Chapter 283
Chapter 283
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 283
Chapter Title: Next Secret Art
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The way to Zeblam was straightforward enough.
As expected of the Magic Kingdom, Zeblam's teleportation facilities were among the best in the world.
And since the Magic Emperor himself was overseeing it, there wouldn't be any interruptions like last time.
So before stepping onto the path to Zeblam, Krash Valheim answered a summons and knocked on a certain door.
'It's been a while. Here.'
Maybe because he rarely knocked like this.
Krash lifted his head, feeling a bit awkward.
What came into view was none other than the chancellor's office.
"Come in."
Krash pushed the door open at the voice.
And there stood an elderly man with an enormously massive physique.
He appeared to have been working, as he set aside the papers he was flipping through with his hand.
Then, peering at Krash over the glasses he wore for work, he broke into a kindly smile.
"It's been a long time since the training."
"Yes, sir. You summoned me, so here I am."
The one who had called Krash was none other than Battle Emperor Durandal.
Since learning aura from him last year, Krash hadn't crossed paths with Durandal.
Krash had been too busy, and Durandal had his own pile of work from being away.
Especially now, at the start of the new semester.
Mountains of documents must have been flooding in for him as chancellor.
After all, final approval on all matters fell to Durandal.
"Student Krash, you're heading to Zeblam this time, right?"
"Yes. A few members of the Lion Corps will be coming along."
Krash had already assigned Biolein and the magic tool maker Rona Imblize to the Lion Corps beforehand.
So there were no issues with them traveling together.
Looking at Krash, Durandal let out a playful chuckle.
"It seems Raheln Academy's standards are too low to properly teach someone like you."
Ever since enrolling at Raheln Academy.
Krash had spent most of his time outside, not within the academy.
With external activity points in play, Krash aced that category.
But his internal activity scores inevitably suffered as a result.
His overall academy ranking had fallen far from the top spot.
Yet even this year, Krash held onto first place in the Martial Department.
That was because Durandal had preemptively created a new scoring system for students exceeding a certain threshold in external activities.
Of course, there had been protests from the professors.
They argued it was unfair to other students.
But Durandal patiently persuaded them.
Krash Valheim wasn't someone meant to be confined to Raheln Academy.
He needed to accumulate more experience and hone his talents as early as possible.
Raheln Academy prided itself on being the pinnacle of education.
Then it should prioritize individualized instruction over empty cries for equality.
Not just Krash—Raheln shouldn't become a fence stifling anyone else's growth.
Raheln Academy was a facility to nurture children's development.
Under the banner of education, it must not bind them with scores and stifle their progress.
To that end, he would continue creating such systems, aligning with the professors' input.
And if anyone found the system unreasonable, they should provide valid reasons.
He would halt or revise it accordingly.
The professors nodded to Durandal's sincere words.
Even Ganon Sarsha, the Martial Department professor for the second-year students, had said the same.
「Student Krash has surpassed the realm I can teach. How can I blame a student for my own shortcomings?
The vast outside world is the true learning environment for him.
Every professor here has their prized students they wouldn't trade for the world.
Our role isn't to block their path to the future—it's to propel them further.」
Students would eventually venture beyond these walls someday.
There was no reason to criticize them for doing so a bit sooner.
"No. Raheln Academy is undoubtedly the finest educational institution."
Knowing this full well, Krash refuted Durandal's quip about its inadequacy.
Before his regression, Raheln Academy had collapsed amid unresolved power struggles.
The power balance, meant to be even, had tipped too far toward the Empire.
All the top figures at the time were Empire loyalists.
No matter what professors or the chancellor tried, they couldn't hold it back.
'By nature, an educational institution needs balanced power from the start.'
But it had leaned too heavily toward the Empire early on.
Even with Durandal there, restoring equilibrium wasn't easy.
But things were different now.
Not only had Charlotte of the first years split power evenly with Sigrin Epania.
The second years' central power players had all joined the Lion Corps.
No matter the squabbles below.
With those at the top mingling as allies.
Even they had to watch their step around the summit powers and couldn't recklessly draw blades on each other.
Thus, power struggles at Raheln Academy were currently being hushed up by all.
"I'm glad to hear you say that."
"I've learned so much here at Raheln Academy."
