Chapter 659

“You’ve memorized it, right?” Raon inclined his head after telling the Light Wind Division the Light Wind Style’s precept.

“What?”

“Hah?! How am I supposed to memorize all that after hearing it once?!”

“It’s way too long to memorize at once!”

The Light Wind swordsmen were murmuring the precept to themselves and frantically shook their heads, claiming that it was impossible to memorize it all at once.

“So this is an extremely advanced martial art. I feel like my head is about to explode just from the precept.” Krein kept repeating the first part of the precept while rubbing his temple.

“It’s easy, though.” Dorian licked his lips, saying that the precept wasn’t that long.

“D-did you already finish memorizing it?”

“Of course I did.”

He nodded casually, unlike his usual behavior.

“Memorization is the most important skill for a quartermaster! This much is easy!”

Dorian smiled, saying that practicing keeping track of items inside his belly pocket naturally improved his memory.

“Ugh! How could I be struggling when even stupid Dorian memorized right away…?”

“This hurts my pride even more than when I lose in a spar…”

“I’m going to memorize it no matter what! At all costs!”

Their hands trembled in frustration upon hearing that Dorian had easily managed to memorize the precept.

“I’ll help the team members since I’ve finished memorizing it.”

“Me, too.”

“Well, I guess I should since they can't even get started if they can’t memorize the precept. You idiots! Come over here right now!”

Burren, Runaan, and Martha also memorized the precept at once and helped their team members memorize it.

Raon smiled faintly, watching the swordsmen separate into three groups to learn the precept.

‘What a nice sight.’

Raon felt strangely satisfied from seeing Burren and Martha volunteering to help their team members. After all, there was a time when they didn’t care about others as long as they learned things.

Raon watched the Light Wind Division in satisfaction for a while before he turned around. Mark Goetten and Rimmer were talking about the precept, sitting face to face.

‘Is Mark Goetten not too good at memorizing things?’

Raon approached them while thinking that it was understandable because having a high level in martial arts didn’t necessarily imply having a great memory.

“Did you manage to memorize until the part about the path of the wind?”

“I’m a bit confused.”

Rimmer smiled awkwardly as he scratched his head.

“Ah…”

Raon’s jaw dropped upon witnessing that scene.

‘It was that elf who forgot!’

He’d thought that it would obviously be Mark Goetten who had difficulties with the memorization, but Rimmer was the issue instead. Moreover, the path of the wind appeared at the very beginning. That implied that Rimmer wasn’t focused from the start.

“Is it because I’m getting old? Whatever comes to my head just keeps escaping.” Rimmer giggled while touching his skin, which was as smooth as that of the Light Wind swordsmen, who were in their early twenties.

“Hmm…” Mark Goetten also seemed bewildered, his gaze brimming with confusion.

“Division leader, can you go easy on me? It’s pretty hard for me because my focus has been declining nowadays. I’ll memorize it at home by next time.”

“Wait a moment.”

Raon went next to Rimmer and opened his hand. He unleashed flames in his hand and created the shape of a card.

“Hmm? Why are you showing me a card?” Rimmer blinked, wondering what Raon was doing.

“Do you recognize this?”

Raon showed him four cards with the number 4.

“It’s four of a kind!” Rimmer shouted the name of the poker hand in less than 0.1 seconds.

“Then what about this one?” Raon narrowed his eyes slightly and showed another combination of cards.

“Flush.”

“Three of a kind!”

“High card!”

“Full house!”

“Royal straight flush!”

It didn’t even take 0.1 seconds. He shouted the answer before the cards even took shape. His brain functions must’ve been fully focused on gambling.

“How was that? This is the skill of a professional gambler!” Rimmer proudly pounded his chest.

“Your focus is amazing.” Raon snorted, clenching his hand to extinguish the flame. “What was that shit about getting old again? You’re not going home today unless you manage to memorize it all.”

Raon shook his hand, telling him to memorize it no matter what.

“Y-you demonic division leader!” Rimmer ground his teeth, frustrated by the deception.

How dare you, Shitty Ears?!

Wrath ground his teeth even more violently than Rimmer and raised his head sharply.

No one in Devildom is like him! Call him a celestial instead!

He glared at him, saying that he shouldn’t be compared to demons.

