"—I want to see how much Sword Intent each of you can bring out before I begin the lesson." After arriving on the grass outside, Roderick faced the students and began.
"Just don't try to bring out your aura as well." Roderick glanced at Arnold as the students got ready to release their energy.
Unlike the others who were readying themselves, he was just standing there.
"Is something wrong, Arnold?"
Everyone glanced at him.
"…If I release all my Sword Intent, this entire academy would be covered in it."
"R-Right, ahem." Roderick cleared his throat, probably recalling the fight from yesterday. He was quite surprised this Aether fanatic wasn't asking him a bunch of questions like "how are you able to use Aether without combusting".
"Gather your energy in a sphere about this big." Roderick made a gesture to indicate what he meant.
"Any particular reason why?"
"Call it an optimal dosage."
He had no idea what Roderick meant but he listened anyway.
"Alright." Unlike the others who were struggling to keep theirs stable despite being capable of bringing it out, Arnold's energy grew from a small sphere to one that was bigger than his upper body, as if it was being filled with air.
"So, what's the purpose of this?" he asked as their wide eyes looked at him.
"I recently learned that warriors are capable of sharing lifeforce by granting others their Sword Intent. It's not to the point of bringing near death patients to full health again but it can revitalize one on the battlefield. It's like a stamina and health potion all in one."
Like Roderick said, it's like a small health potion for fallen comrades. Knowing Aether is the amalgamation of all energies, this naturally included lifeforce, something that determines a human's condition. Every healing potion has a little bit of lifeforce so both act in the same manner, just that Aether is superior to even the highest ranked healing potion.
Roderick is a few steps away from realizing something Arnold only found out yesterday.
"All right, you can stop now." Everyone stopped releasing their Sword Intent.
Sword Intent doesn't really drain a person's stamina or anything so there is another reason why none of their energy balls were bigger than their heads. This reason being that they can't control the energy consumption. In the hands of an inexperienced warrior, using Sword Intent is like filling a bottomless bucket with water.
This is one of the reasons why you can only use Sword Intent to create an energy blade and create a film around your body to deflect arrows. This energy is almost bottomless itself but the bucket of the average warrior isn't that big—nowhere near Arnold's at least. Which is why not many people can use the energy in excessive amounts.
"Half of you will share your Sword Intent with the other half who will exhaust their stamina and aura. I'll point out who will be the supplier and who will receive the supply. The latter group will release all their aura and run to the other side of field then run back here again four times at least." Saying so, he pointed to the far end of the academy where the city wall was.
The students groaned.
After picking the candidates who will receive the supply, he told them to run immediately since this isn't exactly a race. The aura around their bodies was pitiful—so Arnold could see why they're in the D class.
Taking a quick glance to the side, he noticed Roderick with a big smile on his face.
This is definitely a groundbreaking discovery since it can help during large prolonged battles immensely. But did he really learn about this in the game's events as well? If so, why keep it secret?
Arnold could foresee the emperor giving him a medal for this discovery. It will also be a burden off the medical supply and wounded soldiers can get right back into the fight. Odd how no one else has found this out, or brought it to the public's attention. Maybe the MMA know but since Sword Intent is so unpopular in comparison to Aura, they chose to keep it to themselves.
Curious, he activated the Halo and looked at the lifeforce network inside Professor Roderick's body.
'His lifeforce network is supplying energy all throughout his body?' he noticed white energy constantly being poured out from his dantians.
'Is he trying to do something similar to aura control?'
As mentioned many times before, aura control is something few students can master. The ones who master it become powerhouses even within their age groups. This is why younger Arnold was stronger than the average red aura user even if the red type has a stronger aura type.
It's all about maintaining a constant control.
Arnold then monitored his classmates. Noticing his red eyes, all of them averted their eyes and trembled for some reason. He was oblivious to those reactions since he could only see their lifeforce networks.
As expected, unlike Roderick, they aren't constantly circulating their energies. Arnold doesn't do it either since he doesn't need to fill his entire body with that much energy. Its only purpose is to strengthen the body itself internally which he doesn't need since his body is already durable enough against most things.
But that energy flowing throughout Roderick's body isn't Sword Intent but Aether itself.
"—Professor." Arnold approached him.
"Hm?"
"Circulating that kind of power in your body will break it down over time. If you can't use it externally without exploding, what makes you think you can use it internally to strengthen yourself?" he spoke in whispers.
"W-What? How do you know I'm doing that?"
In response, he tapped his temple.
"Eyes of the Dragon God… You have truly blown me away with your feats and sudden strength. I am quite jealous you are capable of using Aether without exploding like a bomb…" his eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the students, "The human body can become stronger the more you train—you should know why. It tears itself apart then repairs itself even stronger than before."
"So, you were aware that bringing that much Aether out will kill you?"
"Mm. But… I have a feeling that as long as I keep at it, my body will be able to handle it." Sweat dropped from his chin.
"You want your wish granted even if it means your life is on the line."
"If my life is all that's needed, I shall give it up." He looked back at Arnold, "I will use the knowledge I gain in this life in the next and continue my dream from there."
Arnold scoffed, "Why don't I just quicken the process for you, Professor?"
"Huh?"
Without warning, Arnold grabbed his face. His eyes glowed a bright red before a purple light erupted from Roderick's body.
"I'll force your Martial Spirit out."
"Y-You'll do what!?" before Roderick could even react, a blinding purple light flashed before his eyes, blinding him.
