Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Age 16 (2)
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“The essence of <Nibelung> isn’t about how quickly you swing it or how many enemies you cut down.”
Theo was teaching Marti about the secret technique of <Nibelung>.
He wanted to impart as much knowledge as possible before he had to leave soon.
Marti, the captain of the knight order that had long carried on Krimhilt’s legacy, had eyes sparkling brighter than ever.
“Then what is it?”
“How much mana you can condense into the sword.”
“……?”
“Condensation. It’s about how much mana you pack around a core and axis to amplify the power.”
Theo continued his explanation, drawing the Dragon Slaying Sword while Marti still looked like he didn’t quite grasp it.
Recalling what he had learned from Krimhilt in the sanctuary.
Woooong!
As he infused mana into the Dragon Slaying Sword, it trembled lightly.
“This is what’s commonly called ‘mana emission.’ And drawing this mana out of the weapon to shape it is called ‘aura.’”
Tss tss—
Mana droplets seeped out along the blade, connecting with each other, soon surging like waves and enveloping the sword fully, revealing a sharp momentum.
Aura.
Or sword aura.
It was the technique every advanced swordsman had to master.
This was when one was typically considered among the ‘masters.’
“But.”
Suddenly, the surging sword aura around the blade formed a vortex and began seeping into the center of the sword.
“<Nibelung> doesn’t pursue that typical aura. As I said, it demands condensation—inside the sword, not outside.”
The blade of the Dragon Slaying Sword writhed, showing a new change.
Hexagonal patterns emerged around where the aura seeped in, spreading rapidly to the sides.
Shhhrrrrk!
A mystical sight, as if dragon scales were sprouting.
The more scales appeared, the stronger the subtle momentum emanating from the Dragon Slaying Sword grew.
“What in the world…… is this……?”
Marti got chills from the phenomenon he’d never seen before.
Theo grinned as if he’d expected that reaction.
“Didn’t I tell you? Condensing aura is the essence of <Nibelung>. You rotate it ceaselessly clockwise and pack it inside the sword. That strengthens both its durability and power.”
“……!”
“Inner Aura. That’s what I’ve decided to call it.”
“Inner Aura…….”
“Of course, it’s easy to say but far from easy. If you mess up mana control even slightly.”
Boom!
The scale patterns filling the blade suddenly unraveled, and an enormous explosion leaked outward.
Rumble—
The temple shook violently.
The door burst open.
“Captain! What’s going on!”
The knights waiting outside rushed in in a panic.
They thought it might be a Troyvan terror attack.
Marti sent them all away, saying it was nothing, then turned to Theo.
The Dragon Slaying Sword was still trembling finely from the failed mana control.
As if it might snap any moment.
“……If control slips even a little, the sword explodes.”
“That’s right. Aura is inherently an energy mass with excellent efficiency. Forcing it to stay contained makes the backlash that much greater.”
“It’s a perilous technique that could injure the swordsman or knight.”
“On the flip side, it lets you draw two or three times the power from the same strength.”
“…….”
In truth, forming Inner Aura wasn’t that hard for Theo.
Born with the Ragnar talent incomparable in mana sensitivity.
And with the ancient dragon factors awakened, his mana control had skyrocketed.
For others?
It would take considerable effort to master.
Even Krimhilt had struggled quite a bit in life, only mastering it with the Sea King’s help.
“So to make Inner Aura safe, you must know how to plant a sword heart inside the blade.”
“By forming artificial gravity around the sword heart to draw in the aura, keep it rotating, and use centrifugal force to prevent it from flying outward.”
“Exactly.”
“The theory sounds simple. But mastering it is incredibly difficult.”
“Once you do master it, though, it’ll be your trump card. No one else could replicate this secret even if they figured it out.”
Marti wondered what he meant, then realized belatedly.
“You mean it can only be trained outside the temple!”
“Correct. The difficulty of Inner Aura is so high that only a born genius could master it otherwise. But the Floating Archipelago is shaped by the Sea King’s mana. The temple especially is the core where those ascending currents converge most. There are few places on the continent with mana this abundant, so only here will training be possible.”
It meant a spirit site.
A secret location known only to the Krimhilt Knights, unknown to outsiders.
Marti clenched his fist.
The Floating Archipelago had always lagged far behind the continent in swordsmanship and magic.
But with the secret of <Nibelung>, that gap could be overturned in one go.
“How did Lady Krimhilt even devise such a secret art……!”
“Think about who she faced.”
“Ah.”
“To pierce the Sea King’s sturdy scales and shatter magic and curses, she needed a sword with that much durability and destructive power.”
Marti nodded heavily.
Though she’d never seen the Sea King herself, the being that created the unique terrain of the Floating Archipelago with lingering mana alone was close to divine.
And Krimhilt had felled such a being.
Naturally, she too became a divine figure.
That was why a temple honoring her existed.
‘Lord Theo is the one succeeding Lady Krimhilt.’
If they followed him, the Floating Archipelago could truly look down on the continent.
Such anticipation filled Marti’s chest.
* * *
While Marti stepped away to review what he’d learned.
Theo lightly held the Dragon Slaying Sword and regulated his breathing.
“Haa—!”
With his exhale, the sword rang out clearly, floating countless scale patterns atop it.
Ziiiiing!
Shhhrrrrk, shhhrrrrk—
As the blade brimmed with scale patterns, its emitted momentum grew overwhelming.
