Book 1 Chapter 435
“Just a little more!” Arga shouted from the edge of the cliff.
*Tak!*
Arga barely managed to place his hands on the edge of the cliff and climbed up with a grunt.
With his Aura sealed and an immense weight added to his body, he had to squeeze out every ounce of strength to climb the dizzying cliff.
“Haaak- Haaak-”
Arga lay sprawled on the ground atop the cliff, gasping as he looked up at the sky.
“Good work.”
At the voice next to him, Arga turned his head.
Leo was sitting on a rock, looking at Arga.
“You cleared it faster than I thought?”
“Heh. Don’t underestimate me, Black Rabbit… Uoop?”
Arga covered his mouth, perhaps overcome by a wave of nausea from extreme exhaustion.
Watching Arga narrowly avoid disaster, Leo said,
“It seems Lunia and Dryana just cleared it too.”
“Hmph, so I’m in first place?”
Arga puffed out his chest.
“Well, that was an individual event, while Lunia and Dryana was a kind of team play.”
“Wha?!”
Leo’s words ignited a competitive fire in Arga’s eyes.
Arga’s goal was to become a great hero, following in the footsteps of the Hero.
In that sense, Lunia and Dryana were rivals with the same goal.
Of course, their paths and ultimate destinations were different.
However, Arga felt a strong sense of rivalry towards Lunia and Dryana, who aspired to be successors to Luna and Dwenno, Arion’s companions.
Arga sprang to his feet and was about to look down the cliff when…
*Tak!*
Both hands grasped the edge of the cliff simultaneously.
Celia and Duran, snarling at each other, climbed up the cliff.
Eiran followed them.
All three were panting for breath.
“Good work, everyone.”
Seeing them, Leo said with a smile, but Duran snorted and stood up, holding his trembling legs.
“You’re quite kind for someone waiting at the top, aren’t you.”
*‘He’s truly a living embodiment of competitiveness and tenacity.’*
Leo said, looking up at the intensely shining sun.
“What do you want to do? The instructors are waiting for us, so should we take a break?”
“Then, after a short rest…!”
Eiran was about to answer with a bright smile when…
“Why are you even asking? We have to go right now!”
Arga, with his arms crossed, snorted.
Celia also got up, pushing back her sweat-soaked hair, and said,
“Let’s go, Leo.”
“What more is there to ask? Leo Frove.”
Duran also showed an expression that there was no need to wait.
Eiran’s ears drooped at the reaction of her teammates.
“We’ll leave now.”
Nodding at her words, Leo took out a magic scroll from his pocket and tore it.
A warp portal was created.
Leo went in first, and the others followed.
“Ah! It’s Leo-oppa!”
Beyond the portal, Chelsea, who had arrived earlier, waved her hand with a bright smile.
Chen Xia, with her hands tucked inside the wide sleeves of her traditional Eastern Continent attire, also spotted Leo and greeted him warmly.
However, she showed contrasting reactions to the two who followed.
Chelsea stuck out her tongue at the sight of Celia and Duran, while Chen Xia couldn’t hide her delighted smile.
Finally, Arga and Eiran arrived.
Upon seeing Eiran, Chelsea stuck close to her, chattering happily.
Arga crossed his arms.
“In our school, Dion and the idiot tiger. In Seirun, Eiran. In Lumen, Celia Zedinger, Duran Moira, Chen Xia, Chelsea Lewallin, and Black Rabbit.”
Arga checked the headcount and tilted his head.
“Who is the next instructor?”
“Heh. It might be Instructor Jamua from Lumen.”
Boraman, a tiger beastman, said confidently.
“That trained physique! He was a man among men!”
“You don’t like human bodies because they look weak?”
“My opinion changed when I saw Li Jamua! There must be something to learn from him! Don’t you agree? Students of Lumen!”
“Instructor Jamua-senpai. It wouldn’t be very pleasant if he were the instructor.”
“I don’t like him because he’ll probably just make us do endless physical training. We just finished climbing a cliff.”
Chen Xia and Celia shook their heads.
“I don’t care who it is.”
Duran, with his arms crossed, scoffed.
“No, why am I even here in the first place, surrounded by so many knights from the Knight Department?”
Chelsea expressed a slight dissatisfaction.
She was the only pure mage.
Just then.
*Rustle-*
The sound of footsteps on grass was heard.
At that moment, Arga’s ears perked up, and he sniffed the air.
“This sound of footsteps on grass! This smell!”
Arga’s eyes sparkled.
“It’s him, for sure! Arga…!”
