Chapter 139: A Successor To Entrust (3)
Ray watched Zik, who had holed up in the training ground for over a week, diligently creating aura blades.
Seeing him clumsily but successfully create an aura, Ray felt a renewed sense of pride.
Just a few more days of hardship should do.
Ziks progress was visibly fast.
Once shown the way, his learning speed was frighteningly quick.
Even then, he had become a match for most Sword Masters with his unbreakable, solid aura and high maintenance ability.
What remained was purely his skill in wielding the sword.
Of course, he had to sharpen his swordsmanship on his own.
Rays lips curled into a satisfied smile, thinking of Zik taking on troublesome tasks in the future.
A few days earlier, Ray, preparing to leave the Holy Kingdom for the Grensia Mountains, was pleased to see Zik arrive.
Now Zik was the one who had to protect the Holy Kingdom in his stead.
After making him strong, it was time for Zik to prove his worth.
Zik knelt down abruptly.
I apologize. My abilities were insufficient, and it took me more than a week.
Ray waved his hand dismissively.
Its fine, its fine. But how about the aura? Can you maintain it with the half-broken sword now?
Yes. As you said, focusing on maintaining the shape made it easier than I expected.
He seemed surprised by his own achievement.
Honestly, he thought it was impossible, but following Rays guidance, it began to feel achievable.
He had spent just over two weeks engrossed in creating aura blades.
Even this pace was incredibly fast.
Ray nodded, pleased.
Now there was only one thing left for him to teach.
Follow me.
Ray, leading Zik to the training ground, drew his wooden sword as usual.
However, this time, he completely shattered the blade part of the sword.
Holding the handle of the now bladeless sword, Ray said,
Use what Ive taught you to block with all your might.
Understood.
An aura blade sprang from the handle Ray was holding.
When the aura took the shape of a sword, Zik gasped in awe.
Anyone who had practiced even briefly knew the prodigious amount of mana control required for that singular feat.
Gathering mana, perfectly blending it, and then releasing the aura took immense skill.
Furthermore, maintaining the shape with only a handle presented a significant challenge.
Without precise control, the aura would lose its form and shatter with a single swing.
Yet Rays aura remained steadfast, not wavering for even an instant.
It might as well have been a real sword, devoid of even the slightest fluctuation.
Zik swallowed hard and channeled aura into his broken sword.
Before long, a properly shaped aura blade materialized.
It was an aura forged through considerable hardship.
Come at me anytime.
Zik tensed every muscle, his focus entirely on Rays every move.
However, Ray simply advanced toward him, gripping the sword casually.
As Zik fixated on the blade, bracing for an unpredictable assault, Ray slowly lifted it.
My lord, you underestimate me.
From that posture, the variety of attacks was limited.
A downward stroke, slicing from top to bottom, was a fundamental technique.
The sword carried formidable momentum, but against another aura blade, a block wasnt out of the question.
Zik met the descending strike with an honest block.
Contrary to Zik, who raised his sword diagonally to shield his head, Rays sword traveled in a direct line.
Just as the auras neared collision
Ive blocked it.
Zik was convinced.
Yet the anticipated sound of clashing swords never came.
Rays aura had dissipated just shy of touching Ziks, vanishing within that slender margin of time.
As the handle Ray clasped continued its trajectory and cleared Ziks aura,
A fresh aura blade burst forth from Rays sword.
Ziks eyes bulged.
The once diminutive aura blade now loomed as large as a mountain, bearing down on him.
An overwhelming surge of mana hovered mere inches from his forehead.
The sheer slicing power of the aura blade paralyzed Ziks senses.
He felt as though death itself was only moments away.
He was certain he had blocked it.
His sword had intercepted the path of Rays perfectly, and under normal circumstances, the collision of their auras would have created a loud noise.
Ray withdrew the mana and carelessly threw the handle-only sword onto the ground.
This is the last thing you need to learn. How does it feel to experience it firsthand?
Zik, who had been standing stiffly, finally regained his senses.
I couldnt block it
Its an unblockable sword.
Is there really no way to block it?
Well
Ray paused, seemingly in thought, then his expression brightened with an amusing idea.
Find a way to block this sword before I return.
Eh? But I Im not even sure I can perform it yet.
You can. Everything Ive taught you has led to this moment.
