Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Mana of the Sun and Moon
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Everyone starts out with big dreams.
As time passes, reality sets in. It wasn't until a little while after she began her training that Roca realized she couldn't even overcome the woman right in front of her, let alone invoke some divine hope.
"Kid."
A brilliantly shining golden dragon glared at her with its mouth firmly shut. The princess perched atop the dragon's forehead let out a yawn. A dragon represented the pinnacle.
The creature of creatures. A fortress standing tall in the skies. A transcendent being no longer worthy of the term mortal.
Dragons were objects of respect and awe for all land-dwelling creatures, and attempts to emulate them were countless. This dragon-shaped aura was one answer—and one such attempt—put forth by the founding emperor.
"Your mana has color but no form or imagery."
The mana in the surroundings was dominated by this aura dragon, depleting the mana within dozens of meters in an instant. All of it was sucked into this golden dragon-shaped aura.
In the past, she couldn't maintain this state for long and simply used it to explode and shatter enemies. But now, stronger than before and having broken through to the master realm, it was a piece of cake.
Truth be told, creating mana aura isn't hard. Not difficult at all.
With sufficient mana, decent talent, some effort, and a teacher's guidance, even a child could do it. Once you master the trick of compressing and exploding mana, it becomes easy to produce afterward.
However, the mana aura created this way is colorless and formless.
Mana is the power of the world itself—the universe—and as everyone knows, the universe has no inherent attributes. Sun and moon, lightning and wind, mountains and seas, fire and water. Even stars and light, darkness.
All attributes originate from the universe, so it can contain any attribute.
Color is individuality. Colorless means without individuality.
Without individuality means it can be dyed any color. Primordial mana aura has no attributes or color, but color emerges and attributes are determined based on the direction of its master's training.
No matter how large or strong a colorless mana aura is,
common sense dictates that it crumbles and erodes upon contact with one that has color.
Because the level of aura is different. Unless the difference in mana quantity is overwhelming, it's natural for the one manifesting colored mana aura to also have more mana.
"And that color isn't even something you created through training, is it?"
Cases like Roca, born with unusual mana attributes, are slight exceptions; they innately know how to use mana with color. It's like starting a step ahead, but the form of the mana still must be shaped by oneself.
"Urgh..."
"The amount of mana you have isn't small, but it's not impressive either."
The princess's mana had color, form, and even imagery infused into it, embodying the master realm where one fully internalizes their own mana aura.
No matter how much mana of sun and moon Roca emitted, it was overwhelmingly crushed the moment it touched the dragon-shaped aura.
She wasn't doing this to show off the power gap or establish hierarchy. This itself was training. At the very least, she needed to create a form for her mana to even dent this dragon-shaped aura.
Just as liquid scatters powerlessly against a solid but solid against solid produces an impact sound. Throwing an egg at a rock naturally breaks it, but at least it makes a noise.
"How the heck do you create a form for mana...?"
"No idea."
The wolf stared at the princess's irresponsible reply with a look of disbelief.
Noticing the gaze belatedly, the princess shrugged.
"I really don't know. The form of mana is different for everyone, and the trick varies too."
"You're not messing with me?"
"No one else can find the form of your mana for you. If it were that easy, everyone in the world would manifest mana aura. You have to discover it yourself."
Mana can be seen as dead. It follows its own rules but never exceeds them.
Humans, on the other hand, are living beings.
How one uses this tool called mana differs from person to person, and one's unique method doesn't apply to others.
Even though all originate from the primordial substance and fall under the same species category, people are each distinct, and mana follows the traits of its user.
Roca, who had been watching the princess intently, soon nodded in agreement. She couldn't fully trust it, but she didn't think the princess was doing this just to torment her.
If this was training, how should she guide her mana? How could she shake off this oppressive dragon-shaped aura?
'Sun.'
The mana manifested by the Lineage Sapling.
The power of the sun, king that reigns over daytime.
'And moon.'
The potential she had bloomed through her own efforts.
The power of the moon, silently shining queen of the night sky.
Until now, she had simply emitted this mana without form. It was effective against those unskilled in mana, but to anyone with even a little training, it would look like the work of a novice.
'What if I use these two to create a wolf's form?'
An insight born from witnessing the dragon-shaped aura.
Roca, aiming to form an aura shaped like the wolf enveloping her body, realized from the start that it was a total disaster. She lacked a training method like the princess's or the dragon bloodline that aided in forming the dragon-shaped aura.
She was of the wolfkin tribe, but that didn't help in creating a wolf-shaped aura. As Roca floundered, the princess sighed deeply and withdrew a significant portion of the mana pressure.
