Chapter 126 : Chapter 126

Chapter 126 : Dragon's Trial (2)

I desperately needed [Rush] or [Wings of Ainsitel].

No, even if I had only used Mana to assist my physical abilities, my mind would have been at ease.

But I knew this was not the time to consider such things.

I kicked off the edge of the cliff and leaped.

No matter how far the distance between the cliffs was, it must have been a momentary event.

But it felt like time was flowing slowly.

A cool breeze brushed past my body.

I could even feel the movement of my muscles, which had swelled up when I jumped.

Paat!

I successfully crossed the cliff.

Unlike Keldric, I leaped over it in one go without stumbling.

But there was no time to be happy about that fact.

Keldric, who had injured his right fist, was on Pera's body, striking down with his left fist.

I pulled the sword I had borrowed from Everchen from my waist.

It was a sword I had borrowed precisely because I wasn’t using my sword, which was imbued with the [Severance] Tune of Maron.

I gripped the drawn sword tightly and slashed at the Pera.

But I was reminded after a long time of how powerless my sword was without an aura.

However, I couldn’t give up.

Even without Mana, my swordsmanship didn’t change.

I didn’t withdraw the move I had used to slash the Pera once and continued to use the Linked Sword.

Using the full power of my body, I swung my sword again.

Swish!

Blood flowed from the Pera’s eye area.

The creature let out a loud roar, but it wasn’t a fatal wound. Still, I didn’t stop and swung my sword once more, then once again.

In the meantime, Keldric was also fighting desperately.

With his injured right hand, he grabbed the Pera’s horn, and with his left fist, he struck the wound I had inflicted.

It was a bloody battle against a Grade 4 Beast.

But neither Keldric nor I used Mana.

Even if the moment of death came, we were determined not to disregard the trial that Hike had given us.

‘Damn it.’

Even so, I was powerless.

I had trained my whole life, but was my sword still not enough to cut through the Pera’s thick hide?

I didn’t blame myself.

I just focused on killing the Pera somehow. With the strength of my body alone, there was a limit.

No.

It would be difficult for anyone to face a Pera with just their body.

‘Is there anything that can change?’

In that tense moment, I suddenly recalled the sparring I had with Tayon.

Tayon had blocked my sword, which was full of aura, just by adding his Intent.

– You need to pay attention to whether your Intent is dwelling in your sword. A firm Intent is stronger than an aura.

It was as if I could hear Tayon’s voice.

If there was anything I could change right now, it was only my Intent.

The clue about Intent was almost within my grasp, but it was difficult to fully reach.

But for now, I decided not to think too grandly.

I didn’t have to perform a Fourfold Transformation right away.

‘I will cut the Pera.’

I focused on this one simple goal.

‘I can cut it.’

My sword was aimed at the Pera.

There was no assistance from Mana.

I just felt the movement of my muscles and firmly engraved my resolve to cut the Pera.

At this moment, Tayon’s voice didn’t matter.

I even forgot that Keldric was hanging onto the Pera.

I erased everything else as if only the three of us existed in the world: me, my sword, and the Pera.

Swish!

When I swung my sword down, the Pera’s thick hide was cut with so much ease.

Only then did the world return to how it was before.

The Pera’s massive body collapsed, and blood stained the cliff. I heard Keldric’s voice.

“How did you do that? You didn’t even use Mana!”

His voice was a mix of shock and excitement.

“Intent.”

I also answered as I took in the realization.

“A firm Intent is stronger than an aura. Lord Tayon told me that.”

“Intent... you’re amazing.”

Even recalling it, I was in a state of extreme concentration.

I had erased everything else in the world except for me, my sword, and the Pera.

I was both happy and afraid.

Afraid that I would never be able to reach that state again.

But I quickly pushed the worry away.

‘I’ll do it.’

I made a promise to myself, and to Tayon.

I recalled the realization and slowly swung my sword.

The same level of immersion wasn’t easily achieved, but I could feel that my mindset towards the sword had changed.

Keldric didn’t disturb me and wrapped a bandage around his fist.

After that, he also slowly threw a straight punch, imitating me.

Chop!

After a long while, Everchen and Bea climbed the cliff.

They were utterly exhausted and panting heavily.

“Did you two... catch the Pera?”

Everchen asked with surprised eyes, looking at the fallen Pera’s corpse.

“No, Polarin pretty much caught it by himself.”

Keldric said, looking embarrassed.

They knew very well how difficult it was to catch a Pera without using Mana.

“I think I’ve roughly figured out Hike’s intention for giving us this trial.”

“What is it?”

“The body itself and Intent. We need to train both of them.”

“I think the body will get trained just by walking along the path, but Intent is the problem.”

Bea answered as she massaged her arm, which was sore after climbing the cliff.

She was right.

Climbing up and down a high and steep cliff without the help of Mana would have been impossible for us before.

No, we would not have even thought of attempting it because we could have done it easily with Mana.

But now, things have definitely changed.

Our bodies were slowly getting stronger.

