TLWD 44

Chapter : 44. The Hounds (1)

The primordial energy — Mana.

The energy processed from that mana to be usable:
Mana Force and Auror.

Though both stem from mana, the mechanisms by which they operate differ so vastly that they outright clash.

Those who use mana cannot wield auror.
Those who wield auror cannot use mana.

That has long been the rule and common knowledge of the continent.

But I knew otherwise.
I knew that wasn’t true.

The hero of the Allied Forces, the Archmage, once said:

“To be more precise, it’s ‘mages’ who use mana that cannot wield auror.”

The Archmage’s definition of auror was simple —
The power to bring mere imagination into reality.

“Let me give you an example of how martial artists using auror demonstrate overwhelming strength.”

Martial artists who wield superhuman power by reinforcing their bodies with auror.

The Archmage claimed the idea first came from observing ants.

Tiny insects that lift objects thousands of times heavier than their own bodies.

What if that kind of physical structure was applied to a human?
Wouldn’t humans also be able to lift objects thousands of times heavier than themselves?

To that question, the mage offered this answer:

“The strength of a muscle is proportional to its cross-sectional area.”

Meaning, the larger the muscle, the stronger it is.

And that was about as far as I could understand.
Everything after that went in one ear and out the other.

“As the body size increases, the cross-sectional area increases by the square.”

Because area is width × height.
Whereas volume is width × height × depth.

So for the same increase, volume increases by the cube.

“Volume increases exponentially faster than muscle area.”

Therefore, if an ant were the size of a human, it would not have the same strength.

But if a human were the size of an ant?
They could have strength like an ant.

Come to think of it, all creatures that show strength thousands of times beyond their body weight are all tiny insects — even fleas.

So why can ants lift so much more than their size?
Because of their small volume.

That’s why, even if humans had ant-like physical structures, they wouldn’t be able to lift something thousands of times heavier than themselves.

“Thus, mages come to a conclusion.”

Ah! It’s inherently impossible!

Which is why even with strength-enhancing magic like Strength, mages cannot surpass human physical limits.

Because they’re intelligent enough to understand that it’s impossible.

“But those who wield auror say this instead—”

“It just works when you do it.”

Honestly, they’re all insane.

It’s something absolutely impossible by magical principles.
Even by the laws of this world, it should be impossible.

And yet right before our eyes are warriors flying around as if they had the body structure of ants.

No wonder mages go mad just watching it.

“Most people just call it a breakdown… mental collapse.”

This is the principle behind how auror enhances physical ability —
Through imagination, it ignores the laws of the world and brings mere thoughts into reality.

An absurd power that never existed but now exists: Auror.

That’s why mages can’t use it.
They’re too intelligent — they understand that such a thing can’t exist.

Conversely, knights can’t use mana.
Because once they study and understand mana, they end up denying the existence of auror.

Auror and mana —
Both are transformed energies derived from the same primordial mana.

And yet, auror is reserved for knights, and mana for mages — this is why.

That said, auror isn’t all-powerful.

Because it defies the world’s laws, it’s not entirely free.

The Archmage called it “resisting the world.”

So even enhancing physical abilities or imbuing weapons with auror is a struggle.

But —
There are rare cases.

Rare madmen who bring their outrageous imagination into reality, defying all worldly laws.

Those who not only overcome the world’s resistance with auror, but even exceed the threshold.

Masters.

Masters manifest their unique imaginations into reality, applying them as if they were the world’s very laws.

Allowing them to disregard the laws of the world entirely.

And now —

That power I feel from Kai.

It’s similar to my [B+] Regeneration ability, but not quite.
Somewhat akin to a saint’s miracle, but different in nature.

It’s a power no living being in this world should be able to wield.
A power that should never manifest in this world.

Immortality.

Which means —
Kai has just taken one step into the realm of a Master.

And with that, taken one step closer to becoming the Commander of the Frozen Legion.

Seriously…

‘This lunatic.’

In both my past and present lives, he’s the strongest lunatic I’ve ever seen.

While I was searching the snowy mountains, Kai took a step toward becoming a Master.

Fortunately…

‘He’s not a full Master yet.’

Master isn’t some common title like a family dog’s name — you don’t just achieve it overnight.

Even in the Kingdom of Battenberg, where the Whitewolf family belongs, you could count the number of Masters on one hand.
Across the entire continent, they’re rare.

The pinnacle of auror — the Master.

Kai has only just stepped into that realm.

Still, that alone is absurd.

Kai’s only 20 years old.
No one has ever reached Master-level at that age.

In any case, he hasn’t achieved true immortality like in his past life.

In truth, even back then, it wasn’t complete immortality.

There was only one true immortal —
Among the six lords who serve the Emperor, the Lord of Immortality.

Kai’s immortality wasn’t the real thing.

Just as my [B+] Regeneration requires nutrients, Kai’s immortality required auror.

In other words, if his auror runs out, the immortality disappears.

In his past life, Kai overcame this limit somewhat by becoming a Lich.

But now, he’s human.

