Ch.97Chapter 97: This is Horror.

That night.

Valt visited the training hall where he had previously sparred with Riman after receiving his message.

Whether it was reserved under the professor’s name or not, no one else was in sight.

Only Riman was waiting for Valt.

As soon as he saw Riman, Valt was surprised by his aura.

‘Hmm… he’s gotten stronger. Is this how quickly Masters improve?’

Riman’s aura was much stronger than when he had sparred with Valt before.

In truth, Riman had always possessed skills worthy of becoming a Master, but had remained at the 7th level for a long time due to a lack of enlightenment.

But since stepping up to the 8th level of Mastery, his achievements had been progressing daily.

Moreover, Riman’s exceptional insight made it easy for him to observe his inner self, which helped him understand exactly how he needed to grow stronger.

Upon seeing Valt, Riman smiled pleasantly.

“You’re making the professor wait?”

“I arrived precisely on time.”

Though Valt’s response was calm, Riman had grown close enough to Valt to notice that he was quite excited at the moment.

“Kid, you’re pretty eager, aren’t you?”

Caught out, Valt smiled awkwardly.

“It would be a lie to say I’m not looking forward to this. Besides, after all your boasting, I’m very curious.”

Riman was delighted by Valt’s honest expression.

“Hehehe, I only developed this in a week, but you’re going to be really surprised. The variety of partial aura manipulation methods I learned played a big part in this.”

Riman was using a unique aura manipulation technique that combined what he had learned from his reclusive master with the Scott family’s aura manipulation methods.

That’s why it felt somewhat different from the Scott family’s swordsmanship.

“Well, enough talk. Let me show you.”

As Riman took his stance, Valt watched him with shining eyes. Aura—no, not yet refined mana—began to flow from Riman’s right arm.

Riman continued his explanation.

“Even if they’re not Gerungtu, all living creatures in the world have mana in their cells. Honestly, I didn’t think I could use this either. Normally, aura is breathed in from outside and accumulated in the aura heart. But like this…”

As Riman executed something, refined aura manifested from his right arm and enveloped it.

“And I can apply it too. This is something I created for fun.”

Woong—

The symbol of the Scott family is the wolf.

As Riman swung his arm, a very small wolf-shaped energy extended outward and struck the practice golem in the training hall.

Kwang!

The destructive power was too strong to be called a small wolf. Fascinated by this strange sight, Valt bombarded him with questions.

“The power… it seems different from regular aura, is that right?”

Riman answered Valt’s question with a somewhat tired expression.

“Whew! Yes, using the bio-mana that moves the body makes it much stronger than regular aura. But there are limitations. The quantity is limited, so you can’t use it much. It’s like a secret trump card. Plus, the fatigue is extreme. Using the mana in your arm cells to refine aura puts strain on your arm, even for a Master.”

For a Master-level practitioner, whose aura abilities far surpass ordinary people, to feel fatigue in their arm—this technique is truly a double-edged sword for humans.

But Valt is different.

Knowing this, Riman grinned.

“But that’s not the case for Gerungtu. Humans need to use most of the mana in their cells to produce meaningful power, but Gerungtu don’t. You could probably use it quite effectively.”

Riman’s demonstration of partial aura manipulation was astonishing.

Valt quickly asked Riman about the method.

“Quickly! Tell me quickly!”

“My goodness, I’ve never seen you this excited before, kid. Come here, I’ll first teach you how to refine mana into aura from each body part.”

Tomorrow is a day off with no classes.

Riman had given up his holiday to cling to Valt and teach him this aura manipulation technique.

No matter how much Valt had helped Riman reach the 8th level of Mastery, Riman’s kindness was extraordinary.

“Hmm… it’s quite solid indeed. This won’t be easy. But I see potential.”

The hardness of the mana inherent in Valt’s cells was indescribable, making aura usage seem impossible, but Riman had anticipated even this and helped Valt’s training by flowing his own aura into him.

After several hours of teaching…

“It’s, it’s working! The mana in my arm is moving!”

Someone who already knew how to use aura could have accomplished this quickly, but Valt couldn’t, so it took him hours to get a feel for it.

Even that was only possible because Riman guided the aura; if Valt had trained alone, he might not have grasped it even after years.

“Good! You’ve passed the first gate. Once it moves, you’re almost there. Next is refinement. You need to circulate pure mana through the aura road and convert it into usable aura. That’s what becomes real power.”

