Chapter 83

Aura.

It’s the word for the power produced when the mana accumulated in the body is burned.

The most basic use is physical enhancement.

Once you get used to handling aura, you can infuse it into weapons to increase their strength and sharpness.

At that stage, you can start to imbue it with attributes depending on each person’s traits.

The best example was Celia’s flames.

As all the students focused on Ain’s lesson, Leo thought to himself,

‘[The Hero’s Breath], huh. They’ve given it an impressive name. Arron just called it breathing.’

Well, considering Arron’s legacy, it made sense for it to get such a name.

Hero Arron.

The most courageous and greatest warrior in history, who made the impossible possible.

‘…or so they say.’

Leo let out a faint laugh.

In later generations, only Arron’s tremendous courage was emphasized, but in reality, Arron was a very timid beastman.

‘He wasn’t just timid, he was an incredible coward.’

Compared to other beastmen, his build was small, and when he was scared, it made you wonder if he was really the same hero.

‘But in battle, he was always the bravest.’

Arron’s ability to overcome his fears and face his enemies head-on was what made the impossible possible time and again.

‘The biggest coward was always the one who put himself at risk to protect us.’

Leo smiled as he remembered Arron.

‘[The Hero’s Breath]… It’s a fitting name.’

While Leo was lost in memories of his past life, Ain was explaining the principle behind the new technique to the students.

The mention of the aura amplification effect made everyone focus intently.

“The [Hero’s Breath] I’m teaching you is different from the original. In any case, the original [Hero’s Breath] was a beastman technique. Used as it is, it wouldn’t work properly for humans.”

Professor Ain had brought a portable chalkboard to the training grounds for the lesson.

He drew a diagram of the human body, explaining in detail how to breathe and how to channel aura with each breath.

Leo narrowed his eyes as he watched.

‘It’s fundamentally different from Arron’s breathing.’

But that wasn’t surprising.

In his previous life, Arron had tried to teach his breathing method to other beastmen.

But not a single one managed to master it.

The only one who did was Leo, a human.

“The technique itself isn’t hard. But…”

Ain raised his hand.

Crack—!

A cold aura formed in his palm.

Even with only a small amount, a powerful force radiated out.

“You can’t expect to achieve powerful aura amplification just by learning it. As you know, with aura skills, training is most important. [The Hero’s Breath] is the same.”

Leo’s eyes sparkled as he watched.

‘It doesn’t just push out power beyond your limits, it maximizes aura efficiency.’

The breathing Leo learned from Arron drew out power beyond his limits.

The effect of increasing aura output efficiency was the same, but with the current [Hero’s Breath], you could amplify your aura without having to reach the absolute limit.

‘It looks like they kept researching aura studies and improved it endlessly.’

While Leo admired that, a question came to his face.

‘If it’s improved this much, why do beastmen still only transform during the full moon?’

Transformation is a beastman’s racial trait.

On the night of the full moon, the beast blood within them awakens.

When transformed, beastmen become much stronger than usual.

Arron was the only beastman who could transform whenever he wanted, even without a full moon.

‘If Arron’s breathing has been passed down as [The Hero’s Breath], that shouldn’t be the case anymore. And there’s one more thing…’

Leo looked at Ain.

‘Why doesn’t Professor Ain suffer any aftereffects?’

While Leo was pondering—

“Begin practicing. If you can manifest aura using [The Hero’s Breath], you’ve succeeded.”

At Ain’s words, all the students began focusing on their breathing exercises.

“Hmph! Ugh?”

“Just doing the breathing is hard enough!”

Flustered voices came from students trying Ain’s method.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘The most important thing about this technique is the breathing.’

The principle of [The Hero’s Breath] allowing you to momentarily boost aura output is very simple.

The way aura is used is similar to how a flame burns.

‘What a flame needs most is oxygen. Likewise, to burn the aura curled up in your body, you need mana from the air.’