If we infuse Mana into them, they will grow even more significantly.

“From now on, let’s focus on training our bodies and Intent as we go slowly.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s do it!”

“Yes, we will follow Polarin’s teachings.”

We started walking again.

Our resolve to find the High Dragon’s Nest hadn’t changed, but we now knew for sure what to focus on during the process.

Even though we were advancing along the same path, the trial we were undergoing was different from before.

***

We found the High Dragon’s Nest a month and a half after receiving the first trial.

During the time we moved without any assistance from Mana, we fought many beasts, got injured, and grew.

It was very difficult since we rarely had time to focus on our bodies and Intent before the trial, but we did it.

There were many moments of crisis. But not a single one of us gave in.

Especially as we neared the High Dragon’s Nest, the Mana concentration became extremely high, so we encountered several Grade 2 Beasts.

Despite being covered in wounds, I fought by forging my body and my Intent.

Keldric muttered as if he were moved when he discovered the High Dragon’s Nest visible from a distance.

“We made it without anyone dying.”

“Haha, you’re right. Everyone worked hard.”

After the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, my time had passed quickly. It had already been over 3 years.

During that time, I never wasted a single moment.

I wondered how many things I had accomplished in just a month, no, even a month and a half.

It was true that I had wasted a lot of time just finding the way.

But that time was not wasted at all.

Although I hadn’t done anything to engrave my name on the continent, it was certain that I had spent a very dense amount of time.

Bea also shook her head and said.

“There were really... so many moments of crisis.”

“But it was also rewarding. I definitely feel like I’ve improved a lot in how I use my body and how I handle Intent.”

“That’s right. Now that we know how to handle Intent, haven’t we all reached the 7th Rank?”

“Yes, I guess we have.”

I smiled faintly.

Until now, me, Bea, Everchen, and Keldric were all 6th Rank, but each one of us was different.

The 6th Rank is the stage where Mana is transformed to fit an individual’s nature.

The degree of Mana transformation changes according to the time and experience at the 6th Rank, so there was a clear difference even within the same 6th Rank.

Everyone had been training to handle Intent with the desire to reach the 7th Rank, but they hadn’t shown any clear results.

Even I, until now, believed I knew how to handle Intent, but all I could do was add Intent to my aura or Tune to increase its power.

But through the Dragon’s Trial, by traveling without Mana and Tunes, the concept of Intent that I had known before changed.

I realized how firmly my will could be manifested in my sword, and that my sword could cut anything.

We were all overjoyed that we had grown and overcome the first trial, and we approached the entrance of the High Dragon’s Nest with beaming smiles.

Should we knock on the barrier to announce our arrival?

I remembered the time when I had angered Baden by knocking too much.

“You’ve come early.”

But there was no need to. Hike came out of the nest as if she had been waiting.

“Early? I thought we were late.”

“I thought it would take you a few more months.”

Hike looked us over and nodded.

“All of you successfully overcame the first trial. You’ve worked hard.”

Then Keldric raised his hand and asked a question.

“Do you not need to check? We really didn’t use Mana!”

“I was watching the process of you all passing the trial. You’re definitely less weak than before.”

“Oh, you were watching...”

I was just as surprised. I had never felt Hike’s gaze.

“When you receive the Dragon’s Trial, I can watch you in real-time. That’s enough about that. Do you want to receive the second trial?”

Once you start the Dragon’s Trial, you cannot quit, but you can stop at any time after completing each stage.

But none of us came with the goal of only doing the first stage.

“Of course. I learned a lot from the first trial. I want to receive the next one.”

Hike simply nodded. And she began to recite a Dragon Speech.

──, ───. ───, ──────.

Once again, I couldn’t understand what she was saying at all.

But four portals appeared in front of the cave.

Everyone let out a low gasp at the mysterious phenomenon.

“The second trial will begin as soon as you enter the portals. You can use Mana, Tunes, everything. Do your best.”

“Yes!”

“You can enter in the order of Keldric, Bea, Everchen, and Polarin from the left.”

“So the second trial is individual. I’ll go in first! Everyone, let’s see each other after we do well!”

Keldric said bravely and entered. Bea and Everchen also encouraged each other and entered their portals.

I was about to enter the portal myself when Hike stopped me.

“You, go and greet Baden first.”

“Am I getting a Heart Engraving first?”

Hike nodded and went into the High Dragon’s Nest.

I quickly followed her and said to Hike.

“This time, could you please say the Dragon Speech first and then cut my chest?”

The nightmare memory of receiving the first Heart Engraving came to mind.

The pain of having my chest torn open without anesthesia was quite terrible.

“Did it hurt?”

“...Of course. It still aches sometimes.”

It was an unfortunate accident that happened because it was the first time both Hike and Baden had performed a Heart Engraving.

Hike didn’t reply and just walked in, but for some reason, it felt like she smiled.

“You’ll say the Dragon Speech first, right?”

“Be quiet. The Lord is waiting.”

“Yep, understood...”

I had done it once, so I wanted to believe this time would be different.

Please.

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