The basic concept of Aura operation is divided into 6 categories.

An accumulation which builds up a mystical power inside.

Reinforcement which exerts the power accumulated.

The hardening which makes it bearable for the body.

A flowering/ blooming of the sharpening of senses.

Concentration which gathers the aura in one place and seeks for a greater power.

Finally, the manifestation of the power which radiates the power outside the body.

Among them, the first 3 are the first set and the second three are the second set.

And Irene Pareira had already learned all of this.

Naturally.

If he hadn’t accumulated the aura in the first place, he wouldn’t have reached the level of Expert, and he wouldn’t have been able to wield his sword like he did.

And he wouldn’t have created a body which was strong enough to withstand the aura.

But did that mean that Judith’s theoretical education was useless…?

‘No.’

Apart from the first point of the first set, ‘the build up’ which depended on each individual,

The concept of reinforcement, hardening, and blooming were helpful.

The wastage of power consumption was cut in half with the help of the explanation, which was previously being done by instinct and senses.

However, even more important than that were the other two concepts, concentration, and manifestation.

‘The slashing of the sword by the man in the dream which I have used till now was based on these two concepts.’

The aura of the body flowing through the sword. It didn’t stop there, but it also held the aura firmly and did not let it scatter.

Putting heart and soul into it and releasing the concentrated energy.

That was manifestation. And it was the essence of the slash which Irene used.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing that could be done with concentration and manifestation.

Concentrating ‘energy’ on others was the most basic applied technique, and it used a similar principle to scatter energy, similar to Bratt’s water-like shield.

The spark-like energy which sprang up from Judith’s sword and the haze which rose on Charlotte and Victor’s swords were all similar concepts.

But Irene didn’t want any of the above.

“Sigh.”

Standing in the center of John Drew’s training room, he took a deep breath.

Thanks to the power of sorcery, Irene was always able to maintain perfect concentration, and when he tried this, he could feel his senses becoming sharper.

Every cell in his body.

The aura in the body.

All of it was drawn out as if his hand could grasp it.

The moment he was contemplating that, Irene raised the aura.

Wooong….

Not in a hurry, but not too slowly either, the energy which came to the great sword was concentrated evenly.

The aura that filled the sword now was a lot more than what he used in the past slashes.

However, it still felt fine to control. The use of the Krono type aura operation eliminated the waste of power, and Irene’s aura had increased a lot after the confrontation with Grayson.

In other words, it could be said that Irene completed the ‘process’ enough to challenge the status of a ‘Master.’

Wooong…!

Of course, just because the amount of aura was large, it didn’t mean that he knew the aura sword.

Irene would have to concentrate the entire huge power onto his sword.

And strengthen it enough to cut through anything.

Conversely, he must harden it so that it doesn’t get split by anything.

In the midst of such a situation, he would have to be sensitive and be stable enough to not lose balance.

While keeping all of this perfect, he would have to manifest the aura outside his body.

But.

Wong… woong…. Woong!

Despite having perfectly mastered the five steps, Irene couldn’t get the final one done.

He sighed.

“Sigh…”

He knew that it wasn’t an easy task.

This was completely different from the slashes he did.

The aura sword, which needed the person to pay attention to all six points at the same time and handle it carefully, was the most difficult one to do.

However, Irene was frustrated was because of a different reason.

‘Why do I feel like the sword is sucking in the aura each time I manifest it?’

And it was. Irene was confident that he had enough skills to pull out an aura sword.

But when asked if Irene could use it in a real situation, then it was a doubt, but Irene had reached a point where it was strange if he couldn’t do it when he was practicing.

Because there have been times when he almost succeeded.

However, each time he came close, the sorcery sword sucked in the aura.

Like a hungry child craving for mother’s milk.

Each time he did, he felt as if not just the aura, but his mental strength was also slowing down and being absorbed.

The fortunate thing was that the sword, which absorbed Irene’s energy, was giving out a different atmosphere.

The appearance was still the same.

Old, clunky, and a blade which didn’t seem proper; it was the same blunt weapon.

However, that didn’t matter now.

Woo!

Wooo!

‘Somehow… I feel reassured.’

A strange feeling Irene couldn’t put into words.

It wasn’t a bad strange, rather a nice one.

Irene, who thought for a while, shook his head and concentrated on his sorcery sword again.

A few days ago, he was tempted to pick up and listen to another sword.

But he didn’t. His so-called sorcery instinct was turning him obsessed over this one sword.

