Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 14 — Aura Training

The Lord had been happy enough to lend the three of them his training ground when inquired. Noah now sat on a dirt floor that was clearly created with magic given its uniformity. The walls of the chamber were covered in protective shielding, with a bunch of training equipment set around the chamber. One of which were a bunch of swinging targets set behind a course of thin wooden poles that kept moving around in a dizzying manner, clearly powered by some sort of array

Aurelia was standing on said poles, dodging the little strikes that came her way while trying her best to use her flames and ash to only damage the target on the other end of the training course without burning anything else.

Noah found himself wishing he was in her place instead.

“Pay attention,” Erwest said, and Noah turned to look back at the paladin. Erwest was seated with his legs crossed in front of Noah, carrying a bundle of pebbles in his hand that he’d asked Noah to give him.

“When you said training, I was imagining something with a bit more movement,” Noah replied, glancing back at Aurelia.

“You’re not ready for that. And your abilities don’t require as much control as hers do,” Erwest replied. “We are not here to indulge, but to fix the things that you two are lacking in.”

Noah sighed, knowing the man had a point. He did not like it when Erwest used logic to convince him. “Right, go ahead. I’m paying attention.”

“As I was saying. Your Aura is an extension of your soul, so the more in tune you feel with it, the more control you can exercise over yourself. Right now, your Aura is unstable, wild, running without control and fraying at the edges. Your body is adapting to it quickly, but your aura has still not obtained control of itself,” Erwest said.

“So how do I obtain control over my aura?” Noah asked.

“The easiest method is to obtain an aura ability. It allows you direct control over your aura and how you use it.”

“Aura ability?” Noah asked.

“An ability that works in tandem with your aura. There are quite a few of them in existence. Healing aura abilities, blood aura, death aura, divine auras.”

“Should I have one then? I don’t think I do.”

“No, aura abilities are not compulsory. They are merely the easiest way to gain control over your aura.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “What’s the hard way then?”

A rare hint of a smile reflected on Erwest’s face. “Aura resistance training. You already know how Aura suppression makes abilities harder to activate and cost more mana, correct?”

Noah gave a nod. He had felt the effects with the blood grafted horror, and especially so with the Ascendant Wyrm.

“That is an effect of Aura suppression. But if you can control your own Aura, you can resist the suppression. It’s harder, but this is another method to gain control of your own aura. I will use my own Aura on you, and suppress you with it. Try and focus on my aura pushing against yours, and push back with your own,” Erwest said. “Now, if you’re ready, I’ll begin.”

Noah gave a thumbs up, and Erwest let his aura out.

It was a golden shimmer, similar to the divine aura he’d felt from Hellion herself but subtly different. More stern, with a stronger sense of ideals in it. Noah felt the aura pushing on his shoulders, like a weight that he was being crushed under. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t bear, but the sensation was still uncomfortable. Any mana usage felt similar to walking underwater, like every movement he made carried an extra weight to it.

Noah closed his eyes, trying to focus on Erwest’s aura. His mind returned to his first battle with Raesar and how the man had combined the weight of his aura and his own body to pin him in place. He thought of the Ascendant Wyrm, with its aura so overwhelming and powerful that even his heart had stopped beating under its pressure.

He imagined the feeling of helplessness that had come with the event. The feeling of paralysis and lack of control, where even fighting back had not been an option he could have.

Noah let the feeling fill his mind. The image changed, from the Wyrm, and Raesar, to the sight of his mother, lying on the hospital bed, her skin wrinkled beyond her age and her hair thinned out from the chemotherapy.

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Even back then, he had been helpless.

Noah bared his teeth as he pushed. He would not be helpless in this world. The aura pressure buckled, but Erwest redoubled the strength as the weight on Noah’s shoulder increased.

He could feel the man’s strength now, the power that was carried in his aura. It was disciplined, controlled, and intent on crushing him entirely. For a moment, he almost felt as if the man was trying to kill him, but he knew the feeling to be an illusion from his mind.