The basic idea behind [The Hero’s Breath] is to take in more mana from the air and increase aura’s explosive power.

In simple terms, it’s about raising the compression ratio of mana taken in when you breathe.

Because of that, you can’t do it with ordinary breathing.

Leo tried following Ain’s instructions.

Since he was already using Arron’s breathing, even if the form was changed, he could easily imitate [The Hero’s Breath].

‘Now, if I just control the mana…’

Leo’s aura trembled.

‘All that’s left is to manifest it…’

But the moment he tried to manifest aura at his fingertips, it scattered.

Leo’s face fell in confusion.

‘What?’

He tried [The Hero’s Breath] several more times.

But with the method Ain taught, he couldn’t use aura.

‘Did I get something wrong?’

It was a rare moment for Leo to get stuck during class.

Whoosh—!

Splat—!

Crackle—!

Aura was manifested from three directions at once.

“So this is how it feels.”

“I managed it, but the aura amplification is really minor.”

“It’s not that hard.”

Exclamations erupted here and there.

“They pulled it off just like that?”

“As expected of the monsters in the Knight Department…!”

“Hey! I told you not to call me a monster! Who just said it?”

Celia protested.

Watching this, Ain curled up the corners of his mouth.

‘Celia, Chen Xia, Duran… In terms of talent, they’re among the best ever.’

It was rare to see such talent in a single year.

‘This first-year group is a blessed generation.’

Thinking that, Ain glanced at Leo.

‘But surprisingly, Leo’s struggling.’

Leo, who always understood the material, couldn’t even manifest aura this time, so it was unexpected for Ain.

‘It can’t be helped. The others focus only on training, but Leo is juggling magic and summoning as well.’

To Ain, Leo’s talent was equal to or beyond Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran, but because he was handling multiple departments, it was a shame.

An hour passed, and most students succeeded in manifesting aura with [The Hero’s Breath].

Ding, ding, ding—

When the bell rang, Ain folded his arms.

“After the break, we’ll move on to the next class. Next, you’ll use [The Hero’s Breath] to test various aura amplification effects. We’ll be measuring your records, so make sure to get plenty of rest.”

The students gathered to rest in their own groups.

As Leo was drinking water at the sink, Celia approached.

“So you’re human after all. Even you struggle sometimes.”

Leo was the only student who hadn’t managed to manifest aura with the Hero’s Breath.

“Leo, should I teach you a trick?”

At Chen Xia’s question, Leo shook his head.

“No, I’ll practice a bit more on my own.”

Leo smiled and shook his head.

From afar, Duran, with his usual arrogant expression, spoke up.

“Leo Plov can’t even pull off something this simple? Disappointing.”

“Hey, Duran? This is absolutely not simple, you know?”

“Can’t you try to consider our feelings before saying stuff like that? You’re hurting us. Sob, sob.”

A female Knight Department student clutched her chest with a sad face.

“Cut the fake tears.”

“Tch.”

Most of Duran’s followers were Knight Department students from the central region.

“Leo Plov takes all three department classes anyway, right? There’s bound to be a limit. By the second semester, there’s no way he can keep up with you in the Knight Department.”

A male student spoke in a laid-back tone, making Duran narrow his eyes.

“I don’t care about that.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t care if his Knight Department grades are worse than mine. I just can’t rest easy until I defeat him.”

Duran ground his teeth.

“I’ll defeat him and become class representative. That’s my only goal.”

Duran’s fierce aura made the others shrink back.

Meanwhile, Leo spent the break lost in thought.

He tried using aura again just as Ain had taught.

But again, the aura scattered just before manifesting.

‘Hmm… That’s it. This isn’t right for me.’

Professor Ain had said he’d modified [The Hero’s Breath], originally for beastmen, so humans could use it.

But Leo had already mastered Arron’s breathing.

‘In the end, mine is the original. My aura is attuned to my method.’

It was a fundamental problem.

‘From the start, it’s a technique that doesn’t suit me.’

