Chapter 281
Episode 89: Temar’s First Tomb (Part 2)
—[There’s a region called Baola in the Anz Great Plains. It’s right in the heart of the plains. You need to infuse this key with your aura there. That will reveal his first tomb.]
—Are there any precautions I should be aware of?
—[Just don’t panic no matter what happens. That’s what Solderet told me to pass on to you.]
—Anything else?
—[Nope. Good luck, Jin Runcandel.]
The key Picone handed over was a black rod about the size of a finger.
It looked so ordinary that if you didn’t know it was a key, it could easily be mistaken for some kind of mechanical part.
“You want me to infuse aura into this? Let me see.”
Murakan took the key and immediately poured his aura into it.
Nothing happened. At least, nothing visible.
“I get the gist. It won’t activate unless you put in enough aura. Solderet used to make these kinds of things as toys sometimes.”
“Really?”
“When are you heading to the Anz Great Plains?”
“I’d go right away if I could, but I have to meet Uncle Jed and get assigned the mission to assassinate the Black Knight’s spy first. Mother said that would be my first task.”
“I heard they’re pairing you with another skilled rider for that mission. Probably Joshua, right? Since it’s important, they want to use you but give the credit to Joshua.”
“Well, I don’t think Mother would be that shallow. What do you think, Gilly?”
“I agree, my lord. I think it’s more likely they’ll assign Miss Runtia or Lord Dipus rather than that despicable Joshua… I mean, sorry.”
Runtia and Dipus.
Aside from Luna, who was out of the question, these two were always mentioned when discussing the strongest riders of the Runcandel family.
“Second sister and older brother, huh? Makes sense. Since the Black Knight has to be dealt with, they’d want reliable people.”
“But if it’s certain the Black Knight is a spy, why not just capture and kill him? They could purge him in the Garden of Blades without any fuss.”
“When someone like the Black Knight dies, it requires a proper reason and background. They can’t just reveal to the entire family that he’s a spy, so a simple purge would damage the family’s discipline. But exposing the truth and judging the spy would hurt their prestige. Especially since the spy is the Black Knight himself.”
“Humans really care more about face than dragons do, even though they don’t live a hundred years. Anyway, does that mean I can’t go to Temar’s tomb until the Black Knight assassination mission is scheduled?”
“That’s right.”
“Time’s going to drag, huh. Tch.”
“The mission date won’t be too soon. Since killing the Black Knight spy isn’t a simple assassination, the family has a lot to prepare. Once the date’s set, we’ll go to Temar’s tomb first.”
The next day, Jin went straight to see Jed.
Jed was no longer teaching the intermediate cadets but the advanced ones.
“I sent all the advanced cadets on external missions to teach you the finishing moves.”
Even standing alone in the empty training ground, his voice carried a heavy weight.
Jed was still hovering in the late 8-star rank, but that only reflected his aura level, not his true combat ability.
Among those fully at 9-star, few could defeat Jed.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“I can teach you three finishing moves on my own. But one is only suitable for chain swords, and another fits greatswords. So I’ll start by teaching you the one for longswords.”
“Understood.”
Since his return, Jin had only witnessed or experienced two finishing moves firsthand: the third, Meteor Shower, and the seventh, Volcano. Both were devastating techniques.
Especially the beautiful spectacle of Meteor Shower when Luna took down Andrei—it still flashed vividly in Jin’s mind.
‘I wanted to learn Meteor Shower first, but I guess I have to wait until the elders are dealt with.’
Swish—
Jed slowly drew his sword.
“This is the fourth finishing move, Falling Flowers. I’ll show it slowly first. Watch the flow of the sword and aura.”
Jed’s sword, soaked in aura, began to glow. At first, it looked like any other sword technique.
But soon, the aura surrounding the blade started to crack, like fine fractures appearing in a dense surface.
This meant the aura was weakening.
Aura that isn’t tightly bound tends to shatter like fragments under even slight impact, so a rider must always maintain its cohesion during battle.
The cracks on Jed’s aura grew wider, as if a mere touch could shatter it.
“As you know, if the aura cracks like this, the technique loses its power. Amateurs swinging their swords in this state will lose all their aura.”
Jed took a light step forward.
His sword naturally pointed to the sky, then he smoothly and swiftly brought it down.
It looked like a simple downward cut.
Despite the aura barely holding on, shards of it clung to the blade.
Even as the sword’s tip sliced through the air, Jed’s aura didn’t collapse. It was like moving a sandcastle without breaking it.
“You have to be able to swing the sword without breaking the loosely connected aura at this point.”
Whoosh…!
The fragile aura finally broke apart. Just like its name, Falling Flowers, it looked like petals scattering.
But these petals, made of aura, each carried deadly power—enough to easily tear through steel or the bones and flesh of warriors above 8-star rank.
These petals scattered randomly in unpredictable trajectories. Anyone standing at the center would be reduced to an unrecognizable mass of flesh.