Yet, Noah let the illusion continue, using the threat. His heart raced faster in his chest, and Noah leaned on his survival instincts. He tried to imagine a blanket enveloping him, covering him from all sides of his body, like an armor around him.

“I will be using my full strength now,” Erwest said.

Noah nodded lightly, before he felt as if a boulder had collapsed on his shoulders. He nearly buckled under the weight, but somehow managed to keep himself upright.

Picturing the blanket once more, he slowly began to expand it back, outside of himself. He imagined wisps flowing around him, weak, and malleable. Slowly, inch by inch, Noah began to gather those wisps together. It was hard, the pressure on his shoulder made him grit his teeth as his newly enhanced muscles tensed under the strain. He gathered the wisps all around him, making them denser and denser.

Soon, the layer was thicker, it extended only an inch outside his body. But it was firm, and unbending.

Noah felt the weight slided off of him, as he breathed easier. He continued to pull the wisp closer, as the blank was nearly intermingled with his skin. But it was dense, vibrating with power as it held the weight of the aura crashing upon him.

Noah opened his eyes, looking back at Erwest. The pressure was still there, but now, it felt more like a bag he was carrying, rather than a boulder that was crushing him under itself.

“Congratulations,” Erwest said. “You’ve learned how to control your aura.”

Erwest’s aura slid off of him, and Noah wiped the sweat off his forehead, before giving the man a pleased grin.

“Do not be too happy just yet. Learning to control your Aura is barely the first step, you must also learn to be precise with it, conceal it when needed, and use it on others for your advantage like I did just now,” Erwest said.

“Sure boss, no happiness, got it,” Noah replied, his smile still fixed upon his face.

Erwest did not comment, but Noah thought he could see the man letting out the quietest of sighs which pleased him immensely.

“Blindfold yourself with this,” Erwest said, handing him a white piece of cloth.

Noah grabbed the cloth, looking at it for any magical hints. Not finding anything, he put the blindfold on his eyes.

“I can still sort of see things with this,” Noah said.

“How many fingers do I have showing,” Erwest asked.

Noah frowned. “Three,” he replied.

“I had none,” Erwest said. “Now close your eyes as well. The blindfold is merely to make sure you cannot cheat.”

Noah closed his eyes, wondering just how this would be helping him train his aura.

A moment later, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead as something struck him right in the centre. “Ouch,” Noah exclaimed, rubbing his forehead as he grabbed the item, realising it was the pebble he had given Erwest.

“What the hell? What was that for?”

“That, is your next training exercise,” Erwest said. “Like I mentioned, your aura is a part of your soul. Right now, it is concentrated around you, but you can also use it to sense anything moving towards you. With enough training, just my intent to throw the pebble will be sufficient to warn you.”

“You could’ve told me that before you hit me,” Noah said.

Erwest did not respond, but Noah had a feeling the man had a pleased look on his face.

Focusing on the blanket, which he now knew was his Aura, Noah let it expand outwards. His aura shifted, returning to its previous state and Noah focused his attention on feeling any movement.

Something shifted around his aura and he moved to dodge. The pebble struck his chest this time and Noah feels the sting of the rock. Given his resistance and upgraded body, the Paladin had to be throwing it really hard for it to sting like this.

The exercise continued, as Noah tried to dodge any pebbles thrown his way. He found it easier whenever his head was targeted, soon becoming capable of dodging most projectiles aimed at his forehead.

But Erwest did not make it easy. Whenever Noah got the hang of a particular body part, he would switch it up. Throwing the pebbles in random directions and sometimes just letting them hop into his lap just to make him flinch before throwing another.

Dodging on his arms was harder, his instincts not as concerned for damage to his limbs, and thus, making his focus less sharp.

As the hours passed, Noah felt his body feeling sore from all the pebble strikes he had taken. He rubbed his arms, and chest, as he pulled off the blindfold.

“We’ll move on to the last exercise now,” Erwest said.

Noah sighed in relief. He was glad for the sense training to be over.

“The last exercise is concealment. The most important one for our purposes,” Erwest said. “It’s also something you already know how to do, just not consciously.”