“Inhale!”
Theo drew a deep breath and swung the Dragon Slaying Sword repeatedly.
Ten trajectories in total.
[Claws of Nibelung] infused with dragon breath.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lightning crashed with each flash of the sword, thunder shaking the temple repeatedly.
Rumble—
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
His heartbeat raced as fiercely as the thunder.
“Fuu……!”
Theo exhaled roughly once more.
A bead of sweat trailed down his cheek.
Clap clap clap clap!
Applause came from behind.
Theo turned. It was Selphred.
“Now you’re drawing ten sword strikes per breath? That’s a big improvement.”
“It’s still not easy.”
Drawing ten plain dragon breaths was tough enough, but ten infused with <Nibelung>’s secret?
Selphred’s expression turned incredulous.
“Hey, hey. Maintaining that absurd Inner Aura or whatever and firing off ten strikes in an instant? That’s straight-up cheating. One slip and your head’s gone.”
Having watched Theo’s grueling training all this time, Selphred looked queasy.
Curious about Krimhilt’s secret art, he’d tried it a few times himself.
But it was absolutely inhuman.
One misstep and the sword could explode, injuring the user, and there was a high risk of mana backlash too, making it hard to attempt lightly.
Even if this was a spirit site, the danger was real.
Above all, the breathing method differed vastly from the Ragnar style.
‘And this guy does it like it’s nothing.’
A monster who casually mastered and digested the wildly different sword arts of the Nine Dragons.
It was only natural, perhaps.
Selphred had long since classified Theo’s talent as ‘off-spec.’
Otherwise, nothing made sense.
“More importantly, what brings you here?”
“A gift.”
“A gift?”
Out of nowhere, Selphred handed Theo a neatly wrapped gift box.
“Happy New Year. From Lady Cecilia and the Plum Palace Lord.”
Theo’s eyes widened as he took it.
Together?
An utterly mismatched pair.
Opening the gift in surprise, he found a white uniform folded neatly inside.
[It seemed perfect for you, dear. Dress up nicely and welcome the new year happily. -Cecilia]
[It’s clothing woven from silkworm thread only found in the distant East. I hope it fits well. -Osa]
“Pretty clothes.”
“……Yeah.”
Theo gently caressed the fabric.
A pang tugged at his chest.
Selphred smirked at how cute Theo looked, then waved another scrap of paper.
“You’re sweaty, so try the clothes on after a bath later. Got another order.”
Theo composed himself and slowly looked up.
“Mission’s done here—head north immediately.”
“Sounds like the war’s not going well.”
“Well, there’s that guy who knows way too much about us over there.”
Theo’s group had detailed their Floating Archipelago activities in a report to Winterer.
Winterer praised crushing the Troyvan plot but ordered them to prepare to move soon.
A standby order.
They’d be thrown into another mission right away.
In fact, Theo’s group had roughly followed the Ragnar-Troyvan war through newspapers.
[Troyvan’s Massive Counterattack! Will Ragnar’s Undefeated Legend Finally Shatter?]
[Mysterious Masked Figures Emerge, Turning the Tide.]
[Northern Residents in Agony, Bowing to Troyvan.]
[Endless Troyvan Allied Forces Appear. Ragnar’s Lone Struggle.]
[Ragnar Halts Advance!]
.
[“We’ll No Longer Tolerate Ragnar’s Oppression and Atrocities.” Crimson-White Mercenaries and Rose Family Rebel!]
[Massive Defections from Vassal Groups Continue—Is Ragnar Okay Like This?]
[“Northern Chaos is Solely Ragnar’s Fault.” Black Tower Lord’s Outburst!]
[Unpacking Ragnar’s Questionable Leadership.]
.
.
Every article and editorial was bad news for Ragnar.
Selphred glanced at the newspapers piled in a corner and continued.
“And weirdly, it’s not just the Holy Demon Church joining Troyvan. They’re basically fighting a two-front war, so they must be short-handed.”
Theo nodded quietly.
This had happened in his previous life too.
‘So many hate Ragnar’s rule or want to check their dominance.’
Winterer would realize soon enough.
This war wasn’t just with Troyvan—it was against anti-Ragnar factions.
The scale was impossible to ignore, even from headlines alone.
Crimson-White Mercenaries.
Rose Family.
One Sword Society.
Black Shadow Sword Unit.
Wandering Knights Alliance.
Former vassal groups under the Dragon Cult, plus
Eastern magic towers.
Southern beastkin frontlines, etc.
Even margraves and great houses were reaching out in the shadows to humble Ragnar now.
All the grudges accumulated while Ragnar ruled the North as king.
‘In the end, this became the spark that ignited the [Great Uproar] flames.’
But that was years away, yet to happen.
For now, Ragnar needed to extinguish the fire right in front of them.
That’s why they’d put Theo’s group on standby.
To block the schemes disrupting the war from the shadows.
Ragnar saw this war as outright ‘rebellion.’
Looks like the mission was finally set.
“What are they telling us to do on the way back?”
“Bingo.”
Selphred’s eyes deepened.
“Pick up a girl from some backwater village.”
In that moment, Theo knew intuitively.
Who this girl they wanted picked up was.
‘So it was this time.’
Cassandra Eda.
Soon to be called the [Archmage Empress].
The first mage to claim the throne.