Chapter 16
Chapter: 16
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 016
>Chapter Title: The Whereabouts of Aura (2)
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>“Adjusting the aura that naturally flows through your body as you wish is an entirely different matter from sending it out of your body.”
Sir Massain began his explanation.
The two of them stood facing each other in the center of the training grounds. He was supporting Seongjin’s outstretched hand with his left hand while placing the index and middle fingers of his right hand on the wrist as if taking a pulse.
In that position, he continued his calm explanation.
“No matter how small the amount, manifesting aura externally means infusing it with that much stronger intent. In other words, aura released outward can’t be gentle under normal circumstances and will inevitably exert powerful destructive force and influence on the surroundings.”
“…….”
“Especially, pouring external aura into someone else’s body is tantamount to thrusting a sharply honed blade into that body.”
The longer his explanation went on, the more Seongjin’s anxiety grew.
Sir Massain. Why are you explaining all this while holding a pose that makes it seem like you’re about to pour aura into me any second now?
“Of course, for someone extraordinarily skilled in aura manipulation, it’s not impossible to transmit aura to another without causing harm. Since the intent infused into the aura is free, the effect can be natural as well, and with extreme finesse, it’s even possible to make it feel like the recipient’s own innate aura.”
According to Sir Massain, his uncle had reached that level.
He had personally infused aura from outside to help his nephew, who struggled to grasp aura manipulation, experience and internalize the changes firsthand.
Of course, the young Massain at the time had been blissfully unaware of the danger, simply thrilled at the progress in his training.
“It may be a distant goal to reach my uncle’s level, but I am still an advanced knight on the cusp of becoming a Decaron Knight. My finesse in aura control rivals the best in the knight order. It will be perfectly safe, so Your Highness need not worry.”
Wait a minute. Then why does your face look so rigidly tense?
Are you nervous, Sir Massain? Are you?
Seongjin asked, breaking into a cold sweat.
“Um… what if there’s even the slightest mistake in the process…….”
“Your body would be torn apart by the aura.”
Kyahaaack! What are you trying to do to me, you Dorn bastard!
Fortunately, Seongjin’s hand didn’t end up shredded and bloody. As Sir Massain had assured, he was indeed an aura user of considerable mastery.
Through the wrist touching Massain’s fingers, he felt something like fine grains of sand prickling as they flowed up his arm. It was a small amount, but distinctly alien energy that stood out clearly.
After a while, Massain stopped infusing the aura and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His face showed clear signs of fatigue, suggesting the mental strain had been greater than expected.
“My humble skills limit me to this much. How did it feel?”
“Like sand flowing in.”
“So you felt an energy different from the usual?”
Seongjin nodded.
“Why can’t I feel such a distinct energy on my own?”
Sir Massain’s face lit up. After days of fruitless effort, they had finally seen a glimmer of progress.
“To think you’ve even grasped the texture of the aura I used—it may not be far off before Your Highness makes your breakthrough.”
“Does it feel like this when you manipulate your own aura in your body?”
“The sensation is a bit different when your own aura flows. Weaker and gentler… like water flowing, perhaps? Some describe it as a mild tingling, like a slight numbness.”
“Hmm…….”
The vague notion of what aura felt like was starting to take shape.
It was like…
‘Similar to absorbing a monster’s essence to strengthen the body?’
Using the absorbed power to sync with muscle movements, block external impacts, and weave it into weapons to make them sharper.
Things the old Seongjin had done as naturally as breathing.
Reflecting on it carefully, the first form’s aura manipulation that Massain had described in detail shared many similarities with how the previous Seongjin had circulated monster essence through his muscles during similar actions.
While Massain’s face brightened, Seongjin’s darkened.
At first, he’d thought aura was a completely new kind of power with entirely different properties. So when he felt nothing inside, he’d chalked it up to his own dullness.
But considering it, Seongjin had spent decades assimilating alien energies throughout his body in battle. There was no way he couldn’t detect such a clear difference in power flow.
