At the main gate of Astera, Bai Chen adjusted the buckles of his Knight's Set — the same rare-grade 3 armor he'd worn since arriving on the New World.
Truth was, the armor hadn't been useful for a long time. Ever since his Titan's Physique reached the Master Level, his raw defense had already surpassed its metal plates. The only reason he still wore it now—
was weight.
That bulk helped Steady his footing against colossal monsters; it gave his strikes a grounded anchoring weight like steel.
On his back hung three blades — Venom Erosion, Cursed Flame, and the Nergigante Blade.
That last one had already drawn attention. When Bai Chen had challenged the Smithing Guild's workshop weeks ago, the Second Fleet Captain had spotted it immediately.
Bai Chen's explanation had been smooth and simple:
He'd encountered Nergigante while meeting the Master Smith.
After a desperate battle, he'd survived — barely — and salvaged regenerative spines and materials from the slain beast.
Both the Second Fleet Captain and the Commander accepted the story without pressing. They might have doubted parts of it, but both were veterans who understood an unspoken rule—
Every hunter carries their own secrets.
So long as those secrets didn't endanger the Research Commission, no one had the right to dig deeper.
Outside the gates, in the open plains of Sector 4, Bai Chen halted. He unclipped a capsule from his belt and tossed it forward.
"Come out, Zinogre."
A burst of white light, a crackle of ozone — and the Thunder Wolf Wyvern crouched low, lightning dancing between its claws.
Bai Chen vaulted onto its back. The Master Smith followed, sliding into the front seat of the dual-saddle she'd personally crafted.
He weighed close to a ton now, but the beast hardly noticed; it only made his mount's leaps a touch shorter.
Bai Chen handed her a rolled map.
"You navigate."
"Yama!" she chirped, studying the parchment before pointing ahead.
The direction she indicated—where Bai Chen had once fought the Tobi-Kadachi.
He'd found Rock Dragonite ore there before. If they were going to track the juvenile, that was the best place to start.
As the Zinogre bounded into motion, Bai Chen opened the small booklet the Sword Master had given him:
"Aura" — neat, unadorned characters on the cover.
No lengthy prologue, no pomp.
The first page dived straight into the mechanics of Hunter Aura Flow — the technique that allowed ordinary humans to challenge monsters whose bodies defied reason.
He skimmed quickly; there were only twenty pages.
By the time he finished, his understanding had deepened.
Aura—Dōu Qi—was the refined control of the life-energy inside all living things. For hunters, it was the art of weaponizing vitality.
In the text, the Sword Master had even cited an example—
The Rajang.
A creature born attuned to the aura itself.
Its "Aura Mode" and "Aura Hardening" were instinctive—violent releases of power that burned through stamina at terrifying speed.
Unlike the Rajang, hunters had to learn the hard way.
Few could even graze the threshold of Aura Mode, and fewer still could sustain it without tearing their own muscles apart.
Yet there were exceptions—hunters who dual-wielded blades practiced a technique called Demon Mode, an early imitation of true aura release.
Bai Chen murmured under his breath:
"Elder Dragon Blood enhances my vitality… the Qi-Blade Breath enhances endurance… I guess each fills a different part of the puzzle."
He turned another page.
Ordinary hunters channeled aura through breathing; most knew only low-grade (rarity 3) forms.
The Sword Master, however, had refined his breathing and energy flow after studying Rajang combat data and debating techniques with the Grand Master of the First Fleet.
The result—his Qi-Blade Flow reached rarity 7, marked by three key traits:
Vast energy reserves.
Smooth internal circulation.
Broad, adaptive application.
Among those, the third was the real miracle.
He'd mimicked Rajang's hardening technique to forge a skill that reinforced his body's defense and power, and drew from Demon Mode to craft a simplified, sustainable version of aura transformation.
Bai Chen read the brief descriptions written in the Master's clean handwriting:
Aura Mode (Simplified):
Based on Demon Mode. Channels internal energy outward, increasing aura output and boosting all attributes at the cost of accelerated stamina loss. Ends automatically when exhausted.
Aura Hardening (Simplified):
Condenses aura to enhance cellular activity, dramatically increasing physical defense and striking force for a brief window.
He paused, thinking.
These weren't "skills" in the system's sense — no proficiency, no numerical growth.
They were techniques — their power entirely dependent on one's energy strength and control.
The notebook continued:
"A hunter capable of fighting for five hours normally can last only one hour under Aura Mode (Simplified). You trade endurance for might.
Using Aura Hardening on top of that shortens the window even more—but grants overwhelming strength."
Essentially: first form and second form.
Of course, no one expected hunters to glow gold like Rajang. At best, a faint crimson aura wrapped the body.
Bai Chen smiled faintly as realization dawned.
"So that's the secret behind his rarity 7 flow. It's the entryway to a Rajang's technique."
He turned to the final notes:
"The activation of Aura Mode is far more difficult than Demon Mode; Aura Hardening is harder still. Since I began refining it, fewer than ten hunters have ever achieved Aura Mode (Simplified). Only two have managed Aura Hardening."
Bai Chen nodded to himself, closing the book.
He had the body of an elder dragon and stamina far beyond human limits. Where fragile muscles and shallow reserves restricted others, he had neither weakness.
"If I push my energy output… and use aura flow to awaken the dragon-power sleeping in my blood—"
He grinned.
"—I wonder if I'll shine gold like a Rajang."
He chuckled to himself.
For hunters, aura transformation was pure innovation—a second-generation technique born from observation.
Compared to Demon Mode, it wasn't so far-fetched.
But if he used it—
with Elder Dragon Blood coursing through him—
The results might be far beyond imitation.
The Zinogre thundered forward beneath him, lightning rippling across the plains.
The hunt for the rock wyvern Basarios had officially begun
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