Zik had to concede when Ray, looking serious, assured him.
If the one he revered said he could do it, then it was his duty as a subordinate to make the impossible possible, right?
He nodded faintly.
I will try my best.
Good. Look after the Holy Kingdom while Im gone.
I will defend it with my life.
Now Ray could depart with a measure of tranquility.
He had imparted all he knew.
What was left was Ziks speed in manifesting the aura and anticipating the enemys moves.
Once Zik grew more accustomed to the aura, he would surely be able to wield the sword technique Ray had demonstrated.
Having received Ziks commitment and with nothing more to instruct, Ray hastened to prepare for his journey to the Gronsia Mountains.
Though peace appeared to reign, the war was far from over.
Following the Necromancer incident, the Holy Kingdom, having purged the rebels, found itself in a precarious state with a depleted army.
Furthermore, the relentless war and the pressure from Proxia had drained the kingdoms finances.
The neighboring nations, instead of allying against Proxia, remained silent and indifferent in their own councils.
In this dire situation, Ray had no choice but to act.
He looked up at the sky, frowning.
Did you bring me here for this? Do something. Your country is falling apart.
Though he expected it, no response came.
At that moment, he wondered if the god of this place was deaf.
The preparations were lengthy, but the departure was swift.
With the Pope and nobles of the Holy Kingdom preoccupied with rooting out heretics within the kingdom, slipping away was not a difficult task.
He simply said he was going into the mountains for a short time to pray and receive Gods response, and they readily agreed.
Anyway, if he could sell even a non-responsive God, it would be satisfying enough.
As his journey into the mountains was known to be for prayer, there were no guards accompanying him.
Traveling along the mountain range north of Selonia, crossing a village, and then ascending again, he would soon reach the Gronsia Mountains.
The route was quite simple, but the distance was far, and it was cold enough to feel as though the gods were maliciously toiling with him.
Ray, with a sturdy backpack filled with various necessities, embarked on his mountain journey.
Dressed in a thick fur coat and a robe with a deep hooded cloak, his face was completely hidden.
Crossing the cliffs of Selonia and climbing the giant mountain range behind, the temperature dropped rapidly.
It was bitterly cold, seemingly for a reason other than just the altitude.
Even wrapped in mana, he felt the cold.
Ugh this weather is ridiculous. Are you doing this because I complained?
He muttered to the sky, but still, no response came.
He wondered if he really was a saint in such a situation.
Shivering as if hit by a wide-range ice magic, Ray chopped some wood and started a fire.
Fire.
Whoosh
The sight of the fire catching instantly reminded him of the convenience of magic.
During his baptism, he couldnt use mana and had to light fires manually, but now he didnt have to suffer that inconvenience.
He would have liked to set the entire mountain range on fire, but that would have led to a massive wildfire, especially since it was extremely dry due to the cold weather.
Setting fires carelessly here and there could even reach Proxia before he did.
Ray placed a pot over the fire and filled it with water.
Water.
Watching the firewood burn with a crackling sound warmed both his body and soul.
He skillfully tore the dried meat and vegetables he had brought and stirred them into the pot.
Given the temperature, he didnt need to worry about monsters.
What mad monster would choose this freezing place as a habitat?
He wouldnt have come here if not for a necessary task.
Soon, he ladled the deliciously fragrant soup into a bowl and took a few sips.
The warmth spreading into his stomach seemed to chase away some of the cold.
This was Rays first experience with a cold region in this world.
The cold was unlike anything from the modern world, making him wonder if an ice age had begun.
It was unbearably cold!
This place was an environment unfit for living creatures.
Despite having applied Heat magic to his clothes before entering the mountains, the cold that penetrated the magic made him want to applaud.
It seemed he would have to camp here for the night.
With deft hands, he gathered snow to create a windbreak and set up a tent behind it.
After applying reinforcement and Heat magic to the windbreak and tent, it could easily withstand even an accidental trampling by an Ogre.
Once inside, the tent was surprisingly cozy and warm.
They say leaving home is hard, but he was truly suffering after leaving his mansion.
The hardship, pain, and resentment were evenly distributed between God and Proxia.
As Ray thought about unleashing all his accumulated grievances one day, he drifted off to sleep.
Since he needed to start early the following day, it was better to sleep early.
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