Chapter 28: Aura Unleashed, Gate Descends

Evan immediately headed to his private training hall.

From now until the Gate opens, I’ll focus solely on Aura training.

No one can predict what kind of boss monster will appear.

Of course, I’ll prepare supplies from the shop to match, but that’s for later.

For now, all that matters is getting used to Aura.

“Young master? May I ask why you’ve summoned us so suddenly…?”

Alan and Reynold, called to the training hall without knowing the reason, waited quietly.

Evan gave them an order.

“I need sparring partners. I have something else to do for now, so you two spar with each other. I’ll call if I need you.”

They would serve as sparring partners, and at the same time, Evan would observe their skills.

They, too, had to grow alongside Evan.

‘I have no interest in dragging dead weight.’

Reynold and Alan simply did as Evan instructed, starting their duel.

Watching them, Evan drew his sword and began to concentrate.

He wrapped mana around his body and slowly attempted to convert it into Aura.

[Aura Mastery proficiency has increased.]

[Aura Mastery proficiency has increased.]

The process of compressing mana to a high density.

As the “Mana’s Disciple” skill activated, the power of his soul automatically controlled the mana.

The blue glow swirling around his body grew deeper in color.

Fwoosh!

After several attempts, Evan finally succeeded in converting mana into Aura.

[Aura Mastery skill level has increased from F to E.]

It was a quick achievement, but only for a moment.

The Aura vanished almost instantly.

At this stage, he couldn’t even take a single step while maintaining it.

‘But I have my experience from the previous world. I just have to walk that path again.’

Just then—

Another message appeared before Evan’s eyes.

-??? has increased by 0.20%.

A newly added, cryptic indicator in his status window.

‘What? Isn’t this the same thing as last time?’

It was a stat that had appeared when his body was reconstructed.

Now, with Aura training, the number had increased.

“What on earth is this?”

For now, there was no way to figure it out, but if he had to guess, it seemed to reflect his own state.

Since it increased through training, that seemed likely.

Evan tilted his head in confusion, but soon refocused on Aura training.

‘There’s no way to know right now. I’ll figure it out later.’

For now, Aura training took priority.

[Aura Mastery proficiency has increased.]

[Aura Mastery proficiency has increased.]

Thus, Aura began to form around Evan’s body once more.

***

[Aura Mastery has increased from D to C.]

Assuming that the Gate could appear at any moment, Evan pushed his Aura training to the limit.

Three days passed since he began.

During that time, he raised his Aura Mastery to C and completely mastered Aura conversion.

He could now freely convert as much Aura as he wanted.

The only challenge left was how long he could maintain the converted Aura.

‘This is where the difference between lower and intermediate Aura users comes down to duration.’

All this, accomplished in just three days.

Only Evan could have managed such a feat.

‘I’ll break through to Aura Mastery B in one go at this rate.’

Level 47.

With level 50 just ahead, it was time to start preparing his next skill trees.

Once the shop’s third tier opened, he’d be able to purchase skills that used Aura.

It was best to prepare for that in advance.

Evan picked up his wooden sword and approached Alan, who was sparring with Reynold.

“Alan, let’s spar. You can use Aura.”

Now, he could move while maintaining Aura.

However, swinging his sword or making abrupt movements was still a challenge.

The best way to get used to it was to keep practicing with real sword swings.

Alan began to hesitate.

He’d spent the last three days watching Evan stand quietly in the corner of the training hall, wooden sword in hand.

Now, suddenly, Evan wanted to spar.

And he was even ordering Alan to use Aura.

“Aura, sir? But young master, you…”

Alan’s concern showed clearly on his face.

He knew Evan had mana, but the Aura domain was a different matter.

Aura could dramatically enhance the body.

A single misstep could lead to serious injury or accident during a spar.

That’s why Sword Runners and Aura users were never matched against each other.

In fact, the reason for dividing the ranks was partly because of this.

Especially since Sword Runners were still novices, learning swordsmanship by applying mana.

Of course, Aura users had only just begun to utilize Aura, but in the world of knights, Aura and mana were on completely different levels.

“Young master, even so, asking me to face you while using Aura is…”

“I’m not telling you to go all out. Just use Aura at the minimum level.”

Evan raised his wooden sword.

Then, he began to wrap his body in Aura.

Evan quickly checked his stats in the status window.

‘My strength has increased dramatically, but my agility has dropped just as much. Even if I want to raise the Aura density, my body can’t handle it yet. This level should be just right.’

Enhancing the body through Aura was basic.

If he increased the mana density to create an even denser Aura, his physical enhancement would grow even more—but his body would also become much heavier.

At that point, his movements would slow down instead.

It was important to adjust the balance to a level his body could handle.

Of course, as his swordsmanship improved, he’d be able to handle denser Aura, but for now, it was impossible.