A small circulation of mana occurring only in the arm.

Being a living creature, Gerungtu naturally had aura roads, and the mana in Valt’s cells began to flow along these paths.

Eventually, this mana began to refine into massive aura, and Valt’s arm started to glow with a golden light from the aura.

Tuwhaak!!

Though the aura manifestation occurred only in his arm, Valt’s aura showed an incredible density, like physical magic, consuming his arm.

It was only natural for Riman to be shocked at the sight.

“What, what is this!? Magic power? Is it magic power? No, it’s not!? It’s definitely aura!”

There’s a subtle difference between aura and magic power, and there’s no reason a powerful individual like Riman wouldn’t be able to distinguish between them.

Valt gazed at his golden-tinged right arm, lost in indescribable feelings.

“This is… aura…!”

It felt different from when it was filled with magic power. If magic power felt like a wild, untamed horse in its natural state, aura felt like a well-trained domestic animal. But the nature hidden within was no less powerful than magic power.

Unlike when filled with magic power, Valt’s arm didn’t swell; it maintained its original form while emitting tremendous power.

Looking at this, Riman quietly asked Valt:

“That… looks stronger than your trademark magic power arm?”

It certainly was.

On the surface, the magic power arm might look stronger because it becomes thicker and larger, but the power inherent in the arm seems far greater than Valt’s specialty, the magic power arm.

“It seems so.”

“Let’s see its power.”

Valt, not yet familiar with specific aura skills, simply poured aura into the training golem with his arm.

Pweong!

With a tremendous boom, the golem disappeared without a trace.

Riman and Valt stared at each other in astonishment.

“Is this insane…? Is this right? You don’t even have an aura flower?”

For reference, training golems can only be damaged by attacks of 6th rank or higher. This golem is even stronger than the one from the entrance exam.

“An intermediate-level golem vanished without a trace? What on earth is this?”

Even Riman couldn’t close his mouth in shock at the incredible situation, and Valt was also greatly surprised by the power of his own aura.

To exert this much power without a flower means that the mana in Valt’s cells itself exerted power beyond the 6th rank when refined into aura.

“With this…”

Although sensing aura itself might be difficult, this method clearly shows promise for Gerungtu.

The so-called partial aura manipulation technique.

They had discovered another way to use the overflowing life energy of Gerungtu.

But at that moment.

A familiar notification sound rang in Valt’s ears.

[Ding!

User has mastered Physical Force-Aura Conversion. Combining with existing physical magic properties.

Combining…]

‘What!?’

Truly shocked, Valt couldn’t hide his surprised expression despite Riman’s presence.

Seeing this, Riman remarked:

“How can you be so surprised at your own achievement? Well… even I have to admit it doesn’t make sense…”

Mistaking Valt’s shock for amazement at his own accomplishment, Riman seemed lost in thought, while Valt was waiting for the system’s message.

[Ding!

Combination successful.

Physical Force-Aura Conversion and physical magic properties overlap. Magic power is imbued in aura containing physical force.

Acquired trait ‘Master of Power’.]

A trait that clearly seems incredible. The trait called ‘Master of Power’.

Valt wanted to check his status window but decided to focus on his business with Riman for now.

‘Not now. I’ll check later.’

As expected, Riman, who had been lost in thought, voiced his concerns to Valt.

“Hmm… this is powerful, but you won’t be able to use your magic the same way? With this level of destructive power, the recoil would be tremendous… What’s that?”

Tuwhaak-

Valt’s arm, glowing with aura, swollen with magic power.

Right now, two forces—aura and magic power—were mixing and balancing in Valt’s arm.

Faced with this incredible sight, Riman seemed unsure what expression to make.

“Are you kidding me? Hey!? Is this even possible? Wait!? No…? Can this really happen?”

The fusion of aura and magic power.

Whether dragons, beastkin, or the Valentine family, none can completely overlap aura and magic power.

They can only use aura and magic power separately.

Just operating them separately within the body is incredibly difficult, limited to certain mixed races or families.

But what Valt is doing now shakes the very foundation of the belief that aura and magic power cannot coexist.

Honestly, it’s theoretically possible. If aura and magic power achieve perfect balance, it could work, but no human capable of this exists, and it’s not used due to efficiency issues.

Looking at his enlarged arm, Valt casually remarked:

“It just works. Would you like to try receiving it?”