Chapter 23. 11. Our Lumian Has Changed (3)
Although he had become the body of a 15-year-old knight aspirant, in his previous life, he was a knight of the Knight Kingdom Zenas.
And not just any knight. He was a Swordmaster among Swordmasters, so remarkable that save for the Knight King Philip III, there was no one who could compare to him.
For such a Lumian, common sense did not apply.
He quietly assumed a posture for aura cultivation and thought.
'I've certainly been too negligent with aura cultivation until now. Let's absolutely reach the Expert realm within today.'
Wuuuuuung
Lumian, having focused his mind, began to circulate energy according to his unique aura cultivation method. The energy, gathered as solidly as a rock, rolled through the passages of his body and began to swell like a snowball.
The energy that had thus expanded was gradually refined into Lumian's own energy—Aura—and accumulated steadily in his dantian.
One hour, two hours, three hours.
Lumian maintained tremendous concentration and continued to accumulate aura. The speed at which he absorbed energy was so fast that his clothes fluttered slightly.
After completing about six hours of cultivation, Lumian slowly opened his eyes.
With a calm expression, he checked his aura reserves and muttered to himself.
"This should be enough."
To reach the realm of Sword Expert—in other words, the level where one can manifest an incomplete Aura Sword—there is an absolutely necessary process.
It was to pierce through the three blocked aura passages in the body.
In the case of a newborn human, since they are close to a natural state, all pathways for receiving energy are open.
However, as time passes and the world's turbid energy flows in, various passages become blocked. Only by opening these again can one ascend to a higher realm.
'One in the upper section, one in the middle section, one in the lower section.'
Depending on whether these three points are pierced or not, the efficiency of aura manipulation differs by more than twofold.
For this reason, all knights do their utmost to open these blocked paths in the upper, middle, and lower sections.
There are cases where people become cripples from attempting it recklessly, but it is something worth that risk.
Of course, Lumian had no intention whatsoever of accepting such risks.
Closing his eyes again, he calmly drew up his aura.
Kurrrr......
Lumian scraped together all the aura accumulated within his body and moved it toward the lower passage.
It was a far smaller amount of aura compared to the average of knights challenging for Expert, but he didn't care.
Insufficient quantity could simply be resolved with precise aura control.
Wiiiiiiing-!
Lumian's aura was on a different level from that of other knights.
Neither a solid sphere, nor a hammer, nor a sharp sword form.
A high-speed rotating spiral cone!
It advanced toward the lower passage. And it crushed the turbid energy far too easily.
Jiiiiiiiiing-!
In less than 10 seconds, the lower passage was pierced.
Other knights had to endure pain and collide dozens of times to barely open this gate, but Lumian did it more easily than picking his ear.
Although about a quarter of his aura was consumed in the process, it was fine.
'More than enough to pierce the middle and upper passages.'
Just as Lumian thought. He moved his aura with a calm expression as if meditating, and attacked the middle passage.
Jiiiiiing!
And he succeeded in piercing it in 15 seconds.
Normally, after breaching two gates, one would catch their breath and steady their mind, but Lumian didn't. It wasn't difficult enough to require unifying his mind.
Just as before, he leisurely moved his aura and attacked the upper passage.
Jiiiiiiiiing!
In about 20 seconds, he achieved results.
Within one minute of deciding to become a Sword Expert, he had reached the realm.
"Mmm, the body is certainly lighter."
Lumian, who undid his cross-legged posture and stood up, punched the empty air a couple of times.
Bang! Pop!
The sound of air bursting was heard.
Compared to before, it was much faster and overflowing with power.
Moving aura through the opened pathways was incredibly comfortable. He could also feel that the waste of energy had significantly decreased.
Smiling broadly, Lumian walked toward the table.
He bit into an apple he had peeled before cultivation and picked up a fruit knife.
Then.
Wuuuuuung-!
Along with a slight vibration sound, aura began to overlay the blade's surface.
Like flames flowing along an oil-coated stick, it wavered without taking on a definite form.
It couldn't compare to the complete Aura Sword that a Swordmaster could manifest.
But it was more than enough to prove that he was a Sword Expert.
