Fate Manipulation (1)

"Today's lesson is about 'aura'."

Basic combat technique lecture.

The instructor, Alex, said, looking around at everyone.

The students were lined up in the outdoor training ground listening to Alex's explanation.

Combat-related classes are often held here. Sometimes they also rent out a hall or a field.

"Human muscles have their limits. Of course, sufficient growth is essential, but excessive muscles hinder movement, and as you know, muscles are inherently heavy. In the end, what fighters need is a body with the right balance of flexibility, strength, and quickness. In other words, it's not like you can just blindly build muscle for strength."

After saying that, Alex looked around. His gaze fell on Aster.

"Hmm, Aster. Come forward."

"Yes."

Aster stood next to Alex.

Alex put his hands on Aster's shoulders.

"A body like this is a good balance. Muscles, when appropriate, increase quickness, but when they are lacking or excessive, they reduce quickness in both cases. In Aster's case, he has found the right balance. I want everyone to think of this level of muscle training as a model."

Aster looked somewhat embarrassed.

Well, I agree with Alex about Aster's physical balance.

However, Instructor Alex has always favored the commoners. He's just being sweet when dealing with Aster, their representative.

"So, when it comes to building strength, it's not about blindly building muscle. You need to use other human strengths. You need to effectively increase your attack power while maintaining your body's balance. That 'strength' is aura."

Alex stood in front of a huge stone that had been placed in front of the students.

Then he picked up his sword.

"It's impossible to cut a rock like this with a sword using only your muscles. It's not just a matter of strength; the sword would break first. However, with an attack from a prepared stance through repeated training, you can project aura."

Alex assumed a stance.

Holding the sword with both hands, he positioned it vertically in front of him, his gaze straight ahead, the tip of the sword matching his line of sight. It was a posture as if drawn in a picture.

Alex raised the sword above and slashed downwards towards the rock. A blue light flickered at the end of the blade.

With a swish, the blade neatly sliced through the rock.

"Oh," the students marveled.

Alex wore an expression devoid of any particular emotion.

After all, he had demonstrated it during lectures.

"A warrior can imbue their sword with aura through thousands of hours of training. At first, it's only momentary, and only in a single movement, but later, you'll be able to use aura in various movements."

"Uh, teacher."

Someone raised their hand at that moment.

From the back, it was unclear who it was.

Given I don't recognize them, maybe an extra?

"Then, if you continue to train, can you always imbue your weapon with aura?"

Hmm.

Judging by that question, they must be an extra.

Alex smiled broadly as if it was an excellent question and nodded.

"Of course. And you can do even more than that."

"More?"

"When you reach the pinnacle of aura, you can weaponize aura from your bare hands without needing a weapon."

"Ohhh," the students' eyes sparkled.

"Of course, I can't do it. Not yet, anyway."

Laughter lightened the mood at Alex's joke.

"Today's lesson is to attack this rock with the weapon you possess."

Alex pointed to the other half of the rock he had sliced.

"Among you may be students who, even before enrolling in Constel, have practiced and skilled enough to imbue your weapons with aura. But slicing through this rock will not be easy. This is no ordinary stone. It was specially crafted through the professors' magic."

Even if you can imbue it with aura, the strength of that aura varies greatly.

While you might be able to scratch the rock, slicing it is exceedingly difficult. And this is no ordinary rock, but a specially crafted one.

Disappointment filled the students' eyes.

Knowing this from the start, Alex raised his voice.

"If you can manage to cut or break this rock without using divine power or weapons, you will be granted one admission to a 5-person, lower-level dungeon. However, the party of five must include at least one teacher and one third-year student.”

The students’ eyes lit up at his words.

Dungeons are rare places where various magical creature materials and treasures can be obtained. Their exact creation principles are yet to be clearly identified, but they share a common trait of being formed in places where mana gathers.

Conquering a dungeon does not simply mean finding the exit.

Defeating the dungeon boss, deciphering codes, and activating hidden devices can also be part of the strategy.

Therefore, as the difficulty of the dungeon increases, not only do the monsters become stronger, but the traps and devices also become more deadly.

Even so, dungeons are places of opportunity where you can earn money, gain experience, and collect items.

Moreover, an unexpected treasure may pop out. Like the 'Mistletoe' that was recently in the news.

Of course, it turned out to be fake, but no one believed it was 100% fake until I proved it. That's because there was a slight chance that it could be real.

You never know what item will appear in any dungeon.

“Shall we begin, then?”

At Alex's words, the students in front stepped forward one by one. All of them were filled with enthusiasm, eager for the chance to use their dungeon pass.

But to be honest, I wasn't interested in cutting that rock.

'I wonder if I could cut it if I wove Gram.'

However, the dungeon pass isn't important enough for me to show Gram.

Weaving is my only weapon.

I'm not in a situation where I can afford to fight while showing everything I have.

In fact, what I’m interested in right now is not whether I can cut the rock or not.

It’s finding a student who can cut the rock.

As far as I know, there is exactly one person here who can do it.