Raon threw Rimmer into the cultivation room as he struggled.
âHey! Treat me more carefully! Iâm a patient right now!â
Raon ignored his rambling and turned around.
âGeneral Administrator, I leave the rest to you.â
âHaaâŚâ
The Gambling Monster sighed and crossed his arms.
âI really have to guard someone at this age⌠Iâm going through all kinds of pain.â
Even though he complained, he turned around and stood in front of the door.
âItâs because I needed someone trustworthy to guard him.â
âHmph!â
âThank you.â
Raon bowed to the Gambling Monsterâs back as he snorted, then entered the cultivation room.
âLetâs get started. Are you going to break your energy center on your own? Or shall I break it for you?â
âYou sound like you are breaking an egg or something!â
Rimmer stepped back, murmuring that he was such a scary guy.
âBut havenât you already decided?â
âTh-Thatâs true, but I need to mentally prepareâŚâ
âThatâs why I told you how to use the artificial energy center on our way back, and even told you to brace yourself.â
Raon had already told him to brace himself while telling him how to use the artificial energy center on their way back. Rimmer was dozing off on his horse, and he was apparently not listening to him.
âTh-ThatâsâŚâ
âThe sooner you start, the sooner youâll get stronger. You should know that better than anyone.â
âAlright, I get it! I get it! You heartless bastard!â
Rimmer screamed and sat on the ground.
âHaaâŚâ
He sighed and closed his eyes. He controlled his aura from his fissured energy center. The energy heâd been accumulating over his entire life flew through his mana circuits. The smooth flow felt like it was saying goodbye.
âI never thought I would experience something like this.â
He was about to recover his mana circuits that were torn apart and break his energy center to create a new one. He would be able to live a new life thanks to Raon and the other kids. He was so thankful to them, but also apologetic for being such an inadequate teacher.
Whir!
He controlled his aura to his heartâs content to enjoy its final moment before opening his eyes.
âRaon. Donât miss the opportunity.â
âWhat? What do you meanâŚ?â
âYou will realize soon enough.â
Rimmer closed his eyes once again after saying that. He amplified the aura inside his energy center just like when he used astral energy to explode it at once.
Crack!
The fissures on the energy center deepened, and the explosive aura started to burst out.
âThis is going to take forever. Iâm going to destroy it in one fell swoop!â
Rimmer tightly bit his lip, then amplified his aura one more time.
Clang!
The huge noise sounded like hundreds of glasses were shattering at the same time. His extremely thin energy center melted down like a snowflake landing on a finger.
âKuuh!â
Extreme pain was crushing his body, but the vanity piercing into his soul was even worse than that. The chaos filled his head to the point that he could lose consciousness at any time.
Rumble!
Once his aura lost its path, it started spreading into the air through his mana circuits. A hurricane of high purity aura was created inside the cultivation room.
âHuff!â
Rimmer breathed heavily before opening his eyes.
âRaon. Take my aura.â
âWhat?â
Raonâs eyes widened.
âYou must be able to feel it. The mana Iâve accumulated so far is currently rampaging in this room. Its attribute is different from yours, but it should still be helpful to you. You should take it.â
âWhat are you talking about? Get the artificial energy center right now and control your auraâŚâ
âI wouldâve obviously done it if I could! But thereâs no time for that.â
Rimmer smiled bitterly as he shook his head.
âThe aura already came into contact with nature's mana. Itâs not even going to last a few minutes before it disappears. You are the only person right now who can take it.â
He honestly wanted to give him all of the aura he had in his energy center, but that would most likely shred his mana circuits, which had barely managed to recover.
âIâm not here for that. I only followed you to check on your condition.â
Raon bit his lip. He hadnât intended to take Rimmerâs aura. He just wanted to create a new energy center for him.
âI know.â
Rimmer nodded with a smile.
âI know how you are. Iâm perfectly aware that you donât consider your own benefit even though you are considerate of others.â
âIâŚâ
âRambling can be saved for later. Iâm telling you to cultivate the aura right now! Come on!â
He said that they were really running out of time before chewing down the Elixir of Eternal Flow and gulping down the artificial energy center.
âIâm going to make the energy center, so you should cultivate your aura right now. See you again after we are done!â
That was the last thing he said before closing his eyes. Raon could feel a high purity mana from nature moving inside his body despite how empty it used to be.
