Denning Rose stuck the needles with earth mana in sixteen different directions, and a white mist appeared around the lodgings.
However, it was as faint as the mist right before sunrise, and it felt like a single swing of the hand would be enough to dissipate it.
"It's called the Soft Dancing Mist Array. It looks like a faint mist from here, but it should look like a thick fog from the outside, and they shouldn't be able to see inside."
Denning Rose swirled her finger into the mist while explaining the Soft Dancing Mist Array.
"Hmm…"
Raon unleashed his aura perception and examined the Soft Dancing Mist Array's flow.
'So quiet.'
The mist was quietly moving around the lodgings and created a powerful wave from time to time.
The reaction seemed to block the view from the outside.
'It doesn't disturb the natural flow.'
He thoroughly examined the array, but he couldn't notice any disadvantage. He was underestimating it because it was so easy to set up, but it must've been more advanced than he'd thought.
"You can even use an array technique?"
"I've learned a little about it. However…"
Denning Rose bit her lip slightly while looking up to the sky.
"I've gotten serious about it since the defeat in Grand Seville."
The furrows on her brow seemed to be the result of remembering the incident in Grand Seville where the apostle had used an array to sacrifice people.
"I didn't want to see my crew and residents become a sacrifice ever again."
"I see."
Raon smiled faintly at Denning Rose, who was clenching her small fist.
'She's amazing.'
It must've been extremely difficult to learn the complicated array technique while working as a branch manager. That must've been the reason she looked bigger in his eyes.
'And the same goes for her.'
He looked away and saw Encia, whose face was covered by the camera.
She'd managed to invent a new artifact even though she must've had lots of work to do as a future prospect of the house.
He felt proud and itchy at the same time at witnessing the progress of Denning Rose and Encia.
'I feel like I'm the only one who isn't making any progress.'
Compared to those two, who were advancing step by step, he felt like he was the only one who remained in the same spot, and it left a bitter taste in his tongue.
Are you seriously crazy?
Wrath suddenly stood up even though he was lying around like a dried fish.
Not making any progress? Bulllllllshit!
'Huh?'
You've changed the most among them. What kind of Cerberus shit are you spouting?!
'Cerberus shit?'
You've made all your progress by sucking up all of the King of Essence's power, and now you are saying that nonsense! You definitely have a clear conscience!
Wrath scowled, saying that he couldn't understand how a human being could be so greedy.
'Really?'
Raon tried making a fist with his right hand.
It was his honest thought because his realm hadn't changed for a while, but it was true that he'd still made a lot of progress. He figured he could take it more easily.
'Thank you for comforting me.'
He wasn't comforting you! He was insulting you!
'It comforted me.'
Raon patted Wrath's head before opening the door of the lodgings.
He lowered his head at the warriors who'd been waiting and gestured with his hand for them to enter.
"Thank you for waiting. Please enter."
The warriors' eyes sparkled like the sun reflected on a lake.
"Are you accepting our spar request?"
"I thought there was only a small possibility, but this is great."
"Thank you!"
"I won't forget my gratitude!"
The warriors' cheeks were flushed in anticipation for the spar.
'I knew it. I don't smell the White Whale from them.'
The Thespian Emperor must've sent warriors who were completely unrelated to her to avoid repeating the same mistake from the day before.
"Yes, I'm accepting the spar requests. However…"
Raon smiled while facing the head of House Tven, Dumptkan, who was the first one to arrive.
"How about letting Tven's warriors and my subordinates have a match beforehand?"
"Are you talking about my disciples?"
Dumptkan blinked while looking at his disciples standing behind him.
"Yes. Since they are around the same level, it should be beneficial for both parties."
"Hmm, the Light Wind division's swordsmen are indeed at the advanced or highest level of Expert."
Dumptkan nodded after examining the Light Wind swordsmen one after the other.
"However, my disciples reached their realm a long time ago. The difference in experience should make a significant difference in the sparring matches."
