Chapter 63. < 27. It's Really Big (3) >
Through the mountain's aura, he slowly absorbed the Demon Stone's energy.
He purified the demonic energy through water, earth, and wood, and burned away the residue that wouldn't disappear with heat.
Of course, that alone wasn't enough. The work of converting mana into aura had to proceed simultaneously.
It was a task requiring considerable concentration.
Of course, Lumian possessed sufficient ability.
KUKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA-!
As if a torrential rain was falling, a rain of mana poured down on Lumian's body. It was rainwater containing filthy, foul-smelling demonic energy.
He could feel the mountain falling ill. Lumian also felt pain.
But by gritting through it and devoting all his power to purification and energy accumulation, he gradually felt his body becoming more comfortable.
While the demonic energy progressively decreased, the amount of aura—the power to control and purify demonic energy—continued to increase.
Of course, this wasn't the end.
'The goal is to raise my realm, not simply to increase aura.'
The journey toward Sword Master!
It was a far more arduous process than what he had experienced as a Sword Expert.
Compared to an Expert who only needed to break through three major gateways, a Sword Master had to open all the minute pathways throughout the entire body.
One had to push out most of the turbid energy accumulated in the body and achieve a pure and perfect physique.
'It's not difficult.'
Lumian even thought of this as easy.
Though it was something from decades ago, he still remembered it vividly.
The day he first ascended to Sword Master.
The moment he stood tall as the central pillar of Xenas, breaking through the ridicule and mockery spreading behind his back—he could never forget it.
'Just do the same. The situation is much better too.'
That was true.
While his mental energy had been considerably depleted from purifying demonic energy, the situation was still not bad.
There was a massive amount of aura to open the pathways.
He had sufficient skill to handle it, and an internal map from his past life's memories.
There was no need to hesitate.
Lumian unhesitatingly pushed out and burned away the turbid energy in his body.
TSUTSUTSUTSUTSUTSU......
Little by little, little by little.
Yet Lumian completed his physique at a faster speed than anyone in history.
He opened his eyes exactly 24 hours later.
Morgan spoke to him.
"Brother, have you lost your mind?"
"About what."
"Becoming a Sword Master at 15...... isn't that a bit too much?"
"It could be."
Lumian rose from his seat.
Though he was tired, conversely, he also felt a refreshing sensation.
The turbid energy pushed out beyond his skin felt sticky, but his mood was extremely good. Even trying to act nonchalant, giggles kept slipping out.
He slowly drew his sword.
And closed his eyes.
Then he felt the tremendous amount of aura sleeping in his dantian, and the pathways inside his body cleaned as if just born.
JIIIIIIIING-!
The aura extending along those pathways flowed out through his hand and enveloped the sword. It took form. And then condensed solidly.
Morgan said as if grumbling.
"Congratulations. It's a completed Aura Sword. Sigh, the color is brighter than mine too. Are you sure you just became a Sword Master?"
"Quiet, you brat."
Lumian turned toward Morgan with a bright smile.
"Now I have the ability to discipline my cheeky little brother."
***
Having become a Sword Master, Lumian briefly checked his physical condition.
There were no major problems. The dantian holding aura had clearly expanded, and his flesh had returned to its primordial clean state.
Of course, he still had a long way to go to recover his former realm.
He had been a master counted among the very best even among Sword Masters.
"But Brother."
"Yeah."
"I don't know how you did it, but if absorbing Demon Stones is possible...... wouldn't going out to hunt demons more often help with raising your realm?"
"Hmm. No. This doesn't seem like something to do multiple times."
"Is that so?"
Lumian nodded.
While the Demon Stone contained more mana than most spiritual medicines, honestly speaking, its quality wasn't very good.
It meant the mana wasn't pure. It seemed to be influenced by the demonic energy.
'If I keep accumulating only this kind of mana, I might end up with a situation where I have a large amount of aura but poor quality.'
It seemed this kind of windfall would end with this one time.
Of course, having squeezed everything out of this one opportunity, he had no regrets.
Rather, he felt like dancing. If not dancing, then at least sparring to stretch his body.
"To celebrate becoming a Sword Master, want to spar with me?"
"Pass."
Morgan refused sharply.
He clearly really didn't want to do it.
