Chapter 322: There is a Reason Behind Strength (3)

No matter how much someone built muscle and honed their techniques, it wouldn’t be comparable to even a handful of aura unless they completely mastered their techniques. Even a knight who just learned aura could face a hundred people. The gap between ordinary people and aura users was that great.

Those aura users were slaughtered by three-star knights, and the three-star knights were slaughtered by five-star Masters. Moreover, the ones that could kill even such five-star Masters like ants were seven-star Primes.

There was only one reason such things were possible. Authority. A power that turned the impossible into the possible by materializing one’s will in the world.

Sefira had nearly been annihilated because of a single Prime with Authority. Ghost Face Slayer Cray. His Authority, Seen and Slain, infinitely unleashed attacks upon those who perceived his blade, regardless of distance or numbers.

Even though Sefira didn’t have a Prime, it was guarded by many members of the Order of the Galaxy, the strongest knight order of the family, as well as three or more Master-class knights. However, all of them were powerless before a Prime.

They had escaped disaster because Dudu of the Seven Stars of the North risked his life to buy time, and because the ability user Luke had stepped in. If even one of the two had not been there, they wouldn’t have been able to stop Cray. Then, all of Sefira’s key figures, including Hissop, would have died.

Of course, that didn’t mean a Prime wasn’t invincible. He couldn’t have annihilated all of Sefira alone because Authority wasn’t something that could be used infinitely.

In any case, Authority was essentially the same as granting nation-level power to a single individual. And yet, Keter just said he possessed two such Authorities. It was the first time Daat, who had experienced all kinds of things in Liqueur, had heard of such a possibility.

“Is that even possible?!”

“It seems my Authority from my previous life followed me into this one. So now I have two Authorities.”

“

Wow

...”

“Right. Admire in the meantime. I’ll be back.”

“You’re trying to leave? You haven’t even told me what the Authorities are yet.”

“I told you there were two, didn’t I?”

Daat furrows his brows. He had felt something was off from the moment Keter said he would tell them so readily.

As Keter tried to leave the igloo, Daat reached out his hand.

“Big Brother, I’ve improved too, you know?”

The inside of the igloo distorted. Daat had manipulated the space, making passage impossible. However, Keter didn’t stop walking.

Seeing this, Daat pompously said, “I’ve twisted the space in here. No matter how strong you are, you shouldn’t be able to get out. So just tell me—

huh?

”

Daat let out a dumbfounded sound, and for good reason. Keter casually walked right out of the igloo.

“

Huh?

How did that happen?”

Daat felt along the walls of the space he created. A twisted space would return to its original state due to equilibrium, but until then, even the one who twisted it couldn’t restore it themself. Yet, Keter passed through it as if it were nothing.

“That won’t work at your level, Dork.”

With that, Keter just left, but Daat was trapped in the space he had made and couldn’t follow after him. Still, it wasn’t like he hadn’t made any progress. He had gained an idea of what one of Keter’s Authorities was at the very least.

“It’s an Authority befitting of him.”

Daat figured out one Authority, but he couldn’t even guess the other, making him feel like he would go crazy due to curiosity.

***

Hitting a target at five hundred meters. That was difficult for Sefira’s soldiers, but it wasn’t an impossible task for knights.

However, once the condition of using only aura was added, the difficulty rose exponentially. The sustainability of aura was extremely weak, and even the Order of the Galaxy had a limit of only three hundred meters.

Keter’s training method immediately took effect and improved the base sustain of aura, but even so, it only increased the range by about fifty meters at most.

Just then, Nelson, the first to hit the five-hundred-meter target, shared the secret of long-range shooting.

“Split the aura that will become the arrow into several chunks. Make an arrow no bigger than a fingernail first, then layer a slightly larger arrow over it. If you gradually increase the size of the arrow that way, the sustainability of the Aura Arrow increases greatly.”

Nelson’s method was easier said than done. It required far more aura, and shaping it was difficult as well. Still, Nelson patiently stayed by their side and taught them step by step. It was less for goodwill and more for survival. After all, if everyone didn’t pass, they couldn’t move on to the next stage.