âThe energies from the artificial energy center and the Elixir of Eternal Flow are moving.â
Even though the artificial energy center used to have no attributes, it changed its shape to match Rimmerâs body and aura's characteristics, and the Elixir of Eternal Flowâs energy naturally seeped into his mana circuits to heal the wounds that couldnât be removed before.
âHmmâŚâ
Raon nodded while looking at the aura that was still lingering in the air.
âI should take some of it at least.â
Since Rimmer was stabilized and the Gambling Monster was guarding them, he figured it was fine for him to start cultivating.
Whir!
Raon closed his eyes and controlled the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier at the same time. Flowing through different circuits, the aura created countless trajectories to suck in the wind attribute aura from the outside.
âHmmâŚâ
Raon furrowed his brows upon feeling the aura circulate in his mana circuits.
âItâs not going to work at this rate.â
As Rimmer had said, the aura spread around the room had the wind attribute. The fact that not much remained was a problem, but the difference in attribute was making it difficult to properly absorb it.
âBut thereâs a method I can use.â
Raon rotated the Ring of Fire. The six rings resonated with each other at once, then started to pull out the pure energy at the deepest part of the aura of wind.
Although the quantity wasnât that high, the power and purity were a lot better than decent elixirs because it used to belong to Rimmer, who had a high affinity with nature.
âHaaâŚâ
Raon absorbed the energy that the Ring of Fire had purified through the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier before opening his eyes. Even though it wasnât a large amount, his energy center still felt full.
[The Ring of Fireâs proficiency has increased.]
[The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationâs proficiency has increased.]
[Glacierâs proficiency has increased.]
[All stats have increased by 3.]
Although heâd only been cultivating for a few hours, the proficiency for his cultivation techniques had increased drastically, his stats had increased, and the aura inside his energy center became even stronger.
He felt like all the time Rimmer had spent accumulating his aura became a pillar to support him.
Raon looked at Rimmer with a smile on his face.
âItâs not going to take much longer.â
Considering the fact that the change was only limited to the outer part of the artificial energy center, the process mustâve been nearing the end.
Tap.
Raon took out two wooden boxes from his inner pocket and placed them in front of Rimmer, who was focused on creating his energy center.
âThis is a gift from me.â
The first box contained the elixir that he bought on his way back, and the second one was the wind attribute elixir that he had gotten in exchange for a bronze tablet he had received before.
Heâd prepared those gifts because he figured Rimmer would be disappointed once he realized his energy center was empty.
âIs this the relationship between a teacher and a student?â
Just like the way heâd prepared the elixirs for Rimmerâs sake, Rimmer had also told him to take his aura so that his student could benefit from it.
He could only smile, because the way they were caring for each other reminded him of the relationship between a teacher and a student that heâd only seen in stories and books.
âYou should come out quickly.â
Raon smiled while watching Rimmerâs back as he created his energy center.
âBecause I have plenty of training plans prepared for you.â
HmmâŚ
Wrath narrowed his eyes, while emerging from the ice flower bracelet.
Are you sure what you just said is suitable in this situation?
* * *
[Translator â Kyangi]
[Proofreader â Harley]
* * *
âUgh.â
Burren groaned as he opened his eyes.
âWhere am IâŚ?â
He looked around while enduring the headache. He was inside a dim room with a small radiating stone lighting up his surroundings. Considering how damp it was, he mustâve been underground.
âWhy am I here⌠Huh?â
He tried to move, but he couldnât move at all because something was binding his arms and legs. He looked down and saw that his wrists and ankles were shackled by manacles connected to metal chains.
âWh-What? Whatâs going on?!â
Burren bit his lip and tried to control his aura, but his aura was completely immobile. Something was completely blocking his mana circuits.
âAh!â
He remembered.
He remembered darkness covering his vision after hearing his second eldest brotherâs voice. It was him. Gelmia mustâve made him faint and brought him there.
âBut why?â
Burren frowned. He couldnât believe that his brother had kidnapped him just because he didnât grant his nonsensical request.
Creak!
While he was shaking his hazy head, a frightening sound could be heard as the cell door opened.
âBrother! Why would you do this?â
âIâm sorry, but Iâm not Sir Gelmia.â
Just like he said, he wasnât his second brother. He was a small and red-haired middle-aged man who gave off a gentle impression.
âItâs been a long time, Sir Burren.â
âOlan?â
The person who entered the room was Olan, the second team leader of the Severing Steads squad, which was led by Gelmia. Since heâd been his brotherâs subordinate ever since childhood, they used to see each other pretty often.