“Arga-nim, you mean the Arkon-nim you respect?”
Eiran hastily corrected him.
“Arkon-nim!”
Arga rushed towards the bushes.
“Kyaaaaaaaaak?!”
A moment later, a terrified scream echoed.
Arga, clinging to Arion’s leg, was gasping for breath with a slightly deranged look in his eyes.
“Hooook! Hooook! I respect you! Hooook! You’re amazing!”
“G-get away from meeeee!”
Arion flinched at the sight of Arga’s crazed eyes.
The students who rushed over at the scream were dumbfounded.
Leo grabbed Arga by the tail to pull him off, but Arga only tightened his grip with his arms and legs, clinging to Arion’s leg.
“Wh-what should we do.”
Eiran, who had been pulling Arga to get him off, asked with a panicked expression, and Leo sighed.
“Subdue him.”
“Sub-subdue him? H-how? If I use force, Arga-yang will get hurt…!”
“Cleanly, without hurting him.”
“Without hurting him, cleanly?”
After a moment of thought, Eiran grabbed Arga’s head and jaw with both hands.
*Crack-!*
“Kuhuk?”
And snapped it.
Arga, with his neck snapped, foamed at the mouth and fainted.
Leo handed his tail to Dion, who dragged the limp Arga aside.
Chelsea, peeking out from behind Leo, said to a bewildered Eiran,
“Eiran-unnie, you’re scary.”
“That’s quite brutal.”
“Hmph, even with that innocent face, she’s truly the second in command of Seirun. Ruthless in her methods.”
Duran’s lips curled upwards.
“N-no, I… I just tried what I read in a novel…”
“Wow! That’s amazing. Have you perhaps learned assassination techniques?”
Chen Xia clapped her hands in admiration.
“I-I’ve never learned anything so scary!”
As the Lumen students deliberately teased her, Eiran retorted with a tearful face.
Meanwhile, Leo helped Arion up and approached the students.
Arga also came to his senses.
He flinched at the sight of Arion but managed to suppress the urge to rush him.
As the instructor stood before them, the students wore tense expressions.
Just now.
Even though he had shown a somewhat pathetic display, the instructor before them was someone personally invited by the Dragon Lord.
*‘Arkon, I’ve never heard that name before.’*
*‘Why did Arga do something so weird?’*
*‘He doesn’t seem to have much charisma.’*
*‘Why has Arion-nim revealed himself in the mortal world? Could it be a miracle like Luna-nim and Seirun-nim…!’*
*‘Arion-nim! Arion-nim! Arion-nim! Arion-nim!’*
As they all looked at Arion with puzzled expressions.
Arkon, who had been looking tense, cleared his throat.
“Ahem. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Arkon. I will be your instructor for a short while.”
“Instructor Arkon.”
Then Boraman raised his hand.
Arion felt a slight tension when the tiger beastman, larger and more intimidating than himself, called his name.
“Why do you call me?”
“Are you a graduate of Azonia?”
“No.”
Arion shook his head, and Boraman nodded.
*‘Would Azonia-nim have ever imagined a situation where someone would ask Arion if he was a graduate?’*
Arga, recalling Azonia, the school’s founder and a great warrior hailed as the Hero’s successor, let out an involuntary chuckle.
Next, Chelsea raised her hand.
Arion felt a little relieved when Chelsea, the smallest and youngest among the students, raised her hand.
“Yes.”
“Instructor, I’m a pure mage, so why am I here with students who use Aura?”
“You are a mage, but I heard you are a close-combat mage who excels on the front lines.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard a lot from Leo. He said you are very swift?”
“Hehehe.”
Chelsea scratched the back of her head with a pleased smile.
“The ability I will teach you now will definitely be helpful to you as well.”
“Even though it’s an Aura skill?”
“That’s true, but it can also be applied with mana.”
Arion had modified the breathing techniques used by later generations so that they could be used with mana, not just Aura, to achieve extrasensory perception.
*‘Of course, not to the extent of the extrasensory perception Arion himself uses.’*
Simply stepping into the realm beyond heightened senses could change the course of battle.
*‘Truly, that talent is innate.’*
With the development of Aura studies, the number of applied concepts that did not exist in the Age of Calamity increased infinitely.
The Hero’s Breath is the culmination of techniques born from the combination of Aura studies and Arion’s breathing.
Even though it was a technique derived from himself, it was a concept that even Leo couldn’t grasp in an instant.
Yet, Arion not only understood the concepts of modern Aura studies at once but also applied them to his other technique, extrasensory perception, creating another new technique.
