Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Training and consequences

[Hillcamp]

Hearing Allaire and Jennia's reply, Darganth motioned for them to follow him and walked down the hill. Making their way out of the formations, the three of them walked across the empty field before coming to a halt at a spot that had received comparatively little damage.

Turning to his two wives, Darganth looked at them with a professional look. Allaire had also dropped her usual playfulness while Jennia tried to do so, though she couldn’t keep her excitement from showing.

Without further delay he started by lesson about physical aura.

“Before I teach you physical aura itself, I think I should first explain why I said that it will be more effective to learn now and that is connected to the basis of how it works.” He started.

“It has largely to do with the way physical aura works, namely by taking mana and fusing it to ones body. And while this may seem like the physical strength enhancement an aura user can go through after stepping into the mythical rank, both methods are distinct and with different advantages and disadvantages.

Mythical ranks can permanently combine mana and their body, letting it seep into the body while enhancing it. Physical aura on the contrary is a fusion that is only temporary, with the usage of mana being not to directly strengthen the user but to allow a muscle and general body density far above the normal physical limit.

At its base this works similarly to how a beasts body autocratically breaks certain physical laws, allowing it to work with so little mana that even the closest one can come to a total lack of its doesn't impede its function. That's because no artificial method can archive a total lack of mana, only a reduction of its density below a point at which not even I can use it. And the same is also true for the Universes that are labeled as mana free, though to a lesser extend as especially powerful individuals can still use mana in most of them.”

After finishing this first segment of his explanation, Darganth paused to let his words sink in.

Allaire and Jennia were meanwhile staring at him agape, his explanation turning much of their knowledge about mana on its head.

“After hearing it like this it makes sense.” Allaire said after a few moments.

“How?” Jennia asked her with a shocked expression.

“Well, mana is supposed to be an energy that stabilizes reality by keeping the pure elemental in check. So a total lack of it would mean that the pure elemental energies would start affecting the physical realm, something that would quickly destroy it.” Allaire explained her theory.

“She is right.” Darganth confirmed towards Jennia, “This is also one of physical aura's great advantages over the aura infusion of mythical ranks as compared to the latter it will still show its full effect even when mana is restricted.

Of course there are also disadvantages, mainly its slower growth rate. That because the strengthening of the body isn't done by mana, instead just aided by it while the natural process does the heavy lifting.”

“Let me guess, high residual mana helps with that.” Jennia said.

“Yes.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“For me to show you how to train afterward?”

Darganth's words halted Jennia's enthusiasm and caused her to look at him in confusion.

“I don't mean how to train but how to continue once your body becomes too strong. After a while there will no longer be any weights heavy enough to still hold an effect.” He clarified.

“Good point.”

“Now as to how to circumvent this problem, its rather easy actually. By purposefully changing the aura flow its effect becomes inverted, weakening the body and increasing the strain it experiences, an aura user can simply train like normal even if is physical strength reaches unimaginable heights.

Of course this isn't a perfect method, with my current situation being a perfect example. Currently my physical body is far too strong in comparison to my mana, making it impossible for me to limit myself enough.”

“Wait, doesn't that mean that pure aura users would find it harder to train like this?” Allaire asked.

“Yes, but this is the point at which the residue effect of potion consumption helps as it is mobilized with the aura flow. And instead of using it to temporarily become stronger, this allows a permanent strength growth for which you would normally lack the mana.”

With those words he transmitted the information on how to break the bodies limit and how to reverse the effect of aura to both of them.

“That's all?” Allaire asked, slightly surprised by how simple these two techniques are compared to how much they are kept secret.

“Yes, physical aura is more often than not blown out of proportions. I often wonder how so few discover it themselves, though I suspect it's similar to your disbelieve. Nobody expects it to be this simple so they don't try.”

To his words Allaire could only nod in agreement before she started practicing the technique.

Darganth was meanwhile attentively watching her and Jennia, giving them advice whenever he deemed it necessary.

Sitting there with closed eyes for a few minutes, the two of them moved their mana carefully throughout their body. With every step they completed they felt as if they escaped a prison they didn't even know existed.

Slowly this transitioned to a feeling of weightlessness, as if gravity could no longer hold them.

“Don't get lost in this feeling.” Darganth warned them at this moment, “You may feel stronger but you aren't.”

While these words from him didn't stop the high they were experiencing, it allowed their logical thinking to suppress it. Slowly breathing in and out, they stopped themselves from following the urge to test their power.

