Chapter 28

After joining the Disciplinary Committee, my days had become busier in many ways.

Every day, I patrolled the Academy with Lisa, handling all sorts of miscellaneous tasks. At the same time, I visited Regnil whenever I had free time to discuss the plans I had proposed—specifically, installing streetlights throughout the Academy.

In addition, I was also looking into surveillance crystal orbs, among other things. There really was a lot to do.

‘For something called the Disciplinary Committee, doesn’t this just feel like a club that handles every odd job imaginable?’

In fact, until last year, the Committee hadn’t been like this at all.

It had possessed considerable authority—punishing students who broke the rules, confiscating their belongings, and the like.

The problem was that the former members had abused that power, accepting bribes from all sorts of nobles and framing innocent students in witch hunts.

When Lisa joined the Committee after enrolling last year, she wiped out all those corrupt practices.

‘She minimized the Committee’s authority and turned it into a department that does whatever it takes to ensure student safety.’

So now, I was doing all kinds of miscellaneous tasks with Lisa as part of the Committee’s duties.

For example, today, we planned to drive away a group of vagrants who had recently appeared near the Academy.

‘It’s troublesome, but for the sake of the future, I guess I’ll just have to bear with it. To be precise, if I want Lisa’s help.’

Strictly speaking, my goal wasn’t just to become a knight—it was to become a knight of the Imperial Family.

The reason I chose to aim for that instead of becoming an ordinary knight was simple.

As an Imperial Knight, I could rise in rank faster and more easily, and at the same time, it would be much simpler to uncover my family’s secrets.

And the authority to appoint Imperial Knights belonged solely to the Balmuth Family.

That was why I greatly wanted Lisa’s assistance.

Besides… while being a Committee member was tiring, it wasn’t exactly bad.

‘Even if most of our authority has been stripped away, we still have some left.’

The Academy was vast, with many areas off-limits to regular students.

However, members of the Disciplinary Committee could easily gain access to those restricted zones.

‘I’ll probably find a use for this authority later.’

No—definitely.

Anyway, the position of a Committee member had more hidden usefulness than one might think.

‘It’ll definitely come in handy when dealing with teachers. But as for the students here…’

Because Lisa was the Lady of House Balmuth, most students were wary of her even outside her role on the Committee.

As for me, I was just a low-ranking baron—so insignificant that no one even knew my name. No one really paid me any mind.

Of course, commoners showed a bit of caution when they learned I was a noble, but most couldn’t tell unless I said it outright.

According to Layla, I lacked any real noble-like aura or dignity.

‘Well, that’s only natural. It’s not like I ever received any formal noble education.’

Layla had said that it actually made things more comfortable when dealing with me.

And honestly, I didn’t really care either way.

‘Anyway, there haven’t been any major problems so far.’

As I organized those thoughts in my head, clearing away idle distractions—

“Everyone here today? No absences? Then let’s start class.”

Luke entered the gymnasium and began the lesson.

Although my daily life had changed quite a bit since joining the Committee, attending classes remained the same.

I gathered with the other students in front of Luke.

“I’ve been teaching you all for a week now, and I can see that you’ve properly trained your basics. So, I think it’s time to move on to the next stage.”

Luke looked around at the students as he continued explaining.

“From now on, I’ll be teaching each of you swordsmanship suited to your individual styles. But before that, there’s something fundamental you all need to learn first. Gideon, what do you think that is?”

“Aura, isn’t it?” I answered immediately.

At this stage, there wasn’t anything else we could be learning.

“Correct. I’m sure you all have a general idea of what Aura is, right?”

“Yes.”

“Roughly.”

“Yeah.”

“Right. Any warrior should at least know what Aura is.”

As Luke said, Aura was a basic skill that all martial practitioners in this world had to learn.

Without it, human physical limits would make it impossible to handle monsters above a certain level.

“Still, for those who might not fully understand—Aura is a type of power that strengthens the human body and the weapon one wields. It’s a power that comes from the soul itself.”

Luke’s explanation hit the core perfectly—it was indeed an accurate description.

If magic was the power derived from mana generated within the body, then Aura was the power that emanated from the soul.

