Chapter 139: Studying Battle Aura 2

“Wasn’t it supposed to follow the meridians? Could the book be wrong, or do the people of this world simply know nothing about meridians?”

Kent muttered to himself in confusion as he continued studying the book. Yet the more he read, the more a strange suspicion began to take shape in his mind. Could the qigong he had practiced back on Earth actually be an unconventional form of Battle Aura?

According to the book, the stronger one’s body, the more Battle Aura it could store. If that was true, then wasn’t his own body exceptionally well suited to cultivating Battle Aura? Even a three-headed Hellhound had been unable to bite through his flesh.

But what mattered most to Kent was another detail: cultivating Battle Aura would continuously strengthen the internal organs.

And that was precisely what he needed most right now.

“The Source of Battle Aura?”

As he continued reading, Kent discovered that cultivating Battle Aura required the practitioner to circulate energy through something called the Source of Battle Aura. Unfortunately, the book never explained where this source was located.

In fact, the entire text offered little more than a general introduction to Battle Aura, without any detailed instructions on the actual cultivation process.

Judging by its incomplete contents, Kent suspected that the book had probably been picked up by the previous owner of his spatial ring by accident and then forgotten among the other items.

“What am I supposed to do now? Should I try to figure it out myself? My body can already absorb magical elements, after all. But should I cultivate Battle Aura along the meridians, or follow the bones as the book suggests?”

Kent’s injuries had almost completely healed, but he was now troubled by a different problem: how exactly was he supposed to learn Battle Aura?

In the Underdark, mages were indeed not particularly well suited to close combat. More importantly, Kent desperately wanted to find out what kind of power he could unleash if he learned to wield Battle Aura while using the weapons stored in his spatial ring.

At first, he had considered asking Daphne for advice. But the thought made him laugh at himself.

He was clearly so desperate that he had begun looking for help in all the wrong places.

Daphne was a magic archer. How could she possibly know how to cultivate Battle Aura?

After pondering the problem for several days, Kent finally made up his mind to experiment.

“Absorb magical elements, merge them into the body, and then establish the Source of Battle Aura. The Source of Battle Aura... Could it be the dantian?”

Kent had never discovered where the so-called Source of Battle Aura was supposed to be located. Since the book offered no explanation, he decided to experiment with the area around his dantian.

“Idiot! Are you stupid? Wasn’t Manda a knight before? Why don’t you summon him and ask?”

Just as Kent was about to begin cultivating Battle Aura according to his own theories, Niuniu’s voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

Kent’s eyes immediately lit up.

Of course! Manda was an undead knight. Surely he knew how to cultivate Battle Aura!

Kent quickly recited the summoning incantation.

As the spell came to an end, a six-pointed star appeared on the ground, and Manda materialized before him along with his mount.

A long-distance summoning spell like this had a limited duration, so Kent wasted no time waiting for Manda to speak first. He immediately asked the question that had been troubling him.

“Master, cultivating Battle Aura is actually quite simple,” Manda explained. “All I need to do is use my own Battle Aura to establish the Source of Battle Aura within your body. After that, you simply have to circulate the energy within that source continuously, while absorbing more magical elements and merging them into your body. Those elements will gradually be transformed into Battle Aura.”

“When you need to use it, all you have to do is release the Battle Aura stored within your source.”

“However, if you cannot establish the Source of Battle Aura, or if the source cannot circulate energy properly, then you simply lack the talent to become a warrior. And besides...”

When it came to Battle Aura, Manda was unquestionably an expert.

But halfway through his explanation, he stopped and looked at Kent, as though there were certain things he found difficult to say aloud.

Kent frowned and ordered, “If you have something to say, then say it. Stop beating around the bush.”

“Yes, Master.”

Manda bowed his head slightly before continuing.

“To establish the Source of Battle Aura, your body must first reach a certain level of physical strength. Otherwise, the process itself could damage your body.”

His words carried an unmistakable implication: Kent was a mage, and his body might not be suited to cultivating Battle Aura at all.

“Don’t worry. My body is perfectly fine. Just go ahead and establish the Source of Battle Aura for me!”