“What is that technique?”
Boraman asked with an intrigued expression.
“It’s a technique called Extrasensory Perception.”
“Extrasensory Perception?”
Everyone looked puzzled at Arion’s words.
“It’s a technique to sharpen the senses beyond the extreme.”
“How is it different from simply using Aura to heighten one’s senses?”
The students looked puzzled.
The concept of pushing one’s senses to the limit already existed.
It was a basic skill everyone learned when learning Aura.
Arion tilted his head at their reactions.
“Well, it’s about sharpening the senses even further. It’s hard to explain in words. Hmm… Alright, then that should do it.”
Arion looked at Leo.
“Leo. Can you block my vision, sense of smell, and hearing with magic?”
At his words, Leo nodded.
While everyone looked puzzled by the sudden situation, Leo used magic to block all senses necessary for combat except for touch.
In that state, Arion walked to the center of the clearing and said,
“Why don’t you all try attacking me together?”
“What?”
At his words, everyone except the three who knew Arion’s true identity looked bewildered.
Even the most skilled knights or warriors would be in danger being attacked in such a state of sensory deprivation.
“Don’t worry, just attack.”
At Arion’s words, Boraman said,
“In that case, I won’t refuse.”
“I told you to attack?”
“Ah, you can’t even hear, can you.”
Boraman, scratching his head, lowered his stance.
*Quack-*
And charged at Arion without hesitation.
*Whoosh-*
“……!”
Arion lightly jumped and dodged Boraman’s attack.
“Hmm. Then how about this?”
Boraman began throwing punches rapidly.
Arion dodged all of Boraman’s punches.
*Whoong-*
With a fierce gust of wind, Boraman swung his arm.
*Tak-*
Arion landed lightly on top of it.
Just then, Dion joined in.
*Whoong-*
Dion’s sharp kick narrowly grazed Arion.
*Tap-*
“Kuhk?”
Arion grabbed Dion’s foot and pulled him down.
*Crash-*
Dion lost his balance and fell.
Arion looked at the other students and smiled.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
“Is he really someone whose sight, hearing, and smell are blocked?”
Chelsea looked slightly disgusted.
At that moment, Arga, who had been standing still, crouched down.
*Thwack-*
And then, like a projectile, he flew towards Arion with incredible speed.
*Hwaak-*
*Tap-*
*Gugugugu-! Jeojeojeojeojeojek-!*
Arga’s kick was blocked by Arion’s palm.
Cracks appeared on the ground around where Arion was standing.
However, the ground Arion stood on remained solid.
Arga’s eyes shone.
*‘As expected, Arion-nim!’*
He had perfectly absorbed the impact.
Arion grabbed Arga by the ankle and threw him up.
Eiran also drew her sword and unleashed a sharp sword strike at Arion without hesitation.
“Chelsea, attack.”
At Celia’s words, Chelsea also used magic to close the distance with Arion.
Arion blocked the attacks of the hero candidates with ease, even with his senses blocked.
*‘It’s not just the lack of sight, smell, and sound; his very movements are spine-chilling!’*
Celia’s eyes widened as she observed Arion’s movements.
Every single movement sent shivers down her spine.
Achieving maximum effect with minimum movement.
The path that those who walk the path of emptiness should pursue.
In her life, only her cousin, Leo, had shown a level of skill that made Celia so creeped out.
*‘This person… is beyond Leo!’*
He was different from Leo.
While Leo exuded an unfathomable depth, the instructor named Arkan before her exuded an unfathomable height.
As Celia barely managed to calm her shocked heart.
*Hwaak-*
Arion caught Celia’s sword between his index and middle fingers and let it slip away.
*Thud-*
“Huuuuh! Huuuuh!”
“This person! He’s a complete monster!”
Chelsea screamed as if letting out a shriek, gasping for breath.
Arga, Eiran, Celia, Duran, Chen Xia, Dion, Boraman, Chelsea.
Even with the combined attack of eight people, he didn’t move an inch.
Despite using Aura and magic, Arion predicted and blocked or deflected all their attacks.
“How is it possible to read our movements even with your senses blocked?”
“Is this Extrasensory Perception?”
Dion and Boraman were catching their breath.
*Thump- thump-*
“This is a bit troublesome.”
Arion mumbled, scratching his cheek.
“You can’t hold back properly.”
At Arion’s words, Leo smiled and whispered softly,
“I’m curious how far I’ve approached you now.”
*Screech-*
Leo drew his sword.
“Please take care of me.”