Karnak, Monarch of Death

From what Varos had observed, Leven was undoubtedly a diligent person. Whenever given the opportunity, he never slacked off and devoted himself wholeheartedly to training.

And yet... Damn, who knew someone could be diligent without being steadfast?

Leven had an innate talent for swordsmanship. There was no doubt about that. No matter what technique he encountered, he could mimic it after seeing it once or twice, quickly grasping its core and making it his own.

The problem is that his outstanding talent was overshadowed by Emil’s presence.

It was the environment he grew up in. Leven could imitate almost any technique with near-perfection. The keyword here was near, not absolute perfection. About 90% complete, perhaps?

In real combat, that was good enough to be considered fully mastered. Even skilled warriors wouldn’t notice the slight gap. But stopping there meant he could never break past the wall of aura awakening. This was why having a great mentor was essential.

The difference between almost perfected and fully perfected was subtle, so subtle that only a warrior at a higher level could bridge that gap.

In her past life, Lapicel had received training from the martial king Beltia at a young age. Thanks to that, she had easily overcome this stage and steadily walked the path of the sword.

On the other hand, Leven was hindered by Emil. Naturally, as brothers, they would have trained in swordsmanship together. Both were highly talented, and both would have excelled. The problem was that Emil’s talent was slightly greater.

If Leven could reach about 90% completion on his own, Emil could reach 95%. And at that point, Gellard had simply filled in the remaining 5% for Emil before moving on to the next stage.

Which means Sir Leven has been stuck at 95% all this time.

The bigger issue was that Leven was undeniably a genius. If he had been merely an ordinary talent, he would have kept trying and trying until he finally broke through by sheer perseverance, just like how Serati had awakened her aura.

But Leven’s swordsmanship was already so refined. Even when he analyzed himself, he felt he was executing his techniques flawlessly. And yet, Emil had succeeded while he had not. His confidence had gradually eroded, leaving him feeling like he was doing something wrong.

His father only paid attention to Emil, telling Leven that he was doing well enough and nothing more. He made subtle adjustments to his techniques with each strike, constantly changing and refining it.

For an ordinary person, disregarding instructions and doing things their own way would have only made them weaker. But with his exceptional talent, even his improvised changes never strayed from the principles of swordsmanship.

As a result, each adjustment naturally became a new technique, another form of swordplay. He had devoted himself diligently to swordsmanship, yet he had never truly committed himself to mastering a single technique with unwavering focus.

But to awaken aura, one has to dig deeply into a single thing.

That said, it wasn’t entirely a wasted effort. One could say Leven had trained in swordsmanship in an incredibly broad and extensive manner. In a way different from most swordsmen, he had still built a solid foundation.

That was why, despite awakening aura later than others, he had risen to the rank of martial king at an astonishing pace, because the scope of his swordsmanship was vast.

Well, that’s a matter for the future. Now, he understood Leven’s problem. If he had built a solid foundation in his childhood, his talent would have naturally blossomed on its own. But he got caught between Gellard and Emil. Naturally, things went awry.

Of course, that didn’t mean Leven would never awaken his aura. Even if he wasted more time like this, he would eventually become an aura user, probably in his mid-to-late twenties, like most others.

But he already had the ability to awaken his aura right now. Wouldn’t it be a shame to let that potential go to waste? Varos considered how Gellard had trained Leven. Now that he understood the reason behind Leven’s stagnation, finding the solution wasn’t difficult.

After losing Emil, Gellard had reportedly pushed Leven relentlessly. However, his teachings hadn’t been anything extraordinary or unknown. In fact, quite the opposite.

He merely started doing what he should have done all along. Losing his eldest son finally made him act like a proper mentor.

It seemed that even the great martial king wasn’t necessarily a great father or teacher. Regardless, now that he had found the answer, all that remained was to turn Leven into an aura user. Only then did Varos realize a problem.

”Wait... huh?” He understood how Gellard had trained Leven. ”But that’s not something I can do right now, is it?”

***

”You can’t do it? Why not?”

Varos shrugged. ”This method requires a certain level of aura reserves to pull off.”

When dealing with lower-level swordsmen, simple explanations and demonstrations were enough. But pinpointing and correcting the subtle gaps in the techniques of a genius like Leven?

”For that, I’d need to use aura to guide him with precise feedback during every technique he executes. And with my current aura reserves, that’s impossible.”

”Is aura awakening really that difficult?” Karnak tilted his head in curiosity. ”Serati managed to do it on her own without a teacher, didn’t she?”

”That’s because Serati is a well-balanced talent.”

Being a well-balanced talent didn’t necessarily mean being inferior to a genius. It simply meant having evenly developed talents. Serati was someone who could succeed by diligently following a well-established, proven path.

”Honestly, whether someone is a genius or a normal talent, humans aren’t all that different from one another. If they put in the effort, most of them reach a certain level eventually. You’ve seen that with me, haven’t you?” Varos explained.

”Fair enough. There’s no point expecting too much from humans,” agreed Karnak.

”In fact, if Sir Leven hadn’t been born into the Strauss family and had trained in swordsmanship under normal circumstances, he would have become an aura user ages ago,” Varos continued.

