"Does this medicinal brew made from Komodo grass juice actually work?" Having forced himself to drink the cup dry, Dark couldn't stop himself from asking.
"It should... it should work, right?" Aurora said, sounding uncertain, since she'd never had to drink it herself and never needed to.
"Of course it works," Suna said, walking over. "Komodo Potion effectively boosts physical stamina, but it needs to be taken right after your strength is spent to reach its full effect.
An ordinary person who takes it consistently for a month gains as much physical growth as three years of intense training would give them.
Of course, there's a limit to how much stamina can grow. Everyone's talent is different, so everyone's limit is different too. Komodo Potion won't help you break past your limit."
Dark's face turned even greener. "So you're saying I have to keep drinking this for at least a month?"
Suna teased him. "What, you don't even want to stick with it? This is something you can't buy even if you tried."
"No," Dark said. "I was just wondering if the taste could be improved."
"Actually, that wouldn't be hard," Suna said, blinking. "But bitterness endured makes a man of you. Training your will is also part of a warrior's discipline."
"Fine," Dark said, suddenly understanding.
It wasn't that it couldn't be improved—it was that they didn't want to improve it.
Still, as the potion took effect, he gradually felt strength return to his limbs, his breathing settle, and even a surplus of vitality surging inside him, straining to be released.
Alvit watched him with a touch of concern and asked carefully, "How is it? Can you feel qi moving inside you?"
"Qi?" Dark frowned. "This is qi?"
Alvit nodded. "The other function of Komodo Potion is to simulate the flow of qi. Feeling that flow is like tracing over a copybook. Once you're familiar with it, you'll naturally be able to tell real qi from the imitation."
"I see."
Dark closed his eyes and focused carefully.
The simulated "qi" appeared with startling clarity in his awareness.
His deep study of the [Nether God Art] had clearly sharpened his perception beyond that of an ordinary person.
He raised his hand and traced the flow of the "qi" along the front of his body a few times, and it finally settled near his navel.
"It's stopped," he said. "It's mostly gathered here."
"That's where the navel chakra sits," Alvit said with a smile. "It looks like your navel chakra is the one that will open most easily. Rest a bit, and I'll teach you a breathing method. If things go well, you should be able to open your first chakra within one or two weeks."
"A breathing method?" Dark lowered his head to look at his own navel, then suddenly asked, "What counts as 'opening' it?"
Alvit said, "When qi accumulates within a chakra and forms a continuous, unending whirlpool, that's opening. Each chakra that opens brings a slight improvement to your baseline physique, so the feeling is quite noticeable."
Dark looked thoughtful. "Are some breathing methods better than others?"
Alvit shook her head. "The breathing methods that have survived to this day have all been refined through countless trials. Even if some are marginally better than others, the difference is small.
In the end, a breathing method is only the key that opens the chakras. A warrior's traits are determined by the chakras themselves, not by the breathing method."
"I see."
Dark took a deep breath.
"Let's begin, then."
...
Alvit opened the ceiling of the training grounds to let fresh air flow in, then had Dark and Aurora sit cross-legged in the center of the space.
She adjusted their posture slightly, sat down in front of them, and began teaching the breathing method.
Suna Montielfali stood off to the side, watching closely.
The breathing method itself wasn't difficult, and there was no real barrier to entry.
During wartime, everyone trained in martial arts, and nearly every soldier had to learn a breathing method.
Even someone who couldn't open a chakra could still use the breathing method to regulate the flow of air, increasing stamina and making long marches more sustainable.
But once a chakra opened, it was like gaining an entry-level buff spell that could activate instantly, without needing to be cast.
Simply channeling "qi" to the corresponding part of the body would grant it a certain degree of enhancement.
As more chakras opened, the quality and quantity of "qi" would keep increasing, and the strength of the enhancement would climb level by level.
Opening three chakras was equivalent to mastering a basic buff spell.
Opening six chakras was equivalent to mastering an intermediate buff spell.
If one could open the seventh chakra, the Brahmarandhra, it was equivalent to mastering an advanced buff spell while also gaining an additional, exclusive spell.
Of course, the quality and quantity of "qi," as well as the "Might" gained after fully opening all seven chakras, varied from person to person.