Thanks to the help from the team leaders and the fact that they were talented people to begin with, the Light Wind swordsmen managed to perfectly memorize the precept in less than an hour.

Rimmer managed to memorize the precept as soon as he heard it again, showing that the decreased focus was just an excuse. He was seriously difficult to understand.

Raon went onto the platform again and gazed down upon the Light Wind Division.

“Since you finished memorizing the precept, it’s time to try it out now.” He nodded while meeting their eyes. “Activate the Light Wind Style now.”

“Division leader.” Burren raised his hand and stepped forward. “I believe we should start the practice tomorrow since it’s getting late now. They aren’t going to last because we haven’t skipped today’s training.”

He shook his head, saying that the Light Wind Division was losing their focus because they’d been guarding him and training all day long.

“I agree. I’d love to learn it right now, but I believe it’d be better to start it tomorrow since it’s an extremely advanced martial art.” Even Martha nodded in agreement with Burren.

“I’m fine with it, though.” Unexpectedly, Runaan blinked while saying that she wanted to start it right away.

“It should be easier to learn the Light Wind Style when you are exhausted rather than when you are fully prepared.” Raon smiled faintly and shook his finger. “Get ready.”

“Haa, so stubborn.”

Raon could hear Rimmer’s voice from behind him, but he ignored him.

“It can’t be helped…”

“I know it will be difficult, but I’m looking forward to it at the same time.”

“Yeah! It’s an extremely advanced martial art, after all.”

The Light Wind swordsmen sat on the training ground, their expressions a mix of concern and anticipation. They closed their eyes at the same time and started to chant the Light Wind Style’s precept in harmony.

Whoosh!

Probably because it was a martial art of wind that was based on Garunua, a quiet wind surrounded the Light Wind Division.

A long time passed, and the swordsmen opened their eyes at the same time, having finished the process of activation for the Light Wind Style.

“It didn’t work, as expected…”

“Yeah, it’s too hard.”

“I’m not even getting a grasp…”

“I can hardly feel the wind because I don’t understand the meaning behind the precept.”

The Light Wind Division shook their heads, saying that it wasn’t easy at all, just like they had expected.

“It’s difficult, but don’t you feel like you’ve experienced this flow before?”

“Mhm.”

Runaan and Martha nodded while looking at each other.

“Of course you’ve experienced it before.”

Burren swallowed nervously while looking at Raon.

“Because this flow is the same as the Large Light Wind Formation.”

“L-Light Wind Formation?”

“Now that you mention it…”

“It’s similar to it. No, it’s practically the same!”

The Light Wind swordsmen also noticed that the Light Wind Style and the Light Wind Formation had the same color and dropped their jaws.

“Correct. The Light Wind Style follows the same flow as the Light Wind Formation.” Raon smiled faintly while meeting Burren’s eyes. “Try to execute the Light Wind Style while the Light Wind Formation is active this time.”

He continued while drawing the Light Wind Formation’s shape with his finger.

“You should experience a different feeling from earlier.”

* * *

Burren followed Raon’s order and executed the Light Wind Style while the Light Wind Formation was active.

The wind created by the Large Light Wind Formation followed the Light Wind Style’s precept and was sucked into his body through the pores on his skin.

The phenomenon wasn’t only happening to him. The same thing was happening to everyone maintaining the Light Wind Formation together, as if it were resonating with each of them.

Whoosh!

The pure wind of energy entering through their skin spread throughout the mana circuits all around their bodies, guided by the Light Wind Style’s precept.

Whir!

As he kept chanting the precept, more energy was absorbed into his body. He felt that the wind that was already close to him had become even more familiar.

Once he started to understand the wind itself, the Light Wind Style’s precept, which once felt so difficult, unraveled like a tangled thread, naturally embedding itself into his mind.

‘Hah…’

Burren bit his lip, feeling the intense change occurring in his energy center, mana circuits, and brain.

‘Is this really working right now?’

Just from controlling the energy while the Light Wind Formation was active, he understood the precept and managed to absorb even more energy.

He felt like he was in a dream even though he was experiencing it firsthand.

Whir!

