"Why do you keep comparing yourself to him?"
"It's because I've heard people say endlessly that the first Duke was the 'strongest man ever on the Continent.' So much so that the phrase is etched in my mind now. That's why I compare myself to him."
"The strongest man in history."
"He was incredibly strong. Even your father, called Sacred Knight, is probably a level weaker than Draconis."
That was a level of strength Raimon couldn't even imagine.
Despite Raion's rapid growth speed during his last five years of life after making a contract with Belenus, he still had a long way to go to reach the Sacred Knight realm.
Even if he became an "unparalleled solar swordsman" as Belenus had said, Raimon was still not sure if he could defeat his father.
"Hm, sure. Alright. I guess I'd better make it clear."
"Make what clear?"
"The difference between you and Draconis."
Raimon nodded as he focused on Eclipse's next words.
"At eight years old, Draconis wouldn't have been able to understand a single sentence in that book."
A brief pause followed before Eclipse continued speaking.
"But one's talent cannot always be measured by one's knowledge, understanding of swordsmanship, and handling of the blood aura."
"In your case you are now focusing on swords and spiritual power."
"When you grow up you will begin to awaken the blood aura and you will be very strong."
"From what I have seen, you are quite gifted. You're like a genius who is born once every thousand years. However, you still can't compare to Draconis."
"Hm, that's kind of sad."
"I'm sure your father, the Sacred Knight, is much more gifted than you."
"So, I'll never be able to surpass my father because of the disparity in our talents?"
Surpass his father.
That was the greatest and most ambitious goal of the reborn Raimon. If he could not beat Raion, Raimon would have no choice but to live trying not to stand out again and not to enjoy this world full of unknown things, lest he incur the wrath of the Flower.
The pathetic death in his first life he did not want to see repeated.
"Aside from that, there is something that you, Draconis, and your father differ in."
"You have half royal elven blood, Draconis was fundamentally 100% human and your father has Giant blood mixed with his human blood very much present."
"You won't win against your father if it's purely about physical strength."
"If it's only about strength?"
"That's right, baby. Don't think the world revolves solely around swordsmanship and strength. You also have spiritual power."
"That's right."
"If you master spiritual power to the extreme limits, it's possible for you to become stronger than Draconis, not to mention your father. So don't be impatient."
"I'm not impatient. I just wanted to know my limits."
"Ha! You're still thinking about your 'limits' even after gaining the spiritual power of Belenus?"
"Maybe it's because you're still a child."
"You're too oblivious."
"Belenus' nickname among the gods is... 'the Eternal'."
"Eternal?"
"That's right, eternal. The potential you have is far greater than anyone else in the world. It is eternal. So focus on growing for now. You need to leave this stifling place and explore the world to experience life there are many interesting things."
"In that case, what is today's training about?"
"Of releasing your spiritual energy. You can always learn the basics of martial arts later. So, from today until the day you leave the Blood Castle, you will only train your spiritual powers."
****
Apart from blood aura and spiritual power, some people in this world possess other special powers, though they are few and far between. Among these "special powers," natural power is the rarest of all.
And the beings who control spiritual power can be divided into two categories.
The nature gods hide in many places on the continent, such as Belenus, and those who made a contract with the god, such as Raimon and the heads of some major families.
During his prime, Eclipse had the spiritual power to fend off six nine-star warriors simultaneously without having to escape. Raimon could not even imagine the full power of the dragon.
Eclipse said that dragons also have divisions in their family.
There are the original dragons, ancient dragons, legendary dragons, dragon kings, and dragons.
Eclipse belongs to the original dragon category. I mention that at the time he went to sleep on the mainland there were only 3 dragons in the same category.
The dragons that have contracts with other families did not exceed the rank of ancient.
In other words, now that Belenus was not showing himself, Eclipse was the perfect master for Raimon.
"People like you and me who can use spiritual power can release natural energy."
"It is the first and last technique we must know."
"The first and the last?"
"It's a basic technique but also a lethal move. The principle is easy. It is similar to how a warrior uses the blood aura."
When warriors reached the 4-star stage, they could release aura.
In other words, if someone could release aura, they had reached the 4-star stage. Since Raimon was an apprentice, releasing aura was a very difficult game for him.
However, although Eclipse knew that Raimon had an "aura" within him, he did not know that the boy had the "knowledge and skills of a 9-star warrior from the ancient patriarchs."
"I asked Eclipse how he could have these memories and he said it was a spell learned by intelligent beings by mimicking races that don't have much fertility to pass their knowledge to their descendants through the bloodline."
"It's a lost spell, currently I doubt many families still have it."
Raimon hadn't yet told the dragon about his rebirth, and he didn't plan to tell anyone from here on out.
"But as far as I know, warriors don't use aura release as a lethal move... do they?"
"Just because they both use the word 'release' and are similar in style doesn't mean that aura release is on the same level as a spiritual energy release."
"Hm."
"In any case, before you learn to release aura energy, you must learn to release spiritual energy first."
"How so?"
At Raimon's question, Eclipse merely shrugged.
"You have to start by learning the easiest techniques. Would you try to learn to wield a steel sword when you can't even lift a wooden one?"
"Okay."
Raimon nodded as he understood the meaning.
He had already mastered how to release some spirit during his first few years in the castle, so he didn't feel impatient.
"Oh, well, I should think of this as a review."
"I haven't tried to release some spirit in a long time either, so this is a good opportunity."
Once Eclipse sat down across from Raimon, he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha... How funny. I never would have thought that I would teach spirit to a Flower child. If your father ever finds out about this, you and I are as good as dead."
Learning spirit in secret was a dangerous thing so it was forbidden.