Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

Aura. What is aura?

Aura is a technique that uses mana to dramatically improve a person’s physical capabilities, strengthening them to unnatural extremes.  According to the words of the Demon Lord of Wisdom, it is mana.  Nothing more and nothing less.

While the context sounds incomprehensible, the truth is as it is. After struggling to manifest it for quite some time, after the bloody battle in the North, I had concluded a few speculations on the conditions required to manifest aura.

The first and most obvious is written in its name. Touki, also known as Fighting Spirit or Battle Aura, means that one must have intent for combat. Simply put, one requires extreme aggression. This is the reason why swordsmen are more aggressive as well as why mages have a hard time gaining aura.

The second is to coat oneself in mana and then press it tightly against oneself.  There’s no systematic way of doing so, however, that has never stopped a swordsman. One can simply replace the specific procedures with enough understanding of how the body works.

Sounds simple, right? Makes one wonder how I managed to struggle learning something as simple as such for half a decade or so. But it was not without reason. Simply put, my very nature as a resident of modern society, both knowledge and mindset, had played a major role in this.

Because I was born in an era of peace, I had never been ready for war. Killing a person was simply pulling the trigger. Aim and fire. That was all it took. Along with trying to figure out the logic behind everything, it had stopped me from actually feeling it.

In fact, had it not been for having magical eyesight, I might have never been able to use magic, let alone something like aura. And once I reached that point, using my knowledge and creativity, I was able to step into the North Saint realm, manipulating aura.

Speed, strength, softness, hardness, sharpness,… I had used a variety of ways to control my touki. And yet, to my surprise, there were still many more ways. Thanks to Kalman III, I managed to replicate the feeling of weight and weightlessness.

Playing with the touki in my left hand, I’ve realized that I had reached an even higher realm as a swordsman. Naturally, I should be happy. After all, with this, I’m probably a true Powerhouse now. But now… What’s the point?

I lay on the bed looking at my left hand. Big and rough hands, too large and clumsy to work with anything delicate. Half of my vision was gone, along with my right arm. My left leg was struck dead on, so I’m crippled.

But most importantly, my mana core… My mana core had broken. It had broken. My mana core. Kalman III’s last strike had shattered it into dust along with whatever hopes I had left.

There’s no point in returning. I’m useless. Both my life as a mage and as a swordsman had ended. With things the way they are now, how am I supposed to fight against those of that realm? I’ll simply worry everyone to death.

At this point, I’ll only be a burden… Maybe it'll be better to just stay dead.  At the least, I could keep their image of me… if they even bothered to remember me. It's not like my disappearance would make any difference.

I pointed my hand to my neck, using touki to sharpen my fingers. With a simple stab, I would pierce through. Simple as that… All it takes is a simple, clean strike. It won’t even hurt. It won’t…

“...”

Right, right. Paul could handle himself fine. With Rudeus and Aisha helping him out, he’s not going to make any stupid blunders. And with Philip in the back, politics were handled cleanly… The house is already a mess; I can’t be a burden right now…

I covered my face and endured, but tears still trickle as always. I didn’t have the guts to die. I didn’t have enough guts to do what’s necessary… Maybe it’ll be fine to hide in a corner of the world and play dead for good.

… I had failed. I had failed to crush the opponent and let the tiger return to the forest. Sooner or later, he would return, and he would kill me. Or perhaps he had already started hunting down everyone related to me. And there’s nothing I could…

… No. There is one. I could beg.

Clumsily, I tried to walk out of bed. My left leg buckled. The pain was insane. I couldn’t stand, not to mention walk.

“Come on. Move. Damn it, leg, don't give up on me here.”

I started beating my dead leg, hoping to stimulate a nerve or something to move it. But it wasn’t working either way. Luckily, the incident where I sprayed my ankle gave me enough experience to move around with a limping leg.

Limping out of the house, I nearly fell flat on the floor since there was nothing else I could use to keep my balance. Luckily, there was a stick long enough for me to use as leverage, so I at least wasn’t crawling.

…

Thinking back, I might have lost my mind to fear. I had always been both a scaredy-cat and a crybaby, after all. Ahahaha… Really haven’t changed whether in the past or in the present. Back then, only one thought had crossed my mind.

I can't die yet. I need to live. I need to beg. I need to somehow reach Aleksander and beg for mercy. Since he only wants me dead, if I offer my life, I might be able to beg him to spare the others. I have to make it work… Somehow.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!