Mitchell swallowed dryly.
The energy was similar to what he had felt when Kayden and Cain clashed at full strength.
‘Damn! It's on par with a Grade 6 Aura User!’
When he first entered the Demonic Region, he had been somewhat complacent.
He had only ever heard people say how strong the creatures here were. He hadn't known it would be to this extent. After all, Mitchell wasn't from a generation that had personally experienced Magic Beasts and Demonic Creatures.
Mitchell wondered what to do, then decided it would be better to raise his energy so he could counterattack at any moment.
[Stay still!]
But before he could even begin, Calian's urgent shout rang out.
[It does not seem to intend to attack, so wait for now.]
“…….”
Tense, Mitchell couldn't even answer Calian and simply remained still.
As he did, the creature slowly began to back away. Its red glow gradually receded until it finally disappeared completely.
Only then could Mitchell breathe properly again, and he dropped heavily to the ground.
“Whew…… that was no joke. But why did it just leave?”
[It seems it sensed your dark Aura and approached. It probably came to see if some new Demonic Creature had appeared.]
“Then shouldn't it have attacked me?”
[This is probably not its territory. Besides, it came just in case, but you did not seem particularly threatening, so it left.]
“Ah…….”
Mitchell's mouth fell open at Calian's words.
Considering the energy it had been radiating moments ago, he supposed someone like him might not seem like much of a threat.
“That hurts my pride…….”
Mitchell frowned and lay down in his tent.
It was already late, and he needed to sleep if he wanted to begin training in earnest tomorrow.
“Master, train me hard starting tomorrow.”
[Heh heh. Very well. I shall raise you to the point where that Nightmare Horse becomes wary the moment it sees you. Only then can it truly be called hellish training.]
***
The next day, Mitchell began circulation and breathing as soon as he got up.
He worried that the Nightmare Horse might come again, but fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.
Once he had finished his dawn training and breakfast, the true hellish training began.
[You were fortunate. You obtained many things in a short period of time. Do you remember when I told you that your growth was unbalanced?]
Of course he remembered.
When Calian saw Mitchell nod, he continued.
[You will only be able to raise your realm if you continue correcting that balance from now on.]
“Then is this training going to focus on balancing out my growth?”
[Normally, it should…….]
Calian paused for a moment.
That had certainly been his intention when he first thought of putting Mitchell through hellish training.
But after watching Mitchell train, and then seeing his battle with Barke, Calian began wondering whether that method truly suited him.
That was because the Mitchell Calian had seen thus far grew exceptionally quickly in real combat.
In moments of crisis, his innate talent blossomed and he grew explosively.
After thinking it over a little longer, Calian finally made his decision and spoke.
[However, that is not the only way to break through to a higher realm.]
“Then what is?”
[Just as you quickly became a Grade 3 Aura User, you can push one aspect to the extreme and force the rest to follow. Of course…….]
“It'd be dangerous. Like I was last time.”
[Indeed. Had you not undergone half a Body Reformation, your body would already have collapsed. So I shall ask you. Will you correct the balance, or will you push one aspect to the extreme?]
[Wait. Before you choose, understand that this time it will not end with mere pain like the elixir did. If things go wrong, you may lose your life.]
Because Calian already knew exactly what Mitchell would choose, he hurriedly warned him.
But if Mitchell were the type to heed such a warning, he never would have made it this far.
“Obviously, I should raise my realm as fast as possible.”
[Hmm…….]
Calian nodded.
If that was what the boy wanted, he would do it.
But there was one thing he wanted to know.
[Before we begin, I have a question. Why do you pursue martial arts?]
Mitchell fell into thought for a moment.
But he soon realized the answer.
At first, he had needed strength to escape his father's grasp.
But ever since he first opened his Aura Hole, martial arts itself had felt mysterious and brought him such exhilaration that his entire body trembled.
No matter how many flowery expressions Mitchell knew and tried to attach to it, they all ultimately came down to one thing.
