Chapter 154: Five Mountains of Penances (4)

To me, Aura was a form of energy that was difficult in so many ways.

The magic would disperse or explode, and you needed a strong consciousness to maintain it.

Consciousness. You had to use a mental thing that you couldn’t even see, and this was too hard, almost impossible, for me to understand.

But seeing Leonhard and Valdebich use it well, it wasn’t impossible…I just shook my head.

Actually, Yeon-woo didn’t know too well about Aura. The basics of the concept was in the diary, but like he said, it was just the concept.

The only area that his brother hadn’t been able to approach was Aura.

The trait his brother picked up easily was Ten Thousand Clearance. Because he could fundamentally become closer to what things were made up of, even though he was from Earth, he could deal with mana well.

So he was able to quickly learn the way to deal with mana, and become the person who controlled magic best in Arthia.

And later, he even learned the most difficult types of magic.

The skill called ‘Sky Wings’ that gave him the nickname Heaven Wing was something borne from those types of magic.

He approached magic in the purest way and used it freely.

But on the other hand, Aura was hard to approach because of this trait.

Aura also used magic, but it consisted more of energy.

And his brother especially had difficulty with the intangible concept of consciousness. He didn’t understand it at all.

So Yeon-woo had started learning Mugong, but he didn’t think about touching Aura.

His Mugong was already lacking, and he had too many weapons to focus on other than Aura.

Unlike his other skills, which were growing in proficiency, he didn’t know how much time he would have to invest in Aura.

No, more than anything, he thought it would be difficult for his Magic Circuit, which used pure magic, to create Aura.

But now he had to throw those thoughts away.

He already forced his body to get used to Magic Circuit using Cores. He had to somehow use Aura now.

Like what Shanon and Hanryeong said, he would have to be at least of a master level to challenge the Yin Sword.

The good thing was that he was able to train on the 20th floor.

And he had two outstanding teachers.

Shanon was a master, even though he couldn’t become a ranker.

Hanryeong as well. The martialist who fought with nine swords was almost strong enough to make the Sword God step back. He was between an expert and an arhat. There was a lot to learn.

However, if there was a difference between the two, it was that unlike Shanon, who walked the path of leading others in martial arts, Hanryeong fought in battles since he was young and was almost like an apostle of martial arts.

And if he combined this with the Eight Extreme Fists that he knew before.

‘I might be able to learn Aura.’

His brother couldn’t use Aura easily because of Ten Thousand Clearance, but Yeon-woo, who was used to Mugong, was different.

Yeon-woo gripped his Carshina’s dagger.

The only thing left to do now was training.

***

[Aura is something that you can learn after getting sixth sense.]

‘After sixth sense?’

[Sixth sense is something that brings out all your consciousness. Auror is using that and changing it to something physical.]

With what Shanon said, Yeon-woo felt like he understood something a bit more.

Since Yeon-woo had already learned sixth sense, he felt like he could grasp the concept a bit better.

With Extrasensory Perception, he could see everything.

[But it’s changing something that was intangible to something you can feel, so you need a balance with magic power. The magic power needs to be strong.]

Hanryeong added on.

Yeon-woo didn’t worry about condensing magic power. His magic power was incomparable to others. The Draconic species weren’t powerful for nothing.

Now there was only one thing that was left.

‘Then what’s consciousness?’

The problem was that their answer was different.

[The will to become stronger.]

[The resolve to win.]

Shanon said that martial arts was a fight with oneself. A process of making yourself sharper like a blade.

But Hanryeong said it was different.

Even if you said it nicely, a sword was eventually a weapon to hurt your opponent. When you were using your sword, you should think about somehow defeating your opponent.

Hanryeong simplified what sword techniques were about.

In other words, he could see the difference between the two

Both of them weren’t wrong, so Yeon-woo had to think about what they two were saying. Then what was the consciousness that fit Yeon-woo best?

He quickly came to an answer.

‘The strength of breaking everything in your path.’

Yeon-woo thought it would be nice to make a destructive Aura.

To him, consciousness wasn’t something to improve himself or defeat someone.

It was just a survival tool he needed to use, because if he didn’t use it, he would be killed.

Once he got the direction he needed to go to, Yeon-woo started practicing right away. It wasn’t difficult to practice because he had Extrasensory Perception.

‘The Eight Extreme Fists is something that makes 8 kinds of powers into 8 forms. It has to be fast.’

Yeon-woo used the training area where he was staying well. Once he woke up, the first thing he did was swing his sword.

Faster than one’s eyes could follow. But he didn’t focus on just swinging his sword.

From what Yeon-woo saw, the 8 Writings of Divination of Eight Extreme Fists that he had to learn wasn’t something he could get just from practicing.

Like constructing the structure of a building required tiny steps, he needed to learn the order in specific steps.

It was something that needed a precise calculation.

So this time, he tried to use his quick thinking abilities as well.

As time passed, the form became clearer. Any imperfections disappeared as well.

