Chapter 26: Ludwig’s Right Hand (3)

“Where are you going?”

“To my room.”

I left the private training hall with Leon.

Since my Mana was already depleted, today’s training was essentially over anyway.

Aaron Meyer would be staying in the training hall through the night again.

For several days now, he’d been throwing himself into training, barely eating or sleeping.

“Is this because of Aaron Meyer?”

Leon, following behind me, asked quietly.

“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry too much. He’s improving steadily, if slowly.”

“I’m not particularly worried.”

I trusted Aaron Meyer.

Of all people, to worry about the future Sword Saint? There’s nothing more foolish than that.

“Please, after you.”

I brought Leon into my room.

He stood there blankly, so I had him sit down in a chair and approached the desk beside the bookshelf.

I was sure it was here somewhere.

“Ah, found it.”

I pulled a ring out from the desk drawer.

A luxury item that the old, extravagant Richard Bartenberg had once won at auction for a hefty price.

It wasn’t an Artifact, just a pretty trinket—nothing more than fancy trash.

“Huh?”

Leon looked confused as I suddenly produced the ring, but I sat across from him, ready to talk.

“Three weeks… No, in two weeks, you have something coming up, don’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Is the First Knight Order heading out to hunt a Lich?”

If my memory was right, this was around the time when the knights’ full-scale confrontation with the Liches began.

Leon remained silent.

Tap, tap—

While waiting for his answer, I drummed my fingers on the round table.

“What kind of knight goes around telling people about his mission?”

“What’s so secret about it? I’ve been attacked by those things’ underlings myself, you know.”

I pressed him with a half-hearted protest.

He clamped his mouth shut, then let out a sigh before long.

“Haah. I suppose there’s no point hiding it. You’re right, Young Master.”

As expected.

The war with the Liches from the Demon Realm would soon break out.

And for me, that was a huge opportunity.

“Don’t tell me… you want to join the mission?”

Leon asked, almost aghast.

“What nonsense.”

I already had a mountain of things to do.

There was no reason to get involved in a pursuit that wasn’t even a decisive battle.

I shook my head at his question and opened my Status Window.

[Hor] [Lowest-Ranked Deity]

[Level: High Stage ]

ㅁ Number of Devotees: 12

ㅁ Faith: 12,832

ㅁ Divine Authority: [Devotee Appointment] [Receiving Prayer]

ㅁ Unlocked Ranks: [Lowest-Ranked Evangelist] [Lowest-Ranked Paladin] [Lowest-Ranked Priest]

‘Still have 12,000 Faith left…’

With an average daily gain of 1,500 Faith, I’d hardly used any since curing my Mana Insensitivity.

But now, I needed to invest in Mana control mastery, and I also had to save up for when I hit the road.

I couldn’t just spend it recklessly.

“Hmm…”

I fiddled with the ring in my hand.

How much would be just right?

“Why are you doing this?”

“Do you like rings?”

“Huh?”

His gaze turned to the ring.

“Well… If it were an Artifact, I’d wear it, but I’m not really fond of ordinary jewelry.”

“I see. Then let me show you a secret.”

“A secret?”

Leon’s eyes sparkled instantly.

Was he always this curious about me?

“Are you going to tell me the secret to curing Mana Insensitivity?”

“Or maybe the reason your wild personality changed?”

He really didn’t hold back with his words.

“…Let’s just say it includes both.”

I brought my hand close to Leon’s body and channeled a bit of Faith into him.

“The change in my personality, the cure for Mana Insensitivity—they’re all related to this power.”

Leon’s eyes widened.

The Faith flowing into his body was moving actively.

“This isn’t Mana. What is it?”

“Is this… some new ability?” Leon pressed without pause.

A new ability—well, that wasn’t wrong.

But I had no intention of answering him just yet.

A decision based on experience, I suppose.

I knew all too well how stubborn knights could be.

Believing in a god is proof of weakness, or so they’d say.

It was laughable, but if I wanted to reduce their resistance to religion, I’d have to take my time and let them be influenced slowly.

I gathered Faith into the ring in my hand.

A generous amount.

“Bestow 10,000 Faith on this object.”

Zzzzzzt—!

The ring, now filled with a brilliant light, trembled in my hand.

A massive expenditure in an instant.

Still, wasn’t it all an investment for the future?

“From now on, wear this ring every day, without fail.”

I handed the glowing ring to Leon, who stared at it blankly.

“Even when you’re with the First Knight Order, even when you’re out hunting Liches.”

A ring that constantly emitted Faith would have a significant influence on its wearer and those around them.

Plus, it would make an excellent lure for the Liches’ attention.

“If you wear it without fail until the day we meet again, I’ll tell you everything about this power.”

By then, so much will have changed.

“What will you do?”

He didn’t answer, but I was certain.

The curiosity in his eyes as he stared at the ring told me everything.

***

Time flew by, and three weeks passed.

It really felt like the days were slipping away in the blink of an eye.

I’d wake up with thread in my hands, and even dream of weaving thread when I slept.

Every day and night blurred together.

“Focus. Focus.”

If there was one word Leon had said most during these three weeks, it was ‘focus.’

Ironically, that was the thing I was best at.

[Skill– Hyper Focus activated]

Black threads in both hands.

