Aura

In the eastern sea, there was a huge boat sailing toward Fran kingdom.

A water magician came out of the sea. He was lifted by a water pillar toward the hull of the boat. There was a huge fish floating in the air, tied by a water rope. He threw the fish, then a swordsman cut it into pieces. A fire magician controlled the pieces of the fish to float over a fire he cast.

A man named Hayes chuckled. He was an aide of a powerful noble in Fran kingdom. "Having magicians and aura masters in the boat made it easier to secure fresh food from the sea."

Then he looked at the man beside him. "When are you going back to that kingdom?"

Rostas smiled. "That old man on the throne is dying. He might become desperate and do something unpredictable. For now, I will control my men from Fran. I will go back there once I can guarantee my safety."

Hayes laughed. "Does he have the guts to kill you?"

Rostas chuckled. "He might not want to kill me before, but the situation has already changed. Hahahaha! That Axel thought that he could immediately remove a powerful Duke and avoid a civil war, but how can I let that happen easily? If I let him succeed without paying a very painful price, then will the emperor keep me alive? Now, Axel is dying and Baynard is in tatters."

"Did the emperor praise you for your work?"

A big smile appeared on Rostas' face. He thought, "If I find a puppet that could make Van Flameworth a puppet, then will I not be like a king? But if I become too powerful, the emperor might cut my head, so I have to bribe officials that will say good words for me in the imperial court. I should also develop an official that will act like my enemy in the imperial court, so if he is sent to check and balance me, I will still be a king behind the scenes. Hmm, it's a good plan."

***

"A long time ago, practicing aura was difficult, so it was rare to see a person who is both a master of aura and a high-level magician. They discovered that practicing aura was a lot easier with rhythmic body movement and breathing supplemented by medicinal plants and meat from magic beasts. As time passed, practicing aura got a lot easier, and aura users have more time to practice magic, so it is no longer surprising to see a lot of high-level aura users with high attainments in magic.

Aura is everywhere. It is life energy. Aside from mana in the air, there is also an aura. We absorb it through breathing and eating. Normal breathing cannot fully utilize the aura. Breathing and movement techniques help direct the aura and strengthen our body. They are also our way of keeping the aura within our body. There are four levels of aura." Marco stood in front of Edgar, then started mobilizing his aura.

"The first level is surrounding your body with an aura. Your physical strength will multiply, and your whole body's defense will also increase even without using magic. The second level is to freely control the aura in any part of your body," said Marco, then he stretched his right arm and cast magic. A one-meter fireball appeared on his palm, and he threw it into the air.

"Putting more aura will multiply strength." Then he put more aura on his feet and jumped high.

"Relying on physical strength alone cannot make me easily reach this height," said Marco in the air as he added more aura to his right foot.

Bang! The one-meter fireball was destroyed by his kick.

Boom! He fell from the air and punched the ground with his right fist.

"Adding more aura can make our strength and defense a lot stronger," said Marco as he cast earth magic and fixed the ground that he broke. "Aura users also combined their magic skills with their martial arts to create more force with their magic skills."

He swung his sword, and a fireblade quickly flew. He sheathed his sword and stretched his left hand. A fireblade flew, but a lot slower than earlier. "Did you see the difference? The fireblade became a lot more powerful when combined with the force from my sword. A simple magic skill will multiply in power if combined with martial arts.

The third level is releasing an aura like the energy blade that I showed you before. A long time ago, only weapons could release powerful aura attacks. As martial arts develop, applications of aura evolve. Aura masters can shape their aura to match their martial arts.Weapons are no longer required for every aura user to release powerful aura attacks."

Threads of aura were moving around Marco's arms, then he made rapid punches. Many aura fists were moving into the air. He stopped punching. He chuckled as he looked at his fist and thought,"It's too bad that our family does not specialize in fist art. I don't have time to train and study it."

"Peak third level. It is still third level, but the difference in ability to control aura is quite big. Those at this level have absolute control of their aura. When they clad their body with aura, no aura will leak, the aura becomes compact, the aura is steady, and the power is concentrated. Their defense is scary and their attacks are stronger.

The fourth level is conceptualization. It is based on the comprehension of aura users in their martial art. The gap in strength between the 4th and 3rd levels is very wide. Multiple peaks at the 3rd level working together can only defend against a fourth level. There are currently two aura masters at the fourth level on the central continent. They are marshals of the Maginev empire and Morowind empire that are currently at war." Marco sighed. He was still far from the fourth level. He did not even reach the peak of the third level yet.

"The closest to the fourth level in our kingdom is the marshal of our army, Marshal Frey. He is a spear master. When you reach the third level, you can ask for his advice. Van, you can definitely surpass me later, but you must first train for many years! Hahahaha!" Marco did not believe that Van could reach his level quickly. He started when he was a child. Van was already twenty years old, but he did not even reach the first level of aura.

Marco did not know that his nephew had changed. Edgar lived on Earth, where there was an explosion of information. The clash of ideas in his mind will help shape his sword art that will shock everyone around him.

"Our sacred art has breathing and movement techniques for aura. It has 24 movements. Completing these movements will allow aura to reach every part of the body. You must not let go of the sword. Breathing and movement must be in the same rhythm. These movements are also a form of training for executing four skills of our sacred art." Marco demonstrated breathing and body movements while holding a sword, then he grinned at Edgar. "It's your turn. It will be painful but rewarding."