Noah raised an eyebrow at that.

“Concealment is simple. And similar to Aura resistance. To hide your Aura, all you must do is withdraw it within yourself. Imagine your soul extending out of your body. Your vessel has gaps, and your aura is what escapes from it. To hide it, you need to take hold of that aura and confine it within your body. Merge the two together so there is no separation left.”

Noah followed the words, picturing his aura. Focusing on the wisps around him, he tried to pull them back into himself. The first step came easily, his aura gathering around his body as it formed a layer around him.

The next step was much harder. No matter how Noah tried, his aura would not move inside his body. He continued pushing, forming the aura into denser and denser layers, but the wisps insisted on forming outside, instead of moving inwards.

“You’re trying to force it. Don’t force the aura, let it naturally settle inwards. Think of it as curling your limbs in. You’re returning something that has always belonged inside you,” Erwest said.

Noah tried to change his image, letting the Aura expand. Instead of pushing from the outside, he began to pull. Like a gentle tug, he let his aura sink in somewhere inside him. Noah focused on that place, the source where he could feel his Aura connect to. It was a part of him, something he could sense within himself.

Letting that part of him reach out, Noah called his aura. This time, it moved, slowly submerging itself into his body. Bit by bit, Noah gathered his aura, until it was all inside of himself.

He felt oddly full, like a vase crammed too full with earth, and ready to burst out. His body tensed, as he kept a tight grip on his aura.

Noah opened his eyes, and saw Erwest frowning as he looked at him. It took him a moment to notice why. Glancing down, Noah saw shapes running across his arms and legs, and covering his body in red, blue and black shimmering patterns. The runes shifted color, changing form as they faded in and out of existence.

“Is this… supposed to happen?” Noah asked.

“Not normally, no,” Erwest replied. “But sometimes Auras can take on new forms when compressed.”

Noah looked at his tattoos. They were barely visible now and if he focused he could make them fade with a thought. “It feels like… I have too much magic inside me somehow.”

“This could be a result of your aura being too large for your current vessel,” Erwest said.

“Your soul is stronger than you, and so your Aura has to find ways to distribute that energy, taking on this form. That’s the best example I can think of right now,” Erwest replied.

“So there shouldn’t be a problem then?”

“I doubt there will be. For now, continue holding your aura, and meditate. I will be leaving to gather information, stay here till you’ve trained enough to keep your Aura concealed while you go about your day,” Erwest instructed before standing up.

Walking up to Aurelia, he gave her some instructions as well, before he headed out of the training chamber.

Noah sat where he was, looking at his tattoos, feeling them flare if he allowed mana to flow in them. Feeling happy about the change, he closed his eyes once again, focusing on meditating as he kept a grip on his aura.

Hours passed as he meditated, his control improving with every breath, and soon, Noah was walking around the arena while keeping meditation active and his aura concealed inside of him.

After a while, he found his willpower exhausted, his control starting to slip and Noah lay on the dirt floor, letting his mind relax for a moment. With some free time, he opened up his notifications.

You’ve learned [Aura Control]!

[Aura Control] level 0 → 4!

Aura Strength C0 → C1.

Will Power C1 → C2.

He heard footsteps come near him but didn’t open his eyes to look at Aurelia. “I’m going to a tavern, you want to come?” she asked, standing over him.

“I’ll pass today, thanks,” Noah replied.

“I’m surprised, it seems like Erwest really ran you down,” Aurelia said, before she headed out of the chamber.

Noah waited for a few moments, till he was sure Aurelia was gone. Pulling himself up, he called for Tony and the eyeball manifested near him.

“Hey bud, found anything interesting?”

Tony shook his eye, before sending him a feeling that Noah tried to communicate.

“Too many guards?” Noah asked and Tony gave a nod.

“That’s fine, we can take our time to look,” Noah said. “For now, let’s head out. I’ve got some plans.”

Tony let out a cheer that Noah felt through their bond. The eyeball flew around his shoulder as Noah made his way out of the Lord’s castle.

He had some Tome-crafters to find.