âYes, itâs me. You can recognize me even though itâs been a pretty long time since we last met.â
He smiled gently, bringing over a chair to sit opposite him.
âWhereâs my brother? Release me right now and let meâŚâ
âIâm sorry, but Sir Burren has no right to give me orders.â
Olanâs smile was the same as before, but his eyes were extremely cold.
âWhat are you planning to doâŚ?â
âSir Gelmia is a distrustful person. He cannot trust Sir Burren to remain silent about his request.â
âI-Is that why he kidnapped me? Doesnât he realize that this is an even more serious matter?â
âOf course he does. Thatâs why he sent me here.â
Olan nodded with a gentle smile on his face.
âWhat does that even meanâŚ?â
âThereâs something Iâm really good at, except for swordsmanship. Itâs called brainwashing.â
âYou idiot!â
Burren clenched his teeth.
âDo you really believe that the seniors in the house wonât even realize that? Even the Light Wind squadâŚâ
âDonât worry about it. The brainwashing Iâm going to use isnât that powerful or conspicuous.â
Olan grinned.
âIâm going to very slowly change your mindset. Itâs weak and slow, but the change of your thoughts should happen in a very natural way. Sir Burren should be fine to be released in about ten days. Though, I cannot guarantee that Sir Burren will be the same as he is right now.â
His grin showed his confidence in his results.
âIâll give you one last opportunity before that. If you give us the information about Raon ZieghartâŚâ
Burren spat on Olanâs face as he started to blabber.
âI'm a Zieghart! Iâm never going to sell out my companion! And you know nothing about Raon! Iâm sure he will find this place even if he had to destroy this entire building!â
âAh, you donât have to worry about that either.â
Olan grinned while wiping the spit from his cheek.
âBecause weâve already made preparations for that.â
* * *
âA family event?â
A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.
Raon licked his lips while looking at Burrenâs butler, Tias, who came to visit the fifth training ground.
âYes. He said that he wouldnât be able to participate in the training for about ten days because of a scheduled event at the Central Martial Palace.â
Tias bowed to Raon, telling him that Burren wouldnât be able to join in on training for a while because of an affair at the Central Martial Palace.
âI see.â
Raon remembered Burren talking to his brother Gelmia when they returned to the house. He guessed that he mustâve been doing something with him.
âI guess it canât be helped if itâs a family event.â
Raon examined Tias while slowly nodding his head.
âButâŚâ
Something seemed fishy.
Ever since Raon had made Burren stand back on his feet at the Central Martial Palace, Tias had always been smiling at him from the bottom of his heart. However, the Tias he was facing had a cold atmosphere around him, like the way he used to be before that event.
â...Thank you for understanding.â
He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, then politely bowed to Raon before he left.
âIâm going to need some information here.â
He figured he needed to ask Judiel to find out what Burren and Gelmia were doing once he returned to the annex building.
âHow is Burren the only one getting special treatment? I also have businesses to attend to!â
Martha exploded in anger, saying that it couldnât be allowed to happen.
âWhat business?â
âWh-What?â
âIâm asking what business you have.â
âI-I canât answer that question if you ask it right away! Argh!â
She panicked from the direct question and ended up biting her tongue a little.
âItâs fwine since you donât have any.â
âStop copying me! I didnât do that on purpose!â
Raon snickered and looked around at the Light Wind members. Their healthy faces made him guess that they mustâve focused on resting since they had only one day of rest.
âHow is the squad leader doing?â
Krein raised his hand. Everyone else mustâve been curious about it as well, since their eyes turned round. Runaan was dozing off, but she even raised her eyelids to reveal her blank eyes.
âHeâs completed his energy center and he is currently gathering aura.â
He pointed at the innermost cultivation room that the Gambling Monster was guarding. Rimmer had completed his energy center in the morning, and he was absorbing the elixirs as he spoke.
âDonât worry about him and focus on your training, since he can handle his own business.â
Raon grinned and opened the box that was placed on the platform.
âEquip these on your wrists and ankles as soon as you get them.â
He threw a pair of black bracelets and anklets to each of the swordsmen.
âHuh?â
âWhatâs thi⌠Uhah!â
âM-My aura is getting sucked out!â
âKuah! Why is this so heavy?!â
âI-Itâs a ghost! Thereâs a ghost dwelling in the bracelet!â
The swordsmen freaked out upon noticing that the bracelets and anklets were taking away their aura and started to struggle.