So Kai’s immortality clearly has limits.

‘Still a lunatic though.’

Even so, crazy is crazy.

In his past life, he wasn’t even this fast.

He didn’t grow this fast.

Of course, after leaving the county, I hadn’t seen him properly.

But even then, he hadn’t grown this much.

‘Is it because of me?’

The Dragon’s Wrath [E] I used yesterday —
He survived that and seems to have awakened something.

I don’t know what exactly.
Who can guess what goes on in a lunatic’s head?

But I’m not the only one who’s different from the past.

Rather, because I changed, Kai is changing too.

A small ripple from me caused a storm in him.

‘This makes it…’

…harder to kill Kai.

Also, I realized I can’t obtain any abilities from devouring Kai’s heart with [S+] Predation.

Predation [S+] absorbs the background behind a power’s manifestation.

For monsters, it’s the madness mutation factor.

For Kai, it would be auror.

But I can’t wield auror.

Not just auror — I can’t wield mana either.
I can’t manipulate mana energy at all.

That’s why I didn’t eat human hearts in my past life.

There was no benefit.

Only madness and frenzy.

But it was different for the Lords and Legion Commanders.

Lords have abilities called Divine Authorities.

Commanders are empowered by those Lords.

By devouring them, I could obtain those Divine Authorities.

Except for one —
Kai.

He never received power from Seraphia.

He just kept growing, surpassing, and transcending for her sake —
Beating his own damn drum and playing the cymbals too.

‘Lunatic.’

Out of all the madmen I’ve seen —
He’s the best of the best.

‘I shouldn’t devour Kai.’

There’s no reason to use [S+] Predation on Kai.

And it also means — killing him has become harder.

But—

‘That just raises the odds of hunting the Beast Lord’s commander.’

Might as well take it positively.

Ian will solve everything once he gets here anyway.

Right now, I need to focus on the Beast Lord’s commander.

“Did you find traces of the Legion?”

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know.”

Kai tilted his head at my answer.

“Didn’t you just say you found traces?”

“I said I found traces — I didn’t say I knew where they are.”

Exactly.

What I found were traces.

Traces indicating that the commander of the Beast Lord’s legion is present in the north.

But I don’t know their exact location.

“Then shall we search together?”

Kai took the lead enthusiastically.

But I had no intention of doing so.

“No. We won’t search.”

Am I supposed to search the entire north without a clue?

If I planned to do that, I wouldn’t have returned from the snowy mountains.

Of course, I can’t scan the whole north.
It’s massive — who has the time?

I need to find Ian as soon as possible.

To do that, I must turn the Predator Merchant Guild into the continent’s best.

Time is short for preparing the next trade run.
Plus, I need to raise the territory’s people to [Trust] level in 90 days.

Right now, I should be dealing with goblins —
Not chasing the Beast Lord’s commander.

“So you’re not going to find them?”

“That’s right. I’ll make them come to us.”

Kai tilted his head again.

Understandable.

He doesn’t know who the commander is.

But I was once a special ops task force commander.

I gathered and managed information on the Lords and their commanders.

All that info is still in my head.

If the individual I’m thinking of is correct…

“We’re bringing one more person on this hunt.”

There was a way to lure the Beast Lord’s commander to come to us.

A ticklish sensation brushed past her eyes.

“Mmm…”

Seraphia’s graceful brows twitched, and her sense of reality gradually returned.

She felt the soft texture of a bed beneath her — she realized she was lying down.

But she couldn’t open her eyes.
She didn’t have the courage to.

Adrian — with both arms severed.
The horrific sight of them still twitching.

The memory resurfaced, pressing heavily on her head and chest.

She shut her eyes even tighter, forcing that image out.

And then, from the deep corner of her tears, a droplet fell.

“Sniff…”

She couldn’t accept it.

She couldn’t accept that Adrian was—

“If you’re awake, get ready.”

A sudden voice rang out.

Seraphia’s eyes snapped open wide.

Her body was weak, her mind still in chaos.

But slowly, her vision focused on the man before her.

“O-Oppa?!”

…It was Adrian.

Seraphia practically jumped from the bed.

“You weren’t dead?! You came back to life?! How?!”

“Did you want me dead?”

“Of course not!!!”

Seraphia shouted in disbelief.

Her voice rose, but her gaze remained firm with conviction.

Adrian, seeing that, didn’t respond much.

“Are you okay? You’re not going to d-die again, right?!”

“As you can see.”

She quickly checked him over.

Dark bangs slightly fell across his forehead.
Sharp features.
Piercing eyes filled with charisma.
Long lashes and a chiseled jawline.

And two muscular arms — completely intact.

“…Phew.”

Finally, she could breathe.

Adrian, having assessed her condition too, opened his mouth.

“Then get ready and come out.”

He turned to leave the room.

“Get ready…?”

At her question, Adrian paused briefly.

Then answered,

“You, me, and Kai — the three of us are going to hunt down the Legion’s commander.”

Seraphia’s crimson eyes widened larger than a lantern flame.