Four Stars
Four stars.
Simply put, it was the realm that transcended merely reinforcing body and weapon with mana—the stage at which aura itself could be manifested. It was a level that truly surpassed ordinary human limits.
He was only sixteen. Reaching even the three-star realm at that age would have earned him the title of a once-in-a-generation genius. Yet he had vaulted past three stars and shattered the wall of four.
How…?
Only moments ago he had been certain Moldur’s attack would kill him…
Could some secret have been hidden in Vargas’s mana cultivation method?
An enormous change had taken place, yet at the very heart of that change, the one most stunned was Arteon himself.
There was no time to dwell on it.
Arteon stepped forward and picked Iglis up from the ground. The bloodstained shaft still bore the marks of the fierce battle that had raged only moments before. When he poured mana back into the weapon that had reverted to a mere rod—
Crack!
Iglis resumed its true form, its sharp spearhead flashing. At the same time Arteon gathered the mana swirling through his body and recalled the old sensation.
In that instant—
Whoosh!
A vast surge of mana was drawn into Iglis, and in the blink of an eye a vivid blue aura sheathed the entire spear.
“……!”
The Kar warriors stirred. Even their Taman, Ulgraak, could not produce aura so readily—and this boy had made it blaze with such clarity?
Surprise and fear flooded their eyes as they stared at Arteon.
But then—
“No need to panic! At best it’s a fleeting trick!”
Moldur’s shout cut through the ranks. He fixed his gaze on Arteon.
“That he can form aura is impressive, but sustaining it is impossible. Don’t fall for the mongrel’s bluff!”
“R-right. Forming aura is one thing… keeping it up is something else entirely.”
“……An Imperial dog, conjuring aura…”
Moldur’s words revived the Kar warriors’ spirits. As he said, maintaining aura was no ordinary feat. In Arteon’s present state, holding it continuously was indeed difficult.
As if to prove the point, the light of the aura wreathing Iglis began to fade. The corners of the Kar warriors’ mouths lifted. They had seen through it at once—he had formed aura to seize the initiative, but it was nothing more than empty posturing.
Moldur roared.
“Kill him!”
“Hraaah!”
“Dieee!”
At his command the Kar warriors charged Arteon as one. The aura he had shown was frightening, yet just as Moldur claimed, wielding a technique he had only just grasped in actual combat was all but impossible.
“…….”
Arteon locked his eyes on the oncoming warriors. Their thoughts were plain enough.
But—
“Sorry. You’ve got it wrong.”
The moment he reached the four-star realm, the stamina and mana that had been scraped to the bottom had fully recovered. With them, the aura condensed along Iglis’s blade blazed bright once more.
Hummm!
A killing presence thick with the scent of death flooded the clearing in an instant.
And then—
Thud!
Arteon kicked off the leaf-strewn ground and sprang forward.
Power is flooding through my whole body…
Restored stamina sharpened his mind and made the world around him crystal clear. He took in every movement of the Kar warriors rushing him, locked each one into place in his mind, and thrust.
Clang! Thunk!
The aura packed at the spear’s tip shattered a Kar warrior’s axe and punched straight through his heart. The man died without even registering that his body had been torn open.
And that was only the beginning.
“You bastard!”
“His aura’s fading! Now!”
The moment he killed the first warrior, the once-vivid light of the aura dimmed. Of course it did.
Hummm!
“……!”
“A-again?!”
That, too, was intentional.
Keeping aura going nonstop still puts too much strain on me…
Reaching four stars had granted him the use of aura, but maintaining it without pause was still beyond him. Neither the density nor the volume of his mana could support it yet. Switching it on and off like a lamp was crucial.
That level of control demanded absurd skill, of course—but—
I’ve already done this hundreds, thousands of times.
Slash!
“Gah!”
Crimson blood painted the air like flung pigment. The aura’s power had seemed to wane, yet its force returned in full. The Kar warriors flinched—and in that fleeting heartbeat—
Whoosh!
Arteon drove into their midst, eyes flashing, and wrapped the spear around his waist. He had brought that long weapon right into their striking range, yet a chill ran down their spines all the same.
The ominous premonition proved true without fail.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
As Arteon’s body spun like a top, the aura flared dense and dark and carved through every Kar warrior surrounding him. “Cut” was too mild a word; they were shredded. Bodies sliced into three or four pieces fell to the ground like discarded slabs of meat.
Even Kar warriors who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield recoiled a step from the sheer butchery of it.
“……Scared?”
Blood-drenched Arteon spoke to them with mad light in his eyes. He looked for all the world like a blood-soaked demon.
But what stunned them more was this:
H-how…?
How can he keep using aura like that…?
Wielding aura demanded not only enormous mana but a degree of mastery beyond imagination. Even those who spent years training solely to control it could not handle it so freely.