'The amount of aura might not be much different, but swordsmanship and aura manipulation ability would be overwhelmingly different.'
He didn't want to fight a battle he would definitely lose.
He quickly changed the subject.
"But it's a shame. It would've been nice if we could keep eating Demon Stones."
"That's true, but...... after Sword Master, there are more important things than aura capacity. There's no need to be obsessed only with aura......."
"Ah, you didn't know."
At Morgan's words, Lumian made a puzzled expression.
Didn't know? What?
His sworn brother took out a hand mirror and tossed it to him.
Lumian made an expression of disgust.
"First time I've seen a man carry a hand mirror. And such a brawny frame at that......"
"What kind of talk is that...... You never know when or where you might meet a woman, self-grooming is essential."
"Sure, you're great."
"Anyway, just look in the mirror."
Pushed by Morgan's urging, Lumian looked at the mirror with a disinterested expression.
It's a face I see every day, it'll obviously be the same, why is he making such a fuss.
He thought that, and then.
"Oh!"
Seeing his own face, he exclaimed in admiration.
His appearance had clearly become more handsome than before!
He turned to Morgan and said.
"What is this?"
"I don't know well either. But......"
"......."
"Isn't it because you absorbed an Incubus's Demon Stone? That's what I'm thinking, anyway."
"Ooh......"
Lumian nodded.
It was quite persuasive.
Indeed, other than the Demon Stone, he couldn't find a reason for his face to suddenly change.
'My skin improving is natural since I pushed out the turbid energy in my body while becoming a Sword Master, but my facial structure changing slightly......'
It was a mystery that couldn't be explained by realm advancement.
He looked in the mirror and flashed a fresh smile.
"What's this, this handsome guy!"
"Are you happy?"
"Of course I am."
It was Lumian who had always felt inferior looking at Theodoro Shugarten, looking at Karl Krone.
For him, this gain was an even more pleasant thing than becoming a Sword Master.
He liked it even more because it wasn't that he became a completely different face, but rather his original appearance was slightly enhanced.
He returned the hand mirror and said.
"Next time I meet an Incubus, should I absorb one more even if it's risky?"
"......You'll die young if you do that. By the way, didn't your thing get bigger?"
"Sadly, no."
Lumian said while shaking his head.
But this was a lie.
Actually, that thing had gotten bigger too. He hadn't looked, but he could feel it.
The fact that it had become thicker and longer compared to before.
But he couldn't help but keep his mouth shut because if he said even this, his sworn brother would be too envious.
Of course, internally he was screaming at the top of his lungs that he was overjoyed.
That preparations were complete. That now only practice remained.
"That's a shame."
"It is a shame."
"Still, becoming a Sword Master and becoming a handsome young man is something. Besides, it's not over yet. There's another secret room over there."
"Really?"
Lumian focused his eyes and examined the direction Morgan pointed.
Then he saw a rectangular crack in the stone wall.
"It certainly looks that way."
"Yes. There might be some useful items, so let's search through it."
Morgan speaking was in an extremely excited state.
That's right. He was a mercenary.
Unlike knights who exterminated demons for the peace of the continent, nations, kings, and people, he was the type who only took action when some reward followed.
Having watched Lumian reap benefits while he could only suck his fingers until now, he couldn't help but feel antsy.
"Then, let's go!"
Morgan shouted vigorously and approached the secret door.
But he didn't let his guard down. He looked like he would kick the door open immediately, but instead stopped in front, tore a magic scroll, listened carefully, showing a thorough approach.
Truly the appearance of a veteran mercenary.
Of course, after the investigation was over, he was merciless.
"EURAAAP!"
KWAKWAKWANG!
As he forcefully pushed the stone door, the interior was revealed.
It wasn't very wide. There wasn't much inside either, giving it a desolate feeling.
However, four jewel boxes placed on a table made Lumian and Morgan's hearts race.
"Ooh, looks like there's something."
"Right. Especially that box on the far right is fancy."
Lumian was right.
The box on the far right was decorated with gold and jewels, making it seem valuable on its own.
Of course, the three boxes on the left also looked quite high-class.
Morgan, who had been scanning the boxes, cautiously opened his mouth.
"Um, Brother."
"Why?"
"It came from your territory, but still...... since I helped with this and that until now......"
"Since you helped?"
