SWNOVELXO Chapter 321
Episode 322. There’s a Reason for Strength (3)
No matter how much you train your muscles or hone your skills, unless you’ve reached the pinnacle of mastery, you’re no match for even a handful of Aura.
Even a knight cadet who has just learned Aura can take on 100 ordinary people. The gap between ordinary people and Aura users is vast.
A 3-Star Knight can slaughter such Aura users, and a 5-Star Master can slaughter 3-Star Knights. And the existence that can kill such 5-Star Masters like ants is none other than a 7-Star Prime.
There’s only one reason why this is possible.
Authority.
The power to turn the impossible into the possible.
The power to manifest one’s will into the world.
Sephira was nearly destroyed because of a single Prime who possessed Authority.
Gulrag, the Blood-Drinking. His Authority, “Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill,” delivers a fatal strike to anyone who recognizes his sword. Regardless of distance or numbers, infinitely.
Even though Sephira has no Primes, it is guarded by multiple members of the Lunar Knight Order, the strongest knight order of the family, and at least three Master-level knights.
But all of them were powerless before a Prime.
Only because Dudu of the Big Dipper risked his life to buy time, and Luke, the ability user, stepped forward, did they avoid disaster. If even one of them hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been able to stop Gulrag. All of Sephira’s key figures, including Hisop, would have died.
Of course, a Prime isn’t invincible. They can’t single-handedly destroy all of Sephira. They can’t use their Authority infinitely.
In any case, Authority is like granting an individual power equivalent to that of a nation.
But it’s said that Keter has two Authorities. Even Daat, who has experienced everything in Ruquer, found this story unfamiliar.
“Is that possible?!”
“I think the Authority from my past life has carried over to this one. So now I have two Authorities: one from my past life and one from this life.”
“Wow…”
“Right. Be in awe. I’ll be back.”
“Wait! You haven’t even told me what Authority is yet!”
“I told you I have two, didn’t I?”
Maknun’s expression soured. He had felt something was off from the moment Keter agreed to explain so easily.
As Keter was about to leave the igloo, Maknun reached out.
“Brother! I can handle myself now, you know?”
Whoosh!
The interior of the igloo distorted. Maknun had twisted the space to make it impassable.
But Keter didn’t stop walking. Maknun confidently declared, “I’ve twisted the space here. Even you, Brother, won’t be able to leave. So just乖乖地… huh?”
Daat made a dumbfounded sound. It was understandable, as Keter had just walked out of the igloo as if nothing had happened.
“Huh? Wait, why?”
Maknun fumbled around, feeling the walls of the space he had created. Twisted space would eventually return to normal due to homeostasis, but until then, even the creator couldn’t undo it.
Yet Keter had passed through as if it were nothing.
“Your level of twisting isn’t enough, Maknun.”
Keter left, but Maknun was trapped in the space he had created and couldn’t follow.
Still, it wasn’t a complete loss. At least he had an idea of what one of Keter’s Authorities was.
“That’s so like you, Brother.”
He had figured out one Authority, but the other remained a mystery, driving Maknun crazy with curiosity.
Hitting a target 500 meters away. For Sephira’s soldiers, it’s tough, but for knights, it’s not difficult.
However, when the condition “only pure Aura can be used” is added, the difficulty increases exponentially.
Aura’s sustainability is incredibly weak, so even the Lunar Knight Order, the strongest knight order of the family, could only manage 300 meters at most.
Keter’s training method had improved the basic sustainability of Aura, but it only increased the range by about 50 meters.
Then, Nelson, who was the first to hit the 500-meter target, shared the secret of long-range shooting.
“Split the Aura that will become the arrow into multiple pieces. Start by making an arrow the size of a fingernail, then layer a slightly larger arrow on top. Gradually increase the size of the arrow this way, and the sustainability of the Aura Arrow will greatly improve.”
Nelson’s secret wasn’t something that could be easily replicated just by being told. It required much more Aura and was difficult to shape.