After finding the cause, Leo’s eyes sparkled.

‘Then I just need to adapt only the parts I need from Professor Ain’s method to my own breathing.’

Either way, the breathing method Ain taught was optimized for humans.

The newly recreated Hero’s Breath was appealing even to Leo.

‘If I can get the power to maximize aura efficiency, it’d be great for me too. I might even overcome the aftereffects.’

The aftereffects Leo had.

That was the backlash from aura amplification.

Both Kyle and Arron had used the same breathing, but there was a decisive difference between them.

‘The fundamental difference… is race.’

Leo looked down at his hand.

When he drew out power beyond his limits, Arron, as a beastman, would transform and his vessel would be strengthened.

But Leo was human.

He had to take the backlash with his body as it was.

That was why he’d been burned using Zerdinger aura before.

“We’ll begin the measurements now. Those I call, step forward.”

While Leo was lost in his own world, the measurements began.

There were three criteria.

Attack, speed, defense, and evasion.

Crackle—!

“So fast!”

“I lost to Leo in the aura step race at the start of the semester, but… now, I doubt anyone in our year is faster than Duran.”

Duran, who got the highest speed score, glanced at Leo with a smirk.

Duran was the fastest in the Knight Department.

Next were Celia and Leo, who were almost even in speed.

But, unlike usual, thanks to the Hero’s Breath, Celia took second place.

Then came defense and evasion.

Here, Chen Xia, with her water attribute, dominated.

The fight for second in defense and evasion was between Leo and Duran.

“Duran won!”

“Ah… so the gap is opening up.”

“Yeah. Honestly, what’s been weird is that Leo kept up until now. This is normal.”

The Knight Department students whispered.

“What’s going on with Leo?”

Celia looked slightly troubled as she watched Leo falling behind.

The other Class 5 students looked at Leo with worried eyes.

“Last is attack measurement.”

One by one, everyone’s maximum attack was measured.

Boom—! Fwoooosh—!

During Celia’s turn, a tremendous firestorm erupted.

“Isn’t that definitely stronger than before?”

“It must be the effect of the Hero’s Breath.”

The students marveled.

It wasn’t an obvious change, but Celia’s flames were definitely stronger than before.

After sheathing her sword, Celia looked at Leo, who was last.

Celia had easily taken first place in attack.

Leo was second.

‘This is what happens when you neglect knight classes.’

Celia scowled at her cousin’s slump.

Before long, it was Leo’s turn.

Ain glanced down at the measurement board.

‘Leo Plov. This might be a turning point in your school life.’

Leo was still at the top in every measurement.

But today, he had fallen behind his rivals.

To be exact, he was the only one who hadn’t progressed.

‘No matter how much talent you have, there’s a limit to taking three department classes at once.’

Ain looked at Leo’s back.

‘It’s time to choose.’

While Ain watched closely—

‘Phew! Done.’

Leo, who had spent the whole class adjusting the technique, finally finished.

‘Now it’s optimized for me.’

He could manifest aura more naturally than before.

Leo took a deep breath.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

Whoosh—!

Leo gathered as much aura as he could into his sword and took a deep breath.

The mana in the air compressed and was sucked into Leo’s body.

‘Swing the sword!’

Whoosh—!

Breathing in, Leo swung his sword.

The mana that entered his body was compressed even more powerfully.

‘Wait, why is this so effective?’

Leo was startled.

The aura amplification effect was even stronger than usual.

‘Wait! That means the backlash will be…!’

Fwoosh! KABOOM—!

A wall of flames shot up high.

Everyone’s jaws dropped at the firepower that left Celia far behind.

Thunk—!

Ain dropped his pen without realizing it.

‘What the… is that kid?’

He felt chills all over his body.

‘What do I even call this?’

Only one question filled his mind.

What words could describe the student in front of him?

At this point, just calling him a genius wasn’t enough.

‘Yeah. This is more like… a monster.’