Chapter 209
“Alicia, your first goal is to acquire the ‘Red Aura.’”
After slaughtering numerous Altifes in Rubid Village to help Alicia overcome her trauma.
Vargan made a proper contract with Alicia by granting her curse magic.
He mentioned the primary goal she needed to achieve.
“Red Aura… you mean?”
Alicia, who had just begun getting used to the sword, didn’t even know what the existence of the Red Aura was.
Vargan nodded and added an explanation for her, who knew nothing about it.
“It’s the power to wield anything. To be exact, it refers to a level reached by a select few weapon users.”
Though it’s often said that only chosen swordsmen can use aura, the exact scope applies to all martial artists who use weapons.
Vargan explained that it is commonly referred to as iron-fisted swordsmanship since it’s the most popular tool used.
“I understand now.”
Even though Alicia was exhausted from the grueling battles against Altifes, she concentrated so as not to miss a single detail.
“Alicia. Swordmages inevitably primarily consist of swordsmen. Once you achieve a certain level of magic proficiency, it’s more efficient to spend most of your time on swordsmanship.”
“I will keep that in mind. But Young Master… didn’t you just say that only a minority of chosen people can use the Red Aura?”
“That’s right. If you become a hero, you’ll encounter that minority, but overall statistics remain as they are. Do you have questions about this?”
“Yes. I worry if I could even dare to step into the ranks of such remarkable individuals… Ah!”
“You fool! How many times must I educate you before you come to your senses!”
“Ugh… I’m sorry…”
Alicia cradled her throbbing forehead in her hands. His fingers were always harsh, and her eyes were brimming with tears.
Vargan repeatedly emphasized the fact that he personally traveled to a rural village to hire Alicia.
Alicia seemed to reluctantly acknowledge her talent.
Unhappy with this, Vargan flicked her forehead again.
The spot he hit began to swell red.
Vargan said, almost scolding, “The Red Aura is a new starting line, not a finish line.”
“…Yes.”
“Even after the Red Aura, there are countless mountains you must overcome. How can you be so frustrating? Listen closely. By your second year, you must reach the level of the Red Aura and then sprint toward your new goal.”
“So… after one year and six months, I’ll have to be able to use the Red Aura when I enter my second year?”
“Exactly. …Well, even so, I think it will be tough to master the Red Aura right after completing two years of magic training.”
Vargan considered that there were too many conditions to achieve the Red Aura, making it unlikely to happen exactly in two years.
Due to the many conditions, it seemed unlikely that it would be possible in exactly two years.
No matter how insane the talent, it would take at least two years and a few months, right?
At that moment, Alicia pondered deeply before asking.
At the time, her curiosity was purely out of curiosity rather than a burning desire to succeed.
“What conditions need to be met to reach the realm of the Red Aura?”
To that, the Golden Knight Arterion replied.
It was the day when Alicia first started training with Arterion.
“First, you must establish your attribute, and you need to be able to control your Yuuki (sharp energy).”
“Yuuki… I can currently establish my attribute. So if I learn to control Yuuki in the future, will I automatically be able to use the Red Aura?”
“Not exactly.”
At Alicia’s enthusiastic question, Arterion gently shook his head with his eyes closed.
His ancient eyes then fixed on Alicia.
“If you can control Yuuki like your own limbs, then you need to push yourself into extreme situations afterward.”
“Extreme situations…?”
Alicia tilted her head at the somewhat vague concept.
Arterion kindly explained using his own case as an example.
“Early in the first semester, I locked myself in my room, not eating or drinking, solely focusing on my sword. I immersed all my magic and senses into it without the constraints of time, maintaining a motionless stance.”
With mana circuits spinning non-stop, his body temperature rose as if he had caught a bad cold.
Only after pouring out every bit of his stamina was Arterion barely able to cross the line between Blue Aura and Red Aura.
Right before collapsing.
Surpassing the limits defined by the Blue Aura.
‘Desperate effort.’
That was the last condition to reach the realm of the Red Aura.
And now.
Alicia clashed with Arha in their match.