But Nelson patiently taught them step by step. It wasn’t out of kindness but necessity. If everyone didn’t pass, they couldn’t move on to the next stage.
The trainees who learned Nelson’s technique increased their range, but 100 meters was still their limit. They were still 50 meters short.
Just as everyone was feeling stuck, Catherine’s wit came into play.
“The instructor said to hit the target, not destroy it. So let’s give up power and speed and focus solely on sustainability, just to hit it.”
“Ah!”
It was a thought anyone could have, but in the midst of pain and chaos, no one had thought of it. Yet Catherine had, and everyone was amazed.
With Nelson and Catherine’s help, all ten trainees successfully hit the 500-meter target.
“Why did it take so long to succeed? Half of you will probably fail by tomorrow.”
Keter, who had been leisurely walking around, taunted the trainees. It was a mix of sincerity and exaggeration.
“Well, I didn’t have high expectations to begin with. So don’t stubbornly hold on and die; feel free to give up whenever you want.”
Humans tend to want to do something even more when told not to. Especially when the person saying it is as annoying as Keter.
As Keter intended, the trainees, who had been mentally wavering, snapped back to attention.
‘I’ll definitely pass and crush that arrogance.’
‘Why is he looking at me while saying that? Does he think I’ll fail?’
Seeing the trainees’ eyes fill with determination, Keter smiled with satisfaction.
“From now on, I’ll demonstrate the Celestial Infinity Technique to the trainees. Keep your eyes wide open and savor it.”
There was no such thing as a break. Keter immediately began demonstrating the Celestial Infinity Technique, starting from the first form.
First Form, Arrow Wing.
Hundreds of arrows sprout like wings and scatter.
Second Form, Milky Way.
The density and explosive power concentrated in a single arrow make even dodging useless.
Third Form, Heaven Explosion Fire Rain.
A rain of arrows pouring from the sky eliminates numerical superiority.
Fourth Form, Division.
A single arrow repeatedly splits into tens of thousands of arrows.
Fifth Form, Kaleidoscope.
Creates an artificial structure that surpasses the limits of arrows.
Sixth Form, Tusk.
An arrow with extreme piercing power that can even penetrate dragon scales.
Seventh Form, Drone.
The arrow flies on its own, circling around.
“This is the Celestial Infinity Technique, an improved version of the Zodiac Archery.”
“……”
“……”
All the trainees were speechless. They couldn’t even gasp in awe.
It wasn’t because Keter’s demonstration ended in the blink of an eye.
The profound principles and power contained in each technique had left them utterly stunned.
‘The Celestial Infinity Technique has no weaknesses in archery. How is that possible?’
‘It’s no exaggeration to say this archery contains all the mysteries of this world.’
‘I can’t believe it was created by a human.’
The trainees understood how incredible the Celestial Infinity Technique was, but they had no idea how to even begin learning it.
‘No matter how high a mountain is, you can usually see its peak from afar. But this… it’s like looking at an endless horizon.’
Keter’s Celestial Infinity Technique was so awe-inspiring that it even made them feel a sense of weariness about life itself.
“That’s enough admiration. I’ll give you an hour of free time.”
“Free time?!”
“Of course, you can’t leave the training grounds. Other than that, do as you please.”
Those who had been excited about free time were disappointed, but they quickly regained their composure.
In the middle of a barren training ground filled with snow and ice, free time might sound like just more Aura training—but they had just experienced the Celestial Infinity Technique. Countless inspirations were bubbling up in their minds. Keter was giving them time to process it all.
Keter stepped back and watched the trainees. Some tried to mimic Keter’s Celestial Infinity Technique, while others simply closed their eyes and meditated. Of course, they maintained their Aura circulation to withstand the cold.
Exactly one hour later, Keter reappeared before the trainees.
“Hohoho. Why the long faces? Anyone would think you’ve been training for a month. It’s not even lunchtime yet. Look, the sun is still high in the sky.”
