The Dropout's Challenge
Raon opened his eyes to the warm sunlight seeping in through the window.
This is harder than I thought.
He had spent the vacation cutting sleep to the bone and cultivating anyway, but he still had not managed to form aura.
This is no ordinary cultivation art.
He had felt it in Glenn's expression, and he had felt it again when he examined the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames seared into his mind. This was not a martial art one obtained with something as paltry as a tablet of matching rank.
A Silver Tablet. No—even dozens of Gold Tablets would not have been too high a price.
Why did he just hand it over?
Glenn clearly disliked him and Sylvia. Raon could not understand why the man had simply passed him an aura cultivation art of this caliber.
What surprised him most was that even after the book crumbled to dust—leaving the knowledge in Raon's mind alone—Glenn had taken no action whatsoever.
Is there something wrong with the cultivation art itself?
It might not be a completed method. Perhaps it had some defect, and Glenn had given it to him as an experiment.
"Hmm..."
Raon reviewed the contents of the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames stored in his mind, one piece at a time.
Nothing seems off.
He could not find any particular problem, but it would be wise to circulate it carefully, just in case.
"You'd do well not to think of that alone."
Wrath flopped up from the ice-flower bracelet and surged into view.
"If you fail to keep This King in mind, your soul and flesh shall be swallowed by wrath."
"Go ahead, then."
Raon nodded, watching Wrath cackle.
"Such insolence as This King has never witnessed even in the Demon Realm. This time I shall crush that upturned nose of yours, no matter what it takes."
"You keep saying that. Do it if you can."
He waved a hand dismissively and left the room. He could never show weakness in front of Wrath. Clear Mirror, Still Water. He had to keep a heart as unshaken as a lake at midnight.
"Raon."
"Young Master Raon."
Sylvia, Helen, and the rest of the maids were waiting for him in the lobby.
"You were only here a few days, and we barely even talked, and you hardly ate..."
Sylvia poured out every regret she had, her eyes welling with tears.
"I can come back every weekend now."
Unlike when he had been a provisional trainee, becoming an official trainee meant he was allowed to return to the Annex on weekends.
"Even so..."
Sylvia's gloom seemed to spread to the maids. The atmosphere in the lobby began to grow heavy.
"I-I'll be back."
Awkward emotion and awkward situations were poison to him. He waved quickly and walked toward the Annex door.
As he opened it, his eyes met Judiel's, standing at the far end of the line of maids.
"Hhk!"
Judiel clapped a hand over her mouth before the scream could escape. Cold sweat rolled down her forehead, and her pupils trembled like aspen leaves. It was the classic look of a human being devoured by the monster called fear.
No need to worry, then.
He had gotten what he wanted, but ruling people through fear was not a method he preferred.
If she extracted important information from the Heavy Martial Palace where Karoon Zieghart resided, he would take proper care of her.
"You monster."
Wrath let out something like a sigh at the look on Judiel's face.
Being called a monster by a monster isn't so bad.
Raon smiled faintly and headed for the 5th Training Ground, which he had been away from for a week.
Raon arrived at the training ground about ten minutes before assembly.
The number of children had dropped sharply. Of the original hundred and sixty, only forty-two remained, leaving the grounds looking almost empty.
To truly leave only a quarter. Unlike the flippant face he usually showed, Rimer was a man as sharp as a blade when it came to results.
"Raon Zieghart..."
"Nngh!"
"He looks like he's changed again somehow..."
The way the children looked at Raon was entirely different from before.
Six months ago, their eyes had held mockery, ridicule, and a thin thread of pity. Now they were colored with jealousy, astonishment, and admiration.
Raon, however, had no interest in them at all.
He was loosening up his body, his mind on nothing but the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames, when he heard light footsteps approaching. A little sniffing sound followed, as if someone were catching a scent.
Those footsteps...
He turned around, and sure enough, there was Runaan, her eyes as vacant as ever.
"That wench is following you by scent now. Not a cat—was she a dog?"
Who knows. She's a bit like a puppy and a bit like a cat.
Raon met Runaan's eyes with an awkward look. She came one step closer than usual before she stopped.
"Thanks."
"Huh?"
What?
He had no idea why she had suddenly thanked him.
"......"
Having said it, Runaan looked at him with the eyes of a cat waiting to be fed. Unlike usual, her pupils were sparkling.
"Uh. Yeah."
When he answered with a dazed expression, Runaan gave a tiny nod and took one step back. They were at their usual distance again.
"Hmph!"
Then she clenched her fist, as if she had just accomplished something.
"Why did you thank me?"
"Because I'm grateful."
"Ah..."
If anything, Runaan was the one tilting her head, as if he were the strange one. Looking at that face, he doubted further questions would produce an answer.
"Wh-what? What is that girl trying to do!"
I don't know either.