“Aura isn’t something only taught in swordsmanship class. You’ll learn it in spear arts and martial arts as well, because Aura is the foundation of all martial disciplines.”

As he said this, Luke drew his sword.

Then, a faint white glow gradually enveloped both his body and his blade.

“Whoa…”

“That’s Aura?”

The students seeing it for the first time watched the light in awe.

Most of them were commoners.

The noble students, having seen Aura before, didn’t react much.

‘Oh, so that’s Aura.’

Of course, it was my first time actually seeing it, so I found it fascinating—but since I was technically a noble, I pretended to stay calm.

If the body I had transmigrated into hadn’t been noble-born, I would’ve been gawking with the other commoners.

“Aura is the power that flows from one’s soul. This white energy enhances our physical abilities and strengthens our weapons. Now, everyone look over there.”

Luke pointed toward the center of the gymnasium.

There sat a large boulder.

“I brought that here last night. It’s heavy, and extremely solid. Even with a well-trained body and a fine weapon, you wouldn’t be able to cut it cleanly. But with Aura, the story changes.”

Still enveloped in Aura, Luke approached the boulder.

Then, with a swing of his sword, the boulder split cleanly in two.

“Whoa—what the hell?”

“So that’s what Aura can do…”

Once again, the commoners reacted with amazement.

Even Sara and Jason, though they didn’t show it openly, had slightly widened eyes.

After all, even with Aura, cutting through a rock of that size wasn’t easy.

“The stronger you cultivate your Aura, the more your physical ability and your weapon’s durability will increase.”

“Teacher?”

“Hmm? Timmy, what is it?”

“To handle Aura as well as you do… it must take a long time, right?”

“Well… it depends on the person, but yes, usually it takes a long time. It’s not easy to become an Aura Expert like me, after all.”

Right—an Aura Expert.

Come to think of it, Luke was one of the few Aura Experts in this entire world.

‘Aura User, Aura Expert, Aura Master. It was divided into these three stages in the setting.’

In this world, 90% of people who could use Aura were Aura Users.

Becoming an Aura Expert—the next step above an Aura User—required immense effort and talent.

That was why most people only learned the basics of Aura, became simple Aura Users, and then grew stronger through other means.

‘They usually just used Aura for basic physical enhancement, then relied on magic or the power of spirits.’

Even the Empire’s three ducal families followed this method.

House Balmuth used Blood Energy, House Hawkbat relied on the Spirit of Wind, and House Isrinbloom specialized in Fire Magic.

Aura was only used for minimal physical enhancement, while each ducal family created its own distinctive swordsmanship by combining Aura with its unique power.

‘The remaining 10% were Aura Experts, and Aura Masters… well, they didn’t exist in the current era at all.’

Aura Masters were said to exist only in history—none existed today.

Anyway, Luke was one of fewer than ten Aura Experts in the entire Empire, and that alone earned him considerable respect.

Even though he wasn’t a knight, he was regarded as someone beyond one, and even most nobles bowed their heads before him.

That was how remarkable an Aura Expert was…

‘But that’s not something I can aim for.’

I had every intention of getting stronger, but becoming an Aura Expert was definitely impossible.

Even in the game, trying to reach the level of Aura Expert or Master was considered hardcore difficulty—doing that in real life would be even harder.

I’d be content just being able to use Aura at a normal Aura User level.

That was why I wanted to learn Aura.

If I could strengthen my body with it, my chances of dying in future episodes would drop significantly.

But if you asked whether I could even use Aura right now…

“All of you are capable of using Aura. The requirement for applying to swordsmanship class is having a body capable of Aura manifestation. In other words, the fact that you’re all here means you passed the Aura Manifestation Test conducted before admission.”

Right, as Luke said, being in this class meant I was capable of manifesting Aura.

Of course, I had no idea how to actually use it, but that was probably true for most of the students here.

For now, I just had to focus and learn diligently from Luke as a student.

“Some of you already know how to use Aura. Those students can do personal training today.”

At Luke’s words, Sara and Jason both nodded.

As expected, the two of them must have already learned Aura back at their families.

