Chapter 81

Chapter 81. I Am Not Jealous of Aura Anymore!

After teaching Balun for a few more days, Aldric finally reached a conclusion.

It seemed he would have to stop teaching Balun here.

“Hmm? All of a sudden?”

Of course, to Balun, it was completely unexpected news.

He had been learning with great interest, and now the course was ending?

“I thought about it carefully, and I think this is the right choice. Any further teaching will not mean much for you.”

“What does that mean? Am I too bad at learning?”

“No. You learn well. In fact, your ability to absorb things is absurd. The problem is that your learning keeps flowing in a strange direction.”

“A strange direction?”

“Yes. Think about it carefully. Is the Shadow Step you learned really Stealth?”

Balun thought about it carefully, then shook his head.

“I do not think it is.”

Even in Balun’s opinion, it certainly was not Stealth.

He had practiced a technique meant to hide his form, yet instead of hiding his form, he had learned a technique that made his presence stand out even more.

Since Balun had ended up learning a strange technique instead of the Stealth he was supposed to learn, from Aldric’s perspective, it was no different from having taught him completely incorrectly.

Then, since he had taught him incorrectly, could he simply teach him the proper way now?

That was not the case.

Because he had definitely taught him properly, and Balun had also learned properly.

Despite training through the proper method, the result had come out strangely. What was he supposed to do about that?

No matter how much Aldric thought about it, he could not find an answer, so he had no choice but to declare that he was giving up.

...After explaining all of that at length to Balun, he apologized.

“That is why I am stopping. With my ability, I cannot teach you Stealth. I am sorry.”

“I see.”

“You seem rather calm. I thought you would be very disappointed.”

“I expected it, more or less. I had a feeling it would turn out this way.”

Seeing Balun’s expression remain unchanged, Aldric nodded and continued.

“If the method was correct, yet the result was not good, then there is probably only one reason. Your constitution.”

“Mm.”

“It seems that the special constitution you mentioned had a major influence after all.”

“So it really is that.”

“If I were one of the Seven Sages, who are said to know everything under the sun, I might have been able to offer you a solution suited to you. Unfortunately, I am only a single Rogue. I am sorry I could not help.”

As Aldric scratched his head furiously in apology, Balun unconsciously asked him back.

“The Seven Sages?”

“Yes. The seven wise and knowledgeable sages. If it is them, they might be able to offer you a solution that suits you.”

“Is that really true?”

“Of course.”

“Is the Gray Sage among those Seven Sages, by any chance? The Gray Sage Calrent?”

“He is.”

“Then I will have to go ask him later.”

At that mutter, Aldric was dumbfounded.

Did he know who the Gray Sage was, yet still say he would go ask him?

An enormous figure whom even the great lords of famous noble families could not treat casually, and a mere Barbarian was going to meet him?

Would the man even meet him in the first place?

“In any case, for those reasons, my teaching ends here. You worked hard.”

“Right.”

“Still, do not be too disheartened. I taught you everything I could. You have already learned all of Shadow Step’s training methods from me. If you practice what you learned, you will probably achieve good results.”

“I am not particularly disheartened. I learned such a good technique, so why would I be?”

As Balun said that and put strength into his body, a powerful wind pressure burst from him along with an immense force.

“Good! It is an excellent wide-area technique!”

Seeing Balun grin brightly as he said that, Aldric shook his head with a fed-up expression.

He had definitely taught him properly, so why had that result come out?

And in such a crude form, no less.

He might have been satisfied if Balun had completely erased his presence, but instead, it was a technique that flaunted his presence as if declaring, “I am right here!”

‘To think he would apply the Rogue Master’s Secret Technique like that. Doras would weep if he saw this.’

***

Even after his lessons with Aldric ended, Balun’s training did not stop. On the contrary, Balun devoted himself to training even more.

WHOOSH!

Balun continued practicing the technique that created wind pressure. It was a technique he had created by chance, but he judged it to be practical.

The effect of releasing a strong gust of wind along with tremendous force in an instant would act as an incredible wide-area technique in actual combat.