He seemed to have a strong trust in his disciples since he was worried that the Light Wind division might end up losing confidence if they all lost their matches.
He wasn't being sarcastic. He seemed to believe from the bottom of his heart that the outcome of the matches was obvious.
"Don't worry about us."
Raon gently shook his head.
"Hmm, what do you all think?"
Dumptkan turned around and asked, and his disciples immediately nodded.
"Sure!"
"Please let us spar against them!"
"I've always wanted to try fighting against Zieghart's swordsmen!"
Dumptkan's disciples bowed to him and requested the spars.
"It's decided."
Raon told the Tven's warriors to get ready and returned to the Light Wind division.
"You heard, right?"
"This is indeed a great opportunity. I wanted to see how much stronger we've gotten."
Burren licked his lips while looking at Tven's warriors.
"He's underestimating us before we even started. Does he want to fucking die?"
Martha wrinkled her nose while glaring at Dumptkan, who'd declared that the Light Wind division wouldn't be able to win.
"Ready."
Runaan nodded, saying that she was already ready.
However, she was still holding an ice cream in her hand.
"Let's see… Krein. You are up first."
Raon called Krein's name while looking at the three team leaders.
"Huh? Me?"
Krein's jaw dropped because he was thinking that it wasn't his turn yet.
"But it's normally the team leaders who should fight first…"
"But it's your specialty, Krein."
Raon bobbed his finger while murmuring that he should go out there already.
"You are dead to me if you lose."
Martha raised her fist towards Krein.
"Martha is right. The vanguard has to win no matter what."
Burren nodded with frightening eyes.
"..."
Runaan quietly grasped Snow Flower's hilt. Her gesture was even more oppressive than Martha's.
"Alright, fine! I'll win this match easily!"
Krein swallowed nervously and stood up from his seat.
"Don't go easy on them. Do your best."
Raon lightly patted Krein's back.
He'd previously believed that controlling the strength and matching down to the opponent's level was an expression of respect, but he'd changed his mind.
The fact that they'd come all the way there to request spars implied that they wanted to witness the real deal. That was why going all out was the respect for them.
"Yes!"
Krein shouted loudly and stood at the center of the training ground.
"My name is Henry from House Tven."
"I'm Krein from Zieghart!"
The two warriors greeted each other, and then immediately drew their swords.
"Start!"
As soon as Raon raised his hand, Henry made the first move. He used a light footwork and violently slashed downwards.
"Haap!"
Krein moved aside like he was sliding and unleashed his aura blade.
Claang!
The powerful impact engulfed the training ground from the clash between the aura blades.
However, Henry was the first one to be pushed back even though he had the initiative.
"Argh!"
Henry hurriedly tried to recover his posture, but Krein didn't miss that opportunity.
He used straightforward footwork to advance and slashed upwards.
Claaang!
Krein's ferocious aura blade spread around in a cone shape and destroyed Henry's unstable stance.
Pssh!
Henry's hand was torn, and the sword he was holding was lodged into the training ground floor.
"Huh?"
Even Krein himself widened his eyes in surprise while looking at Henry on the ground.
"Why is he so wea—"
"Krein is the winner!"
Raon shouted to announce his victory before Krein could say something rude.
"H-how…?"
Dumptkan's lips trembled as he looked at his disciple who'd lost his sword.
'Henry was definitely stronger, though.'
Since Henry's realm was higher than the swordsman called Krein, he hadn't expected him to lose so easily.
He was speechless because he couldn't even give carelessness as an excuse with how one-sided it was.
'It would've been understandable if he was against a team leader like the Blade of Tempest or Miss Rakshasa, but he actually lost against a nameless member…'
He did come to ask for a lesson, but his disciples were different. The loss of his disciples against the Light Wind division had a completely different meaning.
"Kennin!"
"Yes!"
He called his favorite disciple, Kennin, to win the next match no matter what. Since he was about to break through the Master's wall, he wasn't going to lose regardless of the opponent.
"Martha."
Raon examined the young warrior called Kennin and called Martha's name.