"How about splitting it half and half?"
Hearing this, Lumian let out a small laugh.
Of course, that was his intention.
No, actually, even if he gave away everything here, he wouldn't regret it at all.
It was Morgan, who despite meeting after crossing a gap of 10 years, still gave to him with the same appearance as before.
He didn't have even a speck of greed toward such a sworn brother.
Since he was at it, he decided to be generous.
"I've gained a lot already, so I'll take just one."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'll take this one, the second from the right."
"Brother...... if you're taking one, you could take the one on the far right......"
Morgan said with a moved expression.
But Lumian knew well that wasn't a genuine statement.
He pretended to hit him with his hand.
"Don't say things you don't mean, let's just open them quickly."
"Hehe, yes. I'll open them in order from the left."
Morgan, rubbing his hands together, opened the first box.
Then an alluring purple bottle caught their eyes.
A heart pattern was drawn on the bottle's neck, and it had a magical power that seemed to pull in the viewer's gaze.
Morgan exclaimed in surprise.
"Potion of Charm!"
"Is it famous?"
"Yes. It's a Succubus's Potion of Charm—if you mix it with your saliva and feed it to the opposite sex, you can make that person your slave for 24 hours. It doesn't work on priests or skilled swordsmen and mages with strong mental power, though."
"Whoa, it's basically for committing crimes."
"It's actually used that way quite often. Since it's an item containing demonic energy...... But it's okay. If we hand it over to the Aria Order, we can get a sizable reward......"
Having finished speaking, Morgan reached for the next box.
With a click sound, another box opened.
Again, Morgan's surprised voice followed.
"No way, this is!"
"What is it this time."
"Succubus Beauty Elixir! This is really rare!"
"Ah, I've heard of this too. Is it real?"
Lumian also asked Morgan with surprised eyes.
Indeed, this beauty elixir boasted truly amazing effects.
It wasn't simply about skin improvement.
After spreading it nicely on the face and sleeping, upon waking up, one's face would change to become closer to their ideal appearance—a miracle elixir.
"And this has almost no demonic energy. Actually, the Order tried to make this a prohibited item too, but the opposition was so fierce they couldn't. Just seeing the Order changed their stance, we can assume there are no major side effects. Anyway, this is a jackpot. Hehehe."
Morgan let out a greedy laugh.
The second box was definitely a jackpot.
It would be a jackpot to sell, and good to use himself.
Of course, since it was a Succubus's Beauty Elixir, it had less effect when used by men, but it was still an excellent item.
Excited, he opened the boxes in succession.
"Now, this time it's Brother's turn! Ta-da...... oh!"
"What, what's wrong?"
"......."
"Another medicine bottle. Is it not great? This?"
"......."
Morgan didn't open his mouth for a while.
His body was trembling, and his face was stiff.
He seemed to be feeling tremendous mental anguish.
Lumian found this strange and examined the medicine bottle again.
A red glass bottle like wine.
On the bottle's neck, a smiling Incubus's face was drawn.
Confirming this, Lumian spoke with an expression of disbelief.
"By chance, is this......"
"Yes. That's right. It's a virility enhancer. And not a one-time use, but one with permanent effects......"
"......."
"Sigh...... I should have chosen this box instead...... useless beauty elixir and charm potion...... damn it...... damn it......"
"No, calm down."
Lumian gently soothed his sworn brother.
Honestly, he didn't know the importance of virility well.
He hadn't done it yet. Sad but an unavoidable reality.
That was why, while he understood Morgan's despair intellectually, he couldn't feel it in his heart.
He just wanted to see the next box quickly.
"Shouldn't we open the next box first?"
"Hoo......"
"It's the most fancy box. Plus it has many locks...... if it's this secret of a box, surely the most precious item would be inside. There's nothing to be disappointed about yet."
"Hoo, hoo...... You're right. That's right. We need to open it."
Morgan nodded.
His sworn brother was right. It was too early to despair.
He took a deep breath and quickly released the box's locks. And slowly, with trembling hands, opened the lid.
Please let there be something better than the virility enhancer.
He didn't know if there was anything more important than virility in life, but anyway, let there be such a thing!
Morgan's eyes glistened with earnest wish. Lumian also peered into the box with eyes twinkling with curiosity.