Chapter 52: The Fruits of Hard Work Are Sweet

I stared at the Aura clinging to my sword.

I could use Aura?

I hadn’t been able to use Aura no matter what I tried. Due to my inherently low mana capacity, Aura was something I could only dream of.

So I had half given up.

Instead, I chose to rely on the Orb of Dreams and other items.

That was precisely when I stopped training in swordsmanship.

I concluded it was pointless to even try.

And now, Aura had manifested.

“…I’m a Sword User?”

Feeling slightly dazed, I raised my sword.

The level of Aura on my sword was faint. But it was definitely there.

I hadn’t expected to become a Sword User.

Although I managed to raise my mana grade to an average level.

It didn’t mean manifesting Aura became easy.

“Louis has Aura…?”

“No way, even I can’t use Aura. How….”

The surrounding students were just as surprised as I was.

Even among the freshmen who just entered the academy, the proportion of Sword Users was only 10%.

It was natural for them to be surprised that I, with a lower mana grade, manifested Aura before them.

Even I, the person involved, was the most surprised.

“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve become a Sword User. It’s just a slightly exceptional level among mercenaries.”

Julian’s sarcastic voice reached my ears, but I wasn’t discouraged by such a trivial remark.

More importantly, I needed to figure out how I manifested Aura.

To manifest Aura, one had to circulate mana and break through the blocked dantian located in the lower abdomen.

Success would lead to Aura manifestation.

This meant the quality of my mana itself had changed.

The dantian acted as a kind of filter.

The mana floating around inside the body.

It was refined into pure mana in the dantian, which the user then coated onto their weapon in the form of Aura.

Then a question arose.

How did I break through my dantian?

It was commonly said that a large amount of mana was required to break through the dantian.

But of course, I didn’t possess such a large amount of mana.

As I channeled more mana into my dantian, the Aura on my sword became more vivid.

It felt as though something was flowing through my body.

So this was the feeling of using Aura.

But I immediately recognized the sensation.

The feeling of using Aura wasn’t that different from circulating mana using the Orb of Dreams.

“You’ve finally become a Sword User! Congratulations, Louis!!”

Elena, with a joyful face, greeted me as I returned to my seat.

I thanked her for being so happy for me, as if it were her own accomplishment.

“Thanks.”

“But Louis’ Aura is yellow?”

Everyone had different mana attributes.

But unless they were mages, Aura was usually a transparent blue.

But my Aura was definitely tinged with yellow.

Perhaps it was influenced by the frequent use of the Orb of Dreams.

“Aura? What’s that?”

Lisa asked with a clueless expression.

“Aura is….”

Elena stepped forward and started explaining what Aura was to Lisa.

Leaving them behind.

I continued to circulate my mana, feeling it swirling in my dantian located below my navel.

As soon as the class ended, I rushed to the training room.

Normally, I wouldn’t even glance at this place.

But having just become a Sword User, I was too excited to stay still.

“What brings you here, Louis?”

The one who greeted me as I opened the door to the training room was.

Professor Dominic, effortlessly lifting a heavy dumbbell as if it were chopsticks.

Crazy….

Was he even human?

Just glancing at the weight on the dumbbell was daunting.

To lift it so easily.

I clicked my tongue, impressed by his strength.

“I came to train!”

“Hahahaha! Train! What a wonderful sound!”

It wasn’t Dominic who answered my declaration, but the man next to him.

He was easily over 2 meters tall.

And most notably, his skin was an unusual shade of green.

An Orc.

The Orc grinned, revealing his fangs.

“What brought this on?”

“I just felt like working hard.”

“What nonsense is this?”

No, I really came here to train.

I had changed.

I vowed to be reborn as a diligent Louis.

“Indeed. Dominic, I sense Aura from this student.”

“What? Louis, you weren’t a Sword User. What do you mean, Aura?”

“I just awakened it today.”

“…Awakened today?”

Sensing the energy within me, the Orc immediately noticed that I possessed Aura.

Louis, once hailed as a swordsmanship genius.

It meant he learned swordsmanship exceptionally fast.

With my dantian opened, I would now be able to emit denser and purer Aura every time I swung my sword.

As the density of my Aura gradually increased.

My dantian would expand.

And then I would be able to transcend human limitations.

A Louis with a talent for swordsmanship, now able to use Aura?

It was as if my dormant talent was finally ready to bloom.

“Let me ask you something. What do you think is stronger, magic or the sword?”

The Orc asked me a strange question out of the blue.

I pondered his question for a moment.

It was true that magic was powerful.

But in this world, the sword had the highest potential.

Sword Master.

The moment one became that incomprehensible being.

Even an Archmage would be no match for a Sword Master.

“The sword, of course.”

“Hahahaha! I like you! You! What’s your name?”

The Orc seemed pleased with my answer and slapped me on the back with a hearty laugh.

“Louis Vermore.”

“Louis, my name is Lycan. Do you want to become stronger?”

“Yes! I want to become stronger!”

“Good! Then follow me.”

“Yes, sir!”

“…What are you two doing?”

Like a rigidly disciplined new recruit.

I followed Lycan into the training room right next to the gymnasium.

Dominic, who was watching us with a dumbfounded look, followed us inside.

“Swing your sword, I’ll watch.”

“Yes.”

I swung my sword as usual in front of Lycan.

“Hmm…. In this case, raise your arm more like this….”

Immediate feedback came from Lycan as he observed my posture.

Ah, this was great.

I felt a strange thrill as I received Lycan’s personalized guidance, feeling myself improve in real-time.

To think that the training I hated so much would feel so good.

It was a feeling I couldn’t understand as my past self, who hated strenuous activity.

I could grow stronger.

With that anticipation, my mindset changed.

My muscles twitched with every swing of my sword.

And it would make me stronger.

I become stronger as much as I work hard.

Having realized that simple logic, all that remained was to become even stronger.

I continued to swing my sword, accepting Lycan’s guidance.

Until my mana was completely depleted.

Dominic watched Louis with a satisfied smile as he swung his sword frantically, scattering Aura everywhere.

He noticed someone else watching Louis, just like himself.

“Hmm…?”

A female student with red hair tied back tightly.

Clarice from Class D.

She was a student who had been discussed several times among the professors.

All in a negative light.

Her swordsmanship skills were far behind others.

And her unusual obsession with justice often led to her being ostracized by her peers.

Recalling his colleague, who sighed worriedly while talking about her, Dominic began to observe her closely.

Her lips were tightly pursed.

And her hand gripping the sword hilt was clenched so tightly that it looked like it would bleed.

Clarice, who had been watching Louis as if mesmerized, started walking somewhere with a determined look on her face.

“Yes, yes, that’s youth.”

It seemed she was stimulated by Louis’ appearance.

It closely resembled his past self.

Dominic reminisced, thinking ‘I was like that too.’

Unaware of the emotions hidden within Clarice, judging only by her appearance, Dominic mistakenly believed she was motivated by Louis and trying to work hard.

But the seed of inferiority complex that had begun to take root deep within Clarice’s heart was slowly sprouting.