Chapter 71
Chapter 71
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Chapter 15 Hero's Training (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The training ground, which had even been used to the fullest by Burein Mirkel during its construction, was reinforced with powerful magic that made it nearly impervious to damage under normal circumstances. Of course, if Kairen put his mind to it, he could shatter it, but given Azel's mana levels as observed so far, that was impossible.
Hasban spoke up.
“Specifically, there was lightning.”
“Lightning? You mean he summoned a thunderbolt?”
“That’s not what I mean. It rained last night.”
“And there was lightning too.”
“That lightning struck down on Sir Azel.”
“…….”
Hasban wore an expression that begged them to understand how absurd even he found this story.
“Sir Azel had just finished one training session and received treatment at the villa. But when the storm started raging, he apologized and went back out. Lightning flashed in the distance with thunder rumbling. And shortly after, a bolt struck Sir Azel right in the middle of the training ground, where he stood holding his sword.”
“…And then?”
“I thought Sir Azel was dead. I ran over in shock… Hm. Please don’t laugh and call me crazy. Sir Azel was wrapped in lightning from head to toe.”
“…….”
“And he released that power all at once, splitting one wall of the training ground. I’d love for you to come see it yourself. The wall is cracked open, and beyond it, all the trees are felled… There’s a massive scar-like gash stretching hundreds of meters.”
“Impossible.”
Kairen groaned. A technique that absorbs lightning and refines its power for release? Did such a human even exist?
What was more shocking was that Kairen had read records of a human who performed such a feat.
Hasban, gauging Kairen’s expression, said,
“I’m sure the Duke is thinking of the same thing I am. And Sir Azel confirmed it.”
“What did he say?”
“Sir Azel said the technique’s name is ‘Horn of the Thunder Dragon.’”
“…….”
Kairen let out a low groan.
Horn of the Thunder Dragon.
The secret technique that the hero Azel Karzark, who felled the Dragon Demon King Atein, unveiled on the battlefield. Records stated that single strike was more powerful than a bolt from the heavens, cleaving thousands of Dragon Demon troops in two at once.
Of course, Kairen hadn’t believed the record’s authenticity. He assumed it was an exaggerated legend. The claim that Azel Karzark called down lightning and harnessed its power for the Horn of the Thunder Dragon was the same.
“But it actually happened. Honestly, I always thought Grandpa’s heroic tales from my parents when I was a kid had some exaggeration mixed in. But… the ‘Horn of the Thunder Dragon’ that Sir Azel showed was almost exactly as I’d heard.”
“That guy… I’m really curious about his true identity.”
“I’m curious too. I’d even believe it if you told me Sir Azel is the reincarnation of the long-missing Azel Karzark.”
“That won’t do. I’m going to head up there right now…….”
“Don’t say you’re coming right away. It’s the middle of the night. You’d be a nuisance.”
“…….”
“Sir Azel just collapsed after continuing his self-torture with more novel methods until moments ago. I’ll let him know you’ll visit in the morning.”
“Fine. Then, to hold my patience in check, confess every detail of those ‘other novel methods.’”
“Talking this much has made me thirsty. I could go for some good liquor.”
“……I’ll bring it tomorrow. So stop stalling and spill it already.”
“Understood. Today…….”
Hasban gave his report as a spy so faithfully that one might worry his throat would give out.
3
Since arriving at the villa in the Rance Mountains, Azel’s routine had been regimented.
He rose at 6 a.m. for meditation and lighter training, ate breakfast at 7. After a short rest, he trained until lunch and ate at noon. Another brief rest, then training until dinner before 6 p.m., followed by rest and evening training. He wrapped up all sessions by around 10 p.m., returned for a night snack, received his final treatment of the day, did light training including meditation, and slept at midnight.
Six hours of sleep per day.
Considering Azel’s superhuman abilities, this was actually a long sleep. In normal circumstances, two or three hours would suffice for him to recover as much as an ordinary person gets from eight.
But in his current state of pushing himself to the absolute limit, Azel deemed at least that much sleep necessary. And after about a fortnight, he was satisfied that his plan was working.
Hasban said,
“In short, even counting only pure training time, it exceeds fourteen hours a day. And that’s with grueling intensity that leaves him half-dead, every day for a week.”
“Impossible for a normal human, but not for a Spirit Order practitioner.”
Kairen replied. As superhumans, they could handle far more demanding schedules than ordinary people.
“But fourteen hours a day at that intensity, for a full week? It’s terrifying.”
Every aspect of Azel’s training that Hasban described was questionable—both technically and in terms of sheer ferocity.
“So, where’s that young fellow now?”
That came from Burein. Unable to contain his curiosity, he had tagged along with Kairen.
Hasban said,
“He’s probably dashing madly through the hills right now, in the middle of a self-imposed multi-opponent mountain battle.”
“…Self-imposed multi-opponent mountain battle? What’s that?”