For highly talented individuals like Diana and Aurora, the rate at which their chakras generated "qi" far outstripped the rate of consumption.
It flowed naturally into every limb and joint without even needing to be consciously channeled—far beyond the scope of even an intermediate buff spell.
It was equivalent to constantly carrying around an advanced buff spell, active at all times!
This was what people called "innate divine strength."
For a normal warrior, reaching that level was practically impossible.
...
Just half an hour later, Alvit had finished teaching the breathing method in full.
Relying on the focus he'd cultivated through his study of the [Nether God Art], Dark carried out the breathing exercises exactly as Alvit had taught him.
One complete cycle of the breathing method took about five minutes.
Three cycles made up one full set—about fifteen minutes.
Aside from being a bit clumsy at the very start, Dark grew steadily more proficient.
Fifteen minutes later, he completed one full set of breathing exercises, and afterward he clearly felt heat gathering near his navel.
He snapped his eyes open, about to speak, when Alvit immediately pressed a finger to his forehead. "Don't let it dissipate—keep going for two more sets."
Dark settled himself at once and continued the breathing exercise.
Seeing that he'd closed his eyes again, Alvit withdrew her finger slightly and exchanged a serious glance with Suna Montielfali.
Both of them had a trace of surprise in their eyes.
Because after just one full set, Dark's navel chakra was already showing signs of opening!
It couldn't compare to the extraordinary talent of Diana or Aurora, but this clearly wasn't something you could call "ordinary" talent either.
Sitting beside Dark, Aurora opened her eyes as well, curiosity in her gaze as she studied the side of his face.
A faint glow shone beneath her skin—a sign that her qi channels were flowing freely.
It was clear that she'd only just learned the breathing method, yet all six of her already-open chakras were already fully connected and flowing smoothly.
So she didn't need to continue. She simply watched Dark on the sly.
...
Another half hour passed.
Dark completed his third full set without a single hitch, and the heat that had been building near his navel finally reached a threshold and burst free without any resistance at all.
In an instant, that heat surged through his entire body, giving his physique a comprehensive boost.
And at his navel, an invisible vortex had unmistakably formed!
"It's open?"
Dark opened his eyes and slowly adjusted to the changes throughout his body.
It had all been so effortless that he barely felt a thing.
"Congratulations. You've taken your first step on the path of a warrior."
City Lord Montielfali gave him a look of admiration.
Alvit, however, was still lost in thought. "It's strange. Talent is something that should be fixed from birth. Under normal circumstances, your talent should have been just enough to fully open all seven chakras. But right now, your talent has clearly increased significantly."
"My talent increased?"
Dark's pupils contracted slightly at those words, and he thought to himself, could this also be because of the Demon God bloodline's preliminary awakening?
Because his memories from his past life had returned, his Demon God bloodline had, in fact, already begun to awaken—though its awakening progress remained stuck at 0%, so there were no signs that would reveal the bloodline to others.
Even so, his magical talent had improved at a terrifying rate, growing almost every day he woke up.
But that was the Demon God bloodline, while the talent for "qi" belonged to "humans," extending at most to "Demi-human Species." In theory, it had no connection whatsoever to a "Demon God's" bloodline.
"Could there be some other reason?"
Dark fell into deep thought.
...
"Let's check your talent again."
Alvit's words interrupted Dark's musing.
"How do I do that?" he asked.
"Just close your eyes," Alvit said.
Dark closed his eyes.
Alvit raised her hand and once again pressed her finger to his forehead.
Then Dark felt a stream of warmth seep into his forehead and slowly spread out to every corner of his body.
About two minutes later, Alvit withdrew her finger, her eyes shining with delight.
"How is it?" City Lord Montielfali asked curiously.
Alvit said excitedly, "Eight chakras! There's one extra hidden chakra."
"That's wonderful news," City Lord Montielfali exclaimed as well. "Your treasure of a child is truly gifted beyond ordinary limits. Even if he wasn't born a saint, it's not impossible that he could awaken one later. It seems those golden apples you had him take to preserve the purity of his bloodline weren't entirely useless after all."
"Mwah!"
Alvit grabbed Dark's head and planted a fierce peck on it, then said, "Now that you've opened your first chakra, let's move straight into strength training!"