Seongjin examined his body’s state again, but still, not a trace of alien energy could be felt.
This meant one thing.
There was a more fundamental reason why Morres couldn’t use aura.
* * *
Can a person exist without a single speck of aura in their body?
Anyone who had even briefly learned aura cultivation techniques would flatly deny it.
This world was one where the flows of qi—the foundation of aura—were extraordinarily abundant.
Even ordinary people could faintly sense the qi flowing through the air with just a little effort. Accumulating or manipulating that qi into aura within the body was a separate matter, of course.
Aura is naturally produced in minute quantities within the human body. Though small, sensitive individuals can detect the continuous generation of that amount.
In short, it was impossible for anyone to have an aura concentration fundamentally near zero.
[Couldn’t it be a misperception? You only felt that power for a fleeting instant, right?]
The Demon King grumbled.
[Aura may be unfamiliar to me too, but even in my diminished state, I’m still the king of monsters. There’s no way I couldn’t distinguish monster essence from aura.]
“Hm…….”
[Whenever your dedicated maid uses it, it just feels like wielding slightly stronger life force. Got it? Monster qi and aura are fundamentally different powers.]
Seongjin was walking through the Pearl Palace gardens after morning training.
He was supposed to shower and head to the palace for lunch, but he wasn’t in the mood right now. He’d spent most of the session digging into aura cultivation, so he hadn’t expended much stamina or sweat.
Moreover, today was his weekly audience with the Holy Emperor.
He’d brushed off the fussing Empress Elizabeth and her maids since morning, claiming he couldn’t skip training with the teacher His Majesty had personally sent.
If he went back now, he’d undoubtedly be dragged off for grooming without even eating, amid all the commotion.
Let’s run away.
With that resolve, Seongjin slipped out of the Pearl Palace and started walking aimlessly down the long avenue of trees outside.
[So even if you’re used to sensing monster essence, that doesn’t mean it helps with aura at all.]
‘Why not? Absorbing external qi, storing it, and circulating it—it’s the same principle.’
[You think the alien qi of creatures from another world is the same as the innate life force of this world’s beings? I told you, aura is a power close to the source of life force.]
‘Then let me ask one thing. That life force you sensed—is it present in Morres’s body?’
[Well…….]
The Demon King hesitated.
[It’s… extremely faint, but isn’t that because he just recovered from his sickbed?]
‘…As I thought.’
Seongjin’s suspicion was turning into conviction.
It wasn’t that Morres was insensitive to aura—there might truly be no detectable minimum amount of aura in his body at all.
He stopped walking and sank into thought.
‘What now, then?’
Strictly speaking, Seongjin didn’t need to stake his life on aura. Exercise was for health anyway, and the world wasn’t in peril like before.
Plus, he now held the noble status of prince. He could live comfortably for the rest of his days without becoming an aura user.
But…
For some reason, he really wanted to learn it.
It looked fun.
Once started, he wanted to see it through.
Before he knew it, the familiar spark that ignited in Seongjin’s eyes whenever something caught his interest was quietly burning.
He organized his thoughts.
The first idea was to find an aura master to examine his current state. Knowing the cause was key to finding a solution.
But even someone of Sir Massain’s caliber hadn’t noticed anything off about Morres, so he needed someone stronger—at least on the level of Massain’s uncle.
Someone adept enough to freely infuse their aura into another’s body without harm and skilled at reading others’ bodies.
But where to find such a person……
“Ah……!”
Seongjin blinked.
There was one.
Someone with exceptionally high aura mastery who would likely answer if asked, and who seemed like they’d help if requested.
He looked up. At the end of the avenue stood the familiar imperial carriageway. Straight down that road lay the vast palace gardens, leading directly to the main palace.
He already had an appointment today, and though it was a bit early…
‘…Shall I go?’
[Hey, hey…… Why are you heading that way? Hey, where are you going?]
