Six Months Later
The forest remained exactly as it had been when Noah first arrived. Beautiful and peaceful.
The crystal-clear lake still reflected the sky like a giant mirror, while the dense forest surrounding it swayed gently beneath the breeze.
Birds chirped among the branches, and the occasional rustling of leaves revealed small animals moving through the undergrowth.
Yet while the forest hadn’t changed much, Noah certainly had.
More than six months had passed since he had been dragged into this strange world.
Looking back, the time almost felt like it had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Most of his days had been spent training under Akari—practicing his swordsmanship, fighting monsters, meditating, improving his control over mana, and occasionally attempting to understand the mysteries surrounding this place while strengthening his ice creation ability.
And today was no different.
In the spacious yard outside the wooden house, Noah stood with a sword firmly gripped in his right hand.
His breathing was slow and controlled.
A faint azure glow surrounded his body.
But unlike ordinary training, his attention was entirely focused on the blade in his hand.
Hum—
Mana flowed from his core.
Azure energy traveled through his arm before pouring into the sword.
Normally, a person would simply coat their weapon in mana. Such reinforcement increased the weapon’s durability and destructive power, allowing even an ordinary blade to withstand far greater force than it normally could.
But Noah was attempting something far more advanced. He wasn’t merely covering the sword with mana. He was compressing it. More and more.
The azure mana surrounding the blade gradually condensed.
Noah narrowed his eyes.
Controlling mana in this manner required tremendous precision. If the flow became unstable, the compressed energy would simply disperse.
If he forced too much mana into one section, the coating would become uneven and collapse.
He had struggled with exactly that problem for months.
At first, he couldn’t maintain the shape for even a second.
Then it became three seconds.
Five.
Ten.
And as his control improved, the unstable layer of mana slowly began taking on a more defined form.
The azure glow surrounding the sword intensified.
Noah carefully compressed the mana along the edge of the blade, forcing the normally fluid energy into something denser. He tried to shape the mana into something sharp and solid.
The vague blue glow slowly transformed.
A thin, solid-looking layer of brilliant azure energy formed around the sword.
Its edges were frighteningly sharp.
The air around the blade seemed to tremble faintly as the concentrated energy distorted it.
Noah’s lips curled upward.
"...There."
He raised the sword.
Unlike ordinary mana reinforcement, which merely strengthened the weapon, this technique transformed mana itself into an extension of the blade.
Sharper and denser and far more destructive.
Noah turned toward a nearby tree.
Its trunk was thick enough that he would’ve needed several ordinary swings to cut through it completely.
He stepped forward.
Then swung.
Slash—!
There was almost no resistance.
The azure-coated blade passed cleanly through the thick trunk.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Creak...
The upper half of the tree slowly tilted sideways.
THUD!
It crashed heavily against the ground, shaking the earth and scattering leaves everywhere.
Noah stared at the perfectly smooth cut left behind on the stump.
His grin widened.
"Damn..."
He raised his sword and examined the brilliant azure edge.
"It’s as sharp as ever."
Far sharper than simply coating his weapon with ordinary mana.
And there was a reason for that.
What surrounded Noah’s blade wasn’t ordinary mana anymore.
It was Aura.
After months of relentless practice under Akari’s guidance, Noah had finally learned how to manifest it.
Aura was created by taking mana, controlling it with extreme precision, compressing it far beyond ordinary reinforcement, and shaping that condensed energy around a weapon—or even the user’s own body.
It was like advance version of normal mana strengthening around weapons or body.
Rather than merely strengthening a sword, Aura effectively created an additional supernatural edge around it.
That was why the tree had offered almost no resistance.
However Noah watched the azure coating carefully.
Crackle—
A tiny portion of the Aura flickered.
Then destabilized.
"Tch."
Noah immediately reduced the mana flowing into the blade.
The brilliant coating gradually disappeared.
He exhaled slowly. He had learned Aura.
But he was still far from mastering it.
Maintaining such highly compressed mana required constant concentration, and the technique consumed considerably more energy than ordinary reinforcement.
During an actual battle, Noah couldn’t keep his entire sword covered in Aura indefinitely.
Not yet, anyway.
But six months ago, he couldn’t even create it.
Now he could maintain a stable blade of Aura long enough to use it effectively in combat.
And weapons weren’t its only application.
Once his control improved further, Noah could coat parts of his own body with Aura as well.
His fists. His arms. His legs.
Potentially even his entire body.
Compared to ordinary mana enhancement, the resulting increase in offensive power and defense would be on an entirely different level.
Aura was mostly learned by those people who dedicated themselves for weapons and martial arts. Not focusing on magic.
It takes long time for one to learn. But because Noah having Adaptive Learbing, which helps him to adapt to things easily.
He learned this faster. Where it had take him more than a year, he learned it in half year.
Noah stared at the fallen tree before looking down at his sword.
Noah stared at the fallen tree for a moment before lowering his gaze to the sword in his hand.
Then, without hesitation, he moved.
He dashed through the surrounding trees, his sword flowing through the air like water. A brilliant blue trail followed the blade with every swift swing.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Each strike sliced cleanly through a tree trunk with almost no resistance.
One after another, the trees were severed as though his blade were cutting through butter.
A satisfied smirk appeared on his face.
"Not bad."
He lightly swung the blade through the air.
"But it’s still nowhere near Akari’s level. It will take decade for me to reach that level."
And that alone reminded him just how much further he still had to climb.
’Status’
The moment he thought about status, a translucent floating screen appeared in front of him.
=== STATUS ===
Name: Noah Eldritch
Race: Human
Age: 19 Years
Strength: 612 [+244]
Speed: 617 [+253}
Stamina: 619 [+247]
Endurance: 608 [+249]
Charm: 700
Mana: 6213 [+2679]
Core Rank: Condensed (Mid)
Potential: Mythical Core / Origin Core (???)
Profession: [Combatant Lv.3]
Technique: [Frozen Lotus Blade Art], [Flowing String Archery]
Affinity: Ice
Spells: [Ice Shard], [Frost Bind], [Snow Mist], [Ice Blizzard], [Crystal Bloom], [Winter Howl]
Innate Ability: [Ice Creation]
Passive Abilities: [Adaptive Learning], [Heart of Absolute Frost]
Active Ability: [Monarch’s Decree]
Bloodline: [Monarch of the Frost]
===================
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter