Chapter 7
Chapter 7
In this world, there exists a person who, having never once been taught swordsmanship since birth, rose to the highest level through absurd talent and is called the strongest swordsman.
Moreover, Mord now understood the origin of martial aura techniques.
In ancient times, when powerful beings born with mana abounded, humans began by imitating their power, and from that, martial aura techniques were established into their current form.
If that were the case, then it was entirely possible that Mord, who inherited divine blood and possessed overwhelming innate talent, could instinctively control mana and produce results equivalent to martial aura techniques.
‘But even if this hypothesis is correct, I thought that by the high division, especially among those of Bernas lineage who have awakened their divine blood, they would pose some level of threat…’
His expectations were completely off.
They were not even remotely his match.
Of course, Fian must have been careless. But even if he hadn’t been, would the outcome have changed?
‘Even if we fought a hundred times, the result would be the same. That guy is too slow.’
The perfectly timed counter that landed like a picture was not the result of superior combat technique on Mord’s part.
Rather, to Mord, who had enhanced his senses and body, Fian appeared so slow it was almost dulling. He simply held back his strength slightly and landed a jab.
“Class leader!”
“Are you okay?”
Several trainees rushed over to Fian in panic.
From anyone’s perspective, it looked like he had sustained serious injuries.
“Get away!”
But Fian forcefully brushed off the hands trying to support him and stood up.
His face was a mess of blood, a terrifying sight. In modern Earth, injuries like that would have sent him straight to the emergency room.
Even so, Fian’s fighting spirit burned fiercely.
“It’s not over yet!”
“So you’ve got a thick face. You collapsed so pathetically and passed out. You must have lost consciousness for at least ten seconds.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re just boasting because you landed one hit while I was careless!”
“Oh? So you were careless? And yet you’re aiming to become a warrior, charging into a fight while careless. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Mord’s mocking words struck Fian sharply.
In fact, this was something they were taught here.
But Fian did not back down.
“I’ll kill you!”
With a fierce shout, a transparent light enveloped Fian’s body and began to burn.
His mana surged explosively, beyond even his full capacity.
“Hey! Go call the instructor!”
“Damn it! New guy! You should run! When the class leader gets like this, he loses it!”
“Oh, really?”
Despite the frantic shouts of the trainees, Mord remained composed.
‘He’s drawing out the power of divine blood.’
After members of the Bernas lineage awaken their divine blood on their fifteenth birthday, several changes occur.
Their physical abilities increase dramatically.
Even if they had not previously perceived mana, they begin to sense it.
And they become aware of the divine blood within them and can draw upon its power.
‘It’s not actually controlling divine blood itself, just amplifying mana. That must be it. Seeing it firsthand makes it clear.’
Most illegitimate children of Bernas remain at this level.
They do not wield the true power of a god, but merely draw upon the mana derived from it.
Even so, that alone is tremendous.
At this moment, Fian’s mana was likely more than twice his usual level.
Crackle!
Another change occurred in Fian.
Blue sparks began to crackle around both of his hands.
‘Body Impulse. Getting hit by that would be dangerous.’
A prerequisite to being recognized as a warrior of Bernas.
Impulse.
When applied to the body, it is called Body Impulse; when applied to a weapon, Sword Impulse.
It is an advanced martial aura technique that forms a more powerful energy construct using the body or weapon as a medium.
A martial aura user capable of Sword Impulse could cut through even rocks like tofu with a blade, so Body Impulse possessed comparable destructive power.
“Graaah!”
Fian, with Body Impulse wrapped around both fists, charged forward with a roar.
The distance of nearly twenty meters vanished in an instant. His speed was on a completely different level from before.
Whoooosh!
A chilling sound rang out as Fian’s right fist pierced the air.
It was a terrifying strike, but it failed to hit its target. Mord quickly sidestepped and evaded it.
Tap!
At the same time, he lightly struck Fian’s head with a jab.
Fian’s body flinched, but that was all. Eyes wild, he roared and launched a barrage of attacks.
Papapap! Papapapapang!
It was as if a human-shaped storm were raging in place.
Terrifying speed and terrifying power.