For Leven, his unique upbringing had actually been a disadvantage. Of course, that very hardship had allowed him to rise to the rank of martial king faster than others after his aura awakening, so it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

In any case, Varos could now clearly see Leven’s shortcomings. But he lacked the ability to correct them. ”At the very least, I’d need to reach the purple-tier before I could do it.”

Serati was also only at the blue grade, so she was equally incapable. And with her skill level, she wouldn’t even be able to recognize Leven’s flaws, let alone point them out. Varos could only do so because his soul had once reached the level of a martial king.

Clicking his tongue, Varos muttered, ”I know the problem, and I know the solution, but I have no way to implement it.”

Karnak gave a calm nod. ”So, all you need to do is show Leven a fully perfected technique, right?”

Then, as if it were nothing, he casually shrugged. ”Doesn’t sound too hard.”

”Huh? How?”

***

The group stood in the private training hall of the Zestard estate, which was discreetly built in a secluded area.

Leven glanced around, tilting his head in curiosity. ”Does this really have to be done in secret?”

He had followed them here after being told they would conduct special training for his aura awakening. But as soon as they entered, they locked the doors behind them.

Could it be some secret aura awakening method passed down within the Zestrad family?

He doubted it. As impressive as Karnak and Varos were, there was no way the same could be said about the family itself. Honestly, the family itself is nothing special.

Meanwhile, Serati frowned as she looked at Karnak. ”You’re really going to do it?”

”Yeah.”

She asked again. ”Are you sure it’s okay?”

”And why wouldn’t it be?” Karnak replied casually, gesturing toward Varos.

Varos approached and bowed his head without hesitation.

Leven’s expression stiffened. What’s that...?

Hadn’t something similar happened when they fought Demphis?

”Wait a minute. What exactly are you...”

He opened his mouth to speak, but Karnak’s incantation was faster. ”Open your mind and accept it! This is the command of your master!”

Varos’ eyes glazed over, his movements becoming eerily mechanical, like a puppet on strings. At the same time, Leven’s expression changed completely.

What the fu...?!

Karnak had used necromancy to transfer Varos’ soul into Leven’s body. Since Leven was also bound to Karnak, there was no resistance to the possession.

”Oh, Sir Leven’s body is quite well-trained, I must say.”

After flexing his arms and legs briefly, Varos—inside Leven—drew his sword. Then, he focused his mind. A brilliant red glow coursed along the blade.

A voice, tinged with regret, escaped Leven’s lips. ”Really, with a body this good... why hasn’t he managed to do this yet?”

***

The crimson aura sword sliced through the air. The blazing red glow of the blade carved elegant arcs again and again.

”Hup! Haa! Hah!” With focused shouts, Varos steadily demonstrated his swordsmanship.

Rather than a combat maneuver, it was a practice drill, a display designed to show Leven the proper flow of aura. After cycling through basic forms, he moved on to special techniques, ones crafted specifically for Leven.

A dazzling crescent-shaped dual slash gleamed in succession.

—Over Kill!

And immediately after, a powerful downward strike crashed like a waterfall.

—Down Hill!

Varos was deliberately using aura to execute techniques Leven himself had created. He conveyed the exact sensation of wielding them.

Watching, Serati tilted her head. ”Will he really learn aura just by watching that?”

This wasn’t the first time someone had attempted to elevate their level through possession.

She asked, ”Didn’t you say the person would go insane before that?”

”Yeah, but Leven’s a genius. So, you never know, right?” Truthfully, Karnak hadn’t expected much. It was just an experiment with nothing to lose. ”Even if it fails once or twice, there’s no real risk.”

”But still, we can’t do this many times. Don’t you think it’s a waste of opportunities?”

Before Karnak could answer, Varos answered in his place. ”Oh, that’s not a problem. Sir Leven’s body isn’t exactly valuable, after all.”

Regardless of his past life, in this one, Serati was still a higher-tier aura user than Varos. Possessing her body had been a clear advantage. But Leven?

”My own body is already stronger. There’s no reason for me to steal his in a fight.”

So, it was better to put it to use like this while they had the chance. After executing a few more dazzling maneuvers, Varos, inside Leven, sheathed the sword. ”Looks like time’s almost up.”

If possession lasted too long in one session, the host risked losing their mind. It was best to release it before that happened. Karnak lifted the spell. As Varos returned to his own body, Leven collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.

”How was it?”

”My god... what the hell was that...?”

Serati felt a twinge of sympathy as she watched Leven’s shaken form.

Yeah, that’s a normal reaction.

She had been possessed twice before herself. She knew all too well how disturbing it was to feel your own body move as if it belonged to someone else, or so she thought.

”Aura... was that simple?”

”Huh?”

Leven’s reaction was completely unexpected.

”It almost makes me angry thinking about how much effort I wasted.”

Muttering in frustration, he drew his sword again. Then, he flicked it slightly. Instantly, a crimson aura ignited along the blade. He had awakened his aura with laughable ease.

”So that’s how it’s done. Huh.”

Watching him mutter as if it were nothing, Serati couldn’t hold back her grumbling. ”Ugh. That’s so annoying.”