Even after learning Nelson’s technique and extending their range, the trainees’ limit was one hundred meters. They were still fifty meters short.

Just as everyone was feeling helpless, Katherine’s quick wit came into play.

“Instructor said to hit the target, not to destroy it. So give up power and speed and focus only on sustaining it. Just focus on making the hit.”

“

Oh!

”

It was a thought anyone could have had, but the pain and chaos had been so overwhelming that no one had thought of it, so everyone was amazed at Katherine.

With the help of Nelson and Katherine, all ten trainees succeeded in hitting the five-hundred-meter target.

Keter walked out leisurely and provoked the trainees.

“Why did it take you so long to succeed? At this rate, I can already tell that half of you will be eliminated tomorrow.”

It was a taunt mixed with both sincerity and exaggeration.

“Well, I didn’t expect much to begin with, so don’t stubbornly hold on and die for nothing. If you want to give up, feel free to give up anytime.”

Humans tended to want to do something more when told not to. Especially when the one saying it did so in an irritating way.

Just as Keter intended, the minds of the trainees that had been wavering snapped back to attention.

I’ll definitely get through the whole thing and knock that smug look off his face.

Why did he say that while looking at me? He thinks I’ll be eliminated, doesn’t he?

Seeing the determination flickering in the trainees’ eyes, Keter put on a satisfied smile and said, “I’m going to demonstrate Limitless Archery to you trainees now. Open your eyes wide and savor it.”

There was, of course, no such thing as a mid-session break. Keter immediately began demonstrating Limitless Archery from the first form onward before the trainees.

First Form: Arrow Wings. Hundreds of arrows that sprouted like wings scattered through the air.

Second Form: Milky Way. The density and explosive power concentrated into a single arrow made dodging meaningless.

Third Form: Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire. The rain of arrows pouring down from the sky erased numerical superiority.

Fourth Form: Fission. A single arrow repeatedly split, forming tens of thousands of arrows.

Fifth Form: Kaleidoscope. An artificial structure was created that surpassed the limits of arrows.

Sixth Form: Tusk. An arrow with extreme penetrating power pierced even a dragon’s scales.

Seventh Form: Drone. The arrows flew on their own, circling the surroundings.

“This is Limitless Archery, an archery art created by refining Zodiac Archery.”

None of the trainees could find anything to say. They couldn’t even voice their admiration, and it wasn’t because Keter’s demonstration had ended in the blink of an eye. The profound principles and power contained within each technique had utterly stunned them.

There are no weaknesses in Limitless Archery. How can such a thing even be possible?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it contains all the mysteries of archery in this world.

I can’t believe something like this was created by a human.

The trainees understood how incredible Limitless Archery was, but they couldn’t even begin to guess how they would learn it.

No matter how high a mountain is, you can usually see its peak when you look at it from afar. But this is like... looking at an endless horizon.

Keter’s Limitless Archery was extraordinary to the point where weariness toward life itself was felt beyond mere awe.

“Enough with the admiration. I’ll give you one hour of free time.”

“Free time?!”

“Of course, leaving this training ground is forbidden. Other than that, do as you wish.”

Those who were looking forward to the next training were disappointed after hearing about free time, but they quickly came to their senses. At a glance, free time on a vast training ground with nothing but snow and ice sounded like being told to just train aura or practice. However, they had just experienced Limitless Archery. Countless inspirations were surging through their minds, and Keter was giving them time to sort through that.

Keter stepped back and watched what the trainees did. Some tried to imitate Keter’s Limitless Archery, while others simply closed their eyes and meditated. Of course, they all did so while maintaining the circulation of their aura to endure the cold.

When exactly one hour passed, Keter appeared before the trainees.

“

Hehehe

. What’s with those faces? Anyone would think you’ve trained for a month. It’s not even past lunch yet. Look, the sun is still high in the sky.”

Keter reminded the trainees that the day was still far from over.