It's fun!
“Do I need a reason? I swing a sword because it's fun.”
[Is that also why you wish to raise your realm?]
“Of course. The higher my realm gets, the more things I can do. Ah, and right now, seeing the look on that Nightmare Horse's face when I shock it is pretty important too.”
It was an answer that was thoroughly Mitchell.
Calian had met countless people throughout his life, but each one pursued a different value through martial arts.
Some took up the sword for money, some for revenge, and some for fame.
Even among those who pursued the same money, revenge, or fame, each person's goal inevitably differed in some small way.
But from Mitchell, Calian sensed nothing except pure curiosity and the desire to explore.
Remembering his past self, Calian smiled in satisfaction.
[Keul keul. You truly are a Sword Demon. Yes, this is what makes teaching worthwhile. Very well, let us see what you can do. First, start hunting.]
Mitchell didn't know the purpose behind the hunting, but he didn't ask.
Ever since encountering the Nightmare Horse the previous night, only one thought had filled his mind.
He was going to show that bastard what he was made of.
And the person who could show him the fastest path toward that goal was Calian.
‘Let's see.’
Mitchell unfolded the map the hunter had drawn and checked what was nearby.
Some places were marked as Magic Beast territories and others as Demonic Creature territories, but he had no idea which one he should target.
Fortunately, Mitchell had the foremost expert on the subject with him.
“Master, what's the difference between a Magic Beast and a Demonic Creature?”
[A Magic Beast is an ordinary animal that has been eroded by mana and turned ferocious. Its appearance may change, but fundamentally, it remains an animal. A Demonic Creature, on the other hand, goes beyond that. Its very essence has changed.]
“Ah, then the Nightmare Horse is a Demonic Creature.”
[Correct. It takes the form of a horse, but its essence is now closer to that of a ghost.]
Thanks to Calian's explanation, Mitchell could now tell the difference.
But he was still unsure what he was supposed to hunt.
Noticing Mitchell's dilemma, Calian explained further.
[A Demonic Creature is not necessarily strong, nor is a Magic Beast necessarily weak. However, Demonic Creatures tend to be stronger because they have absorbed enough mana for their very essence to become distorted. Hmm…… as it happens, there are suitable opponents nearby.]
Calian looked at the map and pointed to one location.
[Hunt a Red-Eyed Rabbit.]
“Huh? Rabbits?”
[They are not ordinary rabbits. They are enormous.]
Sounds like the same thing to me…….
Thinking that to himself, Mitchell headed toward the area where the Red-Eyed Rabbits lived.
He decided not to complain since he needed to deal with them sooner or later anyway.
The place Mitchell had chosen for his camp was within the Red-Eyed Rabbits' territory.
Mitchell advanced with a light heart, only for his mouth to fall wide open the moment he encountered one.
“Holy shit…….”
[Keul keul. Not quite what you imagined, I take it.]
“Obviously not.”
For one thing, its size was completely different.
Even while sitting on the ground, it reached roughly to Mitchell's chest, and its entire body was visibly packed with muscle.
It scratched the back of its neck with a hind leg, and despite its fur, the definition of every muscle could be seen.
And true to its name, its sharp eyes had crimson irises.
“Does everything around here have red eyes?”
[Hah. How can you compare it to the Nightmare Horse? The Red-Eyed Rabbit is simply a rabbit with red eyes, just as its name says.]
Mitchell nodded, then quickly came to his senses.
That wasn't what mattered right now.
What mattered was that he had to hunt that thing.
‘Well, it's still just an oversized rabbit.’
Of course, he knew perfectly well that wasn't true.
Still, Mitchell reassured himself that way, raised his sword, and advanced.
When he stood before the Red-Eyed Rabbit, it turned its head and looked at him.
‘Looking at it like this, it almost seems cute…….’
As it stared blankly at him, Mitchell actually started worrying that it might simply run away.
His pointless concern vanished in an instant.
