A month had already passed since he came up the mountain.
Life in the crudely built hunter's cabin was bearable.
Thanks to the steady supply of clean clothes and food from the estate, he had no worries about sustenance, and he could change his tunics immediately if they got dirty.
Moreover, Julian, who had grown accustomed to sleeping outdoors while living with the vagabonds of the Ragged Brotherhood, also possessed the talent to sleep anytime, anywhere, as long as he could lie down.
"Shall I train hard today as well!"
Julian, who had found a flat stone slab a few days ago by chance, sat cross-legged and breathed.
Thanks to concentrating properly on his aura breathing for the past month, he had accumulated a considerable amount of atmospheric energy in his core.
Furthermore, Julian had reached a new realm, which was to sleep while maintaining his aura circulation.
"I'll be in your care today as well."
Before beginning the sacred ritual of napping, Julian greeted his body, which would be accumulating aura on its own.
While Julian was napping under the pretext of training, Kaelen sat in the cabin and chewed on a rare mana-root.
"As expected, the richest house in the Silver Province is different in some way."
In front of Kaelen were expensive elixirs and mana-roots, the prices of which were whatever one called them.
With the heart of a parent wanting to help their child's studies even a little, Cedric had searched everywhere and spent a fortune to obtain these alchemical potions and precious roots.
"It's a pity... but I can't give them to that kid now."
Kaelen, who had swallowed the mana-root that should have originally been Julian's in one bite, hid the rest of the elixirs under the cot.
It wasn't because Kaelen was an old man steeped in greed.
He had his own reasons...
"If that monstrous kid drinks elixirs too..."
Julian, who was already accumulating aura several times faster than ordinary squires, would have his mana core expand at an unmanageable speed if he were to take precious elixirs.
If that happened, Julian would surely demand to descend the mountain, saying that this was enough, so for the time being, he had to keep the potions away.
No, he had to make sure he didn't even smell the elixirs.
"I can't let that happen! No! Absolutely not!"
He planned to keep him for at least twenty years and teach him the Aetheric Ten Blades.
Kaelen, who had already formulated a plan in his head, muttered as he thought of Julian, who was probably sleeping somewhere under the pretext of training his mana core.
"Now, then... shall we start building up his physical vessel."
Now that his internal aura had a certain foundation, it was time to learn martial forms.
Kaelen left the cabin and approached Julian, who was circulating his aura from a distance.
"Get up now."
An ordinary squire would have been so focused on circulating their aura that they wouldn't have heard the external sound, but Julian was different.
Julian, who opened his eyes immediately, blinked.
"What is it?"
"Your mana core has a certain foundation now, so it's time to train your external combat forms. In other words, it's time to build up your body."
"Whaat!?"
Julian was startled and glared.
"But this apprentice's aura reserves are still far from sufficient! Shouldn't I continue to cultivate my core as if I were dead for at least another year?"
At Julian's uninhibited speech, Kaelen's thick eyebrows twitched.
'You're insufficient? Then are all other knights crippled fools?'
There were plenty of things he wanted to say.
But since it was Kaelen himself who had made Julian this way, instead of scolding him, he waved his hand.
"A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Hurry up and follow me!"
"Yes..."
Julian followed Kaelen with his lips pouted.
The place they arrived at was a training ground that Kaelen had recently made by pulling out all the trees and leveling the dirt himself.
"Take off your tunic."
"M-My tunic? Why?"
As Julian wrapped his slender arms around his chest and looked at him with a distrustful expression, Kaelen flared up in anger.
"I'm trying to check your body's condition, so stop with the useless thoughts and just take it off!"
"Yes."
As he slowly took off his fine silk tunic, Julian's slender and fair body shyly revealed itself to the world.
"Hmm...!"
A pale white skin that looked as if it had never seen the light of day.
Slender arms and torso that looked as if they had never developed any muscle.
Even the minimal muscle that a person develops through daily life did not exist in Julian.
'It's more serious than I thought.'
Julian's body was so serious that he didn't know where to even begin.
"First, we will start physical conditioning from today. First, do as many push-ups as you can."
Scratching his cheek, Julian placed his arms and legs on the dirt and lifted his body.
"Ugh—!!"
Tremble—!
Quiver—!
His two arms and legs trembled like a leaf in the wind.
"What are you doing?"
"Ghk!!"
Julian trembled all over, bent his arms, and collapsed into the dirt.
"Keck!"
After that, Julian's body did not rise again.
"You can't even do one!? Hah... what a mess!"
This time, he was serious.
Julian struggled to even support his body with his arms, let alone do one push-up.
And the corners of Kaelen's mouth, who was looking down at him pathetically, slowly rose.
'That's it! With this, you'll have to do nothing but physical conditioning under me for at least ten years!'
If aura training doesn't work, then with martial conditioning!
Having found an excuse, Kaelen sternly ordered.
"From today, you will start physical conditioning as I instruct! Do you understand! You will not rest for a single day!"
"..."
No answer came from Julian, who was sprawled in the dirt.
"Are you listening to me?"
"...Kuu."
Was it because he had used too much strength?
Seeing Julian, who had fallen asleep in the meantime, Kaelen felt his vision go dark.
"The heavens are truly heartless."
It was truly an unfair thing.
Why on earth did the heavens gift this laziest person in the Empire with the blessing of an Astral Vessel?
It was something that a mere mortal like Kaelen could not possibly understand.
But he couldn't back down like this.
'The Aetheric Ten Blades must be recognized as the greatest sword art in the Empire! Only then can I crush that arrogant fool from House Valerius's face!'
Recalling the white-haired old duke who had looked at him with contempt, Kaelen ground his teeth.
"Get up! You lazy bum!"