"Wait," Dark said, struggling free of her embrace, puzzled. "If there are eight chakras, what's the eighth one?"
Alvit finally let go and said slowly, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Lion King Chakra."
"The Lion King Chakra? What does it do?" Dark's mind stirred, and he suddenly had a hunch.
Alvit explained, "Under normal circumstances, humans only have seven chakras. Only those with extraordinary talent have more than seven. Any extra chakras beyond that are like the seventh Brahmarandhra—located outside the human body.
Each time one of these extra chakras opens, it grants an additional kind of 'Might.' In a mage's terms, that's the equivalent of gaining one more exclusive spell."
"I see," Dark said, hopeful. "I hope my 'Might' turns out to have the flair of the 'Fist of the Beast King.'"
Alvit looked puzzled. "Fist of the Beast King?"
Dark smiled slightly. "It's Leomon's Ultimate Move."
...
Opening the first chakra was only the beginning of the path of martial arts.
In hopes of mastering the "Fist of the Beast King" as soon as possible, Dark gritted his teeth and threw himself into intense physical training, all under Alvit's heartbroken gaze.
Aurora, who had trained alongside him at first, dropped out partway through since it did nothing for her, switching instead to logistics duty—wiping sweat and fetching water.
Meanwhile...
Dark's Magic Guide Spirits had also begun their own journey of study now that the tutors had arrived.
Since Dark had handed over the authority to award little red flowers to the tutors, the Magic Guide Spirits had all redoubled their efforts.
Ms. Cook's teaching was extremely strict.
Any Magic Guide Spirit caught not paying attention in class would be called up to the front and struck on the hand with a ruler.
Although Magic Guide Spirits reacted less strongly to pain than humans did, and Ms. Cook's strength wasn't nearly enough to break through their defenses, the humiliation of being punished in front of everyone was still enough to spur them into listening attentively.
In short: hands could take a hit, but pride could not be lost!
...
The first day of "summer tutoring" began.
Both Dark, as their master, and his Magic Guide Spirits made it through the day, exhausted but happy.
By evening, Dark dragged his weary body along to host a farewell banquet for City Lord Montielfali, together with everyone else.
After the meal, City Lord Montielfali called him aside to the balcony.
Dark could more or less guess what she wanted to say, so he spoke first. "Auntie Suna, you don't need to worry. I'll take care of Aurora as carefully as if she were my own little sister."
City Lord Montielfali was momentarily struck speechless. After a long pause, she turned to look up at the night sky and said softly, "Then I'll leave her in your hands."
When the two of them returned to the living room, Aurora couldn't help but move closer to Dark and ask, "What did my mother say?"
Dark said flatly, "She told me to take care of you like you were my own little sister."
Aurora: "Huh?"
...
The evening's little episode passed by in a flash.
Early the next morning, City Lord Montielfali formally departed from the ducal estate.
After seeing her off, Dark and Aurora returned to the training grounds to continue their training.
Dark rose every morning at five, warmed up first, then drank a cup of Komodo Potion before sitting down to run through the breathing method.
After four consecutive cycles, he'd stop to eat breakfast and read the newspaper for a bit of leisure.
After resting for half an hour, he'd resume intense physical training, continuing right up until dinnertime.
In the evenings, he'd keep working on the academy's assigned coursework and his summer homework.
The professors had each assigned different summer homework to different students. Dark's assignments were few in number, but all had a certain level of difficulty, so they took up more time than the quantity suggested.
...
And so it went.
Dark's life fell back into a routine much like his time at the academy.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
That Sunday morning at six, a flash of insight struck him suddenly, and he felt a burst of warmth in his chest, his heartbeat growing stronger.
He immediately closed his eyes again and ran through three consecutive cycles of the breathing method.
The second chakra near the heart—the Heart Chakra—opened wide open!
With two chakras now open, Dark's baseline physique climbed once more, giving him greater control over every part of his body.
In his hands, this showed as steadier fingers, more flexible wrist joints, and stronger arm strength.
In other words, he now had the foundation for swordsmanship!
Dark had trained with a sword before, but only a wooden one—if he'd tried using a metal sword, he probably wouldn't even have been able to swing it smoothly.
That night, when Alvit finished her official duties and came home to hear the good news, she was overjoyed beyond words.