“He scatters clones armed with weapons and armor all over, then races through the mountains fighting them one against many. I confirmed he was still at it before you two arrived.”
“…….”
Self-sparring had led to self-multi-opponent mountain battles? It felt like hearing the ravings of a madman. Kairen and Burein exchanged glances, sharing a fierce empathy.
Hasban led the two to the training ground first, to show them the destruction left by Azel’s ‘Horn of the Thunder Dragon.’
“My god.”
Burein muttered like a groan.
This training ground, carved into the mountainside, formed a 50-meter-diameter circle with terraced terrain. It was enclosed by sturdy walls built like battlements over 10 meters high, reinforced with powerful protective magic.
And one of those walls was split open.
Kairen peered closely at the ragged, shattered gap and muttered,
“This was that guy’s doing…….”
Though only two days old, traces of powerful mana still lingered.
Burein said,
“I’d believe it if you told me that kid’s a mage pretending to be a Spirit Order practitioner.”
“It’s not just mages who can cause massive destruction.”
“No, that’s not why. Focus on the mana flow around here. Something unbelievable is happening.”
“Hm?”
Kairen did as told, puzzled, then widened his eyes.
“What? The training ground’s mana is leaking outward?”
“Looks like that kid’s work. Come to think of it, a self-multi-opponent mountain battle isn’t something he could pull off with just his own mana. He’s siphoning external mana using the facility’s control spells.”
“That works?”
“I always thought Spirit Order practitioners couldn’t do that. I’m dying to grab that kid by the collar and ask how.”
Kairen and Burein levitated to the top of the wall to survey the traces beyond. Both were left speechless.
“…….”
“…Kairen, I have one question.”
“What?”
“Can you do something like this?”
Kairen couldn’t answer immediately.
Beyond the split wall, a grand trail of destruction stretched along the ridgeline. Trees in its path were incinerated whole or shattered and flung away, while the ground bore a 2-meter-deep furrow. More astonishingly, the scar ended around 500 meters away, but it was estimated to have continued dispersing energy even farther.
Burein speculated,
“It followed the terrain, then shot into the sky.”
“After cleaving a mountaintop in two, no less.”
The peak really was bisected, one half collapsed. Examining the traces, Kairen said,
“Hm. Purely in terms of destructive power, it might be possible.”
“Really?”
“The traces are concentrated. Can’t say for sure. But how do you handle lightning to leave marks like this?”
Kairen had spent a human lifetime honing martial arts and Dragon Spirit Arts. While no mage, he could convert mana into various attributes to unleash localized disasters.
But was lightning an attribute capable of such traces? He wasn’t sure.
Burein said,
“I get why he wanted an uninhabited training ground. Anyway, shall we go watch that self-multi-opponent mountain battle?”
The two headed toward Azel with Hasban.
“Huff… huff…….”
Azel leaned against a tree, covered in blood. His heart pounded wildly, signaling his body’s limits. But Azel ignored the warning, using the vibrations to generate vast mana, filling his Spirit Veins and invigorating his flesh.
It wasn’t wise. Overloading like this granted short-term power at the cost of long-term bodily damage.
But Azel had his calculations. It was all to push himself to the brink in diverse ways.
Then, rustling came from above. Without looking up, Azel launched himself.
Boom!
Swords clashed—not with a metallic ring, but an explosion. Blue lightning burst, shaking nearby trees violently.
A beat later, Azel spotted his attacker: an enemy clad in mismatched armor that was none other than himself. A perfect copy of Azel, but pristine without blemishes or wounds, giving it an inhuman cleanliness.
The clone righted itself and attacked. Not a mere charge—it disrupted Azel’s senses with psychic waves while swinging a ferocious lightning sword.
Crackle!
As Azel parried, another clone burst from the bushes behind.
It had perfectly suppressed its presence, so Azel hadn’t detected its form until close. But Gaze Detection and sound differentiation had alerted him to its existence.
Azel’s body moved like a flash of light.
Clang! Clunk!
Swords and armor hit the ground, ownerless.
Azel stood still for a moment, then blurted,
“You might get attacked like that, Duke.”
“Hmph. Tried to catch you off guard, but you’ve got the nose of a ghost.”
Kairen had been hiding atop a tree. He’d crept closer while observing, but Azel sensed him like a spirit.
“Training’s not over yet… Well, this’ll do.”
Azel sheathed his sword. Mana ripples began emanating from spots throughout the forest.
Burein, standing a bit away, was startled.
“This many?”
Twelve Azel clones approached. Identical to him, but utterly expressionless and now translucent, the background faintly visible through them.
Letting them draw near, Azel said,
“Too tiring to carry the gear myself. Let’s head back first.”
Azel ordered the emotionless clones to shoulder the equipment from the fallen ones, then returned to the villa. Burein looked like he urgently needed a bathroom, but Azel suggested talking at the villa, testing his patience further.