“You’re tired, exhausted, and in pain. Do you know why that is? It’s because you lack aura. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the amount of aura is directly tied to how much leeway you have.”

Just as Keter said, the one struggling the most among the trainees was Myle, who had the least amount of aura.

Keter took out an elixir that looked as if it had been made from packed snow.

“And here, we have an elixir. A Pure Spirit Pellet.”

Everyone’s gaze naturally focused on it.

“This is a gift I’m giving you. In other words, it’s free.”

“F-free?”

“Are you serious?”

“Completely free. However, there’s only one pill.”

Everyone became silent at those words.

“Come on, take it.”

Keter held out the Pure Spirit Pellet. The trainees naturally understood this as another first come, first served condition. As if expecting that, three people who had been ready in advance dashed almost simultaneously.

Anis, Taragon, and Katherine. Taragon was the fastest, but Anis fired an arrow, aiming for Taragon’s ankle. He showed not the slightest hesitation in attacking his younger brother. As if he had expected it, Taragon twisted his body and dodged. And in that opening, Katherine, the one who had the latest start, ran ahead.

The other trainees began to run belatedly, but Katherine’s hand had already reached out. Just as Katherine was about to snatch the Pure Spirit Pellet from Keter’s palm, Keter moved and Katherine’s hand grasped at empty air.

“What?”

“Of course, that’s only if you can take it.”

The trainees weren’t greatly shaken. After all, it was Keter they were facing.

Even if it’s free, there’s no way he would just hand it over.

Without any spoken agreement, the trainees instinctively surrounded Keter.

***

If the first training was hitting a doll made of earth five hundred meters away, the second training was snatching the elixir from Keter.

“

Raaah!

”

“

Hngh!

”

The ten trainees were top-tier experts, at least four-star and up to five-star. Unintentionally, their movements were also extremely light due to being nearly naked. On top of that, they were filled with murderous intent to land a blow on Keter and greed for the elixir. Without anyone needing to signal first, they began attacking Keter like crazy.

“Slow.”

“Obvious.”

“Weak.”

Keter blocked or avoided the fists rushing in from all directions with just one hand.

“

Huff, huff

.”

After one fierce round of attacks, the trainees were gasping for breath. Moving while circulating aura to endure the cold was dozens of times more exhausting than usual.

“We’ll never win with our bare fists.”

A bow and arrow made of aura formed in Anis’ hand. The Aura Arrow he shot at Keter contained his sincerity. Keter caught Anis’s Aura Arrow and crushed it like a walnut. Then, he nodded.

“Ants don’t need to show consideration for an elephant.”

That single remark became the signal. All ten trainees shot their arrows at Keter without hesitation.

No matter how strong Keter is, he won’t be able to block them all with one hand or dodge them so easily.

That was what the trainees thought.

However, they were mistaken. The dozens of arrows were completely smashed apart with one punch from Keter.

“I said you don’t need to show consideration.”

Even ordinary Aura Arrows weren’t enough. They would need to use something on the level of Zodiac Archery’s Yaksha Archery just to leave a scratch on Keter’s hand.

However, they couldn’t focus only on attacking.

“

Argh!

”

The commander of the Order of the Star suddenly collapsed, clutching his chest. Having poured all of his aura into attacking, the aura circulation that protected him from the cold had stopped. The commander withdrew from the front line, gasping for breath as he refocused on circulating his aura, and fortunately succeeded in recovering before his fingers and toes froze.

This was a problem the other trainees experienced as well. They couldn’t continue their attacks and ended up hesitating, their focus shifting toward maintaining aura circulation.

“So this is all you’ve got,

huh?

”

As the trainees’ attacks began to decrease, Keter moved a single step. At that moment, Keter’s fist struck Taragon’s chest like an explosion.

Boom!

It was clearly a punch, yet it sounded like a drum bursting.

Taragon’s body was sent flying. The trainees blinked, looking back and forth between Keter and Taragon, who flew through the air and crashed into the ground.

Then Keter showed a chilling smile and asked, “What? Did I ever say I’d only defend?”

The start of true hell was only just beginning.