Chapter 18.9. The Price Needed for Learning (2)
Why did Boomer think he would like this?
Lumian didn't bother asking. He simply accepted the books in silence.
There's no such thing as a teenage boy uninterested in things like this. Even Teoro, famous for his expressionless face, was blushing while stealing glances at the covers.
"Alright. Boomer, I'll teach you too."
"Good."
"Follow me. Aura training should be done in a safe place."
Lumian took the lead. Boomer followed with a confident expression, while Teoro trailed behind with a somewhat bewildered look.
A short while later, the two who entered Lumian's room sat in cross-legged positions.
This was the basic posture for aura cultivation. Lumian's voice reached their ears.
"Both of you want to learn how to increase your physical durability through aura infusion, but honestly, that's not very important. You can't block swords with your forearms doing that, nor can you break others' weapons. Isn't that fundamentally inferior to Aura Sword?"
"Hmmm."
"So?"
"I'll just teach each of you an aura utilization method that suits you, based on my experience. First, Teoro. I'm going to infuse my energy into you now, so don't resist and remember the flow."
"Alright."
Teoro nodded. Without delay, Lumian grasped his hand and sent his energy flowing.
Lumian's energy moved through the body in an extremely unfamiliar way.
Not only through the commonly used pathways, but it extended without missing even the finely detailed passages that were rarely used.
Meticulously. And thoroughly. As if pouring water into every corner of the entire body.
After repeating this three times consecutively, Lumian released Teoro's hand and spoke.
"Basically, you have a well-balanced, versatile style, so I focused on raising your overall abilities. If you concentrate on this feeling while swinging your sword, you should see quite an effect."
"...Really?"
The words 'Just from this?' rose to the tip of his tongue, but Teoro didn't voice them.
Because it didn't feel like Lumian was lying.
"Yes. You'll be able to move more flexibly and smoothly, making defense and evasion easier, and it'll be easier to catch the timing for counterattacks. It might be difficult for most kids, but you can do it."
"Hmm."
When he put it that way, it was hard not to believe.
Teoro nodded with a stiff face. Boomer interjected with an impatient voice.
"Me, me next!"
"Impatient, aren't you. Alright, this suits you perfectly."
Lumian grasped Boomer's hand and sent his energy flowing just as before.
However, the movement was completely different. Unlike with Teoro, where it was like water seeping into dry earth, Lumian's energy roughly and crudely churned through Boomer's body.
It was like a wild horse galloping down a main road. As if its tail was on fire, the ground was dug up and stones scattered in its wake, leaving everything in disarray.
After repeating this three times as well, Lumian released his hand. Boomer let out a groan.
"What the, it hurts? Is this really okay?"
"It's fine. You were born with a sturdy body, so you can handle this much burden. It's okay up to exactly this point, so try using aura more boldly than usual. This will probably suit your style best."
"Really?"
"If you don't want to believe me, don't."
"I believe you, brother."
Boomer stood up and bowed his head politely. Ignoring this, Lumian looked at Teoro and spoke.
"Well, yours is the more difficult utilization method, so you might be uncertain right now. If you really can't get the feel of it while practicing, let me know. I'll teach you more in detail."
"I'll try it first, and if I really don't understand, I'll ask then."
"That works too. Shall we end it here?"
Lumian said, looking at Teoro and Boomer. It was a dismissal.
In truth, even before the instruction, his interest was focused on the books Boomer had given him, so he wanted to send the two away quickly by any means necessary.
'This guy, he's really horny.'
Teoro immediately saw through Lumian's intentions. He nodded and rose from his seat.
But Boomer wasn't as perceptive as Teoro. He scratched the back of his head and spoke to Lumian.
"Um, I'm a bit worried because the method you taught me seems too intense, so could we meet again next week? In case I have questions..."
"I've taught you this much, why would I teach you every week? No."
"Hey, why not! You said you'd teach Teoro separately!"
Boomer shouted as if he couldn't understand.
Lumian made an annoyed expression.
"You're not a pretty lady, why would I take care of you every day? It's annoying, so no."
"No, I mean why does Teoro get special treatment! That bastard is a guy too!"
"He is my love mentor. Unlike you, we have a give-and-take relationship."
"I gave you books too! Three of them!"
"Hmm... that's true. Then I'll see you two more times in the future. Since you gave me three books."
'This bastard!'
Only then did Boomer Simpson grasp Lumian's intention and make an incredulous expression.
This guy wasn't satisfied with three books and was hoping for more!
"No, but do you know how valuable these are... They're on a completely different level from works by untalented artists!"
"So, is the value of those books greater than the aura utilization method?"
"Well... if you put it that way, being a love coach can't compare to aura utilization either..."
"That definitely can compare."
Lumian said with a solemn expression.
Boomer fell silent. Overwhelmed by his serious atmosphere, he gulped, and Lumian continued speaking.
"Love and romance are that sublime and great."
