HBWnovel Chapter 72: To Mistwood! (1)
Chapter 72: To Mistwood! (1)
Chapter 72: To Mistwood! (1)
"W-Wait, you had dual mana affinities, too? H-How is that possible?" Leon could hardly contain his trepidation as he stuttered out loud.
Amon was already a prodigy who stood at the top of his generation. Heck, he could even contest against monsters from generations above him. And yet, he still had such a valuable trump card hidden?
"Well, everyone has their secrets."
The black-haired transmigrator intended to reveal some of his secrets to Leon, not all of them. While Yue had taken the fact that she was a character in a book he'd read well, no one could guarantee that the rest would feel the same way. If anything, they might feel helpless to stop the upcoming calamities and mess up the timeline even further.
Hence, Amon would withhold his secrets for now... at least until he deemed them ready.
"Dual mana affinities are rare, but they do exist. Mixing them is also possible; I am a living example."
"... you're right."
As much as Leon was stunned, his rational mind quickly calmed him down. Upon a cursory reflection, Leon realised one critical fact.
'Wait... Isn't this just perfect for me?'
The blonde-haired youth didn't know anyone with dual mana affinities, let alone a high-level Knight who mastered its path. Yet, such an individual was now his master. There was practically no one else more suited to be Leon's master.
"So, trust your body. No, from the beginning, you should have thrown away the usual conventions you had about the human body."
"What do you mean?"
"Holy Church Paladins trained you. While they are undoubtedly strong, they don't possess Solaris physiques. So you're unaware of how much pain and suffering your body can withstand."
It didn't take much for Amon to understand where Leon's mental block came from. While he was born with Solaris' blood, he wasn't raised in the mighty household. He hadn't been around the monsters of Solaris, and his common sense was still skewed towards that of ordinary humans.
Alas, his body was far from human.
The Solaris Bloodline blessed all descendants with superhuman bodies, far more durable and robust than any other living creature. Geared towards the battle, only the Dragons had superior bodies, making Solaris Knights the ultimate combat machine.
And Leon had the potential to become the most incredible Solaris Knight of all time. There was no way he couldn't withstand using dual mana. After all, the method of mixing two mana sources that Amon used in his training... was invented by Leon from [Bright].
"Throw away all your misconception of the human body's limits cause our limits are much higher than you can imagine."
"I see..."
"Fortunately, we have three weeks in Aldrich's Fields. I will teach you how to utilise your dual mana within this time."
"Y-Yes!"
❖❖❖
Amon began Leon's training in earnest. As someone who had read the book and mastered combining two mana sources, the black-haired transmigrator knew precisely what to focus his attention on. Leon's weakness was his lack of imagination and faith in his body, and hence, Amon drilled the young squire using the best methods he knew.
First, he forced Leon to train without mana to fully experience what it was like to use a Dragon-blessed body. The physical training that Amon put Leon through could have been classified as torture. Running endlessly in artificial gravity that was ten times stronger than usual. Weight training in extreme elements such as subzero cold and boiling lava. Even drills that forced Leon through actual physical torture, drinking poison and piercing needles into his body.
All of it was to break Leon's conventions on what a regular human body was like.
Leon flinched at the casual sentence thrown out by Amon. For others, it may have been a dreaded activity that drained their stamina, but Leon knew clearly that Amon's physical training was on another dimension. It was borderline torture.
"Of course, the basic tenant of a Knight is to have a strong body. No matter how blessed your physique is, all your mana training will be for nothing if you don't actively hone it. Especially for you, since you're attempting to condense Eighty-One Suns, the bowl needed to house all that mana must be powerful."
"... I understand."
Hearing Amon's words of wisdom was enough to pour cold water onto the earnest young lad. Although he understood the logic, understanding and accepting his reality were different.
"Hah... It's a shame, though."
"Shame? What is?"
"It's almost time to leave."
"O-Oh, right! Your confinement period is almost over!"
A ray of hope blessed Leon momentarily as he recalled the main reason why they were here in the first place. Amon's punishment for eloping with Yue and going AWOL was a one-month confinement. Initially, he was supposed to clean Twilight Keep multiple times, but Grand Commander Carmen quickly used that opportunity to give him some training time.
Over the three weeks she booked Aldrich's Keep, Carmen would come an hour daily under the excuse of 'punishing' Amon. However, her true intentions were to assist with the young prospect's synchronisation with Nyx.
The hour was wholly spent on a sparring session that destroyed most of the combat arena, to the point that the cleaners complained about their added workload. Nevertheless, Carmen's insistence on training Amon herself had given them significant benefits.
Amon was getting used to using Solar Mana with Nyx, while Carmen happily sharpened the Solaris Mystic Arts she was unfamiliar with.
And they weren't the only ones benefitting. Leon would watch each sparring session earnestly, eager to soak in every epic clash. He could learn countless things just by watching, and his understanding of how the Solaris Mystic Arts deepened with every session.
But alas, it was about to come to an end soon.
"Well... There's that..."
"Hmmm? Aren't you happy that your punishment is over? Why the long face?"
"..."
Amon didn't answer and stood silently with furrowed brows. He looked away from Leon and stared into the distance as if waiting for something to happen. And just as he did that...
Rumble...
"Huh?"
A tremor rocked the combat arena. Not enough to cause significant damage, but enough to cause dust to fall off the ceilings. The subtle vibrations brought momentary tension to Amon and Leon, but a palpable sense of relief returned to their faces as it faded away.
"An earthquake? Doesn't seem to be anything serious."
"..."
Amon didn't answer Leon's statement. He simply stared towards the North with an added vigour.
'The Blood Demon will be awakened through this earthquake... Looks like it's time to go to Mistwood.'