‘It is perfect for when I am surrounded. It should also be good for knocking away enemies who cling to me. Even in a one-on-one situation, I can use it to break an enemy’s composure. It has many uses.’

Balun liked this technique. Although it was not the Stealth he had wanted, what did that matter? In any case, he had learned a good technique.

Moreover, this was not the only thing Balun had learned. From Aldric, Balun had received instruction in all of Shadow Step’s training methods, including the general techniques of a Rogue.

Just as Enhancement Art had taken Balun one step forward, this new learning advanced Balun one more step as well.

If the core of Enhancement Art was “enhancement,” then the core Balun grasped from Aldric’s teaching was “condensation,” “compression,” and “pressure.”

He had become able to gather the power he had been releasing haphazardly into a single point, compress it, and burst it out with force.

‘I think I can apply this to my axe too. Shall I try it?’

Balun gripped Black Moon’s haft and looked ahead. He took a deep breath and used Enhancement Art. The muscles in both his arms writhed and swelled.

‘I need to think of it as putting stealth into a single strike.’

Imprinting that intent into his mind, Balun swung Black Moon with all his might. Black Moon’s blade, swung with powerful force, cut through the air and produced an astonishing result.

BOOM!

It sounded as if a bomb had gone off.

It felt as if the air itself had been torn apart.

“Whoa.”

Balun could not suppress his admiration.

“This actually works?”

The method was simple. He had to put stealth into his Mana.

Ordinarily, it would simply produce a silent attack, like the dagger techniques of skilled Rogues.

The problem was that Balun could not release his Mana.

Balun’s Mana accumulated in his bones and muscles and was used as a means of strengthening his body. How could it possibly be released just because he tried to put stealth into that Mana and discharge it? Naturally, it had no choice but to gather.

That was precisely where Balun had found his idea.

-If the power does not release, then if I gather it until it has no choice but to release, will it not force its way out on its own?

It was a simple principle.

It was like blocking the end of a hose with water flowing through it. The pressure would grow tremendously, and if it stayed blocked, it would eventually burst.

‘If releasing Mana is impossible, then I will force it to be released. The outlets of my Mana Circuits are open, at least, so it should be possible.’

The experiment carried out with that idea was truly successful.

The fully condensed power gathered until it reached its limit, and when it could no longer gather, it was forcibly pushed out through the narrow outlets of Balun’s Mana Circuits with tremendous pressure.

BOOM!

The result was explosive physical force.

‘This is insane. Completely insane!’

Only after completely destroying the wooden dummy Aldric had provided with his newly grasped strike could Balun be certain.

He had finally learned his first proper attack technique.

Balun was so moved that a single tear flowed down his face.

“Ha ha ha! Now I am not jealous of Aura anymore!”

Overwhelmed by emotion, old memories naturally rose in his mind.

The memory of first facing a sword clad in Aura.

The memory of first encountering a Mage’s magic.

How envious he had been while watching a Knight swing a magnificent Beam Blade, and while watching a Mage fire dazzling spells.

But not anymore.

He had learned an attack technique that would not lose to anyone else’s.

An explosive attack, no less!

‘Aura-wielding bastards or whatever, all of you can come at me. Now I have nothing to be ashamed of—’

DONG!

The sudden bell tolling in his ears stopped Balun’s thoughts.

What was with this sudden bell?

DONG!

DONG!

“The enemy! The enemy has attacked!”

‘Huh?’

An enemy?

“Open the city gates! Let the people inside! Quickly!”

“Yes, sir!”

The sound of military boots rang out along with a thunderous shout, and Balun’s excited mood sank.

“No, what enemy now?”

Who was attacking all of a sudden?

‘Could it be that the war has already started...?’

It was only early March now. No, even so, that did not mean it was already spring. It was still a little cold. If he had to be specific, it was more like late winter.

“Should I run?”

Balun thought about it seriously.

‘If I am going to run, now seems like the right time. What if things look strange because I make the wrong choice?’