Even if she felt like she would lose consciousness, she somehow held onto her wits and stood up.
A mighty shield that could not be pierced by the Blue Aura.
In return, Arha’s reflected magic came back with force.
Like hitting a rock with a twig. She repeated meaningless actions over and over.
But enlightenment struck, and she eventually managed to use the Red Aura.
Just a year and six months.
That was the time it took Alicia to use the Red Aura.
The result of insane talent and endless effort.
Alicia’s swordsmanship was stained red as it clashed with Arha’s reflected magic.
Crack—.
Just moments ago, it would have bounced back, returning all that energy as damage to Alicia.
However, now Alicia’s sword was gradually eating away at Arha’s reflected magic.
Arha was visibly flustered, furrowing his brow in resistance.
He unleashed multiple-element magic alongside his reflected magic, and Alicia activated Curse Magic while infused with the Red Aura.
Boom, bang—!
With a fierce wind pressure and explosion resonating, when the arena finally revealed itself through the thick smoke.
The crowd erupted in cheers, and a victor was decided.
* * *
After the match with Alicia, Arha left the arena early.
Even though the match had long since ended, the crowd was busy shouting Alicia’s name, praising her desperate struggle.
Bang—!
Arha hit the dark corridor wall, fury boiling inside him.
Since he didn’t cast reflected magic, his bones cracked, and blood oozed from his skin, but he didn’t care.
He was so consumed with rage that he couldn’t even focus on the pain.
‘What the hell is this…!’
Arha had won against Alicia.
The one who advanced to the semifinals was none other than Arha.
Even knowing that fact, Arha’s insides were in turmoil.
Winning wasn’t what mattered.
Winning was only the logical conclusion.
It was a one-to-one situation.
The problem was that process.
Despite putting all his power into it, Arha was evenly matched with Alicia, and he “barely” claimed victory.
It was a situation where one wrong move could have led to defeat.
“The difference in practical experience was clear… I learned magic before Alicia…!”
Just the thought of Alicia achieving enlightenment in the middle of the competition and breaking his reflective spell was infuriating, and he had no choice but to acknowledge her skill with both sword and magic.
Alicia was so accustomed to combat that it felt like he was fighting a veteran hero who had seen it all.
It was only because Alicia had sustained so much damage early on that he was able to win.
If Alicia had been able to use her red aura from the start… he might have lost.
That fact made Arha grit his teeth in frustration.
“That’s not all. Just a few weeks ago, the gap between us was significantly larger. Yet that gap has narrowed rapidly. Am I being outdone by talent…? Me? Me, who has a slower growth rate than others…?”
The word “effort” didn’t fit Arha.
To her, magic was just a toy.
What was once a form of entertainment was sufficient to overwhelm the achievements of others just by playing around with it.
Arha found joy in that process.
When she implemented a spell that normally took criminals three years to complete in just three days, the thrill of looking down at the dazed criminal in disbelief was exhilarating.
The overwhelming superiority she felt when she easily surpassed the elites who had started studying magic much earlier.
The joy of witnessing despair on the faces of those hailed as geniuses who she crushed with her “talent.”
While the magic itself was intriguing, the process of growing and the helplessness shown by others was the biggest reason Arha researched magic and found it fun.
But this time, Arha felt relative deprivation for the first time in her life.
The so-called “inferiority complex” was an extremely unpleasant and irritable feeling that almost made her scratch her face with her nails.
“What went wrong…? There’s no way my talent is lower. Absolutely not. Is it the difference in environment…? Academia and Rikeion? Wait, Alicia said she had been trained by Vargan for a long time. So, does Vargan have something special?”
Arha was anxious.
She tried to find the source of Alicia’s rapid growth by looking for issues from the outside.
Although she was falling behind in practical experience, in terms of magical achievement, Arha still held the lead.
She couldn’t let that lead slip away.
She absolutely couldn’t allow it.
It was her exclusive privilege to crush opponents with her talent.
“What the hell. What allowed you to grow so fast…!”