After so much practice, they now felt like extensions of my own body.

“Not yet.”

Holy Power cautiously traveled up my Mana Route.

The power reached my fingertips, split into dozens of strands, and began to burrow into each individual thread.

Whoosh—

At first, ten strands. Then thirty.

After that, all the threads in my hands.

A total of one hundred and eighty threads danced in the air.

They wobbled uncertainly, and many were tangled, but for now, it wasn’t bad.

Watching this, Leon spoke.

“If the threads are swaying in the air, it means your control is still lacking.”

I opened my eyes.

At that moment, the threads dropped back to the ground.

“Still, this is enough to pass.”

“…Is that so.”

Next time we met, I’d show off my Aura for sure, I thought, turning my gaze to Aaron Meyer.

He was focused, completely absorbed in his training.

—I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of handling this damned Mana.

A week ago, Aaron had spoken those words with shining eyes.

He hadn’t been lying; since then, his progress had been remarkable.

To the point that—

Whoosh—!

Aside from a few strands, he could now keep almost all of his threads floating in the air.

He’d closed the gap that had been so wide at the beginning of training in a flash.

No exaggeration—he’d trained until he coughed up blood from Mana exhaustion.

Developing his Mana Route helped, but his determination and talent were finally shining through.

“Good. Very good.”

Leon clapped his hands with a satisfied smile.

“I’m glad I can teach you the second stage before I leave.”

Smiling brightly, he took the thread from me and examined the ends, which had become frayed from overuse. Leon raised his Mana.

“Watch closely.”

He lifted the threads high, as if holding dozens of black thorns.

Just how pure must his Mana be, and how amazing his control, to pull off such a feat?

He truly wasn’t Grandmaster of the Knight Order for nothing.

The threads twisted in the air.

For a moment, I thought his Mana had faltered, but I was mistaken.

“Weave dozens or hundreds of strands of Mana together to forge a blade—this is Aura.”

They tangled and intertwined.

The threads in both hands merged into a single, long bundle.

At first glance, it looked like a mess, but there was a distinct pattern to it.

“This is the second stage: Thread Weaving. If you can do this much with Crif’s Thread, you can create a basic Aura.”

To an observer, it was just an amazing and curious trick.

But thinking I’d have to do it myself made my stomach churn.

I briefly considered just brute-forcing my proficiency with Faith, but shook my head.

Relying solely on Faith is inefficient.

Only by combining physical training with it could I achieve optimal results—something I’d learned from experience.

Leon grinned and asked in a subtly provocative tone,

“Young Master. Do you think you can do it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

I suppose you could say I had an unusual personality—especially my curiosity.

He had a knack for getting under people’s skin in the most subtle ways.

As I watched him grinning, I glanced at Aaron Meyer, curious about his reaction.

“Ooh, he’s fired up.”

Watching Leon’s bundle of threads, Aaron Meyer’s eyes burned with determination.

With only a month left before we set out for the Elven Forest, if he couldn’t reach this stage by then, he wouldn’t be able to wield Aura.

That alone would be enough to ignite anyone’s will.

I couldn’t afford to slack off, either.

“Haha, you’ll have to spend half a year with thread in your hands before you can weave even a few strands together!”

Leon laughed boisterously, clearly pleased.

“I’ll make sure to master it within a month!”

Aaron Meyer shouted, full of fighting spirit.

Without wasting a moment, he dove straight back into training.

Watching him with a slightly exhausted gaze, I signaled to Leon.

There was still something I wanted to discuss.

“I suppose this is goodbye for now. It’s been a pleasure, Young Master.”

“It’ll be even more enjoyable the next time we meet.”

Leaning against the training hall wall, Leon grinned. He looked genuinely excited.

“I hope so. There’s still so much I want to know.”

He raised his hand.

On his rugged finger was the dazzling ring I’d given him two weeks ago.

There was no reason for him not to accept it. All he had to do was wear it.

It didn’t contain any unholy power.

“Since I started wearing this ring, so many things have changed.”

He’d become more energetic, luckier, and even those around him had experienced inexplicable positive changes.

“I see.”

It seemed my investment of 10,000 Faith was paying off—Leon was thoroughly taken with the ring.

“I’ll say it again: you must never take off the ring, not even once.”

The First Knight Order’s mission was to track down the Lich’s whereabouts.

Maybe the ring would be a nuisance.

If the Liches had names of their own, they’d certainly sense the Faith within the ring.

But that was exactly what I wanted.

“Even if an army of undead blocks your path.”

“Haha! Why are you saying such ominous things to a man heading out on a mission?”

Leon joked playfully.

He still hadn’t given me the answer I wanted, so I stared at him expectantly.

At last, Leon spoke.

“Understood. Those undead are nothing but scarecrows before Bartenberg’s sword.”

“Good.”

The Liches wouldn’t run away just because they sensed Faith.

They surely had their own reasons to act.

“Then, I’ll look forward to our next meeting.”

Leon bowed deeply and left the training hall.

I watched him go, then moved to sit beside Aaron.

There was about a month left before we set out for the Elven Forest.

Aaron wasn’t the only one with a fire lit under him.

If I wanted to raise a barrier around the forest, I’d have to get much, much stronger too.