There was no time to think. The blood-smeared demon was already charging them again.
“S-stop him!”
“Throw your axes! Don’t take him head-on!”
The instant their weapons touched that aura they became useless. At someone’s shout the Kar warriors hurled swords and axes at Arteon.
It was their final thrashing.
Severing cut!
As the aura along the spear-blade darkened to a dense glow, another Kar warrior’s body split cleanly in two. The destructive power was absolute. Before that death-laden presence, their struggle was nothing more than a feeble flailing.
Yet—
“…….”
With every passing moment Arteon’s expression hardened. Just as the Kar warriors believed, controlling aura demanded ferocious concentration and placed a brutal burden on the body. Bit by bit the control was growing harder.
“Hraaaaaah!”
A Kar warrior, ready to die, charged from the left. Arteon focused his aura and thrust. He had no doubt the spear would smash through the man’s sword and pierce his throat.
But—
Clang!
“……!”
Arteon’s spear was stopped by the Kar warrior’s blade. The man himself seemed shocked to have blocked it; he lost his balance for an instant.
“Wha—?!”
Slash!
“Gah!”
The moment the warrior flinched, Arteon whipped the spear sideways and cut deep into his thigh. As the man screamed and collapsed, Arteon’s eyes flew wide. He still had to finish him.
“He’s spent! He can’t use aura anymore!”
“Now! Attack!”
In that split second of broken focus the remaining Kar warriors howled and rushed him. They knew the truth: if they failed to kill Arteon now, they would never win.
“Tch…!”
Skill with aura was one thing; his current body still had limits on how much he could use. Arteon swept his spear in wide arcs, forcing distance. Driving into their midst was no longer an option.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Time…
That was why he had tried to cut them down as fast as possible. He had already killed more than half the Kar warriors, yet the fight was far from over. Arteon watched for another opening, hunting their gaps.
Then it came.
“Out of the way!”
“……!”
A roar like a lion’s, and a sound of splitting air that drilled straight into the eardrums. The Kar warriors flung themselves aside in panic—
Whoooosh!
An axe came hurtling at Arteon with tremendous force.
Clang!
He whipped his spear up and knocked it aside. The impact alone left his wrist throbbing. Frowning, he looked ahead—and a massive shadow was already upon him.
And then—
BOOM!
An axe came down in a vertical chop. Arteon barely got his spear up in time. The blow drove both his feet into the earth.
Moldur glared at him with murder in his eyes.
“I don’t know how the hell you can use aura… but this ends now.”
Moldur gave him no breathing room. Before Arteon could form aura again, he meant to finish it—and he swung his axe like a madman.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Clang! Crash!
Under the relentless barrage Arteon gave ground, blocking every strike. The assault was suffocating, yet—
“…….”
Arteon’s gaze only grew calmer. The fight was badly against him, but in his previous life he had survived battles far more desperate than this. He weathered Moldur’s onslaught and watched for his chance, reorganizing his faltering mana and preparing one decisive blow.
Just a little… a little more…
Arteon’s eyes narrowed. The massive axe clawed for his throat like a beast’s talon—
Clang!
Arteon swept his spear upward from below and knocked the axe aside.
Hummmmm!
In the next instant the aura Arteon had held in check blazed to vivid life once more—
Whoosh!
“……!”
Severing cut!
A clean shearing sound.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Arteon sheared through Moldur’s axe—and through his left arm with it.
Thud.
“Gaaaaaaah!”
Moldur staggered back, screaming, his arm gone. He had never imagined Arteon could still manifest aura under such relentless pressure.
But—
“It’s not over.”
Arteon tightened his grip on the spear as the distance opened. The situation was now entirely in his favor.
“M-Moldur!”
“Protect Moldur!”
Kar warriors who had been watching from farther back finally shouted and charged—but—
Too late.
Arteon’s spear shot toward Moldur’s heart, meant to end him in a single stroke.
In that very instant—
Whiiiiish!
A savage whistle of air from the side made Arteon twist on pure instinct and thrust his spear.
CLAAAANG!
A sound like rending metal, and something went spinning skyward.
Whirrrrrrr!
Still holding its spin, the object whirled at tremendous speed before slamming into the ground with a heavy thud.
“……?”
A single enormous axe. Its haft was long enough to match a child’s height. Arteon turned toward the direction it had come from.
And there—
“What’s this? Nobody told me there was a brat who could use aura…”
A Kar man with a grotesquely scarred face muttered under his breath.
Arteon’s expression froze. That face. Those scars. And even in this freezing weather the man stood bare-chested, flaunting hard muscle as if it were a badge of pride.
Arteon’s pupils shook hard.
“……Makcrowdon?”
At that murmur—
“Did I ever give you my name?”
—the man fixed Arteon with eyes like a tiger’s.