The Devouring Flame
Metun narrowed his eyes at Raon, who had extinguished his presence to the level of a wild animal.
"Did Raon deliberately hold back his strength?"
"I didn't hide it. I just wanted to wake the kids up."
Rimer snorted and blew out a breath.
"Wake them up?"
"Recently, the kids have been getting too much attention. They think they're really strong and don't realize that people with similar skills are fighting each other fiercely. They think they're always ahead and arrogant."
He smiled faintly and pointed at Raon.
"Among the trainees in the 5th Training Ground, only Raon has a cool head about his own strength. So I wanted to give them a bit of a wake-up call."
"Wait! Then you... were you at that point too...?"
"Yeah. I deliberately went to the place where you hang out. I wanted to provoke you to make the 5th and 6th Training Grounds fight each other."
"Rimer..."
"Don't look at me like that. You were also targeting us."
Rimer kept a gentle smile and turned to Metun.
"Um..."
"The way you trained them well, and the sweat and blood the kids shed, I saw it all. No one will ignore you guys from now on."
"Hmph."
Metun frowned and turned his head. His face was slightly red, probably because the praise pleased him.
"However, Rimer, you're mistaken too."
He turned his head slightly. His eyes were alive.
"Mistaken? What mistake?"
"The battle isn't over yet."
Metun raised his hand and pointed at Kane standing in front of Raon.
"Raon's aura is a mid-level fire aura technique, nothing special. But Kane has the fire aura aptitude and is learning the highest-level technique. In terms of compatibility, Raon can't beat Kane."
Before Metun's words finished, flames erupted on Kane's blade.
"Ah, making another mistake like this."
"If you knew, it would have been fine. The result is..."
"No, not me, you."
Rimer laughed. He turned his head and pointed at Raon who was drawing his sword.
Whoosh!
A tiny flame rose on Raon's sword blade.
"Watch this."
Rimer's pupils burned red like the flame on Raon's blade.
"The small fire devours the big fire."
***
Kane Zieghart looked at the small flame sprouting from Raon's sword with narrowed eyes. Beautiful like a flower, but too small.
'Small.'
A tiny flame barely covering the tip of the blade. The flame was so faint it would be hard to cut someone with it.
'But there's definitely something there.'
He couldn't have snatched the top spot in the 5th Training Ground for nothing.
From the opponents Raon has beaten so far, that aura is definitely not ordinary.
'But I'm stronger.'
He didn't stop cultivating aura for 2 years after being injured. Even if it's swordsmanship, the amount of aura doesn't lag behind other swordsmen.
Moreover, he's learned the highest-level fire aura that can devour Raon's fire, so the outcome is already decided.
As long as he doesn't get complacent, he can turn this disadvantageous situation around and win.
"Let's go!"
Kane gripped his sword tighter and stomped the ground.
'I have to break it with power.'
Raon's swordsmanship talent is famous. To not be pulled into swordsmanship, he had to end it in one breath with speed and power.
"Haaap!"
Just as the guy was about to chop down Raon's shoulder with the sword containing flames, he lifted his head.
Huh?
Calm eyes.
A chill ran down his spine at the sunken eyes that didn't match the situation at all. The guy raised the sword with the small flame.
'It's already too late.'
He braced his waist and thighs and swung the sword down to the end.
Kyaang!
At the moment the swords clashed, he burned the aura with full power.
Kwaaa!
The flames blooming from the blade ignited like they would swallow Raon.
But something unexpected happened.
Crackle!
The small flame blooming at Raon's sword tip began to devour the huge flame that burned the entire sword surface.
"What, what?!"
Kane's eyes widened as if they would tear.
'Is this possible?'
That small flame was eating his flame in reverse, which was unbelievable.
He faced Raon behind him. His eyes were even more sunken than before. The guy was still relaxed.
"Uaaaa!"
Kane gritted his teeth. He pulled up all the aura from his dantian and swung his sword.
A fierce aura exploded, enough to draw a red line in the air, but Raon advanced one step.
Uwoong!
His sword changed. From a heavy rock to a sharp wind.
The silver blade dug in like a beast's fang.
"Hup!"
Kane urgently pulled up aura and swung his sword down in a block.
Cheoeeeng!
Blocked.
He definitely blocked it, but why was his sword...
