Days passed quietly but steadily, each one marked by the sounds of battle echoing from the stone walls of the arena deep beneath the beast school. Aura had fallen into a rhythm—wake early, train hard, fight harder, return home tired and sore.
His body changed, his strength grew. The flame in his chest burned brighter with every swing of his fists and every drop of sweat on the arena floor.
And today, it happened again.
A low thrum built inside him as his body glowed faint gold, and as the last monster collapsed, the system's familiar voice echoed inside his head:
[Level Up! You have reached Level 8.]
Aura let out a breath and lowered his stance. He could feel the difference. The flow of mana through his body was stronger, more stable. His muscles ached less than before, and his control over his strength had become sharper.
[Stats Updated:
XP: 44 / 8000
HP: 270 (+20)
Attack: 56 (+6)
Defense: 106 (+12)
Mana: 146 (+10)
AP: 16 (+8)
SP: 25 (+5)
Skills:
Primordial Aura (Upgradeable – 20 SP)
Imaginary World (Upgradeable – 20 SP)
Supernova Flame (Not upgradable, Mana Consumption: 6 per second)
Humanization
Detection
Martial Arts:
Dragonpunch Sutra]
Aura sat on the cold stone floor and looked at his hands. They trembled—not from fear, but from excitement. He was getting stronger. Closer to something that couldn't be named, but could be felt: destiny.
He thought about the Supernova Flame. He'd tested it just once against a monster when no one was watching. The intensity of the heat, the raw destruction—it terrified even him.
That power… it was too dangerous to show others.
"I need to keep that one a secret," he whispered to himself. "No one can see it. Not yet."
[Understood. Supernova Flame will remain hidden from public usage logs unless you authorize.]
Aura gave a small nod.
He went out after some minutes of rest. The vice president, as always, was waiting with that impossible to read smile of his.
"You look like you've been through a furnace," the man joked with him.
"It's how I feel too," Aura said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
The VP chuckled, then glanced at his scroll. "You've got just two days left before the Monster Challenge Arena. I suggest focusing less on leveling and more on refining your foundation. Magic control, martial arts—those details will separate you from the crowd."
Aura nodded. "I was thinking the same. I'm not sure I'll be able to rely on brute strength against the other contestants."
"You'll be surprised," the vice president said, leaning slightly forward. "In that arena, instincts matter more than bloodline. But still—you're young. You've got time."
"Before I leave," Aura added, "you mentioned mana recovery scrolls. Any suggestions?"
"I do," he replied. "But wait until after the challenge. Let's see how far you go first. If you win… doors will open."
Aura said nothing, but he saw the glimmer of hopeful anticipation in the man's eyes.
The walk home in the village was unusually easy. When he walked through the square, he saw something odd—people were smiling and happily talking. Even the guards looked relaxed.
When he reached home, Kael and Lily were standing at the gate with light packs on their backs.
"Mom? Dad?" Aura tilted his head. "What's going on?"
"We're going to the forest," Lily said, looking at him with a hopeful expression. "We found signs of a rare herb we've been looking for. If it's what we think it is… it might help lift Riku's curse."
Kael added, "We've waited long enough. The timing feels right."
Aura's heart skipped. "Is it safe?"
"We'll be careful," Kael assured him. "I want you to do your best in school, alright?" He nodded and grinned, then he watched them walk away but their already growing responsibility he felt on his shoulders, he did not want to depend on them.
Inside the house, everything felt quiet again. Familiar. Too quiet.
He walked into his shared room and looked at Riku, who was still sound asleep. His brother hadn't opened his eyes in days, but he looked peaceful.
Aura sat by the bed and reached for something familiar.
"System," he said. "Use Detection on Lily."
[Name: Lily
Race: Foxy
Bloodline: Lower
Level: 28
HP: 310
Attack: 70
Defense: 120]
Aura blinked slowly.
"So she's Level 28… I'm already close," he whispered, more to himself than the system. "At Level 9, I might surpass her in raw stats."
The system didn't respond this time. It didn't need to. Aura already understood what that meant.
[Detection allows you to see the level and key traits of targets up to 20 levels above you. Targets exceeding this range will remain hidden.]
He leaned back and rested his head against the wall, glancing over at Riku.
"You'll wake up soon, right?"
The boy didn't respond, but somehow, Aura felt comforted. He lay beside him and closed his eyes.
For the first time in a while, he didn't think about XP, mana, or monsters.
He just thought about home.
And how he would protect it.