"Then how about I teach you one more thing?"
Krash paused at Durandal's words.
He slowly raised his head.
Durandal's eyes were earnest.
"You mean..."
"Shouldn't we take your aura to the next level?"
Durandal had risen from his seat at some point.
A brilliant white light gathered in his grasp.
For a moment, Krash felt the light reversing flow, all drawn into Durandal.
It rose from his body like a halo.
This was the aura Durandal wielded.
Moments later, the aura began to shift in hue.
The altered color was ashen gray.
Faint ash swirled around Durandal's hand.
"My secret art, Ash Dragon Fall, burns aura to its utmost and leaves only the ashes behind."
Those ashen particles slowly enveloped Durandal's arm.
In that instant, Krash sensed the entire world being drawn toward him.
As if a slumbering giant were straightening its back, rising to its feet.
Durandal's presence swelled into an immense, overwhelming wall.
Grrrrumble!
The air screamed under the violent concentration of power.
Aura, the force that shaped the world.
All of it now focused into a single arm.
A chill ran down his spine!
Krash's pupils trembled violently.
Before he knew it, he felt sweat beading on his forehead.
Time seemed to crawl by.
Suddenly, Krash found himself utterly exposed before nature's vast fury.
His sweat-soaked shirt clung stickily to his skin.
Krash slowly raised his head.
What he saw was a mountain of endless scale.
A peak so high, even wings might not suffice to crest it.
Like a colossal giant in the sky gazing down upon the lowly.
Durandal stood atop that mountain.
As Krash stared in silence, reality swam back into his vision.
Upon Durandal's arm.
An ashen gauntlet had formed.
That gauntlet brimmed with destructive power, compressing immense force.
A force majestic and domineering, yet profoundly merciful.
But if it ever slipped, even slightly.
Raheln Academy would be reduced to rubble.
Krash was certain of it—the gauntlet Durandal had forged was utterly absurd.
"This is one of Ash Dragon Fall's ultimate techniques."
The pinnacle of Ash Dragon Fall, forged through aura.
Chanted Martial God
A power worthy of Krash's awe, all condensed into a single gauntlet.
"But it's incomplete."
Hearing "incomplete," even Krash's eyes widened.
Such overwhelming might, and it was unfinished?
Durandal gazed down at Chanted Martial God with regret.
As he said, it was unfinished.
He sought more than just a gauntlet.
Chanted Martial God was only complete when full-body armament of aura-forged gear encased him.
But with his current power, Durandal's limit was gauntlets for both hands and boots.
He had only mastered Chanted Martial God well past his prime.
Thus, he had long sought a worthy successor.
Someone certain to one day perfect Chanted Martial God.
In the previous loop, he never found one.
Arthur was there, but his path didn't resonate with Durandal's heart.
In the end, on the day Raheln Academy fell.
Durandal died defending it, passing Chanted Martial God to no one.
"Student Krash, you plan to grow even stronger, don't you?"
"Yes."
Krash's eyes blazed fiercely.
Krash pursued the heights endlessly.
The stronger he became, the easier it was to protect the world.
For the extinction looming someday, Krash would chase the pinnacle now and forever.
"When you return this time, I'll teach you Chanted Martial God."
Krash's pupils quivered.
After learning Ash Dragon Fall from Durandal, Krash had grown far stronger than before.
If he could master Chanted Martial God perfectly this time.
'I could surely face even the Beast King.'
Krash clenched his fists tight.
Chanted Martial God held power to match.
The path to mastery wouldn't be easy, but Krash knew he had to achieve it.
"Yes. I'll learn it."
Krash answered without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing the burning ambition for strength in Krash's eyes, Durandal smiled.
"It'll be harder than learning Ash Dragon Fall."
"Isn't life just a chain of hardships? Rolling through hell is my specialty."
A true scrapper's words.
"Go well. Come back safe."
And it was precisely that scrappy spirit that made Durandal choose him as successor.
Krash bowed to Durandal.
Durandal was another mentor to Krash.
"I'm glad Raheln Academy's chancellor is you, Sir Durandal."
Hearing the unexpected words, Durandal let out a rough laugh.
The day his nurtured talents soared as the Generation of the Sky.
That day, he would receive the greatest gift and smile radiantly.
Of that, Krash was certain.