It was a single strike. The training sword broke with one swing. It was hard to believe that such immense power was infused into that small flame.
"It's not over yet."
The sound of wind came again, and pain of waist breaking came.
"Kuhahk!"
Kane couldn't endure Raon's punch and screamed, sticking to the floor.
"Kueueuk!"
While enduring the pain as if his ribs were collapsing, Raon's voice came from above his head.
"Compatibility?"
Raon with a plain expression tilted his head.
"What is compatibility."
***
Raon suppressed Kane and sat down on the tree root again. After waiting a while, the bushes shook and the 5th Training Ground trainees appeared.
There were some who fell behind, but most returned in good condition. The enemy's flag was held in Marta's hand.
"Th-that's not it. That person isn't Kane Zieghart, right?"
Dorian looked at Kane with tied arms with blank eyes.
"Yeah. The situation was disadvantageous, so he came this way right away."
"Wow, really, young master doesn't lose, huh."
He and some trainees laughed out loud saying it's amazing.
"As you said."
Burren approached with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"The sense test wasn't completed and easily fell into the trap of the dummy. Unbelievably."
He scratched his head and slowly exhaled and opened his mouth.
"I thought I could do better than you in command, but it wasn't the case. If you hadn't been there today, we would have lost to the 6th Training Ground."
The trainees behind Burren nodded, saying it was right.
"I recognize you as the top again. From now on, I'll follow your instructions without complaint."
He hit his chest with a thud and turned his back. His ears were red, probably still embarrassed.
Pung!
Marta stabbed the 6th Training Ground's flag she was holding into the ground.
"I don't like it, but what he said is right. Annoying, but today the top contributor to the victory is you."
She said if it was an odd command, she would throw it away at the time of the promise.
"Raon."
Runaan, who returned looking the healthiest, nodded big saying well done. It was her own kind of praise.
Raon looked at the three in turn and smiled faintly.
'This is why it's the 5th Training Ground.'
***
"Ha..."
Metun let out a hollow laugh. His gaze was fixed on Raon who had suppressed Kane and made him kneel.
'Who would have thought the small flame would be so strong.'
Raon's small flame didn't yield even in front of Kane's big flame. No, in terms of ferocity, it overpowered it.
The words "devoured" that Rimer said weren't empty talk.
'It's not just that it's powerful. He was properly looking at the opponent.'
Kane's flames were definitely intense, but there was a gap at the bottom of the blade that wasn't filled with aura.
A small hole so small that even a normal trainee would have trouble noticing.
'But...'
The guy noticed it.
Raon Zieghart saw Kane's mistake, aimed at that weakness, and snatched the victory with his sword.
'Impressive.'
He thought Kane's senses were amazing too, but Raon did more. The guy's senses were so sensitive and refined that it was hard to believe even after seeing it directly.
'His guts are crazy too.'
In that urgent situation, figuring out the enemy's weakness and striking with the sword is not something that can be done with just senses. The guy's mental strength was already at the level of a qualified swordsman.
"Sigh..."
Metun sighed and stood up. He turned around and nodded.
"I have no choice but to admit it."
"Hmph."
Rimer, who was half lying down, nodded with a satisfied face.
"I praised that kid, but why are you so proud?"
"Because he's my disciple."
"Disciple? What. You were playing around and that kid trained alone."
"Well, there are such cases too."
Rimer laughed and stood up.
"Then let's go."
"Where?"
"To those kids, even if they had rival consciousness, they weren't enemies or hating each other. Since they're tied by the name Zieghart, it's a good opportunity to build friendship. Let's have a meal together."
"Um, that's fine."
"You'll pay?"
"Got it."
Metun nodded. Since he bet with Rimer, he could afford to pay for the kids' meal costs.
"See, I told you he's big!"
Rimer smiled and ran to the trainees gathering around Raon.
"Today it's a meal paid with someone else's money!"
***
Raon looked at the food piled on the long rectangular table and picked up fork and knife.
He cut a piece of the pork hot pot right in front and put it in his mouth. The skin part was crispy, the meat part was juicy and melted in the tongue. Stimulating but the taste was great.
- Hah! Good. Very good. The concentrated flavor that captured this king's picky taste.
'Yeah. The taste is good.'