Keter reminded the trainees that the day was far from over.
“You’re tired, exhausted, and in pain. Do you know why? It’s because you lack Aura. The amount of Aura you have is directly proportional to your margin of error.”
As Keter said, Mail, who had the least Aura, was struggling the most.
“And here, I have an elixir. Cheongryeonghwan.”
Keter pulled out an elixir that looked like it was made of snow. Everyone’s eyes naturally focused on it.
“This is a gift from me to you. In other words, it’s free.”
“F-free?”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely free. But there’s only one.”
“…!”
“Go ahead, take it.”
Keter held out the Cheongryeonghwan.
The trainees naturally assumed it was “first come, first served.”
Whoosh!
As expected, three people who had been waiting pounced almost simultaneously.
Anis, Taragon, Catherine.
Taragon was the fastest, but Anis shot an arrow at Taragon’s ankle without hesitation. Anis had no qualms about attacking his own brother.
Taragon, as if expecting it, twisted his body to dodge. In that moment, Catherine, the latecomer, surged ahead. The other trainees jumped in belatedly, but Catherine’s hand was already reaching out.
Just as Catherine was about to snatch the Cheongryeonghwan from Keter’s palm—
Whoosh.
Keter twisted his body, and Catherine’s hand swiped through empty air.
“Huh?”
“Of course, you can take it… if you can.”
The trainees weren’t too shaken. It was Keter, after all.
‘He wouldn’t just give it away for free.’
Without a word, the trainees instinctively surrounded Keter.
If the first training was “hitting a clay dummy 500 meters away,” the second training was “stealing the elixir from Keter.”
“Yahhh!”
“Hahp!”
The ten trainees were all top-tier experts, ranging from 4-Star to 5-Star level. Though unintentional, their light clothing made their movements even faster.
Add to that their determination to land a hit on Keter and their greed for the elixir, and they were completely fired up.
Without hesitation, they began attacking Keter like madmen.
“Too slow.”
“Too obvious.”
“Too weak.”
Keter blocked or dodged the fists coming from all directions with just one hand.
“Huff, puff…”
After a fierce assault, the trainees were gasping for breath. Moving while maintaining Aura circulation to withstand the cold was dozens of times harder than usual.
“You can’t win with bare fists.”
Whoosh!
Anis created a bow and arrow out of Aura. The Aura Arrow he shot at Keter was filled with his “sincerity.”
Thud! Crack.
Keter caught Anis’s Aura Arrow and crushed it like a walnut, then nodded.
“Ants don’t need to consider elephants.”
That one sentence was the signal. All ten trainees fired arrows at Keter without hesitation.
‘Even Keter can’t block or dodge all of these with just one hand,’ the trainees thought. Or rather—
Bam bam bam bam!
They were mistaken.
With a single punch, Keter shattered dozens of arrows.
“I said they don’t need to consider me, right?”
Ordinary Aura Arrows wouldn’t work. They’d need at least the Yacha Palace level of the Zodiac Archery to leave a scratch on Keter.
But focusing solely on attacking wasn’t the answer either.
“Gah!”
The Captain of the Constellation Knight Order clutched his chest and collapsed. Having poured all his Aura into the attack, his Aura circulation to withstand the cold had stopped.
The Captain, now out of the front line, gasped for breath and focused on restoring his Aura circulation. Fortunately, he managed to recover before his fingers and toes froze.
This was a problem the other trainees faced as well. They couldn’t keep up their attacks, constantly distracted by maintaining their Aura circulation.
“Is this all you’ve got?”
As the trainees’ attacks slowed, Keter took a step forward.
In that instant, Keter’s fist slammed into Taragon’s chest.
Boom!
It was clearly a punch, but it sounded like an explosion.
Taragon’s body flew through the air. The trainees blinked, alternating their gaze between Taragon, who had crashed to the ground, and Keter.
Keter smiled coldly and said, “What? Did I ever say I’d only defend?”
The real hell was just beginning.