Mana and Aura (1)

Still catching his breath, Ellis looked up at Galen and asked, "What about the book?"

"Oh... I nearly forgot." Saying that with a chuckle, Galen reached into the inner lining of his coat, pulled out a book, and extended it toward Ellis.

It seemed thin, not the thickness Ellis would expect from a book explaining how Aura worked. But he didn't mind that, and hurriedly snatched the book from Galen's hand.

He already felt like the day had been too long yesterday… and he wanted to compliment himself even more for pushing through morning training with Galen today, without even mentioning the book once.

Now, with the book in his hands, Ellis felt like nothing could bother or phase him anymore.

… Not Galen's untimely laugh, at least.

And with that out of the way, Ellis finally read the book's title: Crimson Aura Technique.

Just reading the title, Ellis was already intrigued, as in why Crimson? But knowing he would have all the time in the world to study it later, he looked at Galen and said, "Thank you very much, for helping me in my training until now, and even giving me this precious book."

Ellis wanted to express his gratitude. Because… really, even if the book didn't turn out to be everything he was hoping for, it should still give him a few useful hints, and that was already something precious for him.

But Galen, feeling quite pleased at the prince's appreciation, suddenly smiled teasingly and said, "If you're already this satisfied with the book in your hand… then does that mean you don't want this one?"

As he finished, Galen pulled out another book from his coat.

Unlike the first one, which looked used but well-kept… like a completely normal book, this one was different.

It was clearly old. Too old. Too worn out.

"That's...?" Ellis asked, still unsure how to feel as he stared at the thing Galen held.

To him, it looked like something old people would collect, or something he might've seen behind glass in a museum.

Whether the words inside were even still readable was also questionable.

But remembering that this wasn't his previous world anymore, and that this was a fantasy world of sword and magic, Ellis took the book from Galen without showing any disrespect.

Even though he didn't show it outwardly, his enthusiasm clearly wasn't as strong as before. And Galen, noticing this, clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk, tsk. Your Highness, you should know, that this book was left behind by the founder."

"It's precious, even if it doesn't look like it."

Hearing that, Ellis glanced down at the cover, and the words Blue Flame Aura Technique caught his eye.

Many thoughts rushed through his mind, and he couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore.

Crimson in the first book… and Blue Flame in this one…

Ellis already had a few assumptions swirling in his head, and now, he just wanted to confirm them—and so, he asked.

Galen answered him as if picking up where he left off, his voice carrying pride, "Knights, unlike mages, who can manifest all kinds of natural elements through magic, can only use Aura."

"But even then, when Aura is trained past a certain limit… knights too can manifest natural elements."

And so Galen continued explaining, speaking in that proud tone of his.

Ellis took everything with a pinch of salt, but even then, he was impressed. And once again, his recently lowered opinion of knights had to be reevaluated.

He had thought of Aura as just another form of mana, after all. Something lethal, yes, but that was it.

Now, it turned out there was more to it, and he was naturally happy to hear that.

... It also turned out that the Crimson Aura technique was something only the top royal knights were allowed to learn. And the Blue Flame one? It was even more precious, passed down from one knight commander to another.

Ellis, who had already wanted to learn the Blue Flame spell… the signature spell of the founder of this kingdom, not only because it seemed too cool, but also because it was incredibly powerful despite being just a sixth-circle spell, had nearly given up on the idea.

It was simply too tightly guarded, and only the king and crown prince were allowed to learn it.

So, he had planned to "respectfully" ask for it later… when he became too powerful.

But now, to come in contact with the Blue Flame in another form…

It was truly unexpected, and yet still, a pleasant surprise.

Unaware of Galen's true intentions, Ellis was obviously happy.

But even if he had known, would he have minded?

While each was lost in his own thoughts, Galen finally finished bragging, gave a few more words of warning, and left.

And Ellis, finally left on his own, didn't even bother returning to the mansion, taking a bath, or doing anything else.

He simply sat down where he was, and opened the first book, the Crimson Aura technique, and started reading.

He focused entirely on the pages, not giving a thought to anything else, not his disheveled state, not Silas who was looking at him with an affectionate yet troubled expression, not even the time.

… He continued like that until he reached the halfway point, when he suddenly closed the book.

There was a frustrated look in his eyes as he moved his gaze toward the distance.