-Next, try the pie next to it. This king has liked such pies since being in the Demon Realm, morning and night...
Raon ignored his words and ate the stew on the right. It was soft and full of umami.
-This is also okay, but listen to this king. Pie! Pie!
'I see there was such a place too.'
After the battle ended, Rimer took the 5th and 6th Training Ground trainees to the estate's restaurant.
The outside of the restaurant was old, but the food was diverse and tasted good. It seemed like high-quality ingredients cooked by excellent chefs.
'But...'
While eating another piece of pork, he looked around. The atmosphere hanging like old piano strings. Both the victorious 5th Training Ground and the defeated 6th Training Ground were in a slump.
'Well, it's natural.'
The 5th Training Ground almost lost to the 6th Training Ground that they thought they could easily beat, and the 6th Training Ground had all their well-prepared plans broken. It wasn't strange for both to be gloomy.
Of course, there were people who weren't like that.
"I wonder if I really taught well."
Rimer poured the most expensive black beer into his mouth and laughed.
"The advice was amazing, but I saw you following it exactly after hearing it? Amazing disciples."
"Today you didn't do anything."
"Who taught Raon? This body! So his achievement is like mine."
"Sigh..."
The two separated and held a post-battle reflection meeting for today's duel. Of course, listening from the side, it was Rimer's self-praise rather than reflection.
On the other hand, at the trainees' table, all that could be heard was the sound of chewing like eating lunch after training. When thinking it couldn't be helped and trying to eat fried chicken.
'He said something about a dummy?'
The big guy who fought Marta in the center approached Marta.
"It was stronger than I heard. Both attack and defense were amazing. The first one was surprising, but when aiming at the gap in the sword test in the second match, I was shocked."
Duncal recounted the points he felt as if his appearance was innocent. Marta was surprised and dropped the broccoli she had on her fork.
"Will we do joint training someday? It will definitely help both sides..."
"Get lost."
Of course, Marta waved her hand without looking.
'If it's like that, I won't cause trouble.'
Raon nodded slightly. If it was original Marta, a fist would have flown immediately, but saying that means she somewhat liked it.
"Burren-nim."
Decal moved to Burren's seat thinking it was a chance.
"What do you have to say?"
Burren frowned and raised his head.
"Do you practice the dummy often?"
"I don't do it much."
"In my opinion, the dummy was trained a lot. Honestly, it was so real I couldn't miss it. It jumped like a dog seeing prey."
"Hah!"
Burren's face slightly reddened because the praise was pleasing.
"Well, your sense test was sharp too. You couldn't find a way to break through the dummy before using it. My swordsmanship was the first time it was so blocked."
Burren praised Decal's strengths in the opposite way.
"But in the end, I lost to Burren-nim. When using the dummy in reverse at the end, I really couldn't move."
"Well, swordsmanship is swordsmanship, but my aura is also superior to yours..."
Burren was pleased with Decal's honest talk, so he turned his body and talked about swordsmanship and aura.
Noticing the trainees who were sizing him up, they started talking about the opponents they met in battle, blossoming the story of today's match.
They discussed what was amazing and what was the problem.
"Ice cream?"
"Yeah."
"What kind of ice cream?"
"Beads."
Runaan was sitting facing a cute-looking girl. Whether the conversation worked or not, unclear.
"Utcha."
A sound of someone sitting in the empty seat on the left came. Looking to the side, it was Kane Zieghart, the top of the 6th Training Ground who fought last.
"The last one was completely done for. I didn't know you would attack the weak spot of the aura and break the sword."
He nodded with a face as if amazed.
"It wasn't a coincidence, right?"
"Yes."
He honestly nodded.
"No need to talk now. After all, we're the same trainees."
"Yeah."
No need to refuse when told to drop the topic. He nodded.
"I thought your senses were the best among peers even if you didn't have power, but you were complacent."
Kane smiled with a face that accepted everything unlike before. It was new to have a direct descendant of this personality.
"I learned a lot about the strategic part and the mental part too. Thank you."
"Learned?"
"Thanks to you, I learned that I shouldn't be complacent till the end and that I have to prepare for when strategy fails. Probably you said that to teach me."
Kane stood up and slowly bowed his head.
"You're my benefactor. Thank you."
"Eh..."
Raon tilted his head.
What is this guy saying?