"As expected, it's not working. Well, you can't fill your belly on the first bite."
"As expected?"
"What we just tried was like building a roof without pillars. We had time, so we gave it a shot, but the proper way starts from the basics."
Before grasping the form of mana, one must first create the color of mana.
Roca's mana already had color, but it was naturally produced by the sun and moon mana. It was never her own color, which also meant the girl was heavily reliant on those two attributes.
"Kid. If you set aside the sun and the moon, what's left for you?"
It was a question that would eventually need to be asked,
and better to address it now than face it before an enemy.
Roca clamped her mouth shut.
The princess wasn't wrong.
"Nothing but colorless, odorless mana. You haven't taken a single step beyond that."
She had gained the power to wield sun and moon mana through the Lineage Sapling,
but naturally, there was scarcely any growth in other areas. The princess pointed out that weakness.
"My color is gold. Golden mana aura isn't exclusive to our imperial family, but at least in this era, it is. I hear the second-ranked demon king, Harma El, uses a muddy white aura."
For the strong or those not yet worthy of the title, mana colors vary wildly, and there's no strongest color. There are only strongest individuals.
"Grimudo... I don't even know if it uses mana aura, but anyway, there's no superiority among colors. Kid, as your teacher—not as royalty—what is your color?"
"Why are you my teacher, auntie?"
"You little..."
This insolent brat.
As the princess moved to scold the cheeky wolf's attitude, Roca finally smirked.
"I'm kidding. Thanks, auntie."
Ardein sometimes thought of herself as fairly shameless,
but apparently, she had raised a wolf cub. What a bewildering kid.
"Sorry, but Roca doesn't know that stuff."
Her own color? Roca had never seriously considered such a thing.
And there was no need to.
The sun simply shines, but people assign meaning to it.
None of those meanings are truly accurate.
One's own color isn't created but drawn out. People don't know themselves and can't move their hearts at will.
Mana merely reflects the heart like a mirror projecting a form, dyeing itself accordingly.
Naturally, just like breathing.
Like a fish swimming by flicking its fins, Roca poured out her mana. Neither sun nor moon.
The most primordial mana anyone can claim by reaching out—colorless, attributeless mana. Yet it is also both sun and moon, encompassing rain, wind, lightning, and all attributes of this world. The most fundamental power that can transform into any attribute.
This universe isn't made solely of the sun, nor composed only of the moon.
All the attributes and lineages we know blend together within it, and we live inside that.
The child who thought she wore a mask was, in truth, not as reserved as she believed.
She craved affection, had people she loved, and depended on them.
But beyond those she gave her heart to, she cared nothing for others. No malice, no goodwill. That cold heart seeped into her mana as blue light.
Within that blue light, a strand of black mingled, creating a deep blue-black mana aura. Black means it has extinguished all other colors. Any color touching black dyes black and becomes murky.
Only those with exceptional tenacity and will can create black mana aura. A single deep blue-black line scarred the space dominated by the dragon, causing the mana to flow.
Some of the mana gripped by the mana dragon was instantly liberated, bubbling as it was sucked straight toward Roca.
The deep blue-black mana churned slowly, revealing its color. If this were battle, the reoriented dragon would scatter it with a single roar, but training and combat are distinctly different.
And they must be. The princess dispersed the dragon-shaped aura instead.
"Now you can at least protect your own body."
Without fanfare, she simply stated it calmly as if it were natural,
but inwardly, she was quite shaken.
'What the hell is that? That's beyond mere talent.'
The princess had grown up hearing she was a genius herself, but there was one time she felt inferior.
The champion of the theocracy, younger than her, who had broken through to the master realm she herself couldn't reach. The hero, Yurinelle Rackfonsia, had been a huge pressure.
And now here was talent surpassing even that. Finding one's own color after just a few words was something even the most spirited young Ardein could never have done.
'Maybe, just maybe.'
The wolf wouldn't believe her even if she said flour makes bread, but she followed Kyle's words obediently without rebellion.
Meaning if she somehow recruited Kyle, Roca came as a bonus.
'Could I use that kid as part of my forces too?'
If Roca continued to grow and aided her revenge afterward, nothing could be more reassuring.
Her personal forces had all scattered or fallen from power anyway, with many defecting or fleeing. Gathering them now might not even yield a handful.
Since she had to start from rock bottom anyway, there was no reason not to covet talent like Roca.
"Don't call me auntie from now on."
"You helped with my training, and I'm grateful, but I can't call someone who's lived twice as long as me 'sister.'"
"Then how about master?"
Roca's expression twisted oddly.
The princess pressed on, changing tack.
"Or teacher, at least."
First, establish the master-disciple relationship and go from there.
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