Chapter 126
Damian asked Hainel, “A condition?”
“Indeed,” Hainel replied. “If I am to dedicate my precious time to you, wouldn’t it be unfair if I did so without any meaning?”
Though Damian wasn’t entirely sure what Hainel meant by “unfair,” he nodded.
“I’m listening.”
“Just one hit. If your spear manages to touch my body, then I will allow you to leave.”
“...”
Damian felt momentarily speechless, but not because Hainel’s condition seemed unreasonable.
‘...This man...’
Damian instinctively swallowed.
When Hainel spoke those words, his eyes gleamed with an intensity that was hard to miss.
‘He’s enjoying this.’
Was he amused? Or was it that he had the luxury of being this confident in front of Damian?
Damian couldn’t tell.
“One hit, you said?”
“That’s right,” Hainel replied with a sly smile.
Damian’s gaze turned cold, and he nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
One hit.
No matter if Hainel was an Aura Master, if Damian couldn’t even graze his clothes, returning to his unit would be meaningless.
‘...This won’t be easy.’
Recalling Hainel’s earlier movements, Damian knew this would be anything but simple.
But that didn’t matter.
Regardless of the difficulty, this was something he had to accomplish.
“When would you like to begin?” Hainel asked.
Damian answered without hesitation, “Let’s start right now.”
“Good,” Hainel said, a wide grin forming on his face as he stepped outside.
* * *
Before dawn had fully broken, Damian woke up and immediately stepped outside the mansion, sitting down wherever he could find space.
There was no need to hide his mana-training techniques here, nor was there any reason to seek a safer location.
The air was rich with mana, and this place was more secure than anywhere else.
Inhale... Exhale...
Damian took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled for twice as long as he had inhaled.
Though the breathing was long, it wasn’t difficult for Damian, as this had become routine whenever he performed his mana training.
Feeling the magic circulating inside his body, Damian began to rotate it throughout his system.
After reaching the fifth star of his training, the magic within him had grown wild, rampaging like a frenzied stallion, beyond his control.
The stronger the magic, the more precise control it demanded.
But now...
‘...I’ve gotten better at it.’
Controlling the circulation of his magic had become more natural.
Of course, there were moments when, if he lost focus for even a second, the magic would try to go out of control again.
Damian clenched his fists, concentrating intensely, and spread the magic throughout every corner of his body.
“He’s quite the remarkable young man.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, and not just because of his skills,” Villipt said.
Before Damian’s arrival, Villipt had conducted extensive research on him.
It was only natural—understanding the person wishing to meet Hainel was part of his duty.
And the more Villipt uncovered about Damian, the more amazed he became.
At the mere age of thirteen, Damian had enlisted in the army.
He had graduated at the top of his class from the training camp and, instead of avoiding it like many others, he requested a transfer to the Neokalitz Unit of Erkal.
Could this even be real?
The Neokalitz Unit was one of the five most dangerous units in the kingdom at the time.
And that wasn’t all.
“After just one year in the Neokalitz Unit, he managed to completely resolve the problem in the Bronselian Forest.”
Villipt had even sent a letter to Baron Wilkis Diel to confirm this, as it was Baron Wilkis himself who had recognized Damian’s contributions.
“And is there more?” Hainel asked, clearly intrigued.
As Hainel raised his wooden sword made from ironwood and pointed it at Damian, he gave him a calm but firm warning.
“You’ll need to fight with everything you’ve got.”
Damian nodded in acknowledgment.
Hoo...
Taking a deep breath, Damian gripped his spear and focused on Hainel.
The concept of ‘level’ or ‘rank’ that Hainel had mentioned still wasn’t entirely clear to him.
But there was one thing he understood for sure: his attacks didn’t work on those called Aura Masters.
‘I must abandon my certainty,’ Damian thought.
Confidence and certainty were crucial in battle.
But in this moment, he needed to let go of certainty.
He had to constantly doubt—question whether his spear would land, and if it didn’t, what his next move should be.
In a single movement, he had to consider dozens of scenarios and immediately transition to the next one.
Swoosh
Damian began organizing the countless thoughts racing through his mind.
He would stay aware but move fluidly, adjusting to the situation with the best possible response.
In other words:
‘Keep a cool head, but let your heart burn with determination.’
With his resolve fully set, Damian charged at Hainel without hesitation.
Thud!
With a powerful step, Damian darted toward Hainel, swiftly shifting his body.
Though his spear had a longer reach than Hainel’s sword, Damian knew that distance wasn’t everything.
‘Think of it as if Hainel has another sword and keep the maximum possible distance between us,’ he reminded himself.
He had to maintain the full extent of his spear’s range at all times.
If not, Hainel’s speed would overwhelm him, just as it had before.
Swoosh!
Hainel’s eyes gleamed as Damian thrust his spear from a distance.
‘Oh?’ Hainel thought.
Has Damian already found some kind of solution?
Though Damian’s control over magic was still rough, his combat instincts were commendable.
‘He understands his strengths and analyzes his opponent well,’ Hainel observed.
Those qualities were essential for a soldier, especially a commander leading troops.
A single mistake in his judgment could cost his subordinates their lives.
However...
“You’re still far from ready,” Hainel muttered.
Maximizing the distance between yourself and your opponent meant attacking from afar.
While the tactic was sound, the current level of Damian’s thrust wouldn’t reach Hainel.
Swish!
Hainel easily deflected the spear and closed the gap between them.
Since Damian had to recover his spear from such a long distance, it gave Hainel ample time to move in.
Swoosh!
Like a bolt of lightning, Hainel surged forward with a speed matching the aura of his lightning-based power.
In the blink of an eye—
No, before Damian could even recover half of his spear, Hainel was already within his guard.
Damian twisted his body in response, instinctively knowing he had no time left.
Swoosh!
Damian swung his right elbow toward Hainel’s face.
With no time to retrieve his spear, this was the only option he had to push Hainel back.
‘Please land...!’ Damian thought desperately.
But contrary to his hope—
Clang!
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain shot through Damian’s elbow as he cried out.
With a simple twist of his wooden sword, Hainel had effortlessly deflected Damian’s strike.
And with Damian’s upper body now completely exposed, Hainel calmly said, “Rest now.”
Damian, seeing Hainel’s strike aimed at his solar plexus, muttered, “...Damn it.”
Before he could react, everything went dark, and Damian lost consciousness again.