Even though Arha had sustained quite a bit of damage in the match, she didn’t bother with healing magic or even professional treatment.
She merely simmered while mulling over her furious voice.
Then Arha suddenly said,
“Don’t talk to me. This isn’t the time for a conversation with someone like you.”
At some point, a member of the Student Council had approached her.
That familiar acquaintance was blocked before they even had a chance to speak, and under normal circumstances, they would have backed off.
…Under normal circumstances, that is.
—I want to talk to you.
Arha grimaced at that mockingly laced reply.
Was someone trying to tease her right now?
She was already in a bad mood and struggling to overcome it, and this guy was subtly unleashing his mana.
Arha stopped her thoughts about Alicia and glared.
The mana, reacting to her emotions, surged up like a furious wave.
“I told you to back off, didn’t I?”
The mana from each of them began to intertwine in the air.
Like static electricity, they glared at each other, rebelling against each other.
—You think you can hold on in that condition?
At that mocking voice, Arha lost her grip on reason.
Arha let go of her rationality in the voice.
She seized the reins of the undulating mana and unleashed a spell.
“Looks like you want to die. I’ll turn you into mush.”
* * *
Meanwhile, above the arena, Alicia was receiving emergency healing magic.
Her body was mostly bruised and fractured.
Minimizing her body’s burden before being carried on a stretcher and restoring her tangled mana circuits to their original state was a top priority.
“Young Master… I’m so sorry.”
Through her barely opened narrow eyes, she caught a glimpse of Vargan.
Unable to raise her body, Alicia knew it was rude, but she had no choice but to lie down.
Exhausted of all her stamina and mana, she could only manage to speak.
Vargan looked down at Alicia.
“What are you talking about?”
“I lost even though you had such high expectations. …I’ll gladly accept any reprimands from this.”
Alicia didn’t only have her sights set on the red aura.
She genuinely wanted to win the match.
That’s why, despite reaching a new level, she felt inadequate and maintained humility.
To such Alicia, Vargan said,
“This is ridiculous. You’re making me repeat what I told Liam.”
He added, wondering just how harsh a master he must be seen as.
“The difference between you and Arha was clear. What I wanted from you was not victory in these petty contests.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“You seem to have a deep understanding of me, yet at times like this, you always act dull.”
He knelt closer to Alicia.
With his finger, Vargan lightly poked her forehead.
His expression was a bit mischievous, as if he found her inability to move amusing.
“Do you remember what I said before?”
“Which time are you referring to…?”
“The red aura. I thought the fastest time you could reach that would be in two years.”
Vargan said there was no need to narrow his view.
When he looked at the bigger picture, the rankings in this final exam were not that important. The world was on the verge of destruction; what did it matter what order they were in?
Despite knowing Alicia well, he thought it would at least take her two years to reach her current level. In fact, even that seemed highly unlikely.
No matter how crazy of a genius, there are limits, after all.
However, once again, Alicia pleasantly defied his expectations.
Vargan pointed that out.
“It’s only natural to rejoice when you twist my plans like this. What you deserve is not my scolding, but praise.”
“Y-Young Master…”
To borrow a metaphor from Paula in the past.
Alicia’s remarkable achievements were truly at a level that wouldn’t be out of place in textbooks.
Vargan smiled faintly.
Though his eyes were covered, his eyes must have been crinkling with joy.
“With such excellent results, how could I scold you?”
“……”
Between Alicia’s tightly shut eyes, her blue irises rippled like calm waves.
Yet, the center of the ripple stood firm and unwavering.
The smile forming naturally resembled the shyness of a girl, delicate and cautious.
“…Thank you, Young Master.”
Alicia spoke sincerely.
She didn’t see her achievement as her own.
Only her mistakes belonged solely to her. As for the glory, it was entirely due to—
“It’s all thanks to you, Young Master.”
“Still the same.”
Vargan chuckled softly.
No matter how rigorous the training, no matter how much he pressed her body and mind to the limits.
Alicia was still Alicia.
“At times like this, it’s okay to show off a little. You foolish girl.”
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