The powerful dash of the wind engraved the Light Wind Style’s flow into his body. The wave of wind flowed throughout his body—from his mana circuits, muscles, brain, and even his energy center.

The wind that was advancing like a storm settled into the Light Wind Style’s traces created by itself, emitting a radiant blue light.

Wham!

The moment he finished chanting the Light Wind Style’s precept, a powerful lightning struck in his mind. A new wind, different from the barren wind he had before, started to well up all around his body.

Whir!

He could feel that the same blue wind that Raon had demonstrated before was blooming inside him.

‘Is this the Light Wind Style?’

The Light Wind Style’s wind was quietly encircling around him. A super-sense. It was blocking the noise and movement around him, preventing anything from disturbing his training.

‘He’s seriously a monster.’

Burren was doubtful about it when Raon had explained the Light Wind Style to them. Even if super-sense was attainable, he thought that Raon might be the only one who could achieve it.

However, he realized after using it himself that Raon wasn’t the only one. The martial art itself contained the super-sense.

It was so absurd that he couldn’t even laugh.

Burren gasped and opened his eyes. He could see that the red sun was rising. The wind encircling around him to protect him quietly disappeared under the sunlight.

“Hmm…”

“Ah…”

“It wasn’t a dream.”

The other swordsmen forming the Light Wind Formation with him were blinking their eyes, implying that they had woken up at the same time as him.

“You all finally woke up.” Raon raised his hand with a cheerful smile, sitting on the platform. “How does it feel to wake up after a week?”

“A-a week?”

Burren’s eyes widened upon hearing that a whole week had passed.

“D-did you just say a week?”

“Since the sun has risen, it’s been slightly more than a week.” Raon nodded while pointing at the rising sun.

“What…?”

It was completely unexpected that a whole week had passed since it only felt like a few hours or even a few minutes had passed.

‘Does that mean that I’ve been in a trance?’

He could guess that he’d been in a trance considering the fact that he hadn’t felt the flow of time.

‘How long has it been since my last trance… Ah! Wait a moment!’

Burren’s eyes widened as he looked around.

“Have all of us been in a trance?”

Raon had declared that one week had passed while looking at everyone. That implied that everyone around him had been in a trance at the same time.

“Wh-what did you do?!” Martha’s lips trembled in fear. She even forgot her respectful speech.

“I told you, this martial art was created for you to begin with.” Raon smiled while watching the Light Wind Division, who were still maintaining the formation.

“You’ve practiced the Light Wind Formation for almost ten years now, and the Light Wind Style deeply incorporates its flow. It’s only natural that it’s easy for you to learn. Of course, I didn’t expect that you would all enter a trance at the same time either.”

He nodded, saying that the coordination that they’d been practicing all along must’ve resulted in a strange coincidence.

“Even then, I’ve never heard about so many people entering a trance and coming out of it at the same time.”

“Same goes for me. What the hell…?”

“Strange coincidence? Wasn’t it bound to happen at this point?”

“I’m getting scared…”

The Light Wind Division was happy about the occasion, but their chins were trembling in surprise at the same time.

“Whatever, let’s test it out for now.” Raon lifted his finger, telling them to try activating the Light Wind Style.

“Start with the defense.”

“Understood.”

Burren swallowed nervously and nodded. He activated the Light Wind Style, and the wind surged from the trace of storm engraved in his mana circuits and energy center.

He thought about defending himself, and a glowing blue shield emerged from the back of his hand. It was the wall of wind that Raon had demonstrated before.

Whir!

Under the Light Wind Formation’s effect, the blue wind created a huge shield surrounding the entire Light Wind Division.

“Try attacking now.”

As soon as he heard Raon’s voice, the wind on the back of his hand became a sharp blade and advanced before he even thought about it.

The Light Wind Formation’s flow had also changed rapidly, turning into a powerful storm of blades.

Rumble!

Burren bit his lip, watching the blades of wind hanging over his hand.

‘This is insane…’

He just needed to think about it, or rather, his reaction was enough for the wind to change shape into the most appropriate form for the situation. It wasn’t lacking at all—clearly an extremely advanced martial art.

He clenched his fist tightly while watching Raon’s smile, which seemed to be praising them.