[Think like you’re focusing your mind on the tip of your blade.]

[You must release your consciousness. If you just use your consciousness well, you can use all kinds of attacks using Aura and your magic power.]

Also, because he couldn’t just focus on his form, he focused on moving his sword according to Hanryeong and Shanon’s advice as well.

Faster.

And even faster.

From sometime, he couldn’t even tell the difference between what was happening in his consciousness and the real world.

Since he continued to do so without resting, his replenished body started to dry up. Under normal conditions, magic would’ve chased away his tiredness, but that wasn’t the case right now.

As it kept on layering upon him, his body felt heavier. And his heart rate was extremely fast as well. Yeon-woo felt heat in his brain for the first time since he was awakened.

But that was how much his senses were gathered as well. And despite the time that passed, he didn’t know how much magic power was released.

Yeon-woo thought that might be his consciousness.

And when his mind started to dry up and his consciousness was about to collapse.

Suddenly Yeon-woo felt like he was being absorbed into his sword. It was like his mind was becoming focused onto one.

Boom!

With a loud sound, there was a huge explosion.

Yeon-woo burst to attention. In front of him, there was a path he didn’t see before. The trees were bent to the side.

Yeon-woo clearly felt it. His condensed consciousness. And the basics that were combined as one.

There was only one thing it explained.

Dancheon.

The first of the 8 Writings of Divination. It wasn’t like when the Martial King split the sun, but it was amazing considering it was his first attempt.

‘I got a trace.’

He didn’t have a clue about Aura yet, but now he thought he could see the way.

[You have earned a trace about the 8 Writings of Divination of the ‘Eight Extreme Fists.’ You have learned the way to deal with your consciousness.]

[The proficiency of ‘Eight Extreme Fists’ has dramatically increased. 62.1%]

***

[You have learned the way to maintain your mind separated from the outside world.]

[You have earned the trait ‘Acetic.’]

…..

[You have learned the way to overcome the time spent from the outside world to the world inside your mind.]

[Your effort for being an ascetic without a bit of rest has been acknowledged.]

[You have achieved an accomplishment that isn’t easily achieved. Additional Karma is being rewarded.]

[You earned 5,000.]

[You earned an additional 3,000 Karma.]

[As an additional reward, the evolution of ‘Combat Will’ is being rewarded. A new skill is being rewarded considering your skills and attributes.]

[The trait of ‘Ascetic’ influences this process.]

[The superior skill ‘Time Difference’ has been created.]

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

No, if Hanryeong and Shanon hadn’t told him, Yeon-woo wouldn’t have known 3 months passed.

He worked hard to finish the 8 Writings of Divination.

There were times when his mind and physical body were in extremely different times, putting his body in danger.

And.

It resulted in a new numbering skill.

[Time Difference]

Numbering 75

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: A skill influenced by your trait ‘Ascetic.’ You are able to use faser thinking abilities and focus to judge situations.

*Thinking Acceleration

You are able to escape from the frame of time and move freely. As the proficiency increases, the time used in thinking increases.

*Organized Calculation

You are able to make several calculations at once. As the proficiency increases the amount of calculations you can do at the same time increases.

Time Difference was a newly opened skill that was created with the mastery of Combat Will.

It meant that when he thought, he wouldn’t be limited to the time in the physical world.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had unlimited time, but it was more efficient than before.

But as much as it was more efficient, the gap between his mind and the outside world became greater, and the aftereffects of that were for Yeon-woo to be in charge of.

Thankfully, Yeon-woo’s Dragon Body was strong enough to handle it.

Yeon-woo successfully learned 3 of the 8 Writing Divinations.

And in the process, the Eight Extreme Fists was organized, and the separation between each of the steps was almost gone.

[You have almost reached the master level. Influenced by this, the skill name of ‘Eight Extreme Fists’ has been changed to ‘Eight Extreme Swords.’]

[‘Eight Extreme Swords’s’ skill proficiency has increased. 71.2%]

Now, he had 5 numbering skills.

Bathory’s Vampiric Sword. Holy Fire. Fire Rain. Extrasensory Perception. And even Time Difference.

Although he wasn’t officially a ranker yet, he accomplished a great feat.

But Yeon-woo was still thirsty.

He had a trace about Aura, but he still didn’t grasp it. He could condense his magic power and cover it with his consciousness, but strangely, the form wasn’t maintained.

Shanon and Hanryeong told him that he would only have to focus on making Aura now.

Then.

When another month passed.

[Congratulations! You have reached master level. You have achieved a great feat. Additional Karma is being rewarded.]

[You have earned 3,000 Karma.]

[As an additional reward, strength has increased by 10.]

[Dexterity has increased by 8.]

…..

[You have learned Aura. But it is still incomplete. Practice Aura to gain a higher understanding.]

Along Carshina’s Dagger’s blade, a light flowed and shook. It looked like it would disappear any second, but it maintained its form.

Aura blade.

He completed the most basic technique of Aura.