Ollie personally took to the kitchen and cooked Dark's favorite lamb dish...
The entire ducal estate, from top to bottom, was filled with a cheerful mood.
No one had expected that the young master, who used to be too lazy to even touch a sword, could endure such intense training.
And in just a single week, he'd completed the preliminary training and opened a full two chakras!
Among warriors, that was already considered entering the ranks of the accomplished.
If he mastered a corresponding level of martial skill, he'd be welcomed by any guild he applied to as an adventurer.
...
The following Monday.
Alvit took time off work again and began teaching Dark the basics of swordsmanship.
After a week on logistics duty, Aurora finally had something to learn as well.
She started practicing sword swings alongside Dark.
Once the two of them were on the same level, the gap in talent became obvious.
Even though Dark's talent was no longer weak, he still couldn't compare to her.
In the days that followed, he got a real, visceral taste of "the gap between the top student and the bottom student."
That long-forgotten feeling of falling behind, strangely enough, gave him even more motivation.
By Wednesday.
The "Silver Wolf Knight," Camilla, brought her study group along to join them as well.
Hawlucha, Leomon, Honedge, Gatomon, and Meowth, under the envious gaze of the other Magic Guide Spirits, headed out with Dark at five in the morning to the training grounds.
And Camilla, having received Alvit's approval, arrived at the ducal estate early in the morning as well, standing in for the busy Alvit and taking over as Dark and Aurora's swordsmanship instructor.
As the training grounds grew livelier, the atmosphere of diligent study grew more intense as well.
Dark gradually realized that even with the Magic Guide Spirits joining in, he was still the weakest of the bunch...
But was it embarrassing to lose to your own precious Magic Guide Spirits?
Of course it was embarrassing!
So Dark threw himself into training with even greater determination.
Near the end of June, he channeled his frustration into strength, and in under a week, he achieved another breakthrough!
The opening of his third chakra—the Root Chakra—left him more energetic, his features sharper and more striking.
The softness that had once marked his young face gave way to something sharper, more heroic.
At the same time, his swordsmanship finally reached a passable level, his swings starting to look the part.
...
But his easy stretch of progress ended there.
From the fourth chakra onward, the difficulty of opening each one rose exponentially.
According to Camilla, even someone with Dark's talent would be doing quite well to successfully open the fourth chakra by the end of this summer.
Dark asked Alvit the same question over dinner and got a similar answer.
So he set aside, for now, his hope of training all the way to the top in one go.
After dinner, Alvit rested her chin on her hand and said, "Originally, my plan was to teach you the complete method for 'Tri-Armed Armament Forging' once you'd opened your first chakra.
But seeing how quickly you opened it, I couldn't help but get curious about the second chakra too, and then the third after that—and so it kept getting put off until now..."
"Ah, so that's what happened," Dark said with a dry laugh. "So when do we start learning 'Tri-Armed Armament Forging'?"
Even though he'd shown considerable enthusiasm for his training, compared to Magical Transmutation, all this qi and swordsmanship business would eventually lose its shine.
Seeing her precious child so eager, Alvit smiled and said, "Today's Saturday, so how about the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow's Sunday, which is a perfect time to hold a review session for the last three weeks of training."
Dark blinked. "What kind of review?"
Alvit said slowly, "A duel, of course."
...
"A duel, huh..."
Dark lay sprawled on his bed, flipping through Around-the-World Travelogue, feeling, for the first time, a hint of reluctance about a "duel."
"Hiss—"
A sudden sharp pain in the pocket of his shoulder made him gasp aloud.
The pressure being applied from behind eased slightly.
"Young Master, does it still hurt?" Ollie asked, concerned.
"Don't worry about me, keep going," Dark replied.
Ollie continued spreading "Refined Salve" over his shoulders, back, waist, and legs, channeling energy into her hands as she applied pressure with a massage.
This scene had played out every night for the past three weeks.
Every night before Dark went to bed, Ollie would arrive right on schedule.
The speed of his progress owed no small debt to this "Refined Salve" from the House of Greatbear.
Ollie's hands worked slowly from his shoulders down to his back, and she said with a laugh, "What's wrong, Young Master? Nervous about tomorrow's duel?"