“Do you get the feel of it?”
Jed asked, and Jin nodded.
“Falling Flowers is a difficult sword to master despite its appearance. You need delicate control of aura and a deep understanding of will and incantations. Above all, holding the aura together until the crucial moment is impossible without the blessed body of a Runcandel.”
Without a blessed body, forcibly holding together aura on the verge of collapse would cause even a 10-star rider to suffer backlash.
“You probably don’t need an explanation about aura fragmentation. Start by practicing scattering and holding the aura together. After that, you’ll learn to condense each aura fragment into a solid sword strike…”
Jin listened quietly as Jed’s explanation went on for a long time.
From the moment Jed cracked the aura, Jin had a sense of déjà vu.
‘It’s clear. The fourth finishing move, Falling Flowers, is based on the Mingwang Sword’s technique, Waterfall.’
There were many similarities between Waterfall and Falling Flowers.
Both intentionally split the aura, forcibly hold it together, and ignite it at the right moment to form sword energy.
Of course, the original was Waterfall.
Jin could clearly tell which was superior between the two.
‘Waterfall is better. Except that ordinary humans without the radiant heart can’t use it no matter what.’
A sudden unease crept in.
What if most of the finishing moves I’ve longed for are just inferior copies of the Mingwang Sword’s techniques…?
‘At least Meteor Shower and Volcano are original Runcandel moves, so that can’t be true.’
Jed’s explanation continued for over twenty minutes.
“…That’s all. If you have questions, ask.”
“Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“You know I’m Solderet’s contractor and that I use brain energy.”
“Yes, there were rumors you were Feytel’s contractor when you used the name Bamel.”
Jin loosened his shirt. When the radiant heart at the center of his chest was revealed, Jed’s eyes flickered with surprise.
“I gained a fortunate opportunity during my trainee days. That’s how I obtained this radiant heart and learned to use brain energy.”
“A fortunate opportunity?”
“I want to tell you the full story. But only if you swear to keep it secret.”
“How great could this opportunity be?”
“I’m sure my story will be helpful to you as well.”
“You’re making it sound intriguing. Fine, I swear on the honor of Jed Runcandel that I won’t tell a soul.”
Now it was Jin’s turn to explain.
He told Jed about the training he’d received from the Mingwang clan in Laprarosa.
Jed listened with the curiosity of a child hearing an old tale. Jin shared everything except the fact that the 77 Mingwang clan members were Solderet’s arrangement for Temar and himself.
“…So the supposedly extinct aquatic tribe had contact with the progenitor? This must be a secret not recorded in any family documents. And the sword technique you learned from them, Waterfall, is similar to Falling Flowers?”
“I’ll demonstrate.”
Crack!
Brain energy gathered around Jin’s body, and Jed couldn’t hide his astonishment.
The brain energy flowed into the sigmund, taking the exact form of Falling Flowers—intentionally scattering and forcibly holding together.
“Hooh…!”
Jed clenched his fist in admiration the moment the sigmund touched the ground.
The brain energy flowed along the sigmund’s path like a waterfall, clearly resembling Falling Flowers.
“Like you said, Uncle, I only used a small amount of brain energy.”
“Of course you should. Even just using Nak-hwa, if you channel the aura properly and unleash it, the training grounds would’ve been wrecked for no good reason. But that black waterfall technique you showed… there’s definitely something more refined about it. Hah, if that’s the case, I have nothing left to teach you.”
That wasn’t all.
Through Jin’s demonstration, Jed saw right through the limitations of Nak-hwa, the decisive technique.
And to understand those limits precisely meant he now had the chance to refine it one step further.
But Jed went even beyond that.
“I can’t obtain the Light Heart, so even if I use today’s inspiration to rework Nak-hwa, I won’t reach the level of that waterfall technique. Still, I’m starting to think I might be able to push Nak-hwa’s power forward.”
“Huh? Improve it, Uncle?”
Jed was so certain after just one demonstration that he could not only refine Nak-hwa but actually advance it.
“I like that, kid. Consider it a fine gift. Once the improvements are done, I’ll have the Elders verify it, and Nak-hwa will be designated as a decisive technique that can’t be passed on without the Elders’ approval!”
Jin was momentarily dumbfounded by Jed’s excitement. Jed, like Siron and all the other sword spirits of Runcandel, never lied when it came to swords.
“Kid.”
Jed’s cheerful smile suddenly vanished.
“Yes, Uncle.”
“If the improved Nak-hwa earns the Elders’ recognition, they’ll have no grounds left to reject you.”
“If that happens, it won’t be thanks to me, but to you, Uncle. Improving a decisive technique is a huge achievement, so some Elders might respect your opinion of me—but that doesn’t mean they’d have no reason to refuse me, right?”
Jed’s lips curled into a sly grin.
“No, the Elders won’t be able to refuse you. Because this uncle here will put your name on the improved Nak-hwa.”