Kent waved his hand dismissively and gave the order as though it were the most trivial thing in the world.

After all, even the razor-sharp fangs of a three-headed Hellhound had been unable to pierce his body. Surely his physique was more than strong enough to withstand the process of establishing the Source of Battle Aura.

“Very well, then, Master. But if you find yourself unable to endure it, please tell me immediately, so that I can stop before...” Manda said hesitantly, clearly still concerned about the risks.

He extended one arm and placed his hand against Kent’s lower abdomen.

Kent immediately felt a cold, sinister energy swirling around inside his belly. With his current level of mental strength, he could even perceive what was happening within his body.

A grayish-white mass of energy was spinning continuously near his lower abdomen. With every revolution, it absorbed magical elements from his body, transformed them into Battle Aura, and then sent the converted energy back into his body.

"Huh?"

Manda suddenly let out an astonished cry as he sensed what was happening inside Kent.

Clearly, he had discovered something quite extraordinary.

What astonished Manda was that Kent’s body seemed practically designed for cultivating Battle Aura.

Ordinary people had to undergo years of continuous physical training before they could even begin cultivating Battle Aura. Their flesh, muscles, and bones all needed to reach a certain level of strength before their bodies could withstand the process.

And even then, not everyone possessed the talent required to become a warrior.

To cultivate Battle Aura successfully, a person needed to meet three essential requirements.

First, their body had to be sufficiently strong.

Second, they had to be capable of sensing magical elements.

Third, they needed mental strength far beyond that of an ordinary person to drive the Source of Battle Aura and enable it to absorb magical elements.

Without any one of these three qualities, cultivating Battle Aura would be impossible.

The requirements for becoming a mage were even more demanding in certain respects. A mage needed not only to sense magical elements but also to possess elemental affinity. Furthermore, the minimum mental strength required to become a mage was at least five times that of an ordinary person.

Manda had originally been worried about Kent’s physical constitution. Since Kent was already a mage, there was no doubt that he could sense magical elements and possessed sufficient mental strength. His only potential weakness was his physical body.

With that concern in mind, Manda had carefully begun channeling his Battle Aura into Kent’s body, intending to forcefully establish a Source of Battle Aura within his lower abdomen.

The Source of Battle Aura functioned much like a converter, transforming absorbed magical elements into Battle Aura. Since magical elements came in different varieties, Battle Aura itself could also be divided into numerous elemental types.

Manda’s own Battle Aura, naturally, belonged to the necromantic element, a particularly rare variety on this continent.

However, the moment Manda’s Battle Aura entered Kent’s body, he felt an enormous force suddenly pulling at it.

Before he could react, his Battle Aura began pouring into Kent’s body and merging with it.

The energy contained within Battle Aura was extraordinarily powerful. Under normal circumstances, the physical body of a mage should have been unable to withstand its destructive force.

Manda couldn’t help hesitating.

"Come on! What’s wrong with you?"

Seeing Manda stop after letting out that startled cry, Kent asked impatiently.

"Master, if you find yourself unable to endure it, just cry out. I’ll stop immediately."

Unable to make sense of what was happening, Manda could only remind Kent once more to be careful.

"Fine. If I can’t take it, I’ll let you know."

Kent paused briefly before agreeing. He understood that establishing the Source of Battle Aura would probably be a painful process.

Manda began channeling another small stream of Battle Aura into Kent’s body.

After all, Kent was his master. If Kent were injured by Manda’s own hand, Manda himself would suffer the consequences, so he had to proceed with extreme caution.

Yet what happened next left Manda thoroughly bewildered.

Every time his Battle Aura advanced a little farther into Kent’s body, most of it would dissipate.

The Source of Battle Aura was supposed to be established in the lower abdomen, but Manda’s energy had barely traveled any distance before it began disappearing. By the time it should have reached the intended location, almost all of it had vanished.

Manda glanced at Kent, expecting to see signs of pain or discomfort.

Instead, Kent looked perfectly fine.

In fact, he even seemed to be enjoying himself.