**
The last thing he saw before being pulled somewhere were the red eyes of a demon god staring down at him.
Many things flashed past his mind—his grueling training sessions, all the times he injured himself in his pursuit for strength, moments where he pushed his body to the limit unbothered whether he would survive the night...
It was all memories from his childhood and young adult years.
Now as a 30-year-old man, he had given up the usual methods of training, instead relying on the methods martial masters from the past used—energy circulation, dantian cleansing, meditation, etc.
It was the so-called "spiritual training" so many young people of today wouldn't care to do since it's boring and difficult.
As he recalled his life's experiences, he then saw his father's face—body covered in armor as he smiled confidently—
Then it was revealed days later that his father combusted himself just to save others.
He sacrificed his life for a short burst of power that gave him the upper-hand.
Roderick used to loathe his father for abandoning his family.
But as he discovered more about his father's passion for studying this energy, the more he wanted to study it himself and succeed his father.
…
Roderick opened his eyes when he felt a warm sensation on his body. A transparent white energy, much more radiant and powerful than Ki, Sword Intent and Aura, surrounded him.
He felt stronger, more perceptive of his surroundings, could hear farther, could feel the wind clearer—almost as if he underwent a training session that paid off immediately. The grass beneath him felt softer, as if a single stomp could break it apart.
Roderick looked up, face to face with Arnold's glowing red eyes that sent chills down one's spine. The eyes of the Dragon God.
"Is this… what I think it is?"
"Yeah, it's Aether." He pointed to the side, "But you're not the one using it."
Roderick looked at where he pointed, noticing a humanoid spirit floating in mid-air. It wore a mask and beads around its neck, as well as a martial uniform of unknown origin.
"I-Is that my—But how!?"
It was his Martial Spirit.
"To awaken one's martial spirit, you don't need to be the strongest human—only among the worthiest few." Arnold pointed at his only open eye, "I can control lifeforce by manipulating someone else's Foundation. But instead of using that foundation for myself which can blind me forever, I forced it to use the Aether in your energy network to construct your Martial Spirit that couldn't come out before today."
That is one of the abilities of the Draconic Halo—controlling lifeforce itself.
"While it's impossible for you to achieve Equilibrium at this stage, you can still summon this guy to supply Aether for you, making you much stronger than before."
As if seeking its guidance, Roderick looked at it. It nodded silently. Huh, it seems this one isn't a loudmouth like Gederick's spirit.
'Shut up, human! You should be grateful I am not devouring this little green ball of energy inside your body yet you complain about my voice!?'
Ah, right he's still there. Arnold mentally apologized and asked it to leave the Ascension Pill's internal energy alone.
"Does that mean… I can harness the power of Aether now without fearing its repercussions…?" Roderick got on his knees as he looked up at the spirit, "I can… use my household's martial arts to their fullest potential…?"
"That's right. Don't overdo it, though. Aether may be infinite but it relies on internal energy to sustain itself otherwise you blow up."
Besides that, your body still becomes exhausted after using it for prolonged periods of time. To explain this simply: It's like having an infinite amount of food that provides energy to keep your body going but your body can't sustain that energy for an infinite amount of time without rest.
Arnold can probably fight for days on end while expending his Aether but he's not an idiot to think he can handle the Aether right now without the internal energy. He still has room to grow.
You could say he and Roderick are in the same boat. Well, Arnold can handle the combustion but Roderick obviously can't.
"W-What? But I don't have internal energy right now!" Roderick felt around his own body in panic, "Right! I should have cultivation pills in my bag!"
"Calm down, I shared some of my own. It should hold for a while but you should consider stocking up on cultivation pills before you use the energy."
It wasn't even 1% of his total internal energy but it's still enough for Roderick.
Arnold was actually inspired to gift his own internal energy, by what Roderick was trying to teach these students. Of course, he knows about the dangers of using Aether without internal energy so that's not the only reason.
But more than anything, he's curious how Roderick will influence the story if he achieves his goal and becomes much stronger than he was before.
To put into perspective how strong he is now, his stats surpasses Vance's when the spirit is summoned.
"How will I ever thank you for making my dream a reality…" Roderick's hands shook as he looked at the Aether surrounding him.
"You would've become a cripple if you continued treating Aether like Aura. I don't want payment since I did it out of my own free will."
"I see… Huh, your eye."
"Hm? Oh, it closed by itself after I tapped into your Foundation. It's not a big deal since it's just temporary vision loss."
No matter how much he tries, the eye won't open without him physical opening it. But he knows it's just temporary.
"U-Uhm, sir Arnold," one of his classmates came up to him addressing him in an absurdly respectful way, "I-Is it possible for you to help me a-as well? Learning Aether will literally change my life! I heard it makes you hundreds of times stronger!"
He closed his eyes as if he spoke out of turn, fearful of the answer.
In response, Arnold sighed, "If I could do that for everyone, I would turn it into a business so that I can get rich quickly. But not everyone is Professor Roderick whose martial spirit already accepts him."
Honestly, Arnold doesn't know how it works. All he knows is that he can see the martial spirit and bring it out only if the person is worthy of it.
In place of Roderick, the martial spirit is now the bucket while he's just the small cup constantly using the bucket's water. Of course, unlike Arnold, his will drain very fast so his path to mastering Aether is still quite long.
Hearing him, the classmate's shoulders slumped.
"What's wrong?" noticing Roderick scratching the back of his head, Arnold asked.
"It looks like I need to talk to the office about giving you two free periods from now on when you're supposed to get my class on Aether."