"I can go all out and kill him, right?"
"Don't kill him…"
Raon shook his hand, telling her to not beat him up too hard.
"Miss Rakshasa, go easy on him."
Runaan shouted something that might be an encouragement with her hands around her mouth.
"You want me to fight you first? Haah?"
"Save it for later."
Raon stopped Martha from attacking Runaan and pushed her back into the training ground.
"My name is Kennin from House Tven."
"Martha from Zieghart."
Martha introduced herself with a frown on her face. She must've gotten angry because of Runaan.
"Start!"
As soon as Raon raised his hand, Martha made the first move.
"Haa."
Kennin got into a defensive posture, waiting for her attack. He must've been well aware of Martha's fighting style.
"You wanna defend, huh?"
Martha laughed coldly and raised her sword above her head. The blade turned yellow and a huge pressure burst from it.
Rumble!
The strike fell like lightning. The heaviness of a huge mountain was engulfing her enlightenment of the earth attribute.
"Kuh!"
Kennin mustered his power on his sword, which was rising from him diagonally, but he was unable to fend off Martha's attack.
His leg plunged into the ground, and his hand holding the sword trembled violently—as if it were about to break.
Whaam!
Black smoke started to rise alongside a tremendous impact.
Whoosh!
Raon created a wind to push the smoke away, and Kennin could be seen on the ground. He was unconscious, his eyes rolled back.
His sword was snapped into half and had fallen on the ground.
"He's too weak."
Martha clicked her tongue while looking at the unconscious Kennin.
"I didn't beat him up at all at this point."
She said that she was controlling her strength before returning to the Light Wind division's location.
"That's true."
Raon smiled faintly after examining Kennin's state.
The noise was loud and a powerful impact had occurred, but Kennin didn't have any serious injuries.
It must've been her way of granting the request to not beat him up too hard.
"Huh…"
Dumptkan shook his head with his face turned pale. He looked like he couldn't believe the fact that his disciples had lost one after the other.
"Let's start the next match."
Raon fixed the arena roughly and called out to Dumptkan.
"…Alright. Kaman."
Dumptkan bit his lip and bobbed his hand at the swordsman standing right behind him. He was at a similar level to Kennin, who'd fallen unconscious.
"Runaan."
"Mhm."
Runaan nodded and came into the training ground. Her eyes were as blank as always, but her calmness could be felt.
"My name is Kaman."
"Runaan Sullion."
They bowed at each other.
"Start!"
Kaman didn't take the initiative nor focus on defense, probably because he'd seen the two previous matches.
He unleashed powerful aura blades and started to probe.
Tap!
Runaan leaned forward and used her footwork. She was engulfed in frost and radiated a faint blue light.
"Haap!"
Kaman fired aura blades one after the other the moment Runaan started to move. Seven auras were unleashed in an instant and rushed towards different spots in Runaan's body.
'I did it!'
She couldn't fend off all of those aura blades since she wasn't a Master yet.
He was going to unleash a second barrage of aura blades the moment he saw an opening to gain the upper hand.
Kaman was gathering his aura while predicting Runaan's reaction.
Whoosh!
Runaan's shape disappeared like an illusion, and his aura blades cut through empty air.
"Wh-what is happening…?"
Kaman's lips parted in panic, and a blue blade was touching his throat.
Runaan was behind him before he knew it and had perfectly neutralized him.
"I-I lost."
Kaman dropped his sword, which had incorporated his high-density aura, and admitted his defeat.
His face looked like he still couldn't understand what had happened.
"Good match."
Runaan nodded at Kaman and went away.
The same thing kept happening after Runaan. The Light Wind division perfectly defeated the warriors from various houses and kingdoms without losing a single time.
In fact, it could hardly be called matches because all of them ended far too quickly.
"H-how is this possible?"
"Our realm is definitely higher, so why can't we win a single time?"
"Even though they are from Zieghart, they are still much younger than us. Just how…?"
