In truth, Jun wasn’t as broken a person as Velles thought.
Well, maybe he could have gone down that path someday.
But at the very least, not now.
If Jun had heard this, he probably would’ve waved it off in embarrassment, saying it was nonsense.
But by now, even he couldn’t deny it.
His companions.
The presence of his companions had changed Jun.
Aiden, Maya, and Eleanor.
Ever since he started traveling with those three and growing closer to them, magic had ceased to be merely a tool for protecting himself. It had become a means to protect his companions.
This is fun.
Not just the moments of growth like now, but even the time spent worrying and contemplating how to grow was enjoyable.
And the fact that his companions shared similar thoughts only made it more joyful.
Even at this very moment.
His companions were probably working hard to grow stronger too.
***
By coincidence, Aiden had also reached the sixth level, just like Jun.
But unlike Jun, he hadn’t arrived by riding a magic carriage. He had made it entirely on foot.
Perhaps because of that, his body was in terrible shape.
“Huff, huff!”
He could barely even breathe.
For Aiden, who had already grown proficient enough to reach level 5, it was the first time since that day that he’d felt so breathless.
I think I was just as desperate back then, too.
The day he was kidnapped by human traffickers, and barely managed to escape.
It was because of that day that Aiden could run like this now.
Not that he had ever gotten used to it.
For a whole month, all he did was run. Aside from doing what was necessary to survive.
But Aiden wasn’t the only one suffering so painfully.
“Huff… huff…!”
Though not quite as much as Aiden, Thaerdin was also gasping for breath.
“Aiden, huff! Are you—huff! Are you alright…?”
Thaerdin looked at Aiden with concern, even as he himself struggled to speak a single sentence.
Honestly, looking at the state of the two of them, it was hard to tell who should be worrying about whom.
So naturally, a question might arise at this point—
Why on earth were the two of them running like this?
“Heh. What kind of young folks have worse stamina than an old man like me?”
The answer lay just ahead of them. An elderly man with white hair, Sword Soul Aden.
Right after leaving Slayer Coast Island with the two of them, Aden had urged them to run.
At first, they thought it was just physical training.
After all, it wasn’t just anyone giving the command. It was the man once known as the Empire’s Sword.
Naturally, they had no complaints and began to run.
They ran and ran and kept running…
By the time half a day had passed—
Why isn’t he stopping?
That thought came to them naturally.
But neither of them dared to voice such a question in front of Aden.
So they simply kept running.
Two days passed. Then three.
They only managed to stop for their first meal.
Even then, Aiden had practically collapsed.
If they hadn’t spotted a deer along the way, they probably would’ve had to keep running.
They tore into barely cooked meat, blood still dripping from it—
And then they had to run again.
Another three days passed.
By that point, Aiden’s mind had started to drift in and out, and Thaerdin wasn’t much better.
Then a horde of monsters attacked.
Ah.
As Aiden swung his sword in a trance-like state, something felt… different.
Despite his body feeling ready to collapse from exhaustion, his blade cut cleanly.
Even though the monsters on the fifth level weren’t easy prey.
Aiden was the first to notice the change.
Thaerdin only realized it a few days later.
So this… This is why we were running like that…
It was for this?
Seeing the two of them with expressions like they had just realized something, Aden let out a hearty laugh.
“Someone’s bound to say it….what kind of brainless training is this supposed to be?”
Literally swinging swords while on the brink of collapse.
It was the very definition of brutal and mindless training.
“But for the two of you, it’s an exception.”
As they ran and ran, their bodies naturally began to use mana. And at a certain point, they had begun to draw mana from their cores as naturally as breathing.
Running doesn’t just use your legs and feet.
It engages your entire body.
Arms, core, waist….all of it working together to maintain balance and movement.
Naturally, mana had spread through their entire bodies, and that continued the whole time they were running.
“But—huff!—why don’t—huff!—others do this—cough!—kind of training!?”
“Is that supposed to be a question? Because they’d die, of course. Not even the Heavenly Dragon Knights go through something like this.”
“…???”
The answer was so absurd it made Aiden forget Aden was a swordmaster and almost made him harbor killing intent.
But in truth, Aden was right.
Normally, this kind of training would be nothing more than torture.
Making someone run to their absolute limit while forcing mana to circulate through their whole body?
If such insanity actually worked, anyone could run their way to becoming a level 8 warrior.
Naturally, ordinary people couldn’t endure such training.
However, the two of them had a few conditions that made it possible.
The first was mana control ability.
And in Aiden’s case…
“It’ll help that little thing inside you, too. Just hoarding power like a brute won’t get you anywhere. It needs to be used often to grow properly.”
The reason Aiden whose skills were clearly inferior to Thaerdin’s was barely able to keep up with this training?
None other than the wind spirit.
The wind spirit residing within Aiden lent him strength little by little each time he felt the wind while running. Thanks to that, Aiden had been able to keep going.
