'What can I do in my current state?'
Arron pondered deeply.
This era was different from the one Arron had been born into and raised in.
The era Arron had to survive was one of bleak uncertainty.
'Back then, children couldn’t even dream. Even I, who followed Lysinas, couldn’t envision the kind of era I truly wanted.'
A peaceful age—one that even Arron, who longed for a bright, hopeful future for children, could only imagine in vague outlines but never truly grasp—was an impossible thing to picture for a generation that had everything stripped from them at birth.
And the peaceful era he eventually encountered shone more brilliantly than he had ever imagined.
But the threats were not yet over.
No one knew when the Era of Calamity might return.
He didn’t want this peace to shatter.
Those Arron was teaching now were the ones preparing to step onto the stage.
“Could I also help the children who have already taken the stage?”
At Arron’s words, Melina’s eyes widened.
“You mean you want to assist the graduates as well?”
“Yes.”
“That’s incredibly humbling and generous of you. How were you thinking of teaching them?”
“I’m not particularly skilled at instructing others.”
Arron raised his fist.
“So there’s only one method.”
“One method?”
“Yes.”
===
“Can you handle it?”
Vanir asked with an expressionless face.
There was no change in her expression.
But the atmosphere was far from ordinary.
Though she was a graduate of Azonia and a former student council president, she knew the world was vast.
There were still many formidable warriors in the world stronger than herself.
The moment she first saw Arron, she knew.
That the Beastman before her—who looked frail—was strong.
That he stood above her.
Even so, being provoked like this stung her pride.
“Hey, hey. Why so worked up?”
Riennia giggled lightly, patting Vanir’s shoulder.
“We can just face him once.”
Though her tone was characteristically light, Riennia, too, seemed to have her pride pricked, her sharp eyes fixed on Arron.
“Right, Rhys?”
“Yeah.”
Rhys nodded and sank into thought.
Watching the three of them, Arron nodded.
“Alright, shall we begin then?”
At Arron’s words, Rhys, sword already drawn, spoke.
“Riennia, Vanir.”
Rhys narrowed his eyes.
“Let’s go all out from the start.”
Riennia and Vanir looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded.
Whoosh—!
Vanir charged at Arron.
Thud—!
Riennia dashed through the forest at incredible speed.
Groooooo—!
Rhys, sword lowered, summoned Zerdinger’s Flame.
Their swift transition into combat without the slightest carelessness was impressive.
'So this is what they call the Age of Heroes.'
This era—already called the Age of Heroes even before the peaceful age.
The mindset of those who graduated from the Hero Academy and stood on the battlefield was distinctly different.
Arron watched Vanir close the distance in an instant.
Swish—!
Now wielding a longsword in one hand and a dagger-length blade as dark as night in the other, Vanir’s eyes flashed as she swung her dual blades.
Clangclangclangclangclang—!
Sparks flew between Arron and Vanir.
Arron blocked the sword strikes—swung at a speed invisible to the eye—with a single hand.
Watching Arron deflect everything with one hand, Vanir’s eyes twitched.
Arron reached out his other hand to subdue her.
In that moment, Vanir lowered her stance.
Whoosh—! Sizzle—!
Rhys, closing in without a sound, swung his sword.
The Aura of Flame surged.
Clangclangclangclang—!
Arron’s hand collided with Rhys’s sword, and a massive explosion erupted.
Like a crashing wave, flames engulfed Arron.
'He’s controlling the Aura of Flame perfectly?'
The flame attribute, the wildest and most difficult to handle among all elements.
It radiated heat that seemed capable of burning Arron to ash—yet it didn’t harm Vanir at all.
Arron poured strength into his hand.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, a golden Aura burst from Arron and pushed Rhys’s sword away.
At the same time, with his other hand, he blocked Vanir as she dove into his embrace.
Thud—!
Her sword was intercepted before it could fully swing.
Rhys and Vanir narrowed their eyes.
'He didn’t use Aura.'
'Pure skill.'
They saw through it in that brief exchange.
Arron still had room to spare, even facing both of them.
'Where did someone like this come from?'
“What are you doing?”
On the cliff overlooking the forest, Melina—who had been watching Arron’s spar with the three—bowed her head at the voice behind her.
“You’ve come.”
“I sensed your magical power.”
Leo, who had been sleeping at dawn, noticed Melina’s magic and came here.
The magic Melina had cast was a barrier.
“Did Arron ask for this?”
“Yes. He said he wanted to help the graduates too, so he asked me.”
“Is that so?”
Leo stood on the cliff, looking down.
“Will the graduates gain a lot from this?”
“That depends on how they approach it.”
Leo kept his gaze on Arron, facing Rhys and Vanir, as he spoke.
“But just facing the strongest will teach them plenty. In martial arts, Arron is the pinnacle.”
Rhys took ragged breaths as he stared at the man standing before him.
They had gone all out from the start.
Knowing he was a stronger warrior above them, they hadn’t let their guard down for even a moment.
Yet even with such thorough preparation, the result unfolding before them was hard to accept.
'He hasn’t counterattacked even once.'
Despite Rhys and Vanir’s relentless onslaught, Arron did not attack.
Every strike was blocked.
It was like facing a wall of immeasurable height.
'Where did someone like this come from?'
“Isn’t your full strength greater than this?”
Arron looked at Rhys and Vanir as he spoke.
“Show me your full power.”
Arron raised his hand.
Groooooo—!
Golden Aura flowed from his fingertips.