He had never encountered a child like Runaan in either of his lives. Staring into those vacant purple eyes made his mind go slack, the way it did when he gazed into a campfire.
She was not getting in his way, and she was not picking a fight, so he had nothing to say to her. Whatever the reason, she had thanked him, had she not?
Is it because I don't understand emotions?
The thought occurred to him that he could not grasp why Runaan had thanked him simply because he was poor at reading other people's feelings. Wrath was just as bewildered, but that one was a personality disaster in his own right and no help at all.
So this is how I come to know the feeling of being flustered.
Raon let out a sigh. Thinking it over produced no answer. He turned his head to clear it.
"Young Master!"
Dorian came running, his green hair fluttering like wings.
"O-oh, it's been so long!"
He bent at the waist at a perfect right angle, as if he had just run into an instructor.
"D-did you fare well? I truly thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to die as a provisional trainee, and now that I'm an o-official trainee I can't even imagine how hard it'll be, so I just had nightmares the whole time we were off. Uugh..."
Dorian did not wait for an answer. He simply rattled on with whatever he had to say. Instead of taking pride in becoming an official trainee, he was terrified of it. This one, too, was a genuine oddity.
"Still, it's a relief that Young Master Raon took first place. If Young Master Burren had been first, I-I really wouldn't have been able to breathe. I'd rather have failed the exam than—"
Burren and the collaterals walked into the training ground right as Dorian said it.
"Eek!"
Dorian dropped to the ground at the sight of Burren's icy gaze.
"Hic! Hic!"
He began to hiccup, hands and feet trembling.
"Raon Zieghart."
Burren paid the terrified Dorian no mind at all and walked straight up to Raon.
"A week ago I showed you an ugly side of myself, and I acknowledge my defeat. I'm sorry."
Without the slightest hesitation, Burren bowed at a perfect right angle.
"Huh?"
"Hah!"
"B-Burren!"
The trainees beside him gaped, their mouths falling open.
"But!"
When Burren lifted his head, his eyes were blazing.
"I have not given up. No matter what it takes, I will stand before you again. I neither step back nor surrender. And of course, I have no intention of losing to you either."
Burren pointed not only at Raon but at Runaan as well, then walked off to the left.
"I-I thought I was gonna die."
Dorian got to his feet, shivering as if a chill had taken him.
"W-what am I supposed to do? Shouldn't I go find him and apologize?"
His pupils were shaking twice as fast as before. It was a wonder he was still in his right mind at all.
"You don't need to worry."
Raon shook his head. The only people fixed in Burren's gaze were himself and Runaan. Anyone else might as well not have existed.
"A brat who doesn't know his place even after getting beaten. Chase him down this instant and gouge out his eyes."
That much is impressive, actually.
For a child who had only just turned thirteen to admit his own fault and declare a rematch was no small thing. It was a bearing worthy of a direct descendant of the great house of Zieghart.
"Whether it is impressive or not is of no concern to This King. He displeases me, so kill him."
"Ha."
Raon let out a hollow laugh. The moment one of them shut his mouth, the other started yapping. There was never a quiet moment.
He was rolling his ankle, letting Wrath's rage go in one ear and out the other, when a green wind surged up over the wall.
"A little late, huh? I had a bit to drink yesterday and slept in. Sorry."
Rimer appeared on a rush of fresh green wind, scratching the back of his head—which looked as if a bird had built a nest in it—and laughing sheepishly.
A grinding of teeth came from behind. It was Burren.
"To dare keep This King waiting—that insolent pointy-ear has completely lost his mind! Tear his ears off this instant!"
Wrath could not hold back and began gathering his rage. Looking at the two of them, Burren and Wrath seemed like they would get along rather well.
Rimer hummed his way up onto the platform.
"Rest well?"
He waved. He still looked limp, as if he had not quite woken up.
"Yes!"
The children, in complete contrast, roared loud enough to shake the training ground.
"First of all, congratulations on becoming official trainees."
"Thank you!"
"Well, you all know this already, but the ones who didn't make it have chosen, of their own will, to join the training at the 6th Training Ground. Don't worry yourselves too much just because a friend failed."
Rimer smiled and told them they would be able to meet again later.
"Starting today, official training begins. The broad framework doesn't change. Whether it's your mind, your stamina, or your martial arts, you will train past your limits every single time. That's the fastest path, and the highest."
He went on to say that there was no end to foundational conditioning.
Watching him yawn lazily, though, it was hard to feel any persuasive force in the words.
"A few new drills will be added going forward. The first is aura cultivation. Starting tomorrow, you'll cultivate aura at dawn and in the evening."
Everyone nodded. They already knew that dawn and sunset were the best times to cultivate aura.
"We'll also begin the swordsmanship and fist-arts training you've all been waiting for."
"Ohh!"
"Finally!"
At the mention of swordsmanship and fist arts, the children's eyes sparkled like jewels.
"And..."