Instead they activated their internal aura and reversed its flow, quickly dampening the previous feeling.

Jennia was especially hard hit as she never had practiced aura, making her body fully human without any physical enhancements. After a quick moment of thought, she dropped her transformation to ease her burden.

“I should have at least condensed the aura symbols.” She grumbled.

“I will teach you after this.” Darganth answered her sympathetic smile. While transformation's wouldn't carry over a beasts natural strength or the strength gained by growing in the mythical rank as it counted as part of a species innate attributes, strength gained through the practice of physical aura, condensing of the aura symbols and progressing through the mythical rank in aura did.

And while beasts rarely took advantage of this, preferring to simply revert to their true form when more power is needed, many humanoids that focused on self-transformation magic did. This made those experts in the field that also learned aura exponentially more difficult to deal with as they could have extreme amounts of physical power even in small forms.

At the same time Allaire was also having her own difficulties with the sudden loss in strength, though less extreme than Jennia due to her third rank aura cultivation.

Slowly standing up with slight difficulties, she got the idea to slow down the aura. Normally this would result in a weaker straightening, thus she hoped the reverse would also be true.

Feeling the strain lessening, she eased her burden until she felt like before she had practiced mana. Walking around for a bit, she became more grateful that she became a mana wielder with every step.

“This feels like walking through water, just a hundred times worse.” She said after a while.

“That's the point.”

“And this is just how most beastmen live their entire lives, what would it feel like to go even further.”

“Painful.”

“Why, I would expect that one just can't move beyond a certain amount of weakening.” Jennia said, back in her human form. After seeing how Allaire reduced the weakening she experienced she did the same, now having barely any aura flowing through her body.

“Because it also put's pressure on the body to make it more resilient. Just like muscles regenerate stronger after being burdened, the skin does too just far too little that it has any effect without techniques like this.

So while yes, first one would find themselves unable to even move a finger, after a certain point the pain starts to set in. And that is without even adding the elements to the equation, as they can be used to build up resistance against them.” Darganth explained.

This made Allaire and Jennia shudder as just the though of this seemed painful. Especially if the element's were added to it, with neither a constant burn, poison or anything else sounding like a good idea.

“So don't get hit too much while in this state, got it.”

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“Yes. But enough of the theory, now comes the fun part.”

Saying those words, Darganth let his usual replica of his spear materialize in his right hand while taking a combat ready stance. After another swift motion later, two magic circles covered the area around the three of them before vanishing after a short second.

“I want you to reduce your strength to the point that you can barely walk, then we'll spar.”

“If you just want us to help you indulge in your fun you could have just said it.” Allaire replied with a light laugh.

“Not quite. Fighting puts pressure on exactly those muscles you use in a real fight, so this is an easy and efficient way to raise ones fighting prowess.” Darganth explained.

“But it is part of it, or?” Allaire asked, to which Darganth just smiled affirmative.

Finishing their little banter, Allaire and Jennia also got ready. Slowly increasing the suppression they experienced, they soon reached a point at which just standing slowly exhausted them.

Sharing a quick glance and nodding to the other, they dashed towards Darganth in perfect unison. When they reached the edge of his reach, Allaire abruptly stopped and stepped behind Jennia.

With her vanishing from Darganth's view, he directly became more vigilant as to not be surprised by a sudden arrow. Carefully watching Jennia approaching with a sword in hand, he took a bit more distance while swinging his weapon in a wide arc.

Deciding to parry the blow, Jennia brought her sword up to her right but was quickly surprised by the power difference. While she caught the spear, the force behind it made her tumble to the side.

Using this opportunity, Allaire let loose an arrow as soon as Jennia had moved the first bit. As soon as Darganth turned to the side to dodge this, she leaped forward while drawing her short blade from her back.

Swinging it in a reverse grip in the same motion with which she drew the weapon, she forced Darganth to step back even more as she had gotten too close for him to use his spear.

Following this up with two more swings after quickly flipping the sword into a normal grip, she tried to fully suppress him. This effort quickly fell apart when he managed to follow up her second swing with a thrust of his own.

Keeping her at a distance for a few swings, he suddenly switched his focus to Jennia who had tried to circle around him while he was distracted. While his first attack took her by surprise and forced her back, she quickly adapted to his attacks.

After a few dozen exchanges she even started to block his attacks without getting pushed around, having learned that her current strength was lower that Darganth's. Now, instead of simply pushing against his blade she followed Allaire's exampe and diverted his attacks.