'Budeokchung bastard.' [Note: This appears to be a curse]
Boomer wanted to curse up a storm, but Lumian's expression was so serious that he couldn't.
Of course, even if he had said it jokingly, he wouldn't have been able to. In this situation, he was in the absolute subordinate position.
But he couldn't stop himself from letting out a hollow laugh.
Boomer shook his head and said.
"Why do you even need dating advice in the first place?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, with that level of skill, why are you worrying about useless things?"
"Huh?"
Lumian sounded bewildered, and Teoro nodded, thinking 'He's not wrong.'
Boomer looked back and forth between the two and spoke with emphasis.
"The greatest virtue of a popular knight cadet is naturally swordsmanship skill, isn't it?"
***
"It's been a while, gentlemen."
The swordsmanship professor with a splendidly groomed mustache, Karen, said as he looked at the Class E cadets.
He was at an age past middle age approaching old age, but an undeniable pressure emanated from his body.
'Is it because it's been two weeks since the last class? I'm even more nervous.'
'Professor Karen is more burdensome than Arnold...'
'I have to do this desperately to avoid being called out!'
All the cadets of Class E, even Teoro, watched Professor Karen with faces full of tension.
But even in that tension-filled moment, there was someone thinking about something else.
'Right... Boomer is correct. Why did I forget the basics?'
It was none other than Class E's regular failure, Lumian Callad.
He didn't want to get scolded, so he was looking at the professor like the other kids, but he was far more interested in Boomer's advice than the class.
'For dating to be easy, you need to be popular, and for a knight cadet to be popular, you just need to be good with a sword. Well, your skills were terrible until last year... but now it's different, isn't it? If you just show that skill from now on, won't there be several carriage-loads of women rushing to you?'
'Uh, huh? Come to think of it, that's true!'
'Right. But I'm really curious, how did you get stronger so quickly? Did you get lucky and meet a Sword Master and learn from them? Did you take an elixir? Or maybe, were you hiding your skills since last year...'
The latter part of the conversation was useless, but at least what Boomer had said at the beginning was good advice that made Lumian's spirit snap to attention.
In fact, it was something he already knew. That excellent knights are popular wasn't something only Boomer knew—even those country village kids knew it.
He had just momentarily forgotten it.
'I was so focused on how to approach women and how to blend in naturally that I missed something important!'
That's right. If it was difficult for him to approach women first, if it was difficult for him to actively win over women's hearts.
Then conversely, he just needed to make women come to him. He just needed to become popular enough that women would want to work to win his heart.
And fortunately, Lumian had sufficient ability to attract popularity.
He nodded with a determined expression.
'In today's class, let's properly show my skills.'
Let all the women of the academy know that he was no longer last year's failure Lumian, but the greatest prospect reborn as a sword genius!
An incredible enthusiasm was spraying from his entire body filled with desire.
'The atmosphere has certainly changed a lot.'
Karen, the swordsmanship professor, quietly observed such a Lumian.
A much more developed physique compared to last year, a boldness that wasn't intimidated even when making eye contact with him.
Above all, that burning fighting spirit that seemed filled with enthusiasm for the class!
It was an appearance he had never seen before.
It was as if a different person's soul had entered.
'The other professors' praises were profuse, but I didn't expect him to have changed this much...'
He had scoffed thinking there was no way a perpetual failure could do that, but it seemed he would have to admit he was being rash.
'Of course, it's difficult for swordsmanship skills to improve rapidly...'
Still, he was curious.
Who knows?
Perhaps Lumian was a late-blooming talent who had awakened his abilities belatedly.
Thinking that way, he couldn't wait to check Lumian's skills.
Having made his decision, he opened his mouth.
"Originally, I was going to have you do the most basic diagonal slashes of swordsmanship, from upper left to lower right, from upper right to lower left... a total of one thousand times each for posture correction..."
"..."
"But there's a cadet I'm personally curious about. I want to check that child's skills first."
As soon as the professor finished speaking, all the children's gazes headed to one place.
Needless to say, it was Lumian.
Professor Karen, seeing his eyes widen slightly, grinned and called out his name.
"I guess I wasn't the only one curious. Lumian Callad! Come forward. It's a sparring match!"
"Yes!"
Lumian answered crisply and stepped forward.
He felt good. If the diagonal slash practice had proceeded as planned, it would have been difficult to show off his skills, but a good opportunity had presented itself.
How well he would use this opportunity was now up to him.
'Of course, the opponent needs to be decent too... I wonder who will come out.'
The professor wouldn't suddenly call out Teoro who was competing for second place in the grade, but at least sparring with a top-ranking cadet would be good for showing off his skills.
Lumian looked at the professor with some anticipation, and soon the opponent's name was called from his lips.
"Rak, come out."
Flinch.
The freckled one who was called by the swordsmanship professor made a bitter face as he looked at Lumian.
Lumian's expression as he looked at the freckled one wasn't very good either.