The Heavenly Demon Can't Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 13

In truth, the premise of this training was flawed from the start.

Roman could already feel the magical energy of this world. He had even gathered a little of this energy inside his body using his own special skills.

Yet, he had a reason for seeking instruction.

Roman thought to himself, “If I only use what I already know, I might not improve. I need to learn about ‘ki’ from my old world, and now ‘mana’ and ‘aura’ in this new place. I must learn how they do things here, from the start. Even if it doesn’t make perfect sense to me yet, I need to follow their methods for now.”

He abandoned his preconceptions.

Chris taught in a way that was very different from how things were done in the Murim. But Roman was open to new ideas.

He took a few deep breaths.

Chris explained, “You should feel a slight tingle on your skin. That’s the mana, the magical energy of this world, like they say on the Salamander Continent.” But for Roman, mana gathered around him almost instantly, after just a few breaths. It was natural for him. He had spent his whole life becoming one with the energy of nature. He understood how it worked and how to control it.

Then, Chris moved on to the next step.

Chris said that succeeding in this stage, even if it took a year, would be fortunate. Roman achieved it in less than a minute.

From then on, it was about guiding the mana.

He welcomed the mana.

As this new and strange energy flowed into him, Roman carefully guided it through his body, sending it to every part.

Roman thought, “This way of training is very different from what I know. In the Murim, we focus on moving ‘qi’ to clean the body and gather energy in the ‘dantian’. But here, they just want mana to spread through the whole body naturally. They don’t try to control it tightly. I wonder why they do it like this? Maybe it makes the energy easier to handle at first. But it seems like this method will never let anyone become truly powerful, even if they train for a very long time.”

It was an inefficient method.

Also, there was another problem with the mana itself.

The mana from the Murim, even though there wasn’t much of it, felt strong and solid, like a heavy weight. But this world’s mana, even though it was everywhere, felt weak and thin, like a light breeze.

It was like the mana flowed into him and then right back out again, almost as fast as he took it in.

He really wanted to control all of it.

However…

“For now, in the manner of this world.”

He held back his urge.

He knew he could use his own special training methods whenever he wanted.

Roman knew better than anyone how to get stronger. But right now, he needed to learn about this new world.

Chris’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Chris said, “Once you can control mana a little bit, you can then create aura. Aura is made by gathering all the mana in your body to one spot. That’s called making aura. You can use aura in many ways. You can put aura on your sword to make it stronger and cut better. Or you can use it on your body for a sudden burst of power. When someone can make aura, we call them a 1-star aura knight.”

Chris would not know.

That Roman had already started gathering mana.

He was merely explaining things, but Roman was moving mana in the same way according to his explanation.

He took in the mana.

Roman had a way to hold onto the mana inside him, so it wouldn’t just flow away.

Mana accumulated steadily.

It took Roman no time at all to make aura.

Whoosh!

A bright blue light suddenly burst from his body, like a wave of cool, electric energy. It shimmered around him, making his skin glow with an otherworldly blue.

Without even being taught, Roman focused his mana, gathering it all together to make his skin stronger for a moment.

A familiar phenomenon.

Roman recalled a similar method.

Roman thought, “This is a little like the external martial arts from the Murim, but not really. External martial arts is about making your body stronger on the outside. But Chris’s method isn’t quite that, and it’s not really about building up mana inside either. Using mana in a quick burst like this is not very effective because the mana isn’t properly gathered in one place first. It just spreads out everywhere. My first thought when I saw Chris use aura was right.”

It was certain.

After trying it, he was certain.

“The way they use mana here is trash.”

Training with Chris…

There was no reason to continue any longer.

Just as Roman created aura…

Chris’s eyes widened.

“W-what?!”

This training…

He didn’t even expect him to sense mana.

He thought just understanding the training would be good progress. But something completely unexpected had happened.

That incredible blue light.

It was definitely aura.

He rubbed his eyes and checked again, but the scene before him did not change.

“H-how is this possible?”

Beyond common sense.

It took him six months just to feel mana, and he had trained hard for three years to create aura.

Yet, he was still called a genius.

He had studied swords with Jonathan since he was a child, working very hard. Reaching the 2-star level in his twenties made everyone think he was a genius.

But…

What on earth was this?

Roman was progressing faster than Chris could even understand.

“…Hoo.”

Roman opened his eyes.

As soon as he saw Roman open his eyes, Chris asked quickly.

“How did you do that? Did you really just make aura?”

“You should know well if you saw it directly.”

“That’s why I’m asking! It just doesn’t make sense. People train for years to make aura! But you, Lord Roman, did it in thirty minutes! Tell me the truth. Did you already know how to use aura? Were you just pretending to learn and making fun of me? Wait, I get it now! I knew it was weird that you beat me, a 2-star knight, before!”

That was just his own guess.

It was easier for Chris to believe that Roman was a secret expert than to think he was a genius who made aura in just 30 minutes.

