The morning sun bathed the Foxy Village in a golden hue as Aura stepped into the school grounds. His pace was calm, but his eyes burned with quiet determination.
As usual, he made his way straight to the training compound. There, the vice president stood waiting, hands behind his back, wearing that ever-composed smile.
"Good morning," Aura said, walking up.
"Morning, Aura. You're early, as expected," the vice president replied, then gestured for him to follow. "Come. I have something for you today."
Aura tilted his head curiously but didn't ask. He followed without hesitation, his heart pounding just a little faster than usual.
They reached the open training ground—quiet and serene at this hour. At the center, on a bench, lay a small wooden box. When the vice president opened it, Aura's eyes widened.
Inside were five elegant scrolls, each emitting a soft glow that hinted at power hidden within.
"W-What is this?" Aura stammered.
"They're yours," the VP said casually.
Aura immediately stepped back, shaking his head. "No way. Scrolls like these are expensive. I can't accept them."
"This isn't a gift," the VP said, smiling. "It's an investment. You're going to the Monster Challenge Arena. You'll be carrying the name of the Southern Beast Department. It's only right you're prepared."
Aura hesitated, but the conviction in the man's voice left little room for argument.
"There are two magic skill scrolls, two martial arts scrolls, and one mana recovery technique. I know… I should've given these to you earlier," the VP admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I had them ordered at rare and epic grades. They took time to arrive."
Aura finally stepped forward and picked up the scrolls, eyes gleaming. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
The VP nodded. "There's another thing. I'll be heading to the Royal Academy today to make arrangements. One more participant—also a beast—will be joining the MCA. She'll meet you this evening. Travel together."
Then he left.
Aura, now alone, sat down cross-legged with the scrolls.
"Alright… let's see what you've got," he whispered.
The first scroll shimmered a deep crimson. He unrolled it.
[You have learned the mana-consuming skill: Devour (Epic Grade) – (Upgradeable – 20 SP)
Effect: Absorbs ambient mana from nature at a rate of 5 mana per second. Cannot absorb from living beings.]
Aura blinked in disbelief. "Already? Just like that?"
[Normally, it would take weeks or months to learn a skill from scrolls.
However, due to system integration, skill absorption is automatic upon reading.]
"That's… amazing."
He moved to the next two scrolls—both martial arts. As he opened them one by one, the system rang out:
[You have learned Basic Fire Punch (Common Grade).]
[You have learned Basic Aura Punch (Common Grade).]
And then the last two—magic spells:
[You have learned Fire Bullet (Rare Grade).]
[You have learned Fireball (Rare Grade).]
As he processed it all, the system chimed again.
[Suggestion: Combine compatible martial arts. Combine Basic Fire Punch + Basic Aura Punch?]
Aura hesitated. "Uh… sure?"
[Combining… Success.
New Martial Art Acquired: Mana Punch (Epic Grade)
Consumes 1 mana per punch. Deals 2× base physical attack damage.]
He grinned. "Nice. That's way stronger."
Then he asked, "What about Dragonpunch Sutra?"
[Name: Dragonpunch Sutra
Grade: Unknown
Details: Undisclosed.]
Aura sighed. "Still won't tell me…"
He took a breath. "System, show my current status."
Level 8 (XP: 222/8000)
HP: 290
Attack: 66
Defense: 118
Mana: 156
AP: 24
SP: 30
Skills:
Primordial Aura (Upgradeable – 20 SP)Imaginary World (Upgradeable – 20 SP)Supernova Flame (Not Upgradable)Devour (Upgradeable – 20 SP)DetectionHumanization
Martial Arts:
Dragonpunch SutraMana Punch (Epic)
He nodded in satisfaction. "System, assign all 24 AP to attack."
[Attack increased: 66 (+24) → 90]
[AP: 0]
Then he paused, thinking. "Also… upgrade Imaginary World."
[Upgrade complete. Imaginary World now applies:
Buff (Host): +10% to all stats while active.
Debuff (Enemies): -20% to all stats while inside the world.]
Aura's eyes lit up. "That's huge."
He stood up, cracked his knuckles, and walked to the training dummies.
"Let's try Mana Punch."
He clenched his fists. A dark golden aura surged around his knuckles, swirling like smoke but laced with power. As he struck forward, the air rippled—and the dummy, reinforced for Level 40 beast trainees, exploded into splinters.
Aura froze.
"…Okay, that's dangerous."
He looked around. No one saw that, thankfully.
From that point on, he chose not to demonstrate any magic or techniques in the open—especially not Supernova Flame. It was his trump card. One he would never reveal unless absolutely necessary.
He returned the scrolls to his bag and left the field, satisfied. A quiet walk through the evening forest path led him back to the village.
Dinner was quiet.
Lily and Kael were absent, off searching for that rare herb that might help Riku.
He passed by their room and peeked in.
Riku still lay asleep, untouched by time, like a gentle dream frozen in motion.
Aura walked to his room, sat on his bed, and exhaled deeply.
His hands burned slightly from the mana training. His muscles were tight, but his heart was full.
"One step closer," he whispered to himself.
The Monster Challenge Arena was coming.
And he would be ready.