" Taaake....THIS!! "
A swing came up toward my chin, the uppercut just barely swiping by as I stepped back, delivering a powerful forward kick in response. Else's elbow came down and her hand twisted, catching the kick and absorbing the shock. She was pushed back just a bit, Aura seeping from the hand she caught my kick with. Elise was starting to get a better grasp on hand-to-hand combat with a stronger opponent. In cases where your foe is physically stronger and more capable than you, it's best to mitigate damage and use counter-movements to lessen attack potency against yourself.
" It seems in addition to being an Aura prodigy, you're a quick study! "
I increased my Aura flow, wrapping the golden color around my legs. I could finally properly use applications against Elise without feeling like a cheater. As my Aura's density increased, hers did as well. Her Aura had still been colorless despite all this time, in spite of the fact she knew how to use applications.
" Remember what I taught you! When fighting an opponent with a colored Aura while you wield colorless, you must focus on defense. Your attacks won't compare! "
This was partially true. If someone had been an Aura master, no matter if it was colorless or not, they'd crush anyone with lesser mastery. She definitely could become that kind of master with my teaching…however…there is still merit in teaching defense to a hotheaded woman like her.
* BOOST—DASH *
All the power that I had welled up within my lower region exploded, allowing for a thunderous kick-off. Gold Aura enveloped Elise's, putting pressure on her body before my attack could land. With enormous speed, I spun around to Elise's side, driving a powerful spinning backkick to her liver. Elise defended wonderfully by not coming into contact with the attack at all, instead deciding to use the Aura she too built up to jump into the air. But even when she made a good move, a more experienced fighter could make a better one.
* JUMP *
I jumped into the air, reaching out and grabbing onto Elise's leg. It would be obvious to anyone watching the sparring grounds what I had been about to do. My grip tightened and we began to descend.
" Brace yourself! "
Cheerily I shouted out to her, giving a fair warning, before bringing her down with me and releasing my grip on her leg the moment I had used my strength and Aura application to my arms to bring her below me at fast enough speeds that she'd be thrown down into the ground well before I would land. Her back crashed into the ground, kicking up dust and dirt while I came down on top of her, threatening to deliver a punch straight to her sternum from high up nearly 4 meters in the air.
Elise, however, recovered. She threw herself off to the side, managing to evade my crashing blow, causing my fist to slam into the ground and cause a crater to form.
* CRASH—CRACK *
The ground split apart a bit, a divide appearing between Elise and me. She looked stunned, as if to say "That was uncalled for!"
" That was totally uncalled for! "
Wow, she actually said it. Blunt.
" Your opponents won't hold anything back. If you're going to be my student—you have to be ready for the most outrageous counterattacks. "
While I may have had a rather gentle face, at least I'd think so, I'm not shy to admit that my teaching style was rough around the edges. But the world wouldn't coddle her. And if I wanted to save everyone—
" Oh well! It's time I get outrageous then!! "
Elise hopped up, cutting my train of thought in half as she ran toward the training weapon rack that was held at the sparring grounds. Though these were weapons that were meant to train Knights and Guards, they were sharp. The general training Instructor believed that a real threat to life would awaken a warrior's true talents the best.
I agree.
" You want to try weapon-combat now? "
" That's not all! "
Elise grunted, Aura suddenly filling the area more than before. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was showing off. Her Aura washed over me, making a few of my hairs stand on end. If this had been three weeks ago, I wouldn't have felt the slightest bit threatened. However, now, Elise had steadily been approaching the territory of Organ-Strengthening. Even if I had a higher Aura capacity and more experience than her, getting hit by an attack from someone at that level wouldn't be easily brushed off.
" I thought about what you told me about colored Aura! And I'm finally getting it! "
Like I thought before, Elise was a quick study. She was a hothead and aggressively pushy. However, she did take a step back often enough to learn. And just a few days ago...
. . .
" Takumi! "
Not many people referred to me as that and so despite walking through a crowded cafeteria, I could tell who was calling out to me. However, her voice was certainly distinct. Rough yet ladylike and capable of soft tones too.
" Elise? What's up? "
" Isn't it about time you taught me something for real?! You've been stuck to that stupid Witch's side for the past week! "
" 'Stupid Witch'? "
She must've been referring to Brina. I don't know if it's wise to speak ill of a Mage of her caliber, however, it's not like she had the whole Royal estate bugged. Right...?
" C'mon! Teach me something—I'm ready! "
" You think you're ready, huh? Well, I guess I can give you some instructions. "
Walking a bit further into the cafeteria, I sat in my usual spot. No one seemed to want to bother me, possibly due to me being the Hero but also maybe because I was surrounded by high-profile people all the time. So I got the luxury of sitting all by myself when it came time for me to get something to eat.
Elise excitedly sat down next to me, not minding personal space. My face turned a bit red, sighing. I had been mentally much older than her, however, she was older than me when I first came to Theatera. It was sometimes hard to compose myself in this teenage body.