"Not exactly scared," Dark said, narrowing his eyes.
Ollie asked curiously, "Then why the sigh?"
Dark said slowly, "I was thinking about how to keep myself from looking too pathetic after I lose."
"Pfft." Ollie couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Ow ow ow!" Dark immediately cried out in pain.
Because Ollie, taken by surprise, had failed to control the force of her hands properly.
Dark used to wonder why such slender fingers could unleash such tremendous force—now he finally understood.
Every head maid of the ducal estate was trained in both "Magic and Martial Arts," though the "Magic" in question referred to "Magical Transmutation."
Their mastery of "Armament Cards" had all been personally taught by Alvit, and on the path of martial arts, every one of them had fully opened all seven chakras—true masters at the peak of their craft.
Ollie eased up on the pressure and said, "Young Master, fearing your opponent before a battle is the worst thing you can do. Rest well tonight, and maybe you'll surprise everyone tomorrow."
Dark rolled his eyes. "Surprise everyone? Surpass my usual rock-bottom performance, you mean?"
The corner of Ollie's mouth twitched as she fought back another laugh.
But this time she managed to hold it in. "Honestly, Young Master, you've opened three chakras now, which would put you among the elite soldiers in the army—practically a core fighting force. You don't need to sell yourself so short."
Dark said, "Elite soldier—still just a soldier."
Ollie protested, "But an elite soldier is still much stronger than a regular one."
Dark said, "But my opponents are magical beasts."
"When did you start describing Lady Aurora like that?" Ollie continued massaging down his back. "And besides, all your other opponents are your own Magic Guide Spirits too."
Seeing that she still didn't understand, Dark sighed. "If it were only Aurora and Leomon and the others, that would be fine. But tomorrow there's a special guest too."
Ollie asked curiously, "Who?"
Dark looked utterly resigned to his fate. "Diana."
...
"Huh? I get to go play with Dark tomorrow?"
Inside the bedroom of Camilla, the "Silver Wolf Knight," of the House of Greatbear.
Diana lay sprawled against her mother's side, her two little feet kicked up, her mouth pouted sky-high.
Even though Camilla had successfully wormed her way into the ducal estate, she still hadn't taken Diana along to play there, not even once.
Viscount Greatbear was even worse, dragging her off to practice this and that every single day without ever seeming to tire of it.
She was clearly a Magic Guide Master, not a warrior—what was the point of practicing all that stuff, really?
It wasn't like she could go into the dueling competition and actually hit people!
And because of it, her summer homework still hadn't been touched at all!
Oh well...
Summer homework could wait a few more days.
Tomorrow she could finally go play with Dark—hehe!
...
Camilla watched her precious daughter grinning to herself and felt a pang of that old saying—"a girl grows up thinking of others"—while a trace of pride crept across her own face all the same.
Diana's talent for Magical Transmutation was already strong, but her talent for martial arts was even stronger.
If the ceiling for martial arts weren't so much lower than that of Magical Transmutation, Camilla would have wanted her daughter to aim for the very peak of the martial path instead.
As things stood, she could only hope her daughter would focus mainly on Magical Transmutation while keeping up her martial arts on the side as best she could.
If it were possible, she hoped her daughter could grow up to become a Valkyrie like Alvit!
But to become a "Valkyrie," one first had to be able to forge sufficiently powerful "Armament Cards."
Camilla had made no real progress on that front herself, and there were few people in the House of Greatbear with that level of talent for Magical Transmutation. Diana was already an exceptionally rare case.
"If only she could apprentice under Alvit..." Camilla muttered to herself.
She'd sounded Alvit out on the subject just a couple of days ago, carefully, but Alvit had shown no intention whatsoever of taking on a disciple.
If she wanted her daughter to receive teaching from a Valkyrie, it seemed the only path left was for Diana to become one of the "family" herself.
"Guess I'll just let things take their course," Camilla said, shaking her head, and shooed her daughter out of the room.
Diana hummed a tune and skipped back to her own bedroom.
She was very happy.
...
July first.
The heat of summer blazed ever hotter.
It happened to be Sunday, and after the Magic Guide Spirits had spent all of Saturday finishing their homework, they finally had some free time.
So the little darlings all joined hands and made their way to today's dueling venue—the indoor training grounds!