Lumian smiled with satisfaction.
'To pull out an incomplete Aura Sword at 15, even I think that's a crazy growth rate.'
Countless knight aspirants strive to become Experts, but the ratio of those who reach that realm is barely 10 percent.
More than half of those 10 percent reach the realm in their 40s.
Those considered talented reach it in their 30s, and those called the kingdom's prodigies in their 20s.
And only those hailed as heaven-sent geniuses can reach Expert in their late teens.
Knight King Philip III of Zenas was such a case. He had drawn out an incomplete Aura Sword at 17 years old in summer.
'Talent unparalleled on the continent, all the subjects offered words of celebration.'
Yet, he had ascended to the Sword Expert realm at the age of 15.
And not just any Expert.
He had become an Expert possessing practical combat experience worthy of a veteran knight, having been through countless battlefields.
'The aura amount is still quite lacking, but this should be enough to defeat Professor Karen?'
Perhaps he could even win against the Knight Commander level of the Tarazan Kingdom. Since it was a country not particularly large compared to the powerful nation Zenas, the knights' abilities weren't outstanding either.
But there was an even more important fact than that.
With a serious expression, Lumian muttered.
"If I do well... wouldn't it be possible to become a Swordmaster before age 20?"
No, not 'wouldn't it be possible.' It was absolutely possible.
If he recovered his realm at the same pace as now, he would likely be able to draw out a complete Aura Sword within at least 3 years.
When his thoughts reached that point, goosebumps rose with a chill.
Lumian muttered to himself again.
"A teenage Swordmaster... wouldn't that look incredibly cool?"
The one who reached the realm of Swordmaster at the youngest age in history, Lumian Callard!
The cheers, interest, and love from women pouring toward him!
It was thrilling. Tremendous excitement flowed through his entire body.
His heartbeat seemed to pound through the room.
But such pleasant fantasies didn't last long.
No matter how he thought about it, it was too excessive.
'At that level, rather than women, I'd be more popular with those in power.'
He might even be treated as a demon king in human disguise. Either way, it would definitely become troublesome.
This was not what Lumian wanted.
'Let's do it moderately, moderately.'
He nodded and thought.
To show only enough skill to rank first in the grade.
Well, if it seemed a bit too plain, ranking first in the Academy would also be fine.
This too was by no means a small scale, but Lumian had sufficient ability to realize it.
'For now, let's just focus on the midterm evaluation.'
Focusing didn't mean he would devote himself to training for good grades.
It was a determination to be reborn as an even cooler and more popular Lumian through the exchange tournament.
To establish himself as a definite heartthrob among the female students in his class, and to show the female students of Class B his changed self to attempt an image transformation.
That was what mattered most to him. Grades were a secondary factor.
'I hope they pair me with a strong opponent.'
There's not much effect to be gained from performing well against a weak guy. He absolutely had to face a strong one.
Professor Karen, please pair me with a decent guy.
Lumian, having prayed internally, finished the remaining apple and left his quarters.
Dawn had already broken. It was time for physical training.
Something like insufficient sleep couldn't block his passion for a cool body.
***
A week passed since Lumian became a Sword Expert.
During that time, he had lived extremely busily.
He solidified his model student concept by showing himself training diligently, guided the eager Class E cadets to maintain his warm image, and practiced expressions and practiced not being nervous in front of the opposite sex.
Although the latter still hadn't shown noticeable results, the former was different.
Thanks to Lumian's continued devotion, the members of Class E, who had been like grains of sand, began to unite as one.
"What, you're going to do more?"
"Of course. To beat those Class B guys, we need to train even a little longer."
"Yeah! This time we absolutely have to win!"
"I'm going to train more too. Let's crush those bastards with our skills."
Although it stemmed from impure intentions, Lumian's actions had completely transformed Class E into a different group.
They became more cohesive, more diligent, and stronger. All of Class E waited for the exchange tournament, having grown by a level.
And finally, the day of the exchange tournament between Class B and Class E dawned.
Lumian smiled the smile he had learned from Theoro and said to the cadets.
"Let's go catch Class B."
At his words, everyone nodded.