But even that was hard to believe.

So, was Roman hiding his strength two years ago?

But why?

Chris’s face showed he was very confused as he looked at Roman.

“Tell me, how do the stars work for aura knights? What star level am I now? And what star level is the strongest person supposed to be?”

“Okay,” Chris said, still surprised. “Since you made aura, you’re a 1-star aura knight. If you can use aura to cut steel, then you’re 2-star. Things get really serious at 3-star. The stars are based on how strong and destructive your aura is. 3-star knights are important people in the kingdom. Sir Jonathan, the head of the knights, is a 3-star knight, so the kingdom respects him. 4-star knights are famous in the kingdom, and 5-star knights are famous across the whole continent. Just so you know, the best swordsman on the continent is said to be a 6-star swordsman. No one has ever reached 7-star yet.”

In this land, knights were ranked by Stars, from one to six. A 6-Star Knight was known as the strongest warrior on the entire continent, the absolute peak of fighting skill.

After speaking with Jonathan, a knight, Roman began to understand the true strength of warriors in this world.

‘Based on what I know from the martial arts world, Jonathan is not very strong. Even if 6-Star knights are supposed to be strong, they are not as strong as I expected. Maybe swordsmanship isn’t the main skill here. If aura is a rare talent, magic is even rarer. I need to see it for myself to know for sure.’

This is interesting.

It’s a different way of doing things compared to the martial arts world he knew.

He wanted to explore this world and experience everything.

Chris hesitated, then said, “Actually, these Star ranks aren’t the whole story. There’s also a ranking system in this land. A 6-Star Knight is supposed to be the best, but even some of the top ten ranked fighters aren’t 6-Stars yet. Anyway,” he changed the subject, “Master Roman, when did you start training mana? You know, that magical energy knights use? It took *me* ten years just to reach 2-Star. Ten years! And people call me a genius. So, considering how you were just two years ago… it just doesn’t make sense.”

Chris finished speaking.

Roman laughed.

This world was weaker than he thought.

Chris’s face turned red.

He didn’t say it directly, but Chris felt like Roman was making fun of him, and it made him angry.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“Are you saying my hard work is a joke?”

The air became tense.

Chris was known as Dimitri’s talent.

Even though Roman had beaten him, Chris was still proud.

Roman looked at Chris, who was red-faced and about to explode, and smiled.

“I’ll ask you something. While you were working to get stronger, did you ever question your training method?”

“What do you mean?”

“People make a mistake sometimes. They blindly believe that old methods are always right. I felt that way when I was learning the mana training method from you. I can see the problems clearly, so why are you sticking to this method? Is it because you don’t know any better? Or do you just trust Knight Commander Jonathan too much?”

Chris was surprised by this question.

He was about to get angry, but Roman’s words stopped him. He looked confused and couldn’t say anything.

He had never questioned his training method.

“The reason is simple. It’s easier to follow a method where others have already made all the mistakes. That way, I don’t have to worry about failing or being criticized. I know you’ve worked hard for ten years. But it’s funny that you never questioned the method you were following. No one has all the answers in this world. The method you follow without question is just one way someone thought of, a long time ago, when they were trying to figure things out.”

When Roman was known as the Heavenly Demon, he never just accepted his father’s teachings.

Even though his father was the best in the evil group, Roman always looked closely at his words and tried to understand them.

Because of this, Roman created his own Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Even the cult members who had criticized Roman at first were amazed by the power of his new art.

That was how Roman lived his life.

He always questioned things, instead of just accepting them because they were old or traditional. He always wondered if there was a better way.

Of course, this made life harder.

He had to try new things and make mistakes. When he failed, he had to deal with criticism and disappointment.

But change is important.

Just like the old ways started with someone asking a question, Roman always questioned himself.

“I’ll ask you again. Did you really do your best for ten years?”

Chris couldn’t speak.

He thought about his life.

He had worked hard.

But Chris’s training was blind.

He did what Jonathan told him to do, and he wanted to learn a secret skill from him.

Roman’s words hit him hard.

Even though what Roman said went against what everyone else thought, Chris couldn’t argue with him.

‘Following old knowledge isn’t bad. Chris might grow stronger and become known as a genius. But that’s all he’ll be. People who don’t question things can’t reach the top. Chris is strong compared to others in this world, but like a frog living in a well, who thinks the sky is only as big as the well’s opening, he hasn’t seen the wider world of training, and will eventually rot.’

Roman’s advice was meant to be helpful.

Because Chris had helped him, Roman told him the truth.

It was up to Chris now.

If he couldn’t accept the truth, he would never be better than people expected.

“Let’s stop training for today.”

Roman turned to leave.

“…Then please tell me what to do. What should I do now?”

Chris asked.

Roman stopped and looked at Chris again.

‘Heh.’

‘Interesting.’

Chris had let go of his pride.