But despite this and her combined attack with Allaire, they only managed to fight to a standstill. Soon even this stopped being the case as with the fight prolonging their exhaustion rose.

Darganth was meanwhile still completely fine, causing the gap between them to slowly widen until the two of them could no longer keep up.

“Why don't you also start suppressing yourself with aura, that way it will be fairer.” Jennia complained while panting heavily.

“Already doing it.”

Darganth's words caused Allaire, who was lying down from exhaustion, to snap her head towards him.

“That was while holding back?” She practically shouted.

“At least as much as I can, yes. Even while polymorphed I lack the mana necessary to weaken myself too much with this, just like you would without the residue mana from the potions.” He explained.

“Holy fuck, don't you have like five times my mana?” She asked him, completely bewildered.

“Not quite five times, but yes.”

“So dragons just can't use this method or is there some sort of trick to it?”

“Not really a trick, just a fully developed mana heart. Before that its pointless so nearly no dragon tries for long, with mainly those who have decided to fully focus on their body being the exception.”

“For dragons that's probably even viable, higher starting point and they aren't bothered by the lack of flight methods it offers.” Allaire mused.

“Yes, but most still follow the same path other practitioners of this path use, cultivating aura till the mythical rank and then focusing on their physical body.”

“More options, huh.”

With Darganth affirming those words from Jennia their conversation slowly drifted to different topics.

Soon Jennia and Allaire finished recovering, needing only a few minutes thanks to the plant and time magic formations Darganth had placed around them.

With this the three resumed their training, beginning a cycle of exhaustion and recovery that would last for the remained of their stay.

A few days later they quickly dismantled their camp along with the formations that Darganth had created all over the hill. For all three of them the days spent there had been very productive and would continue to be, but the threat of a mythical rank forced them to tread carefully.

Leaving in the middle of the night for the unlikely case that there are still some elements of the army that weren't in complete disarray, they continued their journey towards the dwarf kingdoms.

 

[Inside the city]

A bit over a day after their departure the city lord received the report about the casualties. A few hours ago in the earliest morning hours he had already noticed that the situation was worse than he had expected, but his standoff with a mythical rank beast prevented him from investigating further.

Both had just hovered opposite of the other while the rank and file members of both groups, or what remained of them, had retreated out of the area. The sight of barely over a hundredth of the group he send into the fight returning had caused him to nearly lunge at his opponent but the smirk her received when his intentions were noticed quickly made him rethink.

He knew neither what species of beast he was facing, nor did he know whether there were others still in hiding. As the highest fighting power of one of the frontier cities, which was the reason he held the title of city lord and not some noble, his death would hold serious ramifications for not only the kingdom but the beastmen as a whole.

So with the threat of an enemy of unknown strength, he was forced to silently endure until his men were all back in safety before retreating himself.

Now he was sitting it the fort at the cities center, reading through the list of those that returned while keeping himself from lashing out in anger.

“No one, not even a single one survived!” He shouted, “How did they know who to target?”

At his words the gathered officers twitched, never having experienced their commander in such an enraged state.

After a few seconds of silence on finally gathered the courage and said, “Maybe just bad luck? Even among the rest there are few survivors, so having none of our young talents return may just be a coincidence.”

Those words made all heads snap to the man who said them, many accompanied with glares of anger. They all had invested heavily in this small group of talented new recruits and they didn't want to believe that their loss was anything than a careful plan.

Just as someone wanted to reprimand the man, the city lord spoke up in a strangely calm tone, “You may be right, at least partially. Strong fighters stand out and none of them would have retreated, no matter the odds. So maybe it was their bravery that spurred them to fight on that cause this situation.”

Just as quickly as the room broke out into murmurs following those words it was silenced again when he added with the previous fury, “But that doesn't mean we will just sit back and accept what happened. I want you to do a full investigation, leave no stone unturned whether civilian or one of our men. Root out every last one of the beasts sympathizer no matter the cost. Whoever obstructs you will suffer the same fate and I don't care if they are noble's or not.”

“And you sir?”

“I will meet with the king. They want war, then I will do my best to give it to them even if it means bringing mythical ranks into the fight.”

Seeing all men opposite of him nod with determination, the city lord ended the meeting before calling for a mage to teleport him to the capital.

Unknown to him, his actions would be one of the sparks that would light the continent aflame once more.

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