Balun, who had been full of confidence after learning a new attack technique, disappeared in less than ten seconds.

***

For the moment, running was put on hold.

He decided to judge after seeing the situation.

It also felt somewhat wrong to run away just because he had gotten scared in advance.

Above all, he still had things to do in Mirehal.

When he went outside, the streets were quite chaotic.

Soldiers carrying spears were running about frantically, and the people seemed to be hurrying back home.

Balun grabbed a merchant who was walking in quick little steps and asked him,

“Hey. What is going on right now? Who attacked?”

“They say monsters came in droves. Did they say Lizardmen?”

“Lizardmen?”

“That is what I heard. Do not hold me back. I am running away right now.”

“Running away? Where?”

“Where else? Another city. Monsters have come in droves twice in such a short time. How can I stay here when I am too anxious? It is better to earn a little less money.”

“Wait. How many Lizardmen are th—hey!”

The merchant did not answer Balun anymore and swiftly left.

‘Lizardmen? Then it is not an enemy army?’

Even after he went around and asked a little more, the answers were the same. A group of Lizardmen had come in, and their number seemed to be at least several hundred.

Fortunately, it was not an invasion by the Valtrien army, but that did not mean he could relax in relief. Lizardmen were not some neighbor’s dog. Goblins and Lizardmen were monsters on entirely different levels.

There were countless cases where even seasoned mercenaries could not handle a single Lizardman. And there were hundreds of such opponents? This was truly an enormous force.

Still, in Balun’s eyes, it was better than a human army attacking.

A human army would attack with at least several thousand troops.

There would also be several archers. There would be several Knights who used Aura, and there would be Mages too. They would use strategies as well.

How exhausting would that be?

Compared to that, monsters were far better.

It felt like the lesser evil rather than the worst case.

‘If it is not war, then I do not have to run. What should I do? Should I just have a little taste?’

Balun’s mind swayed like a reed.

‘In any case, I need to test the new technique. If it becomes dangerous, I can run then.’

“I finally found you...! Hey, Barbarian!”

At that moment, Balun’s thoughts were cut off by a voice calling him.

When he turned his head, he saw a fat man running toward him from the other side of the wide boulevard. It was Emil, the mayor of Mirehal.

Emil stopped in front of Balun and gasped for breath. Sweat was pouring down his forehead like rain.

“You were here, haa, after all, haa.”

“Catch your breath. Wipe off that broth—no, sweat too. You will stop breathing at this rate.”

“Barbarian. Help me, please!”

“You want help? With what?”

“Please help us stop those Lizardmen. I am begging you!”

Emil seized Balun’s hand. His hand was full of sweat, so Balun tried to pull his hand away, but what was this? His hand would not come free.

It seemed Emil was strong for his size. Either that, or he was desperate.

“Why are you asking me?”

“I heard everything! They say you are the Hero of the Expedition Team, do they not? A capable Warrior recognized even by Count Rotenfeld. Your help will be a great strength!”

“Do you not have troops here anyway? There should be Knights too.”

“But our opponents are Lizardmen! There are too many of them. They look to number at least three or four hundred! No, more than that? I will only know after I receive a proper report, but that is the minimum! How are we supposed to block all of them? I must grasp at any straw I can!”

Emil continued speaking in a great fuss.

“Please help us. At this rate, even if we block them, the damage will be severe. If this is a Monster Wave, more will certainly come. Yes! I will hire you! I will pay you enough that you will not feel slighted. What do you say?”

“Hmm. I do not particularly want to fight.”

“I am not asking you to keep helping forever. Just help us block them this once. After that, I will not say anything. Hm? Please, I am begging you like this!”

“How much money will you give me?”

“I-I will give you a lot of money. Of course.”

“No. You have to say the amount too.”

“H-How about we discuss that later? The situation is urgent, after all.”

“That is none of my concern. I can simply run away as I am.”

“No. Anything but that...”

“Then negotiate.”

Balun curled up the corner of his mouth.

If he was going to have a taste anyway, he might as well be paid for that taste.