Ignoring the Demon King’s anxious quivering, Seongjin strode toward the avenue, retracing his memory.
Fortunately, he didn’t get lost. It was just farther than expected.
When Morres appeared at the main palace entrance in casual training clothes with only a wooden sword at his waist, the imperial guard knights on duty were thrown into confusion. But they quickly composed themselves, slamming their swords on the ground and bowing their heads.
“We greet the 3rd Prince!”
As expected of the guard knights—they’re something else. Seongjin smiled warmly and asked one for guidance.
The Demon King didn’t wail about his soul being crushed by holy energy like before. He was just cowering silently in fear.
Occasionally, high priests in ornate robes and tall miters passed Seongjin, but they noticed nothing amiss, stepping aside with a cursory bow. Confirming the barrier the Holy Emperor had set worked perfectly, Seongjin walked through the main palace without hesitation.
At the end of the second-floor corridor, several administrators and priests hurried back and forth with stacks of documents.
‘Busy time?’
The office door stood wide open amid the traffic.
Peeking inside, Seongjin saw a few priests swiftly sorting papers on the tables. Chief Attendant Louis and three young administrative aides stood in a line on either side of the Holy Emperor’s desk.
The Holy Emperor sat at the desk in casual attire, scribbling furiously on documents. He soon noticed Seongjin’s gaze and looked up. His face remained as inscrutably cold as ever.
“Prince Morres!”
Only then did the chief attendant, who had overlooked Morres, brighten. In an instant, everyone in the office halted work and bowed in unison.
“We greet the 3rd Prince!”
Seongjin gave them an awkward smile.
“Uh, I came a bit early, didn’t I? If you’re busy… keep working.”
The Holy Emperor stared at Seongjin for a moment, then crooked his left finger without turning his head.
“Dorian.”
The young man with a frail look, clutching a stack of papers closest to the desk, approached with a puzzled expression.
The Holy Emperor set down his pen, stood, and tossed a large seal-like object into the man’s arms.
“This is the imperial seal. Set aside the documents on the left for now and stamp the rest.”
“Y-Yes… Yes?”
“Hand them all to the executive secretaries by noon.”
The administrative aide called Dorian turned pale.
By then, the chief attendant had approached with a white robe. As the Holy Emperor loosely slipped his arms into the sleeves with his help, he asked indifferently.
“Lunch?”
“…I came straight from the training grounds, so not yet…….”
Seongjin answered a beat late, realizing the question was for him. The Holy Emperor turned to Louis and instructed.
“I’ll have it in the rear garden with Morres.”
“Yes, as you command, Your Majesty.”
The attendant bowed respectfully.
The Holy Emperor strode out without even fastening his collar, giving Seongjin a slight glance as he passed.
“Let’s go.”
Wait, Your Majesty? Father?
It’s just my imagination that he sounds like he’s running away too, right?
Ignoring the young aide’s pleading gaze, Seongjin turned and followed. They walked briskly down the second-floor corridor.
“Is it okay to leave your work like that? You seemed really busy.”
Seongjin asked, but the Holy Emperor didn’t answer immediately. His white robe fluttered behind his steady strides, scattering a faint glow.
“…Mark this well, my son.”
Struggling to match his stride, Seongjin was caught off guard when the Holy Emperor suddenly spoke as they neared the opposite end of the corridor.
“Governing is like a vast clockwork mechanism where every gear meshes without the slightest misalignment.”
“Clockwork, you say?”
What’s this guy suddenly on about?
Seongjin stared blankly at the back of his head.
“Indeed. What happens if you meddle carelessly with a finely turning clock?”
“Uh… it breaks?”
“Exactly.”
Seongjin tilted his head and asked.
“What are you saying…….”
“That is how ruling a nation works.”
“Ruling a nation.”
“Yes. You need only place capable ministers in their proper positions and let them run things appropriately.”
“…….”
He was dressing up slacking off in the most grandiose way possible.