The middle-aged warriors who'd witnessed the one-sided defeat of their disciples and subordinates were staring at the Light Wind division with expressions of disbelief.
On the other hand, Raon was simply smiling without being flustered in the slightest.
'It would be strange if they lost. After all, I'm their teacher.'
Their sweat and effort was the reason behind their victory.
Raon had been sparring them once a week to engrave death into their body and made them go through hellish training to nurture their willpower.
Even though they had a disadvantage in terms of realm, their victory was a natural outcome.
'Moreover…'
Raon's smile deepened as he looked at Burren, Runaan, and Martha.
'They are even more special.'
They went to Rimmer after the official training to get him to teach them.
They seemed to be doing the affinity training to achieve the Sword Field Creation, but their overall performance had drastically increased instead.
Raon had the feeling that all three of them would reach the Master's realm in a short time.
Raon nodded at the Light Wind division to praise their efforts before walking up to Dumptkan.
"It's our turn now."
"I-I know."
Dumptkan nodded and entered the training ground.
His eyes became serious, as if he'd never panicked. The way he regained his composure so quickly was befitting an advanced Master.
"Start!"
Once they were ready, Mark Goetten, who was on the referee duty, came to the side and lowered his hand.
"Haap!"
Dumptkan made the first move. He lowered his posture and kicked the ground. He leaped at once and thrust his sword with all his might, and Raon could feel a frightening pressure from the straight extremity of his blade.
'He's properly polished his swordsmanship.'
Just like Denning Rose had told him before, Dumptkan's martial art incorporated a sharpness amid serenity. His stab was good enough to be used as a textbook.
'However… It doesn't excite me.'
Probably because he'd witnessed the Demon Slaying Spear's martial art of will a moment ago, Dumptkan's attack felt far too light.
'It's about time I take a step forward.'
Raon smiled faintly and fixed the grip on Heavenly Drive.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Hundred Flames.
Revolving Sky.
The spiral flame bursting from Heavenly Drive's blade created the tail of a shooting star.
Crack!
Dumptkan's astral energy disappeared in an instant, and the Revolving Sky's red trajectory was the only thing filling the space.
Raon lowered Heavenly Drive and lowered his head.
"That was a good match."
"I-I lost."
The Holy Kingdom of Schper's holy knight captain Biten admitted his defeat. Since he was the last person who'd arrived, everyone inside the lodgings had surrendered to Raon.
"Thank you for the matches."
Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive and lowered his head towards Biten.
Since both the Light Wind division and Raon had defeated the knight captains, division leaders, and heads of houses in five clashes, the lodgings were as quiet as a library.
The warriors had requested the spar because they'd thought their skills were on a similar level, and their faces had turned pale as a result.
"Hmm…"
Raon licked his lips while looking at the training ground floor, which was almost intact.
'I wonder what's going to happen now.'
He was wondering how they were going to react since he'd gone all out on them instead of going easy as a courtesy.
If they were true warriors, they would thank him for not holding back, and if they were influenced by the Thespian Emperor, they were going to spread some bad rumors.
"Sir Raon."
As Raon was imagining what was going to happen while looking into the air, Dumptkan and the other warriors' voices could be heard.
Raon looked around, and everyone who'd requested a spar had come closer to him with their hands put together.
"Thank you."
Every single warrior bowed at 90 degrees while holding onto their scabbards. Their voices revealed their strong emotions.
"Thank you for fighting us seriously without looking down on us!"
"It was a short clash, but I managed to learn a lot from it."
"I would've been disappointed if you extended the fight as a consideration."
"It feels refreshing to lose so quickly."
Even the heads of houses showed an extreme amount of respect with smiles on their faces.
"It was the natural thing to do."
Raon smiled in a similar manner as the swordsmen and nodded.
'They must've taken it in a good way.'
Judging from their gazes, they seemed to have realized why Raon had fought them seriously. They'd managed to hold a conversation through their swords.
"See you next time."
"I'll keep training based on what I've learned today and request another spar later."