“Ah…”
Only then did Aiden realize it and silently expressed his gratitude to the wind spirit but there was no reply.
Because it, too, was struggling to keep up with this training.
And truly… Sir Aden was right.
Even as he was running, Aiden could feel that his steps were lighter than usual, and the flow of mana was far smoother.
Like that, he arrived at the level 6 field, “Deep Root Thornwood”.
As the name suggested, it was a forest filled with sharp thorn-covered trees.
The thorns densely packed around the trees glistened with toxic sap.
And then, Aden—
“Here. This is the map. Follow it and run.”
He handed over a map made from animal hide, which looked like a child had scratched it into the ground with a stick, then vanished without another word.
And in the empty space he left behind—
Grrrrrrr…
Hundreds of “Tetra Woodens” opened their eyes amidst the thick thorn bushes.
Senior… Maya… Eleanor…
Are you all doing well?
I’m… doing… just fine…
Swallowing the tears that welled up as he thought of the comrades he was already starting to miss, Aiden raised his sword.
***
At the same time.
Eleanor stood looking out at the sacred land blanketed in pure white. It was her first time back in a long while.
Nuada Neferden.
Bathed in golden particles that surrounded the entire sanctuary, this was the holy ground of the Ariklotus Order, a place where death was not permitted.
It was also the place where Jun, Aiden, and Maya had once trained.
And now, standing in that wide-open space, Eleanor wore a pained expression as golden light engulfed her.
“Gran… Father…”
Even the black bandages she normally wore had been set aside, and with her eyes tightly shut, she barely managed to open her mouth.
The one she called for was none other than Elahim, the Pope of the Ariklotus Church.
“What troubles you, Eleanor?”
“This… really… works, right?”
“Of course. Every high priest ever produced by our order has gone through this.”
“That’s… insane…”
“No, it isn’t. They were nothing like you. Those children bore no trace of an Outer God within. So they didn’t suffer like you do.”
“Shit…”
“Ahem. One must have a clear mind for Lord Ariklotus to bestow greater power. Such vulgar words have no place on your lips.”
It had already been a month since she arrived at Nuada Neferden.
And now, standing before Elahim for the first time in a while, Eleanor was pestering him to teach her more advanced divine magic.
If any other priest had done the same, people would’ve looked at them like they’d lost their mind. But Eleanor could get away with it.
For one, Elahim had personally taken responsibility for her training.
And because she had the talent to back it up.
Not that Eleanor was simply begging without offering anything in return. She had also promised to share the new type of divine magic theory she had recently developed.
There was no doubt that the new method of divine magic she’d created would be of immense help.
However, there was a difficulty in Eleanor learning higher-level divine magic than what she currently knew.
“I told you before, your constitution is special. Though it’s the result of a mistake by me and the former Pope, you’ve still reaped the benefits of it.”
It was frustrating, but she couldn’t deny it.
As a child, she had undergone various experiments to communicate with the gods and as a result, had formed a vessel within herself capable of containing divinity.
That divine power had even once reached Ariklotus himself.
Of course, the real issue was that the god rejected the connection, and the power was deflected to a foreign deity instead.
Still, her body, made to hold even the consciousness of a god, was more receptive to divine power than anyone else’s.
That’s how she had been able to become a high-ranking priest at such a young age.
“However, to learn divine magic beyond your current level, your body must be capable of storing a much greater amount of divine power. But you can’t do that.”
And that was the problem.
Eleanor’s body wasn’t built to store divine power.
It was more like a conduit, designed to communicate with the divine.
“While it may be possible for you to summon divine power momentarily, maintaining that power over time is difficult. No….until now, you were only able to do it because of the sheer abundance of divine power flowing through you.”
But the advanced divine magic Eleanor now sought to learn was impossible to master using the methods she had relied on until now.
Even if she could somehow manage to manifest it, maintaining it for long periods like other divine magic would be difficult.
“That’s why we need to force divine power to dwell in your body for extended periods. That’s the ordeal you’re going through now.”
They were drawing in divine power from the sanctuary and forcibly embedding it into a human body.
Naturally, such a structure was bound to cause problems.
Even though divine power was far less dangerous than mana—
In the end, it still meant that the power of a god was being housed in a human body.
Forcing it to remain could only result in the soul being shaken.
And soul damage was irreversible even here, in the sanctuary. That alone spoke volumes about how dangerous this was.
“I clearly warned you, Eleanor. This would be a difficult path.”
“I… know…”
“So don’t whine. Every time you speak, your divine power scatters.”
“Damn… it…”
“Ahem!”
Smack!
With the sound of a sharp smack to the head, Eleanor stopped her whining.
Instead, she shifted her thoughts elsewhere, trying to forget the pain, even for a moment.
Those guys… I wonder if they’re doing okay…
They were companions who had come to occupy a big place in her life.
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