" Well, listen closely! "
I smiled, pushing aside my tray of food before holding out my hands and beginning to form Aura around them.
" You see my Aura, right? "
" Yeah, of course I do! "
Elise copied me, releasing her Aura around her hands too, as if to say of course she could see it, she was an Aura user too.
" But don't you notice something totally different about our Auras? "
She took a moment before perking up a bit, examining my Aura, and turning to me.
" Yours is gold and mine is white? "
" Well, to be more precise, your Aura isn't white. It's colorless. Colorless Aura doesn't have any pigment and isn't affected by surrounding darkness due to it being a metaphysical energy. So! it simply appears as energy. When our energy is produced without pigment, it appears white. "
" Then why does your Aura have a color? "
" To understand why, you'll have to understand what Aura truly is. Aura is the Soul's Power. It can only be awakened through strenuous training or direct exposure to it. And the rare few are born with it as an inborn skill. You see, the cultivation and mastery of Aura depends not only on your physical abilities but your mental acknowledgment of it as well. "
" What exactly does that mean? "
" Well, if a mentally healthy person uses Aura, they will be able to wield it as they please, capable of feats of strength and even internal regeneration, albeit slowly. But...when a mentally corrupted person wields their Aura, they will be crushed under it. This is because Aura is all the power of one's Soul made manifest. A hearty Soul will thrive and a distraught one will fail. "
" But...What does that have to do with your Aura having a color? Are you saying that I'm unable to produce a color because I don't have a hearty Soul? "
" Not exactly! "
I had simply been explaining what Aura was in essence. Now it had been time to fully lay out what Aura was. And for that, I threw a punch, a sharp and quick jab. It whipped the air, causing an audible sound to be produced. When I did so, my Aura flared, the golden color increasing in saturation, becoming brighter.
" It got brighter! "
" That's right. You catch on fast—When your body and heart acknowledge a weapon as the most comfortable weapon for you, your Aura will begin to evolve and gain its unique color. Of course, there are only so many pigments eyes are capable of seeing. And so, the color range of Aura is known as the 'Prismatic Scale'. "
" So...the reason your Aura is always gold is... "
I raised my hands, smiling a bit as I did. Despite my appearance, in both this world and back on Earth, I trained in Martial Arts. The only weapons in all of existence I'd ever feel comfortable wielding is my entirety itself.
" Because my body is all I need. This extends to my legs, my torso, and head. My whole body is the weapon and so my Aura is always gold. But when I use my striking techniques, my Aura does increase in brightness, as I am a natural striker. "
Elise looked rather surprised. After her lesson, I returned to my meal while explaining the benefits of wielding colored Aura, like the flow of it being much smoother, all in hopes that Elise would try many weapons to find what suits her best.
. . .
And just as I had expected, she chose a sword. Elise was a swordswoman through and through. Elise's Aura wrapped around herself and her sword, now producing a bright crimson-red hue. The Aura she produced was immense. Elise in my previous run of things certainly wasn't this strong at this period in time. If she had been—no way she would've been so easily executed. But because of my Aura awakening hers, she was easily over ten times stronger than she should've been.
Will this cause a major disruption in the future?
Truthfully, I hadn't cared. I widened my stance, entering a more relaxed and flowing style. My Aura warped the very winds around me, whipping about in utter excitement. Thanks to Elise pushing me constantly, my Aura capacity was beginning to reach what it once was. If when I had first gone back in time it was forty percent...It would now be roughly seventy.
" Ready...Set...G— "
" HALT! "
A loud voice roared out, loud enough that you would think the man screaming had used a megaphone. Though, in this world a megaphone would be known instead as a "Loud Voice" or "LV" for short. The technology in this world had rather hilarious names at times. I broke my stance, looking in the direction of the voice, hoping it wasn't a nuisance.
" Just whose sparring grounds do you think you're in? Unleashing colored Aura like that—and not a word to me no less! Be ashamed!! "
And upon hearing that voice, I realized who it had been. It was a man so outrageous that it wasn't crazy to call him a Demon incarnate. It was someone more devilish than even the most deranged of Oni. It had been...
" Instructor?! "
I instinctively yelled out, immediately pulling all my Aura back within myself and straightening my posture. The man who had yelled out at us had been the very same who treated me to six months of utter hell. The Demon Instructor of the entire military that existed to serve the Human Territory.
Wearing what could only be described as a drill sergeant's attire with a regal jacket that hung off his shoulders, he sported a military hat you would've thought came from a regime. His boots were high yet were made for combat, digging into the very ground he stood on. And his piercing golden eyes stared down at both Elise and me, not letting up for even a moment. His clean-shaved face showed nothing but agitation and the slightest of grins.
Not a good thing.
This smiling monster had been...
The "Elite General Training Instructor", Yulius von Asteria.
CHAPTER 26 END