Besides them, the idle maids of the ducal estate, having gotten permission from their respective head maids, brought snacks and settled onto the benches outside the arena.
A duel featuring the young master himself didn't come along often, and they weren't about to miss it.
So when Dark and Aurora walked into the arena side by side, they found the training grounds already packed to capacity.
This duel, which should have been an intensely private affair, seemed to be spreading through the entire ducal estate at an unstoppable rate.
What left him even more speechless was that the moment he stepped through the door, all the maids set down whatever they were holding and bowed in perfect unison. "Good day, Young Master!"
Now that was quite the entrance.
But all that pomp did nothing to change the fact that he was almost certainly about to lose.
In the spot where the Magic Guide Spirits had all gathered together, the Vampire Young Lady bounced excitedly on her toes and waved at him, calling out just like the maids did, "Young Master, over here, over here!"
The sound of it made Dark feel oddly self-conscious, and he found himself missing the days when the little darling couldn't quite speak properly yet, calling him "Da-da-da."
Ever since she'd mastered proper speech under Ms. Cook's tutelage, she hadn't called him "Daddy" even once.
"Ahh."
Dark let out a deep sigh, feeling very much like an old father watching his daughter grow distant.
But his feet didn't stop moving, and he soon reached the group of Magic Guide Spirits.
"Where are Gatomon and the others?" Dark asked, glancing around.
The Vampire Young Lady squeezed in between him and Aurora and grabbed his arm. "Sister Gatomon and the others are with Teacher Camilla."
"Already here, huh?" Dark forced himself to sit down on the bench and popped a piece of candy into his mouth.
The contestants for this duel, besides himself and Aurora, included the special guest Diana, and the Magic Guide Spirits Hawlucha, Leomon, Gatomon, Meowth, and Honedge.
In short, every student from Camilla's study group was participating.
Under the guidance of professional instructors, the Magic Guide Spirits had spent a full three weeks drilling the fundamentals, and their rate of growth was no slower than Dark's own.
After learning the full list of contestants, Dark set himself a modest goal: "As long as I'm not dead last, I win!"
He'd analyzed the situation carefully.
Of all his opponents, only the three-star Hawlucha and Meowth would be the easiest to deal with.
And between those two, Hawlucha was even a bit weaker than Meowth.
The most important factor was that Hawlucha's hands were attached to its wings, and the air resistance from the feathers would slow down its punching speed.
And since it didn't use a sword itself, Dark had the advantage of weapon reach—every extra inch of blade counted for something.
Of course, the real reason was that Meowth was simply too strong!
With its Ultimate Move "Technician," Meowth's grasp of fine technique improved at an almost inhuman rate.
Among all of Dark's Magic Guide Spirits, even Honedge—who was literally a sword itself—couldn't match Meowth's rate of improvement in swordsmanship.
Even Alvit had given Meowth high praise, calling it a genuine prodigy with a blade.
By comparison, the "Hero" Gatomon and the "Hero" Leomon had both fallen behind.
That fact left Gatomon thoroughly displeased.
Dark saw it heading out every night to practice swordsmanship.
In short, aside from Hawlucha, he couldn't see a single shred of hope of winning against any of the other contestants.
So it wasn't that he was afraid of the fight—he was simply being rational.
Given the circumstances, he obviously had no intention of forcing his way to a victory.
So apart from that one modest goal he'd set for himself, what he was really thinking about was whether his Magic Guide Spirits could pull off a win in this duel.
Both Aurora and Diana, having opened six chakras each, were powerhouses—if they unleashed their full qi, their base strength could even surpass a five-star Leomon.
So the outcome of this duel was anyone's guess.
...
While he was lost in thought, the noise around him died down slightly.
Dark looked up and saw today's strongest opponent—Diana—had arrived!
After three weeks apart, Diana seemed to have grown a bit taller, and the baby fat on her face had thinned out a little.
She bounded ahead of Camilla, energetic as ever, and the moment she entered the training grounds, she looked around without a trace of shyness.
Then, suddenly, her eyes lit up, and like an adorable little fawn, she went bounding over.
When she reached Dark, she came to a sudden stop, spun once on her toes, and plopped down, laughing, right beside him.
"Diana's here!"
____
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