‘I resolved myself to follow you no matter what path you decide to take. I thought I wouldn’t regret it even if your martial art ended up being far inferior to my father’s, or if your path turned out to be more arduous than death itself. However, my decision to follow you…’

Burren nodded, a dark blue wind blowing from his eyes.

‘It must’ve been the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.’

Rimmer gasped while watching the wind emerging from the back of his hand.

‘Trance…’

He couldn’t even remember when the last time he’d gone into a trance was. He had believed that stepping into that realm would forever remain beyond his reach, but Raon’s enigmatic ability had granted him the chance to relive that dreamlike moment once more.

“So this is the Light Wind Style…”

“I came to understand it at once thanks to the trance.”

“Did he plan all this? Or was it just a coincidence?”

“Have you ever seen our division leader do things without a plan? It was obviously planned.”

“Is our division leader really a monster…?”

The Light Wind Division was more shocked about Raon than the fact that they’d managed to learn the Light Wind Style.

‘Well, I’m no different.’

The exhilaration of the trance was exquisite. Since it was such an ecstatic moment of happiness, Rimmer was becoming afraid of Raon for creating it at that point.

“I never expected to learn an extremely advanced martial art so quickly.”

“I didn’t, either. I thought we’d only manage next year at the fastest.”

“Wait a moment, didn’t the division leader say that it took a week?”

“Yes, it took a week.”

“Which means…”

“Has he been guarding us all along on his own?”

The Light Wind Division dropped their jaws once again upon realizing that Raon had been guarding them alone for a whole week.

“I’ve decided to follow our division leader for the rest of my life.”

“The rest of your life? Are you crazy? We should follow him even after our deaths!”

“I’m going to follow him even after I reincarnate!”

The swordsmen smiled, saying that they were never going to leave the Light Wind Division.

“......”

Burren’s fist was tightly clenched, thinking the same thing as them. Rimmer could see that the worries in his recent expressions were all gone.

“He’s seriously a monster…” Martha was smiling brightly despite voicing her disbelief. She seemed to be extremely happy about learning a new martial art.

“Oh.”

Runaan was adding frost to the wind, spreading it into the sky. An out-of-season snowfall gently fluttered down onto the fifth training ground.

Rimmer smiled faintly as he watched the Light Wind Division express their reverence for Raon as Raon gazed at them with warmth in his eyes.

‘They’ve become a real division and division leader.’

* * *

Raon had ordered the Light Wind Division to rest, but they didn’t leave the training ground, claiming that they wanted to try out the Light Wind Style.

‘I was still doubtful, but it really worked.’

Even though the Light Wind Style followed the Light Wind Formation’s flow, it was still unexpected that everyone would enter a trance. It was truly a miracle.

‘I feel full just from watching them.’

Th-the King of Essence is starving to death…

Wrath lifted his scrawny hand.

‘Hmm? But we’ve been eating all along.’

It was just Nadine bread! Please stop now and have a proper meal! You said you’d have something tasty after they woke up!

He cried, asking for food with his tail drooping in depression.

‘Yeah, let’s go.’

Raon nodded at Wrath, who was faltering.

Since it was all thanks to Wrath, in a way, that the Light Wind Division had entered the trance and that the Light Wind Style managed to become an extremely advanced martial art, Raon decided to feed him whatever he wanted for a while.

“I’m taking my leave now, so don’t train too hard. Take a break.”

“Division leader…” Martia raised her hand just as Raon was about to go down from the platform after waving his hand at them.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Did you already have this result in mind when you were making the Light Wind Formation?”

“Of course not.” Raon calmly shook his head. “The vice division leader and I created the Light Wind Formation together. I was still inexperienced back then, so the vice division leader contributed more than me. All I did was to use the power of the formation, trying to protect the swordsmen until the very end.”

Raon looked at Rimmer while responding to her question.

“Impossible…”

“Did that elf really have such an intention?”

“No way, it can’t be…”

“Maybe he won some money the day he made it.”

The Light Wind Division shook their heads in distrust.

“......”

Rimmer smiled peacefully without saying anything. His reaction was rather unusual.

“Hmm…”

Raon narrowed his eyes while watching Rimmer.

‘He’s been strange recently.’

This was the part where he would’ve normally started to brag about himself, but he was strangely quiet.