“Alright, those who already know Aura can step aside, and the rest of you, focus on me.”

Sara and Jason quietly stepped away.

Or so I thought.

Sara suddenly approached me and muttered as she passed by.

“Make sure you learn it properly, Kyrgram. I can’t fight at my full strength unless you know how to use Aura.”

“…What?”

“When we fought last time, I didn’t use Aura because you couldn’t. But once you learn and get used to it, I’ll use Aura too—and face you properly. Then I’ll—”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you look pathetic when you do this?”

“Ugh? Hey, Jason! Let go! I’m not done talking—”

“Just come with me.”

Jason grabbed Sara by the collar and dragged her toward the corner of the gym.

“Gideon, sorry about that. I’ll apologize on her behalf. Sorry, teacher, too. I’ll make sure Sara doesn’t cause any more trouble.”

“Hey! Let go! You’re dead, you hear me?!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jason dragged Sara off with a tired expression, and Luke let out a dry laugh at the sight.

“Those two’ll probably still be like that ten years from now. Ahem, anyway, that little commotion’s over—let’s continue. Everyone, draw your swords and close your eyes. Focus on your soul.”

After listening to Luke’s explanation and receiving some one-on-one instruction from him, a few students began manifesting Aura.

From what I’d heard, manifesting Aura wasn’t that difficult once you were capable of it.

That was true.

It was becoming an Aura Expert that was hard—growing to the level of a simple Aura User was actually quite easy.

“…Then why can’t I do it?”

The problem was that I couldn’t manage even that easy step.

No matter how faithfully I followed Luke’s words, no matter how hard I focused, my Aura wouldn’t manifest.

I couldn’t even grasp what I was supposed to do.

“What the hell’s going on?”

As mentioned before, to take this swordsmanship class, you had to prove that your body was capable of manifesting Aura.

And since I was in this class, that should mean I could use Aura.

Yet for some reason, it wasn’t manifesting.

“Having trouble?”

After I’d been stuck for about an hour, Luke approached me.

It looked like all the other students had already succeeded in manifesting Aura—only I hadn’t.

“Yes. I’m following your instructions exactly, but it’s not working.”

“Hmm… then try again. Hold your sword with both hands, close your eyes, and imagine your soul enveloping your body.”

“Yes, sir.”

I closed my eyes and followed Luke’s directions exactly.

It was my twentieth attempt, but since Luke was right beside me, I tried again.

Yet again, nothing happened.

“…Something’s strange.”

Luke tilted his head.

“The flow of your Aura is off. Gideon, close your eyes again and focus.”

“Yes.”

I did as he said once more. This time, Luke brought his finger near my chest.

After a brief moment, he withdrew his hand and spoke.

“Gideon, did anything like a curse or a seal ever happen to you when you were young?”

“…What?”

“Your Aura is blocked right now. The power of your soul should naturally flow out into your body, but something is keeping it trapped inside.”

“What does that mean…?”

I tilted my head at Luke’s words.

I’d never heard of something like this before.

I’d heard of mana seals, but a seal on one’s soul power? That was a first.

“Judging by your expression, you haven’t heard of it either, huh. Hmm… it seems artificially sealed, but… it could also be something innate to your body’s nature…”

“Then does that mean I can’t use Aura at all?”

That was a bigger problem than it sounded.

In this world, if you couldn’t use Aura… you’d have to give up on any physically demanding job altogether.

‘Should I switch to the SimCity route instead?’

I briefly considered changing course to become the Empire’s greatest lord and entrepreneur, but Luke thought for a moment before speaking again.

“It’s not that there’s no way. The barrier blocking your Aura is pretty weak. If you can forcefully draw out your Aura, it should collapse easily. The problem is, you’re still a beginner—you’ve never handled Aura before, so pulling it out strongly is hard.”

“So… you mean there’s no way?”

“I just told you—there is a way.”

After thinking for a moment, Luke made up his mind and suddenly drew his sword.

“…Teacher?”

“Gideon, to the center of the gym.”

“Excuse me?”

“A sparring match. We’ll clash blades with full strength.”

“What?”

What was this now?

The sudden turn of events left me utterly bewildered.

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