âYour aura isnât getting taken away. Itâs simply being used to add weight to your bracelets and anklets. Thatâs why it becomes heavier the more aura you have.â
While their chins were trembling, Raon explained about the training artifact, the Black Converters, that Encia had made for them.
âYou arenât allowed to take that off in the future without my permission. You should have them equipped all the time, even when you eat and use the restroom.â
âS-Seriously?â
âHow can I have this always on when I canât even move properlyâŚ?â
âI-ImpossibleâŚâ
The swordsman's lips were trembling as they complained that they couldnât even move while wearing them.
âYour bodies havenât finished maturing yet. Training the body is bound to develop your energy center and mana circuits, and thatâs the goal of this training.â
Raon raised his finger while telling them that it wasnât going to be that hard.
âYou should get used to it soon enough because humans adapt. Letâs start with long distance running.â
âArgh!â
âYou are the only one whoâs getting used to this!â
âH-How am I supposed to stay alive while wearing this?â
The swordsmen shook their hands, brushing it off as nonsense.
âIn that case, I have another training plan prepared for you.â
Raon nodded and raised his finger.
âAnother training plan?â
âWhat is that?â
âIâll do that one instead!â
The swordsmen walked up to him, saying that it sounded like a better idea.
âSpar against me one-on-one until sunset.â
âI-Iâm ready to run!â
âStop dreaming! Iâll be the fastest!â
âHow many laps should I run?â
The swordsmen leapt back and got ready to run. They violently shook their heads, trying to deny the spar at all costs, even if they had to go through difficult training.
âItâs so nice to see how motivated you are to train.â
Raon folded his hands behind his back and nodded.
âKuuh!â
âH-Heâs a demon. Heâs a demon!â
âThe squad leader feels like an angel in comparisonâŚâ
âIf only I had the power, I wouldâveâŚâ
The swordsmen swallowed their tears and got ready to run.
âEveryone, run!â
âDamn it!â
âUghâŚâ
Martha gave a killing glare at her bracelets and anklets while Runaan sighed deeply before they both started running around the training ground.
âHuff!â
âThis is madness!â
âSir Burren is taking the easy way out while we are all suffering!â
Once the team leaders started running, the other swordsman had no choice but to start running around the training ground.
âMartha, your body is leaning forward too much. Runaan, pull back your chin, and Dorian, you need to stand up already!â
Raon stayed on the platform and generously gave away advice for the swordsmen on running properly, even though it sounded like he was nagging at them.
âThey are doing pretty well.â
They were running at full speed while enduring the Black Converterâs weight, even though it wasnât clear whether they were just trying to avoid the spar or if it was because of all the difficult training theyâd done in the past.
âIt should be fine to proceed according to the plan.â
He was going to make their schedule a little bit easier if they were having trouble, but he figured it wasnât necessary to do so.
âListen while running. We are going to do some survival training in the North Grave Mountain. You will hide by reducing your presence, and Iâll try finding and attacking you. You should think of a strategy to survive in advance.â
Raon told them about the survival training that heâd been planning as they ran.
âSurvival?â
âWhat a shitty way to trainâŚâ
âIâm already terrified even though I just heard about itâŚâ
The faces of the swordsmen turned white from fear as they sighed.
âWhen are we going to do that?â
Dorian stopped running while panting. He was trying to rest while pretending to ask a question.
âThis evening.â
Every single member of the Light Wind squad stopped in their tracks and looked back at Raon upon hearing him. Everyoneâs eyes widened to the point that it looked like their eyes would pop out of their heads.
âThis eveningâŚ?â
âDamn it! You crazy bastard!â
Runaan and Martha dropped their jaws in shock.
âDid you just say this evening?â
âWhatâs wrong with him?â
âEven that scummy Rimmer gave us a day to prepare ourselves!â
Everyone shouted at him, saying that it couldnât be happening.
âThatâs your problem. You should start thinking about it if you donât want to suffer. Think about how to survive on that mountain.â
âY-You arenât even human!â
âA demon. He must be a devil!â
Raon smiled while looking at the Light Wind squadâs terrified faces.
âAh, this is so fun.â
He looked at the cultivation room while enjoying the threatening glares of the Light Wind members.
âI just need him to come out now.â
His heart was pounding in anticipation, since he was confident he could make Rimmer suffer more than anyone else.
You are being recognized by everyone now.
Wrath gave him a big nod. He looked impressed.
The King of Essence knew you were too talented to stay here. Come to Devildom with the King of EssenceâŚ