Most importantly, he should have started to rampage, complaining that he couldn’t gamble for a whole week while he’d been in a trance, yet he was quietly controlling the wind instead.

Just as Raon was about to approach Rimmer, the training ground door opened and Roenn made his entrance.

“Greetings to the Light Wind Division leader.”

“Sir Roenn?”

Raon tilted his head and walked up to him because he wasn’t expecting his visit at all.

“The head of house has summoned you, division leader. Can you come with me, if you aren’t too busy?”

Roenn looked in the direction of the main building with a faint smile on his face.

“You can postpone the visit if you have another matter to attend to.”

Don’t go there!

Wrath firmly shook his head.

It’s time for a meal! You can’t go there!

‘Hmm…’

Raon was going to ask for some time because of the promise he’d made with Wrath, but Roenn continued, "We've made some preparations since we figured you haven't had breakfast yet, considering how early it is."

Roenn smiled faintly, telling him to have a meal in the main building after talking to Glenn.

“Ah, I’m a bit busy right—”

Shut up!

Just as Raon was about to refuse the offer, Wrath smacked his waist with his round elbow.

‘Wh-what are you doing?!’

They prepared food! What are you waiting for? Follow him right now!

Wrath licked his lips deeply, saying that he wanted to try out the food in the main building. Raon couldn’t understand which way to turn.

“…Understood.” Raon sighed deeply and nodded.

“Thank you. Let’s go.” Roenn smiled brightly and turned around.

Raon told the Light Wind Division to train freely for the day before he followed Roenn to the main building.

“Why is the head of house looking for me?”

“I’m not too sure either, but it can’t be for a bad reason. He was smiling when he asked.”

“H-he smiled?”

Raon’s eyes widened because it was even more surprising than the entire Light Wind Division entering a trance together.

“Our lord has always smiled a lot.”

“Er…”

They talked while engaging in light conversation, and they reached the audience chamber in no time.

Roenn opened the audience chamber door without even knocking and made his entrance. He waved his hand from the inside, signaling for Raon to follow.

Raon nodded and entered the audience chamber.

Glenn stood by the window, where the sunlight stretched into the room. His blond hair seemed to be blazing in a fiery glow in the sunlight.

“You’re here.”

Glenn slowly turned around. His eyes were still lifeless, but they seemed to be slightly shaking.

“Greetings, my lord.”

Raon walked up to Glenn and went on his knees.

“That’s enough for the greetings.” Glenn shook his hand, signaling for him to stand up. “It looked like you’ve completed a new martial art. It seemed to be an extremely advanced martial art, at that.”

“It was all thanks to you, my lord.”

Raon lowered his head, suppressing his gasp. He was surprised at Glenn’s inhuman ability to notice that it was an extremely advanced martial art just from looking at it.

“Ahem, I see.” Glenn cleared his throat and furtively turned his head around. “Did it help a lot?”

“What? Yes, it really helped a lot.”

“I see. Then between Rimmer…”

“Rimmer?”

“Ahem!”

Raon was wondering why Glenn suddenly mentioned Rimmer’s name when Roenn cleared his throat, as if he were trying to stop him from speaking.

“Hmm…”

Once Glenn heard that sound, he straightened his back and covered his mouth with his hand.

“A supporting martial art, using super-sense and the wind. It can be improved in many ways. Not bad at all. Keep refining it in the future.”

He nodded, saying that the martial art deserved to be acknowledged.

“…Thank you.”

Raon swallowed nervously. A chill ran down his spine because of the deep understanding he had about a martial art that he’d never used.

‘Transcendence is still far out of my reach.’

While Raon was shaking his head, Glenn took a step towards him.

“The reason I called for you is simple.” Glenn calmly shook his head. “Do you happen to know about the Chamber of the Self?”

“…Yes.”

Raon nodded. The Chamber of the Self was a special room that allowed one to gain enlightenment, a legacy left behind by the first head of Zieghart.

However, Raon had heard that one could only enter once in their life, and they weren’t guaranteed to become stronger.

“By any chance, are you willing to enter that room?” Glenn nodded, showing that he would let him in if he wanted.

“Hmm…”

Raon briefly contemplated the Room of the Self and himself before he raised his gaze.

Footnotes:

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