Of course, his judgment now could maybe lead him to bad results, but for now, Irene decided to put his worries aside.

Because the time he had left was too short to doubt and be anxious.

At that moment, the door of the training room opened, and two people entered.

It was Judith who coached Irene for 40 days and Grayson.

Judith, who came closer, asked.

“How is your condition?”

“Not bad.”

“Will this be enough? Your opponent is a former champion, you know.”

“I need to beat the current champion; I can’t be getting scared of the former one.”

“That is true…, ugh, I don’t know, you’ll figure things out.”

“That is right. Mr. Pareira won’t be pushed back. Of course, don’t slack off with the opponent just ahead, but…”

Judith and Grayson spoke with concern.

They had no choice but to be worried.

Ricardo Pinto, the former champion, suddenly appeared after a month’s hiatus.

It was because Irene could only get to challenging the current champion if he could defeat the former.

‘Ricardo Pinto’s skills are…well needless to say he’s at the top level of Expert.’

Grayson’s expression hardened.

Having the Sword Master Harrison Pinto as his father, Ricardo was a great man who couldn’t be defeated by anyone except for Jet Frost five years back.

And he must surely be stronger now.

However, it was even more worrisome that the sword he inherited from his father was the rarest one in the world.

‘The 1st Vulcanus Numbering Sword… among the masterpieces of Vulcanus, this sword is known to be the most complete.’

Perhaps, that was why Ricardo Pinto was back.

A sword which was good enough to be safe when handling aura sword attacks.

And if his perfect swordsmanship was added to that, then Ricardo would have the chance of winning against a novice master.

Perhaps, only Ilya Lindsay existed in his head.

For the past 40 days, Irene Pareira had been focusing on training without a single match.

‘Still, I have both a story and fame, so if I can win this match, I will be qualified to challenge the champion right away…’

Could he win?

Irene didn’t think he was at a disadvantage.

However, it was true that Ricardo Pinto’s power was formidable and that victory wasn’t guaranteed.

Judith too looked at Irene with a stiff face.

“I will definitely win. don’t worry.”

To the two, Irene showed unwavering confidence.

And it wasn’t a simple bluff just to cheer them.

Woong!

Wooong!

He swung his sword.

A more sophisticated sword thanks to the smoother aura operation he learned.

Grayson gulped while Judith looked at it strangely.

Irene, who swung the sword, spoke with a faint smile.

“If it is the first numbering sword… then he is the perfect match for us.”

March 29th

A good time when the long winter was just over and warmth was spreading, another big match was held in the Land of Proof.

Ricardo Pinto, the strongest expert, who resigned from the position of champion five years back, appeared in the arena once again.

His opponent was Irene Pareira, who wasn’t ordinary.

For a swordsman of 22 years, he was young.

However, he defeated all the strong men of the west and was one gate away from challenging the champion.

If Ricardo won this match, he would have a chance to pay back for the loss he suffered a long time ago.

The onlookers predicted the win and loss of the match.

“Who will win?”

“Won’t it be Ricardo? They say that no one can beat him among experts.”

“Right. Besides, the Vulcanus numbering sword… maybe even a Sword Master could be defeated.”

“But the appearance which Irene Pareira has shown is great too, right? The fact that he came this far.”

“Hm, but…”

“Besides, if you look at the sword, the young man’s sword is pretty great too; he said it was a sorcery sword or something?”

In the midst of debating who was stronger, people expressed their various opinions.

Of course, most people chose the Vulcanus numbering sword.

No matter how great the sorcery sword was, it was difficult for it to lose with a sword made by the greatest blacksmith in the world.

“Huh. Right. Why even compare the swords.”

Ricardo was well aware of the audience’s reaction.

He couldn’t not know. He looked at the magazines and saw countless articles.

And the media was quite open about the arena and the gladiators.

However, for him, having his name on the same page as his opponent was unpleasant.

With a wild smile, he waited for the match to start.

‘I admit that he will be a genius who will go down in history.’

Maybe in 10 years, or even 5 years, he might lose to this opponent.

But not now.

With the numbering sword, he inherited from his father, his confidence had skyrocketed.

And then.

“Start!”

Kang!

Kang!

Kakang!

At the referee’s cry, he watched Irene Pareira wield his great sword…

He couldn’t help feeling anger and ridicule at the same time.

His opponent’s intentions were so obvious.

‘This child, right now he…’

He wasn’t aiming at Ricardo but at his sword to break it?

Ricardo Pinto laughed inside and stared at Irene Pareira.