GRAAAAAAGH!
The creature let out such an aggressive cry that it was hard to believe it was a rabbit, then charged at Mitchell.
The moment its enormous hind legs kicked off the ground, the distance between them vanished in an instant.
Startled by its explosive speed, Mitchell immediately used Forgotten Soul Movement Art.
He opened the distance in an instant, but in terms of speed alone, the creature was far faster than Barke, and it caught up to him almost immediately.
‘This won't work.’
Mitchell changed his approach.
His objective was to hunt it.
He couldn't hunt anything if all he did was run away.
HMMMM—
He summoned his Incarnation and simultaneously wrapped his sword in Sword Energy.
The moment he used Ghost Soul Steps in that state, the Red-Eyed Rabbit, which had been charging eagerly toward him, flinched.
Using that brief opening, Mitchell swung his sword and slashed across the Red-Eyed Rabbit's neck.
SLASH—
‘Damn! Too shallow!’
The moment his sword swept across its neck, Mitchell realized he hadn't inflicted a serious wound.
GRAAAAAAGH!
Perhaps startled that it had been wounded, the Red-Eyed Rabbit shrieked again.
Mitchell pointed his sword toward it.
He needed a stronger blow to finish it decisively, and Mitchell had Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
HMMMMM—
Dark Aura gathered around his sword.
It compressed further and further until the blade began to vibrate.
When Mitchell raised his sword overhead, his Incarnation raised its sword as well.
The Heaven-Breaking Annihilation that followed passed through the Red-Eyed Rabbit's hard skull and continued downward.
The Red-Eyed Rabbit split into two.
After confirming that it was dead, Mitchell drew several ragged breaths.
As expected, using his Incarnation and Heaven-Breaking Annihilation at the same time was not easy.
If he wanted to use them more freely, raising his realm had to be his first priority.
No matter how powerful the techniques were, they were difficult to use with this many restrictions.
After catching his breath for a moment, Mitchell hurried over to the Red-Eyed Rabbit's corpse.
Then he began peering into the split body.
[What are you doing?]
“Looking for an inner core. You said they help increase Aura.”
[Hah. Did you think just any creature would have one? This one does not, so stop wasting your time.]
“What? You didn't tell me to hunt it for an inner core?”
[It is for the soul, so hurry up and absorb it. Then immediately try converting it into dark Aura.]
Mitchell had naturally assumed this was about obtaining an inner core, so he was disappointed to hear otherwise.
But only for a moment.
The instant he absorbed the Red-Eyed Rabbit's soul and converted it into dark Aura, Mitchell was startled, and Calian explained why.
[For you, who can convert souls into dark Aura, the souls of Magic Beasts and Demonic Creatures are themselves elixirs and inner cores. Of course, they will be rough because they are unrefined, but their souls will help increase the amount of dark Aura you possess.]
“As expected of you, Master! You predicted even this and brought me here!”
Calian roared with laughter at Mitchell's praise.
[Indeed. Do you finally understand the greatness of your master?]
“I'll follow your teachings faithfully from now on!”
[Yes, yes. But there is something you have forgotten.]
“What?”
[The essence of a Magic Beast is still that of an animal. Which means it retains its natural habits to some degree.]
Hearing that, Mitchell thought back to what he knew about rabbits.
‘The book said some species live in groups while others live alone. And the way to tell them apart was…….’
Its enormous size made it difficult to tell what species it had originally been.
That left the ears and legs.
The book had said species with large, long ears and legs tended to live alone.
Unfortunately, compared to its body, the Red-Eyed Rabbit's ears and legs were not particularly large.
SKREEEE!
GREEEEK!
GRAAAAAAGH!
By the time Mitchell realized that, all sorts of monstrous cries were already echoing around him.
Then, from near the place where the first Red-Eyed Rabbit had been, a whole swarm of identical creatures suddenly burst out.
“Damn it!”
Mitchell used Forgotten Soul Movement Art with everything he had.