Thanks to the lady's treatment, I recovered enough to move about after just three weeks.
Without delay, I gripped my sword.
This world was like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.
If I just sat around zoning out and wasting time, destruction might crash down without warning.
I had to master the use of these visible waves as quickly as possible.
I swung my sword aimlessly, following the waves.
When I swung along the waves, an inexplicable vibration rippled through my entire body.
It wasn't just a simple vibration.
The instant I swung the sword following the waves, the tip trembled, and its power surged dramatically.
The amplification rate was nearly double.
My sluggish swing clashed with the sword of an ordinary knight, Sir Dolphin.
Rather than the harsh clang of steel on steel, a clear, resonant chime rang out.
Ping-!
Straight after, it was Sir Dolphin's sword that got flung away.
Sir Dolphin stared at me in bewilderment and asked,
"Ian, what did you do to that sword strike just now?"
"I don't know yet myself. It feels like enlightenment hit me after Bepart, but even I don't know exactly what it is..."
"Your talent never ceases to amaze me."
A sword swung along the waves amplified its power regardless of speed or muscular strength.
I continued sparring with the other ordinary knights, gradually grasping what the waves truly were.
With each round of training, the vibration I'd felt clashing with Bepart deepened.
It started in my muscles, then spread to my bones, nerves, and sensory organs.
Each time, the waves grew sharper and more defined.
Now, what had looked like paint splattered on a canvas appeared as distinct lines.
I decided to name it Wave.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Once my body fully recovered, I returned to the Special Task Force and resumed duties as team leader.
With Crim's death, I—the next most senior—naturally took over as leader.
Plus, since everyone else in the Special Task Force had perished against Bepart except me, their spots were filled with fresh recruits.
A pang of melancholy hit me over Yulen and Crim's absence, but I shook it off.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ian. What's your name?"
A bubbly blonde woman snapped a salute and replied.
Her healthy brown skin, rare in the North, stood out.
"Lierim here. I've heard the rumors—you're that devilishly charming guy who bewitched the lady and the knight commander, right? True or not?"
"...?"
"Huh, why the clueless look? Don't tell me it's not true?"
"I have no idea why these ridiculous rumors keep spreading. Anyway, no."
"The lady didn't visit your bedside every day, then?"
Freya Nordelheim.
Or as some called her, the lady—she'd shown up at my bedside daily, lugging a bundle of herbs.
Thanks to her, I healed fast, but it sparked yet another rumor, separate from the fiancée gossip.
"That... yeah, true."
"Why even deny it? You totally enchanted her."
"..."
Leading the Special Task Force, we hunted down monsters and Great Beasts.
All the while, I trained Waves without missing a single day.
Before long, I found myself focusing more on Waves than Aura Energy.
Waves simply proved more efficient than Aura Energy.
That dedication paid off—I could now channel Waves into weapons and project them outward.
The Wave-infused sword pierced straight through the Great Beast's armor.
A hole tore open in the chest of the werewolf-like Great Beast clad in what looked like plate mail.
Destructive power utterly impossible with Aura Energy.
That one Wave-loaded strike killed it instantly.
Through the gaping hole, I glimpsed a chunk of the obliterated snowfield beyond.
The trailing squadmates—Lierim and Nazar—gawked at me in shock.
"Ian, what the hell was that?"
"Reinforcements arriv—whoa! Do we even need to show up anymore?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Honing Waves made me steadily stronger, and more details came into view.
No longer just power boosts—I could now anticipate enemy attacks ahead of time.
By reading the Waves that shifted with their thoughts and emotions.
I'd reached a level where even the Order's ordinary knights couldn't touch me.
"I yield."
The training sword shattered, shards scattering across the drill grounds.
That made eleven straight wins.
Attack prediction and power amplification via Waves.
My win rate used to hover at 20%; now it neared 80%.
"How'd you pull that off, Ian?"
"A phenomenon I stumbled on by chance—Waves. Tough to explain yet, but it lets you read attacks in advance or amp up power."
"What the—that's straight-up cheating."
Using Waves, I devised a bunch of techniques.
Everything from preemptive attack reads to Wave-channeling strikes.
I bundled them under the name Wave Techniques.
Once I'd climbed to a decent proficiency, I set out to pass Wave Techniques on to the squad.
To supplant Aura Energy training, it had to be teachable.
But teaching Wave Techniques hit roadblocks right out the gate.
Lierim and Nazar included, none of the squadmates could even sense Waves, much less wield them.
Hell, I'd awakened to them purely by accident, so I had no clue how to make others feel them.
"Pfft, like anyone's seeing paint splatters or lines. Didn't you say even you only spotted them right before nearly dying, boss?"
"I-I can't see 'em either."
If I couldn't pass this on, it'd stay my solo trick forever.
But that wouldn't cut it.
This wasn't my battlefield alone.
It was a war we all had to fight together.
With no real progress, time slipped by until the second Greater Beast subjugation kicked off.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lycoris Radiata.
This Greater Beast had appeared six years back, but unlike others that hid their faces behind helms, it bared its features.
A human face twisted in agony swept across the frontlines.
This subjugation played out by encircling it with regular troops, then committing elite special forces.
The core plan: lock it in so it couldn't flee, then take it down with elites alone.
Eight special operatives took part, including Irena and me.
Since it healed by slurping up victims' blood, a small elite team was essential.
"Encircling complete...!!"
Irena bellowed, slamming the massive imperial banner into the ground.
"Commence subjugation!!"
At her signal, the eight of us—hidden amid the encircling troops—charged Radiata.
We dashed through, dodging its wide sweeps of blood thorns and spikes.
Smashing coagulated blood-iron gear, six of us broke through the harassment to close range.
The other two—Senric Veilheart and Rowenfall—fell piercing the outer defenses.
We slammed our weapons home from every angle around Radiata.
Frost lance, heavy hammer, double-bladed axe and shortspear, sword and great scythe.
Veterans forged in countless meat grinders, wielding every manner of armament.
Their pre-fight coordination paid dividends.
Striking from assigned spots, carving openings, handing off turns seamlessly.
After dozens of clashes—Radiata's group-fight specialty taxing us—the hammer-wielder Lunet Carewin lost his head.
Ignoring the crumpling corpse, a scythe rent Radiata's pauldron gap.
In that split-second right-arm freeze.
Frost lance and steel sword plunged through armor from both flanks, shredding flesh beyond.
"Kill the bastard!!"
"Galvard!!"
As the double-bladed axe arced down to behead it like a headsman—
-Thud!!
Galvard, gripping the axe, lost his head and crumpled to the ground.
His instantly slain body hit the dirt with a wet smack—no final cry.
A half-transparent Greater Beast manifested, trampling his corpse.
"What the fuck is that thing-!!"
"Goddamn it...!"
Screams of the dying echoed from troops surrounding Radiata.
Another Greater Beast led a monster horde in assaulting the lines.
Radiata slurped up the blood of fallen Carewin and Galvard, regenerating.
Irena gnawed her lip and glanced back.
I stepped in front of her, sword drawn in guard.
"...Commander, go aid the others. I'll take this one."
Her eyes flickered with turmoil once more.
Heavy guilt over potentially dooming yet another comrade.
I gave a wry smirk and added,
"It's fine. I'll pull through."
Comfort—for her, and for me.
Irena murmured softly,
"...Take care."
No response.
The instant Irena bolted to rescue other soldiers, I lunged at the two Greater Beasts.
This wasn't like Bepart, where I alone survived my comrades' deaths.
This time, I'd do more than buy time.
I'd subjugate them.