"I pray for good fortune in your future battles."
The swordsmen bowed once again before they left Zieghart's lodgings one after the other.
Oh?
Wrath's jaw dropped as he looked at the darkening sky.
It ended so quickly. How did that happen?!
'I told you I was going to keep the promise.'
Raon chuckled while looking at Wrath's widened eyes.
You finally learned your lesson! You are a proper demon now!
Wrath patted his shoulder to praise him.
'I'm a human though…'
Raon laughed bitterly at Wrath just as small footsteps could be heard from behind him.
"Do you think it's unexpected that they are happy about it when their spars ended so quickly?"
Denning Rose smiled slightly while looking at the door where the swordsmen had gone through.
"This is normal. They are from neutral factions that haven't caused any issue so far and have only been practicing their martial arts."
Her smile deepened as she continued.
"The Thespian Emperor must've gathered people like them on purpose, but it ended up being helpful to you instead, Sir Raon."
Denning Rose smiled while saying that they were going to spread some good rumors about Zieghart to the others.
"It does look like it."
"I'll undo the array now."
She caught the hem of her dress and was about to take out her needle box when a photo dropped from there.
"Ah…"
Denning Rose's lips parted. Her face turned a color that Raon had never seen before.
"Th-this is…"
"Don't be so shy, third fan!"
Encia shook her head while lowering her camera.
"Wanting to watch the damn handsome Raon is human instinct, after all!"
She shook her head, saying that it was only natural.
"Third fan? Is there a second?"
"Over there."
Encia pointed at the right.
"Raon, damn handsome."
Runaan murmured damn handsome with an emotionless voice.
"Haa…"
Raon sighed and picked up the photo from the ground.
It must've been taken during his gamble against the Demon Slaying Spear since he was frowning slightly.
"Erm…"
Denning Rose hung her head and extended her hand.
"Please give me."
"Sorry?"
"Please give it to me."
'I didn't expect her to tell me to give her the photo…'
She must've taken a liking to it. Raon swallowed nervously and handed it over.
"Th-thank you!"
Denning Rose scuttled back without lifting her face.
"I like your embarrassed face, too! Goddamn handsome!"
Encia shouted that she loved it and activated the camera.
"How did you even make that camera?"
Raon covered his face with his palm and turned his head towards Encia.
He couldn't understand how the papers were coming out endlessly from that small box. Raon had been curious about how that artifact worked ever since the day before.
"I made it to spread the greatness of Sir Raon's face to the world."
"Huh…"
Raon's jaw dropped. He was too speechless to call it amazing to make such a new artifact for a trivial reason like that.
"Wasn't it difficult, though?"
"It wasn't easy, of course."
Encia nodded while pointing at the camera.
"At first, I used a theory called Obscura, which uses a small hole in a dark room to form a reversed image on the opposite side. It's simple to see by using this method, but it can't turn it into a photo. That's why I added a gem containing mana to create the current method."
"A gem containing mana?
"Yes. I tried using a mana stone, but it was too powerful and it destroyed the camera. That's why I used the gems with each attribute to divide the output's balance. I also used the theory of subspace pockets for it."
"Ah…"
Raon dropped his hand and jaw.
"Divide the power's balance through attributes…"
As soon as he heard Encia's explanation, red and blue lighting struck his brain.
He could begin to imagine a new method to control the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier at the same time.
"That's right. I don't need to be fixated on the two attributes. I can use a different method…"
Huh?
Wrath's chin trembled as he watched Raon's eyes gradually become transparent.
Hey! Where are you going?! Come back! Why does it have to be now of all times?!
Wrath couldn't understand why he had to enter the trance just before they were going to eat.
You crazy bastard! Come back! Eat first and go there after! Just eat and you can go back! He'll let you go!
Wrath desperately called to Raon, but his gaze never returned.
He knew it! There's no way anything would go well for the King of Essence! He knew it!
Wrath swore towards the sky, and his shoulders eventually sagged downwards like a wet towel.
Hey…