Soon, a faint blue glow enveloped Evan’s entire body as Aura manifested.

“Aura? C-could it be? Young master, you can already use Aura?”

Alan was shocked by Evan’s transformation.

He’d thought Evan was only at the intermediate Sword Runner level, since he had mana.

But what Evan was showing now was closer to an intermediate Aura user.

The Aura’s density was still low, so the blue glow was faint.

Still, the very fact that he could handle Aura was impressive.

“That’s enough, pick up your sword.”

Urged by Evan, Alan gripped his wooden sword tightly.

“Then, I’ll attack first. Reynold, watch closely.”

Alan swallowed hard, nervous.

He had no idea what Evan would show him.

In the blink of an eye—

Swoosh!

Evan dashed toward Alan at high speed.

A movement on a completely different level than before.

Aura-enhanced sword strikes followed.

Clang!

Alan managed to block Evan’s sword, but his hands stung from the impact.

“Urgh!”

If he hadn’t reinforced himself with even more Aura, he might have dropped his sword.

‘Even with faint Aura, this much strength…’

Alan drew out more Aura.

He attempted a counterattack, matching swords with Evan.

***

[Aura Mastery has increased from C to B.]

A message window popped up before Evan’s eyes.

But Evan, breathing heavily, barely registered it.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sparring with Alan.

He kept training until he could fight while wrapped in Aura.

As a result, he could now maintain Aura over his entire body for a considerable time.

Alan, also out of breath, looked at Evan in disbelief.

“…I can’t believe it. How can you maintain Aura for so long?”

“Because I have talent with the sword. Anyway, do you still have the strength to talk?”

Evan tried to raise his sword again.

But just then, Alburton appeared, approaching the training hall.

“Wait a moment.”

Evan lowered his wooden sword.

“I’ll talk with him for a bit. You rest in the meantime.”

“Yes, sir.”

Evan went to meet Alburton as he approached.

“What’s the matter?”

“Young master, the Marquess of Armeria is urgently requesting your presence.”

“Really? He’s here sooner than I expected.”

Evan could guess why Darwen had come.

It was probably news about the subjugation force or the Gate.

“Understood. I’ll go right away.”

***

A patrol of seven knights, all 8th rank, was making its rounds in the forest outside the city.

With the current emergency, all knight orders were on high alert.

Patrol routes had doubled or tripled in length.

But none of them dared complain about the increased workload.

Higher-ranked knights had been assigned to search parties scouring the woods.

Compared to those exposed to all sorts of dangers, their current duty was the easier one.

Then, one knight spoke up in the silence.

“Isn’t this getting out of hand, Captain? So many Void gates appearing like this…”

“What’s the problem? This isn’t the first time.”

“Still…”

“A knight shouldn’t whine, tsk tsk.”

The patrol leader scolded his subordinate as they continued through the forest.

After a while, he began to feel uneasy for some reason.

“Doesn’t it seem unusually quiet?”

Nothing had been found in the forest so far.

Not even the usual wolves, foxes, or Goblins.

It was strange not to see a single monster.

At the captain’s words, the other six knights also voiced their concerns.

“This area’s always been a headache because of all the Goblins, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, right! There was even a report that a Goblin pack had settled nearby.”

As they talked and walked along the patrol route—

Rustle.

Faint, translucent silhouettes began moving around them.

Dozens of monsters, judging by their outlines.

If it were an open field, they would have noticed immediately.

But here, with thick underbrush and trees, it was easy to stay hidden.

Grrrrrr!

With eerie cries, the monsters slowly closed in on the patrol.

***

Darwen and Evan sat in the drawing room, deep in conversation.

“The subjugation force was assembled faster than expected. And the Count has mobilized all troops to search the forest.”

“I see. Then we should be ready to move out as soon as anything is discovered. I’ll finish my preparations—”

Clatter!

Before Evan could finish, the door burst open.

Alan rushed in.

“Alan?”

“Y-young master! It’s urgent! You must come outside immediately!”

“What are you—”

“There’s a Void gate in the sky!”

“What?”

At Alan’s words, Evan’s brow furrowed.

Darwen, standing behind him, also grimaced at the news.

“This is exactly the sign the Young Lord warned about!”

Evan nodded and hurried out of the drawing room.

“Yes. It seems we’re already late. We need to check the situation first.”

As Evan opened the mansion’s door and stepped outside—

A massive Gate filled the sky.

The majestic sight drew everyone’s eyes at once.

Its form was still hazy, like a hologram.

But if it fully anchored itself in this world, the consequences were clear.

“My god… I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Darwen, rubbing his eyes, stared at the Gate in the sky.

Evan spoke calmly.

“If we don’t stop this, something truly terrible will happen…!”

Darwen could only nod silently at Evan’s words.