In addition, blue sparks traced the path of his fists, producing explosive sounds.
“My god…”
The trainees watched from a distance.
“He hasn’t been hit even once?”
Despite the ferocious assault, every attack struck only empty air.
Mord evaded all of Fian’s attacks with ease.
Even with such a hardened body, facing a fist imbued with Body Impulse should have felt like having a blade pressed to one’s throat. Yet Mord showed no sign of tension.
In truth, he did not feel threatened at all.
Tap!
While evading the attacks, he landed light strikes on Fian’s body.
Pow! Thud! Thwack!
He even tested kicks to the thigh and calf.
Each time, Fian flinched, but that was all. Now that he had pushed his mana to its limits, his physical reinforcement had also dramatically increased, and Mord’s attacks failed to leave any meaningful damage.
“Are you messing with me?!”
Fian grew even more enraged and lashed out, but Mord did not respond.
Thud! Thwack! Pow!
He simply continued the same pattern.
And at some point, a change began to emerge.
“…Huh.”
One of the trainees noticed it.
“Those look like light taps, but aren’t they actually starting to affect the class leader?”
With each strike Mord landed, Fian’s reactions grew larger.
At first, he would only flinch briefly, but now his movements were visibly slowing, his body recoiling and his head turning.
Thud!
And though it was drowned out by Fian’s noise, Mord’s impact sounds were also gradually growing louder.
‘I can hit harder.’
Mord was using Fian as a test subject to practice controlling his strength.
If he struck with full power, Fian would be reduced to pieces.
Even with divine blood activated, Mord was certain of that.
Thus, Mord was working to find the optimal balance of force sufficient to subdue Fian without killing him.
Thud!
A slightly stronger kick struck Fian’s thigh.
“……!”
Fian staggered and recoiled. His bloodied face contorted in pain, showing that the attack was now effective.
“Raaaaaah!”
Enraged that he was being hurt, Fian threw a punch.
A fist wrapped in Body Impulse shot toward Mord with lethal force.
Mord did not evade this time.
Thoooom!
The recoil from the fully committed punch striking something caused Fian to freeze in shock.
‘It hit?’
Despite dozens of swings that had never even grazed him, this one landed squarely.
Since he had thrown the punch without any sense that it would connect, Fian himself was taken aback.
“Just as I thought.”
What surprised Fian even more was Mord’s voice from beyond his fist.
“Even with Impulse… if the base gap is large enough, it’s nothing special.”
Fian’s fist was stopped by Mord’s palm.
It was not caught. Mord had simply raised his hand to block it.
“Impossible.”
“How can he stop a fist with Impulse…?”
The trainees were shocked beyond belief.
Those who had not mastered Impulse could never defeat those who had.
That was the common knowledge of martial aura practitioners they had been taught.
Yet right before their eyes, that common sense was being overturned.
Mord’s palm, enhanced only with bodily strengthening, had blocked Fian’s Body Impulse-infused fist without a single scratch.
“I’ve learned quite a bit from this.”
Mord said that and then wrapped his hand around Fian’s fist.
Crackle!
The Body Impulse resisted, but it was futile. Mord suppressed and extinguished it with sheer physical strength alone.
“This is impossible! W-what kind of trick are you using!”
Fian screamed in desperation.
Having awakened his divine blood, his physical ability and mana alone already surpassed even instructors.
Yet Mord suppressed that power as easily as bending a child’s finger.
Thud!
Mord’s fist slammed into Fian’s abdomen.
“……!”
Fian couldn’t even scream. The impact that pierced through his body was on an entirely different level from before.
“Seems like your divine blood boost is wearing off. Let’s end this.”
Mord grabbed Fian by the arm and spun him overhead.
“Aaaah!”
Fian screamed.
Mord spun the muscular giant over 180 centimeters tall as if he were a toy, then hurled him away.
Crash! Bang!
Fian flew into a pile of training equipment and crashed into it like trash.
He lost consciousness completely and did not get back up.
“Alright then.”
Mord looked around at the trainees of Class 2.
Every time their eyes met his, they flinched.
“Anyone else want to try?”
There was no one who would step forward.