Seeing it, Rhys and Vanir flinched, their bodies trembling.
“If that’s difficult, shall I give you a push?”
The moment Arron smiled and shifted his foot—
Flash—!
A pure white streak of light shot in.
An arrow flew toward Arron.
Clangclangclangclang—! Zzzzzt—!
Arron extended his hand and caught the arrow.
Thud—!
In that instant, freezing cold exploded outward from it and engulfed Arron.
Arron’s body froze solid.
He rolled his eyes toward where the arrow had come from.
'A fusion of Aura and Magic. Considerable power.'
“Hahp!”
Vanir closed in on Arron.
Crack—! Clang—!
Arron shattered the ice and lunged at Vanir.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, Vanir’s body turned into black smoke and vanished.
'Aura trait.'
Arron’s Hyper sense activated.
At that moment—
Sizzle—!
A massive pillar of flame erupted.
Arron looked at Rhys.
Groooooo—!
Blazing Phoenix Breath compressed onto Rhys’s sword.
Rhys gripped the sword—shimmering with crimson light—with both hands and took a stance to swing at Arron.
At the same time, he sensed Riennia’s bow trained on Arron from afar.
Whoosh—! Zing—!
Sword and arrow targeted Arron from both sides.
Arron spread both hands.
Sizzle! Zzzzzt—!
A blazing sword strike and a freezing arrow shot toward Arron.
In that instant—
Groooooo—!
“What?”
Rhys’s eyes widened in shock.
Arron’s Aura coiled around both the blazing Aura and the freezing Aura.
Whoooosh—!
As if guiding a stream of water, Arron brought his hands together, and the opposing forces rotated within his grasp.
Watching from afar, Riennia also stared in astonishment.
Rhys and Riennia had unleashed their strongest attacks.
They never thought this would defeat Arron.
They only meant to bind his movements and create an opening the moment he defended.
Vanir—the fastest of the three—was supposed to exploit that opening.
But terrifyingly, Arron didn’t just block their attacks—he seized control of them.
'No, if I cut through that Aura—!'
Vanir approached Arron from within the darkness.
In that moment, her heart dropped.
Perfectly concealed, Vanir met Arron’s eyes.
At that moment—
Zzzzzt! Sizzle—!
The freezing arrow flew toward Rhys, and the blazing sword strike shot toward Riennia in the distance.
“Guhk!”
Sizzle—!
Rhys released Phoenix Breath.
Crack—!
But he couldn’t fully defend and was sent flying.
Crash! Sizzle—!
Riennia also failed to defend in time.
Thud—!
“Ghk?”
Vanir was subdued, her neck caught in Arron’s grip.
She struggled to counterattack, then went limp.
The match was decided.
It wasn’t a matter of being one or two steps ahead.
'It’s a different dimension.'
Arron looked at Vanir, smiled gently, and released her.
Thump—
Vanir slumped to the ground, as if all strength had left her.
“Excellent. You are heroes fully capable of bearing an era. I’m relieved.”
Rhys approached, pushing away the freezing Aura with his own.
Riennia emerged from the forest, her body scorched, and stared at Arron in disbelief.
“Is there a need for relief? You’re already a warrior on a completely different level.”
Riennia grit her teeth as she asked.
Arron answered, looking at her.
“It has nothing to do with my strength. You’re still young, aren’t you?”
Arron helped Vanir to her feet.
“You have a bright future ahead. You’ll become even greater in time. That’s why I want to help you.”
“Help?”
“This—want to learn it?”
Arron extended his hand.
Above it, golden Aura swirled violently.
“Huh?”
All three looked stunned.
Arron watched the Aura rotating on his palm and spoke.
“It’s not some special technique. Just a knack for maximizing Aura’s power. Depending on how you apply it, you can deflect others’ attacks like I did earlier.”
The three recalled how Arron had redirected Rhys and Riennia’s attacks moments ago.
“It’s still too dangerous for second-years to learn. Will you learn it, and later teach it to your hubaes?”
“Why are you teaching us such an incredible technique?”
Rhys asked, puzzled.
He knew Arron was teaching Hyper Sense to the second-years.
He understood how remarkable that technique was.
And now, on top of that, Arron was offering yet another Aura skill.
Arron smiled at Rhys’s question.
“Because I want to be at ease.”
As Rhys and Riennia looked confused, Vanir—staring at the golden Aura rotating in Arron’s hand—widened her eyes.
'The Aura is rotating in a spiral? And it maximizes Aura’s power…'
Three thousand years ago.
Great Warrior Azonia, said to be the successor of Hero Arron.
Just as Comet Mage Seiren reestablished Star Magic, Great Warrior Azonia succeeded in recreating Hero Arron’s Aura skills.
It was also Azonia who created [The Hero’s Breath] used by Beastmen.
And among Azonia’s signature skills, there was one in particular.
'Spiral.'
A technique that rotates Aura to maximize its power.
'Azonia said this, too, was a technique of Arron’s.'
Like The Hero’s Breath, Azonia intended to pass Spiral on to Beastmen.
But before she could, the Heroes of Genesis left the world.
And now, the Aura skill Arron was using bore an uncanny resemblance to Azonia’s lost technique.
'A Beastman using a lost technique and golden Aura, and he resembles Arron.'
Vanir’s eyes widened.
“Could it be… you are…?”
Vanir looked at Arron with trembling eyes.
Arron placed a finger over his lips.
Vanir trembled as she stared at Arron’s soft smile.
'Hero… Arron?!'
***
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