
In other words:
‘Keep a cool head, but let your heart burn with determination.’
With his resolve fully set, Damian charged at Hainel without hesitation.
Thud!
With a powerful step, Damian darted toward Hainel, swiftly shifting his body.
Though his spear had a longer reach than Hainel’s sword, Damian knew that distance wasn’t everything.
‘Think of it as if Hainel has another sword and keep the maximum possible distance between us,’ he reminded himself.
He had to maintain the full extent of his spear’s range at all tis.
If not, Hainel’s speed would overwhelm him, just as it had before.
Swoosh!
Hainel’s eyes glead as Damian thrust his spear from a distance.
‘Oh?’ Hainel thought.
Has Damian already found so kind of solution?
Though Damian’s control over magic was still rough, his combat instincts were comndable.
‘He understands his strengths and analyzes his opponent well,’ Hainel observed.
Those qualities were essential for a soldier, especially a commander leading troops.
A single mistake in his judgnt could cost his subordinates their lives.
However…
“You’re still far from ready,” Hainel muttered.
Maximizing the distance between yourself and your opponent ant attacking from afar.
While the tactic was sound, the current level of Damian’s thrust wouldn’t reach Hainel.
Swish!
Hainel easily deflected the spear and closed the gap between them.
Since Damian had to recover his spear from such a long distance, it gave Hainel ample ti to move in.
Swoosh!
Like a bolt of lightning, Hainel surged forward with a speed matching the aura of his lightning-based power.
In the blink of an eye—
No, before Damian could even recover half of his spear, Hainel was already within his guard.
Damian twisted his body in response, instinctively knowing he had no ti left.
Swoosh!
Damian swung his right elbow toward Hainel’s face.
With no ti to retrieve his spear, this was the only option he had to push Hainel back.
‘Please land…!’ Damian thought desperately.
But contrary to his hope—
Clang!
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain shot through Damian’s elbow as he cried out.
With a simple twist of his wooden sword, Hainel had effortlessly deflected Damian’s strike.
And with Damian’s upper body now completely exposed, Hainel calmly said, “Rest now.”
Damian, seeing Hainel’s strike aid at his solar plexus, muttered, “…Damn it.”
Before he could react, everything went dark, and Damian lost consciousness again.
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