Rimer was about to continue when the training ground door slammed open.
A gust kicked up a cloud of sandy dust. In the doorway stood a girl who looked to be in her mid-teens.
Hair like black silk spilled over her left shoulder, and her sharply contrasted black-and-white pupils gleamed like pearls. Her skin, in contrast, was as white as a snowflake.
"Oh?"
"Uh..."
It was a refined beauty of a different coloring from Runaan's, and the boys of the training ground could not close their mouths.
However.
"Ah, fuck. Why the hell won't this door open!"
The curse that flew out of her mouth made the boys' jaws drop for an entirely different reason.
"Right on time."
Rimer snorted a laugh and pointed at the girl walking toward them.
"She wasn't under me, but she's a dropout who failed out of the previous class. You'll be training together from now on, so introduce yourselves."
"Marta."
The girl who gave her name as Marta lifted her chin and scowled. Her looks were refined, but her speech and manner were no different from a back-alley thug's.
"She may not look it, but she's a good kid. If you get along with her..."
"I'll handle my own business."
"Well. That's what she says."
Rimer giggled and shrugged. The trainees' mouths, meanwhile, were still hanging open.
"Today we'll just loosen up. Regular training starts tomorrow. All right then."
He swept his gaze over the children once and grinned.
"Run. Full speed."
"Of course."
Raon nodded and was about to kick off the ground when three shadows shot out ahead of him.
Runaan, Burren, and the so-called dropout, Marta.
"Y-Young Master."
As he started after them, Dorian came up beside him.
"That person showing up here... w-what do we do?"
"You know that girl?"
"Y-you don't know? She's a direct descendant too."
"A direct descendant? I never saw her at the Evaluation Ceremony."
"Ah, she's not a typical direct descendant. She was adopted. Based on talent alone."
Dorian explained that Marta had been adopted as the daughter of Denier Zieghart, Glenn's third son. And that it had been for her talent and nothing else.
"Talent, huh."
Raon nodded as he watched Marta pulling ahead of even Burren and Runaan. She was a year older, but even at a glance, her talent was no ordinary thing.
"As far as I know, Lady Marta was the top trainee of the previous class, just like Young Master Raon."
"Then why did she fail?"
"She, she beat people up."
"What?"
Dorian's gathered arms trembled as he went on.
"Not long after training started, she supposedly beat five trainees half to death. Two of them were direct descendants."
"Two direct descendants..."
"They say her personality is filthy, so b-be careful."
Raon gave a small nod and kicked off the ground.
I'll be careful, all right.
She should be careful of me.
He had no intention of hiding his strength. Anyone who came at him, he would crush.
"Hah..."
Raon finished the stamina drills that had run until evening and let out a rough breath.
"Urgh..."
"I-I'm dying."
"We only rested a week and it's already like this..."
Most of the trainees had collapsed onto the training ground floor, leaking thin groans.
"If you overdo it, it'll affect tomorrow's training, so that's enough for today."
"Th-thank you for your hard work."
"Thank you."
The children bowed to Rimer and the instructors, then collapsed again.
"As I said, starting tomorrow we'll also be doing aura cultivation. I'll be handing out cultivation manuals now, so any trainee who hasn't learned aura, come forward."
At Rimer's gesture, books no thicker than a pinky nail rose onto the platform.
"No need to be disappointed just because these are the standard issue. The Linden Aura Cultivation Art is recognized anywhere on the continent."
Most of them stayed where they were. A handful of commoner-born trainees stepped forward and received the manuals.
"Hm?"
Rimer's gaze turned to Raon. The boy still had no aura, and yet he was not coming forward.
"Raon Zieghart."
"Yes."
"I was under the impression you don't have aura either?"
"I intend to learn the aura cultivation art I obtained this time."
"Hoh."
It seemed he had used a tablet of equivalent rank to receive a cultivation manual from the Family Head.
He must have been given something at the Silver Tablet level or higher.
Glenn cared for Raon, contrary to appearances. He would certainly have given him a cultivation art superior to Linden.
"Trainees who are already practicing an aura cultivation art will do their dawn cultivation in their own rooms. The trainees who received manuals today, and Raon Zieghart, will come here at dawn tomorrow."
"I'm included?"
Raon tilted his head.
"You haven't actually learned aura yet, after all."
"Understood."
"Good. Then that's all for to—"
"Hold on. I've got something to say."
Marta, who had not shed a single drop of sweat even after finishing the stamina drills, raised her hand.
"Who's the top trainee here?"
She planted a hand on her hip and swept her gaze over everyone.
"I am."
Raon met Marta's pitch-black stare and opened his mouth.
"Losing to a guy who doesn't even have aura... I guess the direct line and the vassal houses are all dead, huh."
She sneered at Burren and Runaan as she came to stand in front of Raon.
"I can't stand having someone weaker than me standing above me."
Marta's cold pressure coiled around his entire body.